Tuesday, October 22, 2013
A Walk in the Woods
I haven't spent time with my good friend Melissa in about 3 years. We decided to change that ridiculousness and go for a walk amongst Washington's rich forest. We explored around Panther Creek Falls and Falls Creek Falls. Great day to reunite and enjoy the Pacific Northwest's quiet autumn weather….
Thursday, October 17, 2013
3 Dudes, 8 Axes, 4 Ropes, Canada, Whiskey, and Uh.....Lots of Ice
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| CLICK IMAGES to see all images from this trip |
I'm always torn when venturing out into wild places of this magnitude, to do a specific activity, for the first time. Really difficult to explain these emotions, however I'll attempt it anyway. The impressive nature of wilderness like this stump me really, mentally, physically, emotionally. They send my senses into a whirlwind, a frenzy. We are there to experience something new, clear the mind with pure wild, find calm, and disconnect from the false safety modern society places in us; all while doing the intense activity of climbing vertical ice. I should preface this with the fact that, although I consider myself a competent mountaineer and explorer of wilderness, I am in no way competent in the art form of swinging axes and kicking crampons into this vertical world. I've managed alpine ice sections on various mountain routes, but this is always a short lived part of the climbs I've attempted and, well, absolutely necessary at the time to continue upwards towards the summit and usually an easier descent route. Here, we are doing what is know as cragging, climbing ice for the simple act of climbing ice. I'm sure experienced ice climbers find calm and simplicity in this world. Back to the fact that I don't, at all. It is exposed, vulnerable, and the medium feels like it is breathing and changing shape every second you're playing amongst it. Large chunks of ice break off when you swing or kick, or for no apparent reason at all actually. Long screws are drilled into the ice along the route for that false feeling of safety. Sure they may hold you in a minor fall, but experienced ice climbers will say the number one rule in climbing on this medium is "Do Not Fall!"
Climbing on this medium is similar to rock climbing in that you look for placements to put each of your four limbs. You don't, as I first thought, swing and kick your way up. But instead, you make controlled and calm placements. Well, this is what you're supposed to do anyway. I on the other hand kick and kick again, and then swing 8 times before feeling confident in each move, then I swing once more and watch dinner plates pour down my chest and over my feet (Dinner plating is when ice fractures in plate shapes around your ice axe). Which actually weakens the frozen medium around you, ach! Okay, going to stop thinking about that for a moment. Now regarding the confusion; while all of the above races through my head I can barely breath because of the immense beauty surrounding us at any given moment. Whether standing at the base of these frozen waterfalls or while mid-route listening to the water rushing beneath the ice you are faithfully clung to, it's overwhelming, powerful. Completely and beautifully overwhelming..... And, I can not wait to be back there....
I'm lucky to be friends with TC and Ray who have the confidence and calm I don't yet have in this world. Thanks guys for rope gunning my ass up this terrain. I owe you both several beers on our next trip.
Krueger's Farm Pumpkin Pickin' Time
Just a few pics from a rad pumpikin pickin' session with the Fam…. Shit, I love Autumn.
Friday, October 11, 2013
2012 Illumination Saddle Wind Storm on Hood
4 days before my May 2012 birthday I skied up to Illumination Saddle at about 9800' on Mt. Hood to push my winter survival skills sleeping out in 45 mph wind gusts. It pushed me alright. It pushed my tent poles in half, it pushed my soul to be humble, and it pushed my ass right back down to the safety of my truck and a flask of bourbon to warm up. Could I have fixed my broken tent pole, sustained the humility, and hunkered down? Absolutely, but the truck was 3800' away, and well, sometimes it's okay to wimp out, hehe….
Testing the RRS Panoramic equipment, but really just getting out in the Gorge
Just picked up the Really Right Stuff blah blah lens nodal slide and panoramic base. Not sure what they call it exactly. HA, I said lens nodal….. Basically, it's tripod gear that assists the process of making super sweet panoramic's. I stitched 4 - 24mm frames together to create the above pano. Whatcha know about that iphone? That's right, nothing…. Actually the iphone pano feature is pretty damn sweet as well, but you could never make a 50" print with an iphone and as clean.
Now, the real reason I went out to Ponytail falls in the Columbia River Gorge…… because it's an amazing time of year to see a splach of color amongst full, happily saturated waterfalls. Duke begs me to take him out to the Gorge this time of year too…. enjoy.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Learning How to Relax the Mind and Find Calm
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| Duke helping me scout for Trout on the Clackamas |
I'm always learning. Learning about living. Learning that it is important to step away from yourself every now and again to see what direction you're heading and headed. I recently did just that, although briefly, it felt good.
I make photographs almost everyday. Mostly as part of my career. It used to be a thing I did to create calm and peace at the end or beginning of a busy day. Fishing and riding bikes also calms my mind down and allows me to remove the clutter. It's easy to get stuck in the cycle of a busy life and forget that we all need this reflection time, this time of purging thought and allowing the soul of who you are to breathe and receive.
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| Sunset on Sturgeon Lake |
Last week, I took a tripod and camera over to Sauvie Island near our home and photographed sunset; something I do very rarely these days. That was it, I just drove, parked, and walked up to Sturgeon Lake's bank and took some pictures. Nothing to it really, but the peace during the activity and the clear thought that followed was incredible. I've been missing these simple activities in my life. I also went fishing with Duke (our pup) last week with the same result. Both activities took about an hour or so, and both had the same powerful affect which lingered for days. Riding my bike does this as well although it's a more complex feeling. Still wonderful, but not as simple. Something about watching the light change while standing in place or feeling the water redirect itself around your legs while casting creates that..... simplistic moment. Riding is more about exhaling hard, moving quickly, and tiring the physical aspects of your person. Amazingly restorative, but getting there is slightly more hectic.
