The Perry: October 2011

Saturday, October 22, 2011 - Sea Urchin

The brother texts me, "I got you some good stuff, sis!"

I get home, and there's a box.

I open the box, and inside there's...

Fresh sea urchin! They were still alive.

The first sea urchin selected to be eaten.

The sea urchin opened.

Deliciousness.

Sunday, October 16, 2011 - AIDS Walk Los Angeles

Volunteered at the 27th Annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles this morning.

Didn't bring my camera. Pin given to the volunteers.

Saturday, October 15, 2011 - Occupy Los Angeles

Occupy Los Angeles - Global Day of Action.

The pictures were taken around 5:30 p.m. The march and the rally were earlier on in the day. Didn't get a chance to see it.

Took place at the Los Angeles City Hall.

One of the corners of the block (Spring St. and Temple St.). The street was allowed to be blocked off until 8 p.m.

The main stage that hosted different speakers and music groups.

The main stage.

Bring me the head of.. Pumpkin carving.

George W. Bush.

Near the city hall entrance.

The tents.

Tents.

What do you think?

Dancing square.

Ninety-nine.

101 freeway at dusk.

Mt. Whitney - Day 4 (Thursday, September 22, 2011)

Trail camp -> Whitney portal (6.3 miles)

Decided to get up early so we could get back early since David had night-shift that day and I had work the next day.

Woke up around 4 a.m., left the rest of our crew who would head back down later, and had breakfast on the trail.

Sun starting to rise with the moon still in the sky. Wish you guys could see the stars. So amazing.

Getting brighter. The earliest group we met on our way down who were heading for the summit had left the portal at 2 a.m.

The last clear view of the peaks right when the sunrise was starting to light up the mountain.

Heading back down to reality..

Stream crossing. Almost back to the portal.

Back at the portal. Throwing the smelly wag bags away. It needs more poo powder. My pack weighed 24 lbs. at the end of the trip, 12 lbs. lighter than when I first started.

The end of one of the best experiences of my life. The trip was amazing. The views were amazing. The people were amazing.

Two of the greatest people I know.

Mt. Whitney - Day 3 (Wednesday, September 21, 2011)

Trail camp -> Mt. Whitney summit -> Trail camp (9.4 miles)

The moment I've been waiting for. Summit day. Had an alpine start. Woke up around 3 a.m., ate a hardy breakfast, got our packs ready, took a brief look at the stars scattered brightly across the sky, put our headlamps on, and set out to tackle the summit.

As we were eating breakfast, the only thing you could see on the mountain in the distance was the dim light of someone's headlamp as they were slowly going up the switchbacks. Someone had started even earlier than us.

The 99 switchbacks were done in darkness with our headlamps.

Made it to the Trail Crest to watch the sunrise.

Beautiful.

Taking a break to watch the sunrise.

View after passing the Trail Crest. Mt. Hitchcock and the JMT down below.

The trail.

Still some snow left.

The sun rays hitting the peaks as the sun was rising.

The view between the needles.

The rock structures.

A look at the trail. Goal in sight.

Guitar Lake and the JMT.

Made it to the Smithsonian Institution Shelter.

Success! The Summit! The whole crew!

View at the summit at the other peaks we passed.

Enjoying the view at the top.

There is Verizon reception at the summit, although a bit spotty. Thanks to David for letting me use his phone, I was able to call my mom to wish her a happy birthday.