March 2007, started hiking in Virginia on the Appalachian Trail, close to where my dads family is from. North-east for 450 miles along the mountain divide to the Potomach River near DC. 450 miles of late winter hiking, seeing few people on the trail, going several days between seeing people. Walked around DC for a week. West up the Potomach River for a while. Crossed the river into West Virginia, a beautiful underdeveloped state which recently changed it's state motto from "wild and wonderfull' to "we're open for buisness". Many of the mountains there have been strip mined for the coal that we burn here in the south-east. You hear the phrase "clean coal" a lot these days. Out of site, out of mind I guess. I would name some of the prettiest places in WV but the locals told me to keep them secret. Some of the greenest lushest environments up there in the high land. West Virginia has some of the nicest people in the world.
Appalachia like country continued through Ohio, following the hills north of the Ohio River. Beautiful and unusual places hard to imagine them being in Ohio. Places that looked like the east probably looked before Europeans. Indiana and Illinois continued to unveil pockets of unique wilderness and quiet countryside.
When I walked out of the blufs into the Mississippi flood plains, places that reminded me of regions similar to home faded away. Walked up the Mississippi to St. Louis. From St. Louis I countinued through the same country that Louis and Clark would have seen along the Missouri River to Kansas City.
Took a break in Kansas City at my aunt and uncles place. Took a bus to Chicago where I met a friend from Millwaukee. Visited Minneapolis, took a bus to Duluth and hitched a ride up the north shore of lake Superior to Grand Marais (One of my favorite places ever). Hitched back to Duluth, bussed back to Kansas City.
After a long side excursion I resumed hiking, Following the path of the historic Santa Fe Trail throughout all of Kansas. In Kansas all of the familiarity of the east faded from slim to none. Western Kansas is a desert, dangerously close to another episode of the Dust Bowl days. The regions in Kansas are sensitive landscapes. Easyily maimed by harsh farming practices. Protected pockets in Kansas are peacefull paridises. Much of the land I traveled through in Western Kansas had been seriously destroyed. Dry rivers, depleted aquafers, desertification, huge feedlots....
Crossing into Colorado was strangely automatic change of scenery. Colorado maintains gluttenous water rights. More water than is natural is kept in colorado in the form of agriculture irrigation. So crossing the border things were greener and healthier in the same high plains environment of western Kansas. It's part of but not all of Kansas's water problems.
When I reached the Rockies I stopped for the winter. Found some jobs and a place to stay in Canon (Canyon) City. A place of mountains, desert canyons, rapid rivers...high plains, cactus, and rattle snakes. I worked at a factory full time, a janitor part time, a night security gaurd, and helped out at a small farm. I found a place to stay at an old Catholic abbey that the church had sold to a private buisness. It's a long story. I met some great friends in that town. I lived there six months. Leaving in early May.
Traveled north to Cripple Creek, Divide, Woodland Park. West around Pikes Peak to Colorado Springs. North to Denver, hanging out there for a week. West to Evergreen, helping a trail coordinator build a roof while I waited for another hiker (the only one I ever met the whole trip) to hike together over some dangerous snow bound passes. Hiked only about 3 days with "Lion King". Snowshoed almost everyday for 400 miles?....a long way, chalenging hiking. Some dangerous moments. Beautiful scenery, lots of snow. Dropped out of the mountains into the desert in one day, a quick 5,000' decent. The desert had my senses overloaded, and I hardly slept for a whole week walking through the Moab desert. A hard 7 days, more so mentaly than phisicaly. I tend to have walked on trails when it wasn't the right season for the certain trail. So I hardly saw a soul for 7 days to Moab.
In Moab I bought a bike...so I could hopefully travel between water holes with more ease. It was the last place I could make that sort of decision, and I did it. Converting faiths, from a walker to a mountain biker. I stayed mostly on trails and forest roads through Utah. Hard going, but I could travel 2 or 3 times further a day. I missed walking. Walking is the richest way to travel...sailing is nice too.
I rode the bike through Nevada mostly on Highway 50 "the loneliest road in America". 50,60,70 miles between towns and water. But no problem with the bike.
Quickly though Nevada and even more quickly transitioning into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Lake Tahoe! Sight for sore eyes. Spent a week there, staying with new friends and visiting with my uncle, fishing, hiking, swiming...
