Ours for the taking

It's funny how all the planning and preparation kind of goes out the window once you finally embark upon a journey like this. We didn't know how far we'd get on the first night, where we'd stop, when we'd start, what the weather would be, and any other number of small nuancical variables. California was on fire the likes of which had never been seen. We had no idea if the park would be open, if we could get a permit, or what to do…

Of course, I'm only speaking for myself. My plan was this.

Show up.
Walk.

And the rest would fall into place. We had several parcels of gear that were brand new and never used before on any trip. For myself, I had a brand new backpack I'd never used. We had a new water purifying system (steripen) and a new solar panel to charge it. I had a fair amount of camera gear.  There were a lot of unknowns. And there were plenty of plans.

The plan was  to park the car at the ultimate end of the trail, Whitney Portal. This way, we'd hike from Yosemite down to the car. Reach the car, and we'd feel amazing knowing we wouldn't have to deal with hitchhiking, shuttles, more hiking, etc.

Since the training pushed our schedule back and we were working with a finite timeline, we decided to drive straight to Yosemite and park there, start there. We'd work our way back at the end.

An uncomfortable amount of configuring and number crunching went in. The shuttle system on the east side of the Sierra Nevada…it's good, because it exists. But in September, when most people have gone for the summer, it only exists at odd times. There are two different shuttles. From Lone Pine to Mammoth lakes you have the Eastern Sierra Transit bus. From Mammoth to Yosemite, a different line, the YARTS bus, provides service.

Eastern Sierra operates only on weekdays in September if I recall. It departs Lone Pine at 6am and gets to Mammoth Lakes around 8:30.

YARTS departs Mammoth Lakes once daily at 7:00 in the morning. YARTS only runs on the weekends in September.

See the dynamic?

Click on the colored routes for the transit details to get an idea of this whole situation. 

Note the part about how there is no transit between Lone Pine and the 15 miles to Whitney Portal, the actual end of the JMT. That's hitchhiking, friends.

Pay close attention to all of this. You'll be quizzed later.

Since the shuttle system was so convoluted, we figured that since we parked at Yosemite and would have to get back to the car using this cut up shuttle system, we'd need to be done by the 21st or so to allow enough time to get back, drive home, adjust/move back in, account for anything that comes up along the way.

Time table was set. We exchange $20 for entrance in to the park. We spend two nights acclimating, planning, and really just getting mentally ready for the task ahead.

Hiking, right?

Here's what the John Muir Trail is about most basically and explanatorily

It's a long distance hiking trail in the Sierra Nevada of California. 212 miles spanning from the tallest mountain in the lower 48, Mount Whitney, as the southern terminus to Yosemite Valley in the north. It's a trail that spans numerous valleys, mountain passes, lakes, ridges, forests. Construction began on this trail in 1915 one year after John Muir died. It was completed in 1938.

John Muir was an environmentalist, explorer, geologist, and mountain man most famous for his work in Yosemite. Wikipedia the trail and the man for more great info.

So that's what the trail is about… but It's a whole lot more than that.

It's doing something that society says is frivolous, of no value.
It's about saying you'll do something and getting it done, even if it is years later.
It's about leaving comfort zones.
It's about putting faith in yourself that you'll endure.
It's about jumping off a ledge with no real going back.
It's about will power, mental toughness, physical toughness.
It's testing your planning, organizing. 
It's about reconnecting, or connecting period without god forsaken social media, internet, etc; connecting with the landscape and environment that is both sustaining you and trying to kill you.

Name what you're after: redemption, strength, strategic planning, salvation, forgiveness, something to be proud of, refuge, pain, triumph, friends, solitude, adventure, fear of the unknown, familiarity of living life most simply.

Name what you want, and you get it on the John Muir Trail.

Next: we step off the ledge and the actual hike begins.

Looking towards the Rimfire, which cut us off from Yosemite Valley. Sept 3rd 2013

Meet Keith

West bound Interstate 10 is a stretch of road I know pretty well. It's pretty much the golden road if you want to go anywhere worth a damn. 98% of this state is privately owned land. Ranches, high fences, thousands of acres of rich white man private property that is leased out, passed on through families, or whatever else. 2% of the area of Texas is for the public.

