Man vs Wild - The Los Angeles Adventure - Life & Death Experiences - in the middle of LALA-Land

One of the things I tell the groups I work with on a regular basis is: "You can create an Adventure anytime, anywhere with anyone." This is a story proving that point in dramatic fashion.

So how could we create a Bear Grylls-worthy Adventure in the 'wilds' of LA? Good question. Los Angeles isn't exactly known as a wilderness mecca. 

To begin with, my 'Adventure-meter' is pretty sensitive. And it takes more stimulation to peg the scale on my chart than for most people. On a trip to Los Angeles, we had the good fortune to spend some time with fellow-North Vancouverites, the Studer Familly. Dan Studer and I are experts at finding fun things to do. So, following a morning longboarding session to get warmed up with my friend Dan, we had some choices to make. 

Dan &  I longboarding the Venice Boardwalk. 

We spent some time at Muscle Beach south of the Santa Monica playing superhero with my friend Ernie (on the bottom). However, it looked like the rain was beginning to come in. 

My friend Ernie Thrash bases a little beach acro with Dan's daughter Austin and I doing our superhero impressions above.

Jordan violates Santa Monica's 'no-spitting' law with flagrant enthusiasm. 

We took our leave from Santa Monica and proceeded to Van Nuys to pay a visit to my friends Jack and Jeri Kalvan http://www.jackandjeri.com/ - who just happen to have a full-on padded floor circus gymnasium attached to the back of their house. http://www.jjgym.com/


The day had turned rainy - and I'm talking about ark-building weather. The backyard at my friend's Jack & Jeri's place began to resemble a pond. The kids and wives wanted to spend some time shopping at the Beverly Center, which sounded like a form of shiny torture to Dan and I. A decision had to be made.

A good five inches of standing water appeared in a very short time.

On our way out to the highway, there was an amazing deluge blessing the LA County region. City infrastructure was being taxed to the max. 

The storm sewers were overflowing all over the Valley.

Dan and I took one rental car and the kids and women took the other. They headed to the mall in West LA. Dan and I headed towards the Pacific Palisades for a hike to see a little waterfall in Santa Ynez Canyon that departed from here: Trailhead It was raining pretty steadily, but Dan and I have had many rain-accented Adventures as we live in North Vancouver (think Seattle rain + another 50%).


We had jackets that were somewhat waterproof and a tiny bit of gear as this is a hike I'd done several times in the past. On any other day, we would have been overdressed and more than prepared. This day, however, was a little different. 

On previous trips, this crossing would have been barely a trickle. This was swift brown water. And it was only just getting started....

Our trip up the valley was done at a slow running pace - in order to get in and out before the onslaught of darkness. Stream crossings, which were usually either dry creek beds or a modest shallow trickle required up to knee deep wading through fast moving water. It was pretty fun stuff as it was quite different than what I'd experienced in the past. 

Some pretty significant wooden detritus was washing downstream as we made our way across the , erm, excited stream multiple times. 

Route-finding, which should have been simple, was actually pretty challenging as the trail follows the creek bed in several places. Our ability to 'see' the trail was hampered by the fact that there was a foot of silt-laden water pounding down towards us. We managed to take a couple wrong turns into some steep and unfamiliar terrain. I usually have a good sense for when I'm 'off-trail', so we backtracked and figured where we went wrong by wading upstream several times. 

I've never seen this creek more than ankle-deep here. Quite the transformation - little did we know what our return trip would look like. 

We had to do some bushwhacking to keep moving forward when the commonly used trail was under water. This meant we had to scramble up steep banks and get creative to continue forward. The farther in we got, the more extreme our route-finding became. We were literally yelling at the weather, "Is that all you've got!? This is nothing!!" It was some good-natured ribbing of, umm.. Mother Nature. She responded by redoubling the volume of precipitation. Be careful what you ask for.

Any excuse for a precarious balancing shot on a crumbling and soaked cliff/slope. We had to seek high ground to keep moving towards the falls as the creek was radically swollen.

