And the Curtain Closes…

All of our wonderful WO participants and guides have finally come back home from their incredible trips! Baja, Grad, and Shipwrecks surf all shredded the gnar off the coast of Mexico and California, and while they were seasick for the first few days of their venture, Tall Ship Sailing had a blast learning the ropes of the high seas. The kayaking trips had fun conquering the challenges of stormy weather while they roasted up beached fish and basked in the beauty of Bahia de Los Angeles, and backpacking had a roaring good time in the Sierras, proving their love of adventure and of the outdoors by hiking one of the routes’ peaks not once, but two times. And finally, Catalina Island proved to be a successful new venture with opportunities to scuba dive and feed sharks!

This year’s Wilderness Orientation was unforgettable. What an awesome way to start off the new school year!

The Tough, The Determined: The Backpackers

We only had one backpacking session go out this WO, but this one trip definitely had enough zing in it to provide for two.

We started off this trip on our normal route through Mineral King, starting at Franklin Pass and following through to Sawtooth Pass. This would be a journey of 39.5 miles and would take us about 5 days. We spent our first night in the field at Franklin Lakes, a location just below the pass, and hiked up to the pass the following day – a distance of about 3 miles. At the top, however, as we gazed down into valleys on either side of the mountain, a participant became increasingly ill and we decided we needed to evacuate him from the field. Thus, the guides and our participants hiked back down to Franklin Lakes and camped about a mile away from our previous night’s campsite. While there, we set the participants out on their solos (a 1-24 hour period where the participants camp alone and are encouraged to meditate, fast, and take a vow of silence) and contemplated the events of the next day.

During the night, another group of backpackers stumbled into our camp and ended up camping right in the middle of the sites we used to put the participants out on solo. This caused irritation and confusion for the participants in the immediate area, making for a less-than-ideal solo situation.

After we brought the participants in from solo the following morning, we sent our ill participant out of the field with our Secondary Guide. However, they didn’t get out before opening the “mystery burrito,” the guides’ gift to our participants, which was filled with candy and fake moustaches.

After our participant and guide left to go back to the trailhead and ultimately a doctor, the rest of us headed back up Franklin Pass and reached the top in the late afternoon. We hiked down the other side at dusk and ate a warm meal in the frigid, below-freezing temperatures of the valley floor before we night-hiked 2.5 miles to our next campsite. We finally reached Little Claire Lake at 1:30 am and were asleep not ten minutes from our arrival. 

Our next few days of trekking led us to our final ascent: Sawtooth Pass. This steep ascent was tumultuous but very rewarding when we reached the peak. Here, we all had a good laugh once we realized one of our members had ripped a gigantic hole in the seat of his pants, and spent a few moments enjoying the spectacular view before starting our sketchy descent.

The way down from Sawtooth Pass is a chaotic mess of sand, loose gravel, slick rocks, and dozens of barely distinguishable paths. One wrong step could leave someone sliding down the mountainside. However, we managed to get down safely and ended up at our last night’s campsite, Monarch Lakes, without a hitch. Here, we were surprised to find our long lost guide and participant, who by now was completely healthy again. They had hiked up the previous day after having their own little adventure in town, talking to the local yokels and imagining masked serial killers lurking around their van as they slept.

We spent the rest of that day enjoying each other’s company, swimming in the lake, repairing the nearby outhouse which had not one year before only been a toilet sitting on a hill, fully exposed to all surrounding it, and making a macaroni and cheese casserole with 2.5 pounds of cheddar. Needless to say, no one would be using the now three-walled toilet that night.

We all hiked out the next morning and had a pancake breakfast at the trailhead before heading home. The forest was deep, beautiful, and full of excitement, but after no showers and blisters on our feet, we were all satisfied with ourselves and ready for the trip back home.

-          

      - Rachel Karp, Outback Guide

Catalina Island: The Adventure of a Lifetime!

 Outback Adventures offered numerous new trips for WO this year, one of which was the Catalina Island Adventure. This trip was located at the Emerald Bay Boy Scout Camp and offered a number of brand-new activities that entertained both the guides and the participants.

