Some Updates
Dear Readers, Recently I have been very busy for various things, and that’s why I haven’t updated my blog for […]
Dear Readers, Recently I have been very busy for various things, and that’s why I haven’t updated my blog for […]
Walt Disney world, Orlando, Florida. The happiest place on Earth? Maybe. The happiest marathon ever? Not exactly.
I have to admit that I didn’t train properly for this marathon, but the worst part was that I under-estimated how cruel the sun of the Sunshine State could be. Not as advertised or hoped we would have an average 40-50 degrees temperature in January, in fact, on Sunday January 7th, the marathon race day, runners had to run under almost 80 degrees and extreme humidity.
I stopped at every water stop and replenished myself with as much liquid as I could acquire; I ate some banana; I greeted to Mickey Mouse and seven dwarfs. I tried my best, but the weather defeated me and my legs almost failed me. I was happy at least when the race started with amazing fireworks; I was happy at least for the first half of the marathon when the sun wasn’t able to force my eyes shut and I managed to maintain my training pace. Then, my respiratory and perspiration rate skyrocketed along with the temperature. I believed that I saw steam coming out of the pavement. I was even convinced that the smile of the evil step-mother of Snow White was sincere. No wonder desperate desert travelers see mirages.
At least I reached the finish line with four hours, forty-six minutes, and thirty-eight seconds of struggle – all because of Mickey Mouse. The cute, golden, Mickey Mouse finish medal allured me more than the first apple did to Adam and Eve.
Here is the whole story:
他們說,佛羅里é”最è€ç‰Œçš„迪斯奈,是地çƒä¸Šæœ€å¿«æ¨‚的地方,嗯,也許。但這個馬拉æ¾æ˜¯æœ€å¿«æ¨‚的馬拉æ¾ï¼Ÿé‚£å¯æœªå¿…。
好啦ï¼æˆ‘是得先承èªæ²’有é‡å°é€™æ¬¡çš„馬拉æ¾ï¼Œåšå¥½è¬å…¨çš„訓練,ä¸éŽæœ€å¤±ç–的地方,還是在太太太å°çœ‹é™½å…‰å·žé™½å…‰çš„å¨åŠ›äº†ã€‚和廣告的或是期盼的,說一月平å‡æº«åº¦å¤§æ¦‚在è¯å¼å››äº”ååº¦ä¹‹é–“ç›¸å·¦ï¼›äº‹å¯¦ä¸Šï¼Œæ˜ŸæœŸå¤©ï¼Œä¸€æœˆä¸ƒæ—¥ï¼Œè·‘è€…å¿…é ˆåœ¨æ¿•åº¦æ¥µé«˜ï¼Œä»¥åŠæº«åº¦æŽ¥è¿‘è¯å¼å…«å度的情æ³ä¸‹ï¼Œè·‘完全程。
我已經在æ¯å€‹æ°´ç«™æ‹¼å‘½åœ°å–水,å–é‹å‹•é£²æ–™ï¼Œä¹Ÿåƒäº†äº›é¦™è•‰ï¼Œé‚„和米è€é¼ ã€ä¸ƒçŸ®äººç›¸è¦‹æ¡ï¼Œäº’打招呼。已經很盡力了,å»é‚„æ˜¯è¢«å¤©æ°£æ•´æ…˜ï¼Œè…¿ä¹Ÿå·®é»žå ±å»¢äº†ã€‚å“Žå‘€ï¼Œè‡³å°‘é–‹å¹•çš„æ™‚å€™ï¼Œé‚£å ´æ¼‚äº®çš„ç…™ç«è®“æˆ‘é ‚é«˜èˆˆçš„ï¼›è‡³å°‘ï¼Œå‰åŠæ®µå¤ªé™½çš„å¨åŠ›é‚„ä¸è¶³ä»¥é€¼è¿«é›™çœ¼è¿·æ¿›ï¼Œé‚„得以ç¶æŒè¨“ç·´çš„é€Ÿåº¦ï¼Œæˆ‘ä¹Ÿæ˜¯é ‚é«˜èˆˆçš„ã€‚åªæ˜¯ï¼Œå¾ˆå¿«çš„,呼å¸å’Œæµæ±—çš„é »çŽ‡ï¼Œéš¨è‘—æº«åº¦ä¸åˆç†çš„攀高,也直è¡é ‚端。我發誓我看到從æŸæ²¹è·¯é¢ç™¼æ•£å‡ºä¾†çš„陣陣熱浪;甚至白雪公主的邪惡æ¯åŽçš„ç¬‘å®¹ï¼Œä¹Ÿé¡¯å¾—ç›¸ç•¶èª æ‡‡ã€‚é›£æ€ªï¼Œæ²™æ¼ ä¸çµ•æœ›çš„旅人會看到海市蜃樓。
