Mutual Benefits

This is gonna be short, but hopefully good. On Sunday, I was feeling alright, and I had been playfully teasing people all day. That evening, I decided to give my amazing friend Chanel a hard time for not posting a blog in almost a week(kind of calling the kettle black). Recently I have been struggling with what seems like everything, and I was wondering what the heck I am doing here, and if I ever even make a difference to anybody. Well, my comments to Chanel got her thinking about some things that have been keeping her down, and just when I felt like I make no difference to anybody, Chan posts this inspirational post about patience. My point of all this that we don't know what lies ahead. It ties in perfectly with her post about patience, because I was getting frustrated with myself. I'm not sure, exactly, what God is trying to teach me this semester, but this lesson just showed me that patience pays off. And, if you feel like you don't make a difference, think again. You do. I'm just lucky enough to have a friend who posted a blog, and vocalized my influence.

Bears

Heart Lake and the valley from Sheridan Peak

We saw none. That might be a good thing, but it's not a good thing, because I wanted to see one. Not a violent encounter, but a normal one where I see a bear and it sees me, then we go on our way. Anyways, I was pretty ticked when I saw no yellow stones either, but the trip was still one I won't forget.

Heart Lake Valley

Day 1 - We hiked in late, so it was dark and cold for half of our 8 mile hike. By cold I mean it was something like 25 or 30 degrees, and hiking in the dark is not fun, because you can't see any of the stuff you came to see. As we strolled into camp, we were greeted by some crazy old dudes from the camp over that decided they liked our fire pit more than their own. They were all smart, affluent old men from Texas. Among their posse were doctors, dentists, engineers, and one very successful bank owner. They called their group the BOOTS, an acronym i don't remember. They were fun, full of life, and we didn't mind sharing our site with them. We hiked the Heart lake Trail to Heart Lake.

 Trevor, Stan, and me at Sheridan Peak. That little clump of trees just over my right shoulder is our camp, 3000 feet below us.

Ladies and Gentlemen... Mt. Sheridan

Day 2 - Mt. Sheridan didn't stand a chance against us. We conquered Sheridan, took a nap on her, and then ran all the way back down her 4 mile trail back to camp. Some people may say that running 4 miles downhill is bad for your joints, and I am hesitant to disagree, but that's the only way to go down a mountain. There was no other option. It was the only way. There was snow at the top of her 10,300 ft peak. Not a lot, but enough to make snow angels. Those angels were painful. The snow was old and hard, and felt like sandpaper. The half-hour nap we took at her peak was much deserved as the trail was 4 miles, with a 3000 foot elevation gain... so we basically climbed a wall. mhmmm, git some. All of us took a beating though. my left LCL is not in good shape, and our knees and feet were sore after, but it was totally worth it.

Us... leaving Yellowstone behind.

Day 3 - A bear visited the camp we were originally going to stay at. It tore up the fire pit, threw some trees around, and made a mess. It could have at least cleaned up its footprints or something. The hike out was bitter sweet, and we crossed paths with a tiny garter snake, hot pools, hell's river, a few geysers, elk, and a couple deer. The hot pools were HOT. Stan knows... he touched one. I mean, the steam wasn't enough for him, he just had to know. I say hell's river because it flowed from a hot pool, and at dusk there was a steam trail from where it started in the pass all the way into the valley. As far as geysers go, we may have stepped off the trail a little bit... a quarter mile little bit... to see them up close. It was like the earth had something caught in it's throat and was hacking it up. Really a spectacular sight. I'd encourage anybody to go see it, except that if you happen to fall through the marshy ground that surrounds a geyser, you may just find yourself neck deep in literally boiling water.

Stan and a hot pool.

Overall, the trip was a blast. We were camped just over 100 feet from a lake, and there were no bugs bothering us. There was a cool stream that passed by our camp as well. The total distance we hiked was about 25 miles, 8 of those miles were on a ridiculous incline. If you are at school here in Idaho, i say take advantage of your proximity to Yellowstone. GO THERE. It's really an incredible experience, and the scenery is beautiful. There you have it, and I have posted more pics below. Enjoy.

 That used to be a neatly made fire pit. Mr. Bear did not approve.

 Crazy old dudes. They were chanting.

 That baby snake was tasty.

 Ranger station at Sheridan Peak... Almost there!

 Grizzly track... it was a big boy.

 Steam on Heart lake in the morning

 See those white things at the bottom of that hot pool? Those are animal bones. Apparently they were thirsty enough to die for a drink of hot water.

 That water burned Stan. It's hot.

 Halfway up Sheridan. The bunch of trees on the shore at the top right is our camp.

 Beautiful woods

 Stan likes aluminum... and Sheridan

 Sheridan valley... heart lake in the distance.

 Standing around waiting for a geyser to blow up.

 Hell's river, afternoonish.

