Moab, Utah

Wow, has it really been 3 months since my last blog?! I must be having too much fun in residency! This year has really flew by fast! I only have 5 more weeks left. I have 2 vacations during these last few weeks, and the first one is to Moab... here is my story:

Far far away from residency and the beach and home, I have found myself in the midst of a ton of red rock formations. The stress and fast pace of residency seemed to be a million mile away, 783 miles to be exact. Why did I come? AWLS! Advanced Wilderness Life Support course. This course taught me how to do wilderness patient assessment, treatment, and rescue. A short list of topics are: avalanche, climbing, altitude sickness, infections, burns, lighting, drowning, fractures/dislocations, bites and stings, water disinfection, hypo/hyperthermia, frostbites, ENT, and lots of hands on wilderness scenarios...

Our teachers consist of 3 ER docs in the special forces in the Army, a couple of docs who are professional rescuers, and other Wilderness Medical Society members. We learned in the classroom and out in the field. We also had a few evening sessions taught by various experts... one of note is Greg Child, who is a world expert climber and mountaineer. He did a presentation of his climb on K2 in 1990. Imagine being on 28000 feet climbing without ropes or oxygen! He is definitely of a different genetic make up than I.


A picture of K2, bordering Pakistan and China... the 2nd tallest peak in the world.

Pictures of Arches National Park:
So, of course, when I am not in class, this is where I am... I hiked 12.5 miles in Arches the first day and then few more the other days, and end with 3 hours of hike in the Fiery Furnance on my last day there. Here are some pictures...

The Landscape Arch, longest one, longer than the football field and only about 6 feet thick at the thinnest spot. Kept going on this hike took me to the Partition Arch that gave me 2 beautiful window views to the vally below.

Walking on top of a 'fin'... these verticle sheet of red rock are called fins... the tops of these fins are made of sand stone and the base layer is something harder and less water penetrable. So, as water travel from top to bottom through the middle of the sand stone, it gets collected at the bottom and eventually erode away a 'puddle' of sand stone forming an Arch.

The Delicate Arch: unofficial symbol of Utah. It is very tall!

Driving around, I found and will name this one the Whale Rock! And my camp.

Petroglyphs, or rock art, are found in various places on the canyon walls. Some are of styles that are consistant with time periods between 5,500 BC to 1,880 AD. Here I am point to a picture of a woman giving birth...

More rock art and a pair of dinosaur foot tracks... interesting?!

Continue on... here is a Mesa Arch at Canyonlands, and Double Arch at Arches.

"Islands in the Sky" at Canyonlands National Park.

Biking at Slickrock Trail:

In between, I did at 12.7 mile bike ride in Slickrock Trail... This is what is posted at the trailhead: "The Slickrock Trail is physically demanding and technically difficult. Although the main trail is 'only' about 12.7 miles long (out and back to the trailhead), you should allow 4 to 5 hours to complete the trail. Riders should also be aware that there is no bike route more challenging in the entire Moab area. Injuries are fairly common here; unfortunately, some of them have been quite serious. The Slickrock Trail is to be approached with respect."

Coolest offroad vehicle! Ever!

Me and the snowcapped LaSal mountains behind me; also the Colorado River...

My Action Shots...

Hiking inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches. I named this the "Thumb Up" rock... you see it?

Wedged in the crack...

Surprise Arch and the Goggle Arch... just right around the corner of this hike...

Lastly, we cannot leave without talking about this Cryptobiotic Soil... These little bumps are made up of cyanobacteria, fungus and other micro-organisms. It creates a structure to hold water and moister and produces nitrogen fixation so the plants can grow in the desert sand. Without it, there would be no obvious life. So, don't step on it! This patch probably is about 250 years old!

So, I hope you've enjoyed my pictures... I am determined to learn more about wilderness rescue and my role as the medical provider. Stay tuned...

The BEST SNOW on Earth --- Utah!

