The Oregon Trail to Mt. Adams, WA

It's been too long since my last post father and these are my sins ......

Much has happened since Boise. Shawn and I decided to part ways and I headed north into Oregon while he headed south to Utah. My first night I stayed outside the Oregon Trail Interpretative Park mainly because it isn't open on Monday's and I wanted to see inside. Luckily there were some woods beside I-84, providing quiet and privacy. Fall weather has begun in this part of the country. There was actually ice on my windshield when I awoke. Needless to say, I stayed in bed for a few extra minutes before braving it. The trail center is very interesting. So many covered wagons came through this area in the 1830's and 40's that the ruts they created in the earth still show quite clearly. It's amazing how that plus the informational signs really let you inagine what it must have been like - very tough people.

As I headed away up I-84 toward Portland, I decided to give a call to the parents of an ex-girlfriend who lived in the area. They were so welcoming that I drove up to their place in Goldendale, WA and spent the night. They have a nice little mini-farm outside town. It was great to catch up and hear about their family. Summer is doing well with her new family as are her brothers and their various kids. Funny how both nothing changes and everything changes at the same time. The tough part about breaking up is the extraneous people you lose in the fallout.

After Goldendale, my plans changed somewhat. Rather than just heading into Portland, it seemed just too close to miss the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and Mt. Adams, a particular favorite from when I spent the summer in the area back in 2004. I also recall with great fondness the twisty roads in the area; they haven't changed. A great drive up to Middle Falls on the Lewis river, it was to be my home for the next 4 days. Perched right on the river, it was a great taking off point for hikes in all directions. The next morning I took off on the motorcycle to hit those twisty roads. Nearly 200 miles later the day was gone and it had become quite cold. The mountains here are tall and although down in the valley was hot, by the time I got back up to around 6000ft my hands were numb. Staying in my motorcycle gear for extra warmth, some hot chocolate and boiled fresh corn made a difference. In bed and under the covers by 7.30pm made it warmer still. Even though the camp spot was right on the road, there are very few cars in this area after dark, due mostly to it being very tight and bumpy. All the better for getting 12 hours sleep - it's a tough life, I know.

This morning, Fri 29th, everything was covered in dew, particularly the motorcycle. I've started doing a hike before breakfast. It does wonders for waking you up and some of the best photo shots are only available in the early morning. The Lewis river runs very swiftly and is very cold. The salmon spawn in the area. It's mostly created from run-off from Mount Adams, a glacial mountain, half of which is an Indian reservation. It's incredibly quiet and peaceful, particularly at 7am. Even though there are quite a few people camped around the area, there are none where I camp (no amenities dissuade tourists) and they rarely get up before 9am - bonus to me!

After breakfast, I came across some people on dirt bikes and asked where they were riding. They showed me the trails and to my suprise, in this incredible wilderness area there are ORV trails all over the place. That was enough for me, I was off to explore. Even though the tires on the KTM are mostly street they stick incredibly well on dirt and rough terrain. These trails go deep into the woods and are VERY challenging. They're steep, rutted, covered in large tree roots and often perched precariously onto the side of a mountain. After about 2 hours, I eventually found the top of what is known as Craggy Peak. I was quite nervous about coming back down as the ride up had involved long drops down deep valleys. As is usually the case, you get used to the most challenging terrain and by the time I got back to camp I was ready for more. On my way up the mountain I passed a group of people, one of whom was on a rather old 70's model Yamaha. I pulled off to allow them to pass and as I came to find out later, the girl on the Yamaha nearly hit me. She hadn't ridden since she was a kid and her father took her on this trail to reignite for fun of bikes. I think it made her never want to ride again but at least she got herself back to camp in one piece, and without taking out any unsuspecting Australians. After my ride I happened across the camp of that large group and they invited me by for a drink. A couple of families had come to spend the Labor Day long weekend. They had all variety of motorcycles, ATV's, bicycles, giant RV's, animals and small children. It was great to visit but not as quiet as I generally enjoy. Back at camp in the late afternoon, I enjoyed an easy meal of last night's left overs. When I bought ice from a small store they were predicting rain and colder weather (highs in the 50's) for the weekend. Cold I don't mind, rain is fine but not when you're camping and riding dirt bikes. If that happens I'll head toward Portland or Seattle.

Boise nights

Friday morning Dennis was kind enough to show us around town. It's another great bicycling city with paths leading around and through most of it. After hitting his local coffee joint for a morning brew, we headed off downtown to see the sights concluding with a roof top view of the city from the Chamber of Commerce building and lunch at a Basque restaurant that served dishes looking an awful lot like Philadelphia fare.