至少éŽäº†å››å°æ™‚ã€å››åå…分é˜ã€ä¸‰å八秒的掙扎,我越éŽäº†çµ‚點線,全都為了米è€é¼ 。那å¯æ„›çš„ã€é»ƒæ¾„澄的米è€é¼ 完æˆçŽç‰Œï¼Œæ¯”伊甸園ä¸é‚£é¡†æ™ºæ…§çš„蘋果å¸å¼•å¤å¨ƒï¼Œé‚„è¦æ›´å¸å¼•æˆ‘,就這樣ä¸è¨ˆäº†ã€‚
以下就是迪斯奈馬拉æ¾çš„全記錄:
A view from Chimney Pond; photo credit: Bill Steinmetz
Katahdin: last winter I learned this name the first time. I was sitting in a cozy restaurant surrounded by my fellow winter hikers, enjoying the early hot coffee with a giant blueberry pancake, I overheard that the hike leader, Bill, was to attempt Katahdin in a few weeks. “Katahdin? What is it? Is it a trail and…where is it?†I couldn’t suppress my curiosity arisen from my adventurous blood. “It seems like some nice place to go,†I drew this conclusion based on the mild commotion observed from the group, “and…it must be a place to go if it requires Bill to train for it.â€
The second time I heard Katahdin, was on a bus ride to NOLS headquarters in Palmer, Alaska. The bus driver moved to Alaska many years ago from Maine. She described how much she was in love with the mountains in Alaska and she mentioned Katahdin when she laid Alaska and Maine in parallel for comparison. At that moment, Katahdin won its place in my to-do list. But not until I started to plan it last November, did I realize that this trip was to be a great one!
Katahdin,第一次è½åˆ°é€™åå—,是去年冬天。被眾多冬å£å¥è¡Œè€…åœç¹žè‘—,我在一個略嫌æ“æ“ çš„æ—©é¤åº—,啜飲著熱騰騰的咖啡,嚼著暖暖的è—莓蛋餅,耳邊傳來該日的雪鞋å¥è¡Œé ˜éšŠBillå³å°‡åœ¨æ•¸é€±å¾ŒæŒ‘戰Katahdin的消æ¯ã€‚「嗯,Katadin?什麼地方?是æ¥é“å稱嗎?好玩嗎?在哪裡?ã€é«”ä¸æ»¾è‘—冒險血液的我,按æºä¸ä½æ´¶æ¹§çš„好奇心,批哩啪啦地å•äº†è‡ªå·±å¥½äº›å•é¡Œã€‚çœ‹è‘—ç¾¤çœ¾å› é€™æ¶ˆæ¯è€Œå¼•èµ·çš„些許騷動,我想,這Katahdin一定是個好地方,è¦ä¸ç„¶Bill為什麼還è¦åŠ 強體能訓練呢?
第二次è½åˆ°Katahdin這個åå—,在去年å¤å¤©ã€‚å‰å¾€NOLS在Palmer, Alaskaçš„æ ¹æ“šåœ°é€”ä¸ï¼Œå’Œå·´å£«å¸æ©Ÿå°è©±ï¼Œå¥¹æ•¸å¹´å‰ï¼Œå¾žç·¬å› å·žæ¬åˆ°é˜¿æ‹‰æ–¯åŠ ã€‚å¥¹è«‡è‘—å¥¹æ˜¯å¦‚ä½•å¦‚ä½•åœ°æ„›è‘—é˜¿æ‹‰æ–¯åŠ çš„ç§€éº—å±±è‰²ï¼Œæ¯”è¼ƒå®¶é„‰å’Œé˜¿æ‹‰æ–¯åŠ çš„å°è©±ä¸ï¼Œå¥¹æåŠKatahdin。我望著窗外的山景,想åƒè‘—Katahdin該是怎麼個樣å,那一刻,Katahdin排進了個人è¦çˆ¬çš„山峰列表。ä¸éŽï¼Œä¸€ç›´åˆ°åŽ»å¹´å一月,真æ£é–‹å§‹è¨ˆç•«å¾€Katahdin的行程,我æ‰äº†è§£ï¼ŒKatahdin,其實是件大工程。
Katahdin – High Point of MaineKatahdin – ç·¬å› å·žæœ€é«˜å³° Read Post »
Make a donation!