In addition to kayaking, snorkeling, and hiking – activities that Outback does on a regular basis – we had the opportunity to scuba dive, hand-feed baby leopard sharks, practice our hand at archery, and stay in actual cabins (staying in a tent is a luxury on most WO trips). We also got to eat in a fabulous mess hall – a building which looked like it had come straight out of The Parent Trap movie or Bug Juice (come on 90’s kids, you remember that show, right?). It even had a bison head mounted on the wall over the fireplace.

The highlight of the trip was probably the scavenger hunt we held for the participants. For this little activity, the guides hid clues all over the camp which would ultimately lead our participants to a bag of goodies that was suspended from the mast of a decrepit pirate ship that was located in the center of the camp. One of these clues was wrapped up in a latex glove and sunk with a rock in between the two piers that jutted out into the water in front of the camp. To make these submerged clues even harder to reach, about five full-grown leopard sharks came over to the sunken clues and swam about them – and I’m not kidding about this. Although the leopard sharks were more afraid of people than we were of them, and while they had swam away before the participants had a chance to get the clues, the initial effect they made was simply diabolical.

When the participants came over and started searching for these sunken clues, they had no idea where to begin. They looked under the piers, on top of the piers, around the piers, and even by the lifeguard tower. They simply didn’t want to believe they would be anywhere else, and especially not under the water. When they finally found out their location, however, they were all shocked and didn’t want to get in the water. All, except one. This amazing participant, who had preferred to stay out of the water all trip long, tore into the water like a lifeguard saving someone’s life – it was an unforgettable sight. After a bit of searching with her mask and snorkel, she found the clue and raced back to shore, leading her team to victory as they won the scavenger hunt.

The Catalina Island Adventure was definitely something out of the ordinary – we climbed dry waterfall washes and dove 30 feet under the waves; we pet sea cucumbers and fed sharks; we snorkeled through kelp and kayaked through caves; we even joined a campfire circle and sang songs under the moonlight. The time we spent there was simply unforgettable

Catalina Island, you will hold a special place in our hearts – may we meet again sometime soon.

-         Rachel Karp, Outback Guide

Outback Adventures Used Gear Sale

Want some outdoor gear but don’t want to pay REI hundreds of dollars? Just drop by the used gear sale October 10-14 at the Outback Adventures Surf Shop and save a ton of cash. 

Kayak Jousting Competition

Always wanted to try jousting but could never get your hands on a suit of armor or a horse? Well, now you can fulfill your dreams by participating in the kayak jousting competition at the Canyonview pool on Wednesday October 12^th. The entry fee is just $5 a team; visit The Outback Adventures surf shop or the rental shop for more info.

New Archery Digs On East Campus

If you’ve got the itch to try out archery, now is a good time to do it because we will be moving into our new archery digs on October 10.  The new site on the east side of campus near the Challenge Course and Thornton Hospital will be a greatly improved facility with brand new turf and targets.  We’re bringing in some great new equipment too, so stop on by and check out what’s cookin’ with Archery.  Got some new and fun classes too:

Beginning – Mondays 5:15-6:15 p.m.

Intermediate – Wednesdays 4:15-5:15 p.m.

Open Practice – Wednesdays 6:15-7:15 p.m.

Archery Fun and Games – Mondays 6:15-7:15 p.m.

Competitive Archery – Wednesdays 5:15-6:15 p.m.

Traditional Archery Open Workout – Tues/Thurs 5:30-7 p.m.; Sundays 10 a.m.-12n

Check out the class descriptions and info. On our web: recreation.ucsd.edu or just stop by  the new facility to see what’s going on.  For more information call: 858-534-3772.

