Dizzle's Diary

3 Day Epic (first post in a while....sorry)

2009-08-26T19:10:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Forest Trails Alliance (FTA) put on a three day epic mountain bike ride starting in Forest City and ending in Downieville. The adventure was supported by two sag wagons – a VW van and an extended cab pickup. Generally the ride went: breakfast, break camp, 3 hrs of riding, meet up with sag wagons for lunch, 3-4 more hours of riding then the sag wagon would meet the group at the evening’s campsite with camping supplies and dinner.

Staging photo: commence climbing.

The route went from Forest City up the sweet Sandusky Trail singletrak to the Pliocene Ridge Rd Staging Area. From there it followed Pliocene Ridge Rd to some singletrack around Jackson Meadow. From Jackson Meadow, the trip headed north, up Hennas Pass Rd to Keystone Mountain, Campsite No. 1, which was directly across the drainage from the Sierra Buttes. That evening was spent eating tasty grub, producing music in a circle and watching an amazing sunset from the kraggly outcroppings of Keystone Mountain.

Discussing Safety with the Sierra Buttes (campsite no. 2) in the background.

Day two the route descended down an old mining road to the K------- Mine where it intersected an amazing section of single track that plummets to the bottom of the drainage with 15 switchbacks (major thanks to TomE. for walking this trail earlier in the week and getting it in pristine shape for the adventure). After this singletrack, the route headed to P----- Creek campgrounds where we found a wonderful swimming hole and had lunch. After lunch it was off to Sierra City where we began the 3000 ft. climb to the Sierra Buttes where Campsite No. 2 was located. After the grind to the top, camp was made and evening shenanigans pursued.

Captured Spring running out of the mountain near K----- mine.

Looking at the climb from Sierra City to the Sierra Buttes

This artesian well made for a nice, cool stopping point during our climb up to the Buttes.

Sun Setting on the Sierra Buttes – from campsite no. 2

Typical Dinner: Potato Salad, Corn on the cob, and a Grilled BBQ chicken salad.

Day three started with a 500 foot steep climb straight out of the gate to the top of the Sierra Buttes where we intersected another trail that we followed for an additional 8 miles to ------ Lake where lunch was served. After lunch we continued on the perfect cycle trail descending to Hawley Lake where supposedly petroglyphs exist on the rock nearby. From Hawley lake the route took an exciting downward trend to Downieville. Our route: Polly Creek Trail => Butcher Creek Trail => random moto road => 3rd Divide => 1st Divide => Downieville.

Breakfast preparations for Day 3.

Topping the climb near the summit of the Sierra Buttes.

Lunch at ------- Lake.

All smiles after Butcher Creek.

We only had mild forms of tragedy, mostly in the form of flat tires (I got 3! Thanks TomE. for all the extra rubber), with no serious injuries – though Chris Ruedy’s bloody knee was looking pretty rough by the time we made it back to Forest City. It’s safe to say everyone thoroughly enjoyed the ride, sites and company of the weekend.

Happy Easter, birthday, april fools, etc...

2009-04-13T18:06:00.025-05:00

Happy Easter! I hope you all had a great day spending time with the family and loved ones. I missed out on that aspect this year but fortunately I received some cards in the mail and a few voice messages yesterday! Thank you.

I spent the Easter weekend the only way I know how, lost in mother nature. Saturday my buddy Dave Ludwick and I hiked up Mount Tallac on the southwest shore of Lake Tahoe (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7979794).

Mount Tallac from Emerald Bay.

I had hiked Mt. Tallac in the Fall several months back, but I heard there was some good skiing to be had off the northeast face, so Dave and I cruised up to check it out. The approach started with a 1.5 mile easy, manageable incline. After that we gained a ridge and followed that to a saddle just north of the peak, another 2.5 miles. From there we boulder climbed about 500 feet to the summit.

Our Route in Blue.

The views were just as impressive as they were months back, only this time I was more interested in the sweet lines off the summit instead of the breathtaking views.

Ludwick and I at the Summit.

The descent was a 3,300 vertical foot drop back down to the car, skiable the entire way – a rarity in the backcountry world. It started with a moderately steep bowl (35 – 40 deg) right off the summit to the northeast. The bowl was a huge snow field about 500 yards long and 200 yards wide, huge. The bowl narrowed at the bottom where it split into a well spaced glade at approximately the same pitch as above to the left, and to the right, several advanced (fatal falls) shoots dropping down the face at about a 45 to 50 degree pitch. I skied the glades and watched as other backcountry skiers (much better than myself) jump-turned (on tele skis!) down the extreme shoots to the right, an impressive sight indeed.

Northeast Bowl, my descent in blue.

The hike was, round trip, about 8.5 miles and took us just over 6 hours, no land speed record, that’s for sure. The snow conditions at the top were phenomenal, fresh tracks in ~8” of newly deposited, wet, large crystal snow over a consolidated, breakable snow/ice crust. Towards to bottom the snow turned to 1-2” of slush on top of unbreakable snow/ice crust – mmmmm, sloshy spring skiing.

Easter Sunday, I met a few other friends, Zachi, Jeff and Orion, bright and early at the coffee shop for an exploratory canyoneering trip down the Rock Creek (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7988977), just outside of Downieville near Goodyear’s Bar. The purpose of this trip was to locate a waterfall on Rock Creek worthy of coming back to with bikes for an ‘extreme’ photo shoot of mountain bikers repelling down a cliff next to a waterfall. Why? I’m not really sure, but I’ve never really needed that much of an excuse to go for an adventure. The trip consisted of hiking up a ridge to a point known as Serpentine Rock, where we had lunch, then a repel/scramble from that point down to Rock Creek. On the hike up the ridge we came across an abandoned mine shaft that appeared to be bottomless (from our stick tossing experiment), we scoped out the area and marked it as a waypoint, we’ll be back for more later.

On the climb up we came across this amazing tree, easily climbable, which we named ‘Gnome Tree’.

A little further down the trail we came across this abandoned mine shaft. Who knows how deep it goes, we dropped a couple sticks down which we heard falling for a long time...

We had lunch on Serpentine Rock – a 50 foot tall outcropping of serpentine rock positioned on an already amazing ridge vista.

Once we got down to Rock Creek (about 500 vert feet below) we climbed around in the creek bottom from rock to rock trying not to fall in or get washed away. Even though Rock Creek doesn’t have a high volume flow, the deep pools, long cascades, and numerous waterfalls meandering though steep canyon walls over blocky granite made travel difficult and consequences costly. We managed to snake our way down the creek, repelling and climbing where necessary. And yes, I DID fall in. The water was crazy cold and I fell into a pool just before a waterfall, so I was able to scramble to the shore before…well, I made it to the shore and did NOT go over the falls! Great Success.

The crescendo of the trip was our discovery of an 8 to 10 story raging water fall with near vertical canyon walls on either side! This will be the waterfall for the photo shoot in a couple of weeks. We repelled down the north canyon wall to the mossy green micro-climate that often surrounds waterfalls. After a short while of exploring the area we continued our descent down the creek another ½ mile to the car. We got a few more repel sessions and a few more wet feet in the process.

Jeff repelling down the north canyon wall of the big waterfall.

More random repelling, we did a lot of repels.

So my feet are pretty haggard with blisters and a few bruises, but all in all, I can say the weekend was a success and I am no worse for the wear. The weather is getting nicer here, the snow levels are rising, more and more mountains will become accessible soon! Hallayluya, Christ is Risen and Spring is Here!

Wish I could have celebrated with you all. The Weidinger egg bash and the Krazy Kremer shenanigans were greatly missed. I think I’ll go cook up some ham and bash some eggs on my own head tonight.

Other recent happenings (via pictures, cuz I’m too lazy to type and you’re too lazy to read) from most recent to last post:

Eric and I bought our season’s pass to the Prairie City Race Series mountain bike races (www.racemtbikes.com) and had our first race last Wednesday (4-8-09). The PCRS is a 12 week mountain bike race series that races every Wednesday.

Eric placed 10^th in his class, 124 overall, and I placed 3^rd in the singlespeed class, 74^th overall. This was our first race with 11 more to go, we shall see how the competition stacks up. There were around 500 racers last week.

The weekend of the 3^rd, I headed for SF with Zachi on an FTA (www.foresttrailsalliance.org) publicity mission. We helped the SF Urban Riders construct about 1000’ of new trail on mt. Sutros (UCSF).

I found this little guy while digging up trail…hope I didn’t kill him.

We rode Sunday after helping build trail all day Saturday. The SF Urban riders put on an urban ride for us the linked various singletrack together with city assault riding between sweet singletrack sessions.

Prior to that was my birthday, which was celebrated on the dirt via an out and back on the South Yuba River Trail with Dave Ludwick and new roomie Eric.

On April fools day, the master bedroom of 323 Alta Street received new inhabitants, Eric and Becca, who had just arrived from Denver.

The weekend before that (March 27^th), Dave Ludwick and I headed to Dave’s old college stomping grounds of Chico for a Mother Hips show, some socializing, and of course, some biking in the legendary Bidwell Park. The ride was epic.

And finally, sometime before then and sometime after Abdul and I’s Homewood ski trip (previous post), Adele flew in to win the prize of my first MO visitor. We checked out Yosemite Valley with friends Kate and Andy, stayed in a historic hotel in Coulterville, CA, did some serious road tripping, checked out the local hiking trails near GV, and topped the weekend off with a trip to Sugar Bowl for some fresh turns.

Abdul and I played in the bowl just north of the Palisades, which included this awesome 30’ cornice to a fresh powder transition.

Skick Skiing and Super Sweet Single Speeds

2009-03-15T14:36:00.012-05:00

After a rather boring day Monday at work, it did not take much convincing by Abdul to get me on board with his midweek Homewood special trip that evening. By 7:00 pm we were saddled up in the Speed 3 heading east to South Lake to stay at Emile's place that evening. We clownged around Monday night at the lakeside cabin with Emile, Justin and Toad, all involved in the skate company Blood Wizard. skiing

Toad and Emile about to settle a fight.

Checking our ski conditions.

We arrived to Homewood around 9:30 and hopped on the first lift. This is the view looking back off the lift.

The Midweek Homewood Special Gang (LR: Toad, Dave, Emile, Abdul, Justin).

Looking back at the Lake on our last ride up.

After the great ski day I was satisfied with my snow desire for the week so I switch focus to bike. My attempt to make a few improvements to the Rig yielded a garage strewn with bike components and a frame with a seat post and rear break...oops. I guess the miles of riding with little bike maintenance in between rides had really taken it's toll. I spent all week applying attention to various issues until finally, friday night, I had a fully functioning Rig ready to cruse down to the bar.

The Rig, better than new, with a new Chris King headset, trued wheels, and back in Sing Speed Form.

Saturday I hit up the Missouri Bar Loop. This was the very first ride I did in Grass Valley when I moved here. I did it on a barley functioning Rig with no front brake and 9 speeds. Rocco kicked my ass all over the trail, all day long, literally, all day long. I was pleased to return to the loop with a single speed 6 months later and destroy it with my best time yet. I guess something can be said about cross training with tele's.

The winter moisture had the trail looking like a painting with popping greens and browns.

Classic Missouri Bar Loop self-portrait from my favorite resting spot.

The river below.

I do not know if we will be getting any more big snow dumps this ski season, but either way I'm perfectly content now that I have a fully functioning bike. Cheers!

lil' Dirt, lil' Snow.

2009-03-09T01:44:00.014-05:00

Saturday was our local fat tire organization's monthly group ride. FTA (Forest Trails Alliance - the 'bike cult' I recently joined) saw this as a great opportunity to show support for BONC so that they would hopefully support FTA trail building endeavors. So, we did, but not really. We met up with everyone at the trail head, then went off and did our own ride....not sure how that qualifies as support, but whatever.

One of our many stops along the ride.

The 1st major malfunction.

The 2nd major malfunction....more of a cluster-f#ck.

After the ride, a few of us headed over to Zachi's place to do some work on FTA's webpage design (hopefully soon coming). The meeting was real productive, after Zachi gave us the initial tour of the place, which was incredible mind you. Zachi is a skilled, out-side-the-box contractor constantly coming up with crazy ideas. Check out his offical site.

He equipped his handcrafted house with a tower which we conducted the meeting at the top of.

The vine running up the tower is a ferro-cement sculpture that covers an irrigation system that is used to keep the house skin cool in the summer.

Zachi's personally designed and built house features a "secrete door" as the main entrance.

Of the many landscaping elements encompassing his yard, this handbuilt trials course was my favorite.

Sunday, in efforts to combat boredom, I headed up to Sugar Bowl for the day to work on turns. The Sierra Nevada got dumped on in the earlier part of the week but by Sunday it had mostly turned to classic Sierra Shit (except some aspects of the mountain where the skiing was actually much better than expected). I mostly just wanted to work on technique and all that bull shit for the day, but that got old REAL quick, so I ditched the resort skis and explored the backcountry (side/upper/near-country?) off the Judah lift. The skin up and around Judah were excellent. I got to try out some new equipment so that made the trip all the better.