Biked some very difficult trails in the mountains, through the foothills to the California delta to Sacramento. Inland California in August is hot. 100+ degrees every other day. From the delta followed the Sacramento River to the foothills of mt. Diablo. I was able to drop the bike off with a friend there, and was able to hike the rest of the way to the coast. Almost all trails through California.
I went back to the Sierra for several days, hung out in the Sanfran area for a while. Jumped on a train to Chicago, seeing some new, and some familiar landscapes on the way back. A blur. From Chicago I rode to Milwaukee on my bike, bussed to Duluth, biked to Grand Marais. Hitched back to the twin cities, bussed to Milwauke, and finaly took a train back to North Carolina.
Whew. Long recap. For more details read the individual blogs.
The traveling continues.... I took the zephyr to Chicago, rode a bike to Milwaukee, visited friends. Took the bus to Duluth, rode the bike up the north shore of Lake Superior to Grand Marais where I used to work at the North House Folk School. Great place even though it seems to becoming more and more like a business than a movement. Secretly revolutionary. I stayed there for 2 weeks, working on some boat maintenance projects, sailing, hiking, eating, sleeping in boats and yurts. Great people.
I found a ride to the Twin Cities, caught a bus back to Milwaukee for another couple days, and back to Chicago soon to catch my train to North Carolina. I'll be home on Oct. 2nd....it's been a long time.
I'm excited about being home. I'm hoping to start focusing my attention to farming and music. My grandparents have a farm property now surrounded by Charlotte suburbia, perfect place to get good at the craft. I'm thinking of starting a business converting peoples lawns into mini-farms.
Last California Trip, back to Desolation Wilderness
Before getting on the train east I took one last trip in California, back to the Sierra Nevada mountains, 3 days 2 nights in Desolation Wilderness. My friends John and Mary Lou were heading up to the mountains for a short vacation in Lake Tahoe, so they dropped me off at the Pacific Crest Trail on the Tahoe Rim.
This whole trip I dreamed of endless alpine chrystal clear lakes. I'm glad I got to spend time here. Here are some pictures, if you want to see more look through the California album. One of the prettiest places I'll ever see.
I finished! Just in time too. My shoes (with over 2000 miles under them) are finished. My knees have said; "no more". My will wants to explore more, but my body just wants to rest now. I bought a train ticket several days ago for the end of the month, so hopefully my knees recover and I am able to travel around here in California for the next 12 days.
Since my last update I walked through Oakland, took a ferry to San Francisco, walked over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County and took widerness trails over 40 miles to Limatour Beach.
The "Bay Area" is a beautiful region and topography. The landscape is perfect, and San Francisco has a wonderfull setting on the water. I walked along the crowded water front to the Fishermans Warf area. I talked to a lady selling charter sail boat rides and asked her if they were looking for any deck hands mentioning my experiece level. She said yes we are, and then I told her it would only be for two weeks, and she said that probably wouldn't work but took my info anyways. Then she gave me a free $30 ticket to sail on the next boat anyways. So I went sailing in the bay for 1 1/2 hour on a 41' full keel ketch with a Russian Captain. By the time I reached the Golden Gate Bridge the Fog had completely taken over for the rest of the day and I could only see 100'. I took some trails to a camp site where I was drenched all night. The fog collects in the trees and drops buckets all night, especialy in August I hear. The next day I rung out my stuff and headed out at 3:00 AM walked till I got out of the wind and found a dry grassy area at around 4:30 and took out my soaked sleeping bag crawled back in and took a nap till about 6. Saw a bobcat in the fog, he was big too. After walking through the lush Muir woods area I climbed above the clouds back to golden grass and green oak country in the sun. That night I was back in the wet redwoods and set up my tarp before the fog soaked trees began there evening drench. Slept 10 dry hours on the ground with redwood needles as my bed, flip flops as a pillow and the trickle of water on my tarp. Lots of blue berries or huckleberries up on the ridges. The next day I was headed for the coast, decending to even more lush, more damp forests.....and blackberries. Still Fogged over all day. My first view of the Ocean was decending a creek to the coast. Very tired feeling the last 6 miles, and had a feeling of lonelyness walking the beach to the end where no one was waiting. The water was cold and yes, more heavy fog, made the scenery beautiful, but sad. Found a pay phone and luckily the California ADT trail coordinator was willing to pick me up from the almost empty beach. I had had enough. The plan was for me to spend the next week and a half exploring the coastal trails by foot, but my knees and feet said no. Today I rest.