Ordinarily, the Santa Ynez Canyon is a pretty arid place, so I was enjoying the contrast as we fought our way forward. We were just steps from Los Angeles, yet here we were having an outdoor experience completely isolated from anyone else. (We didn't see any other hikers out on the trail during our outing.) 


Ultimately, good sense ruled the day and we gave in to Mother Nature's apparent objective: to stop us from reaching our goal. And we had gotten so close, literally just another 100 meters to go. The waterfall was just around the bend through the narrowed section of the gorge. 

The rain only intensified. The torrent in the background is where we'd normally climb a bit of a rock to access the final short section to the little waterfall. It was impassable on this day. 

The constriction in the Canyon was our 'Waterloo'. It just became too dangerous to attempt to keep moving forward. And we are a couple of guys with a semi-ridiculous tolerance for danger, too. Where I could have normally deftly hopped from rock to rock before scaling a little boulder to access the final branch of the canyon before the falls that were our objective, there was an angry, raging, dirty powerhouse of a rapid blocking our path. We had reached the end of the vine - I mean, line. 


Plus, it was getting very chilly and we had not a dry stitch of clothing between us. 

This photo is from this fine account by Seth Smigelski of the Santa Ynez Canyon hike in better weather:  http://www.examiner.com/outdoor-recreation-in-los-angeles/hiking-to-santa-ynez-falls Notice the 'normal' state of the creed bed. This photo corresponds to the image above where you see Dan perched on a rock 30 feet above and a good bit back from the exact same place. When we were there, the photographer would have been swept away by the flooded stream had he stood in the place this photo was taken. The big rock in the middle of this photo is completely submerged in the intense flow in our photo. 

Our light was fading, so we turned around planning to escape back to the car a little bit before darkness totally set in. 


Progress was steady at first. Although, the stream's intensity had amped up several notches, so our frequent crossings were made a little more judiciously, sometimes with us linking hands for extra steadiness. We had made it two thirds of the way back to the safety of our vehicle when the water alarmingly began rising even higher. We watched in awe as actual trees that had been uprooted shot past us in the flooded canyon. 


The sheer magnitude of the debris and the size of the logs/trees/wood that was accelerating down the canyon convinced us that the normally insignificant creek was too dangerous to cross on foot. Our first choice was to bushwhack up the canyon without crossing through dense brush and over thickets of downed trees and shrubs. We soon ran into a dead end forcing us back into the flood. I was getting colder and colder. 


We backtracked and found a fallen tree that spanned the creek. The tree was not substantial, but seemed like it could bear our weight and keep us a scant 12 inches above the brown rapids below. We managed several adrenaline inducing crossings as we looked for a way out of the steep canyon. 

This is me crossing a mad-flowing river in the dark on a fallen tree that just barely supported my weight. With the onset of darkness, this was our last shot before the real off-piste Adventure began. 

This was a new experience. I was not expecting to get stranded by a flash flood in the middle of Los Angeles County a few hundred meters away from the pricey real estate of the Pacific Palisades. Yet there we were. Our families were expecting to meet up with us - and it seemed we were not going to make it out. The environs were not conducive to using cell phones and we had no coverage. So alerting the wives of our predicament was not possible - nor was calling in a helicopter to pluck us out for that matter. 

I was shivering violently at this point. Crap.

We assessed our options. 

1. Retreat upstream to a little cave where we could cuddle up and hunker down in the dirt for a freezing night. Hope our families don't freak out. Pray that the rain subsides so we'd be able to get back across the creek and back to our car. 

This sounded like a distastefully passive option. Plus our families would worry up an even bigger storm. No. 

2. Attempt the dangerous crossing of the torrential flood and hope we don't get taken out by a telephone pole sized log flying by at 15mph. Repeat several more times before getting back to our car. How deep the water was at this stage could not be determined - thigh high? Chest high? Who knows? The normally dry creek was about 12 meters across.

Dan being an experienced whitewater kayaker thought it was at best 'very dangerous'. Though I like risk, this kind of thing had too high a price to pay to consider playing out this option. Some fast moving water can be fun - as was our trip out. Some can be deadly. This looked like it might possibly be the latter. We didn't want to roll the dice. So, once again, no. 