In the afternoon we headed to another religious experience at a BBQ in the park held by "The Pursuit", a local rock band masquerading as a church. We met some fun people and then rode back toward the apartment, impressed that we'd spent the whole day exploring the city.

Late friday night was the most eventful, although unfortunately without our participation. Sometime during the night Shawn's and my bikes were stolen from outside Dennis' apartment in a well lit area, cutting through my "cut resistant" lock like butter. The police were, as expected, completely disinterested, not even visiting to take a report but calling and giving a report number over the phone. I suspect these thieves didn't give our inconvenience a second thought.

Although the incident put a damper on cycling events, it hasn't eliminated the enjoyable experiences in Boise. Saturday evening was spent at a local Hare Krishna Temple enjoying the festival of 10,000 flowers for the celebration of Krishna's birthday. A truly uplifting experience.

I'll be leaving Idaho in the morning heading into Oregon toward Portland.

34 miles and counting

At first the campsite outside Ketchum was warm enough to use just my sleeping bag liner, then sneekily it got so cold I had to get into my sleeping bag and put on my beanie. Apparently the sun doesn't arrive in Sun Valley until later in the day because it was still 34 degrees at 8.30am when we were ready to leave for the days adventures.

Being a wealthy ski town, Sun Valley has great amenities, including bike paths that run through three towns for more than 34 miles. We rode most of them that day from Ketchum down to Bellevue and back again. A stop at the Bellevue Library, a small but friendly place, provided time to seek out a surfing host in Boise, ID. By the time we got back to camp we had a couple of OK's and a phone message. Returning Dennis' call, we were set for Boise for the next day. After Shawn's anguish over the cold of the previous night, we camped at a different location that wouldn't be shaded by the mountains and were rewarded by a warmish night but a cloudy and windy morning. One final hike to Proctor Mountain to see the world's first ski chairlift via the Hemmingway Memorial and we left for Boise, about a 3 hour drive.

After a quick call to Dennis to confirm our arrival, we got final directions to his home and headed into Boise. This evening we got comfortable with each other over a great pizza and some drinks while enjoying a good discussion covering many topics. We will be sure to enjoy our time in Boise with Dennis.

Moon Beams...

Departing Logan was tough. Everyone there was so nice to us it always makes you want to stay and make a new home. But alas, I digress and the Pacific North West beckons. Next stop - middle of nowhere.

The aptly named and very unusual Craters of the Moon National Monument is about 200 miles from Logan, UT into Idaho, west of Blackfoot and past Atomic City, definitely qualifying for what you would call the middle of nowhere. It is a giant volcanic lava flow basin which ran for about 13,000 years, completing its creation about 2,000 years ago. Arriving around 3pm it reminded me of my hiking trip to Death Valley last year. Incredibly hot and dry the only shade provided by 12" tall shrubbery - great if you're a lizard but otherwise fairly limited. Arriving before Shawn, I decided to spend the hot hours in the visitors center watching the various movies and exploring the interactive displays. These places are always very informative.

The inhospitable nature of the terrain means the public portions of the monument are fairly limited, just a few hiking trails, a 7 miles roadway and three small lava tube created caves. We decided we could do them all in less than a day, beginning when the sun went behind the surrounding mountains that evening and finishing by around 2pm the next day. I'm not sure if being in Wyoming and Utah which have average elevations of over 7,000ft made me feel stronger here at about 4,000 or if I'm actually getting more fit but that 7 mile bicycle ride around the park up some fairly large hills felt incredibly easy. It's so much more fun when you get infinite mpg and don't feel wrecked after it. That took care of about 3 of the short hiking trails and the roadway. Off to a 10pm Ranger talk and then it was time for bed, although not before an amazing lightening storm and harvest moon. Tuesday morning we were hiking by 7am and had completed the rest of the available trails by about noon, leaving just the caves in the heat of the day. They were a welcome 62 degrees and we had some great fun exploring for an couple of hours. No photos due to the extreme blackness so you'll just have to take my word for it.

With Craters completed, it was off to Ketchum/Sun Valley to do some higher elevation hiking again. Arriving around 4pm we headed straight for the ranger station and got some great information, including the location of a Farmers' market that was happening right then. Three home grown tomatoes in hand, we wandered off toward the mountains in search of the campground the ranger had mentioned. Down a dirt trail toward the river, single track opened into wide open expanse of mountains and rocky ledges. It was fairly secluded yet close to town - perfect. Shawn made a great vegetarian dinner including the newly acquired tomatoes followed by some email trading with my brother Jay in Australia, then off to sleep by dark.

