So, I’m a Google Earth fan. I think that it is great tool that I could waist countless hours of my life on. Aside from that, though, I have found a very useful application for Google Earth–tracking the miles that I run.
On Sunday I talked to my father-in-law who has organized a group to run the Wasatch Back Relay. It turns out that they have had a few people drop out of the originally full team and he offered one of the open spots to me. I haven’t ran seriously for years, so, I was reluctant to accept the challenge of running three five-mile legs in the relay. I have also been known for having said about organized runs “why would I want to pay to suffer?”
Well, I had a change of heart. I agreed on Sunday that I would wake up on Monday, run five miles, and then run another five miles in the evening. i figure that if I could do this with out too much of a problem then I should be good to go for the race.
Now this is where Google earth comes in. I wanted to make route for the two five-mile legs that I was going to do on Monday. I pulled up Google Earth and used the measuring tool to find the appropriate distance. You can do the same thing by downloading Google Earth here. Once you have it you can go to “Tools” in the menu bar and then scroll down to “Measures.” That will pull up a screen that lets you select one tab that allows you to place line segments on your map and see the distance covered in the metric of your choice. Or, you can choose the other tab to make a chain of line segments and to view the total distance that the entire chain covers.
With this tool I was able to select my two five-mile legs without difficulty and today I plotted out a seven-mile route. Works like a charm, really.
Oh, and just so you know, I will be running the Wasatch Back Relay in a week and a half. True, that means that I will have trained for a total of two weeks for this thing, but, I figure that, had I committed earlier, I would have procrastinated and been in the same situation. I’ll do fine though…I hope.
June 14th, 2006
Summit
I love one-move wonders. Yesterday I went climbing with a friend up Rock Canyon at The Black Rose Wall. It is the very first Wall you come to in Rock Canyon and is to the left of Red Slab. The left most portion of the wall as two climbs that you can top-rope. They are in the neighborhood of 5.9/5.10 and are pretty fun. To the right of this slab, however, are some bolted climbs that are 10a (Pink Canoe) and 12a (Fat Hippos.) They both go to the same chains so if you just want to lean the 10 and try the 12 I would recommend it.
The 10 is tricky with the crux between the second and third bolt. It’s not very hard if you do it right but it is tricky getting the right footing so that you don’t swing off.
The 12 is very fun. It is a crimp fest and will likely put the most strain on your feet as you edge on little, quarter-inch holds. This climb is a total one move wonder. Once you get up to the crux, which comes after clipping the second bolt, you have to stick your left foot in a tinny hold that you would swear would never hold you. Then, while pulling hard on the crimper with you right hand, you reach up and left to hit the bottom of a very thin crack. Then you have to hurry and match your right foot to your right hand. once you hit this it is all pretty strait forward from there, yet strenuous.
The reason i like this one move wonder is because it it just my style. I have power, but only for a short amount of time. I’m one of those guys who boulders way harder then he climbs sport.
June 9th, 2006
Summit
About a month ago I bought a digital camera. It was the Canon Powershot A520 and it is a great camera. I was a little nervous for this change from film to megs at first because my Dad is old-school and is pretty determined to stand by his SLR camera that is about a hundred years old. Well, just to let you know what he is thinking now, I have over heard talked of him getting a SLR digital camera.
