As we hiked up Red Mountain with our packs, we noticed smoke coming from beyond its peak. There was a forest fire nearby, and we saw smoke-jumpers parachuting into it. When we arrived at Calf Lake, a helicopter was scooping buckets of water from it and flying them to the fire. I made a little movie of that.

It's a moderately strenuous hike, involving a 3000-foot climb in less than five miles. The trail ends at Calf Lake, but we knew there were five more lakes bunched together just beyond the next ridge. Twice, a subset of our party attempting to day-hike to those lakes. The second attempt succeeded, but with some minor injuries; the easiest way there involves a lot of treacherous boulder-hopping and scree-scrabbling over red rocks reminiscent of purgatory. Nevertheless, there were campers at those lakes too, and several well-established campsites.

I'm often vaguely surprised that people have spent time establishing good campsites in places that are fairly difficult to reach. Some of them even have the convenience of a scrap of metal grating for campfire cooking. This year we experimented with baking, by stacking stones to form an oven, stoking it until it was full of coals, then covering the opening while the bread baked inside. The result was a little sooty, but luxuriously fresh and tasty in our rustic environment.

One of the traditions of this annual trip is to bring stories to read aloud after dinner. Here's what we read this year:

• Lowell: The Education of Little Tree, Forrest Carter
• Fred: Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
• Me: Nature Noir: A Park Ranger's Patrol in The Sierra, Jordan Fisher Smith
• Damian: Chinese fables

Check out my photos.

Now, with all my weekend travels overwith, I'll begin my kitten-hunting in earnest. It might take a while; Sasha will be a tough act to follow.

Here's a recent article about the problems with the T line, and an article about Bike To Work Day last month. You might also enjoy this I Hate Muni blog.

But as the first injection took effect his body relaxed, his pupils dilated, and he drifted into an easy sleep. The second injection was very quick and suddenly there was no cat anymore, just a limp, fluffy pile of cat-shaped flesh. It's hard to believe he's gone.

Boy, did I ever hit the jackpot with this cat. I can't imagine that I'll ever have another bond like the one I had with him.

Some factoids about Sasha:

• He was majestically handsome.
• He purred a lot and very loudly.
• He was an ideal and enthusiastic bedfellow.
• He was silly.
• He loved the outdoors.
• Moths were his favorite prey.
• He had a dog-like desire to please his guardian.
• He talked a lot, with a wide and expressive range of mono- and multi-syllabic meows, murmurs, and grunts.
• He was good-natured toward other cats and bewildered by the mean ones.
• He enjoyed his life and made mine more joyful.

There are many photos in Sasha's gallery.

Here I am with Tim Gunn!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/28/MNGF2PHDCK1.DTL

Except for the part that says the "route was announced" (it's much more spontaneous than that), it describes Critical Mass the way I've experienced it.

I used to commute to Oakland on public transit. Every night, I stood at the bus stop on Market Street, waiting impatiently in the cold. Bicyclist after bicyclist pedalled past, looking happy, fit, and in control of their own transit. By the time my bus finally came, they were probably home. I decided I wanted to be like them!

The first year or two was scary. I was unfit, uncoordinated, and unsure of myself. I didn't quite get the art of blending into traffic. There was some honking and harassment—and close calls. But I didn't want to get back on the slow, filthy bus, and I was also bored of the gym. I kept at it, even after spending a night in the hospital with serious memory loss after a crash.

Now I've been biking to work for nearly ten years and my rides are smooth and breezy almost every day. I've only crashed one other time, when a pair of tourists opened their taxi door into me. I scraped up my hands when I hit the pavement, but the friendly, remorseful couple sat on the curb with me until they were sure I was okay. Later, another cyclist who saw it posted to Craigslist's "Missed Connections" asking whether I was okay or needed a witness.

Cyclists like that one are the rule rather than the exception, in my experience. They glide unobtrusively through traffic and watch each other's backs. They encourage each other's good citizenship and try to build a healthier, friendlier civic life in San Francisco. Once a month, they have a little bicycle parade—and often the motorists and pedestrians literally cheer for them.

But somehow the popular idea is that Critical Mass is a menacing bunch of anarchists, and last month's incident didn't help. The good cyclists are the ones you never notice because they slip through traffic like water. It only takes a few bad ones to ruin everyone's reputation.

Meanwhile, I'm still in love with my bike.

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentronics/sets/72157600065266911/
• http://exposed.org/brent+trisha/brent+trish.html
• http://www.go-europa.com/user/uke/photos/taken/2007/4/7/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpwk/sets/72157600067120766/

Congratulations, friends! Also, the flourless chocolate cake was divine: rich, dense—the platonic ideal of chocolate.

Anyway, I spent five days in New York with my best friend, Erin. We had a fabulous time, hung out with awesome pals, spent all our money, and came home happy and refreshed. My photos are here.

Some tasty places to eat and drink in the Williamburg area of Brooklyn, where we stayed:

• Diner
• Relish
• Supercore
• DuMont and DuMont Burger
• Roebling Tea Room

Mac and cheese seems to be a popular side dish there. The best one we had was at DuMont, where they make it with three kinds of cheese plus bacon. Bacon!

Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine these dry ingredients:

    8	cups	        oatmeal
    1	cup	EACH:	coconut flakes
			sunflower seeds
			wheat germ
			powdered milk
			brown sugar
			chopped almonds
    2	teaspoons       sesame seeds
    1	teaspoon        salt*
    3	teaspoons       cinnamon

Slowly stir in these moist ingredients:

    2/3  cup	        oil
    2/3  cup	        honey

To make loose granola, spread thinly on jellyroll pans and stir three or four times during baking. For granola bars, add extra honey, press into a brownie pan, and cut into bars halfway through baking.

Bake about 45 minutes to one hour or until coconut flakes turn golden brown.

* more if sunflower seeds are unsalted

I like to eat mine in a bowl with plain yogurt.

And here's a blouse I made!

• Made a taxidermy valentine
• Hiked to Cascade Falls

Unrelated to New Year's, I made up my mind to go hiking or backpacking at least once a month and not to let anything stop me. I'm much happier when I sneak off into the wilderness regularly, even (or maybe especially) if I go by myself. So far, my solo trips are easy little overnighters, for which I'm well-equipped with the latest space-age gear, notably a titanium spork.

In LA, I enjoyed some of my favorite pals and a few of the local sights:

• Roscoe's Chicken 'N' Waffles
• Langer's Deli
• Skin and Bones at the MOCA

They've got nine pockets plus a D ring where I can hang my keys or my compass. They're made of waterproof nylon with sealed seams and a mesh lining. The silver piping is reflective, for traffic safety. Earlier, I made a pair of bloomers as underwear, for layering under skirts. But these new bloomers are sporty outerwear for a playful tomgirl. I'm prouder of this garment than of any I've made so far!