This abhorrent truth inevitably drives people in search of adventure to I-10. And to paraphrase some guy who said something that was later quoted in Into the Wild: "The road has always led west."

We drive into the sun through New Braunfels and Hwy 46. Eventually it intersects the I-10 artery and then we fly.  My driving plan, as normal, is go as far as possible without falling asleep.  We made it to Fort Stockton. One of these days my luck will run out with the dense deer population on the highway at night. But this was not that time. We navigated through the herds fine and arrived to sleep in the all too familiar Walmart parking lot. It was about 80 degrees out. No breeze. The sounds of a diesel engine running near by. Lindsey opted for a hotel. So we got a hotel and slept in the fine air conditioning in Fort Stockton.

The next morning we hit the road to go further west. The road could potentially split off a few ways. We didn’t concern ourselves with that too much. I made it through the border patrol station just fine after passing their one question test. "US citizen?" ..."yep." "Thank you."

This was a Sunday if I recall correctly. Lindsey had some time ago purchased a groupon to Las Vegas. The promo had expired, but the money paid for the groupon was still good. We thought we might as well use it. Turns out we couldn’t because it had been magically redeemed and customer service for groupon takes weekends off.

I found a deal for the Hard Rock Hotel/casino. We stayed there. This, as best we could tell, would be our final stop in civilization for a long time. So we got to the hotel around 9 or 10. The club in the casino was packed with tons of people, but the hotel itself was pretty empty. Got our room. Gambled. Got to gamble.

I went down and put 1 dollar in a video roulette machine. I put it all on 00. First play, the little things light up and numbers fly around. It stops on 00. I get 20 bucks.

I quit for the night. For the most part. I lose and regain some money here and there. Lindsey leaks money like a fish net does water. It was fun, though.

We go to our room and organize our food that we have to drop off.

The JMT, being as long as it is, requires a few resupplies for food. Since you have to fit all of your food and smell-able items in a bear canister, you can only carry a finite amount of food. Our first resupply would be at Red's Meadow. A little resort pretty much on the trail. It was 3-5 days from the start of the trail, which means we wouldn't have to carry too much. We also would be driving by this place to hand deliver our resupply package. The other alternative is mailing it. It's costly and take a lot of time to mail your food. It's got to be delivered about a week or more prior to your pick up date. To avoid the hassle, fees, and money…we hand delivered. They would keep it in storage for a couple of bucks a day.

Our other resupply was at Muir Trail Ranch. This was a 5 gallon bucket packed full of food and weighing about 25 lbs. It was to last us the final 10 days from Muir Trail Ranch to Mt. Whitney. We did have to mail this one because Muir Ranch is on the west side of the mountains, and we weren't driving that way. It was costly. But that was our food logistics.

So we're in the Vegas hotel going through our food and packing it into a box so we can drop it off. There wasn’t much time to stop and relax, contemplate, or enjoy the process. We were gambling, then packing, then sleeping, then packing, then gambling on the way out, then driving.

I've done the drive from Vegas to Yosemite before and I remember it being the longest 5-6 hours of my life for whatever reason.
I was expecting it to be different this time since the drive was going so smoothly and quickly. And then we hit that stretch from Vegas to the Eastern Sierras. It's a killer. Super slow. Not a lot to see. No one else out there. No radio stations. It's a really odd place. We did go by an area 51 themed gas station with a whorehouse in the back. A tour bus had just unloaded its mostly foreign payload. They were inside buying alien crap.  After many hours we break through to the Eastern Sierra and head towards Mammoth Lakes, where the road to Red's Meadow begins.

If we had more time, (and if it were August, when tourism is still popular) we'd have parked at Lone Pine and taken shuttles all the way to Yosemite, Red's meadow, and anywhere else we wanted to go. Our time line and our yearly time made that a bit more hard.

We get to Mammoth Lakes and begin to go down the road to Red's Meadow. We're stopped at a little ranger station. They inform us we can't take cars down. You can only get down the road by shuttle until September 4th (it was the 2nd or 3rd) and the shuttle would stop running for the season on Sept 4th.