Logan, Utah

Tuesday morning we got up early and headed further down Logan Canyon toward the town of Logan, UT. We found a camping space about 5 miles outside Logan right by the river just after hiking Wind Cave. Wind Cave is another amazing location about 2 miles straight up with a large cave that is aptly named. I recently acquired some hiking poles and can say unequivocally it is much better than hiking without them.

After the hike and setting up camp we headed into Logan to hit the library for wi-fi access, get the local paper and see what the rest of the week would have in store. First job was to send off a bunch of couchsurfing requests and then find somewhere to eat. Still no answers to our requests by the time dinner was over so back we went to our great little camping spot.

Wednesday morning was back to Logan to check out the Utah State University campus and see if we could find a shower and maybe access to their gym. After assuring the recreation center person that we wouldn't bomb the building she let us take a shower.

After the shower, success, Anthony had called to let us know he's be happy to host us for the next few days. We met up with Anthony at the Music Manor (aptly named due to the majority of residents being music students at USU) around 4pm. He and a seemingly infinite number of other people live in a VERY large home that was built in 1899, likely for a large Morman family. I actually got lost in the house trying to find the bathroom the first time. Anthony, Kaelee, Nate, Brandon, Tyler and Brown (the 6 we got to know) were all great and we had lots of fun for the 4 days we stayed with them. Activities included a party at Rocn Jbarr's place, various Guitar Hero contests, some great Indian food courtesy of the restaurant where Kaelee works and a variety of thoughtful discussions.

During the time at the Music Manor Shawn and I had a multitude of exciting experiences and adventures. A visit to the American West Heritage Center was the big event of Thursday. Shoshone Indian days were in full swing and we met some great people including especially Paula, a wonderful retired school teacher who has been spending her time helping the Shoshone children learn some of the songs of their past. She gave us her hiking guide for the area and then invited us to her Tai Chi class that evening to meet Kayo, her teacher. It was a great time resulting in an invitation from Kayo to join him on Sunday at his place for a home grown and home cooked meal. Friday's highlight was the party previously mentioned, followed by a Saturday Mormon BBQ for 31+ singles. Meeting Cheryl, Cami and Neil was a great experience, only to be improved upon by Cami going out of her way to find me a copy of the Book of Mormon for my personal study. All the people we meet are incredibly helpful and friendly. Sunday morning Shawn wanted to go to Church and had found a Lutheran congregation who was to meet at the Amphitheater of a canyon campground near where we had previously stayed. We biked over in the morning and enjoyed the service followed by lunch and great discussion. We ended up inviting Pastor Corinne to dinner at Kayo's house that evening. Not surprisingly, a lively discussion ensued on topics including theology, horticulture, hunting and sustainability. A positive experience had by all. Back to Anthony's for a final night cap of apricots in champagne and we will be off from Logan in the morning. All in all a very friendly locale with great hiking, biking and architecture.

So much done, so little blogging time

Since leaving Jackson, WY on Aug 3rd, we headed back to the Tetons for most of that week. Camping at Jenny Lake is great for the number of hiking trailheads in the area, not to mention the great views of the Tetons. Getting a site means arriving before 7am and hanging around until people look like they're awake. It's first come, first served, tent only camping with about 50 spots. It's like the first day at a sale when they let people in to get a site. Given that we're on the "up at daylight - asleep by dark" schedule, it wasn't too hard. We stayed for 3 nights. After the second night and hiking most of the local Teton trails, I took a day to head back to Yellowstone to catch the parts I'd missed before meeting up with Shawn and Cal. I decided to take the KTM for the 200 mile round trip, for the fun roads and better gas mileage. The forecast was for afternoon rain so I took the waterproof jacket. It was well used later that afternoon, but thankfully only on the ride back to the Tetons. The amazing geysers and other thermal features were well worth the 200 mile ride.

Thursday morning after the rain we set our various equipment out to dry and started packing up for another day of travel. Heading off toward Bear Lake, UT the plan was to get there before the weekend so we could convince someone with a sailboat to let us crew for them. Thursday night was spent at a motel in Alpine, WY due mainly to Shawn's desire to avoid another night in the rain. For me, it makes little difference as the truck stays dry no matter what the weather does. That got us into Garden city, UT (one of the towns on Bear Lake) around 3pm on Friday afternoon, just in time to hit the marina and then go to the Raspberry Festival that was in town.

Arriving at the marina by bicycle was a great advantage. No only was the traffic through town congested due to the festival but aparently cars are charged an entrance fee that we easily avoided. Wandering down amongst the docks we found a single sailboat with activity. Owners Gary and Mary were quite friendly and told us there was going to be a regatta Saturday afternoon and if we came to the Skipper's meeting we could probably get a ride, maybe even with them if some of their crew didn't show. The rest of Friday evening was spent at the local festival, mostly like a fair.