Looking at the summit of Judah, only moments away. The cornice is 'looking' at Donner Lake to the east.

Castle Peak to the North from Judah summit.

My fat head blocking out Donner Lake to the east.

So the snow wasn't that good in the side country either, but at least I got to try out my new shtuff, and I caught some views.

RECIENT HAPPENINGS

2009-03-03T09:49:00.003-06:00

February was a much wetter month than January in the Sierra Nevada and that made for some excellent trips to the mountain in the last couple of weeks.

To kick off February, Dave put together a hut trip to the Ludlow hut in the Desolation Wilderness along the Pacific Crest Trail. Our GPS rout in can be found here: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7596726

Friday Morning: Dave prepping for the hike into the Ludlow Hut.

The skin in went fairly well, we were staying for 2 nights and three days so we each packed moderately light packs. The snow cover was pretty scarce for the first 500 or so feet and never really got all that impressive at the summit. January was a hard month for Tahoe.

Skinning up to the Ludlow Hut.

The hut was a happening place that weekend. Not only was our party of 6 staying there but also another couple from Grass Valley, a father-son trio from Kings Beach, a couple from the bay and a couple from Sac and a couple of dogs. CA is a full state.

The majority of the Ludow Hut crowd.

The Ludlow hut is a quant little A-frame primitive mountain hut with two small pot belly fireplaces, one on each end, and a loft that sleeps 12-15. It was no Motel-8, but it but it served us well and made winter camping much more enjoyable, almost too enjoyable.

Ludlow Hut and I.

We skinned in Friday, which took much longer than it should, so by the time we arrived at the hut we were pretty beat and just spent the remainder of the day relaxing and enjoying the mountain hut.

Saturday, Nick, Dave and I headed to the top of the only peak around, Lost Corner Mountain, where the clouds broke and we got some good views looking west to the central valley all the way to the Coastal Range.

Is that a member of the Israeli arctic-ops armed forces? No, it's just Ludwick snowshoeing up Lost Mountain.

We (I) skied all day Saturday, in which time I only managed to get two runs off Lost Mountain and One off the south face of SoughDough Hill. That night we defeated our hunger by celebrating canned seafood specials, as depicted in this wonder full ensemble of pickled Sardine, sharp cheddar and trisket:

What would the backcountry be without a little canned seafood?

We skinned out Sunday and headed back to Grass Valley satisfied by the adventure but concerned about the snow depths. Fortunately mother nature smiled upon us during the first couple of weeks in the year of the Ox. Storm after storm brought in ample powder days, most of which were undocumented. Nick had his camera for one powder day in Sugar Bowl a few weeks back:

A Sierra Blue Bird Powder Tuesday.

Jeff, Nick and I enjoying the day at Sugar Bowl.

One thing I've noticed about NorCal riders, they like to jump off shit. And I've found that I do too (fortunately I don't mind eating shit every now and again either):

Cooper, Jesus and I headed to Boreal for some night skiing last Thursday. This gave me a great opportunity to try out several items. I just received some new bindings for my touring skis in the mail the day before, so I needed to give them a go, I just got my new weather-proof cell phone, so I wanted to test it out in some harsher conditions, and I was yet to see what CA night skiing was like. I must say I was impressed, not blown away, but impressed, about everything. My bindings performed great, the phone worked well, and Boreal wasn't too terrible.

Jesus had his first day on the snow and quickly got the hang of snowboarding. It won't be long before he's ready.

Jesus at the top of the hill.

This last weekend Zachi organized a local ride through various parts of Grass Valley open space, of which I never even knew existed. The ride was an interesting twist on mountain biking, more like "adventure biking." There were few trails to speak of, more like true free-riding, and the goal of the ride was to find an abandoned mine.

Half of our 6-member GV free-ride crew (LtoR: Zachi, Dave, Ryan)

The ride consisted primarily of climbing moderate climbs followed by short, but fun drops back down to the valley. Any time a log or natural obstacle was encountered, it was challenged by the group.

Tommy styling a log crossing.

The Grass Valley free-ride scene.

After about an hour of biking and 5 or so miles of trial (no, we were not breaking any land speed records that day) we came across this old mine. The entry had been choked off from a recent small debris avalanche but it would have been neat to poke around in there for a while.

Abandoned gold mine entrance.

After the ride and a lunch filled with Paco's Tacos and Fat Tire we had the first Forest Trails Alliance (FTA) meeting. FTA is a group of adventure seeking mountain bikers united by the common bond of developing Forest City as a hub for mountain biking and backcountry adventure. FTA's primary objective is to establish an intence network (100+ miles) of well designed and built bike/multiuse trail system that will link Bullards Bar to Downieville creating a mountain bike mecca comparable to the North Shore, or at least that's our goal. After the meeting we all took time to familarize ourselves with the trail building equpment.

This little mini excavator had a track width of about 3 feet. I could bearly fit on it.

I was hoping to get some back country in Sunday but snow levels were as high as 8500 ft so most of the good stuff was getting rained on. Good news though, this currnet storm is loading the mountain big time on the order of FEET!

Close Calls

2009-02-16T12:05:00.004-06:00

I haven’t posted in quite a while, mainly due to the fact that I no longer have a functioning camera and I feel that posts without relative pictures associated are just plain boring, but anyway…..
I had a rather eventful weekend in terms of close calls. Finally a couple of storm systems have moved into northern CA bringing feet of snow to the higher elevations. I wanted to go to Salt Lake City this weekend to meet up with my Uncle and cousin for some dead prez. day skiing, but due to the severity of the storm system, I only made it as far east as Sugar Bowl on Friday. Nick and I skied the majority of the day Friday, enjoying 18+ inches of fresh, dry, steep and deep powder all day. In a hurry to leave GV Friday morning, I forgot my helmet at home. Because the powder was soo good, nick and I spent the day hucking cliffs and rocks all day at Sugar Bowl. Enter close call numbers 1 thru 100 – let’s face it, I’m not that great of a free ride skier yet so, needless to say, helmetless cliff dropping can get a little sketch.

We returned home Friday night without too much damage inflicted to anything other than P-tex. After a nice Pizza dinner, everyone settled down for the evening around 7:00. Abdul left to run some errands and I remained curled up on the couch nursing my shredded quads. From 7 to 11 I stayed on the couch in and out of consciousness. Around midnight Abdul returned only to find the house reeking of natural gas, Nick and Yung fast asleep, and myself passed out on the couch. Apparently, one of us left the front burner of the gas stovetop on hi all night without a flame lit. The house was quite literally ready to blow and I was far off in never never land, fast asleep, or passed out, I’m not sure which. Close Call Number 101.

Since I passed out Friday night, I was unable to make any phone calls to any buds with 4WD vehicles, and Saturday was rumored to be the best powder day of 09 thus far. So, like an idiot, I decided to drive to the mountain in my 2WD Chevy Malibu with very bald tires. I started the trip with two cable-style chains securely fastened around the two drive tires. I made it about 10 miles before the driver’s side chain wore itself loose and flung free. Somehow, and I’m not sure how, this occurred without any damage to the car’s body, amazing! Close Call Number 102.

I finally made it to Alpine Meadows to meet up with friends Sam and Jennifer. The powder was exceptionally deep and took a little getting used to. But after a couple head plants, I got the feel for it and it was time to hit the steep and deep. Sam and I were skiing off of Scott’s Chair, a slow double that services advanced terrain in an area on the mountain known for sustained high angle runs, untouched forests, and numerous cliffs. Sam and I had the plan on one particular run to ski the steep just before this cliff, scope out the cliff, then decide to either go for it, or ski around once we got there. Sam went first. Like a jet-eyed knight, he powered his Rossy 193 free rides through the steeps to the edge of the cliff in world cup fashion. Next it was my turn. I dropped in and lowered to my left knee to make my first left turn. Classically, I over rotated and washed out my tails. In a last ditch effort to retain control, I threw my weight forward to get back on top. In doing so, I drove my right ski deep into some fresh and I went ass-over-tea-kettle on to my stomach and began a 100 ft. free slide down to the cliffs edge, head first. I managed to get my skis back underneath me during the slide so that I’m sliding towards the edge on my stomach, looking up the hill, with my skis running uphill underneath me. This sliding position stops me RIGHT at the cliff’s edge as my skis careen over the rocks and dangle from my boots 15 feet above the rocky landing. I laid there on the brink of doom for what seemed like 5 hours, clawing at the snow, struggling to regain control and save my ass from the fall that was sure to come. Despite my best efforts, the snow was just too loose and I never achieve an adequate hold. I slid over the edge on my stomach and fell backwards to my ass where I landed on an assortment of rocks partially covered by snow. I slid for a few more feet where I finally can to a rest against a strategically located pine tree. Sam skied down to me, helped me gather my head, and I slowly skied the rest of the way down feeling like I had just gotten raped by the Sierra Nevada. Close Call Number 103. The damage: an unusual gate to the coffee pot this morning, a couple of wild-MLB-fast-pitch style bruises on my left ass cheek, and a core-scratch in the P-tex of the new K2 Hippy Stix. I really wish I had a picture of that cliff….

So, no pictures or exciting new places to report, just a few close-call stories. Until next time.

Happy New Year.

2009-01-04T23:57:00.015-06:00

2008 ended rather roughly. A storm blew in the day of our company Christmas party, so instead of working that day, a few of us decided to check out the fresh snowfall instead of our computers.

Unfortunately, the storm bringing the snow also brought high winds to the lifts so the day was spent throwing back drinks at the bar and clownging around (clowning around + lounging = clownging).

We returned to GV in time to be casually late for the Christmas party.

I was damn drunk to start the night and it only got worse - a pic that I don't remember taking with the ladies of the Mining Group.

I drunk myself stupid and did some typical drunk Dave stuff then missed my 7:00 am flight to Denver the next morning. When I finally DID get dropped off at the airport, I found myself without wallet or cell phone. After some quick emails and a of luck, I was able to make it to Denver by 8:00 pm to meet up with my uncle Don for the rest of the trip home. Thank you Southwest.

Once I got to MO I united with the Famdamily. We ate lots of good food. Sang jolly songs and were quite merry - classic family Christmas photo.

X-mas day was a lovely day spent on the farm with the fam, dog Pauli and horse Archie.

On my way out of town I got to meet up with some old buds for a good ol' night of college drinking!

I got back to GV in time to half-ass a work week until New Years, which started for me Wednesday afternoon with a disc golf match between Dave, Rocco and I.

New Years Day on the bike. A good start for 2009. Ride details can be found here.

Nick and I with the Forest Hill Divide Bridge in the background - the tallest bridge in CA.

Friday Dave and I headed up to Sugar Bowl. He took off on snow shoes to bag some peaks and I got treated to some terrific conditions.

Saturday Nick, Dave and I headed to N. Lake Tahoe to do some backcountry skiing around Mt. Rose, NV. It was a good day to avoid the crowds in the BC. Trip details can be found here.

The views from the climb up Relay Peak.

The climbing CAN be fun sometimes - if you come across the right drop. Good job Rocco on the shutter.

The Daves and Rocco clowngin' at the summit of Relay Peak.

The view from Relay Peak looking south across Lake Tahoe.

The backcountry left me with a pretty sore right hip flexer so I'll be laying low for a couple of days. Hopefully both weather and body are on my side for this coming weekend...

Oroville Loop

2008-12-07T11:08:00.003-06:00

This weekend was the REI Garage sale in Roseville. Basically, REI does not resell any of their returns, instead, once a quarter they open up and have a 'garage sale' where REI members can purchase the returned items at serious discounts. Ryan, Rocco and I headed down to meet up with Juice who was holding a good spot in line for us. We spent a couple hours there and I think everyone found a few good deals. I ended up with a Northface Gor-tex ski jacket, some Patagonia base layers and some Pearl Izumi leg warmers.

After the sale, Ryan, Rocco and I headed north from Roseville to Oroville to ride a winter time favorite of Rocco's. Oroville is located along the central valley but in a caynonesque area. The three forks of the Feather River come together and feed Lake Oroville, a large hydroelectric reservoir that boasts having the largest earth dam in the US. As geotechs, this was worth seeing.

The ride started down along the tail waters below the 750' dam. Essentially, the ride consists of a 7 mile climb to the dam along the north side of the tail waters, a ride across the dam, a 3 mile decent from the dam back to the tail waters, then a 5 or 6 mile ride along the south side of the tail waters to a rail road bridge that crosses the water and brings you back to the beginning.

View Larger Map

No pictures of this ride, though some great views were had. Ride details can be found here.