Texas Hold 'Em Coming Your Way

Poker takes a minute to learn but a lifetime to master.  Or so say the masters.  Well, maybe more than a minute to learn.  Try your hand at Texas Hold ‘Em in this two-hour workshop on Wednesday, October 19 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.  At just $22, it’s a bargain.  This workshop will focus on strategy including betting, order of the most powerful starting hands, bluffing, table image, etc.  Come on out and meet others to play with, hone your skills and learn how to get involved in local tournaments.  Try your hand at our own mini-tournament.  Card maestro Derek Noack will be your guide.  To register go online to recreation.ucsd.edu     For more information call: 858-534-3772

Developmental Swim Season

Every October, the UCSD MASTERS SWIM PROGRAM goes forward in time to help the swimmers with their swimming technique.  Pretty exciting, right?  We call it our Developmental Swim Season.  Anybody can walk and run...we've been doing that since we were just kids.  But swimming is a different kind of a fitness routine.

If you're a swimmer, you already know that swimming is a very technical sport.  There's more to do than just jump in and go.  First of all you're in the water...trying to stay afloat, and full of air.  Your ultimate goal is to move forward through the water with the least amount of resistence.  Then you need to move your arms and legs in a specific manner to make everything work as one.   Since a swimming pool is just a big rectangle, pretty quickly you'll have to turn around and come back to where you started.  Everything in action at the same time...that's what it's all about. 

Our goal during this time of the year is to teach more than coach.  With a little help from your freshly honed skills and a few brain cells, all you'll need to do is follow the stroke progression and in a few days you're swimming better than ever!  Join our program to experience a great fitness environment on a regular basis....yeah, we have workouts 7 days a week...plenty of options for anybody's schedule.  Our special STUDENT DISCOUNT is only $55.00 for a full quarter of swimming...or running...or multi-sport training.  Over all, thats a total of 338 workouts in one quarter....hmmmm, do you  think thats enough?  See you in the pool.

Fall Pancake Breakfast

Every quarter our very own UCSD MASTERS SPORTS program hosts a normal/but/crazy event at the Canyonview Pool, right after a Saturday morning swim workout...a pancake breakfast.  Now you might not think that pancakes are all that crazy, right?  That just means you haven't been to one of the 'these' pancake breakfast's.  Not that we're just talking about pancakes...what we are talking about is what's IN the pancakes.  On is gonna be syrup, or fruit or jelly...but IN can be pretty much anything you can think of...plus some outrageous and unique ingredients.  Have you had a Spam & tomatoe pancake?  Or how about a sardine & marshmellow pancake?  Eh?  Now you see what I'm talking about, right? 

The Date: Saturday, October 1st 
The Place: Canyonview Aquatics Center- Canyonview Pool
The Time: Right after the 7:30-9:00am swim workout (c'mon down for a swim first to jumpstart your appetite)

