Hiking/Mountain Biking Extravaganza! Day 2:

Alisha says: The first half of the day we did the Whistler/Blackcomb mountain Peak to Peak gondola experience. First we rode a gondola up Whistler mountain. Then we rode the Peak Express chair lift to the very peak of the mountain. I took us on what I originally though was only a one mile trail but turned out to be over four. Even though our legs were tired it was okay though as the Half-High Note Trail offered more spectacular high alpine views and a different view of the Black Tusk that we had hike the day before. After a stop at the lodge for some lunch we then rode the gondola from Whistler mountain to Blackcomb mountain, the gondola joins the two side by side mountains by taking you over the valley in between them. It is the longest and highest lift in the world. We then rode two different chair lifts to get to the bottom of Blackcomb mountain.

The second half of the day was spent mountain biking the Whistler valley loop. We rode the same loop on our trip last year so I thought I would be fine but I think I was really tired from the hiking as these trails proved to be extra challenging. The trails were really rocky, rooty and and the dirt was loose. Dave still had a good time as he loves this stuff. We finished our ride and rode directly into the village to get some dinner before returning to the hotel for an early bed time.

 Going up to Whistler peak.

 Whistler valley way down there

 The backside of Black Tusk in the background.

 Checkamus Lake in the valley

Peak to Peak Gondola ride.

Going down

 Riding the bridge in A River Runs Through It

Hiking/Mountain Biking Extravaganza! Day 1:

Alisha says: After driving to Whistler, Canada the day before we started the first real day of our vacation bright and early in order to hike 17 miles round trip to the Black Tusk. We were on the trail by 6:45 a.m. and started working our way up the mountain. The first four miles were all uphill and through the forest. Then we got a little relief and hiked through Taylor Meadows where we got our first sights of the Black Tusk off in the distance. After a bit more hiking we came to a trail junction that lead up to the Tusk. That part of the trail was steep but this is also the portion of the hike where we started to get the most amazing views in every direction. Behind us was Garibaldi Lake which was a beautiful turquoise color, in front was the Tusk and all around there were high alpine views of snow capped mountains. The last part of the trail was slow going as it was straight up a scree field where it felt like for every two steps you took forward you slid one back but oh was it worth it. Sometimes I can't believe the beauty that surrounds us if we get out and explore. I love traveling so much because I love to see all of the amazing beauty that the earth has to offer. We sat, ate lunch, and enjoyed the view for a while. On our return trip we bypassed Taylor Meadows and looped by the shore of the lake where we took off our shoes and soaked our feet in the cold water before heading down the mountain. My legs got really tired on the last few miles of downhill and I was happy to get back to the car. It was just an amazing hike though, it really is something special and so worth it!

 At Taylor Meadows - You can see the Black Tusk way off in the background

 Getting closer

 Going up. The lake in the background was so pretty.

 Part 1 of the scree field

 Finally, at the base of the Tusk

 Magnificent views and a good spot for lunch

 We conquered the Tusk!

 Garibaldi Lake - once again so scenic!

 I got a little more wet than I would have liked getting to this log but it was worth it.

More Summer Adventures

Dave says: We've had no shortage of great adventures this summer. Last weekend we did part of the Pacific Crest Trail out of Snoqualmie Pass for a 15 mile day that was one of our best recent hikes. This hike features some amazing views, a section on the spine of the mountain, and also the famous Katwalk where you hike along a trail blasted into the side of the mountain. We ended the trip at a small alpine lake (Ridge Lake) where we had some lunch before heading back down.

Last week I went to Philly for the annual Academy of Management meeting. It was an enjoyable conference that was much less stressful than last year in Orlando when I was on the job market. In addition to the conference events, I also got out for a little sight seeing with friends. We rode the double decker bus, walked down Philly's grand boulevard to the "Rocky" steps and art museum, and also toured a huge old prison called Eastern State Penitentiary which was quite an interesting historical site.

Alisha and I have also enjoyed some other smaller adventures such as visiting the Seattle Temple, picking blackberries by our house, riding our bikes around the city, and also hitting some cool mountain bike trails in our area like Tiger Mountain, and Grand Ridge.

Amazing! Summerland to Panhandle Gap Hiking

Alisha says: We have been itching to get to Mt. Rainier National Park and do some hiking. The hike I picked out for us I found on a web site that listed ten best day hikes in North America (by the end of the summer we will have hiked 5 of them). The sky was cloudy as we left the house bright and early and I was nervous that it was going to be cloudy all day and we would miss out on some great views but it turned out to be a spectacular day! The trail we hiked was the Summerland portion of the Wonderland trail to Panhandle Gap.

