Voooster's Peak

The family planned this hike in memorial of our late Uncle Scott.
We found a picture of him standing on top of Mission Peak above the clouds, so we created a tribute-to-Uncle Scott shirt for the whole family to wear in loving memory.
It was forecasted to rain, but the family agreed to pull through regardless. My dad, dubbed "The Chief," explicates, "Reaching the summit through mudd and rain making thing sweeter.... Emerging from darkness,and desperation (symbol).... Hope to see another rainbow...." "Really. We dedicate this walk to Scott. I want to feel for his life struggle, pain, happiness and despair. He walked through it mostly alone, too proud to admit and get support... Hopefully this won't happen again with our strong-knit family.."
Most of the time we have to take life as it comes and plow through it. Just like the weather... If we wait for perfect weather, we could wait a long time and it may never be the way you envision. And you become uptight, disillusioned and discouraged. But if you're prepared the best you can, with a fighting attitude, holding hands together. I bet the outcome will be better than expected. Let lift Scott out of the shadow, together." The chief has spoken!!

The family dressed warmly, gathered in the cold 6am hour and got our hiking gear together. Each of us got a white balloon to float to the top. It was still dark, but luckily wasn't raining. Our hike began at 6:40am. Since it had rained last night, the trail was heeecka muddy which made it more challenging. My dad and Uncle Joe lead the way seemingly too easy for them, but they got that leadership drive! Everyone was doing pretty well despite the wet conditions. Ski poles helped a lot! AJ and I struggled a bit taking small breaks at each bench marker, but eventually made it to the top. We were lucky as the hike took place during a patch in the rain! We were dry except for our own sweat! haha Can't say much for our shoes. X)

At the Tip Top of Mission Peak, it was aggressively windy and chilly, but everyone celebrated without care! Tons of pics with the pole was mandatory, of course! We passed around the (water) bottle of whiskey (or scotch? Not sure. heh) to keep warm. We also snacked on some food to regain our strength and energy before we hike back down. While up there, hand-in-hand, we listened to Bocelli's "The Lord's Prayer" and recited the poems from Cici's Eulogy for Uncle Scott, "I Am Flying" and "I Am Free." Played Eva Cassidy's version of "Over the Rainbow." The balloons were released, and I had my bubble gun ready, too! For Uncle Scott...!!! "You will always be in our hearts."
When it was time to hike back down, it wasn't too bad with thanks to gravity. Just use the ski poles to support the knees! Our shoes kept packing on the mud though! We took a few more group pics and footage which Dad will put together soon. The family really B-Lined it down! Uncle Cuong had a fun time with the cows. haha

After cleaning up our shoes a bit, we did a family hands-together "For Scott!"
It was an overall strenuous 4 hour journey up and down Mission Peak finishing around 10:50am. A good workout! Great job for first timers Dad, Uncle Joe and Christina! Thanks to Uncle Scott for helping us keep dry! No rain during our trek! haha Amazing, fun and memorable quality times with family! "Thank you everyone for that beautiful hike. It was very fulfilling. I would never have done that hike without "our cause ". Thank you Scott for bringing us together and making us even closer! We love you brother!" Uncle Joe "We are lucky to have each other and so close too. Everyone brings a unique quality like a bouquet of flowers of different colors. Love is the binding force. That makes us less lonely in this vast vacuum of the universe. Let create more memories." Dad Until our next family hike very soon!!!

Much Love, Family!!! ♥
Ong Ba Noi Frank Vu Nancy Vu Peter Vu Liz Koenig Andrew Vu CQ Nguyen Anthony De Jesus Michelle Vu Lan Vu Tracy Tran Viet Vu Cuc Nguyen Michael Vu Veronica Vu Jessica Cao Trang Vu Cuong Doan Monica Doan Alex Ames Nicholas Doan Cici Vu Peter Coats Daphne Joe Vu Katalina Tran Kaitlin Tran Christian Emma Leyah