We returned Saturday night for a pretty uneventful evening. Today we are planing on doing the "Snow Dance" in hopes of getting some powder before Christmas. Snow Dance means waxing skis and tightening bindings.

Thanks Gave

2008-12-04T21:15:00.010-06:00

This year the working world dictated my thanksgiving plans, which is a first for me. So instead of a ham breakfast at Grandpa's, and a classic Turkey Day Dinner with the Krazy Kramer Klan (and by no means related to the other more infamous KKK), I spent the day giving thanks the only way I knew how, a bike ride of course.

Thursday morning I cruised down to Auburn to ride one of my favorites, the Forest Hill Divide Trail. The parking lot was PACKED with vehicles totting empty bike racks, but much to my surprise I found the trails rather vacant. I was also thankful for the vast trail improvements that had been put in place since the last time I was on the trails. I took it easy and enjoyed my 65-degree sunny day off.

View Larger Map

Ride details can be found here.

Abdul's mother graciously provided us with a wonderfully prepared bird and we (Abdul, Zarah, Adam and I) provided all the other fixings. And for the four of us, there was definitely not a shortage of food. We rounded out the evening making music with full stomachs and happy hearts. Oh... and then Abdul and I found some Karaoke at Coopers in N.C.

Friday was another beautiful day so I got up early and headed for another bike ride. I got an early start so I could have time to get to Sugar Bowl to pick up my season's pass and then head to Reno to the Sierra Trading Post outlet for some x-mas shopping. I picked a trail that I've hiked a bit and always wanted to try on bike; it was also high in the mountains on the way to Reno. The Grouse Ridge Loop is a beautiful, under used hiking, and even less used biking trail that circumnavigates several glacier lakes in the massive granite formed Sierras. It's about a 40 minute drive northeast on hwy 20 and another 40 minutes drive into the Nation Forest on roads that look like they were designed to eat Chevy Malibus. Once back there, I could have sworn I was in the middle no where without a soul to be seen - A much welcomed treat from the migraine-headache inducing 'holiday cheer' ramping up for the 2008 season becoming evident throughout urban USA.

Grouse Ridge is primarily a hiking trail that sees one or two bike every couple of weeks. The trail is a moderate hike or a strenuous bike ride. Due to both snow and rock gardens the day turned into more of a nature hike with a bike as an extra complication than a mountain bike ride. I still greatly enjoyed the day just being alone in the peaceful wilderness doing what I enjoy.

Some of the bolder fields the trail went through.

One of the many glacier formed lakes the trail skirts around.
A little waterfall created from the natural spillway of a lake.

Another glacier lake, this one with some bushes growing in it, I wonder what this looks like in the summer at full bloom?

View Larger Map

The loop I had intended to ride is comprised of two loops and is actually about a third longer. I turned back after about 1 mile of the southeastern loop because the trail was in pretty bad shape. Ride details can be found here.

Once I reached the car I was far too tired to do anything else (like pick up my Season's Pass and check out Sierra Trading Post) besides drive home, and that even proved to be a challenge.

Friday night I tagged a long with Abdul as he painted up the street of Nevada City. The bars were slamming for once on account of everyone being home for Thanksgiving. I felt like I lived in a town that actually had a night life for once!

Saturday, after a slow start, several of us (Abdul, Amil, Jimmy, Michelle, Kristin, Myself and 3 others who's names have escaped me) ate brunch at Ike's in NC. Normally I would leave such mundane details out, but it was at this brunch that my weekend plans became abruptly altered. Saturday and Sunday were beautiful days and I had planned on using them by hitting up some more great trails, picking up my pass, and doing a little x-mas shopping (and, if super productive, maybe even a little engineering). Unfortunately though, as I was entertaining a youngster, the little devil accidentally poked me in the right eye with his little, sharp, pinkie nail. I can't say so for sure (because I did not see a doc), but I'd say his little serrated finger nail sliced a tiny cut into my eye causing a rather uncomfortable sensation for the remainder of the weekend. Whatever it was, just focusing the eye caused enough aggravation to stop me in my tracks. So for the remainder of Saturday and all of Sunday I was reduced to my pillow, I could not read, watch TV, drive and for sure not ride without the eye tearing up and forcing itself shut. The aggravation ensued until Wednesday, when my eye finally healed and I got back to 100%. And boy was I thankful.

Persimmon Season

2008-11-25T14:31:00.005-06:00

As a youngster in the Fall, cold, sunny Sunday afternoons were often spent with with my family riding horses around the farm. My father, ever the salesman, would often try to convince us kids that the un-ripe persimmons hinging in the trees were tasty treats. Every couple of tries he would succeed and we'd lay into a few only to discover that the sweet goodness he'd spoke of was replaced by the most awful bitterness imaginable that would last for the remainder of the ride. I think Dad would do this just to shut us up (it's extremely had to talk with such a bitter taste in your mouth) so he could enjoy the country in peaceful scilence.

I never actually believed persimmons were eatable until lately. Fall in around GV, similar to Fall around Vienna, produces an abundance of apple-sized persimmons ready to be plucked. The taste, not quite as I remembered it, but less sweet than a mango with just a hint of bitterness, delicious. The taste sure doesn’t remind me of home, but the story always does.

A Couple of Rides

2008-11-23T20:55:00.005-06:00

The weather around here has been absolutely miserable for the ski season, but that always means the mountain bike gets more use.

Saturday I played bike guide for a few guys at work new to the area and one Ausi in town from our parent company, Ausenco. There's no better trail to hook anyone on biking than the Pioneer Trail, or as it's commonly referred to, The Nevada City Downhill Classic. As far as enjoyable trails go, this one is not lacking, a 4,200 vertical feet net elevation loss, scenic views, rider-friendly pine duffed trails, and something for everyone and then some (if you know where to look). Oh yeah, did I mention it ends at a bar? The day was beautiful without a cloud in the sky and a cool 65 degrees.

The group consisted of Upendra, our friendly IT guru, Darren, our newest lab manager, myself, head of bull shits and looking busy, Ryan, cadmaster supreme Engineer, and Jason, the Ausi in from Brisbane. With the exception of Ryan and I, the rest of the riders had logged few hours on tails of this caliber. So the day consisted of a lot a waiting, but I've been sick lately, so the frequent and lengthy stops were welcomed.

View Larger Map

On the Trail: (L2R) Ryan, Darren, Jason, Dave

In the background you might be able to see a bunch of smoke. They were burning the forests in this section of trail so we had to detour for a couple of miles to get around it. (L2R) Upendra, Darren, Jason, Ryan.

North Ridge Bar after the ride. LR: Ryan, Darren, me, and Jason.

Possibly more pictures to come. The ride is cataloged here.

Sunday I had plenty of things to get accomplished, but it was another gorgeous, clear, 65 degree day, so I went mountain biking instead (typical). Ryan, Jeff and I headed to Bullard's Bar Reservoir to ride some of the trails around the reservoir. The trails were in good shape. Some local dirt bikers had built up some little doubles at the trail head which started things off right. The rest of the trail was 100' climb after 100' decent around hairpin corners. A hard, moist trail surface overlain by leaves and pine needles, turned the day into a drift fest. If nothing else, the three of us improved our cornering skills.

View Larger Map

Of course, no pictures. The ride is logged here.

South Yuba Trail

2008-11-16T10:37:00.007-06:00

The South Yuba River, one of three arms that makes up the Yuba river, is a gorgeous riverway that is peaceful and littered with great swimming holes in the summer, and a raging torrent of whitewater during the spring. In the Fall, the river's 30 miles of shoreline trail has something for everyone and lots more.

A couple of co-workers (Rusty and Big Dave) and great mountain bikers leave for Columbia Sunday for three weeks to do some site work on a future nickle mine down there. Before leaving they wanted one more epic ride to tie them over during their absence. An epic ride is just what Rusty had planned, the South Yuba trail - in it's entirety. I've been meaning to ride other sections of the trail for some time now, but had never really planned riding the entire trail in one day. But the weather was phenomenal, everyone was in good spirits and chalked full of energy (at least at the start).

We dropped a car at the North Ridge bar and shuttled to the scenic overlook on hwy20, about 20 miles up the road. From there we bombed down Washington Road to the South Yuba River town of Washington. This is where the South Yuba Trail begins.

Our route (minus a 3 mile section in the middle where I forgot to press start on the GPS).

The S. Yuba River follows some pretty rough terrain and is confined by steep canyon walls on either side. The steep canyon walls make for some of the most technical, exposed and exciting riding in Northern CA. In many places, one error could result in a helicopter ride out of the canyon.

The South Yuba River Trail, like many river trails, follows the course of the river. Except the topography governs where the trail can and can't go, so the trail will often climb into tributary canyons, climb over secondary ridges and sometimes just climb for the hell of it. Riding the Yuba trails makes you think that you're constantly climbing.

The ride on the South Yuba was great with few conflicts or incidents. The group was spaced out most of the time, as hilly climbs will often do to a group. I broke a chain about 15 miles into it. The link that broke was right next to the master link, so a trail-side fix was easy. My shortened chain meant that I had two fewer gears to work with though, which made the remainder of the trip seam like a single speed ride.

So we rode the South Yuba from Washington to Edwards crossing, about 30 miles, in 5.5 hours with little conflict. The only thing left to do was to climb out of the South Yuba River Valley back to the car parked at the bar, about 8 miles and 2500 vert feet away. It was a poor sight, 5 tired, beat and spent riders waging an epic battle against gravity motivated by the crisp taste of New Bel Fat Tire and hopes of sitting on something besides a bike saddle. The last two miles of the trip nearly killed me. We stumbled into the bar, ordered a couple pizzas and enjoyed a picture of beer.

The ride topped off right at 40 miles, took us from 10:30 to 5:30 (7 hrs) with ample stops and a calculated energy of 5000 calories. It will probably be a while before I ride the South Yuba in it's entirety again, but I definitely had a blast this time. Once again, my lack of a decent camera produced no pictures of this ride. The ride stats can be found in full at: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7153424

Hello Internet. Goodbye Summer.

2008-11-09T23:26:00.016-06:00

As I'm sure everyone has noticed by now, the days are shorting up and its getting dark sooo damn early. This is seriously cutting into my outdoor activity time. So, as an alternative outlet for my a.d.d I'll be turning to the internet. First item of business, update this crazy blog.

Well, California is great.

I could do a all inclusive write up on everything that has gone down over the last 100 days but I think I'll just summarized it by saying I've been doing a lot of mountain biking. That has been consuming the bulk of my free time and I can't complain about that. The trails here are some of the best I've ridden with lot of variety. I got tired of getting lost so I got a GPS bike computer that keeps me on track and documents my ride stats. HERE is a list of some of the rides. If I were to describe my CA mountain biking experience with one word it would be: undersuspended (is that even a word?). The 29er hard tail is hanging in there, but I can't remember the last time I rode with another hard tail, and I for sure haven't seen any other 29ers. So maybe in the Spring I'll treat myself the a fancy full suspension ride, Giant makes a pretty good bike for easy money (Trance X1). If I make it through the ski season unscathed, I may look into picking one of these up.

Just last weekend we got the first real snow storm of the season and I couldn't be more excited. This fall I have been able to find some really great deals on skiiing exiptment so I've been slowly updating my ski closet. I was able to pull some strings and get a student season's pass to Sugar Bowl for real cheap. Sugar Bowl is only 45 minutes away and is far less traveled than the other Tahoe area mountains. With any luck I'll be posting about my first run shortly.

My current camera really sucks so I haven't many pics to document my travels so far. I hope to get a new camera soon, but until then, you can expect the blog posts to be quite boring. These few pictures are what I have and give a bit of a summary of the last 100 days.

The coast is 3 hrs away and a great weekend trip. I headed out and chilled on that rock for seveal hours one day.

Plenty of hiking/camping possibilities near GV, I'm not striking a Travolta here, I'm pointing out our route.

Headed to Reno for John Butler Trio Show. We had front center seats, the show was amazing.

More hike/camping (Sierra Buttes in the Background)

Classic Picture. We had to hike out the next day and did not want to make 2 trips.

Got some new skis. K2 Hippy Stinx. Why do I look 12 in this photo?

Hit up Tahoe finally for some mountain biking before the snow came, I was 1 week too late.

Did some hiking in the Desolation Wilderness along the southwestern shore of lake Tahoe.

Did some full-on snow camping and fine dinning.

And, just a little more beach.

So that's pretty much all the pics I have. I noticed a real lack of biking pictures, which is strange since that consumes most of my time. I'll try to get some more of those up soon.

Hopefully I'll post again soon. Cheers!

Westbound - all

2008-08-24T19:00:00.015-05:00

I awoke to the spectacular views of the Grand Tetons Wednesday morning, broke camp and headed into town (Jackson, WY).