This is awesome, because that means when we arrive at Red's meadow, we cannot take a shuttle in to Mammoth Lakes. It will have quit running. We'll have no way to get a delicious burger or pizza or beer.
It's okay, because Red's has a little café and store.

We get our shuttle ticket and that's where we meet Keith.

Keith was about 6'1" 225ish, late 20s, and was wearing cargo shorts and I assume a shirt. I don't remember the shirt, though.

Super friendly guy. He was driving a big ass shuttle bus and it had all of 3 people on it. Lindsey, myself, and one other guy whom Keith clearly knew.

Despite no audience, Keith gave a driving tour as we went down this 8 mile winding, steep, narrow stretch of road into the river valley where Red's Meadow was.

I don't know much about Keith. I know I liked him. He was a good guy. Having said that, the best way I have to describe him is that he was a yellow lab.

Kind of a homely, deep voice. Always talking. Super friendly. Very helpful. Slept at the foot of our bed.
It really did seem like if I threw a tennis ball he'd run after it.

It's a one way road. So the bus goes down and at the 4 or 5 stops, it will pick people up if they want to go further south. Most people, at the time of day we were there, were wanting to leave. Keith stops at a bus stop full of about 15 people. We're sitting on the bus. Keith walks down to the lower step of the bus, hangs half his body out, and the dialogue goes something like this. (say it in your best Labrador voice)

"Anyone going down to the falls?" (the falls are by Red's)
"We're heading down to the falls, but another bus will be right behind me, so..."
"Everyone have a good hike?"
"There'll be another bus right behind me to take you back up to the top, so…"

Keith went on making simple conversation with mostly himself using his patented fast-then-trail-off cadence and ending, most often with "so…"

It made his form of communication very enjoyable for me.

He talked to this group of people for damn near 10 minutes, and by that time, the bus that they wanted to take was literally right on our ass. So Keith had to pack it up and move on.

We dropped off our food when we made it to Red's meadow. Keith went to refill his water bottle at the café.

A stellar's jay flew into the bus. I caught him and let him out.

Keith said "thank you."

Keith picked up the remaining hikers who were heading back to Mammoth for the day. The bus was about half full now, and Keith went on and did his tour. He asked repeatedly to the bus "did anyone give you a tour on the way down?"

No one replied, so I said "Yeah."

Keith thought it was slightly funny I think.

So he gives the tour, hands out information. Stops at a viewpoint, offers to take photos for passengers.

We arrive back to our starting point at Mammoth Ski resort. We bid farewell to Keith, and we can drive the last hour or so to Yosemite.

Keith would be one of a few awesome people we met. And maybe my favorite.

He's probably back home chasing a squirrel right now.

Photos from Lindsey Sydow

http://www.lindseyliterally.com/

Photos from Lindsey Sydow

http://www.lindseyliterally.com/

Photos from Lindsey Sydow

http://www.lindseyliterally.com/

Photos from Lindsey Sydow

http://www.lindseyliterally.com/

Photos from Lindsey Sydow

http://www.lindseyliterally.com/

Photos from Lindsey Sydow

http://www.lindseyliterally.com/

Photos from Lindsey Sydow

http://www.lindseyliterally.com/

The way

In preparation for the deluge of information to come, here is a map. This is our journey.  

When we were young

Somewhere around this time period, mid August, the story goes that a hunter is camping in the forest in California directly west of Yosemite. He creates an illegal fire. He either doesn’t put it out or it gets out of control and sparks what will turn into the single largest wildfire in California's illustrious history. Yosemite is inundated with smoke. The Tioga road, our artery and only path from the high country (where we will enter via car) and the valley (where the trail starts) closes down so they can back-burn.

The training for Job R gets moved up to the 28th and 29th of August. So we can hit the trail reasonably soon in September. I pack an extra insulating layer and throw in a beanie. I'm ready.

The training comes. The fire gets bigger. The training is done. The fire rages on. Our lives are packed into 110 liters of space. Everything needed to subsist without the aid of society carried on our backs.