Saturday morning we arrived early. I headed down to check in with Gary and Mary who immediately asked if I wanted to crew for them. I hooked Shawn up with the Bill in the boat next to Gary's and we were off - even the better to be on competing boats. These were very nice 35' sloops with racing sails and full spinnakers, best crewed with at least 6 people during a race. Although "Ricochet" the boat I was on was faster than the others, we only had 4 crew and also had a large handicap due to its equipment. The result was 3 hours of fun, sun and new friends. After the race Bill invited us to dinner with his family, which we gratefully and readily accepted. The rest of the evening was filled with great conversation, food and wine with Bill, his wife Megan and the kids Katie and Will.

Bill & Megan were kind enough to let us stay in their guest cabin so we were able to hang out with them all day Sunday as well. We played on all manner of water toys, the most frustrating of which was the sailboard. I learned that it is definitely not like riding a bike. When I lived in Adelaide back in 1995 it took me four days to work out how to avoid falling off my own sailboard. This time 4 hours didn't help with anything but sunburn. That night we headed back up to the summit of Garden City to camp. Monday morning I headed off into the dirt trails nearby for a few hours of motorcycle playing before meeting Shawn at WoodCamp Campground in Logan Canyon for hiking up to the Jardine Juniper - a 2000 yr old Juniper Tree. The summit had awesome long distance views.

Girls, Girls, Girls

We hit the road by 10am as we've got a lot planned for Jackson. First there's the 5pm “Meditation for Peace”, followed by three Art Exhibitions and then Relay for Life in the evening. It’s going to be busy. We did all of them and feel great for the experience. I'm really enjoying the spiritual experiences out here.

About 9.30pm we go for a walk to see the local area and come by a park full of people. It doesn’t get dark here until about 10pm. Shawn jokingly suggests we crash it and having had 2 or 3 complimentary Art Exhibition wines I wholeheartedly agree. We wander in and are immediately offered a burger by the cook. Come to discover we've crashed the local Latter Day Saints youth singles ward of 18-30 yr olds.

Shawn and I are both over 35 so chat to the somewhat older organizers for a while. They’re very welcoming and we openly ask about and discuss their faith. A nice couple from Salt Lake City (about 220 miles south) give us their info and tell us to drop by if we get to SLC. We head over to the younger group to play some “glow in the dark” frisbee. Eventually we sit down on a bench with 3 girls and chat for a while. By about 11.30pm it’s getting chilly (at least to us) and most people are gone. I unashamedly ask if they have an apartment where we can continue chatting. To our slight suprise they agree so we follow Tami and Shalese home. They happen to room together and live just near the Relay For Life site we were at earlier (already feels like we know the area).

The four of us plus the girls’ roommate Cate continue to talk (mostly about Latter Day Saints beliefs) until about 3.30am. Shawn and I are still surprised these clearly upstanding girls allowed us into their home. Maybe it’s obvious both of us are spiritual and truly only interested in hearing about their beliefs but I still suspect it’s against church rules to bring home 2 male complete strangers. Maybe we’d be considered Mission work. Neither Shawn nor I are used to being up this late so I propose if they let us stay tonight and Sat night we’d cook them a great dinner. After a brief huddle they agree. Coincidentally (the girls deny this but we all know there are no coincidences) 10 minutes later Cate’s brother Karl knocks on the door saying he’s out late and doesn’t want to ride his motorcycle home. He’s our chaperone on the living room floor – fine by us. After about 4 hours sleep Cate get up and leaves for work and we head off for a day of exploring, starting at the Farmers market. That evening we cook a great eggplant based vegetarian meal after which Shalese heads off to her room to do some work for Church. Tami and her friend Ronda hang around to play some UNO with Shawn and I for a few hours. When Cate gets home after her 14 hour day (on about 2 hours sleep – oh to be 24) we all get noisy for a while and then thankfully get to bed by 12.30am.

Shawn and I get up early to head off for a walk up the mountain behind the girls’ apartment and then after greatly enjoyed showers and breakfast we take a few goodbye photos and head off back to the Tetons. As wonderful as Jackson was, predominantly due to the people we met, the serenity and quiet of the Tetons is more relaxing. We will enjoy our traveling together and then I’m sure move on to other people and experiences when the time is right. For now, we’ll be heading to Jenny Lake about 7am Monday to try and get one of the first come, first served tent sites and do some more exploring there.