I spent a week in Lake Tahoe with my Great Uncle Bubba. We caught and grilled fish on the lake (a feast of deep water trout and salmon), went for a hike (and I went for a swim) in the beautiful desolation wilderness, where we checked out some natural high alpine lakes. Visited Virginia City and Carson City. And just had a relaxing time, much needed after Utah and Nevada. The weather was perfect.
I decided to stay with the bike. Not because I wanted to but the things you own end up owning you, and I felt kind of stuck with it. From Lake Tahoe I pushed my bike up to the pacific crest at Emigrant Pass on the Western States Trail. Tough going with a mountain bike. Pushed it through the beautiful Granite Chief Wilderness. On the Tevis trail I had enough and took the forest road into Foresthill just as I ran out of food. I took roads and bike paths to Sacramento then to Auburn where I was back on trails through the foothills of Mt. Diablo. With the help of the ADT California Coordinator I managed to ditch the bike for now and hike over the towering Mt. Diablo (where on clear days you can see the coast, the sierras, and even into Yellowstone, I had a poluted day where there was no view at all) and for the remainder of the ADT to the coast. So I'm finishing the last 100 miles on foot. This makes me happy. For me hiking is a far more rich than any other way of moving. But I've gotten a well rounded trip: hiking (trails of all sorts all climates and terains), snowshoeing, biking (on roads and trails where a bike should never go again).
Crossing the Sierras and decending to the coast is the most rapid change of environments I've had the whole trip. From Desert to Alpine to dense forests of evergreens to the California Delta at 10' above see level, and then steep rolling golden grassy hills dotted with hardy twisted oaks to the foggy cool bay area (where I picked bunches of ripe plums growing wild today).
2 or 3 more days till I reach the trails end. I'm spending the rest of August in California, then off to Chicago by train and then biking 100 miles to Milwaukee to visit some friends. A bus to Duluth, and a bike ride up the north shore of Lake Superior to Grand Marais to visit yet more friends. Back to Chicago to catch a train to Charlotte via DC.
Last state that I will be travelling across with people power?
Nevada was not as hot as I thought, not as dangerous as I thought, colder at about 3:00 in the morning than I thought, more mountainous than I thought, more sad about not hiking through than I thought. I rode across Nevada mostly on 50, with a few side trips. Went by very quick, a week I think. One day I rode off the hwy on a dirt forest service trail up into some mountains and found a beautiful spring fed oasis. There was mint growing in the thick moist grass. It's hard to get any happier than finding an Oasis in the desert out in the middle of nowhere. Visited two petraglyph sites. Seeing this, you have to use your imagination to invision a wetter climate, where huge expanses of barren salt flats used to be shallow lakes surrounded by wildlife and cattails.
Carson City is the gateway from the desert imediately into alpine lake relief. Instead of using hwy 50, I used a mountain trail to cross into the Tahoe basin. Very beautiful transition. I went to a beach called secret cove when I got to the lake. Water, crystal clear, surrounded by alpine mountains, and more variety of plant life since I can remember. Cold morning camping on the shore, got down to 37 I heard. Saw a bear the second day around the lake on the Tahoe Rim Trail. I wish I was hiking again.
I met a mountain biking couple on the trail and they invited me to stay with them until my unkle flys in for a 4 day vacation. I love the Sierra Nevadas so far, and I would like to visit again.
From here I travel through and down the mountains for 100 miles, then through Sacramento, and San Francisco. Dropping 9,000' or so.
Havn't ran across a working computer till now. Much has happened since Moab. I bought a bike, sent home my pack, carrying food, water, a tarp, my little cook pot (no stove, cookin on the fire)....that's about it. Travelling realy light. I stuck to most of the ADT through Utah, mountain biking on some rough trails and over some big moutains. Climbed to over 10,000' twice, into beautiful alpine green mountains with clear streams and cold nights. Rode through desert canyons and sage brush valleys. Some places in particular I fell in love with (the Canyon at the abandoned Osiris Mill just North of Antimony along the Sevier River, and the Antimony and Junction areas in general). My last gravel road/trail was "the pass" road coming out of Beaver. Beautiful little stream there taking me into the Mineral mountains where I had my first ripe gooseberries and serviceberries, and probably my last this year, who knows, We will see what The Lake Tahoe region holds.