Now this is more of a hike! The Vu Family/Clan/Unit continue on Hike 2.2 at Rancho San Antonio, Cupertino, CA in memorial for our late Uncle Scott! We are making it a tradition to do at least one major hike or outdoor activity a month. For this month, we decided on the trails near the Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, so we can visit Uncle Scott and Great Grandma before we head out. They will always be with us. ♥ The 17 of us including the kids were present for this mission: The Chief (Nhat), Admiral (Lan), General (Viet), Major ("Cookie"), Captain (Trang), Sergeant (Cuong), Private "Maggot" (Joe), The Senator (Kat) and the Junior Members of the Cabinet (Emma who slept through most of the hike and Leia), Privates (Paul, AJ, Michelle, Nick, "Curly," Andrew), and The Consigliere (Christina). We are an army now. haha We headed out by 8:30am, paid our respects, and ventured out for the hills of Rancho San Antonio County Park in the early morning. We trekked through the woods, along small streams, visited a farm with many critters including 2 new kids (or baby goats), crossed a number of quaint bridges, and enjoyed the fresh air huffing and puffing up some inclines and declines while being shaded by lush greenery. We even made time for a lovely picnic to regain our energy and strength. It was a really beautiful day, not too hot, quite cool. Definitely a great work out as I'm sure we all are feeling it in our feet. Mission accomplished hiking a total of 8 miles (21,000+ steps) in 4-5 hours. We grow closer together as we take on these challenges of nature, yet still enjoy the little, simple things in life here on Earth. Here's to looking out for one another, our physical and emotional health. Look forward to the next adventure! Bring it on!!! ♥

The 8-Mile roundtrip Monument Peak Trail was a great, fun workout and a successful training session with everyone. The Milpitas hills were vibrant green and Sandy Wool Lake is recovering, slowly but surely. The air is crisp and refreshing... It's officially spring! I took 682 pictures/videos total, but reduced is to 431. It was a long process... But glad to have document the family hike to capture more memories. Memorable family bonding time! And it was awesome to see Chu Viet in action!

waiting for trip report

waiting for trip report

waiting for trip report

It was 2 months ago that we went to Yosemite for a hike; a kick-butt, strenuous hike that took us exactly 8.5 hours to complete. No, it wasn't the popular half-dome that most people would assume. Our objective was Mount Dana, the second highest peak in Yosemite Valley. Yeah sure, it was an ugly, little known mountain but it has a very special meaning to us.

Shortly after Scott died, I started to search my memories for our time together, a bonding experience that we both had shared. A photo of Scott and I standing on top of a mountain peak surfaced during the funeral stuck in my mind. That peak was Mt Dana. But it wasn't until Joe proposed a memorial hike to Mission Peak in January that the idea of doing this trip as a family started to form. By February, it became a mission, a mission to stand together on top of this mountain where Scott did many years ago.

It was a long 9 months of preparation and planning. Every month we would pick a local hill and hike it. We started with Mission Peak in January, Rancho San Antonio in February then Monument Peak in March, Mt Diablo in April and so on. We even had several boot camp style workout sessions lead by Michael to improve our fitness. By the middle of summer however, our original army of 18-strong has dwindled down to the committed 10, starting with Bac Nhat (aka the Chief), our eldest at 61, Bac Lan (the Admiral), me (the General), Major Cookie, Captain Trang, Sergeant Cuong, Maggot (aka Joe! I'll explain later), Kat the Senator, Private Paul (aka the Historian) and Private Nicky, the youngest at 25. To be honest, I haven't the slightest idea how these militaristic titles came about but I think these ranks were given to us, ironically, by the lowest ranking member of this army: Joe, the Maggot!

By July the ragtag army went on a shakedown camping trip to Coyote Lake to assess their readiness for the big day. It was a fun trip with the kids but we learned really quickly that we were no longer boyscouts and the days of sleeping in the great outdoors were really behind us. August rolled around and training hikes were pretty much non-existent for everyone except the Major, who insisted on ramping up her physical training as we get closer to the expedition date.

Sunday September 4th, 2016
A week before the hike, we gathered at Joe's house to finalize our plan. The original idea of camping near the trailhead was pretty much scrapped. Everyone decided it's better to go "glamping" instead, so Joe picked up the phone and immediately booked a motel room 12 miles away from our objective. The expedition now has only 9 members as the Admiral has dropped out. The recon team would include the Sergeant and me and we were to drive up ahead on Thursday to find a campsite. On Wednesday night, sergeant called and said he cannot make it so the Major was to take his place!

Thursday Sept 8. 2016.
We borrowed the Admiral's Lexus and cramped all of our camping gear in the back and headed for Yosemite. It was 9:00am.

