Vagabond Scrapbook

A little alumni fun.

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:01:13 -0700

That’s me on the top right, checking out Mt. Rainier from...

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:35:45 -0700

That’s me on the top right, checking out Mt. Rainier from the Goat Rocks Wilderness last week.

While my blogging lapsed, I decided to climb three finger jack,...

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:41:13 -0700

While my blogging lapsed, I decided to climb three finger jack, just north of Bend. The final climb was a vertical wall to the summit, which I free climbed passed other climber’s abandoned safety gear. After downclimbing the wall, I found Russ making his way up to the summit after finding a note I left on the trail. I reclimbed the wall to show him the way up, and then watched his climb from below. Great fun!

Photo

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:28:40 -0700

Mt. rainier as the sun set last night.

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 11:06:19 -0700

Mt. rainier as the sun set last night.

Photo

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 11:05:27 -0700

Sorry!

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 11:04:49 -0700

Hey guys, I’m still hiking strong. I’ve just had issues with cell reception and battery charging. I’m 1/3 of the way through Washington, and found some sun to charge my phone. I will fill in the gaps later. Thanks for your patience!

I’m hiking through the three sisters wilderness right now,...

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 10:18:36 -0700

I’m hiking through the three sisters wilderness right now, and once again, I heard the call of a mountain I just couldn’t ignore. I’m currently on the summit of middle sister, and this is the view looking toward south sister and bachelor.

North from crater lake, I night hiked up to a side trail leading...

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 10:15:41 -0700

North from crater lake, I night hiked up to a side trail leading to Mount Theilson. I made my way up the mountain and camped half way up. I have heard you need ropes to summit the final spire, but I proved that wrong. You don’t need ropes to climb a mountain, you just need them to fall off.

Shortly after Ashland, I had hiked north to crater lake national...

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 10:12:35 -0700

Shortly after Ashland, I had hiked north to crater lake national park, where I stopped for a quick photo.

I crossed the Oregon border on the 13th, and the hikers took...

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 10:10:39 -0700

I crossed the Oregon border on the 13th, and the hikers took over my parents house the next day. Here’s some of us out front.

It’s been a long, hot, fast trip from etna to the Oregon...

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 01:56:49 -0700

It’s been a long, hot, fast trip from etna to the Oregon border. First, I hiked a few days into Seiad Valley, a small town listed as the hottest on the PCT. There, I met with several firefighters to discuss the condition of the trail north of town. Opinions ranged from “you don’t want to be on the PCT unless you want to die on the PCT” to “it should be fine if you get through in the next 24 hours.” I chose to take the trail despite the uncertain conditions, and it proved to be the right choice. The views of the fires were great, and I never felt at risk. After a few days, I had hiked over the border into Oregon, and one more day found me in Ashland, just in time to celebrate my parent’s anniversary.

Ashland is a fun town, and on the first night, I found myself dancing to live music with over a dozen other hikers late downtown.

Tomorrow will be the hiker BBQ and pool party at casa de kish.

APEX is wondering when we'll all meet you in Hood River??

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 01:00:48 -0700

In about 3 weeks. When I get passed the ale trail in bend, I can pinpoint it a little better!

Trail towns… Some hikers plan their resupplies to skip as...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:43:03 -0700

Trail towns… Some hikers plan their resupplies to skip as many as possible. Some hikers plan their miles to be able to hop in and out in a day. I think I’ve hit every single one. Sometimes I intend to spend the night, and sometimes I tell myself I’ll be in and out real quick, only to finally leave a day or two later. It’s easy to get sucked in. The brewery had a good beer you never had before, a pretty girl smiles at you, you find a cheap place for a shower, the town has a theater with a film you want to see… Etna was no different. There were plenty of excuses to stay today, but I saw something really special on my descent down into town, and it called me back to the trail stronger than anything in town called me to stay. There, on the north horizon, was Mt. Mcloughlin. The first piece of Oregon i had seen in over 3 months. If I maintain the pace I’ve had over the last section, I’ll cross the border in just three days, although I think I’m planning on four. California is a huge state that I’m ready to finally hike out of.

warrenheise: Siddhartha found a rubber boa!