I signed up to participate in “summit for someone†which makes me obliged to raise at least $3500.00 to help teenage youth expand their wilderness experience. I have never done any fund-raising events before – this is the first time – so it’s indeed a very big commitment for me, especially since $3500.00 is a large sum. I am doing this because I believe it is meaningful and because climbing mountains has always been my dream. If you approve of the mission and are willing to help, please denote money online through this link: Help Szu-Ting Summit For Someone . All denotations are tax-deductible and your kind help is greatly appreciated.
Below details my driving forces in this fundraise:
1. I can climb and climbing mountains is my dream
2. At-risk youth can expand their wilderness horizon
我åƒåŠ 了由Backpacker Magazine主辦的「為æŸäººæ”€ç™»ï¼ˆSummit For Someone)ã€çš„æ´»å‹•ï¼Œä¹Ÿå› æ¤èƒŒè² 了募集美金3500å…ƒæ¬¾é …çš„ä»»å‹™ã€‚é€™æ˜¯æˆ‘ç¬¬ä¸€æ¬¡åƒèˆ‡é¡žä¼¼çš„活動,而且è¦å‹Ÿé›†çš„æ¬¾é …é‚„ç‚ºæ•¸ä¸å°‘ï¼Œå¯¦åœ¨å¾ˆç·Šå¼µï¼Œä¹Ÿé —æ“”å¿ƒè‡ªå·±æ˜¯å¦èƒ½å¤ 圓滿é”æˆä»»å‹™ã€‚ä¸éŽï¼Œé€™æ´»å‹•çš„確相當有æ„ç¾©ï¼Œæ‰€å‹Ÿé›†çš„æ¬¾é …éƒ½æœƒç”¨ä½œï¼Œå¸¶é ˜å¼±å‹¢é’少年,接觸戶外ã€èªè˜æˆ¶å¤–的用途,而åŒæ™‚,藉由這個活動,個人也得以挑戰Grand Teton,也把我å‘我的登山夢更推進了一æ¥ã€‚å¦‚æžœä½ èªåŒå°Poçš„é€™é …ä»»å‹™ï¼Œé¡˜æ„助å°Po以åŠå¼±å‹¢çš„é’少年們一臂之力,請經由以下連çµï¼šã€Œå”助æ€å©·ç‚ºé’少年攀登ã€æ款。所有æåŠ©çš„æ¬¾é …éƒ½æ˜¯å…稅的,也在æ¤æ„Ÿè¬å¤§å®¶çš„熱心。
以下且讓我慢慢é“來,決定åƒèˆ‡é€™é …活動的心路æ·ç¨‹ï¼š
1. 我得以攀登,而登山是我最大的夢想
2. 弱勢é’年得以擴展他們的戶外視野
The “winter hiking 101” series are obtained from the Winter Activity Committee (WAC) of the Appalachian Mountain Club Delaware Chapter, which are adapted from an original from Bob Vogel of the Southeast Mass chapter.
Equipment and clothing needs vary. For short hikes or snowshoe trips on nice winter days, the requirements are less than for assaults on 4000’ peaks above treeline. To get started winter hiking your needs are pretty low and can be met with a mixture of ‘high tech’ and ‘low tech’ equipment. As your get more into winter hiking your desire for more ‘high tech’ equipment will probably grow. (And your bank account will dwindle!) Here is look at the equipment and clothing. Visit www.amcsem.org/hikes.html for the complete list.
Winter Hiking 101: Equipment & Clothing Read Post »
The “winter hiking 101” series are obtained from the Winter Activity Committee (WAC) of the Appalachian Mountain Club Delaware Chapter, which are adapted from an original from Bob Vogel of the Southeast Mass chapter.
Winter hiking isn’t about being cold; it’s about learning how to keep warm in the cold, staying well hydrated and well-fed, and hiking “smart.†Here are a few simple rules.
Rule #1, Stay cool to keep warm!
Rule #2, Ventilate!
Rule #3, Drink (and eat) a lot!
Rule #4, Hike smart (be conservative)!
Winter Hiking 101: Basic Rules Read Post »
I am planning a 10-day major excursion with Andrea Deaton for our club, the Appalachian Mountain Club. Besides the air
Where to take a shower after a backpack?去哪兒洗澡? Read Post »
While I was indulging in the thought that the Tohickon trip on the release weekend was my last river trip of this year, I received a phone call from Allen which was an invitation to paddle the Tohickon Creek again on Friday, November 10th. I was surprised but most pleased to receive the kind offer. I thanked the weather God for the rain and the warming up temperature.