This feels horribly amiss. Having been on a few westward camping/backpacking trips, the car should be absolutely full of stuff.

(Car being jammed full of stuff, 2008)

It's completely empty except 2 packed backpacks.

The empty car with only two backpacks rolls out of San Marcos later than we'd planned. We left around noon or later. Went slow so we could afford ourselves time to remember any things we forgot.

And then we headed west like we've done so many times before not knowing what was in store.

In many ways, we had no idea what was in store this time either. We did know where we were going though. We knew the name of the trail we'd be hiking.

That was about all we knew.

Weatherbeaten soul

As it turned out, procedures had changed a bit. It used to be at this job, job R let's call it, that you fill out a form asking for time off. It's reviewed over a couple of days and then approved or not. The verdict is delivered to your little "mail box."

I filled out the time off form and then went weeks without hearing anything. And hell, I asked for a month off. That's a bit of time. I figured it was a no and never wanted to get that news for sure so I never made it a pressing point to inquire.

And I figured I didn't know what I was going to do. Things were in motion in and of themselves now; the event horizon had been reached. We were going to attempt the JMT. By this point in time, August's infancy, I had most of the gear we needed. The packing and food planning was set. My mind started churning out plans of how to take off a shorter time, how to hike faster, and that my default plan would be to vacate my job position. 

The day came when I could wait no longer and I asked. I found out that the procedure for taking time off had changed. Instead of getting a hard copy of your approval, the paperwork just went in a file cabinet. You check your file to see if you are approved.

I learned this.

I checked my file.

Sitting in there was the original form I'd submitted with a couple of scribbles on it. They were signatures of approval. 

I don't think I'll ever forget that moment. It was succinctly happy. True happiness. Relief, joy, responsibility, freedom all rolled into one emotion. 

Though we were planning on going and getting everything ready, the last potential barricade was out of the way. It was smooth sailing to California from here. After seeing the approval signatures penned in red ink, it was a clear shot. Nothing was standing between my wheels on the ground in Texas and my feet on the ground in California except 1200 miles of road and some days.

The preparation continued. Gear getting, item testing, meal planning, logistics. Anticipation continued to build.

We were planning on leaving August 24th or so. This gave Lindsey time to wrap up her final days working her internship, it gave us time to pack our lives and our house and move them all into limbo in San Marcos while we cleaned, turned in keys, and said goodbye to the best neighborhood in Austin.  Our plan- We'd move everything into temporary storage at her parent's house. We'd pack. We'd leave on the 24th. We'd be hiking on the 27th.

A wise old man I met in Maine once told me: "The best of plans are always subject to failure."

I had an interview for a job at Job R. A new position doing something a little more exciting than what I'd been doing. I was offered the job a couple weeks into August and I accepted.

THe new position required special training would be in Early September…It couldn't be any other time because the trainer was flying in from far away. So instead of leaving the 24th of August, my training would be over on September 2nd.

Which pushes us back to a really late start date. Weather in the Sierra Nevadas in September…unpredictable.  In October- cold, snow, winds, and outside of prime hiking season. More importantly, as we'd learn, this shoulder season where most folks are back to their fake american lives sees many services like shuttles, resupplies, stores, and hiker amenities shut down.

I did the math: training was scheduled for the 3rd and 4th of September which would put as on the trail on the 6th at the absolute earliest with direct travel via Honda Fit. 7th would be more realistic. Plus 21 days of hiking…and we're at the highest point of the lower 48 right around October 1st with gear that we'd purchased without the harsh Sierra seasonality in mind.

Wrench --> plans.

The Road to Ruin

                Having been told earlier "yeah, I don't think it will be a problem" in regards to getting time off and then being told "2 weeks is about the max," there's a couple of things you can do.

A-     No more JMT. Dream is over.

B-      Quit.

C-      Take the time off because you've earned it with vulgar amounts of unpaid comp time and deal with it when you get back.

Shrewd business man such as myself and loyal, hard working employee would never consider doing C. or B. After all, jobs are way too important today. To quit or jeopardize my role would be irresponsible, inane, inconceivable.