The reason that i like the Canon Powershot A520 is because of two simple things: it takes good pictures and it has about a million useful features that can help you in about every single way possible. It really is amazing. Usually when I buy a product I have certain expectations for my purchase and I am pleased if those expectations are at least somewhat met. In this case however, my expectations were totally blown away. It was also listed as a best buy by Consumer Reports. Some of the features I like are:
- It’s digital and so much easier to manage than physical pictures
- It allows you the flexibility to just point and shoot or to make specific changes to the aperture size, exposure time, and yady da
- It provides a date stamp that is not directly on the picture but in the information about the file
- You can adjust the megapixels of the camera to conserve space
- I have a 1G card in my camera and that can fit a lot of pictures and video
- Oh, yea, it takes video too
- Has a feature that takes pictures up close. We’re talking an inch away from the camera
- You can adjust all of the sounds on the camera and even mute everything when you start it up
- Like is said before, it has a million feature that makes documenting your experiences easier
Things I don’t like:
- The small screen makes it tough to see if the picture is clear enough or if you should re take it
- You can’t zoom while using video
- The video light settings don’t adjust while you film. These means that if you are videoing inside and then you go to a bright outside, everything will look white
- I can’t believe that I am even making a “don’t like list” because these are features that weren’t available on a film camera
May 22nd, 2006
Summit
Judge blocks injunction against local landownerby Heidi Toth - Daily Herald
The landowner of a coveted piece of property is moving forward to mine his land, even with all the legal attempts to stop him.
Richard Davis got a victory in 4th District Court on Thursday morning when Judge James Taylor refused to grant a preliminary injunction that would block Davis from excavating rocks from his land in Rock Canyon on the west side of Provo. It was the latest decision in a legal battle that’s raged for several years and involves a number of parties, including state Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, who is one of the parties being sued.
The injunction was premature, Taylor said, although Davis has applied for a conditional use permit from Provo city and has begun the application process for a permit from the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining to begin.
Michael Zundel, his attorney, said once the paperwork is in place, his client will move forward with the mining, which has halted in October 2003 when residents near Rock Canyon called the city in protest.
“If he gets the permits, he’ll mine,” Zundel said. “Whether he can get those permits while it’s still tied up in court, I suppose is a question.” (more…)
April 15th, 2006
Summit
Here is the final update for the First Annual Outdoors Triathlon. During this triathlon you will need to carry a pack that has the following:
- two liters of water
- an extra par of shoes (not sandals)
- an extra shirt
- extra pants
- a jacket
- a power bar or apple
- a camera
We will start at 9am at the pavilions at the mouth of Rock Canyon. 
From there you will ride your bikes to the drinking fountain (see picture) where we will have some to watch the bikes while you hike.
From there you are on foot. Hike to the first bridge but do not cross it. stay on the right side and follow the orange tags (see picture) that we have placed to mark the trail. You will follow this up a steep trail and eventually work you way West. There is some scrub oak along the way so I would recommend wearing pants. 
Eventually you will notice that the trail stops at the edge of a 200-foot-high cliff ban. We recommend that you harness up and take the rappel down that we will have set up for you. We will have some extra harnesses but I would recommend that you take your own harness and belay device so that you don’t have to wait for one. If you decide not to do the rappel you can hike down and still be a winner.
After the rappel you will hike down to the trail that you came up the canyon on. 
Once you hit this simply head down canyon until you reach your bikes. All you have to do then is hop on and cruse down to victory. There will be people hiking up the trail so be sure to be careful.
We invite you and you friends to attend, we will also try our hardest to make sure that you have a fun and safe time. We cannot, however, prevent every accident from happening, so by attending you realize that the triathlon has inherent risks and that you will not hold this site, BYU, or the BYU OAC presidency responsible. Thanks!
April 14th, 2006
Summit
We will meet on Saturday, April 15th at 9am by the pavilion at the mouth of Rock Canyon for our Outdoors Triathlon. During this triathlon you will need to carry a pack that has the following: two liters of water, an extra par of shoes (not sandals), an extra shirt, extra pants, a jacket, a power bar or apple, and a camera. If you don’t have these items you can still race but you will not be eligible to win.
You will start on your bike and ride up to a designated point about one mile up the canyon trail. From there you will get off your bike and hike a rough trail that goes up the mountain. This will last for about a mile and during this time we will have a rappel set up that you will have to go down. We will have a few harnesses and ATC’s available and they will be used on a first come, first serve basis. You can carry a harness and belay device with you if you do not want to risk waiting for people or for us to get the gear back up to the top. After the rappel, you will hike back to your bike and then ride it down the canyon to the finish line.
It will be fun and outdoorsy!
April 11th, 2006
Summit
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