Before the trip, I thought, after the lengthy trip report I wrote for the release weekend, I would be out of talent to compose another one. However, it turned out that this trip won the title of the most exciting trip of LittlePo’s paddling year 2006.
我以為該個水庫洩洪的週末,泛舟於Tohickon Creek是我今年最後一次的泛舟行了。沒想到,數天後,接到Allen的電話,å•æˆ‘隔天星期五è¦ä¸è¦å†æ³›ä¸€æ¬¡Tohickon?æ„外æ¸æ„外,驚喜å»æ˜¯æ›´é©šå–œï¼Œé¦¬ä¸ŠäºŒè©±ä¸èªªé–‹å§‹æº–備,心裡é å°è€å¤©å¤©é™ç”˜éœ–,以åŠé€æ¼¸å›žå‡çš„溫度心å˜æ„Ÿæ¿€ã€‚
è¡Œå‰ï¼Œæƒ³èªªä¸Šæ¬¡å¯«äº†æ•¸åƒå—çš„Tohickon泛舟記,這次應該沒什麼好寫的了,就算å†ä¹Ÿæ‰è¯ä¹Ÿå¯«ä¸å‡ºä¾†çš„了,沒想到,這次的泛舟行相當精采,眾望所æ¸åœ°è´å¾—2006年,由å°Poé ’ç™¼çš„æœ€åˆºæ¿€çš„æ³›èˆŸçŽçŽåº§ã€‚
Tohickon Creek Revisitedå†è¨ªTohickon Creek Read Post »
Last weekend was the release weekend of the Tohickon Creek for which I had been waiting the whole season. There are only two scheduled releases: one is in late March and the other early November. If you want to paddle the Tohickon other than these two weekends, you need to ask for rain. Months ago when I heard about this creek, I knew immediately that I wanted to do it. It’s a step up from my river friend, the Lehigh, because it requires more solid river techniques. Paddling the Tohickon would be a good milestone and a perfect end of this river season, I believed.
It had been cold last week and my down jacket was already out of the closet. Last Friday night, I watched the weather forecast with my fingers crossed. The weather lady reported, “Today is the coldest night since…and tomorrow it’ll be even colder.†The numbers were showing 30 degrees for Philadelphia, 26 degrees for Allentown, and nothing above the freezing point for any place on Saturday morning. I started to debate. I don’t have a dry suit and my last river trip was weeks ago.
Of course, I did paddle; otherwise what’s the point of this blog entry? Under my dry top, I had 4 layers – fleece jacket, fleece vest, Polartec base layer, and another Polartec Power Stretch base layer. Three layers to cover my legs. Aqua socks inside my water shoes, two layers of gloves and a helmet liner. I had to loosen the straps on my PFD and squeezed myself in my little boat, and hoped that my armor would not restrict my movements.