So I just stopped thinking about the trail. Hell, I'd been wanting to do it for 5 years, what's another 1-99?

So I'm sitting in a cube one day doing whatever it was I did. Program director comes in, we'll call him Chomley, and talks to everyone else. Doesn’t say "hi" or acknowledge my presence. 5:00 comes around. I'm heading out the door. My supervisor comes in, asks if I'd like to go for a walk. No. I don't want to go for a walk. But I say yes because it seems like the obvious answer. My direct supervisor lets me know that after meeting with Chomley, "they've" decided to not renew my position. Basically my job got cut so that another job that was similar but got paid more could open in Houston (I was told I was not qualified for the Houston job)

If we're calling it straight down the middle, it's a "reduction in force." If you want to be cute, I was "deemed redundant." If you haven't been there…it feels like your fired. Which is liberating, aggravating, frustrating, relieving, and enraging all at once. The specifics of this whole thing, the details, the open records requests that could be done, the FOIA requests that could be made…unimportant. I'll save it for the book deal.

But here's where we're at- I've been told (this happened in May) that I would be done on June 31st. They told me in May that my job was obsolete. My salary was done, my work was through. Last day was June 31. Prime JMT hiking time is Aug-September. So if you're sitting in my cube, sitting in my shoes (which I don't wear most often) then you get a small devious grin because that 15 days you couldn't get off….that just became infinite vacation. Because you got fired. For being better than every single person who worked in your program.

The whole thing is still enraging.

But knowing that I wouldn't be employed doing something I love, I knew I'd have the time off to go do something I only dreamed about. Something I'd been chasing and something that had been eluding me for years.

Here's the catch, if there's to be a catch. (and there is to be a catch. It makes a better story.) The whole time I was employed at my well paying job, I was employed part time at a not so well paying but fun job. I thought seriously of walking in to the not so well paying job and saying "thanks, people. I'm outtie 5000." I came very, very close to doing so. But for whatever reason, I never told the part time job goodbye. And it's a good thing, because it allowed me to still have work after being done.

But, John Muir Trail wise…it was another barrier.

I was free from my government job. Deemed redundant, axed so that a "diversity specialist" can be hired.
John Muir Trail was in reach.

I figure it is no big deal to ask for a month off at my other job. So I go in, fill out the paper work. And then I never hear anything back.

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When we were poor

First upload blast is going on currently. It's proving more difficult than normal, so check back today, tomorrow, and throughout the weekend for more photos.  

I've processed about 80 or so of 1600 that I actually took. And i'll be adding some more here and there, talking about different parts of the trip I've forgotten, reviewing articles of gear, articles of clothing, things of the sort.  

Photos are in the "JMT" section as well as at the end of this post.

Here's your primer for what's to come:
Some years ago Lindsey and I took a trip out West. Nowhere specifically, but Yosemite was one of the places. If you've never been, go. Don't make me or anyone else convince you. Don't read up in a book, look it up online, overwhelm yourself with planning and activities. Just go. 

We went in 2007 for the first time. Ever since driving through that unassuming tunnel and coming out the other end in what must be the setting of many Disney stories (animals, waterfalls, trees, rays of light, butterflies, gently swaying grasses) I take any excuse to go back.  

That first time we were there must have been my first exposure to the John Muir Trail (and definitely to John Muir) but truthfully, i'm not sure where the idea of hiking this trail came from. I don't recall a specific lightbulb going off or pivotal moment. in 0t7 we hiked part of the Mist trail, and that must have been the first time I'd been exposed. There's a really famous sign there that reads something like "Mt. Whitney- 212 miles via the John Muir Trail." Never thought anything of it then. 

Never thought a whole lot about it for a while.  

Slowly the idea of being in a Yosemite landscape for 210 miles/a month grew in its appeal. We decided only a year after ever being to Yosemite that we'd do the John Muir Trail the following year in 2008. And we planned for it- bought bear cans, made some dehydrated food.  

That year, like most, was a fire year in California. That's the excuse anyway. Really we were unprepared, out of shape, and not at all ready for such a trip so by the time we made it to Yosemite Valley in 2008, we decided to not do the trail.  

