thick in the head

I went on the first hike of the year yesterday. It ended up being quicker than I thought it would be which was probably good.

Started at the Mountain Inn… up hogback, up the old railroad grade, up fern creek, past the visitors center, and up to the east peak. (1 1/2 hours)

I hung out in the clouds for about a half hour as visibility went from 100 feet to 10 miles and back within a few minutes. It was cloudy and windy, but didn’t really rain. (1/2 hour)

The route down was… old railroad grade, down millers, back onto old railroad grade, and back down hogback to the truck. (1 hour)

I figure it was about 5 miles or so, and 3 hours total. Elevation gain was around 960 ft to 2571 ft and back (1,600 ft).

Surfed at my place on sunday morning… totally denied. I had the long board, it looked really small. Well, I’m a total friggin’ kook and I definitely don’t know how to surf.

At first, I was denied just trying to get through the shore pound. I walked back out, went down the beach about 50 yards and made it out without to much trouble. The little peak that I was watching from the parking lot was about head to shoulder and pretty steep. I tried and kooked for about an hour… put my tail between my legs and paddled in.

It was a beautiful day, nobody else on it, slight offshore winds…, I couldn’t have had better conditions… well…, next time.

4.5′ @ 7 seconds from 322.
low incoming tide.
1 hour in the water.

Surfed at my place yesterday… Should have gone earlier, but procrastinated and got in the water just as the wind changed and the water got a bit junky. The day was beautiful and the wind was really not that strong, but there was not enough swell to hold up.

It was a nice day and good to be in the water at the home break. I drifted about 4 blocks and ended with the best ride of the day on one of the best waves that I had seen. So… warm sun, lite wind, an hour of chillin’ and a few good rides at the home break makes a good day.

2.3′ @ 9 seconds from 315.
medium outgoing tide.
1 hour in the water.

forget

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I’m adding 7 surf posts under the category of ’sessions ‘08′, because I didn’t record them back in the fall. So here… #7

more than flat black

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I’m adding 7 surf posts under the category of ’sessions ‘08′, because I didn’t record them back in the fall. So here… #6

are even more simple than they appear

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I’m adding 7 surf posts under the category of ’sessions ‘08′, because I didn’t record them back in the fall. So here… #5

of an ego

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I’m adding 7 surf posts under the category of ’sessions ‘08′, because I didn’t record them back in the fall. So here… #4

in the loin

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I’m adding 7 surf posts under the category of ’sessions ‘08′, because I didn’t record them back in the fall. So here… #3

whether it’s an elk or not

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I’m adding 7 surf posts under the category of ’sessions ‘08′, because I didn’t record them back in the fall. So here… #2

it seems that sometimes the circles are pretty small

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I’m adding 7 surf posts under the category of ’sessions ‘08′, because I didn’t record them back in the fall. So here… #1

Headed north again, to get the second sunset session in as many days. Awesome… The swell has filled in and settled down. It was a bit smaller but more consistent and less crossed up.

Had some lefts and rights. Moderate number of folks in the water, but definitely not crowded. It was ridiculous dark when I came in and there were still at least 3 knuckleheads in the water. I had a bit more paddling stamina and the new boots were plush! Great night.

4.3′ @ 17 seconds from 284.
medium-high outgoing tide.
1 1/2 hours in the water.

Surfed my favorite spot this morning. The lot was full at 7. It didn’t seem crowded at all though because the west swell had peaks forming all over the place. A couple hours in the water… beautiful day… cold feet.

The surf was pretty good size, but sorta crossed up and junky. I had some legitimate walled up drops and a couple really kooky falls (I swear it was because of my frozen feet). I had one wave perfectly set up for a good drop to a left… popped up, didn’t feel my feet hit the board so my body kept moving forward as my feet stopped… It was a perfect summer-salt as I passed the nose of my board, down the face of the wave and landed on my back in the pit, hoping that my fin was headed somewhere else.

I stopped on the way home and bought some new boots.

3.9′ @ 17 seconds from 284.
medium-high outgoing tide.
2 hours in the water.

Surfed my favorite spot last night… left home at 4 and was in the water by 5:30. There were only about 4 peeps in the water as I paddled out, and there was one mofo with better night vision than me, because he was still searching as I paddled in at about 6:30.

The sunset was amazing… a mix of gold and blue and orange that could never be replicated. The swell just started to hit and was real consistent.

I surfed south of the point, mainly on the inside rights… only had one boot with me, so I had some pretty frozen stubs by the end of the night. Great night… good vibes… awesome to be back in the water.

4.5′ @ 20 seconds from 283.
medium outgoing tide.
1 hour in the water.

…going to happen today.

…I’ll get started

Got a utility session in on Sunday morning. Went to chopper’s for a quick session before the game. It was grey and the winds were onshore, but I didn’t want the weekend to get by without a session, so… met chopper in the lot and paddled out into the muck for a session of uncomfortable denial.

I was trying out the twinzer for the first time in a year and a half or so. It didn’t help. We paddled out with a few duck dives and settled on the outside in the most warbly water I’ve been in in a very long time. Needless to say, After and hour and a half of paddling around waves that I didn’t recognize, I was denied. Strange though, I didn’t feel as demoralized as I probably should have. With the conditions so bad, I felt good just surviving…

1.9′ @ 11 seconds from 280.
medium-high outgoing tide.
1 1/2 hours in the water.

…shouldn’t be allowed.

…to find, up.

…does it matter?