Campsite 1, Jackson, WY

I fueled the car and ran a couple errands in the morning and stopped into a few local bike shops to find out where the biking was good. Pretty much everyone said to stick to Jackson and ride the trails covering Snow King ski area. So I did. This was my first taste of true mountain biking. By that I mean the trail started off low in elevation, climbed feverishly for several miles followed by a downhill run. The climbs were like nothing witnessed in Missouri, where climbs are generally moderate and the end typically in sight; in the mountains, the end is never in site and climbs are often technically challenging :( I spent the majority of the morning climbing until I reached the mountain summit (3 hrs later). At this time I was completely spent so I looked for the most direct route down, which was a network of service roads and singletack that meandered down a ski run. To add to the excitement, upon my summit the freewheel on my bike froze up and would not spin freely making my 1x9 essentially a fixie. I remedied this on the spot by just taking off my chain and cruising to the bottom chainless. By the time I got to the bottom I had fried both my front and rear brakes with the front pads being completely gone. Once again, not something I'm use to in Missouri.

View of the Tetons from the bike ride.

Looking back at Snow King and the trail used to descend.

After the bike ride, I stopped by Mile High Pizza Pie in Jackson to refuel and refresh then I headed west again to Craters of the Moon National Monument in south central Idaho. Craters of the moon is a landscape formed by volcanic activity many years ago, but instead of there being a violent eruption from a mountain (like St. Helens) the earth just opened up and oozed liquid hot magma forming impressive lava fields, obvious cones and a maze of lava tubes. This was a no brainer stop for a geotech nerd.

Pitching the hammock proved difficult at Craters due to the lack of trees, I was able to make something work with a tree, picnic table, car and bbq grill. Half the fun of tarp camping is coming up with the crazy configurations unique to every site.

Campsite 2, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

While pitching the tarp a friendly camper in a neighboring site came over and offered up some cool beer, a much welcomed offering. Andy, the friendly camper, was returning from Yellowstone to the Bay Area where he had spent the last 12 weeks working on a grizzly bear study. The evening was spent enjoying more beers and listening to some of Andy's great stories.

The next day I spent the morning exploring the lava fields and lava tubes with Andy. We climbed in some pretty dark tunnels and saw some pretty neat, un-Earthly structures before departing from Craters of the Moon NM.

Crazy Lava tube.

I continued west to Boise, ID where I stopped at a local Radio Shack to pick up a new phone, I was using my Mom's phone because I had lost mine the night before I left. Mom's phone ran out of battery and instead of buying a car charger I just decided to use buy a whole new phone instead since it was time for me to upgrade anyway. I got a Blackberry Pearl with the full data package and have really enjoyed it.

I pushed on all the way to Bend, OR which is just east of central Oregon. Bend is home to the eastern most reaches of the Cascades. I fueled the car (or the attendant fueled the car because it's illegal to pump your own gas in OR) then headed out of town to find a campsite. Bend is pretty much surrounded by national forest where camping and use of the land is free to the public. I headed down county roads for a while until I settle on a spot. There was a meteor shower going on that night so I enjoyed the night gazing into the abyss at the numerous shooting stars.

Campsite 3, near Bend, OR

Saturday morning I hiked around a little then loaded up the car for the final push, a due south movement straight to Grass Valley. I detoured slightly to scope out Crater Lake in Southern Oregon. Crater Lake was more beautiful that I had ever imagined. I only had time to drive around and snap a few pictures, but I definitely look forward to going back in the future.

Crater Lake...to be continued

That's the extend of my road trip to California, it really was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable trips of my life. I have one week of work under my belt now and I think I'm really going to like it here. The folks of Grass Valley are very nice and welcoming for the most part. Work is very relaxed with an interesting workforce that shares many of the same interests and views as I. Mountain biking is a big deal here and that's what I've been occupying most of my free time with. There are plenty of epic trails within an hour of Grass Valley with plenty of people willing show me around. I'll start posting on those soon.

Here are some other pics I snapped from the windshield:

Coming into the Grand Tetons

Sunset in the foothills of the Tetons

Lava Field

Sunset over the Cascades

First Major Town I entered coming into CA

Western bound part duex

2008-08-18T00:43:00.002-05:00

After my time spent with the cousins in co springs, I headed up to Boulder to say hi to some buddies. My original plan is to make it to the Rocky Mountian National Park Tues night, but after mild persuasion I ended up hanging out in boulder watching the Olympics instead.

Wednesday morning I headed into the mountains near the RMNP to do some mt biking at a place recomended by Josh called Hall Branch. Hall Branch was great, it had very technical climbs, flowy singletrack, and of course those spactscular co rocky views. The ride basically consisted of two sections, a rocky technical section going from the parking lot to the ridge summit, and then a brushed out singletrack loop on the ridge top. The climb was intense in the co summer heat and elevation but the technical aspect made it extremely enjoyable. After the climb the ride turned into a fast singletrack that linked banked turns to burm jumps followed imediately by another turn. This was by far the best designed trail section I have ridden so far. About the time I started thinking about that, I wiped out. After the singletrack I pointed the bike back down the mountain and bounced through the rock gardens back to the car. The decent was fairly uneventful and really made me wish I had more suspension.

View from Hall Branch bike trail, I think that's Long's Peak in the Background

Hall Branch Road Rash!!

After the ride I loaded up and headed due north to The Tetons in Wyoming. The drive was beautiful and plesent. I camped in the Grand Teton National Park Wednesday night in a new hammock I picked up at an REI in co springs. The hammock slept great.

West Bound - Part 1

2008-08-12T10:04:00.009-05:00

Well, I finally finished up the thesis and turned everything in, my college career is finally over for a while!

Saturday (Aug 9th) was Matt and Dianne's wedding which turned out to be an amazing event in which I am truly grateful for having been a part of it. I wish Fred wouldn't had brought the Jamison in the Limo, I believe that was my demise for the evening, but besides that, the day was amazing and I couldn't be happier for Vitellos.

I woke up Sunday morning in a soiled tux on a plastic lounge chair in the pool room of the hotel, I have know idea how I got there, but apparently that's were I landed sometime after the reception, which I honestly have no recollection of. Needless to say, I was hurting, still somewhat drunk, and completely confused. I made it back to my house where I started packing up the car. Dealing with 100 pound containers full of shit in the 90 degree sun quickly took its toll on me and made packing process that much worse.

I finally got the car loaded up and said goodbye to 405 E 11th for the last time around 2:00 pm. I swung by the newly weds to once again congratulate them, apologize for my drunken self the night before, and say goodbye. Then it was off the Vienna.

New Car fully loaded

Mom put together a real nice farewell dinner for my family and grandparents that afternoon. The food was excellent and it was great visiting with all the family. I'm really going to miss them all very much.

Me and my sisters.

The first stop on the trip was KC MO to visit old high school buddy Joe Barnhart and crash at his place for the evening. Joe had just made some oysters when I arrived so I got to expand my pallet and try some for the first time - I gotta say, not really a huge fan. We spent the evening shooting the shit and jammin' on the Taylors.

The next day Joe showed me the latest project he's been working on - customizing a Honda Super Hawk 996 sport bike with hand built fairings, custom air intakes, seizure inducing lights and more.

Joe's freshly customized Honda Super Hawk.

I left KC around noon Monday to take on Kansas and Eastern Colorado. My final destination for the evening was Colorado Springs. I have always driven Kansas at night because I thought it was such a terrible state that wasn't even worth looking at. I don't know if it was the fact that driving across Kansas was the first mental break I had had in a while, or if it was the new car, but something made Kansas and eastern Colorado very enjoyable and relaxing.

About 150 miles into Colorado on CO State Hwy 94, I intercepted a group of 6 guys who were biking across the country. They started in Vancouver B.C. and were traveling to Mane. I stopped and chatted with them for a while and offered them some of mom's lemon squares. They seemed to be a pretty cool group and I would have like to camp with them that night, but I already had plans. They're making a documentary on their trip, check them out at www.bikethestates.com.

I met up with Uncle Don, Matt and Josh at a local brew pub (Rock Bottom) in Co Springs. I enjoyed great conversation and tasty beers with them. It's always nice meeting up with my CO cousins.

We headed back to Matt and Josh's house near Garden of the Gods in CO Springs - both the house and views were amazing.

The scenic view from the front porch.

Matt and Josh's house.

Josh gave me a grand tour of the house which included an 8-foot Burmese Python. The snake was really cool and loved to check you out very inquisitively - non-typical of a reptile.

The Snake with No Name.

Josh and I jammed on the guitars for a while before calling it a day. Day One of my trip was amazing.

No Fun.

2008-05-23T18:44:00.003-05:00

Well, lab work really sucks and writing sucks even harder. I've literally got nothing of interest to post, but I'm taking a break and feel like I should post something. Everyone has graduated and moved out of the house leaving Pauli and I an empty, destroyed and nearly inhospitable residence. I've been making slow progress in revitalizing the place but I have managed to paint one room and straighten the living room, painting and refinishing the floor of the living room is next on the to-do list, perhaps this weekend, what a note worthy adventure.

I've been overcome by the greatness of this site. It's an online live concert archive of many of my favorite bands as well as many that I've never heard of but of equal awesomeness. You can download the shows too, which is great because at least now I can play with dirt while at the same time groovin' to JBT or a Dead show on the ol' iPod. Be cautious though, because before you know it, you'll have tickets to all sorts of shows purchased. So far I've ordered tickets to the State Radio show the 9th in StL and and the JBT and G. Love show August in Reno.

...and that's all I've got.

Grocery Getter

2008-05-10T20:53:00.003-05:00

I should be writing a Thesis and not this blog, but I just can't seam to get going on that damn thing. In lieu of hardened research I spent a good deal of the week playing with my new ride (see Exhibit A below). I've decided to be a little more carbon conscience and bike everywhere and use as little gas as possible (plus I'm cheap). I picked up Ben J's old urban commuter he built up as a nice single speed for next to nothing, then just spray-bombed her flat black so I can still look cool ; )

Exhibit A, The Grocery Getter

I doubt the paint job is very durable and so this will probably be the best the bike will ever look, but I'm still happy with how it turned out, even if I will only be able to enjoy it for a day or two.

Spring Break 2008

2008-04-27T10:40:00.013-05:00

This is a delayed post on my 2008 Spring Break/Vector Interview Trip. I had two objectives for my spring break, 1 - to spend some time on the snow, and 2 - do some interviewing with possible employers. Vector Engineering, a midsized International geotechnical engineering firm catering to large mining companies, have their world headquarters located in Grass Valley, CA. Grass Valley, from what I had read, seemed like a nice little small town in northern California not far from Lake Tahoe, where I heard the skiing was top notch. So I get an interview with Vector Engineering to get free transportation and lodging. Vector has me make the arrangements then submit receipts and they'll reimburse. So, I book a flight from STL to SAC a on Thursday (interview is on a Friday), plan a 3 day ski tour of the Tahoe Area, then book a flight from SAC to BRL(Burlington, VT) on the following Tuesday to visit the Sevi's who are now stationed in North Field, VT. I plan a few days stay with the Sevi's then hop a flight from BRL back to STL (self-funded) the following Saturday. Following, are a few pics of the trip.

After the Vector interview and a LOT of 'funded' partying Friday night, this was the scene 8:00 a.m. on my drive the the ski slope (just 30 minutes away)

The first day of CA skiing was spent at Sugar Bowl, a great little steep mountain with lots of variety. This is a picture of some pretty radical shoots open to skiing. I was fortunate to run into some friendly tele-skiers that showed me around the mountain, they also happened to be geotech engineers from a different firm in the area, crazy.

The first night on the road (3rd night of trip) I stayed at a state park just out side of Tahoma, CA, a small town on the west shore of Lake Tahoe. This was my first attempt at snow camping. I used some SMC Sno-Stakes from REI which worked very well. The night was great low around 20.

Easter Sunday I skied Alpine Meadows, another ski area 45 minutes or less from Grass Valley. The Easter bunny was helping park traffic that day, I got a picture. Easter Sunday Mass was a non-denominational service atop the mountain with skis on (it was the best I could do).

Alpine Meadows sets just of the west shore of Lake Tahoe (background). The temp got to around 50 that day, I skied in a hoody w/out gloves most of the time.

The second night on the road I made camp off a trail somewhere in the El Dorado National Forest near Grover Hot Springs (which were not too impressive). This was great camping with the low in the low 30s that night.

The third day skiing was at Kirkwood, a ski resort established on the highest pass of the western immigration trial. Skiing here was steep and fast with plenty of hiking options for endless numbers unique runs.

My final night spent in California was at Folsom Lake across from the famed Folsom Prison. This was the best night camping temperature wise, the low was around 55 that night. Three nights camping, three different seasons.

After some troubles with the flight from D.C. to Burlington (shitter was full), I finally made it to the Sevi's in North Field, VT. I was greeted by Monster (Sophia) who immediately started double fisting in celebration of my arrival.