And since that moment, an opportunity has never come. It's kind of hard I suppose getting a month off. It's a little harder coordinating that to coincide with another person getting a month off. Of course, work, careers, families, everything else is always  more important. 

Lindsey was finishing her thesis, I was working a job with a lot of off time in the summer. I figured it was a perfect match. So since early spring, we were seriously planning for it. Accruing gear, looking up recipes, getting tips, etc.  

When I asked if I could have 3 weeks off from my job, I was told no.  

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Interstate

One day i will feel like unpacking my car, removing my Osprey Exos 58 backpack, digging for my journal, and transcribing what I had found on the trip.

It would probably be prudent to explain how and why this whole trip came about, and probably tell you more than you ever wanted to know. But you're a loyal visitor. You'll get all the photos first. The stories, notes, reviews, and miscues will be here long before they're ever on facebook. 

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So buy all the photos I post. 

Story starts tomorrow.  

City of the sun

Enroute back to Texas but not in any hurry. Over the next days I will post notes and photos and other things here.

We traveled 170 miles on foot over 15 or 16 days. And this was no hiking trail. This was mountain climbing.

Met awesome people.

Saw not a single bruin.

Come down from the mountain

Guess who's back.

More later.

Tired now.

In independence California

Just passing through.

I wish you could see the places I've been. I would show you, but I broke my phone on a granite dome. I laid down on a glacially smoothed rock to bask in the sun and my phone fell out. Screen cracked. This has rendered it useless. Pics will have to wait

I'm tried. Feet hurt. Shoulders hurt. Skin hurts. We have been about 40 miles after starting in the meadows. Only two wrong turns. One major one minor. No fire. Search and rescue spot lighted our rent. Met an amazing guy named Matt who have us a ride to mammoth lakes from reds meadow. And here we are.

Saw a weasel, deer, heard a bear, saw a huge trout.

Trail has been dynamic with its ups and downs. Have met some cool people.

Pack is heavy when full. Need to send some stuff home. But that's hard. Haven't used deodorant in a week. Showered and the water ran muddy.

Aggies need defense before next week.

Best gear so far: steripen

5 days To muir trail ranch.
10 days after that to the summit of lower USA.

No fire

That's how smoky it is.

We start hiking tomorrow am.

Weather is awesome so far. Temps are good.
Traffic is little.

People are few.

On fire

I lied about that last shower. Hard rock hotel and casino afforded me a last last rinse.

Other problems have sprung. Minor.
Credit part of debit/credit card is broken
back button on phone is broken
Yosemite is full of smoke

None of these are super alarming. I will call Tuesday to fix the card. Debit works fine.

Don't need my back button much anyway. Sharks don't have necks. Sharks don't look back.

Weather front looks promising for pushing the smoke from the valley. Current outlook appears that we will have to leave from above the valley any way. We will find out the truth tomorrow.

Feeling better. I'm pretty sure it was sinus pressure from central Texas. Improving, I think.

Its funny how without even doing anything, journeys like this make you feel strong.

Tomorrow the final act of the pre trip fan fare ends. Tomorrow we go in to the flames and try to go in to the valley. Tomorrow we reach Yosemite. One to two days of staging and prep and permit procuring and then the hike part of the journey begins.

Its been a while since I've been this scared...but good scared. Mostly good scared. Bowling ball in throat scared. I like it

Strong

There's been faint traces of illness in me for a while if we are being honest.

Critix

I’m sitting here, Saturday afternoon August 31, 2013 at Lindsey’s parents’ house getting my seasonal dose of religion on ESPN. 

This will be the last time I do that for a month. Doesn't sound so bad when you put it that way. 

Today at some point Lindsey and I depart for California to hike the John Muir trail. 

Originally we were going to do this trip 5 years ago. For many reasons, mostly excuses, we did not do it. 

Months earlier this year we talked about the feasibility of doing this. Back then I worked for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. When I ran the concept of being gone for 3+ weeks by them…they said no thanks. 