Men's Club Volleyball

As King Arthur once said, “UC San Diego Men’s Club Volleyball is pretty tight.” This past spring , the Tritons went on a quest of the ages to prove this storied King true, traveling to Houston, Texas for the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) National Tournament. There, they went to battle against the top 180 teams in America, and in the end, UCSD emerged out of a pile of bloodied adversaries as the 5th best team in this great nation. America. Nationals, baby. First, let’s give a hand to the team of soldiers that made this all possible. The 2010-11 UC San Diego Men’s Club Volleyball ‘Nationals’ Team was led by head coach, brilliant tactician, and uncanny mastermind Kevin “Mad Trombs” Trombley. The captain, three years running, and floor leader was senior setter Ryan “Captain Cuddles” Bridge. The strong class of seniors also included two who will be dearly missed. Outside hitter Joshua “Will Smith” Doros led the attack from the left pin, while Tyler “The Love (And Real) Doctor” Kern spearheaded the onslaught from the middle. The seniors were rounded out by the untouchable skills of 4th year, soon to be 8th year, libero Pedro “Brazilian McGriddles” Silberman, who held the defense together. The juniors also lived up to the prestigious UC San Diego name. Co-captain, outside hitter, and sports writer extraordinaire (if I may say so myself) Austin “Take Your Pick Of My Nicknames” Schumacher balanced out the attack from the left side, while transfer outside/opposite hitter Justin “Superstar” Johnson brought the fury of the beach onto the court. The sophomore class included only one person, but he held the influence of many more. The Tritons’ onslaught became merciless with the help of UCSD’s second middle, Aaron “Who The Heck Is Aaron—Call Me Kappe” Kappe. The freshman class was made up of a pair of studs who established a solid continuation of the UCSD name. These two were Kevin “Nibbles” Nevalsky and William “Afro-Buzzin” Parissenti. But this team of champions could not have made it to where they did without the help of their teammates who couldn’t make it to the National Tournament. These pivotal players start with the team’s resident Graduate Student was the wild card, David “Big ****ing Dave” Henderson. I must also mention, transfer setter, Alfonso “Fonzie Bear” Gonzalez, who dished out the butter all year long. And lastly, the team will sorely miss graduating senior outside Kota “Amazing Buff Ninja Samurai” Michaels. Additionally, mad props go to senior setter Dennis “Iron Chef Chennis” Chen, who had to depart the team early this season. Also with the Tritons as more of a mental, rather than physical, presence was 3rd year opposite Robert “Das Boot” Tindula. And we can’t forget 5th year opposite Nicholas “Sexiest Man Alive” Adams, who was always with the team in spirit. And, finally, on to the tournament. UCSD came into the tournament looking to prove themselves as a team, as volleyball players, as men, and as warriors. They started out in a pool with the University of Iowa, Lakeland College, and UC Berkeley. Their first game was against Iowa, and the Tritons began the tournament on a high note by unleashing a glasses-smashing performance and beating them in a quick two games. Next up was Lakeland. Due to an unfortunate communication error, UCSD was deemed “late” to a refereeing assignment and docked 9 points in the first game of the match. While Lakeland won this, UCSD stormed back and won game two in dominant fashion, 25-12. But in game three, the Tritons faltered, giving up a three-point lead and losing the close game by two points. This brought up the do-or-die last match in the pool against UC Berkeley. Needing a victory to place first in the pool and move on in contention for the championship, UCSD came out firing on all cylinders, obliterating the Golden Bears easily in two games. And so UCSD won the pool and moved on to continue their journey on day two. The next day found UCSD in a three-team pool against James Madison University and University of Wisconsin, Madison. The Tritons started off against JMU, but they had some difficulties in finishing, which is usually the case for many of UCSD’s opponents, rather than the Tritons themselves. The match was a back-and-forth contest that went to three games, but UCSD fell apart in the third game and ended up losing. This again led to a must-win situation for the Tritons, this time against UW-Madison. With their tournament hopes on the line, the Tritons played clutch volleyball and rose to the occasion, winning in two games. And so the Tritons won their pool for the second straight day. This put UCSD into the championship bracket for the upcoming third and final day of the tournament. Day three dawned with the Tritons in the Round of 16, facing perennial powerhouse Penn State. This match was a dogfight from the outset. UCSD won the first game 25-20, behind a solid all-around performance. But Penn State made sure the match didn’t end there, clawing their way back into the match by pulling ahead early and withstanding a late surge by UCSD to win 25-22. With the momentum solidly on their side, however, the Tritons charged through game three and blasted the Nittany Lions 15-11. This put UCSD in the Elite Eight against the University of Notre Dame. Against this formidable opponent, the Tritons were prepared for a war on the court. But Notre Dame brought even more fire than UCSD expected, and stormed their way to a brutal 25-17 victory. Now, the Tritons had to dig deep within the depths of their volleyball souls and find something worth fighting for. And so, with visions of glory etched in their minds, and with help from the amazingly handcrafted signs from UCSD Women’s Club Volleyball captain Athalie “Call The Slambulance” Tom, the Tritons fought back and won game two, 25-20. But unfortunately, this emotional battle drained the team too heavily, and in the decisive third game, UCSD fell behind early and couldn’t recover, losing 15-11 as Notre Dame put an end to the Tritons’ impressive tournament run. The Fighting Irish ended up placing second to the nearly unstoppable University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh in the final match of the tourney. But UCSD had the last laugh (not really, but still…) as Dr. Tyler Kern received one of the coveted All-Tournament plaques, which will no doubt hold a place on his mantelpiece for many a year, while serving as memento from an oft-recalled memory, prompting him to tell this story to his grandchildren sitting on his knees, thus passing down the legacy of this team to the generations to come.