Lost Boys & Co.

  Lost Boys & Co... W ell, here in the Boise Alps it's snowing just like you'd imagine.  Honestly, we're not really used to this kind of thing so we've kind of been watching it fall in an hypnotic stupor... A bit cloudy this morning with 5 miles visibility.  Winds are out of the ESE at 6.1kts and the sea surface is smooth.  Looks like we might get some rain this afternoon, if not earlier.  The air temp is 57.5 and the water is 60.3.  High tide is at 5:35am +4.9' and low tide will follow at 12:32pm 1.0'. We have a 3.3' swell out of the SW 236 and it's 3' and some occasional bumps to make it interesting...  Once we figure out how to attach some pics, we'll show you what we've got going here in the frozen north.  Until then, get your holiday shopping done, catch a few waves and remember, we'll be celebrating New Year's Eve at the Laurel Tavern... "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it" The Professor!!

Lost Boys & Co... S o we thought this sign atop the Pine's Market in Bass Lake said it all!  Season's greetings to everyone everywhere.  As usual you were brilliant this year, even when YOU didn't think so... C loudy skies this morning and a mile visibility.  Rain is in the forecast so have your umbrella at the ready.  Winds were offshore by 5.1kts and the sea surface was smooth to glassy.  The air temperature was 55.2 and the water is 58.6.  Low tide was at 10:31am +2.0' and high tide will be at 3:49pm +3.4'.  We have a 1.6' west swell out of 275º and it was bending into some nice little lefts and long skaty rights off the Hermosa Pier.  After yesterday being so flat, we thought Capitan Donaldo was putting us on when he said there were some nice ones.  Nobody was out.  Maybe they all looked at the camera and didn't see anything.  So it was small, but there were some nice ones!  And only 6 people out!  For the record Frankie Volk was there on his new Ch

Lost Boys & Co... T o say we were impressed with the food and service would be an understatement.  One of the more civilized perks were the hot towels and steaming cups of coca tea.  Before you'd leave your sleeping bag the porters would deliver the basin with hot water and be brewing your tea.  So, you're thinking, coca = cocaine.  No, no, no!  Not quite sure how much coca you'd need to make a snort of cocaine, but probably a bunch.  An average cup of tea might have 5 to 10 leaves, depending on the size of the leaves.  As far as we could tell it wasn't as strong as a good cup of coffee.  It also didn't make you skip up the trail or leap over tall boulders...  That was kind of a letdown... A beautiful morning with nary a cloud in the sky and 20+ miles visibility.  Winds were out of the northeast by 3.7kts and the sea surface was glassy.  The air temperature was a relatively warm 53.0 and the water dropped a couple to 58.3.  Low tide was at 9:02am +2.4' and

Lost Boys & Co... G etting closer to the top, it was getting cooler and damper with the clouds scudding around the peaks.  Some rather impressive peaks kept looming out of the mist, like this one in photo #1. V isibility is a quarter of a mile and cloudy rainy skies.  Winds were predominantly out of the west but might blow up your skirt from any direction from 20 to 25kts.  The air temp was 59.9 and the water is still 60.6.  High tide was at 10:08am +6.4' and low tide will follow at 5:19pm -1.0'.  We have an increasing swell out of the west 268º at 5.2', but that's increasing hourly and by this evening it should be around 10'.  It was 5' to 8' at checkout this morning...  #4 gives you an idea.  Not looking like your perfect day at the beach, but it has a lot of character... I n #2 Buck is sensing that we're getting closer to the summit.  The last quarter of a mile is pretty much up the side of the mountain, to the notch between the peaks and down the

Lost Boys & Co... W e were wondering why guides are always described as "intrepid."  It turns out the being intrepid involves, endurance, fortitude and resolute fearlessness.  That seemed to describe our guide Iban, to a tee, other than the "resolute" fearlessness.  He was merely fearless.  Photo #1 gives you some idea of the steepness of this part of the trail... W aiting on the rain.  We refuse to buy into "Storm Watch!"  3 miles visibility and cloudy.  Light winds out of the NW by 2kts and the sea surface is smooth.  The air temp was 58.3 and the water is holding at 60.4.  We have high tide at 9:21am +6.9' and low tide will follow at 4:31pm -1.4'.  Although there's a weak NW swell out of 292º it's barely 1' and is most commonly known as the "calm before the storm."  Rain tonight and tomorrow morning, with an increasing swell.  Maybe rideable Saturday and most likely Sunday... P hoto #2 shows our happy little band posing