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 10:33:28 -0700

warrenheise:

Siddhartha found a rubber boa!

Half way done! I’ve hiked over 1325 miles, and if I can do...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:58:53 -0700

Half way done! I’ve hiked over 1325 miles, and if I can do it once, I can do it again. Now off to Chester to celebrate!

Attacked by a rattlesnake!

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:20:08 -0700

True story: yesterday evening, I was viciously attacked by a large rattlesnake in Belden CA. I was walking along the side of the road into town with bacon-bit, gumbi, and uhaul, when all of the sudden I saw an explosion of movement out of the corner of my eye down by my right ankle. I was airborne on instinct alone before I even realized what it was. My leap was just fast enough to escape the first strike, and when I landed, we repeated this process 2 or 3 more times. Every time I landed, the snake had advanced enough to strike and just barely miss my leg once more. It was like an old western movie where the cowboy starts shooting at the villains feet, shouting “dance!” It happened so fast I never got the fear or any adrenaline. I was in the air before I knew I was facing a set of fangs, and by the time I realized, I was out of danger once more. I’ve never seen a rattler that aggressive before. No rattling, and then an unprovoked sustained attack. Side note: it was the prettiest rattlesnake I’ve seen so far on the trail. Key lime pie and brown with a high contrast pattern and dark tail. You’ll have to excuse me for not thinking of fishing out my camera before it retreated back into the brush.

My hike from Sierra city to Belden has been all about unexpected...

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:26:22 -0700

My hike from Sierra city to Belden has been all about unexpected stops. On my third day out, I came to the middle fork of the Feather River, which had deep crystal clear pools for swimming, lined with granite boulders to dive off of, in canyon oriented just so to catch the sun’s light through most of the day. I arrived by 1:00 in the afternoon, and swam and sunbathed in this beautiful river in otherwise dry stretch of northern California until after 6:00 in the evening. In my time at the river, problem bear, kindergarten cop, patch, lampshade, threshold, and washout came through. I camped at bear creek later in the night with threshold, washout, and knees, who pulled a big day to catch up. This morning I hiked north from bear creek toward Belden, and opted to take the bucks lake alternate route, which adds a few miles to my thru-hike, but also adds a few resorts, and a resupply shop. On the way to lake shore resort, I found a rubber boa on the side of the road in a ditch. This is the first rubber boa I’ve ever seen in the wild, so I caught it and took some photos. It’s gut was distended by a fresh meal, and he was docile and slow. After the photoshoot, I released him away from the road, and continued to the lakeshore resort, which had great food and drinks. I’ll probably grab a meal in Belden tomorrow, but I managed to resupply on food at the Haskins general store until at least Chester, which will mark the halfway point of the PCT!

I had a nice hike from Truckee up north to Sierra City. I popped...

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 08:59:18 -0700

I had a nice hike from Truckee up north to Sierra City. I popped into town for a quick resupply, and ended up staying for the night at the Red Moose Lodge because Bill and Margaret’s hospitality was simply inescapable. Sierra City is a wonderful little town, and the warmth Bill and Margaret showed us hikers was a wonderful and unexpected surprise. I spent my time here with ninja, freestyle, style, problem bear, body bag, kindergarten cop, bacon bit, gumbi, patch, lampshade, washout, threshold, mother goose, turtle, and willilly. I’m about to head back out on the trail on an exciting section. Halfway to Canada is in my sights!

Today I hiked 28 miles down to Donner Pass, where I hitched into...

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:27:06 -0700

Today I hiked 28 miles down to Donner Pass, where I hitched into Truckee with a couple of trail runners. I went straight to the fifty fifty brewery, where I drank some great beers and loaded up on calories. The server was awesome, and ended up offering her home and trailer for the night, so I got a place to stay and take a shower before returning to the trail tomorrow in the AM. There’s so much magic out there if you know where to look. As my angel in Tahoe would say, “thanks uni!”(verse)