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 ...

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....

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 ...

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 q...

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 L...