Frazz by Jef Mallett for August 29, 2023

https://en.wikipedia.Org/wiki/Forester_Pass

Huh! Never heard that breathing through a straw helps with high altitude breathing, but I checked it out, and prolonged pursed lip exhalations “helps combat the decrease in atmospheric pressure.”

I could have used this tip 15 years ago.

Bryson’s principal is having one incredible summer.

It simulates the high attitude conditions?

It appears he is beginning to recognize the subtle benefits from his trek. Good on him.

Most people wouldn’t notice the thin air at 13,000 feet. I’ve hiked as high as 12,000 feet with no problem; and WWI pilots flew as high as 20,000 feet without oxygen.

I suppose breathing through a straw would raise your red blood cell count if you can’t train at altitude.

Forester Pass is a b***h. Especially treacherous in this heavy snow year.

Next up: 6.4 miles a day for five years for a walk around the United States. 6.8 miles a day for ten years for a walk around the earth.

11,542 feet on a bicycle. That was a breather for a sea level boy.

Scott Hilburn, creator of “The Argyle Sweater”, can come up with a new original joke every day. Some days he even has a 5-panel entry with 5 variations on a single pun. Jef Mallett is apparently having difficulty coming up with even 2 or 3 new ideas this entire summer. Poor boy. Perhaps lack of oxygen?

Breathing through a straw is also a step for simulating a panic attack.

A straw? Doesn’t Frazz care about the turtles?!

The straw is a good simulation of how hard it is to breathe cresting Forester Pass. I hiked Forester in August of 2018, and my companions and I all suffered from altitude sickness, even though we’d been on the trail, and over 10,000 feet for three days before. Forester is really a narrow scary looking gap in the scree mountains, packed with other hikers in peak season, like right now. The best part is going down there, on the narrow winding switchbacks that lead south toward Tyndall Creek and Mt. Whitney.

Forester Pass may be 13,000 feet high, but it is not a peak as pictured. A pass would be a way to get through between the surrounding high peaks.