Snow on the Summit

Snow is here and Donner Summit is clothed in a white wintery powder. The blessing is apparent to all the snow resorts, restaurants and snow-related retailers up on the summit. Finally, the snow is here building gradually. We're on our way up to Sugar Bowl this morning for a fun day of snowboarding and skiing with friends. Some of the teen rafting staff are on board today along with well-known sponsored skateboarders who have limited experience on the slopes. Liz will be giving some impromptu lessons to the neophytes.

Just remember that this is the snow that everyone will be on rafting and paddling come this springtime. Get in shape, get out on the slopes, the street or wherever, but just do.

The photo on the left was done by Big Poppa after last months rainstorms. The side creeks, tributaries and waterfalls were flowing. Each winter, we wait for the spring runoff...

Come paddle this spring on the North Fork American. W.E.T. River Trips wishes you a happy holiday and a safe vacation recreating outdoors. See you in 2007!

Big Brother

He was always ahead of you... always the benchmark. He couldn't help it. He was older and you looked up to him in more ways than one. At 6'4", he rose above you. You at 5'8". And through school, from 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th... senior year... the teachers compared you with him. He was on the dean's list; you barely made 3.0. He's now a doctor. You're an entrepreneur...

We'll see each other this Christmas. We'll all have drinks in the living room. Chit chat chit chat and then the guard comes down and your'e reminiscing over your youth. Remember that time when we rode our bikes down... it doesn't matter how the story goes. It's as universal as mankind. Your family connects you. They are the only people who really know you.

We did a river trip together a few years ago. A short trip, only 2 days or so. Just two men enjoying the water. Rafting and paddling through waves. That night, on the beach, we talked as two men. Small slights were forgotten as we gazed upward to a million stars. We talked through the night.

The ritual of breaking bread with a family... it's that same feeling. Gathering this Christmas night with young and old. Good food. Good family. We come together as a tribe of people with all sorts of foibles. All sorts of stories. Be patient. We must be patient and understand each other...

Then the night wears on and everyone sits down to this gourmand meal. We share food and memories and each other. He, once again, becomes the big brother. You become that small boy who admired him and loved him. Though pangs of jealousy may haunt us, we don't let it come between us anymore. Not on Christmas...