The One Day, 65 Mile Bike Tour....

(Billboards rock my world. Tall and goofy I guess.)

Alright all 14 of you......HERE'S NOT THE SKINNY, BUT THE HEAVY. I am struggling terribly to write this. I officially did a 1 day, 65 mile bike tour from Colorado Springs to Hartsel. I set out from Colorado Springs on the morning of the 24th packed and ready....I rode up and across 2 passes that day: one @ 9,500 ft. and the other @ 9,200 feet and upon beginning my descent and rounding 53 miles, I began crying as I was riding. Crying so terribly that I had to pull over, sit down and have myself a nice weep. I cannot pinpoint exactly why. I was doubting everything....my desire to ride, my abilities, and willingness to be open. After rounding out my day at 65 miles, getting a gallon of water, and finding camp in the backwoods, I began to analyze my options. Through the day, I had already realized that I wasn't as into it as I wanted to be/thought I would be. In short, the tour wasn't happening. I already missed home and felt that I hadn't spent enough time between the JMT and the bike ride. I also didn't want to be alone for a full 3 months, or even a single month at that. I didn't feel that my heart was really in the trip. I thought that maybe I was simply having a rough day and needed to push a few days more over the "hump", but I looked back on the day and realized that rather than riding with my head up, pushing forward, I was instead staring at the pavement while riding. It is as simple as that. I would be heartbroken if this was the end, but it isn't. I will be out on the bike shortly, possibly on an Oregon adventure during my time off. If not, other adventures will certainly be rolling around. You all know me well enough.

(Scout enjoying the comfort of mom's leg.)

(I now officially love rest stops in Arizona. Didn't know that things such as "Horny Goat Weed" existed!!)

(Thundhead from a rest stop in glorious New Mexico.)

(The family lunch wagon.)

(I love convex mirrors and close ups and blue skies.)

(Yowzer.)

(Garden of the Gods....where I started in Colorado.)

(Super goofy tourist who wanted me to take his picture in front of the rocks.)

(The last picture taken by me. Where I took a rest stop and got attacked by biting flies and beauty.)

Leaving Colorado Springs today. Heading out the 24. Great amounts of wind are always the perfect start. Catch you all soon.

Gallup, New Mexico for the evening. It is ridiculously empty. Red asphalt and knock off Indian trinkets at every plot of land, street corner, and fake teepee.

Getting while the gettin's good...

Hey all.....11:29 p.m. prior to leaving at 6:00 tomorrow morning. Leaving for Colorado Springs. My parents are being kind enough (as always and entirely too much) to drive me all the way out to Colorado so that I might leave from there. We will be staying with Bill and Eileen Macchi, some good family friend for a couple of nights and then....POW. Off on the road. Received a VERY special package today from Adam Wirdak containing: 2 freeze dried Mountain House meals, some 100% Deet spray, a patch kit, moleskins, and the topper as a custom made and hand-stitched saddle bag to compliment the Brooks Flyer and add a gorgeous and functional accessory to my bike. Way too cool, on top of which it smells amazing. I'd definitely strap it to my nose if I could/it was socially acceptable. Feeling mighty excited, but quite nervous all at once. Already wondering what I've forgotten. Hope it's nothing big. Cheers to all you followers....I cannot wait to dazzle you. More to come shortly. And even my dog is ready to escort us out to Colorado....she's such a trooper for puttin up with me always.

Panoramic Shots from the JMT....compiled today.

Here's a bunch of shots that needed to be stitched together. Sunday is a good day for stitching, so here they are. Enjoy.

(Lake on top of cinder cone....amazing the distinct line between the meadow and bare land due to CO2 emissions)

(View from above Evolution Valley, before a night's worth of rain came along. Gorgeous.)

(Glen Pass....uneventful pass, but a quite phenomenal view I do say.)

(View of lower Rae Lake, before the Glen Pass.)

(To be honest, I don't remember what lake this is. I just recognized a little bit of beauty.)

(360 degree view from the top of Mather Pass....about 2 weeks before we arrived, getting to the top required an ice axe and immense strength to overcome the ice and 10ft. cornice of snow hanging over the top.)

(Rose Lake panoramic shot. This is where we took a full rest day and our first glissade, which is sliding down snow on your butt. That in itself made the entire trip worth while. Giggles for days and days.)

(Just a plain old radical shot. The blues are really really blue. And mountains in snow rock. And trees. The JMT really stunk. A waste of 18 days!!)

(Tim Kershaw standing in the water flowing over the extremely large rock slabs. Around Lyell Canyon.)

(Luke standing atop the large switchbacks leading down to Tully Hole and Fish Creek. Mindblowing clarity and beauty)

(Sunrise over Whitney and the surroundings. I shot a 360 degree view, but could only manage to stitch 180 degrees together due to the low lighting. Still breathtaking.)

The Bike Tour....

I had a feeling when I got home from the JMT about the bike tour. I cannot pinpoint what it was or why, but something just felt off. When I called my friends who I was planning to meet in Calgary/Banff area, they informed me that they were ending their tour in Toronto. That was pretty huge, so it looks like the bike tour will be about 4,200 miles, ALL SOLO. That is what happens every now and again. And also, my leave date is set. I leave this Thursday. July 24th. My parents are taking me out to Colorado Springs, though I will arrive there on the 25th of July after staying in Flagstaff the night of the 24th. More to come soon as I get the bags packed up, rest my body, and heal my nose.

John Muir Trail....2010.