I had a lot of generosity in Utah. From huge steaks in the Manti-la-Sal National Forest, partying with rangers at Hite Marina on the Colorado river. Free place to stay with some profesional soccer coaches in the hottest dryest desert I've seen (one of whom has a tortise that guides walks through the desert).
When approaching the Wah Wah desert, I had monsoon rains fall on me and was actualy cold, and the next day climbing the Wah Wah mountains the view behind me looked like the Smoky Mountains and it was realy humid. Surprised.
Now in Nevada. I'm riding straight through on 50, for better or worse. I miss hiking so much now. Rode around the Snake Range (Great Basin National Park), and the mountains were gorgeous and I realy wish I was in them, drinking their water, sleeping in their cool nights, and trees. Nevada has mountains everywhere so far, much diferent then the view many have of it being a flat barren place. Dry? Yes, the dryest state in the US. I should be in Lake Tahoe in a week.
From Fruita, a town at the very western border of Colorado, I began the Kokopelli Trail section of my route. It is about 150 miles from Fruita to Moab Utah. Most of that trail is in desert, and it's July. Might be why I didn't see anybody on the trail except for some 4 wheelers one day. One of the hardest 7 days of hiking I've done. I soon realized that I had to start waking up at 3 or 3:30 AM to be able to live on what water I had or could get. Quick and severe change of landscape from what I had been used to in Colorado. The first 3 days were the hardest, hotest, and dryest. Then, crossing the Colorado river to the east side, the last 4 days were much better, more beautiful, more variety, some water, and cooler. I don't have much time to write about it right now at the library. It was an intense experience, almost to much so. I've decided to buy a mnt. bike and ride to Lake Tahoe, and hike from there to the ocean. We shall see.
So, my mom got a realy good deal on a flight to Grand Junction, and I waited there a couple days. We rented a car, drove to Moab, did a day of sight seeing (Arches National Park), drove to western Utah, buried water in the desert, drove back to Grand Junction. I didn't want to have to see some of the places that I will walk by car, but I had to. I decided to wait another day in Fruita before heading out through the eastern deserts of Utah, 140 miles to Moab. I hiked over the Colorado National Monument yesterday, and had a taste of the mid day heat. Found a cherry tree loaded before getting into town, awesome. I will start hiking tomorow at 4:00 am, stop in the middle of the day, and hike a little in the evening. Carying 2 gallons of water and 7 days of food! Ouch. My pack is as light as I can get it without having to buy a new pack. I'm off to the desert. Oh, and I got my hair chopped off.
Taking a little break in Grand Junction. My mom got a cheap ticket to fly here, so we are going to spend some time at Arches National Park and the Moab area, and also make some water drops through Utah. I don't like the idea of driving to a place before I walk there, but it is the middle of summer and better safe than sorry. Nevada will be another story, even hotter and dryer. I might be walking hwy. 50 through the state if I can't arange water drops.
From Crested Butte to the Grand Mesa was a large variety of terains. The first view of the end of the rockies. Several stream crossings, with fast springtime water. Sagebrush mesas. More snow than expected on the Grand Mesa (snowshoed quiet a bit up there). Saturated places like I had never seen on the "Flat topps". High altitude lakes. Lots of elk, and signs of bear. Flowers and more signs of Summer. Took a side trip to Cedaredge where I stayed at an ADT trail coordinators house and had a fun rest day. Then droping more than 5,000' to Grand Junction in a days walk to the dessert.
I met a guy and his dog while walking down off of the Grand Mesa. He is an avid artifact hunter. He invited me to stay at his place while I wait for my mom. Yesterday we went artifact hunting for 6 hours on a sage brush mesa. Above the many canyon washes were tons of flakes (debree from making stone tools), and a few actual tools. But I just found a couple scrapers amung all of the flakes. His collection is one of the best I've laid my eyes on. I met a lot of generous, interesting, and inquisitive people on the Mesa. Friendly area.
I've been preparing for the desert. My pack is much much lighter and ready to carry a little over 2 gallons of water. ugh. I ditched my stove and fuel (cook on the fire if I want to cook), all my winter stuff, and other odds and ends. If the going gets to hot I might have to use some alternate routes. We shall see.
