Cameron got me up at the crack of dawn. We ate and hopped in the car. On the drive to the park we decided to go about 40 miles into the park to the start of a trail we had heard about on this blog Cameron found. I now think these people were a little nuts. But they engineered a route with a difficult climb to an already extremely difficult hike, only backwards. That’s right all the guides tell you to go up one way – ’cause it’s easier – and down the other. But no, we did just the opposite.

I will tell you this: it was one of the more difficult physical activities I have ever done. The start is about 5 miles of decent terrain along an old fire road which descends about 1600 ft in elevation. You then arrive at the start of the Old Rag trailhead which takes you back up another 1600 ft of elevation over 1.5 miles. The climb up is a great hike through beautiful and well footed trails. But then it gets caaarazy. You literally are forced to mountaineer your way through Category 3 hiking terrain (it would have been handy to have a rope) which requires some serious sliding down rock faces, sliding around boulders, and very clever free climbing. Don’t worry… there was never a point when we could have seriously been hurt but I bet a couple climbers a day suffer some foot fractures if not a nice tib-fib. You should have seen some of the people attempting this. We were going against the ‘recommended route’ so passed a ton of people around the crest. We waited often 5-10 minutes for one person to attempt what we found a rather simple maneuver – these were not the most adept climbers and it took them nearly 3 times longer to do it ‘the easy way’ than we did.

How do we know this? Because we saw them on the other side. Because once you get through the boulders (now 8 miles of hard work in) you climb down the other side for 2.5 miles and then complete the circle back to beginning of the Old Rag trail head, another 3 miles. We then had the rest of the once easy hike to climb back up to get to the car. This entailed a very serious, steep hike over at least 4 of the remaining 5 miles. Oh my goodness. I seriously frumped when I realized how much further we had to go. But Cameron kept me positive and after a sulking mile or so I perked up and finished with pride.

Yes, this amounted to over 18 miles of hiking over serious freaking terrain. And we did it in 6 hours! We were hauling some serious ass. That’s an average of 3mph with stops and climbing.

On the drive home we stopped at a gas station for provisions. It took me about 10 minutes to unfold myself from the car and hobble into the store.

Nevertheless, we arrived home a short while ago feeling refreshed and eager for a good meal.

Of course, the man I am referring to is none other than the Republican Presidential candidate. A man who, apparently, can’t remember his own policies long enough that he has to jot reminders to himself before the debate begins. There is an amount of strategy to these debates. They are tests in a way. But mostly tests of performance that allow the candidates to clear up any confusion about their platform. One expects that a candidate is well versed in his own policies and does not need a set of bold-faced bullet points to remember.

I have several theories on this strange behavior. The first is the age issue. Too few crosswords Mr. McCain? Perhaps he simply needs a little memory jogging. And while that’s all fine and good it’s not something I look for in  a nation’s representative. Theory #2: anger management. Remember the first debate when he looked scary and evil all the time. It seems he has a perpetual sneer when otherwise unoccupied. Maybe he was told to “appear to take notes” so the camera couldn’t catch his facial expressions as Obama spoke. And notice that when he wasn’t writing he stood awkwardly, shiftily in the corner. I half expected him to tackle Obama to the ground. And last but not least – he could have just been doodling. President McCain. Mr. President McCain. President Maverick McCain. I heart Mavericks…

The Harriet Miers nomination was seen as a joke, an insult, even to members of the Republican party. She had no experience as a judge and a short, poor performance in the court room. She was not impressive by any means and was only considered for the position for two reasons: she was a cronny and she was a woman. She was also fiercely conservative.

Sound familiar? Sarah Palin is a cronny, with deep ties to the oil industry. She is a woman. And the woman component of this election cannot be underestimated. She is also fiercely conservative. Miers was anti-abortion. Palin is anti-abortion. Miers was pro-gun. Palin is pro-gun, pro-rifle, pro-moose slaying, pro-helicopter assisted wolf/moose/whatever slaying… Miers was totally unqualified. Palin is hopelessly unqualified. Republicans were embarassed by Miers. Republicans are so ashamed of Palin they’re considering switching parties. One wonders where the Repulican party comes up with these winners.

The only difference is this: Palin is so unabashadely assured of herself that she may just pull the proverbial wool over our eyes. That and, oh yeah, there is no quality-control committee assigned to ensure her qualifications. I’ll tell you one thing – if Governor Palin was a lawyer nominated for a position on the Supreme Court she’d have been forced to resign her position a long time ago.

This year’s political campaign has raised this issue in a prolific manner. Overt racism is notably less common but, as Kristof argues, aversive racism has taken its place. For example, I may think that I view all races as equals but I may unwittingly prefer one over another. Kristof points out that many whites in America, who see the two candidates as equally appropriate for the presidency still prefer McCain, claiming that Obama has ‘less experience.’ They may not know why Obama seems less fit but there is something. This something is their subconscious racism.

I have experienced something similar, but different. The claim is not that Obama is less experienced but that “America is not ready for a black president” even though “I am.” And, therefore, there’s no use in voting for someone who isn’t going to win anyway. This I think is an easy justification for the people who find it unnerving that they dislike a black president when, all along, they considered themselves progressive pro-equality activists. I am disturbed by this. My hope – that this is a rare disposition. And I plead to those who recognize this in themselves: question your feelings and take a chance. You don’t have much to lose.

Of course, I must also mention my mother-in-law’s fabulous performance of 1:19:49. Go Kristi!

Ever heard of this guy? Probably not, unless you’re a teenage girl or you’vebeen reading about the new movie The Rocker with Rainn Wilson (of The Office fame). But this guy’s got talent. Check out his website and, I think this is pretty cool, you can listen to all of his music on the site’s Radio.

I remember when I first read about blogging. I was a freshman at McGill, on my spring vacation in Florida. The Sun Sentinel published a piece about this crazy new thing where people publish their writings on the internet. The story was a bit cynical and scathing and led me to wonder why in the world anyone would want others to read about their personal lives. Keep in mind this was also the beginning of reality TV, an interesting, not-coincidental association that I will have to come back to at another time. The idea of the personal as public was discomforting to say the least. As with all new things the public was initially skeptical. And, though the bloggers featured in this particular story were meant to be representatives of this new ‘artform’ they were not exactly nouveau bohemian writers of witty prose. The majority of bloggers at the time used the internet as a means of public confession. Many wrote about their evenings of debauchery, with pictures to boot, or their seemingly endless break-ups, get-back-togethers and cheatings in between. They had a very strong and dedicated following of readers who reveled in others’ misfortunes. They were probably the same crowd that kept Temptation Island on the air for more than one episode.

Things have changed. Blogging has morphed into a new form of literary expression that at times borders on the brilliant and artistic. I cannot say the same for reality TV. Perhaps it will get there some day. People have made careers by their blogs. Many have used it as an in to formal publishing. The internet has democratized the writing industry. Everyone can take a chance at being the next post-modern, stream of conscious poster-child.

This once laughed at idea has really caught on. And, it seems, I’ve caught the bug.