248
December 2, 2011
The past few days have been a bit rough for me. Too much on my mind and too much emotion spinning me in different directions. But let me back way up....
When I was a child I was bitten by our family dog, a Chow. Twice. Both were very serious bites and required a fair amount of stitches, but no permanent damage. It was the kind of thing that made me think twice about approaching unknown dogs. At that time, to me any dog was unpredictable and I did not want to be around one that was stronger than me and unpredictable. For years this was the way I operated, I still loved dogs, just not big scary dogs.
Then just about ten years ago I had moved away for a job after college. Nothing seemed to be going right for me; the job was a bust, I didn't like where I lived, and I had a roommate that didn't believe in paying rent. But the roommate did believe in trashing our apartment, eating my food, inviting strangers in to live with us and all sorts of other tragic behavior.
One morning I woke up early on my half of the apartment, walked out my bedroom door and right out side I saw a huge dog growling at me. About ninety pounds of muscle wrapped in fur and punctuated by sharp teeth. No explanation. Just a big scary looking dog. Growling. At me.
After carefully sliding by the dog I went to my roommate to find out what the heck was going on. The story, as he told me then, was that it was his cousins dog Rocky, a huge boxer. The cousin was moving across the country but could not take the dog with him. My roommate had been asked to take Rocky to the pound to drop it off because no one wanted the dog. But of course my roommate being the flake that he was couldn't even do that.
Looking back on it, I think it happened in about one day. I was taking care of Rocky over the weekend (my roommate split town and abandoned the dog) taking him on walks and sneaking him back into the apartment where we were not allowed to have dogs. I fell in love with Rocky.
Over the past ten years he has been an amazing friend to first Katie and I, and now our family. Incredibly playful and loving, Rocky became a part of our family. He boxed with me using that famous growl, shared countless hikes and trips with Katie and I, loved and licked our children, and loved us all. It may sound weird to say this, but I think we all learned from Rocky.
Here is one picture of Rocky from around 2001. Katie's father had this beautiful Harley in his garage that some friends and I wheeled into the street to take pictures on. I'm not sure who it was, but one of us suggested putting Rocky up on the bike and that's exactly what we did. I love this photograph because it reminds of such great times in life, so much promise (even if it is absurd) and for some reason I have never been able to look at this photograph without smiling. Of course, at the time, I don't think Katie's father was so happy that we did this to his Harley.
Today Rocky has died. All of us are overwhelmed with emotion and tears, but it is good. His heath had been sharply declining over the past week and it was time. We were thankful and blessed to have him in our lives and create so many great memories. I could go on and on, but the simple truth is this: you will be missed. Rest easy good boy.
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220
September 1, 2011
Living this close to Yosemite is sometimes painful. Almost every week I'm up in the park enjoying the natural beauty, but more often than not, it's for work. Yosemite has so much to offer, so many long and spectacular sights to see that even living this close I can't make time for everything.
For the past few years since I have lived here, I've always wanted to tackle the grand-daddy of Yosemite hikes, a day hike to and from the top of Half Dome. One of my local friends managed to secure permits to hike Half Dome earlier this year and invited me to join him on the hike. To be honest, I was completely excited for the opportunity to hike Half Dome, but the knowledge of the hike itself was daunting.
If you've read or heard anything about hiking Half Dome, I'm sure you know the difficulty. In a little over eight miles, you will climb nearly 5000 vertical feet. Narrow steps, scrambling sections, and cables up the dome itself are all in store on this hike, before you have to turn around and come right back down. It's not an easy hike.
Five of us started our hike together at 3:30 in the morning. There was no moon out, but the stars above shown forth in amazing beauty. We climbed up through the mist trail by headlamp, only able to see Vernal Falls with our ears. Watching four hikers ahead of me shrouded in mist pass up the rock steps was like watching a scene from Lord of the Rings unfold before my eyes.
It wasn't until we reached Little Yosemite Valley that they stars were overcome by the power of the sun. Suddenly, the very dome that we would later summit popped out of the sky to our left as it was bathed in early morning light. The hike continued out of the valley, climbing up to the ridge of Half Dome. It was somewhere along this point, five hours into the hike and with at least two miles to go before the summit, that my legs began to burn. We pushed on.
Reaching the Sub Dome, we stepped above the tree line and began to scramble up the granite face. Instantly we were all aware of the lack of oxygen at this elevation. We gulped down breath after breath of air, but it seemed to do nothing. Our little rests seemed to come more frequently now as we pushed on together.