During the drive up, the Major and I decided that it would be a better idea to not bother with camping and proceeded to book a room at the same hotel. By 2:00PM, we were half a mile from Tioga pass entrance. As we approached, the objective of the expedition came into view on our right. I pointed to the summit of Mt Dana and said to the Major: "That's where we are going". It is only 3000' higher than where we were but it seems so high and so far away. She looked and said nothing but I sensed a bit of anxiety coming through. As I studied her reaction, it just occurred to me that this is quite an adventure for the Major. She has never done anything like this before; taking on a challenge that is not only foreign but way out of her comfort zone. After a long pause, she said: "I do this for Scott".

We parked our car at the Tioga Lake campground just outside the entrance. The Major and I began our warm up hike with a route on the back side of Mt Dana. This was more scenic than the standard Dana trail that took us through running creeks and alpine meadows. We climbed almost a thousand feet higher, stayed a bit, had our snacks and came down, a 3 hour round trip.

Later that evening, we dined on delicious Wonton soup that the Major has brought and regained our energy. It was a beautiful night. Outside, the temperature was 78 degree as we were getting for bed. .

Friday Sept 9. 2016.
In the morning, while waiting for the rest of the army to arrive, we took a side trip to Mono Lake State Park, a 5 minutes drive from our hotel. After lunch, we drove back to the trailhead parking lot and waited for them. We waited and waited but no one showed. By 3:00PM, the major and I decided to proceed with our acclimatization plan and hiked up the slope ourselves. It turned out that the 8 rowdy hikers were already on the trail, about 20 minutes before us. The group converged and after some lively conversations, we started heading down. We visited Scott's camp then drove back to the hotel to settle in. Before the dinner, we had a minor crisis. The Sergeant thought he has lost the key to Joe's van. We spent almost an hour frantically looking for it but it turned out that he has left it on the kitchen counter, under the lid of one of the cooking pots. Phew, disaster averted so we proceed with a lavish dinner and promptly went to bed.

Saturday Sept 10. 2016.
We arrived at the trailhead shortly before 8, had a brief powwow and started walking towards the summit at exactly 8:00AM. Everybody seems strong and eager to go. Dressed in jean and 2nd-hand snickers, the Chief lead the pack at a furious pace. Within a minute, I was spitted out to the back of the group and could not see anyone ahead of me. I yelled out for everybody to slow down but as usual, I was ignored. The Major finally decided to stop and waited for me. Knowing what to expect, the two of us were moving at a tortoise pace while the rest of the group sprint like rabbits up the mountain. I brought with me almost a gallon of water in my backpack while the Chief has only 1 small bottle!

As we were slowly moving up the slopes, the lively dialog begins to die down. After 2.5 hours of walking we've reached the upper plateau, the shoulder of Mt Dana, 2 thousand vertical feet from the trailhead. My altimeter read 12000 feet. We stopped for lunch and congregated behind a lowly rock wall used as the wind shelter. Everyone seemed fine as the lively conversation began again. Joe the Maggot confessed in front of everyone that he did not train since July and barely made it up the 500' SummitPointe hill the weekend before. Worse yet, he has googled on how to prepare for a high altitude hike such as this and the search result showed him the top 5 rules of not-to-do (i.e. no alcohol, plenty exercise, etc…), all of which he violated!

After a short break we continued on. The hardest part is right in front of us, towering 1000 vertical feet above. From here on up, there is no visible trail. The path to the top is just a huge pile of talus and is steep. For most people, at this altitude, the only way to get to the top is to scramble your way up the mountain, sometimes on all four. for the next 2.5 hours, the going was slow as the affect of altitude was apparent. Private Nicky was moving strong ahead of the pack, followed by Sergeant, Maggot, Private Paul, The Chief, the Senator and then the Captain. The Major and I were always last in the group, patiently putting 1 foot in front of another, breathing and drinking faithfully as we have trained, making sure not to over-exert ourselves.

100' from the summit, I looked up and saw Joe standing on top with his arms raised triumphantly. At that moment, I realized that we've all made it. It may seem trivial now but there were times that I have had my doubt. We spent some time on the summit taking pictures and thinking about Scott. I had some emotional moments up there when I could truly felt his presence. I had no doubt Scott was the 10th member of this expedition.

To you, our brother!