Lost Boys & Co... #1 is pretty early on in the hike.  A lot of the trail is original Inca stonework laid out conveniently, but not overly manicured.  Over the years since the discovery of Machu Picchu the farmers and porters have put things together on the trail for their own safety and advantage.   Llamas can only carry about 40lbs, so they've considered who and what was going to be moving along the trail.  Some horses, burros, but mainly people...  The trail continues through the notch and over the peak in the background... H azy sun this morning with 7 miles visibility.  No wind and glassy seas.  The air temperature was 55.5 and the water is 60.6.  High tide was at 8:37am +7.1' and low tide will be at 3:44pm -1.8'.  We have a waning swell from the west 265º at 2.0' and it's 1' and breaking right on shore.  Maybe some little ones when the tide gets lower... B uck takes a selfie in #2.  Lots of sun on the second day and quite a bit of climbing.  Buck is st

Lost Boys & Co... O kay, so we all have our moments of kookdom...  In photo #1 we have an excellent example of several things that tip us off that we're dealing with your basic "Kookus Mookus."  See how many you can get...* C loudy this morning with 5 miles visibility.  Winds were light onshore by 2kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was 58.3 and the water is 61.0.  Biggest tidal swing of the week today with high tide at 7:53am +7.1' and low tide will be at 2:58pm -1.5'.  We  barely have a WSW swell out of 258º at a reported 2.0', but by all accounts it's flat... I n photo #2 we have lunch on the trail.  Our chef Leonardo worked veritable miracles all while hiking with us on the trek.  Leonardo was a trained culinary chef and after a couple of years working in restaurants in Cuzco, he longed to get back on the trail.  So now he chef's for Alpaca Tours where he can still cook and hike to boot... #3 Here we have Leonardo in the

Lost Boys & Co... T he man, the myth, the legend...  Yes, it's been a year since Danger Boy took off on that outside and showed us how you ride it when it's steep, and crazy, and it takes as much as you've got...  Not a day goes by that we're pulling out of the drive headed to the beach that he doesn't pop into our heads...  He's riding 'em somewhere... C all us crazy, but...  Yeah, it started out looking like it was a day without even a possibility, then it just kept getting better.  Onshore from the get-go by almost 3kts and the sea surface was smooth despite the breeze.  5 miles visibility and cloudy, with some occasional sun.  The air temperature was 58.1 and the water is 60.4.  Big tide swings with high tide at 7:11am +6.9' and low tide at 2:13pm -1.2'.  Full moon tomorrow starting with a +7.1'am tide...  We have a 2.6' WSW swell out of 257º and it was 3' with some nice corners tipping the sand bars...  Make sure the boat's t

Lost Boys & Co... W ho said, "The longest journey starts with the first step"?  Well, everybody says it, but actually it helps if you get plane reservations, spend hours in airports and exercise some patience waiting in all those lines.  It also helps if you buy some hiking boots, fancy zip-away pants and get some poles.  Then again if you're Capitan Donaldo you can do it in shorts and flip-flops...  #1 is LoLa at the first bridge we came to.  "When you get to the first bridge, cross it..." 5 miles visibility this morning with mostly sunny skies.  Winds are offshore by 3.6kts and the sea surface is smooth.  The air temp was 48.9 and the water is holding at 60.9.  Low tide was at 10:56am +1.7' and high tide will follow at 4:29pm +3.8'.  It was 1' to 2' and pretty small, but a fun corner here and there... B uck, LoLa and the Professor take a moment to smile for the camera.  The trees framing the shot are eucalyptus and are not native to the ar

Lost Boys & Co... H ere is our intrepid trio getting ready to begin the hike up, over, across, sideways and down on the Inka Trail.   Five days and 26 miles later we'd reach Machu Picchu the first "Lost City" of the Incas.  We say "first" lost city, because once Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu, he became obsessed with the idea that there was another city even more lost...  We were actually in pretty good spirits despite the news that the first pass we'd summit on day two at 13,779' is called "Dead Woman's Pass."  The Professor suggested it might play better if it were called "El Condor Passa."  No one laughed and the name remains... R edondo had a surf contest against South High this morning and took the Spartans down 103 to 65.  This felt especially good since South beat Redondo last year.  There was 5 miles visibility under hazy sun and winds were offshore by 3.0kts.  The sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature wa

Lost Boys & Co...   S o, the famous Morgalini invited us to join this morning and take a look at her new boyfriend (read: surfboard.)  Well he was pretty damned fabulous and for sure we were jelly, but hey, we came to surf!  So the Professor takes off on this nice little peeler, goes from the pier bowl to the end of the berm.  Nice.  Then there's this little left.  Doesn't hold up very long, but he gets a nice chop off the bottom.  Looks like he's resonating with the conditions...  Not so fast.  #3 swings through and he knuckles both feet and does a head-dip in the middle of this four footer and faceplants.  Things like this happen...  He shakes it off and #4 looms up sweet and fast and swings around and takes four paddles on a five paddle wave.  He goes over the falls like a guy from Riverside throwing a crab net into a shallow hole.  Meanwhile Morgalini is catching wave after perfect wave, hanging toes and in general showing us how it's done...  Some days you'