Finally, almost seven hours after starting our hike from the valley floor we reached the cables leading to the top of Half Dome. At this point, I brought out my harness and clipped into the cables for the remainder of the hike. Being attached to the cables gave me an extra sense of security and confidence as I climbed that many lacked. It's an incredibly serious stretch, where one false move can have life ending consequences.
Standing on the top of Half Dome, with the world stretching out beneath us in very direction was amazing. Even with the view, I couldn't help but look down on the valley floor almost 5000 feet down and realize that just a few short hours ago, I started walking from that very point. We enjoyed the view from the top as if sharing a drink in celebration; and really that is what it was. It was only as we happened to look down carefully against the face of Half Dome that we saw the pair of climbers that had been climbing all morning long and the day before to reach the summit. It's amazing to me what we as people can do.
Of course that was really just half of the hike. With smiles on our faces, we turned around to follow the path that we had taken earlier. It was refreshing not to exert that same amount of energy require to climb uphill, but the return somehow seemed longer than the hike up.
This morning as I write this, I am sore. My legs ache and my muscles remember what I made them do, but it is good. The hike was taxing to say the least, but filled with incredible experience and memories. There were moments during the hike that I was unsure if I would be able to safely continue, but we made it together. I know for sure that every time I stand in the valley from this day on and look at Half Dome, I will remember the day that five of us climbed her together.
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melissa says:
Thursday, September 1, 2011
That's amazing. Congrats on a big life achievement.
Shanna says:
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Truly lovely and inspiring!
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209
June 29, 2011
In the midst of hiking up Sentinel Dome with a couple that had been married just hours before, we first ran into snow. Then we ran into skiers that had just built a jump. Then we watched them lift off. You never really know what you will run into in Yosemite. And yes, this is in June.
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200
May 24, 2011
Saturday night, after a long day spent with two wonderful people that married in Yosemite, I was driving out of the park when I couldn't help but be amazed once again by the beauty of Yosemite Valley. I've always said how thankful I am to be able to visit and work in the park throughout the year; each season covers Yosemite in an entirely new set of clothes. Every time I come up to Yosemite, there is something new and special.
Anyone who has spent anytime here knows how special it can be just to stop what you are doing, and lay down in a meadow to soak in the beauty. At no time can this be more true than at night. On a first glance, everything is pitch black. But as your eyes adjust, the sky takes on color, the water reflects the movement of the stars, the sounds of the night permeate everything. So the next time you are in Yosemite, take a walk at night and then turn your lights off. You'll be amazed at what you find.
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derek lapsley says:
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
the different colors are insanely cool! are those straight lines (dots) going from the top left to center bottom airplane lights?
Patrick says:
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Thanks Derek! Yep, the straight red lights are from an airplane. Pretty cool how the blinking pattern gets more pronounced as the plane gets closer too. Of course, I wish there were no planes flying over Yosemite, but that's another thing...
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196
May 9, 2011
Emily and Justin are Yosemite fanatics. As you remember from their engagement photographs, they are both avid rock climbers and see Yosemite not just as a beautiful landscape, but also an active playground. She recently told me of their plans to visit the park one day a month in every month this year.
So this past weekend they came up to climb and camp (and a tiny bit of wedding planning) with friends. I was able to meet up with them for a little bit after a wedding that I photographed on Saturday, but I think I surprised them when I once again brought my camera out. Just a few fun and playful photographs of them climbing just outside of the Ahwahnee.
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Emily says:
Monday, May 9, 2011
These are great :) Thanks for stopping by. It was so much fun to see you again. I can't wait till August.
Patrick says:
Monday, May 9, 2011
So this was just prep for climbing in your wedding dress right?
Emily says:
Monday, May 9, 2011
Yep. We did some scouting on Sunday too. There were a couple boulders at LeConte Memorial look like they might be good. I'll send you a link to Cristina's pictures when she posts them so we can get a professional opinion.
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Oh man! Sad that your dog passed onto greener pastures!
This picture made me smile too... Sorry for your loss
Sorry to hear about Rocky....That is one of hell of photo thou.....at least you gave him a far superior life than your house mate could....Great story and again what a incredible picture ;-)
Patrick, I'm so sorry for your loss. That image is amazing.
How lucky Rocky was to have you! What a great story and a lovely image... it's a bummer can keep our wonderful furry family members around longer... :(
Sending you lots of warm hugs from the great white North!
I am terribly sorry, Patrick. I know what you are going through all too well. There is nothing better than a wonderful dog... and there is nothing harder than losing one.
I love this photo of Rocky, I'm so sorry for your loss :(