Ryan's Journal

Antarctica Photos from Time Magazine. Sixty-eight days to go.

It’s been a week since I’ve posted anything. Better post something really interesting that’s happened to me in the last seven days. Ummmm… OK, better post something out of the ordinary that’s happened to me in the last week. Right, nothing there either. Maybe I’d better just post some random drivel.

Mission accomplished.

And for the five people who will recognize this little gem, the Eagle Bar is off the hook, yo.

I was so exhausted last night that I quite literally stumbled my way back into camp. Even hiking down today was tiring, so I’m convinced I had a touch of the flu — in addition to fatigue my appetite disappeared and I carried out nearly all of the food that I’d taken in. Still, it was an amazing weekend — a group of thirteen deer gathered to see me off this morning, and after a brief excursion through the White Chief mine I was back at the trailhead and heading home. Saw another black bear while driving out, but otherwise it was a fairly uneventful drive home. Pictures will go up some time in the next few months after I’ve had a chance to finish the roll.

Oddly enough, in the moments where I wasn’t completely overcome by the beauty and peacefulness of the High Sierras, there were two thoughts that kept coming back into my head. The first was about that Claymation Christmas Special with Rudolf and the elf who wanted to be a dentist. The second was about how cool it would be to be a contestant on the show Survivor. I’m somewhat afraid that this is a sign that something in my brain has broken.

Whether due to the altitude, dehydration, a slight flu, lack of fitness, or something else I am absolutely drained of energy. Slept for nearly twelve hours last night, and briefly debated taking it easy for the day. My original plan had been to try and scale the huge, bowl-shaped cliffs that surround my camping spot, so I finally decided to make an attempt to get as far up them as I could manage.

Having to carry all of my food with me (can’t have have the bear rummaging through my campsite while I’m gone) didn’t make the trip any easier, but after lots of rest stops, a ton of free-climbing (not easy with a backpack on) and more than a few thoughts about turning back I’m sitting on the top of a sheer ridge, surrounded by steep piles of boulders with an amazing view of my valley on the right, and another valley on the left. I’ve got to believe that this new valley, filled by three small lakes, is a site that very few other people have ever set eyes upon. Beautiful blue skies, a mild breeze, and some amazing scenery make this a moment worth remembering forever.

Camping at over 10,000 feet elevation in mid-October is a cold thing to do — I’ll be wearing a shirt, a flannel, and a jacket to bed tonight. Left Glendale last night, slept for a few hours in the back of the Subaru, then woke up at 6:00 this morning and drove the rest of the way up to Mineral King. Picked up a hitchhiker on the way, which isn’t something I would normally do but I figured anyone hitching up to Mineral King had to be all right. Saw a black bear on the road, and all told today I’ve seen more deer than people — never a bad thing.

The trail up here starts at 7800 feet, and between the altitude, the fact that I haven’t been running, and the pack on my back I was completely wiped out when I got to my camping spot. Took a three hour nap in the afternoon, then went out to watch the sunset and the stars. I used to think that bears didn’t come up this high, but there are two huge piles of bear crap within thirty feet of my tent that are convincing me otherwise, and since I don’t have a bear cannister to store my food in I’m very much hoping that I’ll be able to spend the night without visitors.

Another Antarctica teaser photo:

Even though I disagree with the current California recall effort, having just received an absentee ballot in the mail I was at least amused by it. Each candidate is listed by name, political party, and profession, and I swear to God I am not making up any of these candidates:

• Ivan A. Hall, Custom Denture Manufacturer
• Kurt E. “Tachikaze” Rightmyer, Middleweight Sumo Wrestler
• Paul “Chip” Mailander, Golf Professional
• Angelyne, Entertainer
• Daniel Watts, College Student
• Mary “Mary Carey” Cook, Adult Film Actress

I was curious if Gary Coleman would list himself as a security guard, but he went with the safe choice of “Actor”. And of course, having read through the list of candidates I now definitely need to find a “Tachikaze for Governor” bumper sticker — how have those not swept across the state already?!?!

This photo is from a collection of photos taken on a previous Cheeseman Antarctica trip. Eighty-four days and counting.

Drove up to San Francisco for the weekend, and went with Aaron and Jen to meet Scott, Nadia, and a bunch of other folks at a bar in the city. Nadia had picked a (straight) bar in a mostly gay neighborhood (imagine that, in San Francisco) and a not-insignificant number of the folks on the street were wearing nothing but leather thongs and chains. Even if you’re not the slightest bit homophobic, when you see a man walking down the street wearing nothing but a leather thong and a couple of chains it’s a freaky, freaky sight.

Aside from scary bondage moments life has been calm lately. The studio lot is back in action with all of the TV shows shooting and several movies apparently getting ready to start production. For whatever reason most of the shooting has been on the indoor soundstages, but I’m hoping to be running amok in an outdoor shoot the next time something interesting goes in front of the cameras on the street sets.

I’ve also been playing around a bit with the site code (I know, ladies, control yourselves) so if you happen to notice anything that seems broken on the site please let me know.

In an attempt to shake what remains of my faith in Snapple true facts, Jason sent me this BBC article. After reading it I was shattered — maybe a duck’s quack does echo. But then I got to thinking — the Brits aren’t really known for their research abilities, so maybe there’s something else going on here. As I thought more, it occurred to me that next to the Spice girls and David Beckham, the thing that the Brits are most passionate about is tea. Yet who won’t readily admit that a bottle of Snapple kicks the crap out of a cup of Earl Grey? So of course the Brits want to do whatever they can to discredit this great American beverage, even if it means publishing bogus research about ducks not quacking. I just don’t understand how I didn’t see this evil conspiracy sooner.

In other news, I passed Jennifer Aniston while driving in to work today, and I can vouch for the fact that even when she isn’t in front of a camera she is really, really cute.

Taking randomness to new levels:

• Make circles in a clockwise direction with your right foot. Now with your right hand draw the number six in the air. Your foot will at least pause, and will probably change direction.
• Courtesy of Snapple, a duck’s quack does not echo, and nobody knows why.
• Courtesy of Groucho Marx, time flies like an arrow, and fruit flies like bananas.

Entries like this one drive home the point that life is much, much less exciting since when I’m not off exploring. Luckily it’s only ninety-four more days until things get interesting again.