The first few miles was a gradual climb through the forest with a few sneak peaks of the peaks that were to come. Once we crossed frying pan creek and climbed some switchbacks we entered the beautiful Summerland meadows. Lots of wildflowers were in bloom.

After a quick rest stop and a snack the trail continued above the tree line. The next few miles were rocky old glacier fields. There were still some snow patches covering the trail, especially as we got closer to Panhandle Gap. Once at the Gap we still felt good so we decided to take a side trip to the edge of a plateau. We even saw a small group of goats that we followed for a little bit until they disappeared at our turn around spot which was the edge of a cliff. The views all along the way were absolutely spectacular. You feel like you are close to Mt. Rainier as you can see all the snow fields and glacier ice but it still towers another 7,000+ feet above you.

After enjoying the scenery for awhile. We began to trace our footsteps back down the trail. We found that it was easier and more efficient and not to mention just fun to sit and slide down some of the snowy parts. We found a perfect rock to have a little rest on just before the meadow. When we got back to the car we had put in 14 miles and couldn't stop talking about how great it was.

 Sneak peak of what's to come on the trail

 Summerland Meadow

 Snow crossings

 It was so beautiful

 Dave chasing the goats

 Mount Rainier!

Nap time

Fourth of July Week

Alisha says: Dave and I have been having a lot of fun exploring our new area. Almost everyday we have been on some kind of adventure or another. We try to balance out the week with road riding, mountain biking, running, hiking, and what we call urban assaulting (riding our hard tail 29 mountain bikes around urban areas exploring all of the parks and neighborhoods). 

Urban assault ride to Discovery Park and the Magnolia Neighborhood

A different urban assault ride through Ballard, Golden Garden Park, and Carkeek Park

A road ride along the Burke-Gilman trail with a loop around Kirkland

On the 4th of July we got up early and went mountain biking at Duthie Park and King Ridge

Hiking the Lime-Kiln Trail

The Huffington Post

Alisha says: The Huffington Post recently published an article that cited some of Dave's research.

Stealing A Pen At Work Could Turn You On To Much Bigger Crimes

The Huffington Post  | By Emily Cohn

Posted: 06/26/2014 10:11 am EDT Updated: 06/27/2014 8:59 am EDT

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Steal a pen from your office and you could find yourself on a path toward becoming the next Bernie Madoff.

That's the warning of a new study, called "The Slippery Slope: How Small Ethical Transgressions Pave The Way For Larger Future Transgressions," by David Welsh of the University of Washington, Lisa Ordóñez of the University of Arizona, Deirdre Snyder of Providence College, and Michael Christian of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. According to the study, which was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, minor unethical behavior at work, if undetected, puts workers on a "slippery slope" that could lead to worse behavior over time.

Stealing a pen is basically a gateway to massive corporate fraud.

To most of us, fairly innocuous sins like taking a pen from work or neglecting to refill the office coffee pot are much easier to justify than, say, racking up $2 billion in trading losses. But over time, the researchers found, those minor misdeeds make it easier to justify more and bigger evils in the long run.

If you're considering taking home a ream of copy paper, just think: doing so could land you behind bars with this guy.

“People rationalize their behavior to justify it,” Ordóñez, one of the study's authors, said in a press release. "They might think ‘No one got hurt,’ or ‘Everyone does it.’ The next time, they feel fine about doing something a little bit worse the next time and then commit more severe unethical actions.”

The researchers tested this theory by watching subjects in a number of different situations. One interesting experiment found that subjects who were given 25 cents for doing a minor unethical thing were much more likely to take $2.50 to do something more egregious later on than those who were offered $2.50 to do a big no-no at the start. According to the researchers, this shows that people are less likely to commit what they call "abrupt and large dilemmas" when they haven't already committed gradual, small transgressions.

The study cites Madoff, who was sentenced to 150 years in prison for orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history and spoke of this phenomenon to his longtime secretary, according to Vanity Fair:

“Well, you know what happens is, it starts out with you taking a little bit, maybe a few hundred, a few thousand. You get comfortable with that, and before you know it, it snowballs into something big.”

So what can you do to prevent yourself from becoming the next Jeff Skilling?

The researchers offer a number of tips to discourage the minor stuff, like putting in place a firm set of ethical guidelines and calling workers out for the small things, like taking home too many office supplies.

“The ideal is for employees to recognize when they’ve committed a minor transgression and check themselves," Michael S. Christian, one of the paper's co-authors, wrote.