As things would unfold, I would be deemed redundant anyway and lose my job at Parks and wildlife in favor of grant programs and private groups and middle management decisions. 

I concurrently worked at another place over the past 1.3 years. I filled out my time off request. It was immediately approved. I’ve been gearing up for the past couple of months. Researching, buying gear, digging things out of storage. 

I’m not going to bore with the details, specs, logistics of the trip. If you’re interested, look it up. Google it. Read about it. I will bother with “why?”

Because it’s there. Because it’s hard.  Because it requires a completely different aspect of life, living, planning. 

And there are those who say no. Don’t do it, you can’t be gone that long, you need to work, it’s not safe.  The older generation. The “responsible” generation. 

There are those who don’t see why to even do a trip like this, to hike, to be outdoors, to be exposed, and to face a 3 week long test of your planning, mental acumen, adaptability. The Netflix generation. The “sit and watch” generation. 

It is not the critic who counts. 

I’ve just exited the hot humid cube of a bathroom after what is likely my last shower for a 4 weeks. 

My life is packed in to 61 liters of space. My home. My food. My possessions. No deodorant. No razor blade. 

And in the time spent taking that last shower, all of the final planning issues, concerns, worries were washed away in a shower of bad puns. 

The insurance coverage, the faxing, the planning, the emails, the training, the work, the bank deposits, the postal service, the economy, the world political climate, the family ties and obligations, the looking forward…constantly. The never ending anticipation of the next bill, the next move, the next class, the next project, the next purchase, the next fight. 

It’s all done. What has been done is done. What has not been done will wait. It will have to. And the shocking news is that the world will keep spinning. Everything will be right back there, a violently spinning Ferris wheel of non-stop do-this and do-that. 

What we do now is find out not if, but where we fall. We find out where the trail goes, what adventure has in store for us. We see what challenges we adapt to, what struggles, pain, and adversity comes our way. Now- we fail. And we have fun at it. 

It’s not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or how the doer of deeds could have done them better. 

We leave to hike 210 miles. We leave to hitchhike potions of California here there are no shuttles. We leave to head IN to the fiery breath of hell that is the rim fire and we adapt our plans to it. And when we’re dirty, smelly, soot covered, rained on, tired, muddy and covered in the  clean air and fine grains of earth that mark the High Sierra, then we’ve done it right. When bones ache but aren’t broken, when feet hurt but work, when we’re scared but prepared, then we’ve done it right. We’ll be scraped and scratched and we will have failed and tried and failed, but we will proceed. 

We’ll walk on a trail many others have done in many fewer days. And it will be hard and hot, it will be challenging and cold. It will be miserable and snowing. It will be perfect. And we’ll endure. 

Because the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena. Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. Who strives valiantly. Who errs. Who comes up short again and again, but who does actually strive to do the deeds. 

And maybe we’ll complete the trail. Maybe we’ll complete most of it. Maybe we’ll have to cut it short. Maybe we don’t make it, because there are no guarantees. 

The reason, the “why “ for me is to experience the highs and lows, the pain, joy, troubles, solutions, and everything that comes with living life like it’s mean to be. 

The reason is to know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions. To spend yourself in the worthy cause and to, at best, know in the end the triumph of great achievement and, at worst, if we fail, we fail while daring greatly. 

There are critics everywhere. There are obligations and responsibilities everywhere. And there is life. I’m not submitting that life should be a never ending hike. But why is it a bad thing if it were? The forge of American society is pretty hot and heats everyone up and pours them in a pretty standard mold. Why not live while you have the chance? Why not do the things that you dare to do, that make you a little afraid. 

At the end of the day, fail or succeed, win or lose, 220 miles or 20 miles…Our place will never be with those cold, timid souls who know neither victory or defeat. 

Society is going away for a month. And I’m excited. 

A tent, clothes, camera, food, stove, and water purification are pretty much all I have. We’ve supplies between the two of us. I’ve got wilderness first aid. California is on fire. New jobs are starting in October. New leases in October. The hassle of moving, pet deposits, bills, commuting, working come in October. 

September, we’re free. And I take comfort in knowing throughout the vocal minorities words against doing such a trip, that Teddy Roosevelt had a response for them years ago. 

