PHOTO DUMP!!!

Earlier this week I hiked Signal Knob with my coworker, Sean Lacey. It was my first serious hike and it was a much needed escape from the day to day. Work has been amazing, family has been good and I’ve been quite happy (gaining weight even) but I just needed to get away from it all. The 10.5 mile hike did the trick. We completed the loop in a little over 4 hours, much faster than the 5.5 hour prediction the website said it would take. The ascents were brutal, the paths were wrought with loose rocks and the view was breath taking…During the hike up we talked about family, friends, martial arts, the outdoors, relationships, volunteerism, boots, packs, knives - you name it. I feel like I found quite a kindred spirit in Sean.  Many cliff shots and a couple of chicken wraps later and I knew that we would make an excellent adventuring team! When we got back to our cars we refueled with some well-earned hamburgers and shakes (milkshakes are, arguably, my favorite food). I was preparing to part ways when I asked him what he was doing next and as it would turn out he was on his way to the Jefferson Memorial to read and write in his journal. I was surprised to say the least. Being someone who writes and reads and occasionally journeys into DC by himself to do both those things one could imagine how excited I was to be invited to join! We ended up sitting outside of the memorial for a good two hours as he wrote and I watched the sunset on the tidal basin barefoot. Can’t really explain it, but it was exactly what a long day’s hike needed as its ending…Hoping for many more adventures to come my new friend!

The other day I had the opportunity to photograph Reston Association’s Clean the Bay event. It was a part of a larger Clean the Bay day organized by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and was a very exciting thing to be a part of. I am really growing fond of Reston. It’s residents, it’s natural areas, it’s vibe. I would have really liked to have grown up there around so many nature and conservation education events. Anyways, the photo assignment was to capture the volunteers in action as they cleaned the shores of Lake Audubon and Lake Thoreou. I couldn’t have asked for better volunteers (not that I really have any say in the matter)! They were all very lively and very funny. The group I stayed with for the most part were a bunch of volunteers from the locally headquartered protective services Triple Canopy. They were a group of veterans and the such and I just vibed with their easy going, straight forward humor. Having been working with veterans at REI I have started having an affinity for the simple, honest, no nonsense demeanors of our servicemen(women). So much respect for what they’ve done and what they are doing…ANYWAYS, the lakes were absolutely beautiful and much larger than I thought. We weren’t able to even get around a 5th of it! As we turned a corner the rich foliage gave way to an expansive, resort-like sprawl of manicured lawns, private docks and shining boats. Just 10 minutes away from my house was this beautiful lakefront neighborhood! I hope to come back again sometime and run/bike around the lake. Reston is my go-to getaway. 

Lastly! Today was the 2013 Post Hunt event in DC! I can’t explain in words how fun this event was. Picture national treasure combined with the lost symbol combined with premium rush and that’s basically what we did! I discovered the magazine at dinner last night and with only a few hours notice I assembled a three man team consisting of: Tim Tolentino (Geography, Transportation), Mason Hsu (Geography, Problem Solving) and myself (I had the map and a bike for Mason). What we thought was going to be an obscure, little known scavenger hunt with an easy $2000 dollar prize ended up turning out to be this massive braniac horde of all the brilliant minds of the DC area. Everyone and their attractive girlfriends/sisters/daughters were there cracking these puzzles that were just jibberish to us. We were disheartened to say the least but we pulled through all 5 puzzles and made it to the final clue. We got everything but two puzzles wrong of course, but in the end we felt like winners. It was the experience and a well-spent day off. Carpe Diem is alive in us and I have no regrets. For our hard work and fried brains we thought it appropriate to end the day at the delicious haven, Shake Shack! I don’t think there isn’t a thing on their menu I don’t want to try. If only I had the stomach and money for it! All in all, it was an amazing week filled with amazing people. Things are looking very positive for me lately and I just have to keep on going. Keep working at REI, keep studying for the GREs and keep living life day by day. That’s the goal, that’s the mission. 

Here’s to days off well-spent.

Trek On,

Chris

"The ascents were brutal, the paths were wrought with loose rocks and the view was breath taking."

"I feel like I found a kindred spirit in Sean."

"Can't really explain it, but it was exactly what a long day's hike needed as its ending..."

"The other day I had the opportunity to photograph Reston Association's Clean the Bay event."

"The photo assignment was to capture the volunteers in action as they cleaned the shores of Lake Audubon and Lake Thoreou."

"I am really growing fond of Reston. It's residents, it's natural areas, it's vibe. I would have really liked to have grown up there around so many nature and conservation education events."

"As we turned a corner the rich foliage gave way to an expansive, resort-like sprawl of manicured lawns, private docks and shining boats."

"I assembled a three man team consisting of: Tim Tolentino (Geography, Transportation), Mason Hsu (Geography, Problem Solving) and myself (I had the map and a bike for Mason)."

"We were disheartened to say the least but we pulled through all 5 puzzles and made it to the final clue."

"For our hard work and fried brains we thought it appropriate to end the day at the delicious haven, Shake Shack!"

   Last thursday I went into DC for an impromptu shooting of the Cherry Blossoms. To my elation my good friend Tim Tolentino (http://www.timtolentino.com/) was free to come with me and show me the ropes of city riding! We metro’d in with our bikes and rode from the Smithsonian stop to the tidal basin. Of course my peugeot decided to pop its chain and after some playing around with it I got it stay on its inner chain ring, thus restricting me to ride single speed through the streets of DC. They cherry blossoms were as beautiful as I remembered, it had been several years since I had the time to come and see them. We walked our bikes around the basin starting at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. What was supposed to be a cherry blossom shoot quickly became a Tim & Scarlett (his beautiful road bike) photoshoot. Scarlett was a beauty Tim had built from the frame up. It’s rear wheel was single speed/ fixie convertible. The tidal basin waters where coated with the cherry blossoms giving it an illusion of a pink and white sea. It was almost surreal. However, taken at a different angle the purity of the petals gave way to a more realistic view of the basin. This would be reinforced a couple of days later when we received news that a body was found in the basin. As we completed our round about the basin I managed to snag a nice close up of some mallards enjoying the cool shade. As we were about to make our way off the basin into the city to find the famous, Shake Shack, a military helicopter came thundering past us. I managed to zoom in and get a quick shot of it - United States Army emblazoned on its tail. We wondered where it was going and why, and a part of me wondered how a different place and different shoes would have made this view mean some different things…In any case, it was an amazing thursday with an amazing friend. I gained a lot of confidence in city riding/ traffic dodging and will certainly apply it more to my weekend rides around my area. As for everything else, I’m still waiting on more news from SMSC and am going through my training at REI. 

Things are very very good right now, and I am so grateful…

Trek On,

Chris

"As we were about to make our way off the basin into the city to find the famous, Shake Shack, a military helicopter came thundering past us." 

"We walked our bikes around the basin starting at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial."

"Scarlett was a beauty Tim had built from the frame up."

"The tidal basin waters were coated with the cherry blossoms giving it an illusion of a pink and white sea."

"As we completed our round about the basin I managed to snag a nice close up of some mallards enjoying the cool shade."

"However, taken at a different angle the purity of the petals give way to a more realistic view of the basin."

"What was supposed to be a cherry blossom shoot quickly became a Tim & Scarlett (his beautiful road bike) photoshoot."