Hau'oli Makakhiki Hou! Happy New Year!

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! = Happy New Year! I hope this holiday season finds you and yours happy, healthy, and creating a life you love aka “Vitality at every age and stage.” In 2022, I did get some bucket list travel done by visiting Nepal and hiking into the famed Khumbu Valley, home of Sagarmatha (Mt Everest). In April we followed in the footsteps of famous climbers and trekked part of that trail. John (NP classmate and a favorite traveling companion) and I joined a group of ten for this trek. Our guide was Gary - with whom we previously hiked in the Dolomites. Three Sherpas guided and guarded us. Our bags were carried by jōkpë: a cow/yak cross, that is larger than a cow but more docile than a yak. So we hiked with lighter day packs and enjoyed the views. Our lodges were part of a new franchise on the route, Yeti Mountain Homes. Our rooms were private with hot showers but only when the sun shone sufficiently for solar hot water. At some point around 15,000 feet elevation, the trail curves around the spine of a mountain and the upper valley is visible all the way to Sagarmatha (Mt Ev). The famed Temboche Gumpa (monastery) was ahead on the right and Ama Dablam hung over that side of the valley. The Lhotse ridge hid Nuptse to the left. Sagarmatha took center stage, cloud plume blowing off her summit. Lohtse on the right. It was breathtaking - the best moment of my trip. All my training seemed to payoff. I walked 6-8 miles daily with light backpack and ankle weights. Additionally, I hiked in the Sierra, at altitude weekly. That translated into a very pleasant trip. In late June I did a horse packing trip into the Emigrant Wilderness, just north of the Yosemite border. It was peak mosquito season and the only thing I will say about the trip is that I would rather walk 15 miles than ride them. Early August, I joined with a group of 22 Chinese people on a 3-day pilgrimage to climb Sing Peak, on the southern Yosemite National Park (NP) border. Tai Sing was a famous hi-country chef who cooked for the historic Mather Mountain Party of 1915 (google it) at the inception of the National Parks system. There were many Chinese people that worked in the areas now known as Yosemite, Sequoia, and King’s Canyon NPs; their story is now being told in Yosemite NP. It was a fun trip and all the youngins usually spoke several dialects of Chinese! I’m sooo jealous! Of course I volunteered in Yosemite for a week and we camped in my new, favorite campground = White Wolf. It was a historic summer home for the indigenous Miwok and Awahneechee tribes - and trust me, they occupied all the best places. Lots of ground rock grindstones near the river and bat caves nearby. For the 3rd year I worked on Tuolumne Meadows restoration and learned to use a 100-year-old cross cut saw - mannn it almost cut on its own; through downed tree trunks like butdah. Lastly, in December John and I met friends in Joshua Tree NP - a designated “dark sky” area in the USA. We happened to be there during the Geminids Meteor Shower. Yowza! Shooting stars every 10-15 seconds! And man it was cold. I slept with my 20-degree sleeping bag inside another bag. I tore out my front lawn this year and put in a drought-tolerant, low-water-use, Asian garden. Still planting - but the gist is in. I continue to play ukulele and my band combined with my ukulele teachers band for summer and Christmas gigs. So fun! Best books Bacon read in 2022: Kareem Abdul Jabar is a devout Holmesian and is co-writing prequels to the Sherlock Holmes novels penned by Sir Conan Doyle. They are very true to Holmes history and are delightful in every way. I’ve become a KAJ fan. American Scandal is my fave 2022 podcast. I have lived through many of these “scandals” but lacked details and did not follow them to conclusion. It covers subjects like Iran/Contra, Theranos, Edward Snowden, Hare Krishna, Waco, Exon Valdez, etc. Super, super interesting. What’s on tap for 2023? The Jane and Bill descendants are descending into Kaneohe this spring. It will be good to see ev’body. Plus I NEED some humidity! Hope to volunteer in Yosemite again this summer. The application process begins in mid-January. The price of gas kept me from driving/camping to the East Coast for fall colors. I may attempt that in fall 2023. Dems da highlights! E Hookaulana (celebrate) 2023 by creating a life you love. With love and much Aloha ~Lorin