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| Fleeting rainbow over Sturgeon Lake. The light changed quickly this evening. |
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| Duke resting and finding his calm spot in the middle of the Clackamas River |
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| Salmon River |
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| Gina, Duke, and my shadow near a waterfall in the Labyrinth, Coyote Wall |
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| Salmon River last Autumn |
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| Quick forest road spin outside of Scappoose Oregon |
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| Ride around Sauvie Island after work. I remember this being a good spin, but that seat and I are not friends anymore in the least. Shortly after this ride, I got rid of that saddle for the wider standard Brooks B17, which is a million times more comfortable. |
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| Ride in Forest Park right across the river from our house. |
This morning I culled through images from the past 7 months or so and all of these images were taken during short reflective outings. The pictures taught me that I must allow the freedom to go out and cast a line, ride a bike, or carry a tripod around sunset more frequently. No meditation session or yoga class can deliver me the same level of calm that these activities always have and I hope always will.....
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| Mud always makes me super happy for some ridiculous reason. Funny how some folks find peace in a long yoga pose, while I find peace in the dirt that flies off my tire and lands in my eye....hmmm? |
Monday, May 20, 2013
The End of a Sojurn....feels like it just started
Woooeeee.... It was a good one.
One day left.
Lake Michigan
Killer breakfast at a diner in Brevoort. Cathy and Tina.
First view of the bridge which connects the upper and lower peninsula
Bike reaches maximum speed of the trip
Happy and tired Indian River
Pops greets me close to home
I'm sitting in the comfort of my parents home trying to think of a way to wrap up the last day. It's a tough thing to do it seems. Usually I don't blog or really even think about trips while they are in-process. This is a first for me. Sometimes, I wait up to a year to share thoughts and pictures from a trip like this. Why? Well, I think it has something to do with how slow my brain processes experiences. It's like reading a book, and thinking you understand it, then a week rolls by and some little daily thing happens and you think "oh shit, the Valley of Ashes, duh!" I listens to several audiobooks on my trip and the Great Gatsby was one of them. Anyway, the point is, thoughts and emotions need to marinde for awhile before I believe you can truly understand them.
There are some interesting things reflecting daily shares with oneself though. For instance, the edges of the experience are sharp in the mind. Time doesn't have time to soften the memory of an intense moment. One of these moments would be when I stopped to walk down to the wonderful beach on Lake Michigan along Hwy 2; the vast cloud of Caddis Midge flies and the sensation of hundreds landing on my body as I tried to hurry through was both creepy and meditative. I wouldn't describe the experience as comfortable, but it was unique and strangely acceptable for a moment anyway. Over time, I might even completely forget this experience, besides a simplified version of how many bugs there were. Another experience was how, for the first time since the beginning of the trip, when the Macknac Bridge popped into view, I felt as though I was going to make it. The tendon and knee issues that plagued my thoughts starting on the 4th day gave me little confidence that I would roll up to this massive bridge on 2 wheels. That felt damn good.
Unfortunately, you can't ride across the bridge, you must be transported. The bridge authority who gave me a lift did not seem to keen on cyclist. He seemed a bit put out and made a few comments such as "Are you riding on the roads, why don't bikers ride on the dirt next to the roads instead. Seems safer for everyone." He could have been genuinely concerned but his dark sunglasses and rough approach made it difficult to get a read. What was interesting to me though, was when he dropped me off. He was sporting a Red Wings cap. Gina and I happen to be huge fans of the Wings. I asked him his thoughts on the playoffs, and the flood gates opened with conversation. About 30 minutes of hockey talk actually. Nice break and good conversation. Go Wings!
There is an incrdible bike path that connects Macknaw City to Indian River; it's mostly a pressed gravel mix though and my tired body was done with it after a few short miles. I jumped onto Hwy 23 along Lake Huron. There was a cold breeze that slowed me down and caused my knees to begin steadily aching. After 14 miles, 23 cuts inland to Cheboygan. Now there was only 20ish miles left until my home town. This last leg was a true highlight of the trip. Everything was familiar to me, my knees and tendons loosened up in the warmer inland temps, and I knew I was going to make it all the way to my parents front door.
I rode fairly slow and steady to take in the last moments of the trip. When I reached Topinabee, about 12 miles from the place of my youth, my parents pulled up along side me for a bit of support. I continued on to town to meet them at the Dairy Mart after a short visit to a swimming hole I used to hang around most hot days as a teenager. The ice cream hit the spot, never tasted so earned. An easy 5 miles took me the rest of the way to White Rd. and the Sturgeon River where my pops met me on his bike.
The ride started at my good friends house in Minneapolis 13 days back and ended at the house of my childhood. The longest bike trip I've done thus far; it dished out all sorts of experiences my way, some good, some bad, and all interesting. Paul told me that he wouldn't be surprised if I just started to find my rhythm and felt the urge to continue on the last day. He has 6 months of experience traveling with his partner through South America on 2 wheels; he was absolutely right. I would need 3 or so days to rest up, but could see continuing for another few months. That being said, I miss my family in Portland, A-Lot. I need to get back to running a business. I need to get back to a relaxing weekend bike tour through wine country with Gina and some close friends in just over a week. And I need to eat ice cream, lots and lots of it.....
All finished......
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