Wednesday, after a day of skiing around the house, including some runs with Sophia, I headed into North Field to the old Norwich University ski hill, which has been closed for some time but the locals have kept a few runs trimmed back to create some quick backcountry runs. I met Sevski, who had just put in a day of professoring, for a couple quick runs before sunset.

The this is the end lift line face. Sevskis rolling tape.

The next day we had great ski conditions, it had snowed for most of the day, leaving behind 2-4 inches of fresh powder. Sevski and I hit up Norwich again, this time rooting out all the backwoods runs.

Little Shoot.

Typical 'run' in Norwich ski area/Vermont in general. You learn how to turn 'em quick.

One of the days in VT was spent skiing Mad River Glen, one of the few co-op skiier owned mountains in the country and home the the only single chair lift in the country. Props to Brendon for getting me a free pass.

Typical Run at Mad River that day, steep, narrow, icy and bumped out. My legs never hurt so bad after a day of skiing.

Marcy, Brendon and Kate on the hike up Mt Scrab (classic VT. backcountry) on my final day of skiing.

I barreled down Scrab in what some would call out-of-control fashion (ask Marcy) having the time of my life on the fresh, powder topped crust. I did accidental ski off this 'cliff', lucky I came out unscathed.

Scrab from a distance (Brandon's house).

Spring Break 2008 was my last spring break, but most likely the best. I had a blast skiing both sides of the country and really enjoyed the company I shared. I have accepted the job with Vector and will be moving out to Grass Valley in August. Dave Weidinger, EIT, Staff Geotech Engineer starts Aug 18th.

As always, more pics and videos are available here.

"Gosh this year is flying by!"

2008-04-25T08:39:00.005-05:00

The Weidinger Aging Theory:

Have you ever noticed that as you age, time seems to go by quicker and quicker. Think about it, every year you state that time is flying by that year. There is a crystal clear explanation for this:

When you are first born, day 1, the first hour is your FIRST hour alive. At hour 2, you have doubled your age. You now know everything learned the first half of your life plus everything that was learned in the second half of your life, it's like you get two hours of knowledge for the price of one, thereby making it seam like time is speeding up (x2). This analogy works for the first day, the first year, first decade and so forth. Until the mind starts forgetting massive amounts of information on a regular basis, time will always seem to go by faster and faster every year.

--------------------------

This sucks for me, all my life i've been like: "Man, if I can just make it through college, life will finally slow down and I can get my head on straight." Or "Man, if i can just make it through grad school, life will..." or "Man,..." Therefore there will never exist a better time for a break, a moment to rest and enjoy the hour/day/week, as the present. One will always think "once I get through ... , life will finally slow down and i can get it straight." If you don't break and work on it now, you'll never have a chance.

------------------------

I've got a lot to post, i've just been too busy and time has been flying by.

Green Pauli

2008-03-13T09:30:00.005-05:00

So here at the good ol' RollaMO we are in the midst of St. Pat's Break for the pinnacle 100th anniversary of the MSN/UMR/MS&T St. Patrick's Day Celebration. Needless to say, everyone is doing their part to make this the "best ever." I'm sure there will be some folks who will have no idea what happened over the '10 days of St. Pat's.'

I figured I'd do my part to help celebrate by dying Pauli green. I created a concoction of Green Kool-Aid + Green Food Coloring + Conditioner and meticulously painted her with it.

After she was fully green, I let the solution dry for about 45 minutes, then rinsed. Much to my surprise, Pauli came out completely green!

HAPPY ST. PAT'S EVERYONE!

Golder Interview/Ski Trip

2008-03-06T08:27:00.013-06:00

Last week/weekend I was fortunate to be the interest of an international engineering firm with offices located in vast reaches of the US including Denver. They invited me out to their Denver office for a round of interviews. Because they were paying the way for me to get out there, of course I had to take the new skis and make a trip out of it.

Pauli's Last ditch effort to keep me home.

I flew out of KC Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m. putting me in Denver around 6:30 a.m. (1.5 hr flight, but we gain an hour). From there I rented a car and drove to the office in Lakewood, CO, about 5 miles west of Downtown Denver. My first interview was at 9:30 and others followed for the better portion of the morning. Lunch was had at a local grill then a few more interviews followed. I was impressed with what I saw of the company and look forward to hearing back.

I checked into my hotel for the evening at 2:30 and took a much needed nap. I met up with Josh Elliott around 5 to grab some tele boots for the weekend ski trip approaching. Shortly after, Uncle Don met me at the Hotel bar for some tasty local microbrews (a plentiful fixture in CO). After a couple of beers we left for the Rockhouse Brewery for some more tasty beers and burgers. Here we met up with my cousin Matt. We spent the rest of the evening slurping down beers and discussing the weekend plans.

Friday morning I got an early start and headed to Loveland for my FIRST day of tele skiing...ever. I was the second one on the lift right after another fellow tele skier. I figured I could watch him descend and get an idea of the secrets of the tele turn. Boy was I wrong, he descended fast and smoothly, when i tried to mimic, I face planted and slid to a stop on my nose about 20ft later. After regrouping, I pointed my skis back down the hill and tried yet another turn, which had a very similar outcome. This was turning out horribly. I scratched and fell my way back down to the lift tired, beat and humbled.

I took another lift up to the other side of the mountain where the grade was a little less severe. I remained on this lift for the majority of the remainder of the day. Believe it or not, by the end of the day, I managed to make ONE run from top to bottom without stopping or falling! It was revolutionary, i was actually tele skiing.

Some Point during the day when I wasn't on my ass.

Breckenridge from Loveland

Keystone from Loveland

Amazing powder at Loveland

I hopped off the mountain at closing time and headed to Golden where I met up with Josh Elliot and roommate Keith for some more tasty local microbrews and some cut throat. Much like tele skiing, I was not impressing anyone with my pool sharkiness. Later that night, Josh, Ashley and I headed to the famed CO pizza joint/chain Beau Jo’s for a 5 pound loaded pie and, you guessed it, tasty local brews. I retired to Josh's guest bedroom that night completely exhausted.

Saturday was spent at Breckenridge with Mariel, husband Louis, and their many good friends. The conditions were of the typical spring skiing sorts - slushy slow snow (good for learning on) and high temperatures (40-45 deg, i skiing in a long sleeved t-shirt and no jacket). I used this day to really hone in on my newly acquired tele skills. By the end of the day, I was extremely tired, extremely burnt and a little more competent on free heeled skis. Thanks to Mariel and her clan for putting up with my slowness as I learned the art of tele.

Mariel and I after a nice run at Breck

Saturday evening I was invited to hang out with Mariel and friends at their posh Vail rental. We watched a little Tron and then played Wii Sports, where again, I showed my incompetence in coordination. I received a call from cousin Josh confirming lodging plans for the evening. I left Vail around 9:00 and headed back over the pass to a little mining town where I met up with cuz Josh and Uncle Don at a hotel. We enjoyed a few tasty local microbrews (are you seeing a pattern?), shared some stories then hit the hay.

Mariel and I getting some beers in. Aloe Vera anyone?

Sunday morning we awoke to 6" of fresh powder and knew it was going to be an 'epic' day. We left for Copper mountain navigating the snow covered interstate. We got to the mountain around 9:00 and headed up for our first of many great runs. It was at this point I realized the beauty of telemark skiing. The tele turn is exceptionally stable in the somewhat unpredictable powder. Thanks to Josh's knack for finding sweet runs and never backing down from a challenge, I became somewhat proficient on the teles. We spent most of the morning on black and double black runs, skiing everything from deep powder, to tight trees to large/steep bumps. We skied hard for most of the day. At 3:00, everyone was completely gassed and we retired to the car to head back down the mountain.

Donny, Josh and I at the top of Resolution Bowl

Josh picking his way through this amazing powder run.

It was a good thing we left when we did, traffic was moving at a snails pace on the drive back. We stopped at a small mining town on the way back to Denver for some Dinner, then parted ways. I booked it to the airport for my 9:00 flight home. At the airport I ran into some trouble and would have missed my flight, but fortunately all flights were running 2.5 hrs behind schedule. I slurped down some beers in the airport bar then boarded around 12:00 am. We landed in KC around 2:00 am.

Mardi Grads

2008-02-09T20:56:00.001-06:00

Man, it took me an entire week to muster up the gumption to post about our Mardi Grads trip, but here goes. The Wednesday prior to Mardi Grads weekend, Danny got his marching orders. Friday night we were all sitting around thinking that we better do something fun because it could possibly be our last weekend together. After debating about driving down to New Orleans for Bourbon St. we came up with a more rational idea of going to Soulard instead. Saturday morning after being somewhat productive, we crammed into the Capri for the drive to STL. In the car was Danny, Lauren, Kendrick, Matt, Diane and myself, the caprice handled the load nicely.

Leaving Rolla

First stop was the Schnucks to load up on booze. The last thing we wanted to do was spend a bunch of doe on over priced beer. Kendrick had the great idea that we'd drink Gatorade and Vodka and maybe they'd balance each other out (didn't work for me). We walked out with several gallons of Gatorade and Vodka ready to go.

We made it to the Hotel (the Millennium) around 3:00. Parking the car took some time because the garage was sooo packed. We finally invented a spot in the corner of the garage and headed inside. Six of us crammed into the 15 x 20' hotel room and began to mix our drinks and ready for the 1.5 mile hike to the action.

Pre-gaming in our hotel room.

With drink concoctions in hand, we marched down to snow covered sidewalks to Soulard. On the way we encountered several herds of partiers calling it the day already and heading back. Fortunately when we finally arrived the celebration was still happening. We walked around for awhile taking in the "sights" to be seen.

The Young Couples out on the Town.

Once we finished our tour of the town and our drinks, we headed back to the hotel around 8:30. We freshened up and went down to the landing to continue the good times. We ate at The Spaghetti Factory then went searching for a bar for the rest of the night. The cover charges were high that night, so we settled on heading to the top of The Big Band Piano Bar (where the cover was free) and listened to a great 90s cover rock band for an hour or two. After a few drinks here we were ready for some better entertainment. I went downstairs to the piano bar to see if I could get a discount on the cover since we had already purchased drinks upstairs. To my surprise, they obliged and let us in FOR FREE (cover was originally $10 a person). We spent the rest of the evening drinking a singing to the familiar 80s tunes.

Posing at the piano bar.

"Don't Stop, Bee-Leaving..."

We closed down the Piano Bar and found a cab ride back to the hotel around 2:00. Once at the hotel, the guys (Matt, K-dick, Danny and I) headed down a couple of blocks to White Castle to ward off the beer munchies. We took the food back to the hotel with us, consumed, the hit the hay.

We checked out and were on the road by 11 the next morning. We were all moving quite slowly but no one was too hung over...yet. We wanted some good ol' Hill Italian food but nothing was open on sunday, so we settled for Big and Tasty burgers at McDees instead. We made it back to Rolla around 2:00. By this time, I started feeling REAL hung over. I slept most of the afternoon away until the Super Bowl aired. We watch the super boring super bowl then called it the weekend.

No arrests, no public nudity, and no more money was the result of the weekend, but it was damn fun hanging out with good friends and made for some good stories.

As always, more pics available here.

Mountain Biking in Arkansas

2008-01-21T08:49:00.000-06:00

This weekend I headed down to the "Natural State" for some mountain biking/camping in the Ozarks. I must say, every time I'm in Arkansas I get more and more impressed with the mountains and state parks.

I was invited by Chris Sholl to meet up with him and others (others = Big Chris, Sean, John and Steve) for a weekend of camping and downhill mountain biking. I really wanted to do some more camping and I'm always up for biking, so the combo sounded pretty good. Friday I met up with a group of guys at Bentonville to ride Slaughter Pen Hallow biking trails. Unfortunately, the trails were too muddy, so instead of riding we packed back up and headed about an hour further south to Devils Den State Park. We got to the park around 1:00, unloaded, set up camp then went to scope out the trails. Devils Den has several multi-use trails and several cross country mountain biking trails snaking around, but that's not what everyone was there for. There is some private land attached to the park on which a down hill mountain biking course is set up.

A mellow section of the trail (really the only pic I got).

The situation is idea, a state park with free camping and a downhill run with easy shuttle access from the winding roads of the park. The bikes were loaded into Sean's Taco (the shuttle bus) and hauled to the top of the hill. I did not ride this first day, I instead road around with Chris in the shuttle bus. I had brought my Rig for the weekend (the only bike I currently own), which is a lightweight cross country racer and NOT a down hill bike; also, I've never ridden DH before. Several guys hit the run several times that afternoon with no or little problems. Unfortunately the trail was covered with leaves and not well established, which dulled some of the potential excitement. Later that evening we started a fire, sat around and drank (one thing that goes hand and hand with Mt. biking). After everyone got enough beer in them, we decided it would be a good idea to run the trail in the night. So at ~11:00 pm we loaded up and shuttled once again and headed to the top of the run. Big Chris, Angie and Patrick were all geared up ready to make the run when i decided I'd make my first DH run ever. Sean loaned me his super sweet, super expensive Transition Bottlerocket and helmet for the run. Because of both lighting condition and B.A.C. conditions, we took the run hella slow. I made it down without conflict. This was my first time on a downhill bike and it was something else, it literally felt like I was heading down on a plush sofa. The bike's highly tuned suspension sucked up every rock and bump.