3. Find an alternative way out of the canyon by scaling the precipitous, eroding walls up to higher ground. Perhaps we'd be able to see some sign of civilization, or at least light, by gaining altitude. 

This more active and empowering option appealed to both Dan and I. Let the Adventure continue. Yes. 

We began on the North side of the canyon and started up a very steep embankment. The dirt was somewhat soft and friable with bands of semi-loose shale across portions. I found a fairly hard horizontal band of rock to cross to a more climbable section that lead to the top of the ridge above. Having had a good bit of rock climbing experience helped in this situation. Falling would have absolutely spoiled the day. It was an intense few moments getting across to a place where I could grab roots and brush to help me up to the top of the edge. 

Dan chose a route slightly higher. He had injured his shoulder a few days earlier in an out-of-control-descent on his longboard skateboard in Death Valley on the way down to LA. Thus it was with some degree of alarm that I made out his figure hanging on with one arm to a protruding root after his feet slid out on the crumbling dirt cliff side. I'm glad he is strong and tenacious. Lucky he had one good arm to arrest his fall. We both made it to the ridge and reconnected. 

Sadly, from the ridge, there was no sign of civilization and we were surrounded by brush that most sane hikers would consider 'impenetrable'. I had a rough idea of the direction we ought to be heading, but no direct evidence to back me up. But, better to forge forward than once more find ourselves stopped as the last vestiges of light disappeared. 

Now about those impenetrable bushes. Turns out, you can belly crawl underneath them and avoid most of the thicket and thorns. So we had that going for us. 10 minutes of commando crawling lead us to a space with a little more open vegetation. This also gave us a glimpse of a set of condominiums several deep gorges beyond where we were. If we could make our way over to them, we'd at least be back to a place where we'd be able to get back to the car. There were several daunting complications, though. 

The gorge ahead of us plummeted downwards a disheartening distance. Nevertheless, we carried on, plowing through California's finest thickets, trees and underbrush. We literally crawled a good distance. We were absolutely drenched, freezing and covered with a liberal amount of dirt and debris. 

And in a few short minutes we strode across the last section of hillside to a private condominium community - with huge smiles pasted onto our mugs. We'd escaped. 

Not only that. There was a convenient hose close by that we used to wash the worst of the dirt off of ourselves. The noise of our relieved laughter brought out a neighbor from a nearby garage. "Where did you come from?" he asked.

"From over there." We pointed to the savage terrain we had just traversed. 

"But there is nothing over there?" he stammered still confused by how we had appeared at the end of his drive. 

"True. We were stuck in a bit of a flash flood and had to bushwhack our way out to escape." We turned to depart before the guy called the authorities on the trespassing neanderthals who had just emerged from the wilderness. 

After a little walk back to the car we quickly changed and made our way back to rejoin our families. Cell coverage once more kicked in and we called to explain our lateness. 

Without much exaggeration, I would call this a life and death encounter with the wild side of the outdoors - and we'd experienced this smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles. While this type of thing could have ended badly, some common sense, a positive attitude and a willingness to explore some dirty options saw us through. 

It was like our own personal version of Man vs. Wild - the Los Angeles Edition. 

If you can create an outdoor Adventure steps away from LA, you are doing something right in my book. Keep life interesting. 

The rain was so heavy that worms were forced to seek the surface to avoid drowning. They literally covered the trail in  many sections. 

FINAL NOTE: There was good reason the conditions worsened as they did. This was a very unusual event statistically. Later, we were to learn that the rainfall broke records with a third of the usual annual total falling that day. Here is a story including some stats on the sodden LA Marathon that happened the same day: LA Record Rainfall Event 

I've lived in North Vancouver for 6 years now. And for the last 5 years I've been running most days at lunch with a group of friends who work at a large company near my house. We run all over the North Vancouver area Monday-Friday. These guys are good people and talented runners. 

The areas we run are through some of the more commercial/industrial areas and along some of the greenbelts and local creeks. This is also the place where a lot of the local homeless bottle collectors hang out. 