Lost Boys & Co... T his little girl's mom has the weaving concession at the llama farm we visited.  She probably sells a few weavings a day.  On the other hand she dresses up her daughter in these traditional clothes and makes a mint from the photos the tourists take of her.  LoLa got her attention by asking some questions about her doll.  When she stood still, SHE looked like a doll... A bit of the fogginess this morning with a quarter of a mile visibility.  Winds were light out of the SE by 2.3kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was 48.7 and the water is 61.2.  Low tide was at 6:20am +3.1' and high tide will be at 12:01pm +4.5'.  We have a west swell out of 269º at 3.3' and it was better than that at 3' to 5' with some nice corners... W e went to a village where most of the inhabitants are involved in raising alpacas, llamas and vicuñas, preparing the wool or making the clothing.  This lady (wearing one of those cool frisbee hats tha

Lost Boys & Co... O kay, so as the parade got closer to the end, it got progressively wilder.  Not even quite sure what to call these guys, other than they were some embroidered take on drum majors.  Their epaulets stuck out about a foot on each side and they whirled and danced while leading a troop of high school dancers... W indy this morning from the north starting around 5kts and gusting to 15 by the afternoon.  Mostly clear skies and the air temp was a cool 44.6, while the ocean is now 59.2.  High tide was at 9:47am +5.6' and low tide will follow at 5:13pm -0.1'.  We have a west swell out of 275º at 4.3' and although there was a bit of a bump it was 4' to 5' and just a tad ragged... S o we struck out from Cuzco into the hinterlands and investigated some of the Incan ruins.  This site was built over the crater of a meteor strike and the Inca's terraced it to create several micro-climates.  On the lower rungs they grew corn, in the middle they grew squash

Lost Boys & Co... G reat times in El Salvador like always, but there comes a time when you have to move on.  Rather than head back north and home with the rest of the crew, a few of us decided that we had to make the trek further south.  And this time it was Peru and the Inca Trail.  Now if you think you can just fly into Cuzco and run up the hill to Machu Picchu, you've got another think coming.  So we decided it would be prudent to spend a few days in Cuzco just to get acclimated.  Cuzco is at 11,500 and that takes a bit of acclimatization...  So we drank coca tea, slept in the first day and half of the second and finally on the second afternoon we ventured out.  #1 is a panorama of LoLa on the Plaza de Armas, the main plaza (of several) in Cuzco.  It turns out that we just happened to arrive on the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, who is one of the patrons of Cuzco.  Quite a fiesta, with the entire town turning out in fine fashion... D espite the calendar being behind seve

Lost Boys & Co... O n the Lost Boys last trip to El Salvador we managed to slip in an extra day at Lago de Guija.  Near Metapan, we spent our time boating over to Guatemala for brunch, stand-up paddling, eating pupusas, drinking designer cocktails courtesy of Beto, playing dominoes and basically unplugging.  In this photo Buck and the Professor took a late afternoon paddle to work up an appetite for dinner... F ew clouds this morning and 15 miles visibility.  Winds were off by 3.3kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was a chilly 44.7 and the water is 60.6.  High tide was at 8:46am +5.9' and low tide was at 3:58pm -0.3'.  We have a diminishing west swell out of 268º at 3.0' and it was 2' to 4' and fair to good depending on your location... T he pier in La Libertad is home to the best fresh fish market we've ever seen.  Certainly the largest variety of of fish, shellfish, crustaceans and other tasty edibles from the sea.  It was here that t

Lost Boys & Co... S o here we have the crew getting ready to take the last leg of the hike to the falls!  From L. to R. we have Tan-Tan Peña, Morgalini, Capitan Donaldo, LoLa, Elsa, Ché, Mariella, Buck, Rosie, Morena and Jetski. 15 miles visibility this morning with mostly clear skies.  Winds were out of the east by 5.0kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was 48.8 chilly degrees and the water is still above 60 at 61.0.  High tide is at 8:18am +6.0' and low tide will be at 3:24pm -0.3'.  We have a west swell out of 267º at 4.3' and it was a solid 4' to 5' with some fatter outsides.  Not quite as big as yesterday, but some good shape... C ontrary to popular belief LoLa did not swim up the falls to the top...  She and Morgalini are contemplating the relatively cool water... J etski and his own Indo/El Salvador shot.  By this time he was synching into the waves (not sinking) and had a lock on some of these peelers.  He wasn't happy about the