The next day got off to a slow start but we finally made it to the trail around 10:00. By this time, the group of riders had grown to about 150 or so. This was apparently a big deal and riders from Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri all showed up. Everyone was riding these super nice $3000-$7000 downhill bikes with 7" to 10" of travel in the suspension. I on the other hand, was riding my $800 Gary Fisher 29er Rig with a hard tail and ~3"of travel, I was out suspended by 4 to 7 inches and outweighed by 30 or 40 pounds.

The bikes in the Shuttle truck (the Rig, trying to act like a DH bike).

Never the less I dawned my helmet and hogged down the hill. The run, by this time, had been racked clear of leaves and was worn in from all the other riders. I was able to hang, for the most part, with the other riders taking many of the same lines, my ride was just a whole lot rougher. With every ride I got a little more and more cautious from seeing riders broken and bikes ruined on the hill. I wrecked a few times, once I slid down the hill on the top of my head/face but with no damage to my bike, another time I rolled over the handlebars as my bike folded up on a rock. The damage at the end of my first day was some bruises to my legs, a skinned up shoulder and a tacoed front wheel (tacoed=a bike wheel that is bent so bad it starts to resemble a taco).

That night Sean made some amazing burgers over a nice fire, we drank a little beer, reviewed some video that was shot that day then headed to bed. The next morning we packed up and prepared for the 5 hour drive back home. I shuttled up with John and Steve for a few last runs before heading back (thanks to big Chris for somewhat straightening my tacoed wheel). I took two runs and nailed my last run smoothly and decided I better quit while I was ahead. I arrived back in Rolla around 5:00. I unpacked and cleaned my bike, which ended up taking several hours. I cleaned myself up and joined Kendrick, Josh and Ashley in the living room for some drinks. Later Matt and Diane came over. Later that night we agitated Ashley by being total idiots, for that we feel real bad and are completely sorry :(

So far, MLK weekend has been pretty good. Today I hope to lay around, enjoy my day off, maybe play some Wii (if Ashley will forgive me) then take Pauli to the vet this afternoon for her surgery.

"The difference between and Brush Ape and a Wood Hippie is..."

2008-01-13T18:06:00.000-06:00

This weekend I went with Matt and Josh down to the Current River section of the Ozark Trail for some hiking and camping.

Myself, Josh and Matt (from L to R) ready to head out.

Matt and I just got sweet new camping tarps and were eager to try them out. I this was going to be our second trip with the tarp, a day earlier, Diane, Matt and I camped at Dewitt Pond near Newberg as a trial run.Matt and Diane joined me on the inaugural run of the Origami 2 Camping Tarp

That night was a little chili with mild winds. The tarps fared quite well and I was more than pleased. I stayed nice and warm. We struggled with a fire, it had rained all day, so instead we sat around in one of the tarps and played dominoes via lantern light. The tarps were more than large enough for 3 people to sit up and play games in.

Sierra Design's Origami 2 Camping Tarp and Dewitt Pond in the background

We packed up and departed from Rolla around 11:00 am for Ellington Missouri, about a 2 hour drive. We wanted to leave earlier, but you know how it goes. Our objective for the day was to hike to, or near, Rocky Falls on the Ozark Trail. We started hiking around 1:00. We hiked at a good pace for 4 solid hours until we reached a nice little campsite, complete with a robust fire ring, near Rocky Creek. We didn't quite make it to Rocky Falls (we were about 2 miles away), but decided we'd leave that for another trip.

Matt and Josh resting at a bluff overlooking the Current River.

Matt and I pitched the tarps as Josh got started on the fire. We experimented some with the many pitching options of the tarp trying to tie the two together but we eventually ended up just pitching the like a tepee, like normal. That night we drank and joked around then hit the sack. The low was around 23 degrees, which my sleep system handled very comfortably.

The next morning we broke camp around 9:00 am then headed back to the car (about 8 miles away). It was a good little trip and I look forward to making a few more like it.

Josh and Matt heading out.

For more images of the weekend, check out my photo archive.

Berryman!

2008-01-05T17:49:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure what the high was today, but whenever I woke up this morning and headed outside it was nearly warmer outside than it was in my bedroom! There is only one thing that means: MOUNTAIN BIKING! Its not everyday in January in Missouri that you can bike comfortably in shorts.

I finally made the pilgrimage out to the legendary Berryman Mt. Bike Trail, and boy am I glad I did. This trail was everything folks have said it is. Its located Right in between Steelville and Patosi on Hwy 8, only about 50 miles from Rolla. I arrived at the trail head at 12:00. Berryman is a 23 mile loop and I figured I'd take me about 4 hours.

The trail was one fast, saucy decent after another, and the best part is that, because the fellas who built it actually knew what they were doing, the climbs were not that bad either. The trail had some technical stuff (but not much), and good climbs and lots of great descents, everything you could ask for in a trail! And unlike most awesome trails, there was absolutely no one riding them besides me.

I must have had one hell of a Christmas break because I was one tired puppy half way through it, I felt like an elephant on my bike. The 23 miles got a little long, but I can honestly say I enjoyed every mile. I did develop some cramps in both quads at one point, which caused me to fall, but other than that, the trip was fairly uneventful. (Note: uneventful = no blood).

The carefully crafted singletrack that lay before me.

My total ride timed ended up being a little over 4.5 hours and I returen to the Caprice around 4:45. Boy was I glad to see my car.

After completion, I was tired! (and check out those shorts!)

On my drive back, I passed a bald eagle literally 5ft off the side of the road chowing down on something. I pulled over and tried to sneak up on it to get a pic, but i guess i got too excited and he flew off. This is the best i could do.

Trust me, there is an eagle in there.

Are you kidding me?

2008-01-03T13:50:00.000-06:00

Well, today I got another parking ticket. Another $5 parking ticket. I really shouldn't complain because I park illegally nearly everyday, but after my recent run ins, this one just kinda pissed me off. The asshole cop wrote a ticket this morning for 'Parking facing traffic." Whats the big deal? Why is that illegal? Is it really worth the bastards trouble to get out and write a citation for that? I didn't think so. So to get back at the 'man,' Danny and Lauren helped me stuff 500 pennies into the ticket envelope and seal it up. I then immediately hand delivered it to the police station (don't want this one to escalate into a warrant for my arrest or anything (see earlier blog below)).

The ticket envelop after stuffing and sealing

After returning from the station, I did manage to park my car in the correct fashion. I guess I'm getting soft.

We even enclosed a fortune cookie fortune the read "Today is the day to make new friends." Hope they have fun counting.

Should old acquaintances be forgotten...is that how it goes?...What the shit does that mean?

2008-01-01T17:55:00.000-06:00

This year I had the pleasure of celebrating the New Year on Beale Street. Sunday morning I headed up to Fulton to meet up with former 405 E 11th resident Matt Flint, faience Lindsey and her three friends. We hit the road around 9:30 and headed south. Matt and I made it to St. Louis before we realized we needed some road sodas for the ride. We stopped at a gas station and everyone filled up on booze. The rest of the ride was spent swapping stories, and drinking every time we passed farm irrigation systems (they were plentiful and we needed something to drink to).

We rolled into Memphis around 4. We checked into our super posh downtown hotel then headed out for the evening. We ate at the Rum Boogie Cafe (tasty pork but small proportions) then checked out a couple of bars that had live music. Beale Street was fairly dead for the day before New years, I guess everyone was saving up for the next night. Somewhere a long the way I got pretty loaded and felt the urge to dance like crazy. We found a awesome 4-man funk bank doing popular Hip Hop-ish covers and 'danced the night away.' I am a terrible dancer, for the record. I don't fully recall going to bed, but I awoke something the next morning fully clothed on top of the covers, shoes on and all.

The next day I woke up early got breakfast and waited around for the rest the rise. After more breakfast (Denny's) we walked down to the Sun Studio (home to recording artists Elvis, Johnny Cash, and more). A couple of the girls went on the tour while the rest of us waited in the cafe section of the place. I headed across the street to a gas station and picked up some 40s to drink while we waited.

After the tour we checked out some other sites then crawled into a carriage for a cliche ride around the town.

After a quick jog around town, I cleaned up and started celebrating (drinking) at the hotel bar. Noteworthy: the bums of Memphis are extremely nice, they were very pleasant during my run. Always up for a fist bum and conversation.

Due to a lack of time, dinner was at the Hotel bar, then we headed to Beale Street. We spent most of the evening at Alfred's- a nice bar with live music. Every joint was asking for ridiculous covers, Alfreda's wanted 20 bucks a head. Fortunately for me, they don't watch their back door too closely ;)

We wrung in the New Year there then headed around the the street to catch some more local color. We eventually wound up back at the hotel bar to end the night.

The trip was a ton of fun. I'm definitely looking forward to another trip down to Beale Street.

In the Clink for the Holidays

2007-12-28T17:58:00.000-06:00

Not really, but close. Christmas Eve I was in Rolla taking care of some last minute details. I went to go pay for a parking ticket at the Police Station and the bastards threw me in jail!

Back in September, I received a 5 dollar parking ticket for parking in the Yellow near campus. Because it was only 5$ I neglected to play it. When I was home for Thanksgiving break I received a letter saying that due to my lack of cooperation in paying my 5$ parking ticket I now owe 25$. Once again, I neglected to pay this and while at home for Christmas break I received a letter saying that I had a warrant out for my arrest and a bail bond set at $139!

Right away I headed to Rolla to take care of this, making sure to obey all traffic laws. I figured I could just pay the bond and settle everything in a matter of minutes at the station. Unfortunately, that's not the way the US legal system works (or at least the Phelps County law). In order for them to take my money, I had to get arrested and booked by an officer. So Officer Vogt booked me, took my photo and other information, set me in a cell for about 10 minutes. I then paid my bond and was free to go.

I have a court date January 22nd where supposedly I'll get most of my bond money back. Now I have an arrest record for a 5 dollar parking ticket. That makes me feel like a true bad ass.

Christmas

2007-12-28T17:31:00.000-06:00

Well, for Christmas I was spoiled rotten once again. My folks did well getting me some new jeans, a new bike helmet, some clothing and books and a nice sleeping bag. Later Christmas day, my Mom's side of the fam came over and we had a "White Elephant" Christmas gift swap. I brought this little number to the event:

White Elephant xmas gift.

My uncles enjoy Stag beer and in order to make the gift worth more than 15 cents I turned it into a stag deer with 24 dollars.

I ended the evening with a fifth of Crown Royal and a some Crown glasses. Not bad! There were some other creative gifts as well and can be viewed in my pic archive.

Other than that, I Christmas was quite uneventful. Oh, except for getting thrown in the clink on Christmas Eve! Apparently its important to pay 5$ parking tickets.

Chillin'

2007-12-19T08:37:00.001-06:00

Christmas break has been quite nice so far. I've been done since last Thursday. Since then things have been pretty great - don't get me wrong, I've haven't done shit besides suck at life, but its break right? Thursday the Pharmacy Girls came down and we ended up doing a lot of drinking. Pretty much from Wednesday evening to Saturday thats all we did, not too bad.

Saturday I swung by Drury and Mills' graduation party to eat some tasty brats and play a little guitar hero. Then I went to 2LT Danny Tabacchi's Army commissioning where I learned how much of a bad ass Danny is in real life (Danny graduated #11 out of 4000something!). It was a nice short ceremony.

Sunday I had an eventful day. The Sevi's and I headed to Ber Juan for some Missouri Classic Skiing. We kicked some punk sledders off their hill and used it to carve up some 8s. Even though we only got like 4 inches of snow, it was perfect for a little skiing.

I later headed home to find the Weidinger Family Christmas Tree. At 4:00 I saddled up a horse and headed out (by this time, their was snow on the ground but the ground was thawing and getting sloppy, I didn't want to get stuck - so i took a horse). We headed out with saw in hand to my infamous and highly secretive cedar Christmas Tree Patch. After about a 1/2 hour of stumbling around through the cedars, i came upon a beauty. I sawed it down and drug it back. I was so impressed with the young filly i was on, she handled the situation so well. Once home, Dad and I trimmed it up and positioned it in the living room. Mom made me a steak dinner for my efforts which was perfectly cooked.