They usually acknowledge us as we pass by. Sometimes there are two of us, sometimes there are eight of us. Their numbers vary in a similar fashion. They are often either pushing a shopping cart along with returnable bottles and cans or sitting next to one of the local creeks, MaKay, or Mosquito drinking and smoking. 


One guy in particular ALWAYS shouts at us, "Lift those knees, in through the nose, out through the mouth". He's our defacto coach and we always share a laugh after passing him and his crew.


A local film maker is an ex-snowboarding film specialist who found himself in a wheelchair after a car accident. He was inspired and touched by these guys, who bomb some of the huge hills riding their shopping carts in a exuberant flights of fancy. They can hit 70kph while negotiating turns, traffic and pedestrians. 

In any case, I'd heard about the movie, Carts of Darkness when it came out. Never saw anything more than a clip or teaser, however.


Until tonight.


Carts of Darkness - The movie - Note: May only be viewable in Canada. 

Short clip from director/producer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5JHYt7n58E Viewable from anywhere. 


Watched it straight through. I know all the places well. A segment is even shot 100 meters from my front door. 


Interesting to open a doorway to another world that is overlapping with my own. Coexistence is a trippy thing. Next time I see my coaches, I'll be looking a little bit closer at them. 

Pura Vida - What is REALLY Important?

According to the BBC news, there’s usually only one country in the developing world to score at the top of the Happiness Index.  


And that country is…..drum roll please…..Costa Rica. (Maybe the “Pura Vida” or “Pure Life” gave it away if you know your Central American trivia.) 


Costa Rica ranked #1 out of 143 countries on the Happy Planet Index, with the highest life satisfaction of anywhere in the world. 

Turtle Island Dive Trip

There’re several countries in Central America that on the surface seem similar to Costa Rica. Many have similar lakes and volcanoes, beaches and tropical rain forests. Nicaragua has a similar number of people as Costa Rica, about 5 million. So why is Costa Rica the only one to score highly on the Happiness Index?  

Even Costa Rican dogs are in on the happiness thing!

A clue may be found in the 2010 Environmental Performance Index, published by Yale and Columbia Universities. Costa Rica ranked #3 out of 163 different countries.  Only Switzerland and Iceland came in higher. The United States ranked #61. 


The Environmental Performance Index looks at environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. 


Is Costa Rica perfect? No.  But consider that: 

• Costa Rica has gone against the trend of losing forests.
• 50% of its land is now covered in trees, vs. 20% in the 1980’s. 
• Over 90% of Costa Rica’s energy supply comes from renewable sources. 
• Costa Rica is home to more than 1,000 species of orchids and 850 species of birds. 

But it goes deeper than the physical environment: 

• Costa Rica has no army; it was abolished in 1949. The government has poured money into books instead of bullets.  
• The literacy rate in Costa Rica is 94.9%, one of the highest in the world.
• Costa Rica is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world’s 22 older democracies.
• With a per capita GDP a fraction of the United States, Costa Rica’s health care system is ranked higher.
• Costa Rica is cited by the United Nations Development Program as one of the countries that has attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels. 

How many places in the world feature real estate signs like this?

Many analysts attribute Costa Rica’s happiness to its numerous social and educational programs and strong social networks. 


So is it a coincidence that Costa Rica consistently ranks near the top of both the Environmental Index and the Happiness Index?  


Considering their land is similar to the land of other countries in the region, Costa Rica is doing something with their environment, both physical and social, that is creating the difference. 
So what are the factors that make a difference in one’s environment? 


In applying this model to the business world, what are the ways a company can change their environment in order to stand out from the competition the way Costa Rica stands out in the region? 


Does changing communication within a company change its environment? How about effective feedback? What about time management and leadership skills? 

CET has been exploring these issues with businesses across Canada and the United States; bringing high energy, interactive and engaging programs to the corporate workplace.  


We all interact with and influence the environment around us, consciously or not. So what are some of the ways you can impact and influence your environment in order to create the results you desire? 
  
At the end of the day, aren’t we all striving for “the good life,” however we define it? Pura Vida has been associated with a country but it’s really a state of mind. 