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

The car is ready to be loaded. The sun is high. The road leads west. California waits. 

So does the world. 

More as internet allows. 

The start

Today, in some hours after resting, Lindsey and I will depart for the John Muir trail. I will write about it here as time allows. I'm exhausted. I'm staring at a 24 hour drive. I'm not even packed. The clock is ticking now. I'm off for a month. I've got 220 miles to walk on In California. The saga begins now.

We'll make it on time.

Facebook page has been created, because that is how the world works these days.  

"Like" me. Like me for a few reasons. 

1. You actually like me. I'm a good guy. I'm the best.
2. I asked nicely and it would be rude to ignore me. You aren't rude. 
3. Take 5 minutes and look at no fewer than 3 other facebook "photography" pages. See that trash? That has more likes than me. That's an injustice.
4. Like me because you like good photos and you want to buy them. 
5. Like me because i'll give you a free photo. Maybe.  
6. Because you support creativity, attention to detail. 
7. You probably aren't going to hike to the places i've been to get the photos I have.  

List could go on, but my last day of real work is tomorrow.  

So like my facebook page so more people think i'm popular and the unwashed masses start to think i'm trendy so they, in turn, buy things from me.  

In other news- I'll be traveling for the month of September. On assignment. On the John Muir Trail. Fun times ahead. 

Work. Hobbies.

The most favorite part of my job over the past few years has been teaching photography. 

In the next few weeks, i'll be teaching classes for the public at various state parks. Outdoor nature photography class for free. Hard to beat. 

I think I can, though. Since I literally wrote the book on the photography program for the State, i'll share my thoughts, learnings, musings, tips, and things here as well.  

Over time, I'm sure this site will morph in to a multi purpose domain but for now, if you like photography and you want some tips, I'll drop knowledge here and there.  

Biggest tip I have initially, the one that made the world of difference for me- get a camera that has manual control. You don't need to use it right away. You don't need to know what the settings mean. But having the ability to go full manual (set aperture, set shutter, set focus, set iso) is the best way to learn how all of the settings work together and affect one another. 

Next camera you buy- make sure it has manual settings. The first camera I ever owned was a Panasonic DMC-LX1 for this very reason. I shot on auto mode for the first year or two I had that camera. I learned when I could and when I felt like messing with settings.  

Now Panasonic is on the LX5 or LX6 and there are hundreds of camera options with manual settings. Pick a brand and interface you like and find a good entry level manual camera.  

Bonus points if it shoots in RAW. You'll need this after you master manual settings.  

More on that next time.  

News.

I spent the previous 96 hours fulfilling my final obligations as a proper "outdoor educator." For the next month, I'll be using leave time, doing office work, and preparing to move on to bigger and better things (John Muir Trail, first. After that...maybe I should get another job.) 

Main point of the story- I'm going to have more time for my other loves. Like smoking meats, building motorcycle engines, taking photographs, making salsa, exploring. 

This is not the time nor space I'll write deep thoughts and musings, but do keep an eye out for photos. And certainly when I'm on the 210 mile hiking trail, i'll update as much as possible. And I'll link to a blog here or there. 

In the mean time, buy some photos.  

Every single one is professionally printed, packaged, and sent directly to you. If you want a different size, email me and consider it done. 

If you need something photographed, like a person (wedding) or a place (I've never been to Hawaii) let me know. I can fake my way around knowing how to use a camera and post editing software, I bet.... 

If you're ever thinking "hmm, I wonder if Chris can help..."
I can, and will.  

See you down the road.  

Redesign

When I was a kid, I used to re-arrange my room frequently. I didnt like the look of the same old bed in the same old corner for the same old week. So i changed it. Often.

Eventually, I grew out of this. However, not before many iterations of paint, hand-dying the carpet, turning a closet door in to a trampoline, breaking a window, hand cutting a new A/C vent, making a built-in desk, destroying a built-in desk, putting in tile, removing the tile, staining the concrete.

All said and done, today...that room is pink.

So the moral of the story, I guess, when this site turns pink, I'm done.