I have not been doing much hiking lately. We have been doing some remodeling at home and that has kept me pretty busy in my copious free time. To make it more interesting, a week ago (Friday, August 10), we were having a concrete floor re-done. The contractors had almost completed the job and the floor was covered with sealant when it basically exploded. No one was hurt, the fire was put out before the FD arrived (which was within minutes), and we escaped any structural damage. So, I am relatively happy. Nevertheless, it was an f'in mess. We have spent much time cleaning up, arranging for repairs, and dealing with the insurance company. Meanwhile, we have crap stacked everywhere in the rest of the house. We are not complaining, as we came within seconds of losing the entire house. This is a lot better than being homeless!
I did take part of a day on Friday to hike Baldy, starting from the Village at 1 minute before noon. I was back home with a beer in my hand by 6:30. Except for the same hike 2 weeks ago, that's all the hiking I've managed in 5 weeks.
Pictures
Routine Baldy trip 8-14-09
Hmmm...sealed it before it cured and it overheated, causing stress build-up until it buckled explosively? Or did the sealant give off gases that built up and exploded!!! Glad everything turned out ok.
Perhaps I could have explained more adequately. 
The room in question is a "rec room" (I have always called it a "wreck room"). It has a concrete floor and had a crappy carpet on top. We decided to get rid of the carpet and get the concrete fixed up and stained -- it looked pretty nice when that was done. The final step was to apply a sealant. I assume it had a nice, highly flammable organic solvent to enable application. I will find out what it is. Usually it doesn't explode. 8) Several people (FD arson investigators, insurance investigator, electrician) have investigated the cause and we have no final word yet. Cool as it sounds, it was not exploding concrete. In fact, the concrete floor may be a major reason why we still have a house. 
Hey, I hiked for hours on Friday and saw no fires! Heard a rattler coming down to Bear Flat, but he was off in the bushes somewhere. Oh, yeah... my car was not broken into. Maybe parking in front of the Ranger Station is good.
The room in question is a "rec room" (I have always called it a "wreck room"). It has a concrete floor and had a crappy carpet on top. We decided to get rid of the carpet and get the concrete fixed up and stained -- it looked pretty nice when that was done. The final step was to apply a sealant. I assume it had a nice, highly flammable organic solvent to enable application. I will find out what it is. Usually it doesn't explode. 8) Several people (FD arson investigators, insurance investigator, electrician) have investigated the cause and we have no final word yet. Cool as it sounds, it was not exploding concrete. In fact, the concrete floor may be a major reason why we still have a house. Hey, I hiked for hours on Friday and saw no fires! Heard a rattler coming down to Bear Flat, but he was off in the bushes somewhere. Oh, yeah... my car was not broken into. Maybe parking in front of the Ranger Station is good.