The John Muir Trail was EPIC. It was 18 days, about 195 miles (minus day hikes and additional miles for food drops and such). It was a terribly amazing adventure, though it's taken it's toll as of lately. We averaged about 15 miles a day on the trail. My baseline backpack weight started at 21 pounds with extra fishing gear and such and I later shipped some stuff home and got my weight down to 18 pounds....this all meant that with a 7 day load of food (in a bear canister that weighed 3 pounds) my backpack weighed about 36 pounds. There were four of us that started the trail and we had one drop out/off the trail at Red's Meadow/Devil's Postpile (about 4 days into our trip). Then there were 3 (Luke, Time,

and I).

 

(from the left: Greg Goble, Tim Kershaw, and Luke Shafer before Greg left us)

We all kept on for the next 11 days together out to Onion Valley where Luke's father and sister were not only dropping off our second resupply of food, but then joining us on the trail for the hike out the next 4 days out Mt. Whitney. Around Day 11, both Tim and I were already feeling the missings of home and family and wouldn't have minded going home. That's not to say taht we ever would have left the trail or that it was not fun. The adventure was entirely amazing in every way, but it was different than anticipated and we learned alot about who we were and what we wanted out of the adventure. In light of this, Tim and I left Luke at Onion Valley with his father and sister and the two of us charged on together. After leaving Luke, we did a 26 mile day (Onion Valley up Kearsarge Pass, down into the valley below, a steady climb to the top of Forrester Pass @13,000 ft. where we encountered rain and hail, a drop down into the valley below and down toward Tyndall Creek (22.3 miles at this point), and up and over more elevation to the most wonderful campsite Tim and I EVER had (not only in our lives, but on the trip as well). 

(view from campsite above Wallace Creek at the end of a 26 mile day)

26 MILES AND ABOUT 12,000 FT. OF ELEVATION CHANGE. It was the best and worse day we've ever had all in one. Fantastic to challenge the mind and body and see what you are actually capable of when determined and willing to endure some pain and rain. Through the trip, we had quite a few mishaps, though none fatal which is a start. Greg left earlier in the trip at Red's Meadow/Devil's Postpile because he wasn't comfortable in the snow, on top of which he had an incident where on a very steep and snowy traverse on top of a frozen lake, he missed his footing and slid feet first into the lake. Luckily, Tim's an all-star and pulled him out by the trekking poles. It could have been bad. After that incident, Luke happened to fall into a crevace literally about 10 feet deep (it was covered in snow and gave out underneath him). Tim pulled him out and helped him scale the rocks down out and off. Unreal. The only mishap I had was when I decided to swim the creek crossing right before Forrester Pass.....Tim, in an attempt to avoid wet feet did the creek crossing via a LONG jump to a slippery log. He had no problem because his legs make up 3/4ths of his height whereas I'm the exact opposite. After making the leap and landing my first leg, I proceeded to completely miss my second step and went HEAD FIRST into the water. The only worry was my camera which turned out to be okay. I also then had the divine pleasure of hiking the entire pass sopping wet. Adventures are what it's all about. 

(view from the top of Forrester Pass looking out towards where we are going)

After the rain cleared above Forrester Pass, the marshmellow clouds came out/stayed around for the most glorious afternoon of the trip. Backlit clouds, a light breeze, and the weight of the days trekking lifted by a luminous and 180 degree view of heaven (snow capped mountains topped with endless clouds and sunshine). 

Even though I slept alot on the trail, the constant and hardcore taxing of the body day in and out took it's toll and I've been sleeping alot recently at home. And my body somehow seems to be still be in a state of major change. I feel pretty raw still. 

(condition of my nose developing around day 8)

(view from earlier in the trip looking down on Tully Hole)

(totally tweaked/messed up combination of shots that didn't arrange into a good shot from the sunrise above Whitney)

Okay guys.....here's some photos from the JMT of my Flickr accound. I couldn't upload many because of monthly upload restrictions, so they'll be seeping in month by month. But enjoy a few for now. Here they are: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52140417@N05/

Compilation of my favorite photos from the trip following...

(view from the top of Donahue Pass, the first pass we did (in about 12 miles of pure snow))

(looking up Evolution Valley)

(lake going up towards Silver Pass in the early morning)

(the best tree from the entire trip)

(cool geological "fold" at the top of the ridge,......look closely)

(Tim....a.k.a. "B-Line")

(Ruby Lake........Justin and Heidi Rose?? Baby?)

(for Andrew LaPlante......climbing a tree to see the world)

(John Muir hut, built in the 1930's by the Sierra Club......what men used to be like and should be like. Men that build huts and the tops of passes via hand-collected stone with no machinery assistance.)

(best shot and moment on the trip...taken at 2:00 a.m. the morning we left for the top of Mt. Whitney after a terrible and enlightening night of rainfall)

(top of Mt. Whitney around 5:00 a.m.)

(Chipmunks were AMUCK at Whitney Portal. Example: group of 5 people left their single 3-plater pancake for about 4 minutes to watch the finish of the Badwater Ultramarathon, only to have it demolished by Blue Jays and chipmunks full of the power of fearlessness.)

(The caption states: REALLY COOL!)

(Rae Lakes looking towards Glen Pass)

Back Home...

Just got back from the John Muir Trail. Woke up at 2:30 this morning, summited Whitney at 4:43 a.m., and am now home literally feeling more sick than if I were starved of hunger because I've eaten so much. Very disgusting. Pictures and more to come soon. Tootles.