I just came off an epic weekend with the Butcher Boyz' & Butcher Girl Thea. She is a trooper, this post is dedicated to her tough as nails determination and strength.
Usually, my wife is in town, when Brent, Ian, Colin and I do epic skate adventures, but Maia was out of town, for her Mother's Day Present. So Thea was along for the ride.
I gave her the option, to go to a friends house, but she said she was ready to hang with the, Butcher Boyz.
Saturday morning, after French Toast, Waffles and coffee, it was the first event of the day, Colin's baseball game.
Colin got the nod from his coach, and he'd open up the day and game as pitcher. He quickly mimicked the building heat of the day, and rifled in three strikes in a row.
About mid way through the game, Brent and Ian showed up, and watched the second half from the comfort of the RV, codenamed the Millennium Falcon.
After the game, we loaded the Falcon up with Brent and Ian's gear, and it was off to play nine holes of Disc Golf in the blistering heat of Azuza.
Thea played her first round of Disc golf like a pro, and Brent and Trev went to overtime, coming out of extra holes all tied up.
Then, despite reservations due to fires, heat waves, and a plethora of Cops, Fire Fighters, Rescue workers and Rangers; we decided to make the legendary Baldy Pipeline run.
Brent and I had done the top half--pipe only--once before, and I had done the whole thing once...but this would be the first run for the boyz, and for Super Girl Thea. If you look closely, you can see all the vehicles, and several choppers, which were using the damn as a staging area.
But with no keep-out signs to be seen, we assumed the Pipeline had reached National Treasure status for Law Abiding American citizens to enjoy, so after a recon of the lake above (making sure it wasn't full and ready for release) we charged in.
I admit, I was a bit nervous, that Thea would not handle the tough climb down, the scary elements of pipe, and the heat of the day, but I should of known, it wouldn't be a problem, and Brent said many times, "She's a trooper, not a negative word out of her."
I had attempted several times to identify Vehicle Support for the bottom of the run, with no luck.
To do the complete Baldy run, you usually take two cars, because you park at the top, then skate down about two miles before climbing out, to the main street. With no Vehicle support available, we were leaning heavily toward Pipe Only.
When I asked Thea what part of the weekend she liked the best, it was the "Big Pipe". We went way up into the darkness, and she was the last to turn back. It's spooky in there, with every sound echoing through the darkness...and strange eye's glowing at the farthest depths. She scootered her way down the whole thing, her last run is caught on the shaky phone footage below.
So with no vehicle support, and no foreseeable way up from the bottom, the best move was to call it a day...but...this is the Butcher squad, carving it up one pool, one pipe, one wave at a time.
So we went for it, I figured, I'd run the two miles back--despite 100 degree heat--and pick up RV, then drive back for the gang.
It's the longest skate I've ever done, you keep thinking, you're near the end, but the channel just keeps going.
The wash is a death trap for local animals, three dead rattlers, tons of lizards, the remains of a bird, and a million Beatles; all scattered the corners of the channel. One rattler had only recently met his demise and made for fun scientific observation for Colin and Ian. We cut-off the rattler as a keep-sake.
About a third of the way down, Colin spotted a cute little lizard, which without help, would of been a cute dead lizard. So we rescued the little guy, and he rode shotgun on my shoulder until we climbed out. Just a nice little bonus, to set the guy free after the ride.
At the bottom of the run, there's a crude rope climb out, and it's a good 12 feet to the top, so I climbed out first. Once again, Thea used her iron grip to easily scramble up and over with little help. Colin and Ian powered up with ease, but I thought I was going to die, with fence post through the groin, pulling up Brent.
Then it was decision time; all of us walk the quarter mile out to street, and try to find a ride, or split up.
After seeing the angle of the road, and the extra mile I'd have to run if I couldn't find a ride, we decided to part ways. Brent would take the kids the short downhill hike to a shaded park, and I'd begin the death march back up the hill.
With no water, choppers overhead, a skateboard to carry and already parched, I started the wolf trot across the desert landscape. The sun was beating down hard, my eyes were keen on the path for rattlers and I'd say it was in the high 90's. I wanted to make good time, so the kids and Brent didn't have long to wait.
The timing was near perfect, and I received the call from Brent as I climbed the last dirt hill to the Millennium Falcon. I was near dehydrated and went straight for the fridge for a cold Club Soda.
Moments later, like Han Solo picking up a one-handed Skywalker underneath Cloud City, the Millennium falcon pulled up to find the gang. Appropriately, Brent sat in the shade, while Thea, Colin and Ian had thumbs up on the hot side of the road.
It was home to a refreshing swim in the pool, and a relaxing evening of darts, BB-guns and movies.
The next day, as an encore, we played 18 holes in the blistering heat of Sylmar, once again Thea charged along, without a complaint.
Another fun weekend, with the Butcher Boyz Ian and Colin, charging hard as usual, but this was highlighted for me, by the Stay Positive, Stay Motivated...Love God, Live Large attitude of my little, SUPER GIRL THEA!
Here's a 2 min clip of phone footage of the Baldy Pipeline run.
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