Ok, seriously, Utah?! Yeah, the "greatest snow on Earth." I wasn't sure how it is going to compare to the French Alps, such as Val d'Isere and Espace Killy, but, let me tell you, I was impressed! 2 friends, Michelle and Adam, and I warmed up at Brighton and then progressed to Snowbird and then Solitude. We snowboarded for 3 straight days and then wrapped it up with one day of cross country skiing at the Nordic Center at Solitude!


Snowbird is the hardest terrain I have ever snowboarded in... I wish I am better... I wish I can fly off the trail like a bird... I wish I can work the moguls... I wish I can telemark these trails...

Solitude really is solitude. There are less people here and the runs are wide and groomed. We spent a day here to our hearts' content and then another day at the Nordic Center learning how to cross country ski. So, learning the freedom of cross country ski, with the glide motion, and skiing on bent knees made me wanted to learn how to TELEMARK...


So, this is my next goal. I am gonna learn how to do this. This looks so cool and almost like flying... so free. If you want to see what I will be doing when I master this, here is the video (click on the pictures above to see some videos of it). Doesn't that looks so much fun?!

Here are some pictures of our trip:

My personal record: 11 thousand feet and 4 degrees F, on top of SNOWBIRD!

Thanks to Adam, who took these pictures...

My ride: Lib Tech Banana Technology with Magna Traction and some Burton Cartel bindings and boots.

Making snow angel on my 'pillow top feather snow bed'

'Hidden Peak' on top of SNOWBIRD: 11 thousand feet and 4 degrees!

Michelle and I taking the tram down after a long day, while Adam is shredding down some double diamond unmarked clift.

Learning and falling on the frozen lake... withe my cross country ski teacher, Bonnie.

Michelle and Adam skiing in style!

Racing into the village... come catch me if you can!

The signs says "Watch out for Moose," and here are some Moose tracks... I think we are close... I think its watching us!

All I have to say is: WE WILL BE BACK!

Juvenile Hall

Today i visited the juvenile facility in Ventura county. They house a few hundred deliquent kids there at one time. Most stay a few month, some stay 2 years. Kids who ended up there for many reasons, from skipping school, to drug possession, to stealing cars, to murder. Kids who visit there quite often pretty much get 'institutionalized'. They get everything done for them as long as they can obey the rules. They get work, school, 3 meals a day, recreational classes, shower, laundry, and visitation rights when they are in there..... Let me tell ya, that is a heck of a lot more than what a lot of them could muster up on their own. It is like a 'free lunch' every time they are in there... I don't see why they wouldn't want to come back, as long as they can put up with people telling them what to do and also living within the wired fenced walls and locked gates.

Now, ideally, we would like to rehab these kids to become contributing part of society and that they can make a living and pour back their monies back into our economy... instead of costing hard earned tax-payer dollars... but, if all these kids are getting seemed to 'institutionalize' them, they do eventually become a social burden.

What do we do?

Just learned i can mobile update my blog. This is a test.

What's new?

1. I just found a really cool website, you have to check it out. All the music is free!
http://www.takenoglory.com/ or takenoglory.blogspot.com

2. My new favorite movie is AVATAR - 3D. I want to fall in love again. I want to jump into that world. I am so overstimulated mentally, emotionally, and sensually. If you haven't seen the movie, my advice to you is: 1. don't look at any previews, trailers, or listen to other people talking about it, 2. go see it for yourself.

Dragon Fruit

Exotic fruit:
This is a dragon fruit... it grows out of a cactus like plant. My parents planted it a few years back and here is the first and only fruit this year! It looks like nothing I can describe on the outside, and the inside looks like a white Kiwi... tasted juicy with mild sweetness!

Here, have an ancient dragon fruit!

Look at the intricacy of its design!

1/1/10 What a beautiful sunset... looking out my window!

Happy New Years 2010 from Ventura, CA. Right outside my window. Here is the sun setting behind the Santa Cruz Island.