上個禮拜是Tohickon上游水庫洩洪,玩家å¯ä»¥çŽ©èˆ¹çš„好日å。å¯ä»¥èªªé€™æ•´å¹´çš„泛舟å£ï¼Œå°å¥³å我都在默默地ç‰å¾…這個週末的到臨。一年就åªæœ‰ä¸‰æœˆå’Œå一月,唯二的兩個洩洪週末,是確定å¯ä»¥åœ¨é€™æ¢æ²³ä¸Šæ³›èˆŸçš„,其他的時候,就åªèƒ½çœ‹è€å¤©è³žä¸è³žè‡‰ï¼Œæœ‰æ²’有下雨,雨é‡åˆæ˜¯ä¸æ˜¯å‰›å¥½äº‘云,基本上,就是碰é‹æ°£ã€‚幾個月å‰ï¼Œæˆ‘è½ä¸€åŒæ³›èˆŸçš„åŒå¥½è«‡èµ·é€™æ¢æºªï¼Œå°±æš—自下了決心,今年一定è¦åƒèˆ‡Tohickonçš„æ³›èˆŸè¡Œåˆ—ï¼Œå› ç‚ºé€™æ¢æºªæµçš„技術難度,比我經常泛舟其上的Lehigh Riveré‚„è¦é«˜äº›ï¼Œè¦èƒ½å¥½å¥½æ³›å¥½é€™æ¢æ²³ï¼Œå°±ç‰æ–¼é–“接è‰æ˜Žæ³›èˆŸçš„技術有進æ¥ï¼Œè¾›è‹¦çš„練習有æˆæžœã€‚
上個禮拜,愈接近週末,氣溫愈是低,羽毛大衣也早已經出箱了。星期五晚上,一邊祈禱一邊看著天氣é å ±ï¼Œæ°£è±¡å ±å°Žå“¡èªªè‘—ï¼šã€Œä»Šå¤©æ˜¯å…¥ç§‹ä»¥ä¾†æ°£æº«æœ€ä½Žçš„ä¸€å¤©ï¼Œä¸éŽï¼Œæ˜Žå¤©å¤©æ°£é‚„會更冷。ã€æŽ¥è‘—,螢幕上就大大打出,å„地低於冰點的隔天早晨的氣溫,這這這,我心裡開始掙扎,明天真的è¦åŽ»é¢å°é€™éº¼ã€Œå†·é…·ã€çš„考驗嗎?我的è£å‚™ç®±è£¡å¯æ²’有dry suit,上一次泛舟也是好幾個禮拜å‰çš„事了,ä¸çŸ¥é“技巧是ä¸æ˜¯ç”Ÿç–了?ï¼
當然,我還是去了,è¦ä¸ç„¶ä¹Ÿæ²’æœ‰é€™ç¯‡æ–‡ç« äº†ã€‚åœ¨æˆ‘çš„dry top下é¢ï¼Œé‚„有四層衣物,分別是fleece夾克ã€fleece背心ã€å…©å±¤ä¿æš–排汗兼潑水的長袖衣物。腿上也有三層,腳上穿著泛舟襪å†å¥—泛舟鞋,兩層手套,安全帽下å†åŠ 一層防水ä¿æš–é 套。弄得自己åƒå¤§èƒ–å一樣,救生衣需得調鬆æ‰ç©¿å¾—ä¸Šï¼Œæœ€å¾Œä¼¼ä¹Žæ˜¯ç¡¬æ“ æ‰æŠŠè‡ªå·±å¡žé€²å°èˆ¹è£¡é ,當時還真擔心臃腫的身軀,手腳æ怕都動彈ä¸å¾—了,è¦æ€Žéº¼æ³›èˆŸï¼Ÿ
First Time at Tohickon Creek, PATohickon Creek, PAç¨æœ¨æ³›èˆŸè™•å¥³èˆª Read Post »
The tension between slow hikers and fast hikers easily burns the whole group down. I know, because I experienced the frustration looking at the person in front of me disappearing behind the branches. I know, because I was left behind with blisters hiking alone in the dark with tears. I achieved the solitude I was looking for, but, why wasn’t I happy?
The regulations of AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) sponsored trips state clearly that, “the group pace is the pace of the slowest hiker.†Surprisingly, my limited leading experience has told me that asking a fast hiker to slow down is usually more difficult than asking a slow hiker to speed up.
åƒè¬ä¸å¯å°çœ‹ç€°æ¼«åœ¨é£›æ¯›è…¿å¥è¡Œè€…,和慢郎ä¸å¥è¡Œè€…之間,情緒大戰的暗潮洶湧,ä¸å¥½å¥½è™•ç†ï¼Œæ•´å€‹å¥è¡ŒéšŠä¼çš„æ°£æ°›æœƒç ´å£žç„¡éºã€‚我個人也嘗éŽçœ¼çœçœåœ°çœ‹è‘—å‰æ–¹çš„隊員,消失在樹å¢é–“,å†ä¹Ÿæ‰¾ä¸è‘—伊人在何方的挫敗;也曾經一個人在天色已暗之後,拖著磨人的水泡,踽踽ç¨è¡Œã€‚是啊,我到戶外ä¸å°±æ˜¯æƒ³å°‘見些人,多些ç¨è™•æ™‚光嗎?怎麼我心裡兒一點兒也ä¸å¿«æ´»ï¼Ÿ
阿帕拉契登山å”æœƒï¼Œæ¸…æ¥šçš„åˆ—å‡ºé€™é …æ¢ä¾‹ï¼šåƒåŠ å¥è¡Œçš„隊員,應該以最慢的å¥è¡Œè€…的速度,作為整個團隊的行進速度。有趣的是,從我目å‰å°šå±¬æœ‰é™çš„é ˜éšŠç”Ÿæ¶¯ï¼Œå¸åˆ°çš„經驗是:讓飛毛腿走慢一點,有時比è¦æ±‚慢郎ä¸èµ°å¿«äº›ï¼Œé‚„è¦é›£ä¸Šæ•¸å€ã€‚
Slow Hikers; Fast Hikers慢郎ä¸ï¼›é£›æ¯›è…¿ Read Post »