 Beware of bears where forest meets meadow

Our tents... mine's on the left, Stan's on the right.

Told you so.

I knew this blog was gonna be hard to keep up with. haha My lovely friend Chanel reminded me to make an update. I don't really know what to put on here this time. If I hadn't met a few great people, I would say this summer has been completely uneventful. I've been working, getting back in shape, reading... The book I'm reading is David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens. It's widely known as a literary masterpiece, and I have to agree, though sometimes it's hard for me to understand the grandiose mid-18th century language. Charles Dickens' vocabulary is impressive, to say the least. OH, I've started to create my own collection of outdoors stuff. So far I have a 65L backpack, a 3.5lb tent, a tarp, a +15 degree sleeping bag(mummy style), a 2 liter hydration bladder, and a cool water bottle. It's expensive. Some buddies and I have planned a 3 day backpacking trip for the end of September. Hopefully the summer holds out until then. The hike is up near Stanley, Idaho. It's 20miles round trip, and the first 8 miles of the hike is a 2,000 foot elevation gain(yikes!) but the last couple of miles is a mellow descent to a beautiful lake, loaded with trout or something. We can(and will) fish. The trail is located in prime grizzly country:) Can't wait to wrastle me a bar. haha or just hope it doesn't eat me. It is also in a gorgeous alpine setting, and throughout the hike we will pass granite cliffs, waterfalls, hot pools, maybe a geyser, and the wildlife is abundant. I am so stoked to be out there and away of civilization. On another note, Jenessa is an amazing good friend of mine, and she will be serving her mission in Edmonton, Canada, starting on October 26th.

Soon to come...

a post about my trip home to Anaheim, California... the happiest place on earth. And for those of you who don't know, that is a picture of something called the beach... Huntington Beach, to be exact. I got to see my lovely Pacific coast again. It's the best. :)

It doesn't cost one cent to be polite

Medicine

I've decided to include a quote in each of my posts, preferably a positive one that will lift those who read it. They won't always have to do with my blog topic. So, here's the first: "The more mindful we become, the more we increase our capacity for action that is stripped of pretense and duplicity." - Some Blogger

Healthcare in the U.S. is flawed. Obvious enough. Is universal healthcare the answer? I don't really know, but I would venture to say that it is not the ideal option. Regardless of the reform, healthcare still has countless problems. When you can't get the treatment that you need, or doctors seem to beat around the bush, it isn't always the doctor's fault. Doctors must practice defensive medicine to avoid getting sued, and they are often restricted by insurance practices, such as what tests can be ordered. So, as I said, doctors aren't always to blame. But, sometimes they are. Sometimes, when a matter has been brought to their attention, and they assume and form conjectures about what is likely to be, fail to take preventative action, and are dead wrong, the blame is entirely theirs to carry. I'm not saying there aren't mistakes. I dislocated my ankle over 3 years ago. During physical therapy I experienced sharp pains I knew were not natural to healing. When I brought my concerns to the doc, he simply told me the pain was caused by tissues that were rigid because of their lack of use, and that they would soon be back to normal. I seriously doubted his diagnosis. Fast-forward about a year and a half, and I'm on the operating table, due for a bone transplant that I believe could have been avoided had the doctor addressed my concern. Following surgery and therapy, I began to experience a pain identical to the pain I felt before the surgery. Again, when I voiced my concern, I was doubted, corrected(incorrectly), and sent on my way. Fast forward another year, and that brings us to now. My ankle is in the same condition it was before the surgery: always hurting, and sometimes debilitating. I left work early today because I couldn't walk. I don't have the time or money to get surgery if need be. I'm supposed to start classes in 2 and a half months(which I'm really looking forward to), I am finally exercising and getting back into shape, and now walking is becoming a struggle. Thanks Doc. I feel like my life is finally starting to move again, and I'm faced with the possibility of more complications. The medical world is severely lacking the altruism that once was at it's core. My roommate Kirk and I are motivated by these misfortunes and we are hoping that when we join the medical field we can put our complex aside and show people some consideration and truly appreciate their opinion. Enough rant for one blog. Having to leave work early really irked me. I do have hope, though. We'll see what the Lord has in mind for me.

First things first.

I love fruit. I think I ate my weight in strawberries this morning. how's that for in intro? I decided I'm not going to formally introduce myself. I'll let my psyche, nature, character, or whatever you want to call it form in your mind from what you gather from my posts. As a side note, this is my first time blogging. I think I took the challenge doing a blog(it may not be a challenge for everyone, but it definitely is and will prove to be one for me) to explore myself and really think about my life. Maybe I need more time for introspection, or to examine the world and really understand what matters most. Who knows... perhaps it'll prove beneficial. As my title suggests I like to try to keep things simple(but not excessively so) and hopefully it stays that way. Hello world of blog.