That evening i headed up the Columbia (since I was already 20 minutes north of Rolla I figured, what the hell?). Sunday night amounted to some casual drinking and Wii Sports with Nixon and Adele. Monday I didn't amount to shit, slept till 11, started drinking at noon.

Tuesday i was back to Rolla to help the Sevi's move.

What an exciting couple of days its been.

Nearly Finished

2007-12-11T03:12:00.000-06:00

Tonight I finished my take home final which has been plaguing me for a week now. I finally came up with a final solution after 16 pages of writing, it really sucks. It kinda made me not wana be a geotech engineer.

Danny and Lauren got married legally today (though their actual ceremony won't be until the 18th in Mexico). Last night we had a sudo bachelor party for Danny and tonight we had a sudo "reception" with Danny and Lauren to celebrate.Newlyweds

Not much happened, Josh discovered a new way to 'shotgun' beers. He calls it either 'New School' or 'Slugguning." It pretty crazy, it pretty much the same thing only you drink out of the mouth of the can and pop a hole in the bottom (instead of visa versa like normal shotgunning). He made it through an entire 12 pack of Beast Ice, sluggunning every one. He really is "all that is man."

Gosh and I "Sluggunning"

I've got just one more report to finish and I'll be done for the semester and done with classes forever at UMR! That's something to get excited about. That, and, its been dumping on Wolf Creek for the past 4 days!

Can't Sleep

2007-12-06T01:39:00.000-06:00

An entire semester of slacking is coming down to bite me right in the arse. Happens every semester, you'd think I'd learn. The nice weather comes and I can't help but take off and enjoy the out doors for a couple of weeks, then the semester starts coming to a close and all that time biking or fishing or whatever has to be payed back.

I spent the evening tweaking a computer modeling program trying to get it to model what i wanted. Its what i like to call "not a whole lot of fun." I finally get it to work out though. Now I can't sleep.....what a reward.

My soil wall modeled in Plaxis, this is all i have to show for 8hrs for work...sometimes you just gotta hate life.

Hopefully I can find something fun to do this weekend to take my mind off school....maybe I'll go camping.

Castlewood Adventure Race

2007-12-02T09:42:00.000-06:00

This weekend Danny and I participated in the 2008 Bonk Hard Castlewood Adventrue race. The race was an absolute blast. It incorporated running, biking and canoeing all the while using land navigation to find the check points.

We checked in at 9:30 Friday night and got our packet of goodies. We headed to John's extended stay hotel to crash there for the evening. Once we got there (10:45ish) we ordered a pizza and Danny started plotting the check points on the maps we received at check in. At about 12:30 Danny finished up with that and we hit the sack.

The race started with a 2ish mile trail run which looped back to the starting line. At the starting line we were given an orienteering map and for the next 1.5 hrs we ran around finding check points.

Danny trying to stay warm before the race.

After the orienteering course we entered the first bike section in third place (Sapper Danny nailed every point on the money giving us a huge advantage). We headed off on our bikes feeling pretty good about ourselves. We biked for a while on Keefer Creek Rd looking for our next checkpoint when we arrived at Manchester Blvd. It was ridiculous, there we were, all decked out in our racing garb on bikes looking at a map in the middle of a busy intersection. Clearly we made a mistake. After scratching our heads for a few, we turned around and headed back. 15minutes later we came to the intersection that we so blatantly rode by 30 minutes earlier (we were pissed).

We completed the first biking portion and entered the canoeing in 6th place. We canoed for what seemed like forever then hit the bikes again maintaining our race position. We rode the entire rest of the race in 6th without seeing a soul, until the end. Somehow, while plotting our points at 12:30 the night before and using a homemade plotting tool, we managed to screw up the last point. So when we got to the point, it was nowhere to be found. After asking a friendly finisher where point 30 was we set out on a 15 minute detour to get the last checkpoint. By the time we backtracked and got the point, a big group of racers caught up with us. Long story short, we ended up in 10th or 11th only seconds behind our 6th place position we held on too so dearly for so long. But man, what an awesome time it turned out to be. Our final time was just under 6h45mins.

Feeling pretty good after the race! The only problem = no beer

We headed back to Rolla where I hung out with the housemates and watched the Mizzou game, which was a huge disappointment. Matt and Diane came over and Ashley was down from Columbia to add to our cheering entourage, but it still wasn't enough.

Josh sporting his new chops, Ashley sporting the stink eye.

Vew more pics from the weekend and others here.

Xmas is coming

2007-11-26T19:07:00.000-06:00

After an enjoyable weekend with the folks in Vienna I returned to Rolla rather depressed about the thought of, well Rolla. To boost my spirits I decided to install the Christmas lights for the season. After nearly falling off the latter a couple of times and breaking more than a few lights I successfully completed my task. This year's showing is a little lack luster (compared to last year's display) due to my frustrations with the quite tedious task.
If I get some more ambition, i may add some lights to the windows and maybe even the tree in the front.

Man, what I'll do to put off school work.

Thanksgiving Break Bike Trip

2007-11-20T20:52:00.000-06:00

This thanksgiving I was set on making it out to CO for some early snow skiing. Unfortunately, the snow gods had other plans. Suffering from lack of snow, summit county got the boot to other adventures.

I was able to bug out of the Lab around 12:00 on Thursday. I swung by Vienna to drop off Pauli and have my teeth fixed (I did not want to be inhibited in any way for turkey day). After that it was off to JC. In Jeff I rode a couple of Laps round Binder Lake. The trails were slightly moist so conditions were prime for railing turns and maintaining serious speed.

That evening I headed up to Columbia to hang out with some friends. Friday morning I awoke to a beautiful morning and headed for Rhett’s Run in Columbia’s Cosmo Park. This was a fun inner city trail that incorporated everything the area had to offer to make for a short but interesting loop.

After a couple of laps around Rhett’s Run I headed out to Rock Bridge monument park. I rode a few laps on a couple of trails. Rock Bridge had some short climbs and decents over rocky and rooty wooded trail (but don’t get me wrong, the rock and roots made the ride interesting). Some of the hills here were quite challenging, so a good work out.

I returned to town to get cleaned up and headed out to eat with my parents who happened to be in town for a Mizzou Basketball game. I went to the game with them where they won by a large margin, because it was an exhibition game, it was pretty boring.

Saturday morning I awoke to another beautiful day. I headed to my car to jimmy the locks (I locked my keys in there the night before). As the locks popped open with minimal effort, I knew it was going to be a good day (and that I should never leave valuables in the car).

I met Kirby at Landahl Park outside of KC Saturday morning and hit the trails. Landahl was absolutely amazing. They don’t get much better than this. Trails were well marked, well traveled and in great shape, there was ever and gall with a leaf blower clearing the trails. The difficulty ranged from a green trail which was just an easy going multi track, to a black trail which had rocks, ledges and cuts to challenge even the most skilled rider. I didn’t fall too much, but I did scuff my sholder on a rock face. The would totally looked like a gun shot grazing (and there’s even a shooting range in the background).

After about 1.5-2 hrs of riding, Kirby and I were debating on how to finish up the rest of the ride, when coming down “Dave’s Maze” was I biker I recognized at Chris Sholls. Running into this guy was completely random but a lucky occurrence. Kirby, who needed to hit the road, took Will’s Wonder back to the trail head, while I remained riding with Chris. We rode for a couple of hours then headed to Overland park to Chris’s town house for some beers and pizza.

I stayed the night in the luxurious guest room of Chris’s apartment. Sunday morning I headed to Shawnee Mission Park to ride the little trails tucked away in the woods there. I rode for an hour or two while Chris and Lauren had some pictures taken by ex-pro downhiller/photographer, Sean. Trails were exciting.

Later that day, Chris and I met up with another single speeder (Walt’s ex mechanic known today as “Darby”) to ride Miner Park, aka BRP. We rode for a couple of hours here and nearly killed ourselves. All of us were having the damnedest time staying on our bikes. I found Miner Park to be a challenging trail with plenty of variety.

Monday, Joe and I headed up to Lake of the Ozarks and rode Bittersweet (a local built and maintained trail) and Honeyrun. Bittersweet was an elaborate network of interconnecting neighborhood “green space” that winded through and around drainage creeks. I blew out my right shoe on Bittersweet and had to visit Tim at Ozarks Outdoors and Cycling. Honey well was a fast non technical rolling trail bench cut into the Ozark hills.

Check out photos at: web.umr.edu/~dmwbnd

Bike trip down south.

2007-11-14T07:42:00.002-06:00

Saturday I loaded up with a couple buddies and headed down to south to Council Bluffs recreational area. Pretty much, this place is a man made lake (approximately 500 acres) with a trail that winds around it. The trail is what we were interested it. It made for a fairly epic ride with fast creek crossings, short climbs and a few technical rock sections. We were blessed with awesome weather and beautiful fall colors.

It took only a couple of hours to get around the lake. If we'd really be on top of our game, we would have gotten there a little earlier and rode another loop in the opposite direction. The loop went well with no real bike problems and no real bad spills. Kirby took to cake for drawing the most blood.

After the ride we sat up camp at the Ozark Trail head of the Middle Fork section of the trail and cooked supper and had a few brewskis.

We awoke to a light thunderstorm in the morning but after about an hour it went away and the skis cleared up. We had breakfast, in the form of eggs and sausage of the fire. By the time we were finished eating, the sun had come out and the day was looking nice. We wanted to ride the middle fork section of the OT but got scared off by redneck hunters who were also using the woods that fine morning. Because we didn't have orange vests, we decided to head to Tom's where we wouldn't have to worry about drunk wood hippies taking aim at us.

Tom's was great, as usual. We did two laps without too much conflict. It think everyone fell once but no one got hurt. At the sink hole we came up with a new line that Incorporated another nice little drop.

It was then back to Rolla. I returned home only to find a not saying Mom was cooking salmon later on that evening so I headed home to get some of that...delicious.

First Post after a long absence.

2007-11-14T07:33:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess I got burnt out on blogging then got way too busy, so this is my first blog in over 4 months! Its not that I've gotten any less busy, this is actually the busiest time of the year for a student, I've just completely stopped caring. I've ended the write up process on the CO trip from the summer, but will supplement that with weekend tails and other bits of uselessness that occurs from time to time. This semester has been a good one so far. I've got cool roommates who aren't afraid to drink from time to time (even if its in the middle of the week), and I've managed to get the hell out of Rolla most weekends and do something mildly entertaining to keep my mind or school.

Day 5

2007-07-31T18:27:00.001-05:00

Friday the 13^th 2007Jully

Well, we awoke on the Fifth day to beautiful skys high in the mountains at Blodget lake. We had a short walk ahead of us so we did not get into much of a hurry to leave camp, or even get up for that matter. Around 0900 everyone was pretty well up and running. While Danny and Rob pasted time around the camp, I decided to do a bit of climbing to see what was over the mountain top. I was slightly disappointed to see another small fishless lake very similar to Blodget, and the view was blocked by another mountain so the climb had little payoff.

View over the bowl creating blodget lake

I returned to camp only to find that Rob and Danny were plotting to go for a swim in the frigid waters of the lake. The two of them headed down to the water and I followed for entertainment purposes. Once they reached the water side the first fish of Blodget was spotted. In the crystal clear waters a 12-14” lake trout could be seen. Excited by this, Danny sprinted back up to camp to grab his fly rod while Rob and I kept a watchful eye on the fish. After many attempts we were forced to give up on the obviously non-hungry trout, we later found that perhaps the reason he was not feeding was because he was trying to spawn with the only other fish in the lake. We watched the courtship take place for a minute or two, clearly we were hard up for some action. Once we lost interest in this it was time for that ice cold swim. By this time I decided that I was a little gamey and could use a good bathing as well. The three of us waded in up to the knees and lathered up, then dove the rest of the way in to rise off, that was quite possibly the coldest I’ve ever been, I could have passed as a woman, seriously. We hoped out dried off then proceeded to lay around in the sun for another hour or so.

Panarama of Cross Creek Valley

Finally around 1300 we broke camp, packed up and began our trek to the next campsite, the Missouri Lakes. Blodget Lake was on the opposite side of the valley of Missouri Pass. The typical route to get over to Missouri pass would be to drop down to the valley floor, intercept Cross Creek Trail and take that up the other side of the valley to the pass. Thinking we could save time and effort we decided we’d try to stay high on the mountain alleviating us of having to climb all the way down then hike all the way back up the pass on the other side. This turned out to be quite an adventure, much of the time we were either slipping on the weeds and flowers the covered the less rocky portions or we were kissing rocks as we shuffled across, around or over them. We managed to make it most of the way though with only one incident, Dobbie decided he could fly and made about a 25 ft jump off a large rock face, we couldn’t believe he didn’t break anything.