In a business or organization, you could translate this into an 'engagement index'. Are people happy at work? If so, you are probably creating a great environment for them. 


If not...... well, we can help you with that!

A Brilliant Way to Raise an Organization's Profile - And You Can Do It, Too!


What is the primary struggle for a non-profit organization? 

Raising money. 


With a very limited budget (and a great sense of fun) you can make a HUGE impact on how many people know about your organization. It takes a very creative approach, however - and a modest degree of risk.


Here are a couple prime examples of organizations that have successfully undertaken just such fresh and effective approaches using the power of viral videos. I'm betting these videos have made a huge difference in their pocketbooks.

Case Study #1 - Big Cat Rescue 

www.bigcatrescue.org

Big Cat Rescue, a non profit educational sanctuary, is devoted to rescuing and providing a permanent home for exotic (i.e. wild, not domestic) cats who have been abused, abandoned, bred to be pets, retired from performing acts, or saved from being slaughtered for fur coats, and to educating the public about these animals and the issues facing them in captivity and in the wild. 

Combine the timely influence of a holiday, like Halloween, and the interesting juxtaposition of huge orange squashes and huge orange cats and you've got a winner. Check out the view count of the video below. Watch the cats play and appreciate another species undergoing a great, simple Adventure of their own. 


Big Cats Play With Pumpkins - VIDEO



Look at how many people 'like' Big Cat Rescue on their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Cat-Rescue-Tampa


What are the key elements that make this video a success?

1. A simple concept - kitties'n'punkins
2. Catchy editing - no malingering - cut down your footage to the minimum adequate for telling a story
3. Good musical score - watch the copyright issues
4. A reason to share - we all know how many people send around cute animal emails ..... 
5. An unusual set of circumstances - tons of pumpkins donated and a collecting of awesome critters

I'm willing to go out on a pumpkin adorned limb and say that the success of their videos has been a fundraising bonanza. In fact, if you liked them and support the cause consider sending a little donation their way. Better yet, ask your company to sponsor them.

Can any organization do this? 


Yes, with the right approach (hint: it has nothing to do with hiring a PR company). Given a little bit of latitude, your people are the best way forward. Just give them the ball. 

The best way I know to kickstart this process in your group is Corporate Explorer Training's Outstanding Performance Art Program. This is a dynamic and creative program that takes people through a a step by step process of how to create extraordinary results - just like Big Cat Rescue has done.

Case Study #2 - Opera Company of Philadelphia

www.operaphila.org

Formed in 1975, the Opera Company of Philadelphia has always been and remains committed to delivering outstanding productions of traditional and new repertoire.

Using a great sense of fun and an impressive scale, the Opera Company of Philadelphia has also seized on an intriguing holiday format for a video. It has garnered about a million views a week during the first two weeks it has been online. 

With the crowded video market today, that is a noteworthy effort. And I'm sure their organization is reaping the rewards of attracting that much attention. 


Success Factors:

1. Identifying a great location
2. Acquiring permission from Macy's to use the location
3. Selecting a proven popular song
4. Recruiting from other chorus organizations to help out
5. NOT making the video overly professional (and thus lifeless - less real, that is)

A giant pipe organ, 650 singers and an unsuspecting public make for a great spectacle - one worth sharing, for certain. Here is the video as an embedded YouTube video. 

Here is another video of theirs that most likely showed them the potential of this type of approach. The scale is much more modest - 30 players vs. 650. But the concept remains the same. VERY successful Philadelphia Opera Video Watch this one, too, if you enjoyed the first one. 


I love finding little gems like these. They prove my hypothesis that a little fun, Adventure and risk when employed in a positive and creative way can pay huge dividends. 


So if you are in Philadelphia, patronize this opera. With photos like this on their site highlighting images from one of their productions, I'm guessing their offerings are as entertaining as their publicity!

So, think this approach has raised their profile? Certainly. Helped them fundraise? Absolutely. There is money in fun. I'd love to help you discover this for yourself!

