Randall Blaum Back From the Edge Film Blog

The Road Back

I was off the hiking trail for a few days because of my back.   Just a tweak, but wanted to make sure I was good to go.  Yesterday I went on a several mile hike and took Patrick, one of my cinematographers with me.  He got a bit pooped and we shot about an hour's worth of footage.  I am going to be creating a video and still photo journal of my adventure as well as writing things in this blog.

I spoke to Ka-Yu today from AltitudeTech, the people that are loaning me the high altitude tent.  I've been sleeping at 6,000 feet the last couple of days and tonight I go to 8,000 feet.  If all goes well at this altitude, we'll notch it up.  Ka-Yu says that I should notice more weight loss over the next few weeks as I move up in altitude.  He says I can lose 10 pounds just by using the tent.  We'll see.  I have found that on the hike I did this weekend, that I was not as out of breath as I had been on the same hike, even though I had taken a few days off.  Also my Tae Kwon Do seems easier to stay at 100% for a longer period of time.

Might just be my imagination, but there seems to be a performance difference already. 

See you on the mountain-

Randall

5000 Feet and Climbing

Two nights in the altitude tent and I'm still here to report on the adventure.  Last night, there were no wierd dreams and I slept the night trough like a rock.  Theer were no wierd dreams and no rushing heart beats. 

The air is thin at 5000 feet, but tomorrow night I'll move to 6 or 7.  We'll see what happens.  I'm going on a long hike tomorrow with som weight in the pack. 

Be well and have a good night.

Randall

Tent City - USA

This is just plain weird.  Yesterday I received a huge tent that high altitude climbers use to acclimate themselves to higher altitudes before they start climbing.  Since I am going to the base camp at Mount Everest, at 17,000 feet, this sounded like a good idea for me, too.

The tent is from AltitudeTech at www.altitudetech.ca and they are helping sponsor the MMATT movie by giving Werner and I these tents to use prior to our departure.  Last night was the first night I spent in the tent and as you can see by the photos, it's spacious, for a tent, but it's weird.  I felt like "bubble boy".

The tent works like this:  You set the generator to whatever altitude level you want and make sure the filters are in the tent.  The filers thin out the oxygen in the tent to match the altitude level you want o be at/  Last night I slept at 5000 feet and I'll do so again for the next few days.  By the time I leave I'll be sleeping at 12,000+ feet so I'll be ready for the hike to base camp.

The movie is coming along and Werner, David and I are having our next in person production meeting in a couple of weeks.  Just prior to leaving Werner, Griber (the DP) and I will get together for a production meeting and then we'll be off on our 33.5 hour journey to Nepal.

We'll be taking some of the travel time to sleep, but will also have a production meeting as we begin filming the day after we arrive (no rest for the weary).  This project is so exciting to me and I have been training as much as I can.  A few days ago, I twisted my back in Tae Kwon Do so I had a few days rest.  I test for my green belt with the black stripe on Friday, so time is ticking away.

Be well and I'll see you later-

Randall

Hiking the Water Tower

Yesterday it was raining so I decided not to hike the volcanic plug as the rocks were slippery.  I decided to hike to what is known as the water tower and did about 4 miles in 70 minutes.  This time I also added 5 pounds of baked beans to my pack and at the end of the hike I didn't really feel like the pack was heavy. Next time I'll add some more weight.

Last night I began my respiratory training and began using a device called Ultrabreathe.  It's a small device that you put in your mouth and by closing a small aperture, you make it harder to breath, thereby forcing your lungs to work harder.  Very interesting.

Today I'll be doing another hike of about 4 - 5 miles to continue to condition my endurance.  I'll be going up hill for about the first 2 miles and then rolling hills for the remainder.

Be well and good health to you all-
Randall

Adding the pack and Cuttin' the time

Yesterday was the first day I put on the "real" pack. It weighs about 7 pounds or so. No I was told I'd have to haul about 35 pounds on the trek to Everest and back.  My question is... Is this 35 pounds including the weight of the pack?  Hmmm.

Anyway, I did the volcanic plug again, about three miles, and was able to cut 10 minutes off my RT time.  Not bad for the first time with a pack.  In a few places I felt the pack and my legs hurt more than I expected, but overall, no problem.

Last night at Tae Kwon Do, however, I really began feeling the amount of use my legs are getting.  It took a while to stretch out and get in the groove.  Last night I also received my blue stripe, which means I'm almost ready to test for my next belt, a green belt with a black stripe.  I'm a green belt now.  The higher the belt the harder the tests and the longer it takes you to "get it right."  A lot like life it seems.

Today is the easy day with TKD tonight and tomorrow a short hike with a long hike on the weekend with the pack and adding a few pounds. 

Be well-

Randall

On a Clear Day You Can See L.A.

I have been working hard these past few days on the volcanic plug and today I drove to LA to do a 7-mile hike with two great people, Sean and Lana Hinchey.  Sean is known as the lifestyle expert when it comes to dealing with breakups including, divorce, jobs, relationships and the like.  He has written a book, Backpacking Through Divorce (www.banpakcingthroughdivorce.com) and is an avid hiker as well.

Sean and Lana turned me onto this hike and a new type of treasure hunting in the process.  It's called "GeoCache" and what you do is take a portable GPS with you and find different caches (lock box full of goodies) all round the country that have been placed there by other geocachers.  There's a note pad to sign inside the box and you leave somehting in the box and take something with you.  This is Sean and I looking in the lock box that he placed here with the Pacific Ocean behind us.  This is a cool way to see new places and find unique treasures.  Today we left a trinket in the box and took a dollar bill that has had its serial numbers entered on a web site (http://www.wheresgeorge.com).  You can then track the dollar bil as it travels around the world.  Who knew?

This was a short hike with a pack and we went seven miles in the hills above Pacific Palisades, west of LA.  We went 1800 feet of relief in about 2.5 hours, which included a few stops for pictures, the GeoCache and some water.  It was a Chamber of Commerce day, 82 and sunny and I had no problems with the hike.  I seemed to need a bit more water than I had with me, so I'll have to keep a check on that as I up my mileage.

Here I am with downtown and LA and Westwood behind me.  What a view.  This trail goes for miles and you can go past Malibu if you want.  This trail can be found just west of PCH on Sunset and is part of the Topanga Reserve.

When we stopped to have lunch my legs started to hurt, but not too bad.  I hope I don't have the "day after" syndrome.  Thank goodness for Tae Kwon Do.  It has helped me get ready for this adventure.

Tomorrow its back to the volcanic plug and then next week....Hmmmmm....  I don't know.  I'll have to find a great hike in the area, perhaps on Palomar Mountain.

Be well and take care-

Randall