Sigh, the miracle of 21st century engineering reached me this morning. In a true Halloween moment, I tried turning my dead ipod shuffle on. It sputtered then flashed the red “I need charging light.” I charged it, then after a little while, tried listening. It played as if I had never washed it. Somewhere, an Apple engineer is getting a well deserved pat on the back.

Um, yea, so, I did it. I washed my ipod shuffle. And the headphones. The headphones still work great. Sadly, I’m not having much luck with the ipod. It’s just so damn small that it fits in your pocket without you even knowing. And it was a Christmas present from my mom no less. Sorry, mom.

Honestly, I think it would still work, if it had not been switched on at the time. I found two cases of people’s ipods who survived and did not survive the washer. Of course, the survivor put it threw the dryer too, maybe I should throw it in real quick.

At least they dropped the price to $49 ($39 refurbished) I’ll probably try getting it to work again … maybe if I charge it … every day … until I get a new one. How am I supposed to run now? I feel like I lost a part of me … the part with the cool/fancy ipod shuffle. Now, I only find comfort in the cold embrace of ellipsis … I don’t know how I’ll sleep tonight.

Update: A Halloween miracle! It’s alive, ALIVE!

I just got back from a solo camping trek in the Sipsey Wilderness. It was a single night stay with about a 11 mile hike, shorter than I thought it would be. Although it rained early the first day, I had a great time, and the weather improved quickly. I even found a great, dry alcove under some rocks to pitch my tent. Here’s a pic.

For others hiking Sipsey, here’s a detail of my hike using trail numbers and trail map (PDF):

Starting at 6:50 am, I hiked from T2 Randolph trailhead up 202 (made it to Johnson cemetery by 7:20.)

From 202, I crossed the Sipsey River to 209. On this side, the Sipsey was about calf deep and I removed my shoes, socks and pants to get across.

From 209, I took 204 north half-way then went west to Big Tree, which I reached by 11:30. I went back south to 209 via the East Bee Branch Trail.

I had lunch at 12:00 in a large campsite where Bee Branch meets the Sipsey River.

I continued west on 209 until 2:00 when I camped directly next to 209. There were a ton of campsites along 209. However, many of them quickly filled up between 2:00 and 4:00.

I broke camp at 4:00 am the next morning and was hiking again by 5:00. It was still dark when I set out, so I hiked by headlamp. The trail was fairly easy to follow in the dark.

I took Trail 209 back across the Sipsey River. Crossing the river in the dark gave me pause, but this side was more shallow and had a good set of rocks that got me across dry.

I then took the remainder of 209 and in the dark missed the 209/201 junction. (I went about 15 minutes north when I realized my mistake and doubled back.) This northern trek takes you along a scenic part of the river with a campsite at the end. I hope I didn’t wake whoever was camped there.

Shortly after crossing the Sipsey, 209 takes a steep climb to reach 201. I then traveled south on 201 reaching my car by 7:30.

I finished my last two books (Burn Notice and Dearly Devoted Dexter.) Now, I’ve picked up a few more:

• The Sea Wolf by Jack London
• Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
• The Bourne Betrayal by Eric Van Lustbader

The university down the street, my alma mater, hosted a 5k this morning for cancer research. I gave it a whirl and hit a new personal best. While the official times haven’t been posted, I finished about 25:06 according to finish line clock. My lovely wife snapped a picture of me sprinting towards the finish line.

Update: Official times are posted: I was 11th in my age division at 25:08. 79th overall.

I picked up a pair of new shoes today. I’ve been in desperate need of a new pair.