Employee DIS-engagement

Imagine working for a large company for 30 years and STILL feeling like that company does not trust you. Welcome to Air Canada, where customers AND employees don't feel valued.

What would that feel like? Pretty bad. 

I'm sitting at a gate in the Calgary airport waiting for an Air Canada flight. I fly a lot - as in for the last 3 months I've been on a plane an average of 4 times a week. I belong to every frequent flyer program out there - and some I like more than others.

Right now, I'm ready to scratch Air Canada off the list of preferred airlines. Here's why: they care more about rules than people. How sad and backward. Rules don't purchase tickets from them or consume their product (flight), people do. 

My story started as I arrived at the airport after spending the day in Calgary working with a large software company on helping their people become better communicators. Upon my arrival at the check in counter, I'm given a concerned look. The airport is practically empty - there are no other customers in sight. The ticket I have is for the next day. 

Communication Training Earlier in the Day

There are seats available on the flight, but my ticket isn't for this flight. The agent sends me down to the other end of the airport to the Air Canada ticket purchase counter. I grab my bags and head down to see what my fate will be. 

Upon my arrival, I describe my situation. My 11 year old daughter is in Los Angeles awaiting my return so we can return to the Northwest together the following day. I can't wait to take the flight the next day. The gate agent, a somewhat serious woman who appears to be in her late 50's shakes her head at me. 

She tells me that I will have to pay a $50 change fee and the difference in fare - based on buying a ticket right at that moment. I wince and await the news. In addition to the fare I've already paid, I will have to pay another $427 in fees to get on the plane. 

This is my cue to appeal for leniency. Fat chance. 

The fact that I am a heavy frequent flyer has no bearing on the decision. 

The fact that there are available seats on the flight is irrelevant. 

At this point, there is nothing in the Air Canada customer service manual that allows their agents to make a judgement call to handle a situation like this.

I ask if perhaps they could waive the fees. My dour faced agent, Pat, informs me, "I've worked here for 30 years, if I get audited, I could get in big trouble." 

I express my concern for her and let her know I understand her position. She continues, "After working here for 30 years, Air Canada still doesn't trust me to make discretionary decisions like waiving fees when I feel it is appropriate."

Wow. 

She offers that I can call the Air Canada customer service line to see if I can get any better result. She won't let me use their phone, however. I use my cell and quickly learn that there are extended wait times on hold and I don't have the time to spare. Dead end. 


Nice.

In an age where great companies are all trying to ensure their employees are 'engaged', Air Canada appears to be doing just the opposite. Worse still, they appear to be more concerned with observing customer-unfriendly rules than looking after valuable customers. How long will their business last as they alienate both customers and employees? 


Here is a web site collecting other (far worse) horror stories: http://whyaircanadasucks.com/ 

Apparently, Covey's first rule of highly effective people, 'Be Proactive', is not in play. Air Canada doesn't appear to have handled the problems people have expressed on the site. Customer's dissatisfaction is something airlines should be doing their best to address.

United Airlines had a customer service debacle with a guitar that had been crushed in transit. After getting no satisfaction or relief from United, the guitar owner, a songwriter, posted a video that skewered the UA service. It has close to 10 million views. Here is that video. 

Do you think that had an effect on the public's perception of United? You bet. 


In my situation, I felt like Air Canada was taking advantage of me by essentially tripling the cost of my flight, which basically just meant one otherwise unoccupied seat was occupied. Better still, they had another 24 hours to sell the seat I would NOT be occupying the following day. 

I would love to work with the executive team at Air Canada to give them the vision and direction to create meaningful customer relationships - relationships that would turn into long lasting relationships. People like doing business with companies that care. 


Call me, AC! I'd be happy to give you a free consultation. 


If you feel inclined to waive the fees I just got dinged for, I may be inclined to continue flying AC in the future. In the meantime, I'll be looking to Westjet to get me from YVR to YYZ in two weeks time. 

This is the end of the conversation I had with Pat, who would have liked to have provided better service. You can hear in the tone of her voice how disempowered she is.

Right now Air Canada's chances of survival are directly proportional to the amount that their customers feel like they are cared for. 


Let's see what the future holds.