Once we got to the other side, Rob and Danny did some exploring of another nearby lake (Fancy Lake) and some old mining ruins. Rob, Danny and Dobby doing some exploration near Missouri Pass

After this we started our way up Missouri Pass. Missouri Pass wasn’t too bad to travel up, moderate slopes with plenty of switch backs. Before we knew it we were at the top. On the other side, the trail was snowed in, in July!

Atop Missouri Pass looking at the Missouri Lakes

So we had to take an alternative route down. After another solid 30-45 minutes of hiking we were down from Missouri Pass and looking for a campsite around Missouri Lake for the night. We found a suitable location, dropped our packs and headed for the fish. Danny encountered some bad luck upon setting down his pack, his fly rod got hung up and snapped 2ft from the end. Danny did what he could to make the rod usable again but little could be done. The fishing at the beautiful Missouri Lakes was very slow. After several hours of fishing we only managed to catch a few small cutthroat. It was pretty much another meatless night of pasta sides and rice…boo. The clouds rolled in and once again it started to rain, for the second night in a row we were forced to take refuge in Rob’s tent, not the best way to end a day.

Day Four...

2007-07-30T17:15:00.001-05:00

Thursday July 12, 2007

After an uneasy night of battling the crazy mule deer we awoke at Hodges Lake to find everything still intact. It was an unusually overcast morning and slightly on the chili side. Like normal, we packed up our backpacks and headed out on the trail around 0800. We headed over the ridges confining Hodges Lake and back down into Cross Creek Valley. The scenery was just as beautiful and normal (((picture))). Today we would finish up the Cross Creek Valley and end up at a decent sized lake (the head waters of cross creek) know as Blodget. The hike was not far but the elevation gain would be significant.

We hiked at a good pace for about an hour when we came across some old abandoned log cabins and the ruins of what appeared to be an old processing station left over from the mining days. We breaked here for breakfast (more oatmeal, joy) and explored the buildings. After our half hour stop, we returned to the trail up the valley.

As we approached the valley end, we could see some low elevation snow on a north facing mountain. We dropped our packs and headed up the “hill” to play in the snow. What looked to be about a 100 yard hike with a 50 ft elevation gain, turned out to be more like a ½ mile hike and a 200 foot elevation gain, man I really suck a judging distance in the mountains.

Rob enjoying the snow in July.

When we finally arrived, we did the usual, threw snowballs at each other, pissed our names in the snow and sat around in it, and then it was back down the hill to retrieve our packs.

Once we dawned our sacks, it was up the mountain to Blodget lake, our final destination for the day. Again, what looked like a 500 yard hike with a 100 ft. elevation gain, turned into a mile long trek up a 500 ft. elevation increase.

Blodget Lake and a gloomy sky...

Upon summit and site of the secluded lake it began to rain, by this point we were getting use to the site of rain, it had rained everyday so far since we’ve been in the mountains. The rain came and we set beside the lake in ponchos watching for fish. Unfortunately, there were no fish, or an end to the rain in sight. As we sat there patiently, it began to hail….bummer.

Looking at the hail accumulation at our feet.

A break in the weather allowed us to quickly put up the tent (Rob’s luxury item) and affix a tarp to it extending the capacity, and then it started raining again. Beings how we had nothing else better to do, we cracked into the first of our booze stash. For an hour or two we passed our battery acid concoction (Battery acid = Everclear, water, extremely concentrated lemonade) around. For some reason, I ended up making no since and a real fool out of myself. I have my suspicions that Danny and Rob were not drinking their shares. We ate some potato soup (sans trout) and passed out, some my literally than others, all snuggled up as heterosexually as we could in the two man tent.

Three men in a two man tent...good times.

More pics from day four at web.umr.edu/~dmwbnd

Day Tray

2007-07-28T09:58:00.000-05:00

Wednesday July, 11, 2007.

We rose from our slumber Wednesday around 0700. Sleepily everyone broke camp, packed up and ready for the trail, This was going to be our hardest day yet. We planned to hike approximately 6 miles gaining nearly 3000 ft. elevation to our final destination of Hodges Lake.

We hiked for a couple hours until we arrived at a small creek crossing where we stopped for breakfast (more oatmeal). In a half hour we were back on the trail marching onward. We pushed forward most of the morning stopping very little, we were finally getting accustomed to the altitude. By noon we had made the final push up the ridge containing Hodges Lake. We unloaded, had some trail mix lunch, and hit the water. Danny deemed this lake suitable to take the Kiddy Raft out for her maiden voyage. After a little trouble with the pump, Danny finally got the sucker inflated and pushed out onto the water with fly rod in hand. Meanwhile Rob was slaying decent sized cutthroats from the bank. He went four fish for five casts on his most trusted rooster tail. I had great luck on a neon orange stimmy dry fly. Danny caught several out in the open waters on his raft and got the largest-fish-of-the-day award on a ~14” cutthroat.

After nearly an hour of fishing, Rob had nature calling so he went to take one of his scenic constitutions. Nestled high on a cliff that over looked the beautiful Hodges Lake, Rob found a suitable rock and dropped trou. About this time, we noticed a young couple attempting a romantic afternoon on a rock opposite the lake of us. The pour couple, they had to put up with danny’s silly raft, my hooping and hollering, and now, Rob’s white ass as he delivered a fudge monkey. Needless to say they soon after relocated.

Some other high points at Hodges include taking our first mountain lake swim (FREEZING!!!) and Bear Gryllsing our first trout. [Bear Gryllsing is a technical term that refers to using anything other than modern weapons to violently kill or injure anything]. Later that night, a damn mule deer lurked in the shadows all night grazing around us. This worried us because we figured if the deer wasn’t afraid of campers, what the hell do the bears think? We had a delicious feast of trout, sat around the fire until 10-11ish and retired for the day. All and all, day 3 was ‘not to bad.’

You can find more pictures from Day 3 at: http://web.umr.edu/~dmwbnd

CO Trip and Such part 1

2007-07-26T16:53:00.002-05:00

Alright, this is the first installment of our totally awesome Colorado trip recently completed. I have a lot of pics and stories and don't want to be on my computer for hours on end so I plan on elaborating only on a few days at a time. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way...

Trip Details: Rob, Danny, Dobby and myself decided to take a trip to CO to see if we cold sustain ourselves in the wilderness for a couple of weeks. We took enough food for ~15 days of breakfast and lunch, for dinner we planned on eating trout with a few side dishes packed. Our packs consisted mainly of a bed roll, food, water, fishing pole/tackle, camp necessities, some booze and a luxury item [Rob: Small tent for emergencies, Danny: Small inflatable kiddie raft and pump for fishing the unfished areas in the secluded mountain lakes, Dizzle: mp3 player and speaker for evenings around the campfire]. Here's how she unfolded...

Sunday, July 8th 2007:
For weeks and weeks we (Rob, Danny and I) have been planning this trip, or at least wasting time thinking about it. All and all, however, we really did not know what we were getting ourselves into. We loaded up the three massive backpacks, Dobby, and some trip provisions into the mighty Impala and left Sunday evening at ~1800 (only 2 hrs later than we would have liked). Spirits were high as well rolled throughout the night through Kansas (Danny did most of the driving).

Monday, July 9 2007:
As dawn broke, we were ~2hrs shy of Denver. By 0830 we reached Vail where we made a pit stop for some last minute items (mainly rob's ultra gay tennis shorts). We navigated our way to Midturn, CO where the ranger station for the Holy Cross Wilderness Area was located. Here we purchased some additional maps and spoke with the attendants about fishing the wilderness (it soon became clear that they knew nothing about fishing in the area). They asked how long we were going to be gone and we sheepishly told them "about 5 or 7 days."

The next stop was the flyshop for some fishing licenses, tips and flys. We tried going into the Beaver Creek Resort but got stopped by an arrogant brit at the front gate who said [in an annoyingly high pitched cracking British voice] "YOU GOT'A DOOWG" and denied us access to the resort. After circling the town a couple of times we arrived at the "Orvis Fly Fishing Outfitters," where we met our "good buddy" Bob. Now Bob seemed to be a real nice guy but later in the trip we found that Bob was a real son-of-a-bitch. Bob got us all lined out on fishing permits (which were hella expensive - 61 bucks), told us where the fishing would be "a riot," what type of tippet we would need ("f***ing cables man, those fish are hungry"), and most importantly, what type of flies ("...stimmys, attractants, XTS's, wooly buggers if they're holding deep in some of those lakes..."). Bob insured us that the fishing would be second to none with hungry under fished trout in every body of water out there. With spirits high, we left Bob's fly shack and headed for the trail head.

We arrived at the Cross Creek Trail trailhead after tearing through a rough mountain trail riddled with large cobbles and potholes around 1030. The mood was a little salmon as everyone changed into the clothes they would be wearing for the next couple of weeks, downed the last of the tasty homemade cookie bars, and tightened up the packs that seamed 50% heavier at altitude. We locked the car up, snapped a quick picture and hit the trail at ~1100.

We hike at a fairly slow pace for 30-40 minutes until we reached a fork in the road, we took the low road because we really weren't prepared to climb any hills just yet. That trail turned out to be just an offshoot that lead down to Cross Creek. This was our first encounter with cross creek (which was sorta our life line for the first portion of the trip). Excited by the site of the roaring stream we had to stop to throw in a line and tests Bob's word. Rob, using his unpresidented Rooster Tailing techniques, managed to pull out the first trout of the trip, a small 5" brook trout beautifully colored. Surprised by this, we were sure it was going to be a great trip. At this point I quickly looked through my bag to insure i had everything while still near the trailhead. Sure enough, I had forgotten my fishing license. Danny, being the stud that he is, opted to run (literally) back to the car a grab it for me (while I remained fishing). He was gone about 20 minutes and retuned with no success. Upon second inspection of my pack, I located my license which I had all along...oops (don't worry, I'll get a chance to repay danny later in the trip).

After farting around for a while we hit the trail again and hiked for until we could hike no longer. We stopped at a small brook bubbling down the mountain side to refill on water and rest for a while. While the water was being treated, Rob and I climbed to the top of a small outcrop and sighted our first campsite which was just below me in the picture. From this site we had a beautiful view of Mount of the Holy Cross, the only 14er (that we will much later climb) in the park, Cross Creek and a small stream fed lake.

We made camp around 1800 that very long day and headed out to fish the small lake for dinner. Bob was right, the fish were hungry and very easy to catch, but i would not quite call it "a riot," the only thing we could catch were 5-8" brookies. After a while we settled on 5 or 6 of our biggest ones, gutted and gilled them and fried them up. Dinner the first night, was a disaster. It was near impossible to fry up those little bastards. We ended up eating what we could off of tiny, boney, half-raw trout carcasses and threw the rest out, needless to say, we all went to bed a little hungry that night. The only other amusement of the day came when Danny's most favoritous survival hammock threw me off to the pleasure of Rob and Danny.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007:

An exhausting first day left us in no hurry to get up the next morning. We rolled around untll ~0900 when we finally decided to get up and make some breakfast, which was nothing more than a couple packets of instant oatmeal and come dried fruit. During the night, danny dreamed up a plan for cooking dinner for the rest of the trip. Since the night before's dinners was nasty and inefficient, danny suggested that we catch the hell out of a bunch of those tiny little brookies, make a bunch of tiny little filets add them to one of our side dishes (usually pasta and rice) and make a sorta "trout casserole." Intrigued by this idea, we all set out to catch a bunch of small trout to try this out for a late lunch.

We conducted the day's fishing in the, now larger, Cross Creek. We spent the morning exploring the falls and slows of about a mile of cross creek catching mainly brook trout, but the occasional cut throat and brown were also caught. The pictures above show, from left to right, Rob and Danny fishing the slows, Danny’s catch at some falls and the "trout casserole."

After our late lunch at campsite 1, we packed our shit up and prepared to head out. With stomachs full and spirits high, we hit the trail at a remarkably slow pace. The altitude was really sticking it to us so we would walk for about 10 minutes then rest for 20. Needless to say, we did not make it that far when we decided to chill for the night at a nice little bend in cross creek that looked like a post card. That night we took a chance a feasted on some already molding pitas and peanut butter for dinner. Afterwards we all relaxed around an "illegal fire" that nearly killed me to build. By that I mean, I was breaking sticks/logs for it with my foot when, on the "this is going to be good," comment by Danny, a log broke in half and, as a stepped-on rake would do, flew up and punched me right in the chest. It knocked the wind out of all three of us, me from the force, and Danny and Rob from the hilarity. That night was a crystal clear night with what seamed like a billion stars hanging 10ft above us. We dozed off watching all the shooting stars and the satelites that had their lights on *giggles*.

There's the first two days, I'll have the next couple posted shortly. More picture from the first two days are available at: http://web.umr.edu/~dmwbnd/

2007-07-23T22:28:00.001-05:00

Howdy. I just created this tonight to show the photos and stories of my recent travels. I should have my latest CO adventure up shortly.

Here's a pic to keep of now: