End of Ordinary

A Week Without Power

2012-01-27T10:38:00.000-08:00

Our power was restored Wednesday when everything decided to finally melt off. We'd been out of power for a week and were honestly expecting much longer. Being the only power source for the water supply of the closest city probably saved us.

Contrary to the feelings of many others around us, our week without power was quite wonderful. The dogs are actually playing with each other in this picture, though it might not look like it. They both thought the snow was incredibly fun.

Much like our transition to a television-less household, had you asked me about going power-free I'd have thought we'd be sitting pretty well. After all, we no longer had a T.V., we have actively transitioned most of our family entertainment away from anything digital, and all of The Barracuda's schoolwork is book centered (the actual, paper, bound books). Most all of our food is dried, canned or cellared so refrigeration isn't necessary, our heat is all wood, our water is on the city fire line/water supply. Mainly, our bases were covered. This might have been a big reason that our situation was better than others around us.

What I hadn't accounted for was timing. Everything takes longer without electricity. Water does not boil in five minutes. To get it to boil in five minutes would require me chopping down our wood into lots of smaller pieces, getting the fire really going, and then placing the pot on. That process would take a good 30 minutes. There are no showers. This is a major well duh! Somehow I didn't understand just how much I'd miss the shower. Dishes are all done in shifts because the signal pot of boiling water you placed into the sink eventually gets cold and very shortly there after so do your hands. This meant we were never, ever, really done with the dishes. When the sun goes down, the work must as well. When the sun isn't up, not much can be done. The way our life is currently structured is not conducive to this power-free lifestyle. It was an amazing learning experience and one I hope to repeat again before the winter is over.

Tuesday at around 6 pm:
Jules is passed out on the couch. He does this occasionally. After multiple, stressful days and burning the candle at both ends, he collapses shortly following dinner. The power has been flickering all day long, but it has hung in there. Snow started falling 2 days ago, though the accumulation right now is still only about 6-8 inches. The morning commute was a doozy and we thought for sure school was going to be canceled. No such luck, apparently down the way it isn't quite so bad. As the weather continues to deteriorate, loosing power is only a matter of time.

With the lack of permanent residents in our area and the remote terrain we have been warned that it could be a month before it is turned on again.

Wednesday: SNOW DAY!
Lee was home today as even the big city was nasty enough for no buses to travel. Much fun has been had and a quick trip to the store for some cooking free supplies was in order. We had to dig the cars out from over 18 inches of snow. It just keeps on falling hard and heavy. Fortunately here the snow is light and powdery, rather than the dense, wet glop that falls in Portland. We'd never lived somewhere that doesn't plow before, but luckily the neighbors all have plows on their tractors and take shifts. From the looks on the faces of most of the men, this isn't exactly a chore.

Thursday: Day 1
The power hung in long enough for me to get a pot of chicken stock prepared, a two chickens defrosted, and then promptly cut out. We're keeping the fridge closed and the water to luke warm hoping it will only be out a short while. At least that's what I tell myself.

Jules figured out quite the system of candles. Nights might just turn out to be quite relaxing after all.

Friday: Day 2
I didn't start the fire early enough to get the water on to boil. It took darn near forever to receive tepid oatmeal. Both the boy and I were so hungry we didn't care. Around 9 am the entire house vibrated with the sound of a very large motor. We looked up to the road, expecting a colossal plow or construction equipment, but nothing. After much inspection outside, it turns out our neighbor has a commercial generator which has just kicked on to power his house. Looks like even in a power outage, Mr. Plasma will keep his name and be able to watch his obnoxious plasma screen television. Around here old toys have been pulled out from long forgotten spaces and the art of play has been regained.

The dogs think this whole snow thing is the greatest ever. They go out romping far more than they are inside. I have to drag them in, dry them off and put them in front the fire to get them warm again. So far, there have been very few complaints.

Saturday: Day 3
The dogs went out to play this morning and didn't come back. We waited, we called, no dogs. Jules became frustrated and went in with The Barracuda while I post holed my way across the flat and down the river trying to find them. Half a mile down, Guadalupe pokes her head around the corner and stops. I call, she wags her tail, but she won't come. There is no Optimus. She is very nervous and I get nervous. It is really hard to run in 3 feet of snow covered with over an inch of ice, but when I get closer she runs off again. She waits, I run. She runs off, waits, I run forward. Every Lassie movie I watched while sick from school is seeming much less fictional at this point. Eventually it becomes clear that she needs me to look over the edge of hill leading steeply down to the river. She's fussing like mad and won't stop wiggling everywhere. After defogging my glasses I can see that Optimus has fallen down the hill and is clutching to the bank with his two front paws. His back end is submerged in the freezing rapids of the river.

I tell Guadie to stay in my best non-panicking Mom voice, and make my way down the embankment. Optimus was manhandled and encouraged out of the water (you can only encourage a 220 pound dog. He is literally twice my size, I can do very little). I kicked steps back up the slope as best I could (I've never kicked steps for a dog before), dried him off with my coat, and we made the slow journey back to the house. He is doing fine after drinking warm chicken broth, having blankets thrown over him, and curling up with Jules for quite some time. Two of his front claws have been ripped from clinging to the bank, but he saved himself from complete hypothermia. His massive size came in quite handy. Somehow, he had fallen down the slope into the river and Guadie wouldn't leave him. I would have walked completely past without knowing had she not lead me to him. He's a very lucky dog.

The extreme wind coupled with heavy freezing rain over the last two days has knocked out the power for the entire town closest to us and half the surrounding area. It's going to be a while before anyone cares much out us way out in the middle of nowhere.

Sunday - Day 4
At this point, the rationed hot water is long gone and the fridge has been replaced by the snowbank of our deck. With 2 and a half feet of snow, we have to dig out anything we want to keep cold, but so far the animals haven't discovered it.

The house is beginning to resemble a ski lodge. We've figured out a system to hang all the layers so they can dry. We have enough mountaineering clothes to keep us cycling through and able to get outside for walks and playing quite frequently.

We've taken to wearing wool all the time and walking the dogs everyday instead of allowing them free play on the flat. On our trip up the road we were able to survey the damage from the wind. Our neighbor lost a tree across his dock, but it was nothing like the scenes along the road. Power lines are down everywhere, poles are snapped, and trees litter the ditchlines. Let the scavenging begin!

Around here, people don't let much go to waste. Even the local trash drop off has signs that read "No Scavenging." In some places scavenging might be considered stealing, but not here. Scavenging is an art form and a prized trait. The fine line between scavenger and thief is upheld quite strongly. We have already had many discussions with The Barracuda about the difference and it is reinforced quite strongly.

Before we could get out to collect, chainsaws of the neighbors and other locals were buzzing. Snow storm or no snow storm, no sizable tree is going to be left down without an attempt at harvesting.
Math done by candlelight isn't quite as romantic as it might look. The Barracuda has gotten quite driven with getting his schoolwork done during the daylight hours and leaving the playing for the evenings when work is finished

Monday - Day 5
We went into the big city to visit my dad and take showers today. Laundry was done, phones and cameras were charged, Facebook was checked. Everything got done and important business was taken care of all around. It was quite the productive day. The glimpse into life without power has been quite rewarding. My work ethic is much stronger, the house is somehow cleaner and we are going to bed at a decent time. With the days work confined to only the lighted hours, a sense of urgency overtakes you. When there is work, it must be done right now!

When dusk hits we begin to light candles and let the world calm down as the lights burn themselves out. Once gain we have started talking more, playing more, and laughing into the wee hours.

Tuesday - Day 6
Today it was supposed to melt off. It didn't. In fact, almost a foot of snow came down before 11 am. The local schools were all released early. We took the truck into town because some paperwork had to be faxed off and almost didn't make it home. With a child wound tight from over a week without seeing his friends, and dogs a bit stir crazy by now as well, it was a long day.

It seemed the powerless-ness was wearing on me all day. My phone wouldn't charge at the library. The line for the Internet computers was really long. The Internet was taking forever to load since it was on the fritz. The frustration was mounting. After a week of putting off our virtual lives, it has become obvious how dependent I am on getting into cyber space. Not only do I make money, but multiple other writing and correspondence jobs are handled via the Internet. Even with our power restored, for much of this last week everyone's Internet has been down. This is definitely a place I need to think on for the future.

Wednesday - Day 7
The melt off has begun. Everything outside is drippy. It will take time for the snow to actually melt, but I can see the tops a few items still out on the deck as the snow melt continues. This is probably a good thing. I've been wracking my brain to come up with more warm, dinner items that do not require baking. Much of our life can be handled by snacking, but after a week solid the snackable items in our house are vastly dwindling. Jules and I are pretty firm on not getting a generator, but we do think a propane oven is a good place to start. I know Jules' schoolwork has to be backed up like crazy. With all the grading needing to be entered into the computer, yet at the same time, his need to get home before everything deteriorates further, he hasn't had any time to stay after work and get much done.

The power was restored at around 4pm Wednesday. I'm very glad it didn't last a month!

The first thing I did was take a shower!

It doesn't matter what the conditions, we just like living in a place where this is our front yard.

A Few Things We Learned
We learned quite a bit. Mainly, we have fallen out of natural rhythm by controlling all the light and electricity. Our family felt better when we worked and then slept in a more natural flow. We need to find a way to either bake off the grid, or to have other food sources which don't require it as much. Lastly, we need to have a larger supply of medium sized, hot, wood. It is referred to as "hot" wood because it burns quickly building the fire in the woodstove up to boiling and cooking temperatures. I need to find a better way to have Internet correspondence when we don't have power here. The virtual world isn't going away and the work I do I find fulfilling, so much thought needs to be put into where I could work if we needed to. Currently, a week seems to be when we feel the strain. Perhaps, like everything else once that initial discomfort is worked through the experience isn't taxing. Over the next couple of weeks we will be working on pushing that week out into a month or more, but for now, we are just glad to be back on the grid.

A Dear Blog Letter

2012-01-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

Hello Blog,

I know I have left you for a while. I was kinda emotionally beat. I needed a break, some perspective. It wasn't you; it was me. There was a mild fling with Facebook...and a bit of a Pinterest obsession, but they just weren't the same. I'm back, dear Blog.

Yours Always,
Granola Girl

October on the Mountain

2011-11-12T22:09:00.000-08:00

October has been about Mt. Adams for our family. With the backpacking season appearing to wind down, our attention turned to the mountain we see everyday. We live 45 minutes from the climber's route up to the summit and have been dotting our map with GPS points taken all over the mountain. The photos in this post are from all three different trips up.

You have a 2 mile hike in (from 4,500 feet to 6,000) and then the trail disappears.

You are on your own up the next 3.8 miles and 6,276 feet. At 12,276 feet, Mt. Adams is the second highest peak in Washington.

This has been quite the month for me. I have attempted to write about it numerous times but, as always when things become emotionally vulnerable, I've been unable to get it all out in any coherent fashion. Normally the thoughts are all penned up in my head while I mull over them. Lately, this hasn't worked quite as well. Rather than feeling out of it while my brain sorts through all that troubling emotional baggage, I've been sorting through it all full frontal and messily. Perhaps it is progress, but I preferred being a bit more emotionally detached.

I like thinking out on the mountain. Everything seems calmer and much more simple. If you click on the image to enlarge it, you will see Mt. Hood in the background.

In short, sometimes you just have to climb a mountain. There just isn't another option. You recognize you are at a point in your life where the commitment level requires you to be all in - regardless of inclement weather, odds, previous tragedy, and difficulty. You plan ahead, pack carefully, and then throw yourself at it with all you've got.

Get out your crampon's people; let's get serious!

I've found tackling emotional conflict works best when you tackle physical conflict as well. You can leave yourself all out there and come back to your regular life feeling much more refreshed.

Look at that cute little alpine terrorist! The kid did great. No altitude sickness. No whining. Just wanted to pound more mountain.
The first two times we went up the mountain we did it in sneakers. Crampons are something we did not wish for the Barracuda to wear until he was older. They are just too darn dangerous. We wanted him to be able to read the snow, to know how to chop steps, to understand the mountain intimately before using technology as a quick fix. He's been learning French and American style climbing for the last two years, and has done much work with his ice ax, but front spikes can permanently destroy your ability to walk if misused. If you step wrong you can slice your Achilles tendon, if they catch when are self arresting you can rip your ankle/leg clean the wrong direction. I didn't want to risk that.

The wind whips though and blows the moisture against the exposed rocks. It is so cold the moisture freezes on contact. Even in full sun, the ground and rocks don't melt free. The extreme contrast of the snow and rocks, the sparkling ice, the color of a sky at 11,000 feet.... Ansel Adams would have had a field day up here.

However, like most everything else in our lives, The Barracuda had other ideas. When you get up to 10,000 feet the first false summit (Piker's Peak) becomes coated in solid ice. If the kid wants to really climb 14'ers that means he is going to have to have crampons. So, with complete abject terror, we ordered him a pair on eBay. Three sets of 12 point, front spike, mountaineering crampons now grace our walls (yes, we hang our gear up on the walls). He did fine, but I'm going to have to upgrade the child's gaiters - at this point he needs Hypalon and Cordura.

The Barracuda isn't levitating, he is walking on 3 inches of solid ice. Though treacherous, the entire world glistens with an ethereal quality you can only get at extreme altitude. It is worth the risk if he gets to see these things. How can you adequately understand global warming if you have never seen what you are destroying?

Training on Mt. Adams was great mental work for me, but was even more important as training. If we are going to tackle the Sierra Nevada mountains in what is apparently planned to be quite the snow year, we better have our groundwork wired tight. There were multiple times of flinging the kid down a slope for self arrest. You have to practice from multiple different angles and places. If you roll wrong, you can impale yourself on the ice axe or hit yourself in the face with the adze. It is better than dying, but not the preferable option.

Chopping through fresh snow is quite the adventurous feeling. However, it is exhausting. Jules and I took turns working out way up the mountain.

There were also steps to practice chopping. When you don't use crampons, you have to chop steps in the ice, balance up, chop another, take a step, lean forward and chop another, etc. It is slow going, but it gives you a severe appreciation for elevation. Since we won't be taking any crampons through the Sierras this was an incredibly important part of the whole adventure.

Weeee! Even Jules and I glissade as much as possible on the way down. Glissading means that going up the mountain takes a good 8 hours, but coming down takes a little more than one.

But the best part, as far as The Barracuda is concerned, was the glissade down. A glissade is a controlled slide down some serious elevation. He has been practicing glissading while standing up to control his balance. He now got to apply that knowledge to a full on glissade sitting down using his ice axe. The point of the ax is driven into the snow to control your direction and speed as you slide down on your butt a few thousand feet in elevation. It's a serious rush. Think sledding times a thousand.

Coming from Georgia, there just aren't mountains like this within an hour of home. It wasn't the reason he agreed to move way out here in the sticks, but it is pretty darn rad.

The best part as far as Jules is concerned, is just being up on the mountain. Being able to expose The Barracuda to real mountains and scaling the earth is quite a nice perk to this whole parenting thing. It is very obvious that The Barracuda sees this as major guy time. I will often hang back and let the two of them walk off together talking about one testosterone filled idea after another.

We have really enjoyed learning the contours, ridgelines, and various snowfields of our closest mountain. Since we look at him everyday, rely on him for our heat, and watch him control our weather patterns, it is kind of nice to have a more intimate connection. Behind the snow smudge is Mt. Hood.

I'm just glad to get my head on straight. Though both Jules and I dropping 20 pounds has been a nice addition. We're both back to pre-college weight and remembering what it is like to be at the bottom of the body-mass-index.

I don't know of many other ways to take yourself completely out of the normal world, yet sleep in your own bed at the end of the evening.

We are up at 4 am and hiking in in the dark. We come home as the sunsets and the snow is turning pink. By the time we get to our car it is dark again, much like when we came. The days are long and full, but very well worth it. We see incredible things, experience great feats, and practice valuable skills together.

After all, isn't that the point of this whole family thing?

Homeschool Curriculum 2011-2012

2011-10-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

Outside of "How do you live in only 380 square feet in the middle of nowhere?" the top three things I am most asked about are backpacking, canning, and how we homeschool. Though we talk quite a bit about the backpacking and canning, very little has been covered on our homeschooling. So, this year I thought I'd hit it a little harder than before. By the third year, we are starting to have a pretty good thing going and I feel comfortable enough to talk about it.

The Stats
The Barracuda is 7 years old and technically enrolled in second grade. For many of his subjects he is enrolled in 4th grade having completed/tested above the second grade standards. He is an incredibly intense student and we have learned not to restrain this, but to provide it knowledge as best we can. When restrained, he gets bored, naughty and generally becomes a butthead. Either that, or he decides to learn it for himself and some conclusions are a bit strange. (Did you know that Islamic berqas make it so that women can't see? I didn't realize this, but after some discussion I quickly clarified that berqas are meant for women to not be seen instead of being blind.)

Due to his intensity, some of this might look a little hardcore for his age. The topics are of his own choosing and he continually expresses what is working and what isn't. For the most part, if it isn't working we change it or drop it. Throughout this post I use the term "we" to mean us as a family and most specifically The Barracuda and I. Since we are in this together, we are learning together as well. Homeschooling is a family endeavor, there are just no two ways about it.

We would be considered structured unschoolers, in that The Barracuda gets to make a good 85-90% of his own learning choices, time commitments, and school structure. Due to his perfectionism, and the lack of personal knowledge he has some places where we insist he broaden his horizons (examples include, guiding him away from singular projects he is fixating on in unhealthy ways for weeks and weeks at a time, providing academic reading lists or books, requiring him to write even though it was difficult for him initially).

By October, most of the sand has been shaken out of our curriculum choices and we have found the rhythm of what is going to work. Like many homeschooling families, that which looks great on paper in August, doesn't necessarily turn out the same a couple months in. By now, we have a focal point in all our studies and a general backbone of where we are headed.

Curriculum for 2011-2012

Reading: The current goal of reading in our family (beyond just enjoyment and fluency) is to develop conversations in multiple forums about books. The Barracuda therefore will not only write his thoughts about books in report fashion, but also have discussions with adults and peers about different aspects of literature.

Personal Reading: Harry Potter series with book reports for each completed book. He will often choose fluff reading books here and there that he can just pound out like candy when he wants them.

Group Reading: Going through the Top 100 Classic Books Novels list (the list gets reviewed every 10 years or so and you can find out more about where it came from here). These books are read by both The Barracuda and myself and we do Socratic discussion as a family.

Peer Reading: Our homeschool group has a Literature Circle. A children's novel (Ms. Piggly-Wiggly, A Cricket in Time Square, etc.) is read independently, the kids discuss their thoughts about it in a Socratic seminar, and a project is completed about some facet of the book.

Writing: The major focus of this year's writing is to create cohesive essays which are constructed and revised with purpose. A focus on not only conventions, but cohesion and organization of ideas is the major goal.

Copywork: The Barracuda does regular copywork as he is trying to learn cursive writing something fierce. He picks a book of his choosing (right now The Arabian Nights), grabs a passage, and writes for a while.

Daily Paragraph Editing: The boy loves this stuff!

Essays: The Barracuda also completes shorter (only 5-8 paragraphs) essays on various topics he has learned about in science, history, or math. The focus is on thesis writing and clear exposition.

Social Studies: We do not do revisionist history or watered down current events in our household. We talk about smallpox blankets, not Pilgrims and Indians sitting down to eat turkey. My son listens to NPR, The Daily Show, and the Colbert Report with us and we answer his questions honestly. Sometimes it gets turned down a bit when talking about raping small children or equally graphic issues, since the point is to make him aware not scar him.

United States History:
We are doing American Literature and literary periods as they correspond with historical events. We try to read first hand accounts of literature (On Plymouth Plantation, The Declaration of Independence, Nature by Emerson, Civil Disobedience, etc) and discuss their common threads to create a cultural understanding of the time period. We mainly use "Elements of Literature: Fifth Course" (Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson). This is supplemented with Joy Hakim's "Freedom: The Story of U.S." and "Creating America: Beginnings through World War 1 Online Addition" (McDougal Littell) for maps, charts, graphs and pictures.

Geography: The Barracuda has decided he wants to learn the countries of the world as well as the mountain ranges, rivers, and other physical geography. This is taking the place of our world history for this year. We found this foundation to be essential since most of the books we have read are either ridiculously watered down, very stereotypical, or already assume you have a general idea of the regions geography. We are using "World Reference Maps and Forms" (Evan Moor) along with the great computer games at Play Kids Games (scroll down for the Geography games).

Local and Regional History:
The Pacific Crest Trail hike we are planning has become the largest source of our local history, geography, and social studies. The Pacific Crest Trail: A Hikers Companion by Berger & Smith is quite wonderful.

Civics: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens and discussing how to implement the strategies in our lives.

Science: The goal of science in our household is for The Barracuda to understand the interconnected nature of everything around him. From his body to biodiversity and sustainable practices, we try to foster the idea that you must think about the minute details as well as the big picture.

Physical Science: Beakman's World is the jumping off point for many of The Barracuda's science questions. He is then allowed free reign on the Internet to Google topics and discuss what he finds. We also use Thames and Cosmos Physics and Solar Physics Workshops, build catapults and ancient weapons, and are a voluntary simplicity household which uses many simple and compound machines.

Earth Science: We hike and we hike and we hike. Most earth science is done through active discussion and participation. The Barracuda also keeps a Nature Journal where he draws, catalogs, and identifies most everything he sees (rocks, birds, bugs, fungus, plants, you name it).

Life Science: This is probably the most multimedia approach we have to any subject.
Puzzles: Melissa & Doug Human Body Floor Puzzle
Songs: Lyrical Life Science volumes 1, 2, 3 by Doug Eldon
Movies: Thank you NetFlix!
Books: The Incredible Machine by Robert M. Poole , Atlas of Anatomy by Anne M. Gilroy, Human Anatomy and Physiology by Spence and Mason (3rd Edition)

Art:The only time The Barracuda has ever asked to go to public school was to be able to have art class. I wasn't taking his desire for art seriously enough. So now we study a period of art, learn the historical/cultural significance, recreate great masterpieces from the period, and study the artist's technique and their lives.

He is a perfectionist and many of the paintings take him 6 or more weeks to complete. This is one area we have to "talk him down" from being neurotic and gently guide him forward. As far as he is concerned, Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is not completed yet and the city needs greater detail.

Materials: Acrylic Paints, PrismaColor Pencils
Books: Gardner's Art Through The Ages along with the book companion website
Time Period: Currently Post Impressionists.

Math: Most of our math is discussion based. We incorporate our daily activities into mathematical practice. This year the focus is on multiplication, division, fractions and decimals. Currently The Barracuda is working with least common denominators and conversion of fractions to decimals. I expect wrapping his brain completely around this concept (not just being able to do it) will take most of the rest of the year.

Drill and Kill Practice: Math Connection 4th and 5th Grade (Rainbow Bridge Publishing)

Enrichment: The Barracuda picks these things all by himself. The only time we put a halt on enrichment activities is if they will actively complicate other things he has already desired to learn. He would like to begin both Latin and Mandrin, but he has to learn Spanish first. He cannot start the formal dance academy since we will be leaving to hike the PCT in April. By next year we will begin both dance and Latin.

Spanish: Rosetta Stone and Dos Mundos (McGraw-Hill)
PE: Rock Climbing/Mountaineering and PCT Training
Music: Absolute Beginners Guitar Course
Sunglasses are essential for being a rock star and for learning guitar.

Artist At Work

2011-10-21T21:28:00.001-07:00

So, what do we do without television? We paint! The Barracuda recreates great masterpieces and learns a lot about the time period, technique, and the artist themselves.

It is quite fascinating to watch a work of art slowly appear. The Barracuda's perfectionism and attention to detail can come out full force. Even if some paintings take him 6 weeks or more, he is always very proud of himself by the end.

The Big Loop around The Three Sisters

2011-10-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

There are a few versions of this loop depending on where you enter and which side trails you follow. It is all essentially the same, depending only on where you want to shave miles off as an ultra-runner and where you want to get your water. We parked at McKenzie Pass, followed the PCT the entire way down and then Green Lakes back up to Scott's Pass. If the LeConte Crater Trail still exists, we missed it completely, and that put us at 57 miles exactly. A 43.7 mile version is available here. Be aware that the Volcano Running itinerary uses a different entry point with a smaller parking lot.

When we returned home from the Loowit, school was officially starting. Due to Jules being a public school teacher, our homeschooling follows much of the same schedule. We don't really do holidays or anything, but we generally get a bit more lax in the summer and then pick up more standard work stuff around September. We figured we'd give a couple of weeks to finding school again before we took off on another hiking trip.

The third weekend in September seemed good. It was enough time given to schoolish pursuits for it to seem like we kinda cared, but not so long that the season had ended. Jules took off Friday, and we picked him up Thursday after school to make the long drive down to central Oregon.

The Three Sisters Wilderness is the second largest wilderness area in Oregon and is flanked on three sides by other National Forests. It allows for one rather giant expanse of "middle of nowhere" feeling. With the largest concentration of 10,000+ foot peaks in the entire Cascade Range, the Three Sisters Wilderness sports the only three triple peaks in the nation. They are also the third, forth, and fifth highest peaks in Oregon. The North Sister (Faith) is the oldest of the three and also the smallest. She is an extinct shield volcano held together only by a system of lava dikes and a large plug dome. There is no hope of The Barracuda ever summiting her as she is quite derelict. The Middle Sister (Hope), however, has an untrailed "Climber's Route." Though not exactly a walk-up, it looks like a good one for our Summer of Summiting in the future. Being an extinct stratovolcano she is quite solid and doesn't appear to be going anywhere, anytime soon. The South and final Sister (Charity) has a well established trail to the summit. It is brutal, but a walk up day hike. It was hard for The Barracuda to walk past the trail marker leading to the South Summit, but we had miles to go before we slept and it wasn't going to happen this year. She is a stratovolcano perched on top of an old shield volcano. Though this made her interesting for geological geeks, it wasn't until 2001 that people really took notice of this peak. In 2001, the South Sister began to awaken. By 2004 earthquakes were appearing and vulcanologists were getting excited. In 2007 things began to cool down, but her status has been upgraded to "Active" and eruptions might occur within the next 10 years. This knowledge made the hike even more exciting. The Barracuda versus the Volcano has become a rather interesting thought for our son.

Day 1 - McKenzie Pass to Linton Meadows - 15.2 miles

The North Sister and the smallest bit of the Middle Sister call you forward in the distance when you start at McKenzie Pass. The South Sister is still too far away to see. The weather was incredible all but the last day, and by that time, the rains were a welcome change.

We have never had a whining child. Even as an infant, he didn't whine or cry much. When hiking he has always been happy and ready to go. Imagine our surprise when less than 5 miles in, on level terrain, the child breaks down in tears exclaiming he cannot go on. I mean, complete freak out. We discussed it, he calmed himself down, continued less than 20 yards and more break downs. He said he wanted to quit, we turned around, less than 20 yards and he wanted to continue. To use the word "agitated" would not adequately describe the level of frustration Jules and I were feeling. On the last, "I can do it" it was decided that hell or high water the boy was going to walk. So we walked.

Thankfully, by the middle of the first day he had rallied and we pulled out 15.1 miles. Not what we were hoping for, but it didn't put us too far behind. (Shortly later he began to sniffle a bit. Ever since he has been on the edge of a possible cold whenever he gets tired. We think this might have had something to do with it.)

The alpine meadows in the Three Sisters are home to some of the worst bugs on the entire PCT. However, if you go after August, there aren't any. We found the meadows some of the greatest and most beautiful we had seen.

Living amongst the Cascade Range you see mountains all the time. In fact, fellow homeschool moms and I have often laughed at real estate agents calling something a "view lot." Around here you are either looking at a river or a mountain from some angle on your property. Everything is a view lot. However, the mountains in the Three Sisters are different. They have been formed lower on the tectonic plates than our mountains. This means they are in the middle between the granite peaks of the High Sierra and the composite volcanoes of our Northern Cascades. The granite substructure still exists, but the upper layers of more mailable volcanic rock are exposed. When the last Ice Ages came though, the entire state of Oregon was covered in glaciers. These glaciers ground away the upper structures of the softer volcanic material. What is left, are the crumbling remains of once giant volcanoes. Rather than the basalt we are used to, the ground is covered in red, porous extrusive volcanic rock which blew out of the last eruptions from the area. Acres and acres and acres of it. Every once in a while there will be a small, scraggly, misguided tree trying to eek out existence, but not much. Unlike the small, soft pumice we walked along at Mt. St. Helens, this rock is jagged, hard, and dense. It has the tell-tale bubbles of most lava rock, and is just as annoying to walk on, but adds a much more severe quality to the landscape. Rather than stark, the area looks brutal. Think Mordor from The Lord of the Rings.

Lava rock, lava rock and more lava rock. After the first mile and a half a trail emerges, but for much of the first day we were either walking over, or surrounded by lava rock. Here The Barracuda is descending down Yopoah Crater and the subsequent lava flows surrounding it. The lava rock really works the lateral muscles of the feet on all the uneven terrain. It cuts into your shoes, your pants, your skin and anything else it happens to scrape against.
These lava rocks were created from the flows of the North Sister's lava dikes. They protrude out the front end of the mountain to hold it together. By mid-day we began to pass the North Sister and into the saddle-like structure of her Middle Sister. Here the shield volcano status of the North Sister really shows through. The Obsidian Cliffs were a highlight of this trip. The trail is not only littered with obsidian rocks, but huge boulders of it make cliffs which shine in the sun. The rocks were everywhere. Their beauty was both stunning and dramatic with how prolific it was. Conversations quickly turned between geology and the native practices which valued the rock so much.

Day 2: Linton Meadows to Red Meadow - 24.7 miles

When the sun shot out and over the Middle Sister in the wee morning hours and illuminated the meadow in front of me, I was reminded of why we pack up before the sun and start hiking when it is still freezing outside. The beauty of moments like this is why we backpack.

We were moving by 6:30 and got to watch the sun rise over the mountains. I much prefer sleeping in places of exposure to watch the sun come up. At this point, when both Jules and I are there, we have figured out our morning packing up routine. Everything in our backpacks has only one place in the tent. Each person unpacking the tent has only one role. It all moves with a level of precision which allows us about 20 to 30 minutes from waking up to dressed, packed and moving. For someone like me who hates surprises this is a soothing and quite enjoyable experience. The Barracuda knows exactly what to expect as well, and this has greatly helped with the process. He knows his jobs, he knows the expectations, and there needs only minimal instruction. It gets the day off to a good start.

We filled up water at Reese Lake and began moving briskly to beat out the morning chill (another added benefit of an early start). It wasn't too long before we left the Middle Sister completely and began once again seeing evidence of obsidian. The South Sister is an old shield volcano, with a stratovolcano perched on top. Now the obsidian was in giant rubble style piles. Huge moraine mounds of obsidian followed us down from the meadows of the Middle Sister to the barren plains of the South Sister.

At this point we were supposed to take a short-cut side trail called the LeConte Crater Trail. It runs between the various rock outcroppings, craters, and mountains in this barren stretch. We completely missed it. If it exists, it cannot be signed well or marked as far as we are concerned. The trail stretches out for miles in front of you and no side trail could be seen.

The obsidian was a highlight of this trip. The entire pile of rock on the left side of this picture is made of obsidian - huge boulders of it. The trail is littered with obsidian. It is everywhere. The Obsidian Cliffs of the day before were not piles of rubble such as these, they were sheer walled towers. Talk about a geology lesson. The entire family was entranced with the beauty of this rare place.

The first trail sign we came to was Wickiup Plains. Normally the whimsy of this bent sign post sporting three or four different trail markers all heading in different directions would have produced a fond smile from me. It looked very much so like something out of a cartoon desert scene. However, in this instance it meant an added 4.4 miles to an already long day. The plan was to do 2 twenty mile days and a leisurely walk out the third to drive home. With the bizarre, stunted behavior of The Barracuda on the first day, and now this, that just wasn't looking like it was going to happen. It was a bummer coupled with a shocking surprise for me. My stress level shot up a bit. I wasn't a happy camper, but what are you going to do? You just have to keep walking.

By the time we rounded the South Sister and headed up the backside of the mountains we had begun to see day hikers and weekend warriors again. The eastern side of the Three Sisters is where most of the action is at. With both the South Climb walk up summit and the Green Lakes area, this is the most heavily populated of region. Before this, we had only seen dirty PCT hikers trying to pull out their throughs before the season closed in. Though The Barracuda greatly enjoyed these encounters, they were only a handful. Most of the pack had moved through the area and we were only getting the tail end. The Green Lakes area was a highway compared to the rocky, barren west side.

When we rounded Green Lakes the warm rain began to fall and the storm moved in. Though we were getting wet, the scene was enough to keep us happy. The rain pelted the water, the sun still cut through the storm and played up the colors on the shore. All the while, the backside of the Middle Sister looked on.

Spirits were lifting as we hit Green Lakes. We were obviously making good progress, regardless of the detour. The weather was looking a little treacherous, but we had managed to out hike the storm this far which added to our feelings of accomplishment. When the rains began to fall in sprinkles they were warm and we just kept pushing on. If it had to rain, it was a beautiful place to do it.

We were well past Green Lakes when the storm finally cracked above us. With thunder claps and pouring rain showers, we dawned jackets a laughed at our now familiar mantra of wet hiking, "At least it isn't New Mexico!" It all passed quickly enough and within a little over an hour we were dry again. By now we were meeting back up with a couple of people we had seen from the other side. One older gentlemen startled us with the comment, "You guys have come a long way." It took us a minute to place him before we responded with the same. He had been doing the same hike from the opposite direction. His starting place was south and clockwise, we were north and counter-clockwise. We shared trail conditions, water, and good tidings before pressing on. Much like the PCT hikers we saw the day before, this encounter raised The Barracuda's confidence a bit. He greatly enjoys seeing others who hike like we do.

By the time we were ready to find a campsite the day had been long and tiring. Though we had eaten lunch, our normal snacks weren't munched upon with the rains. The tent was pitched and food made as I went into sugar shock. I hate sugar shock. It sneaks up on me and really throws me for a loop. The Barracuda's blood sugar sensitivity comes from me and my side of the family. Jules forced food into me (almost literally since your body begins to feel extreme nausea and gag) and I sucked on extremely concentrated Gatorade before going to sleep. By morning all was well, but it worries Jules every time.

No mileage had been added up since we were slightly worried what the result might be for the last day. Jules had to make it to work the next morning regardless so it didn't really matter. It was only after coming home that we realized The Barracuda had reached another milestone. It was nearly a 25 mile day.

Day 3 - Red Meadow to McKenzie Pass - 17.2 miles

The trail was so very different from the backside of the North Sister. Gone was all the lava rock and open meadows. It was replaced by glacial sand and scrubby evergreens nearly the entire rest of the way.

Somewhere around day 2 or 3 the food conversation begins. This is about the time Jules and The Barracuda start in on what they want to eat. These discussions torture me even though I am often dragged into them. Why on earth do I want to think about the tastiest thing I could imagine when I can't eat it right now?! That just seems brutal. However, they love it. Discussions usually go something like this:

Jules: "You know what sounds really good? Taco Del Mar with a mocha and some Thai food."

The Barracuda: "You know what sounds really good? Dairy Queen blizzard with a side of steak and some pizza! We should go to Izzys!"

Jules: "Oh, you know what sounds so good? Los Reyos and some sushi!"

The Barracuda: "CHICK-FIL-A!"

By this point in time The Barracuda is practically squealing with delight. Jules is trying frantically to outdo him and they are both giddy. They begin to groan and moan in joy as if they are pleasurably eating the food right there in front of them rather than staring at miles more trail. I hike behind them thinking that many of these ideas sound really good. My mind begins to wander into territory of what I would like....a giant salad bar from Sweet Tomatoes....a really good breakfast skillet and some pancakes from the Hot Cake House or maybe a giant burger with a side of pancakes (a very hard decision even under normal circumstances)....a steaming hot bath with tea and cookies.....some Gorge Juice or maybe a Jamba Juice or maybe a peppermint latte..... It is a level of masochism that borders on psychotic. I don't know why hikers do this to themselves.

The last day of hiking a loop is often times the quickest and easiest. Somehow the terrain is never bad, the weather seems easy, and you are pressed on by the thoughts of either food or a warm car. This day had by far our worst weather. By the end of the day we were all in rain gear and cold with wind screaming by. We had moments of great weather, but nothing that would count as warm. The last few miles we were hiking to just stay warm and keep our resolve to make it to the car. It had the worst elevation. Scotts pass was 2 solid miles of unrelentingly steep uphill switchbacks. Every once in a while you would get a tenth of a mile of slight uphill only to once again tilt dramatically skyward for another long stretch. It had the most uncertainly. We didn't know what time we would be driving home, or how late we might be driving to get Jules to work the next day. There were also a couple of sections that seemed unusually long prompting Jules and I to shoot uncertain looks of "did we miss the sign?" Yet, it was by far our easiest day. We pounded out 17 miles before 3 o'clock and were hobbling into McDonald's before 4.

The whole family at McKenzie Pass just about a mile before the car. Don't let those smiles fool you, we are freezing! Guadie is sporting her backpack, and that giant, sad looking dog is Optimus. I have not formally introduced Optmius Prime yet. He is our family's 200 lb British Bull Mastiff puppy. He is still little and will probably gain another 20-50 lbs. This was his first long distance hiking endeavor so he didn't have to wear his backpack. He wasn't too sure he liked it, but he did really well.

Jules has been wanting to hike the Sisters since he lived in Georgia. It is a hike he would have flown across the United States to do and I was very glad we were able to complete it together as a family. It was a great ending to the backpacking season this year. With snow now moving in, our weekend/overnight trips might have to simmer down a bit, but there are still plenty of mountains we can summit all the way through October. Our move has pushed us to begin thinking about what is possible. We live close by and we've got gear so now all we have to do is make time!

The Loowit Trail around Mt. St. Helens

2011-09-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

Mt. St. Helens was the first of our training hikes for the PCT. Two weeks after returning from the Timberline Trail, The Barracuda and I hit the road for Mt. St. Helens. With school about to start and dogs not allowed on over 10 miles of the trail, Jules stayed home with the puppies and planned curriculum.

The Loowit Trail is unique for a couple of reasons. The first one, and most obvious, is that it surrounds an active volcano. So active, in fact, that steam vents from the crater even as I write this. It is estimated that within the next 100 years the lava dome will have completely rebuilt itself.

The second reason is the restricted area. Ten point eight of the 29 mile hike is referred to as "The Breach." It is the section which blew out in 1980 and is still being studied. Absolutely no camping is allowed. No dogs, No picnicking, no restroom use. Yep, that's right, you aren't even supposed to stop and pee. it is one straight shot of solid movement. Believe it or not, it is heavily enforced with a minimum fine of $100. The area is being studied so heavily by scientists that not only were helicopters flying over, but we ran into three scientists. That is 3 more than the other 30 miles of the Loowit (counting the out and back to get to the trail) and the 50 miles of Mt. Hood combined! They are trying desperately to keep the area as "freely natural" as possible. Apparently urine doesn't count as natural.

The third, and potentially lease unique aspect of the trail is the water conservation. Due to having blown up, there is very little water on the mountain. Keep in mind that we were traveling during the late summer, and thus the driest part of the year, but even during the wetter months the water level isn't as high as it would be other places. The ash and pumice which blew out don't hold moisture, so it all runs off quite quickly. Though water could be found every 8 to 10 miles on the south (reasonably intact) side the north side was much more sparse. Only one small trickle of murky, ashen water existed. Since most all of the trail is above treeline, it means 100 percent exposure and no water sources. All that adds up to a lot of water carrying and conservation. All in all it made for both a great training hike and a pretty amazing learning opportunity.

There are many entry points to enter the Loowit, but no roads actually cross the trail. We chose to enter at Windy Pass and walk from the edge of The Breach (the blast zone) though the intact South Side and back around through the desolate, northern volcanic expanse. In my mind, this would give The Barracuda upclose contact with full magnitude of the volcanoes power. Somehow I thought he might miss the impact. Sometimes, I'm a duphus. If The Barracuda somehow missed the magnitude, I'd have to check him for a pulse. There is no way to not stand in complete, humbled speechlessness as you look to your left and see Old Growth trees and then turn to look to your right and see what looks like a desert. Then you add in that it has been over 30 years and you are just leveled in your tracks. It was pretty cool.

Day 1: Windy Pass to East Dome/Shoestring Glacier - 10 miles

The Plains of Abraham dump ash into your feet, climb relentlessly in a few places, and leave you feeling as small as an ant. They were INCREDIBLE!
The 5 mile hike in is first on an access road and then cairn hopping through what appear to be sand dunes from a distance. Only when you get closer do you realize that they ware really giant mounds of gravel-sized pumice. Pumice was quickly added to The Barracuda's list of "Things I Dislike Hiking On."

Once on the Loowit you head through the Plains of Abraham. These cliff faces and long stark landscapes of devastation were incredibly exiting for the science geek in me. Out here almost nothing can grow. Even after 30 years there isn't enough soil and water to support life. A few seeds have been brought in on the mountain bikes that frequent the area, but mainly it is a lot of tan and grey. The cliff faces that weren't shattered were blasted by sand, pumice, and hot gas to create scenes so different from the normal water/erosion look. They are slab rocks where any crags have been polished smooth.

Up until this point I's never really thought about how much trails aren't graded for small legs. My leg span is small (only 28 inches), but The Barracuda is so much tinier yet. Multiple times his rock climbing experience came into play as he slab climbed sections of extreme exposure. Trail maintenance crews were doing their best, but with erosion and not much to work with they had their hands full. What was a long leg stretch and balancing act for me, became total free soloing for The Barracuda.

We filtered and filled up water at what would prove to be our only river crossing which wasn't dry, and continued on through multiple gullies and ridgelines. As evening approached, vegetation began to come back. First Lupin, then Indian Paintbrush, and finally hill after hill of wild huckleberries. We camped in a flat-ish, open meadow and ate huckleberries till our hands were stained. they were huge and lush and couldn't be passed up.

That night the open exposure and katabatic winds beat on the tent mercilessly. The rocks piled over and around the stakes kept the guylines up, but it was the first time I can ever remember being scared of a wind storm.

Day 2: Huckleberry Hill to Sheep Canyon - 10 miles

Many of the hillsides were covered in the purple lupin flowers and dotted with red Indian Paintbrush. Though chilly and foggy, when the sun came out to shine down on them the area smelled divine.

The plan was to do a 10 mile day and two 15's. Due to some extraneous circumstances that didn't exactly happen. What did happen was a most incredible sunrise, a frigid morning, and quite an enjoyable afternoon of boulder hopping.

There literally was no trail. Cairns were held in place by boulders for mile after mile all along the rubble which and been blown out of the mountain. Every so often a bit of moss, but mainly a stark moonscape of jagged pumice. By late afternoon we were back to ridgelines and even steeper gullies. The fog burned off, the sun came down full blast, and we could see for miles. Rainer could be picked out, Adams, Hood, and faintly the Three Sisters were all visible as well. As we began to circle around the mountain the views of each would come and go, but they were all a welcome sight as we are getting so familiar with them now.

When we went to bed at the edge of Sheep Canyon a sinking feeling was building in my stomach. The actual Loowit Trail is only 29 miles, but with the added 5 miles in and out that made 40. With only 20 miles covered and the restricted area ahead of us, we had a 20 mile day we would be forced to cover. There wasn't any way out of it. The Barracuda had only done 15 mile days at that point, and with only the two of us his pack weighed 10 lbs. I honestly didn't know if he could do it. Before the trip, Jules and I had discussed points of entry and one would have required a 17 mile day. Both of us felt that was asking far too much and dooming The Barracuda to fail. Here we were faced with a 20....

Day 3: Sheep Canyon through The Breach - 20 Miles

This was the most well marked trail I have ever hiked. You were never worried you had missed something. Every where you looked were cairns. They were coming out of the pumice, out of the boulders, flagged in the gullies, everywhere.

We were up early and moving by 7 am. The Barracuda had been briefed on our status and though you could tell he was a bit scared, his stoic nature quickly took over. As long as we kept moving it would be fine. It was decided that it didn't matter how much he slowed down on the uphills of the gullies, as long as he moved as fast as he safely could on the downhills and straight-aways. One foot in front of the other.

Miles were flying for the first part of the day. We had to hike downward (our only sustained downward of the entire hike) about 2 miles to get to the Touttle River. We had heard from other hikers that this might be a doozy of a climb up the riverbank on the otherside. Manned with parachord to rope The Barracuda up I felt confident. That was, until we began to get close to the river. The Toutle River produced the largest debris landslide in recorded history when the mountain erupted. The entire riverbed is gouged out from the mud and debris flow which tore down the mountain. The view was intense. Luckily, we had just finished hiking Elliot Glacier on the Timberline. The Barracuda was highly confident.

It is time to confess that I hate getting my feet wet. I really dislike hiking in squishing shoes. More than a couple times I have completely taken my shoes and socks off, rolled up my tights, and then crossed the river. I will walk up and down a bit to see where the best place is as well. Once we found where we thought we could cross, I hopped over and then stretched dramatically to help The Barracuda. I then promptly dropped him and myself into the water. No one was hurt and it is now joked about, but it has gotten me over wet feet. They are much better than completely wet self.

I filtered our last water of the day while our clothes dried and we ate a snack. Twenty minutes late we were climbing hand over hand up the vertical slope of the Toutle Riverbank. Again, The Barracuda's previous climbing history shone through and we passed the sketchiest section. The only thing holding us back now, were the miles.

The Breach is basically an open desert-like space with a few tufts of grassy stuff here and there. The trail was constant cairn hopping, exposed dune walking, and dry gully after gully of run-off. There wasn't a better place to have tried to pull The Barracuda's first 20. Due to how well the trail has to be marked (since you are in complete desolation) the concept of millions of small goals is right in plain view. All you have to do is get to the next cairn. If you think about it as 20 miles, you are shot. The overwhelming nature of the task was too much for him. However, he could walk 1/4 mile, he could walk up switch-backed hill, and then he could find the next place to go from there.

The morning was foggy and frigid, by the end of the day the sun was in full strength and layers were shed. We couldn't down water like crazy, since there wasn't going to be any more, but we could talk as we hiked. The talking is the best park of hiking with The Barracuda. We will invent games, discuss how we feel about things, he will let me in on little insights he has been pondering. More often than not, I am completely impressed by the depth of his thoughts or the complexity of his vocabulary and knowledge. Our talking during the school day is different. With so many other things to focus on, we don't get to have completely uninterrupted conversation for large stretches of time. Moreover, when we hike with Jules, The Barracuda doesn't communicate in the same way. It is a special personal time for us that is quite wonderful.

And so we walked, and we walked, and we walked. A peripheral male elk wandered by quite frenzied looking for water. We passed the Johnson Observatory way up on the hill. We watched as Spirit Lake got bigger and bigger in front of us. With us both having hydration bladders, there was no reason to stop, so we just kept on moving. With there being nothing distinguishing about one place to the next, the map wasn't helpful so it stayed put away. About 2 o'clock we came across the most bizarre half mile of red, volcanic, pumice rock. It appeared completely in the middle of nowhere, and we later found out, ended just as abruptly. The Floating Island Lava Flow. For the first time we could see where we were and find ourselves on the map. Out came the map, out came The Barracuda's finger to find us, out came my fingers to measure how many miles we had left to hike. Low and behold, we were only 6 miles from the end. Six miles! We could do 6 miles; it was only 2 o'clock. With spirits lifted we hiked on.

Soon we began to see day-hikers and weekend-warriors decked out in their cotton and clean gaiters. We were far from clean at that point. The dust of The Breach had covered us and filled our shoes. We had awkward tan lines from the last couple days of sun. We merely nodded at most of their horrified looks and kept moving. We are hiker trash and we know it. At 5:13 we rounded the edge of the Loowit Trail. The sign caused jumps of glee from The Barracuda. The last few miles had been all uphill and he was getting tired at that point.

The last five miles of access road hiking just, plain sucked. To make matters worse, three science trucks drove right past us and didn't offer rides. We'd step out of the way and the truck would charge past, waving no less. Every bend in the road seemed like it just had to be the last one. By the last three miles it was getting dark and windy. They mean it when they call it Windy Pass. Sometimes you had to lean in quite dramatically to keep from being knocked over. We were getting cold in the shade and our feet were down right hurting. Up until then our pace had been quite good. Now, not so much. Just after 7 pm we hobbled into the Windy Pass parking lot. We made it! Dirty, sore, and stinky, the tourists sort of parted and stared as we moved to our car. The Barracuda made a celebratory call to his father and both our shoes and socks can off right away. We drove home excited with not only another item off of his Life List, but a major milestone packed away.

And so it was that The Barracuda pulled his first 20 - with water conservation, a 10 pound pack, and no lunch or dinner for the day. It took us just over 12 hours, but he did it. Sitting in his booster seat, munching a Pop Tart and a hunk of cheese, The Barracuda spoke up as we pulled away, "See Mom, I can do the PCT. I know I can do it. You shouldn't discount me because I'm small. It is just a million tiny goals."

Well said, Little Man, well said.

The Pacific Crest Trail

2011-09-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

The Barracuda has decided he wants to do a Pacific Crest Trail attempt this coming year (2012) and break the record of the youngest thru-hiker. We are actively preparing. Though this came as a bit of a shock to his father and I, when we sat down and thought about it he has gained many of the skills necessary to be able to have a successful shot this next year. Throughout the post you can see pictures of him learning various skills over the past year and a half.

The Pacific Crest Trail has been on my life list for quite a while. I've wanted to thru-hike it; to really finish it and have the accomplishment of knowing it was all done at once. Quite a bit ago the Fimby people (as they're family is known in our house) sent us the book Zero Days from their outdoor blog. It describes the trip taken by 10 year old Mary Chambers and her family hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. She is currently still holding the record of the youngest thru hiker of the trail. We read the book together, and though The Barracuda was completely baffled by the way they hiked (as it is completely different from how we backpack), he was a bit taken by the fact a kid had completed such a famous trail. At that point, we weren't doing much by way of complete trails and were focusing more on just hiking around. The thought stewed with him a while. You could see his little brain a workin'. Sometime later, he decided that he wanted to try it. He would hike The Pacific Crest Trail; let's put it on his Life List. This was highly pleasing to Jules and I since we had wanted to continue long distance backpacking and hoped our son would one day join us.
That was it for quite a bit (almost a year). The intent had been declared, nothing else to it. When we began to really backpack in earnest, with miles flying away at the waysides, The Barracuda began to ask a few more questions. How many miles a day would you have to hike? How many miles had his father hiked on the AT? How did his dad carry all the stuff? How much did his backpack weigh when he thru-hiked? Long distance backpacking was becoming a reality he could really grasp.

Learning to read elevation change on topographical maps. This is the precursor to learning compass bearings and route finding skills. We have also actively been working on the math and visual/spacial skills while homeschooling.

While hiking the Timberline Trail this summer, The Barracuda made his intentions clear. Next year he wanted to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail. He would be 7 then, a full three years before Mary Chambers. He wanted to be the youngest and he thought he could do it. If he could hike 50 miles around a mountain, he could hike three states. He was homeschooled and thus wouldn't have to miss class. We already had all the gear. I already knew how to make the food. Guadie could already put that many miles on her paws. His reasoning continued and soon his father and I became a bit convinced. He might actually have a shot....how crazy is that?!

Learning to glissade (and levitate apparently). Before ice axe use, you learn to glissade just with yourself for better balance. Once you can balance during the slide, you can add the ice axe for steering and speed control.

After arriving home, Jules and I sat down to talk. The kid had put in his time. He could hike the miles, he can read a map, his snow skills are good, his perseverance is higher than many adults we know. He needed to increase his daily miles from 14-15 up to 20-25, he would need an ice axe and we'd have to work on a boot belay for the Sierras, we'd need a smaller tent and to find a decent kids backpack (I'm going to have make one, they just don't exist with small enough torsos and enough carrying capacity for a kid to actually backpack). Alright, Jules agreed; we could do it.

The kid is just fit. There is no getting around it. Even the sports therapists all agreed - he's in incredible shape. Now all we have to work on is modesty :)

The details needed to be attended to. We had been planning on doing the PCT with The Barracuda, but not exactly this soon. He is still under 48 inches tall. Those little legs of his are so tiny he isn't allowed in the pool by himself, let alone hiking that many miles. So after checking with a sports therapist (or 3!) to make sure he could physically do it without blowing out his body, and after looking into gear costs to make sure we could do it without blowing out our wallet, and after looking at timelines to make sure we could do it without blowing out our state homeschool funding, I said yes.

Evaluating river crossings and learning technique with the Leki poles. I dislike Lekis but The Barracuda seems to be interested in carrying them and they make great tent poles to lighten our load.

The Barracuda then figured out a training schedule within 2 days of being home. (He is so organized it is disgusting!) He wanted us to walk 10 miles a day and increase by 2 miles each week. While increasing in miles we would increase in Nalgene bottles of water to add weight. On weekends we would then go out and backpack the forest to train. He and I would carry everything and Jules would get to carry only his stuff. The kid is determined. He didn't have any details of where this was all going to happen, but that was for us parents to figure out. More and more I am impressed by how much thought this kid can put into goals. It is definitely a skill I don't have....it must be attached to his Y chromosome somewhere.

Testing the depth of the ice. The Barracuda gets to actively use an ice axe (in fact he got his own for his birthday) because crampons are still far too dangerous. He needs to practice self arrest rolls to be sure he can stop from a multitude of angles, but we figure a few summits this coming fall will help with that.

We now walk at least 1o miles a day. We are trying to get in 15 miles a day, but that extra 5 is proving hard to schedule in. Luckily, the dogs can help us remember with constant nagging. The walk is just up our road with nice elevation changes and good scenery. At 5 miles total (we clocked it in the car) we hike every morning and every evening. So far, so good. The dehydrator has been going almost non-stop and the weighing/packaging of meals is well underway. At this point, the only issue we are having is where to put all of it. One-hundred and forty-six days of food is proving to be quite a lot. Clearance has been given from our virtual school and homeschooling from the trail is still acceptable. In fact, The Barracuda's advisor is a bit excited about it. We are looking for pen pals from the trail (gotta love backpacking while homeschooling) so if anyone out there wants to send and receive letters, comment away. We are compiling a list of good post offices and town stops which we can post in the future. As it currently stands, we will leave April 30th and return September 17th.

Some days are long and exhausting. A couple of times dinner has consisted of cheese and tortillas eaten inside sleeping bags. But, he hangs in there. The Barracuda is always ready to go the next morning, always blazing the trail ahead of his father and I, always eager to climb a talus slope, play in a meadow, or throw rocks into an alpine lake.

The Barracuda's Thoughts on Our Pacific Crest Trail Attempt
When asked to say something about the trail, this is what The Barracuda had to say.

I think it is big and it is long. It has so many miles in it. 2,658 miles is a big number. I have no idea even how long that is. I mean, I look at a map and it is from Mexico to Canada. I can move my finger, but I can't really know how long that is.

I am nervous, but at the same time, it makes me feel excited. The reason I am nervous is that it is so far away from everything I've known and it is so long. It will be weird not seeing different things in different places. What I mean is like, how I've never seen El Campo before or Kennedy Meadows, and I'm going to see them on the trail. I'm not going to drive up or drive through, I'm going to walk. When you drive you feel like you are going fast. You look out the window and think "Look at that" then it disappears. When you are walking, you actually get to see it. It lasts for a while and you are there with it, not just in the car by yourself.

I think it will be fun to do because we will be seeing new plants, and being in hot deserts, and new ecosystems and everything. Sometimes it is going to be hard to do 20 miles at the same time. The first day and the last day will be the hardest parts of the entire hike. The first day will be the hard because we are just starting and have to leave my dad. On the last day it will hard because we have to leave the trail.

I think that breaking the record will be exciting and I feel like I've accomplished something. It will be fun to be able to say that I broke the record.

The Timberline Trail

2011-09-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

After coming home from Rainier, we decided to go out on the Timberline Trail (#600). The Timberline circumnavigates Mt. Hood in a 38 mile loop. As always, when we go to Mt. Hood we try to get up to Yocum Ridge. This side trail turned it into a 48 mile loop by adding the extra 10 miles, out and back. The entire trip took us 5 days (4 full days and 2 halves) and we averaged about 12 on our full days (yes, I promise it is mathematically possible if you count the epic encounter). More than anything, we wanted to see just how far The Barracuda could hike over some difficult terrain.

More and more, our son's appreciation of mountains is becoming apparent. He now knows the order of the Northern and Central Cascades and can identify most by silhouette. He is becoming transfixed with mountains.

Day 1 - Timberline Lodge to Paradise - 4 miles

We had no less than 4 separate tourists take our picture. Apparently there is something very interesting about a dog with a backpack and a family all geared up.

Since we got out later than expected (doesn't that ALWAYS happen?) we didn't arrive and get walking till about 3 in the afternoon or later. We hit the trail, hiked for an hour and a half or so, ate, and hiked another mile to begin looking for a decent campsite. We have begun experimenting with ways to make more milage in the day. By eating and then putting in a few more miles before the end of the day we can add 4 or 5 miles to the day without much issue and stealth camp without the need of food prep. We can't quite tell if we like this yet.

Day 2 - Paradise Park to Yocum Ridge - 11 miles

The Timberline crosses a good 3-5 rivers a day as you work through the gullies and melt waters of the mountain. The Barracuda is becoming quite good with Leki poles and can ford most rivers now by himself with the occasional help of hand through some extreme leaps. Guadalupe, however, HATES water and must be ~~manhandled~~ carried over most rivers. She finds this most undignifying!

Yocum Ridge is one of our favorite places on Mt. Hood. It was discovered by Jules when he did his first hike of the Timberline Trail a year or so before I met him. The 10 mile (total out and back) side trail is a brutal uphill of almost continuous switchbacks, but you are rewarded with a personal alpine meadow and an awe inspiring view.

Day 3 - Yocum Ridge to Carin Basin - 14 miles

Muddy Fork runs through Cathedral Ridge. Before the first snow, we will hopefully take a weekend trip up to the actual ridge line instead of the valley.

We were up and out of camp by 7 and pounding miles. Today brought us past Cathedral Ridge and a new place to explore. Though there is a fondness within us for Yocum, Cathedral's towering rock formations and three beautiful waterfalls surround you from all sides. It has a very different feel from Yocum's expansiveness.

Every real backpacking trip has a moment where you think, "This is completely insane!" It is a commitment moment where you have to decide once and for all, are you in? This river crossing would be it for the Timberline trail. As I watched my son slowly wiggle across three haphazardly strewn (and seemingly flimsy) logs, slip twice due to there being no bark on the logs and a gushing torrent of rocky rapids beneath him, and then reach out trying to grab his father's outstretched hand, I couldn't help but have a moment of "What the hell are we doing?!" To make matters worse, the logs were not tied together so as The Barracuda began walking they shifted to and fro beneath his weight.

Day 4 - Carin Basin to Cloud Cap - 14 miles

The dog was horrified; The Barracuda thought it was beyond awesome!
Click on the link below to see the washout in real time via YouTube.

This was an epic day. All went well until we hit the washout at Elliot Glacier. Everyone on the mountain we met was talking about Elliot: "How are you going to get around Elliot?" "Why aren't they fixing Elliot?" "Aren't they supposed to have a bridge over Elliot by now?" There are stacks of pictures and talk on the Internet about Elliot. Everyone just needs to get over it! In the floods of 2006, the winter here was brutal and Elliot Glacier took out the entire trail. It literally drops off in a sheer vertical down to the river. The vertical is over 150 feet high and requires a cross country (not skis, but unmaintained) backtrail and then a technical scramble down an arete, and then getting to a rope to back down to the water. Once down, we forded the river three or four times, crossed the talus and scree for a good 2 hours, and then tied both Guadalupe and The Barracuda up for the vertical climb (no rope provide this time) up the other side. It was exhausting and got us no closer to Cloud Cap. After some bushwacking and route finding, we discovered an old fire road (thank goodness for the Cloud Cap fire a couple years ago). Another unmaintained vertical climb up a fire slope with only water bars to hold the soil in and a quarter mile walk following the smell of campfires took us to a road. We must have looked like Sasquatch scrambling up to the road from the forest. The road lead to Cloud Cap Campground. Needless to say, taking the dog down and then up scree, talus, and places where she was tied together with climbing webbing wasn't Guadie's favorite activity. Her paws were split open by the end and she was drooling uncontrollably, but she followed through in Stickeen fashion and has now permanently won Jules' love. The Barracuda began to go into sugar shock from lack of solid food (he is extremely blood sugar sensitive) about half way through, but pulled it together enough to make it to camp. There were some sketchy moments and I'm sure we looked horrifying when we stumblied into Cloud Cap by nightfall.

Day 5 - Cloud Cap to White River (10 miles)

Walking around the mountain gives the peak a highly personal experience because you get to see it from every angle. Rather than a veiwpoint and only one side, you see them all and you witness them change from one to another. Though I have grown up watching Mt. Hood, I feel like I didn't really know much about it at all now having walked around it.

Being homeschoolers, the lines of education versus life become very blurry. These learning moments are one of the things we enjoy so much about the homeschooling process and a large part of why we take our son hiking so much at such a young age. There have been many amazing learning moments over the last couple years, but one of the greatest happened going from Cloud Cap through Cooper's Spur. From up that high you can see one of the largest expanses in Oregon, but most interestingly, you can physically watch the rain shadow effect and the tectonic plate line come together. The hilly, green expanse in front of you becomes a ridge and then a flat, brown space on the other side. The mountains of Rainier, St. Helens, Adams, Hood, Jefferson, and the Three Sisters all line up and directly before you the puzzle pieces of the Earth's crust become real. The Barracuda has studied volcanoes, subduction zones, the Ring of Fire, and all that jazz but here he could literally see in front of him how it all worked. I realize I'm a total science geek, but it was pretty rad.

Day 6 - Mitchel Creek to Timberline (3 miles)

The ridgelines of Mt. Hood are one of the predominant features of the Timberline Trail.. There is a combined elevation loss/gain of over 12,000 feet on the Timberline Trail (not including Yocum Ridge) so you are rather constantly either going up or down.

We slept in, woke up low key and were moving by 8. We had been warned by another hiker that it had been washed out to the point she was turning around. The thought of another Elliot Glacier crossing wasn't pleasant, but all that was keeping us from Timberline and we were committed. We hiked down to White River to view the damage, and sure enough, total wash out. Notes were posted of other groups heading back. Much like Elliot, we headed down to a nearby arete and were determined to make our way down. Surprisingly, we caught the trail on lower switchbacks. Apparently all that was washed out was the upper portion of the trail. Less than a 5 minute bushwhack and we were back on track. It was a very quick out, even with Timberline teasing us in the distance while we cairn hopped, hiking uphill through glacial silt. A stop by the gift shop to pick up a patch for The Barracuda and we were driving away to Dairy Queen before 11 o'clock.

It was a great trip and a significant victory for The Barracuda. He can check the first item off of his Life List and solidified his confidence about pulling larger mileage in succession. We knew he could do it, but he needed to know.

When we came home, we were suprised to find out that The Barracuda is the youngest person to have ever finished this hike. Apparently a 7 an a 9 year old boy finished the trip with their family a couple years ago, and had claimed the record until now. Our son doesn't much care about that, all he really wanted was a Blizzard ice cream treat.

Wonderland Trail Take 1

2011-08-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

Ugh! End of July and most of August have been rather full. We went on 3 backpacking trips and 3 more are in the works by the end of September. We set in at least 5 cords of wood and 5 more are on the way within the next 10 days. We made a major direction change in the outlook for next year and we finally (FINALLY!) got everything moved from one house, to the shack, and reasonably (sorta) put away.

But first things first. Let's get to the Wonderland Trail.

The Summary:
We left for the Wonderland with rather steep expectations of what we were going to see. We weren't let down. It was very intense and by day 5 we realized there was just no way we were going to make it all the way around. When we left, no one had successfully completed the trail this year. Some areas are still 80 percent snow covered. They do not expect the snow to melt off this year at all and the glaciers to rebuild significantly (who knew that could happen in the age of Global Warming!?!)

In many places the problem became that unless you had 1:24 topographical maps, you couldn't see anything due to how deep the snow was and how thick the coverage. Even with very close topos the density of the snow made all the terrain the exact same height. Were you on a lake? Were you on a river? Were you in a meadow? Were you in thin air (that was a scary one a few times)?

The sign posts for campgrounds are deliberately placed fairly high in Rainier so that they can stick out of snow, but even at close to 5 feet off the ground the rangers had to dig them out. This was our first campsite and our lowest elevation.

The lack of compass workability meant you had to rely solely on your GPS. That alone makes Jules and I a bit nervous, but it becomes even more problematic when you know it is actively telling you to go the wrong way. When the arrow begins bouncing due to tree cover or mountain passes and ever step or so you take you are redirected, that is a bad sign. Rangers were advising people to turn the GPS units off and then on again about 4 times when this would begin to happen because it was such a frequent occurrence.

You see that river there? That isn't a river. Nope, not a lake either. In fact that isn't even a body of water. That's an alpine meadow which is melting off. Even better, the melt around this meadow was so awkwardly distributed that you never quite knew of you were on solid ground.

So we surrendered the fantasy of finishing the trail and decided to just enjoy being in one of the most beautiful National Parks in our nation. It became much more about workability of us as a family backpacking in extreme terrain and less about any direct goal.

SNOW!
Snow has become increasingly less about snowmen and snowballs with The Barracuda. It is now far more about summitting mountains, ice axe skills, and mountaineering. He is not allowed to wear crampons yet due to how dangerous they are (he has to be 9), but we spent a lot of time actively working on his snow skills. He can accurately glissade, kick steps, and we are looking into getting him his own ice axe. He still needs to work on his self arrest so that the flip turn becomes automatic, but he is quickly on his way to some serious mountaineer skills. We were very proud of him.
This ice axe is my Black Diamond, and though it is light enough for The Barracuda, it is still far too long. Finding something under 24 inches is proving difficult. We have already begun trying to find children's crampons we can have front spikes welded onto foreseeing future problems.
Glaciers
Glacial Education is full frontal on Rainier. Being the most glaciated peak in the continental United States, the park not only has direct views of glaciers everywhere you look, but it has places were the soils is still trying to rebuild after hundreds of years. As homeschoolers, discussing the magnitude of how ice can carve the land by seeing less than half an inch of soil rebuilding over an estimated 500 years is pretty dramatic. "Stay on the Trail" took on whole new meaning.
Just incase you somehow didn't pick up on that from the glacial meadow, the GIANT sign talking all about it, the huge warning placards, or any of that other stuff.

Primordial Forest
Forest primordial oozes from The Wonderland Trail. I've never seen Cedar trees that big. The impact was even greater than the trees in Sequoia because these trees had been left alone. The park has been 97 percent designated wilderness since its conception in 1917 and it shows wherever you walk. From the expansive meadows which fill with lakes and are rimmed with mountains, to the mist which hangs in undisturbed (messy) forests, the only thing which is maintained is the trail.

One of the most important things we wish our son to understand is that he has the power to either appreciate these spaces or to destroy them. Love them while they are here, respect them as temples, and fight with every bit of your power as a citizen to keep them. Someone did that for you and you need to do that for others.

Route Finding
So much of route finding requires you to stop thinking and listen to your guts. An intuitive trail sense is all you can go with. How does it wind? Where would it go? How would the builders have handled here? Once we hit snow line, we could only walk about a quarter of a mile till we lost trail. Then it was packs off, scout around, call when you found something. Even following footprints wouldn't work unless they had been made by the Rangers within the last 3 hours. The Barracuda got very good at recognizing water bars, cut logs, the bend of the trail in the snow, the difference between a snow covered river and the snow covered trail. He lead us the entire way back out solely so that he could begin to feel the way the trail moved.

Route finding is exhausting. You can never find a stride or a pace and making miles just doesn't happen. However, it is incredible at working on observational skills and perseverance! The Barracuda's spirits were high the entire time. He was down right excited...the kid is twisted.

Adventure
There were several times over the course of our hike that we flat out didn't know where we were, didn't know where we were going, and really couldn't tell you too much about where exactly we had been. Lots of "I-kinda-think" moments. I kinda think we should head this way. I kinda think that looks like this spot on the map. I kinda think this is completely insane. However, it made for a whole lotta fun. As one of the Search and Rescue climbers said with great enthusiasm, "We've never seen the park this way. We may not again. Don't be a fear monger; enjoy it!"

The snow bridge held for all of us, but you were a bit nauseous trying it mid-day. The glacial melt was running swiftly underneath and there were quite a few large rocks which looked far too happy to crush your head open. This hike really solidified the concept to The Barracuda that backpacking can be fun, but it is serious business that can get you killed. Don't trifle with it.

The Life List
One of the big things we do around our house is to make lists. We set lots of goals, write lots of systematic lists, and leave scrolled bits of paper laying around with various scribblings about plans. It isn't something we directly involve The Barracuda in unless it has to do with him in some way (such as school or chores), but he is rather saturated in it nonetheless. It was only a matter of time before he jumped on the bandwagon with a few lists of his own. On our Wonderland Trip, he decided he wanted to start his Life List. Not the average 6 year old, his goals are a bit larger than we expected. The ones he came up with while we were hiking:

Circumnavigate all the Northern and Central Cascades
Summit all the Central and Northern Cascades
Thru Hike the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail
Summit a 14er (yes, he knows this term) before he is 12

As the list began to be propagated Jules and I would glance down at him over our glasses. "Really?" we would ask. The answer was always a very confident yes. "Well alright then," we would reply. The boy is determined; who are we to stop him?

Warming up in the White River campground after climbing around a bit. Not everywhere was covered with snow. We converted our backpacks to day packs and spent a nice chunk of time just exploring the park. Afterall, there was an entire 5 gallon bucket full of our food drop to eat through.

The boy got to do his Tirolean traverse, Jules got to return to Rainer (he summitted it a few years ago), and I got to see quite a bit of one beautiful mountain. We had planned on trying to return to the Wonderland in late August, but our dog-sitters fell through and no dogs are allowed in the National Park.

The Barracuda and Jules staring up at Gibralter Rock and the summit. The native people called the mountain Tahoma which meant "The Mountain that Is God." Standing beneath her you can definitely feel why.
With the circumnavigation still on The Barracuda's Life List, however, we couldn't just walk away. In late September The Barracuda and I are going up again for Wonderland Take 2. There will be bugs, there might be rain, but at least this time there won't be 11 feet of snow.

Away We Go

2011-07-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

We are off! We just picked up my brother, who has decided to come with us. I should be back by the 2nd of August with quite an amazing array of pictures. I'm hoping just over a 1000 should do us. If not, I'm far too impulsive to be trusted with the camera.

We are checking in today to hold our reservation, spending the night, and leaving before dawn tomorrow. Jules is wistfully imagining heaps of snow, cutting steps, and Tyrolean Traverses. I'm hoping for some pretty amazing skies, a few awesome pictures, and quite the memorable event for The Barracuda. The Barracuda really wants to find a way to zipline over a ragging river crossing, get a new patch for his backpack, and to tell Grampie and Grammie all about it. Either way, let's just not die.

Here's hoping for some awesomeness!

An Unexpected Turn of Events

2011-07-14T01:12:00.000-07:00

Our Wonderland Trail adventure departs on Saturday - three days from now. We had to put in our reservations back in March and be locked into our route at that time. You are not allowed to backcountry camp, and they are rather strict about headcounts. Much thought went into this process, lots of reading, a little bit of gambling here and there with mileage, but in the end a challenging but highly doable trip. Oh, it is just so cute how we thought we could control all the variables of nature.

Fast forward a couple months to tonight. Currently, it is just past 1:30 in the morning and Jules and I are still up scouring the Internet and pining over maps. You see, in a normal year the mid to end of July has only about 30 percent snow coverage on the higher peaks. This is not a normal year. The 30 percent snow coverage or less areas are far fewer than the 65 to 100% snow coverage areas. That means some places are under 9+ feet of snow. The mountain isn't projected to melt off until sometime in mid August or later.

This is what it looks like about 25 minutes from our house where we have been teaching The Barracuda to kick steps. At points on The Wonderland we are at over 8000 feet....

We are having to skim pounds where we can to add ice axes, webbing, the GPS, and a snow shovel. The Barracuda's harness is being added so we can rope up when necessary (extreme exposure and feet of snow can make Mommy a bit nervous) and belay him through a couple of rather gnarley looking river crossings (which make Dad nervous). The MSR Whisperlite is being switched out for MSR XGK. This means a higher fuel consideration, but that sucker is like a blow torch and can melt snow for water if needed without skipping a beat. Sneakers have been upgraded to boots and the seam grip is coming out in force (Jules has gone through 2 tubes already on our boots and has us both higher than a kite.). We are going to have to upgrade maps to get one with UTM coordinates and a grid reader so we can check our route finding as many places of the trail are still at 100 percent snow coverage for miles at a time.

But we are still going. The Barracuda has shown extreme interest in route finding, GPS, and compass skills in off trail and low visibility situations (our son is a weirdo). Now he can learn first hand. He wants to be a Mazama and summit a 14; this can prepare him. More than anything, we can really meet the mountain on her terms. After all, what fun would circumnavigating a mountain be if you aren't momentarily terrified by the magnitude of what you have taken on or potentially scaring yourself into wetting you pants a few times?

Looks like there is going to be a lot of this!
Hoorah!
I'll take lots of pictures as long as the camera's battery can hold out. It tends to freeze up when temperatures hover in the teens too long, but if I carry it against my chest it tends to hang in there long enough.

Going Sailing

2011-07-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

So, what do we do without television? We open water sailing! These are 9 foot skiff boats designed for kids. In fact, I have no idea what is going on. I'm just the parent who stays on the shore.

Luckily, Erica is all over it because she has been racing for years. The Barracuda has developed a desire to begin competitive open water racing and we live in just the right place! Here these sorts of events start at age 5 and the National championships went on less than a month ago. He went out with a girl from his homeschool group (age 14) who is actively involved with the local Gorge Racing Association. Now, he's hooked.

Totally Off Topic

2011-06-13T10:24:00.001-07:00

Alright, this is very off topic, but after scanning much conflicting information on the Internet, I thought I'd throw it out there.

Does anyone know when or if the Forest Service turns off the water in Southern California, specifically as it pertains to the stops along the Pacific Crest Trail?

I have read November 1st. However, I have also read that people can take 5 months for a Southbound hike which does not mathematically add up to before November 1st.

Anyone with any info?

The Building of Our House: The Trip to Home Depot

2011-06-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

When we purchased our little fishing shack (called The Cabin) we had to realize a couple things: 1) It was old and rustic, 2)It was so far in the middle of nowhere that any work now or in the future would have to be done ourselves, and 3)We were basically forcing ourselves to become Luddites in many ways. The experience has been quite wonderful, but also a bit intense at times. Before reading this you many want to check out why we purchased The Cabin, as well as the first post about our building process.

The second weekend we didn't accomplish much. The Barracuda and I stayed in The Cabin most of the week and were able to finish off pulling down walls and prepping the space for insulation. By the time the weekend rolled around, Jules was able to come up, and word had gotten out about the new owners. We began to get visitors.

Visitors in the city were no big deal. People knock, pop in for a couple minutes, get business done and then have to go off to another hurried activity. After a week, Dae and I were already starting to recognize woods time. Woods time is much like island time - things move much, much slower. People drop by, and stay a while. Whenever you wake up, you wake up. Whenever something gets done, it gets done. You don't laze about, but you definitely don't hurry. In woods time, you enjoy your surroundings and let the chips fall as they may.

Many rope swings exist around the lake for both adults and children to enjoy. No one owns them; they just hang there daring any brave souls to try the ~~terrifying~~ exhilarating ride. Woods time is much like a Hallmark Movie of the Week.

Here, visitors will drop by and then want to talk. They will show up and then stand discussing. Sometimes they bring beer or wine and stay to have a little. Jules and I didn't know how to be socially appropriate and hint at needing to get back to work. We tried everything that worked in the city, no dice. By the time the third person popped in, we just decided to go with it. When in Rome, listen like Romans.

What did happen to get done, was the supply trip to Home Depot. As big box stores go, our family is not a major fan. However, when you have one giant purchase to make, they can simplify the process significantly. This was the case with Home Depot. We wanted to purchase all our materials (or dang near) in one go. With everything in one place we could then be free to work without the limitations of supply issues. It also meant that we wouldn't be spending extra dollars on both gas and impulse items (such as the drill holster that Jules felt was highly imperative but still sits unused).

The closest Home Depot was a mere 29 miles from our house. I know this because I remember every single mile...

We had saved up 2,000 dollars for repairs on the house and an extra 500 each month from expenses. We figured that was enough money to do a pretty good overhaul. After taking down the walls and living in the space for a week, we compiled a giant list and went off.

The Home Depot is located on the farthest possible edge of what could be called the closest town. It seems very out of place in the small strip mall which includes a Bi-Mart, a combination adult shop/truck stop, and a restaurant called "Spooky's" which seems to serve everything from pizza and hamburgers to Chinese and Italian.

It was a very long trip. The staff was very helpful. All four carts were very full. By the time we were through the will call booth and everything was established for us to drive it all home things were looking pretty good. Because we were only using our normal truck to haul everything, multiple trips were necessary. We grabbed a giant pile of insulation, the water heater, the paint, stacks of silicon caulking, and a bunch of miscellaneous electrical supplies and headed for the car. Jules is the master packer. He can get items into small spaces like a Tetris champion. Most of the bulk insulation order was jammed in, but still some small space remained. The giant bundle pack wouldn't fit, he reasoned, but a few of the individual rolls would. Out came the pocket knife, the plastic was slashed, and then we watched in complete horror as the bundle of insulation began to grow. It expanded, and expanded, and then continued to keep swelling. Once removed from pressure, it was easily three or four times the previous size. The couple of rolls didn't fit much better than the one bundle. No problem, the skies were clear, we were on woods time, we'd just make another trip. Two trips turned into three, no biggie.

The first two trips were no issue...but the third one was sure a doosie. By the time the first two loads were placed into the cabin, more neighbors had visited by kayak, and we were set to head out for a third, time was beginning to dwindle down. All of our purchase had to be picked up before closing time. Back we headed and the skies began to cloud over. We still were fairly secure in our last venture, after all the camper top was on the truck so nothing would get wet.

This is what we had hoped for. See all that blue sky, a nice breeze in the air, easily fitting underlayment with the other miscellaneous items stuffed beneath. Wasn't meant to be!

Then the underlayment wouldn't fit inside. It just wasn't going to work. We had to run inside and buy more rope since we hadn't brought enough. Rope was strung through the front windows, pinning The Barracuda and I into the car. Twine was then employed to help strap the large, lightweight boards onto the roof of the car. Tarps were pulled out from the hidden recesses of the truck and the last roll of insulation was covered and bound to the back tailgate and bumper. Everything was strapped down as much as possible as the raindrops began to sprinkle.

Over on this side of the Cascades, the precipitation is quite a bit less. We weren't exceptionally worried about some water. What we hadn't counted on were the thunder storms. When the warm side of the Cascades hits the cooler wet side, things get a bit interesting. We definitely hadn't figured in the wind. You know all that wind surfing and kite boarding people come from all over the U.S. to do? It is because of the extreme and unpredictable wind!

All it took was leaving the exit ramp for the first gust hit. It caught the underlayment like a giant sail and caused a startled look between Jules and I. The windows were quickly rolled down and any free hands were used to hold everything on top of the car as much as possible. It wasn't too long before The Barracuda was pulling on the ropes inside the car as extra weight trying to keep it all together. Images of crazed college activities flashed through my mind. We looked like some bizarre episode of the Beverly Hill Billies driving down the highway.

Twenty nine miles would have been long enough to hang out the window of a car moving down the highway clinging to items strapped on top, but with the pelting rain it felt much more like 40 miles. At about mile 10 my hands began to go a bit numb, my grip lessened a smidgen, Jules alternated hands on the steering wheel to try and warm up, and we began to laugh at the ridiculousness of our current activity. WHAM! we were hit with another sudden burst of wind. Full attention was regained as the underlayment rose a good 2 inches off the roof. We reluctantly slowed down to less than 45 miles an hour, hazards were put on, and we inched home.

This is our mountain. We live in her shadow, drink water from her glacial melt, and frequently play on her slopes. Every day she is a wonderful reminder of why we moved and what we love. It takes quite a bit to not give her welcoming nod on the way home.
By the time we got to the bridge crossing the Columbia, both Jules and I were soaked. We crossed the bridge and were far too numb/sore/cold to enjoy our mountain. Eventually we made it home with all our stuff intact. It wasn't until we unloaded that we found out all the twine had snapped in the wind. We were literally the only thing holding our conglomeration of crap onto the vehicle. Jules felt this was humorous and incredible. I'm still not quite there.

Clothes and supplies were set out to dry and we watched the store roll over from the porch. The arduous task of schlepping most all of our building materials was over. Now we just had to build a house.

The Building of Our House: First Things First

2011-06-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

When we purchased our little fishing shack (called The Cabin) we had to realize a couple things: 1) It was old and rustic, 2)It was so far in the middle of nowhere that any work now or in the future would have to be done ourselves, and 3)We were basically forcing ourselves to become Luddites in many ways. The experience has been quite wonderful, but also a bit intense at times.

Since we purchased The Cabin "as is," we got everything inside it and waved any inspections before purchase. We had been inside a few times previously, spoken to the owner and had him walk us through the house, but never had anyone formally crawl around in the rafters or underneath. This meant that not only did we not know exactly what we would find once we started, but it also gave us an interesting look into The Cabins previous inhabitants.

We inherited things like 8+ year old tubes of sunscreen, lots of dried up fishing bait, more disposable plastic dishes than I imagined one person could own, an old fold out cot, half secured (and sagging) shelving, 7 fishing poles of various size and effectiveness, a hot plate that didn't work, the oldest microwave I have ever seen, a stool which had half caught fire, a very industrial looking potato gun, and a whole slew of other stuff somewhere between abandoned and forgotten and neglected and abused.

The Master Suite. We had some very swanky living conditions for the first month or so! About 2 weeks in, Jules and I swapped out our Cats Meow bags to experiment with a Ray Jardine 2 person quilt and like it much more.

Most of the first weekend was spent gutting the place of everything that wasn't bolted down (and even a few things that were) so that we could adequately assess the growing money pit we had just purchased.

The plywood walls would need to come down so we could insulate. God only knew what was inside them! The horrible bead board wall would need to be replaced by something that wasn't falling off. The old chimney would need something, but we had no idea what. The trim was in need of a serious face lift. The deck would need to be converted into two separate bedrooms at some point in time. The kitchen and bathroom....well...they had ghetto bachelor pad written all over them. (Jules and I still sit up at night staring at them and wonder what we are going to do).

Have a look into our kitchen insanity! We later discovered that both the shelves and boards on behind me weren't ever secured but merely resting on a couple of bent nails. Needless to say, they came down.

(Click on the Picture to Enlarge)

With the vigor of new adventure upon us, the boys set to work pulling down trim and walls. The Barracuda is required to help us with building the house. If he is going to live in it, he has to help create it. Required is stretching it a bit. All one really has to say is, "Would you like to help _______?" and he is already front and center with a hammer.

Sticking your tongue out while focusing appears to be a genetic trait in our family. I still do it and, as you can see, so does my son. Luckily, Jules finds this endearing.

While they ripped things down, I went old school Cinderella on the floors. I don't think the place had been cleaned since the Reagan administration.

The floors are one of the things I fell in love with almost immediately. They are the original extra wide cedar plank flooring. The color is natural and they are unsealed. Years of use has made them smooth and dense.

The time was productive, but as the midden pile of stuff grew so did the future work. The water heater didn't appear to work, the kitchen faucet leaked, the outdoor patio didn't keep much dry, the single pane windows were barely holding on, and there was a good inch and a half of daylight showing under one corner of the door due to the floor sinking on one end of the house, much of the old electrical would need to be rewired and we were frequently amazed the entire place hadn't burned to the ground years ago. There was still no stove, no refrigerator, no heat, and no storage to put anything.

Before the Master Suite (show above) is rolled out, the fine dining tarp graces the floor. We feast on such delicacies as baked potato soup eaten from plastic SOLO plates the previous owners left.

The craziest part of all this was that we were really, honest to goodness happy. We were laughing and being silly together for the first time in quite a while. The dog was ecstatic outside, the boy was bouncy at learning to use dozens of various tools, both Jules and I were filled with wonder at all the wildlife and serenity around us.

As Thoreau wrote in Chapter 1 of Walden, It would be some advantage to live a primitive and frontier life, though in the midst of an outward civilization, if only to learn what are the gross necessaries of life and what methods have been taken to obtain them; or even to look over the old day-books of the merchants, to see what it was that men most commonly bought at the stores, what they stored, that is, what are the grossest groceries.

And so that was it. This venture of ours into a dilapidated old fishing shack became our mission to find the grossest of the groceries. What did we really need to be happy and how could we find it together?

Breakfast with Goslings, Dinner with Bears

2011-05-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

No pictures today, but it has been far too long and I am tired of waiting. Computers are still out of commission. One has survived the viral issue, two are now pronounced deceased. We are living full time now up in our cabin and it is slowly starting to look a bit more like a habitable space. There is now hot water, a stove and a refrigerator. My goodness, we might soon even have a bed!

Even while roughing it, we know we have made the correct decision.

The closest town to us is White Salmon. White Salmon is so named after the mythical white salmon whose spirit presided over the giant fish which used to return every year to spawn (pre-dammed Columbia River). The Native name literally translates to "where the sun meets the rain."

Because we are nestled in a valley of the Cascade Mountains, we are literally in the middle of the rainshadow. This means far less rain, mixed ecosystems, and an abundance of varied wildlife. Couple this with the fact our lake is located in a critical habitat designation of a wilderness and you have a rather extreme version of the nature channel every day.

This level of federal, state and county designations make for a bit of an interesting living situation since very little can be done to our house. (The neighbor's hot tub permit was going to cost him 1,500 dollars, take 2 years of committee meetings, and even then might not be approved.) However, the wildlife here is definitely thriving.

Our first evening, we were serenaded by a wild turkey. They have the most infectious gobble! It is very difficult not to repeatedly chuckle as they call. The Barracuda quickly named him (or her) Steve and they "talk" frequently. Steve gobbles, The Barracuda mimics back, Steve replies. The Barracuda has decided to enter the county fair's turkey calling contest (no joke!) which is a highly prestigious event amount adult males around here.

As the sun sets, dozens of swallows begin darting over the lake with a dance-like grace. They swoop and dive, weave in and out of one another, and fly so fast you think they will have mid-air collisions any second. It is somewhere between joyful play and theatrical production.

Once night falls, the bats come out. Jules and I will sit on the dock and watch divebombing bats eat all the bugs possible. A single bat will eat 2000 insects an hour. The 50 or so we think might be out around us keep all the mosquitoes down to none.

Most all our meals are eaten out on the dock to soak up the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. This is also prime viewing time. Breakfasts are had with a parade of Canadian geese waking their goslings (who nest separately) and beginning the daily rounds of the lake. Dinners the same goslings are watched, only this time they are escorted home. The pair of eagles (who mate for life) that live across the lake from us, swoop and hunt these goslings as they parade back to their nests. The parents flap their wings, honk and holler, and threaten the predators. Ever patient, the eagles will take turns with menacing grace swooping ever lower to clutch a baby bird.

Last week, we watched a juvenile brown bear (about 300 lbs) chase a young deer into the lake looking for meal. The deer plunged into the water and began swimming with all its might. It crossed the lake as the bear lumbered along the far edge seeming to grumble to itself. This instance prompted us to bring up the 30/30 and have it posted above the door. As much as we don't need to worry about people here, the animal population is definitely in charge.

We will marvel at these animal shows for an hour or more at a time. The Barracuda can now identify half a dozen birds of prey just from their flight patterns and coloring. He is happily expanding all sorts of tracks, scat, and call identifications. I am equally delighted as we walk and new species of plants are found. Vanilla leaf (an natural bug repellent), wild strawberries, ducks feet (also known as sour apple plant) and the like all freely grow here.

We are quite joyful. Our experiences resolidify our desires to simplify. Unlike Mr. Plasma, our neighbor with a HUGE plasma screen TV, we are much happier absorbing our nature first hand rather than via the Discovery Channel.

Technical Snafu!

2011-05-17T13:44:00.001-07:00

We are experiencing some serious technological difficulties over here. One of our computers got a sexually transmitted disease. It wasn't pretty. It didn't live through it. What became a singular infection spread - very rapidly! Two more computers are in the shop, one has had major data recovery surgery and I think I might have contained the issue on this computer.

Do not allow your spouse to turn off the virus protection software and then go onto nefarious websites. It can mean a lot of trouble! Well, perhaps allow is the wrong word. Maybe, directly warn your spouse of how much damage can be created from this risky behavior.

There are a stack of pictures to show you all about the cabin and talk about how awesome the entire experience is. I'm hoping to get the posts up in the next two days.

The Barracuda and I are currently spending 5 days up at the cabin and 2 days in town. Currently there is no Internet up there so many posts will have to be written and scheduled. Here's hoping to get it all reeled in!

Not So Lazy Days

2011-05-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

The sun has finally decided to grace us with her presence. The days have gotten longer but not very lazy. If any of you all live in places where there are lazy spring or summer days, could you please let me know. I don't think I've ever lived in this place.

When the sun finally comes around, we begin to get rather busy around here.

There are trees to learn to repel down.

There is bread to make and bake and eat.

And laundry to wash and hang and fold.

There is schoolwork to do and planners to fill out.

And excessively long grass to mow...

It is exhausting!
I'll save you the picture where Jules flips me off for taking pictures of him during his nap.

Luckily, Guadalupe is there to supervise and make sure everything turns out correctly.

I wouldn't trade it for much of anything though. I love the evenings of waning light and the mornings of birds singing and the glow outside the windows. The Barracuda is tired every night and can actively play outside over 3 hours a day. Things might get busier, but when we do them as a family it feels pretty darn great.

Wonderland Here We Come!

2011-04-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

Though we will be renovating from next weekend till what seems to be the end of time, we are not willing to spend the entire summer without at least one long distance hike. The Wonderland trail was picked for a couple of reasons:

1) It is reasonably close: The Wonderland encircles Mount Rainer which is less than a day's drive North of us. With rising gas prices, the proximity allows us to drive up and back without annihilating any kind of budget.

The red trail is the 93 mile Wonderland Trail. It stays well below what would be considered a need to rope up, but is often still covered in snow through much of July when we will be going.

2) It is a short one: Though considered one of the most beautiful long distance trails in America, the Wonderland is only going to take us 9 days to complete. If we want a zero day we can take it, but we probably won't unless the side trails are just too alluring. We can drive up, pick up permits, hike, and head home all in less than 2 weeks. The short time line means both the trip and the renovations this summer can be successful.

Since the entire trail is located with Mt. Rainer National Park, it is highly monitored wilderness area and kept as pristine as possible. Though not forest primordial, it is relatively unchanged since the trail was put in almost 100 years ago.

3)Oh and Ah Factor: The Wonderland Trail crosses up and down over the glacier carved ridgelines and alpine meadows creating incredible views both from high and from the valley. There are 2 suspension bridges, many raging river crossings where you only get a log to walk along, and you are within 500 feet of the lowest glacier in the Continental US (Carbon Creek). From canyons to waterfalls to being in the high Cascades, it is high interest every day while still maintaining an entirely wilderness status. In many places, that is hard to do.

The wildflowers supposedly come out in July and are well known to light up the alpine and sub alpine meadows. If the cold, wet weather keeps up, we are set to miss them and get much more snow.

4) It's a Hike: Though are days are only about 9-10 miles each, the elevation gain and loss is an average 3500 feet. You are literally climbing or falling almost the entire time with a total elevation gain of 22,000 feet. This is the sort of hike which keeps our family interested.

Part of this is also to feel small and at the mercy of the natural world. So much of the time it seems that we tend to forget that it isn't about us, we don't really have much control, and that isn't a bad thing.

5) Homeschooling: If we are going to say that we homeschool our child, we need to do it! Walking around Rainer will hopefully be a great intro to circumnavigating many more mountains (Timberline, Loowit, Three Sisters Loop, etc). The views of rainshadow, the ecosystem changes, the 25 glaciers, all of it shows the very direct effects of today's environment. If we have the freedom to not have to actually be "in school" we better live it up!

With three separate summits, the mountain looks different from every angle. Such is the life of a stratovolcano and part of the fun of circumnavigation.

6)Why Not?!: This is the biggest reason of all. If we can't take 2 weeks of our life to show our son this National Park, that is just pathetic. None of us have seen it, it is critically acclaimed, and we don't need any gear since we have all of it. We can all do it without much training and it won't cost us anything but 20 dollars for the reservation and gas. It seemed like an extreme no-brainer.
Note: Since crampons or micro-spikes should only be used when it is deadly to proceed otherwise, we won't be taking them. The chances of hurting yourself to the point of needing immediate hospital attention are just too high. Even when highly trained, people often panic and stupidly put their feet down instead of properly self arresting or glassading. We will carry ice axes as The Barracuda has been trained how to use one and will rope up if necessary. He will most likely not be using crampons until he is at least 14, ice climbing, and been through years of professional training. I'm just not willing to permanently kill my son's feet.

Confirmation of our reservation came today. Mid July we are heading up North. As of now Jules, myself, The Barracuda, and (oddly) my brother have decided to take it on. I don't know exactly how well my brother will fare (hopefully well), but we have been alpine training for quite a stint and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. The Barracuda wants to begin running with me every other day and has decided to trail run with Jules as well. Once his form really takes hold, we will apply some weight. He's pretty darn good to go!

All's Well That Ends Well

2011-04-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

We received confirmation yesterday. After 6 months of negotiations, one fall through, and a bit of some rocky territory with a lease, we have been approved to purchase a cabin. Neither Jules nor I really know how to feel about this. We have been keeping ourselves optimistically reserved due to all the negotiations and high/low moments of this whole ordeal. The possibilities make us excited though.

I use the term "cabin" lightly. We are basically moving into an old fishing shack. It doesn't have any rooms. It doesn't have any heat. It doesn't have any insulation. It doesn't have any septic system. It doesn't have an address which exists on any map.

That's basically all of it...other than the plywood bathroom through the door on the far right. The kitchen is a sink off to the near right where you see the bar-like box which are supposed to be cabinets only they don't close correctly.

At this point we seem a bit crazy. Why would we leave our current house 2 blocks from the park, one block from the fire station, in a great neighborhood, with still decent property values? Our current house has such luxuries as a bathtub, lighting, and a stove.

Because what it does have is an incredible deck, a private dock, and is bordered on all 4 sides by federally protected land. One mile to our South is a National Scenic area. Flanked on both sides are National Forests. Directly out front is now a lake, but soon to be a wild and scenic river. They are taking down the last dam (which makes our lake) in the Fall of 2011. Salmon will spawn out our backyard.

Think Walden Pond.
(Thoreau was 480 square feet; we are whopping 496.)

It has been increasingly important for Jules and I to live deliberately. Each of our decisions is not only influencing our son, but each decision that we don't make also sends a strong message. With the purchase of this house and our move we hope to show our son that sort-of doing things doesn't work. You need to be all in. It isn't about doing alpine training once a week; it is spending a week backpacking around a mountain. It isn't about eating locally or being part of a farm share; it is about catching dinner from the backyard and walking down the street to the farm to pick it and process it yourself. It isn't about lowering your credit card; it is about being completely debt free (we are 5 years out including our mortgage). It is important not to half-ass your life. Figure out your priorities and then go at them full throttle.

Our Priorities
Knowing Your Space
We wish to live somewhere we know intimately. In the last three years we have gotten to the point I know exactly how much water it takes to run our house and how long it has to rain to get there. I know how the floor is supported, the pipes run, and the electricity flows from spending hours under the house digging out a cellar with a 5 gallon bucket. I know the line where the sun turns to shade at each time of day and throughout the seasons. But I don't know the walls. I don't know roof. I don't know the relationship of power input and output. Most importantly, I don't know the stories of my space. It is all well and good to make memories in your spaces, but we wish to know their memories as well.

This summer we are going to be rebuilding the house from the floorboards up (because you can actually see through the floor to the dirt below in a couple of places). Wall by wall we will be learning from our space. From crawling in the dirt under it, to establishing a gray water filtration system outside, we can honestly say it is our house and not just a dwelling we purchased.

Nurturing the Land
It is all well and good for us to be going as carbon neutral as possible here in our current house, but most any city has limitations on what is legal. We have yet to find any place in a U.S. city which does not outlaw off the grid living. As much as I realize the reasons, I also know we cannot turn off our water in favor of gray water systems without the fear the city will take our son away, or have more than three solar panels, or any solar panels which aren't grid tied for that matter. We actually know people who have been evicted from their personal property due to off the grid living and our city is championed for its sustainable efforts. By the sheer nature of where we will be living, there is very little choice but to be off the grid. Secondly, there isn't anyone to either report us or to report to if someone had an issue.

Getting permits for a place that is surrounded by Endangered Species land and large numbers of federal protections is something which I don't even want to attempt. After about 3 hours of phone calls, I was informed it would take a minimum of 6 months for our composting toilet application to be fully approved. That isn't any infrastructure, just a large fancy plastic box. I can't imagine what it takes to get a building permit! We basically get to work with what we have and we have to do it personally. That means the ability to expand out the established deck to create bedrooms and maximize our house at just over 800 square feet.

It also means we need to be able to run most all of our house by ourselves with full knowledge of repairs. Solar panels to need to run 95% our electric since power can go out for over a month in the winter. A cistern has to be put in for our water because the city water pipes tend freeze solid by October and don't thaw till May. Propane appliances are necessary and as a backup heating source since there are no Natural Gas lines. Lastly, any pollution we create is going to go directly into an endangered species waterway or protected wilderness areas so we need to be darn sure we are as closed a system as possible. My job as homemaker just got kicked up a notch.

Simplicity
Simplicity seems to be all the rage these days. It is quite the buzzword around our city and creates quite the bumper sticker lifestyle. Somewhere along the line, people have forgotten the actual meaning of the word. Though we aren't going as far as the Amish, we truly want our son to realize what a luxury is. Light is a luxury. Heat is a luxury. Plowed roads and paved roads are luxuries. These are not things that people really need, but just make life a whole lot nicer. If you have to think about turning on the light because you might exhaust your battery bank, you think about it differently. If you have to build the fire by 5:30 am in order for the house to warm up enough during the day, you experience warmth differently. If your dad has to cross country ski to meet up with the carpool so he can go to work, you consider transportation differently.

We wish to actually live simply. House only big enough to eat and sleep in. Fun coming from exploring the nature around us. Food you have to personally handle from alive to your plate or you don't eat.

Recreation
I had a friend from Hawaii who was baffled about how peopled talked about life here on the mainland. She explained that in Hawaii when someone asked, "What do you do?" the answer would be something like surfing, snorkeling, hiking, or the like. What do you do meant how to you choose to spend your time. People only worked to possess enough capital to continue their passions. On the mainland "What do you do?" directly refers to whatever job you hold regardless of whether you like it. Your personal identity was somehow wound up in your employer and life was spent working rather than really living anything. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to focus more on their occupation than on their passion. What is more, very few people in Hawaii turned their passion into work. The point wasn't to turn something you loved into something you had to work on. You were to love it for the sake of the love and to work on whatever you could easily put away after you had made the money. The concept that people would turn something they loved into something which became an obligation further confused her.

We wish to have our passions be the center of our lives, rather than our bills. When Jules and I look at the people we have begun gravitating to in the last few years we find a common thread: these people are all in about what they care about. They eat it, sleep it, and breathe it. Most all of them have had to take some fairly drastic measures to make their passions the center of their lives. When we honestly looked at it, the place we lived was our limiting factor. Rather than continue to be posers who merely talk about changing, we needed to do it. We also want our son to see people who live this way whether they be crag rats, river rats, artist bums, commune hippies, or what have you.

Looking Forward
A little over a year ago we revamped the look of our humble little blog to include the pages across the top and a bit more focus to my ramblings. With this move, the hope is to become even more refined as we discuss living in our natural world, pulling the "house" off the grid, and training for some extreme recreation.

Monkey Boy

2011-04-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

So what do we do without television? We teach our child to Prusik himself way up in a tree...

And then we encourage him to swing around like a monkey....

Because a tree, a harness, and knowledge of knots is a terrible thing to waste....

And we don't have a tire swing.

So how did you spend your REI refund this year?

HCRSHT: Days 6 and 7 - Eagle Creek to Eagle Creek

2011-03-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

HCRHST stands for the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. My son and I are attempting his first end-to-end which turned out to be about 90 miles. For pictures and back story check out these links: Getting Ready, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Pictures, and Progress.

This is the portion of our trip where things began to get a bit crazy. Now, you may say that not having a hotel was crazy, or that sleeping through extreme weather warnings was crazy, or even hitchhiking with your small child was crazy, but all that was sort of par for the course on a long distance trip especially through our Gorge in January.

When we hit our third extreme weather advisory in Eagle Creek it was due to flooding. The rain began to come and it just didn't stop. It transformed from rain into pouring and continued for 2 days solid. This combined with the fact it had warmed up only enough to not be snowing and the ground was melting off. We got updates from the Rangers that went something like this: "You cannot continue, all trails are closed," or "We have rerouted some of the major trails as things appear to be letting up, but it is still not safe to continue," or "Nope, you can't go on. Multnomah Falls is even closed due to snow melt combined with the flooding. " When that one was announced I knew we might actually have to end. The only other time this major tourist attraction has been closed was in the now fabled Floods of '96. During that time the Willamette River rose over 10 and a half feet. A foot of that was in under 3 days. We get serious rain here. Since we didn't have a television or the Internet to watch, I couldn't really tell just how bad it was elsewhere. So the map was pulled out and we tried to figure out a new game plan as the information streamed in.
Multiple giant Douglas Fir trees flank the original pavilion complete with stone fireplace and giant cooking pad.

Luckily, Eagle Creek is an incredible spot to be holed up. In the 1840's this is the place where intrepid Oregon Trail folks would place their wagons on rafts and float them down the Columbia hoping for the best. By the late 1800's steamers were popular here and ferried all sorts of cargo up and down the Gorge allowing commerce to the settlements. Due to such popular traffic, in 1915 The Columbia River Gorge Park was established as a unit of the Oregon National Forest system. This was the first time in our nation's history that any part of land was set aside for exclusively recreational use. The very small space (23 miles by about 5 miles wide) was set aside from timber use, resort population, and even mining.

The rock reads: "In honor of Jacob Kanzler 1879-1940 whose dedication to humanity and love of the great outdoors this 23 mile strip along the Columbia River was formally dedicated in 1915 to all people for recreational use and enjoyment.

So as the rain poured down around us, The Barracuda and I slept in the first campground to ever be established in a National Forest. In the first two years the campground was established (1915-1917) more than 150,000 people would sleep here and use the Eagle Creek Trail. This action set the precedent to be followed by the rest of the nation in the National Parks system. We read Call of the Wild, listened to the eagles scream overhead catching fish, and tried to stay as dry as possible. It seems like such a simple act, but connecting with that kind of history has been important to our family. We want our son to see that if it weren't for the early days of preservation, much of what he knows just wouldn't exist.

To be clear, the Columbia River Gorge Park was not considered a National Park. Yellowstone was the first designated National Park in 1890, but was set aside as animal and land protection. Yosemite, was deeded to the state of California in 1864 for preservation as well. The Columbia River Gorge Park was the first recreational facility on federal lands and Eagle Creek the first campground. It was not for preservation of animals or resources, but for the sheer joy of recreational pursuits and a trial for the forest service to see if people would actively use a space for camping/hiking/natural pursuits.

Confession Time

2011-03-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

I'm a control freak. While I realize the entire effort is completely pointless, because we are ultimately in control of almost nothing, I still grip the world far too tightly when it comes to matters of big change. I'm highly easy going with the little stuff, but big stuff and I just don't work out too well if you spring it on me.

Let's pick an example from quite a long list of recent events: In order to cash a savings bond I had to be placed on Jules' checking account for approximately 4 days. I had a complete panic attack in the middle of the bank. I think I scared the teller a bit. The security guard was definitely on edge as well. Later, Jules likened it to a cartoon cat who is supposed to take a bath. Yeah...that's probably accurate.

Well, another freak out moment happened yesterday. After quite a long drive and personal lecture (I moved out pretty young and had to embrace the art of the personal lecturing), I have decided to put my big girl pants on and get back into this blogging and being an adult thing. Regardless of how much of life is up in the air at the moment, I should probably hold it together a tad bit better than I have been. You know, that whole Role-Model-To-A-Child deal.

Let me state for the record (and mainly all the Family who read this), the up in the air stuff isn't really bad stuff. Here's the short list:

1 ) Finding out about the ulcer stuff isn't bad, though I am annoyed with how much of it is unknown.

2 ) The first house we were looking at fell through after 2.5 months of negotiations; it was a bummer. That isn't bad, because the one down the street we are currently negotiating on (and have been for the last month) is much, much better even if it is nail bitingly suspenseful working for approval of 3 different agencies (owner, county, and leasing agent) More will come after April 8th when we are given some kind of confirmation. Currently we are through 2 agencies and just need the third.

3 ) My work as a writer has been on hold for 6 weeks (making money tight), but that isn't bad because they are reworking the entire website and I've been given a promotion to columnist (WAHOO!).

4 ) After almost a month of planning, we are sending off our Wonderland Trail application and won't know until May. That's not really bad, since I want the mountain to be intact more than I want to traipse around it, but it sure would be nice to know earlier if the whole thing was going to happen and how many miles we have to hike a day.

So yeah, that kinda normal adult life stuff that I should probably not get all bent out of shape about. Long story short, blogging will once again be back to normal.

When Cultures Collide

2011-03-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here in our household, there is only one person who follows what would normally be called "Traditional Medicine" and that is Jules. I am slowly corrupting him over to "VooDoo Medicine" as he calls anything homeopathic. I don't even take asprin. However, in the last little bit that has had to change due to this whole ulcer thing. In the middle of the night, stabbing stomach pains which inhibit walking and breathing require an emergency room visit regardless of where you stand with Traditional Medicine. In my experience, emergency room visits generally result in X rays and medications with long fancy names, and this one was no different. I've now been on meds for about a month and it is really throwing me for a loop!

Pre ulcer diagnosis, I didn't really realize there was much going wrong in my stomach. I'd have occasional heart burn (but who doesn't when they eat triple pepperoni pizza with pineapple?) and I could easily identify the food which I ate that was probably a bad choice. It didn't really happen very often. I didn't feel all that tired. I didn't really have many foods which upset my stomach or my intestines. In short, I considered myself pretty healthy.

Now, I am on anti-inflammatory meds which turn down my stomach acid level quite considerably. I am supposed to accompany these meds with an over-the-counter antacid 30 minutes before I eat something acidic or which could produce excess stomach acid due to being hard to digest. Do you know now many foods are considered "acidic?" They include, but are not limited too: oranges, any citrus fruits or juices, tomatoes, coffee, chocolate, meats other than fish or chicken, fatty sauces or gravies, items which contain calcium (because they increase stomach acid), nuts and seeds (hard to digest), many raw vegetables, items which contain honey or sugar, and fruit juices. Well, that basically includes 90 percent of what I eat.

My non-medication centered life has been quite different for the last 25 days and I'm not liking the results. I'm exhausted. All this lowering of my stomach acids has caused significantly decreased digestion and I'm really feeling it. My anti-medication stance is being further fortified as I really dislike the borderline nausea feeling of having a constantly full stomach, but my body demanding more nutrients. Man oh man, I don't know how people can take handfuls of medication, or medications to counteract symptoms of other medications. It's kicking my butt!

I honestly recognize the need for me to be on these meds for the month that I have been. I dare say the pain in my stomach was even slightly more intense than labor with The Barracuda, and believe me, it wasn't a fun birth. With 11 pills left, I'm sticking it out because I just plain don't want to feel that bad again. However, after this first dosage is over we are switching back to the natural route for illness protection and prevention. If my current feeling is how 62% of traditional medicine followers feel, it explains a lot about depression in the United States.

It is odd to say that since taking medication to make me "better," I feel far worse. Considering most people acquire the H. pylori bacteria in their system when they are children and then carry it the rest of their lives, the issue is most likely never going to go away for me. Personally I'm taking this stint of ickiness to further fortify my desire to go back to juicing, teas/tonics, yoga, and long distance trails.

HCRHST: Day 5 - PCT to Eagle Creek

2011-02-28T00:05:00.000-08:00

HCRHST stands for the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. My son and I are attempting his first end-to-end which turned out to be about 90 miles. For pictures and back story check out these links: Getting Ready, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Pictures, and Progress.

Each morning I awoke about an hour before The Barracuda and would begin packing up. This way he could sleep as long as possible and I didn't have to think about his needs while getting everything packed. The night before we would set aside our morning Clif Bar (or Luna, or Odwalla, or Mojo bar) selection and oatmeal flavor for the next day. It was placed in my Wet Rib and meant no food had to be even thought about until backpacks were reopened to set up camp. The stove was always placed into The Barracuda's backpack along with the pot and all cooking supplies. I traded him for his clothes after the first day when it was frustrating to unpack so much just to eat. Our clothing for the next day was either slept in (when it was so cold) or placed in the bottom of the sleeping bag to heat up for morning.

When I awoke on Day 5, my mind was feeling better than the previous evening, but still reeling a bit. I'd hit the "What am I doing!?" point of being a parent. You know that feeling in the hospital when they hand you the baby to take home and all the nurses who have been taking care of things seem to feel that you are competent enough to take over? Jules likens it to when he taught his first day of classes as an actual teacher. It is that feeling of "Are you crazy!? I can't be responsible for this! Don't know know me?!" After our day coming from Wyeth my fearlessness was fading. There was a 6 year old I was in charge of who had no clue how dangerous some of yesterday was.

The greatness of sleep is that with dawn a whole new day begins again. We had no choice but to keep on walking. Today we were going to meet up with Jules and Guadie at Cascade Locks for our resupply and charging my cell phone. Due to the cold my phone would only stay charged for about a day and a half. As a result, it was off all day and only turned on at night so the alarm would wake me in the morning or for snow checks.

We got to sleep in a bit and awoke to quite a different feel in the air. You can smell the rain coming around here and it was definitely moving in. The once vibrant expanse of the Gorge, had become quite grey with all the clouds moving in.

The dingy day didn't damper our spirits too much. We had a date with Jules and Guadie in about 3.5 miles. That meant a resupply and restaurant food! Plus, even when grey, looking out at snow capped Cascades and the Columbia River is pretty incredible.

As we hiked on, the fog followed us. We were dropping in elevation down to the town of Cascade Locks and the bulk of the Cascades had been crossed. Being a major stop on the PCT, this town knows quite a lot about stinky hiker trash and welcomes them much more fondly than Hood River did for us. Though it had only been two days since I had had a shower, my clothing had been worn hard and was still unwashed. My son was not shy in letting me know that I stank. Later, Jules was just a generous with his comment, "You smell like a dirty thru hiker!" Why thank you, Honey!

We were walking briskly and covering the trail fast when a lanky gentleman in screaming blue capiliene and knickers appeared in the distance along with a very wiggly, backpack wearing dog. The dog burst into a sprint at the call of her name from The Barracuda. Guadie is already a wiggly dog, but when excited she goes completely overboard. Her hind quarters were gyrating back and forth, she was throwing herself at The Barracuda, she was licking me, her tail was whapping erratically; she was ecstatic. Not only were her people all back together, but she got to hike. Doggy life just doesn't get much better than that!

I don't think she left his side the entire time.

The rain began before we could even cover the 1.5 miles down to Cascade Locks. The drizzle slowly turned into a constant moisture, rain gear was donned and we slogged on. Once in town, we hit the nearest decent looking restaurant, plugged in my cell phone, and tried to take off any stuff which had wet-out. When the waitress came to our table and threw out the general question, "What would you like?" the Barracuda promptly blurted out his order of a dinner sized steak sandwich, french fries, cocoa, a salad with ranch, and a giant blueberry muffin. The waitress stared down at him with wide eyes, then saw our backpacks out the window and smiled. The food was brought, and the gusto with which my 45 pound child inhaled his lunch was quite impressive. He even helped finish off Jules' left over french fries.

As we ate the rain continued to fall. It wasn't going to reach more than 35 degrees, but wasn't projected to freeze either. We warmed up in the restaurant while we could, but knew a very damp day lay ahead. When leaving town, a horn honked and the nice gentlemen who had helped us the day before waved out the window of his truck. He said he was glad to see we made it, told Jules he had a pretty incredible son, and wished us luck. Throughout the trip, we would encounter wonderful people with kind hearts willing to help strangers. It is a very pleasant reminder of the world's goodness which is so often forgotten.

On the way from Cascade Locks to Eagle Creek, The Barracuda played trail games with his father, skipped along with a very full belly, and generally was happy as all get out. Jules coming meant that we could all sleep together, he got to be with his dog, he could relay all the previous hiking adventures to his dad, and (most importantly) there would be an iPod to listen to and sing along with. I was happy for a fresh supply of energy bars and some adult conversation, but let him have all of Jules' attention.

I preferred to marvel at the sheer amount of green which had begun to appear. Even as the clouds covered the entire sky and rain was coming down forcefully now, the entire expanse in front of us was carpeted in green. It covered the trees. It swelled over the ground in a dozen different shades, taking over even the rocks. With the falling rain, the color seemed even more vibrant against the downed red cedar trees and fallen leaves. It was a whole new other-worldly quality now that we were crossing out of the mountains and back into the rainy side of the Gorge.

The summers are nothing like this. Evergreens still stand and ferns poke out from anywhere possible, but the technicolor appearance fades without any rain.

As the rains continued, the cold began to seep in. It became very apparent that Eagle Creek was going to be a place to hole up and attempt to stay dry. Unlike other places in the nation where rain tends to come down in furious torrents and then move on quickly, here it lingers. The entire experience is much less aggressive. The rain creeps in, steadily falls for days, and then will ease away. Unfortunately, the temperature often hovers and the wind whips through causing disgusting hiking conditions. You can literally feel it as the city begins to hunker down and wait out the water.

Cascade Locks is the place where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses from Oregon to Washington. If you are a north-bounder, you are basically home free if you can beat out the snow. They close down the 2 lane bridge (The Bridge of the Gods) to all traffic and allow PCT hikers to cross in groups during the busy season. It is a nod to the work and effort of those who are fronting only the essentials and have traveled over 2,000 miles on foot. Looking back at The Bridge of the Gods, I realized we had now made it past the bulk of the Cascade Mountains from highly unknown terrain to places I have hiked since I was a child.

There is a level of satisfaction when you realize you've surprised yourself. My son and I had covered over 53 miles by ourselves, walked into unknown and now stood on familiar soil. It wasn't until now that I realized we'd really accomplished something.

February Wasn't Fun

2011-02-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

I apologize for being out most of February. Sick has blown through our house infesting everyone from the pet, to the laptop, to the people. After a rather eventful late night emergency room visit, I have also been informed: 1) I am not pregnant WAHOO! 2) I do not have appendicitis, gall stones, liver failure, kidney disease, or a bladder infection 3) my medical insurance is RAD and 4) I have a medium to large sized ulcer. Yay! At the point they were giving me this information I couldn't have cared less, because I was so drugged up I couldn't keep the world from spinning. (Apparently when anyone asked me a question, I would respond "I'm really high right now.") On the plus side, I was no longer doubled over in crippling pain. All in all, a good trade off. Jules took a very flattering picture on his phone, but I will spare you from all the gorgeous details of the 2:30 am extravaganza.

At least I now know why my stomach is so touchy. Jules and I both believe I have had the ulcer for quite some time and just didn't realize. With how healthy our diet is, we figure it never really had a chance to "flare up." The end of January and February have been rather stressful, however, and I have never dealt with stress well.

So I'm now on meds and have been instructed to actively manage my stress. Hopefully March will be a bit more normal. The rest of our hike will be posted in the next day or so.

Scarecrow Alert

2011-02-04T22:15:00.001-08:00

My son has just informed me there are soul sucking, crazed, teleporting scarecrows coming in from Idaho. I clarified that perhaps they would be coming from Iowa instead because that is where all the corn is. Nope, The Barracuda was very sure. Idaho. Mr. H, he wanted you to be aware of this and asked that if you did perhaps see any frightening scarecrows coming to life and beginning the process of teleportation, could you please send them to the East Coast. Apparently, you have some control over these things. Just in case, he is sleeping with his pocket knife and the dog.

Where does he get this stuff?

HCRHST: Day 4 - Wyeth to the PCT

2011-02-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

HCRHST stands for the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. My son and I are attempting his first end-to-end which turned out to be about 90 miles. For pictures and back story check out these links: Getting Ready, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Pictures, and Progress.

The day away from Wyeth began quite well. We were up before the sun, had camp taken down before dawn and the snow had all but melted. Things were looking great other than a few rather water logged pools inside the tent which we hadn't seen before. I attributed this to the entire night of rain and large amounts of snow melt, but kept an eye on it. After another couple nights I began to watch where the water was coming in and it appears the undercoating on our tent has finally decided to bite the dust. After this trip, it is now relegated to backyard usage.

The majority of the morning from Wyeth was on flat-ish terrain and with no rainy weather, so we were pounding miles fast. We were paralleling the Columbia with relatively no elevation change in weather that was down right balmy feeling in the high forties. The pine trees had left us and we could actually see evergreens.

Wind mountain across the Columbia River. The foothills of the Cascades are outcroppings of small rounded mountains. Rather than a gradual ascent, they are more like small training runs before actually getting to the big stuff.

The ascent started to hit, and with it the scree slopes began to become the norm. Most of the snow had melted off by this point, but that only meant large quantities of water blowing out footbridges. The Barracuda hadn't had much experience with river crossings before this and quickly began to learn how to be confident, but swift of foot with the current.

The Barracuda's first river crossing. The bridge was completely blown and all we could see of it were a few 2x4's sticking up out of the water. He did well, and only fell into the water once the entire trip.
Due to the anabatic and katabatic winds of the Gorge, around early to mid morning you begin to walk through significant cloudline a bit lower than one would expect. The eerie cold air and decreased visibility bother some as they are not used to the fog sweeping in so quickly. The Barracuda and I personally find them quite enchanting and he commented that they reminded him of something out of The Chronicals of Narnia. I personally find them of the feel more like Tolkien's books, but either way, they give quite a mystical edge to any hike.

The Barracuda really liked watching the ecosystems change, first from the dry arid climate of the rainshadow to the damp evergreens, and then as we climbed to the barren scree slopes and towering basalt monoliths.

As we climbed, the spotty patches of snow became much more frequent and I took over the lead. The rocks seems to be mainly clear, but the trail was a great bench to collect any snow which had fallen from the above slopes. Crampons weren't needed (yet), but several times we were cautious and I was kicking steps. About three slopes in, the trail became completely obscured with icy snow and any steps which were kicked were significantly shallower than before. I ventured across, instructing The Barracuda to smash his heels down as hard as possible before planting his toes. Almost the entire way across I hear a scream from behind me and realize he has slipped. Up until this point, I hadn't properly known parental panic.

I quickly leaped out of the snow, ditched my pack and turned only to find him breathing heavily with a stick plunged into the ground. He had self arrested with the stick he was carrying and saved himself from a very disastrous and nasty slope. Sometimes all I can do is stare in awe of my child. He continues to be cooler than I have ever been. He had correctly flipped, rolled and plunged the stick he was carrying into the snow and then clung to it successfully all in a matter of seconds. We had discussed self arresting at home, as well as had him handle his father's ice axe, but we have never actually practiced figuring he was too young.

His face accurately illustrates the level of panic both of us were feeling. This was quickly shifted to excitement at his ability to keep his head and self arrest successfully. The picture was taken as he was calming down so I could come back out and drag him by his pack to safety.
After this eventful happening, it was all pretty smooth sailing. We covered ground quickly, but carefully and after a series of rise, fall and plateaus we found ourselves above cloudline and walking ridges before heading back down to sea level.

This hike showed me just how much I love The Gorge and the Cascades in the winter. My hiking experience was very limited this time of year as much of the hiking is rather unpredictable. However, it is far more beautiful.

Once the trail went back down, miles began flying even faster. We were getting hungry and had put in a good 7 miles on only our Luna bar breakfast. We couldn't stop yet, though. Not only was the trail not level enough to cook, but we had preset a trail intersection to be our break point and we weren't there yet. Occasionally when hiking we will take 2 or 3 minute breaks to have a drink and rest packs for a bit, but the only actual stopping place we have during our day is lunch. We eat for somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes and then hit the trail again until camp and dinner. Until we hit our stopping point we don't break, period.

The Barracuda is very keen on the fact that he doesn't get to whine and he doesn't get to stop. He has flat out been told he can, but that we are not going to. If he wants to stop, okay, but then he has to hike double fast to move the miles he has lost. This is not as preferable as keeping up. He has also found incredibly great ways to navigate distance through this. As we were descending, he realized he could see the exit signs on the Interstate if he used his monocule and this would give him an exact location that we were in. From that, he could see how much farther we had to go. Food is my son's best motivator.

Sometimes this investigating took him a bit off trail and up a rise or two, but he considered it worth it.

The map we had was chosen for a couple of reasons: 1) it was waterproof and a weird form of synthetic rip resistant plastic, 2) it seemed to contain a lot of good information quite well, and 3)it most importantly had both sides of the Cascades and covered the entire distance. I, for some reason, did not think about the fact that if it covered a long distance it wouldn't be as accurate in the specifics. At our trail intersection, there were supposed to be 5 trails which came together, and then a short jaunt till we hit our alternate connecting trail to the PCT. That didn't exactly happen. We ate and tried to orient ourselves. That should read, I tried to orient myself and failed a bit miserably. My visual spacial skills leave quite a bit to be desired. A trail was picked, and we headed off.

The connecting trail was supposed to be less than a mile by the look of things, but the map had been off by as much as a mile and a half in the past. We kept walking, kept talking, kept seeing great things.
This unnamed waterfall just plunged off the trail. It wasn't on the map, it just was there and HUGE. Water was filtered and The Barracuda threw in a few rocks.

The trail seemed to be taking forever and it was getting to be around 3 o'clock. We had maybe an hour or so of decent daylight left. Where was this stinking connector trail, or any trail. Then came the sign. Mark O Hatfield Wilderness, it read. Then came the cussing. Lots and lots of cussing. We had hiked a good 2 miles the wrong way. With darkness approaching we began to run back. I took The Barracuda's pack because he was having trouble and we raced to get back to the intersection. Once arrived, he took over the navigating. Unfortunately, the map was just plain unclear. We knew the trail we had come from, the wrong turn we had taken, but no other trail seemed to make sense. Time was clicking down.

We chose another likely candidate and headed off. No dice, the road split twice with no signs telling you what was going on. We turned back and tried another. Still not right. This one headed up hill and the topo specifically told us we needed to be loosing elevation. Back again. At this point I began to get a bit freaked out. We were lost.

There was more cussing. I cussed the map, and the trail. I cussed the time of year, and the sun, and the darkness, and my complete lack of ability to fix the situation. Then I became worried that dark was approaching and we couldn't locate where to go.

Trail magic is a funny thing. It speaks to the occurrence of extreme happenstance exactly when you need it. As trail magic would have it, two older gentlemen came up a bizarre side trail walking their dogs. Who walks their dogs in the middle of a National Forest off some weird side trail in the late afternoon as things are getting dark?!? They were locals and had never heard of the trail we were trying to find, but knew of the footbridge and how to get to the PCT. When they started to give me directions and I looked at them in complete bewilderment (I was so turned around at that point) they decided to take us their themselves. We went back down one of the places we came to previously, across a small unmarked jaunt, up three switchbacks and connected us to the sign pointing 1 mile to the PCT. The trail on my map was 405 E, the actual trail is 406 E. I honestly would never have found this connection in a million years, with all the daylight in the world. At this point I thanked Buddha, and Christ, and God, and Allah, and the Universe, any other deity which might exist somewhere that I had forgotten.

With darkness falling fast, we began walking double time. One mile seemed endless. The Barracuda was getting worried, I was getting a bit frantic. There was no where to put a tent if we wanted to. There was no way we could stop. Finally, it ended and we both squealed with delight. Headlamps were dawned and the tent was staked in the middle of the trail. At that point, anyone who was walking the PCT in January was just going to have to deal with it. We ate tortillas and cheese for dinner, read Call of the Wild and were so unbelievably thankful we didn't care that we were sleeping on rocks.

I have never been so thankful to see a sign in my entire life! The Barracuda put it best when he said, "I'm so thankful we have a place to sleep."

HCRHST: Day 3 - Hood River to Wyeth

2011-02-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

Day 3 in Hood River was our zero day. We didn't cover any miles, lazed around the hotel until 10:30 am and then headed to the library to spend some time out of the frigid air. Things were supposedly melting off, but someone forgot to tell that to Hood River. We were still on the west side of the Cascades and it just plain doesn't get warm there in January. However, the library was closed, permanently. Due to complete loss of funding, the building was no longer occupied and didn't look to reopen for at least another year while private funds were being located. I was shocked. It was quite the wake up call of what a bad economy can mean for a small community. There was quite a nice list of places in town one could make copies, use the Internet, and generally enjoy some time indoors. We picked a close coffee shop and went down there instead.

I'd like to throw a giant shout out to Dog River Coffee Company of Hood River. These guys have become a pillar of the community. They provide Internet access along with a computer to use, serve up tasty food, and now have a book swap since the library closed. What is more, after entering we saw the nice young teacher who gave us a ride. Dog River now allows her to tutor expelled students (who used to use the library) to get their GED's or get into the local community college. She was working with three or four kids when we came in. We said hi, warmed up, and used the Internet to check in. After a quick glance at the map and a discussion of where we were headed over the next couple days, it was off to some hot destinations. The toy store was first on The Barracuda's list. Next came the Taco del Mar. Finally it was off to the kid's playground.
Leave it to my kid to be completely undaunted by almost not having somewhere to stay the night before, a playground completely covered in snow, and freezing temperatures for the last 3 days.

As I watched my son play with complete carefree abandon, it became apparent I'd never fully actualized a zero day before. My previously, zero days had been spent sleeping in, resupplying, gorging myself on food, letting gear dry out and muscles relax. They were never spent playing, or wandering the town, or looking in bookstores. They were spent in sheer physical gluttony. The Barracuda spent his zero day enjoying everything he found wonderful - toys, coffee shop smoothies, snow, tacos, and the playground. He was completely unaffected by what had passed in the days before, the weight of his pack, the miles we had walked and the many ahead of us. When I got over marveling at his Zen level, I momentarily became disgusted by it, and then joined in and helped him build a snow castle/fort which we destroyed like Godzilla after it had been erected.

We headed back down to the coffee shop since we were completely frozen and I needed to more thoroughly plan our next couple days. We were almost out of the snow and entering warmer weather. Crossing the Cascades was two days ahead of us and we were going to begin our climb slowly over the next little bit. I knew that Rowena Crest, Mt. Defiance, and Starvation Creek lay before us and those were going to be some considerable obstacles for someone under 4 feet tall. However, when we got back to Dog River Coffee Company, we were informed there was no way we were going to be able to continue. Rowena Crest had been completely taken out by a large boulder and the road didn't exist unless we had technical climbing gear, Mt. Defiance had a major mudslide and had been closed, and Starvation Creek was flooded and washed out. Well....okay then.

A quick call to Jules, our Trail Angel. He would come up after work to bring us waterproof clothing and jump us to Wyeth (only 4 miles away). So we sat down, read Call of the Wild and The Barracuda enjoyed some toys they had. I was a bit discouraged at how choppy and crazed this trip was becoming. Nothing seemed to be going right. The Barracuda was quick to remind me that it was probably just as weird for Lewis and Clark since they didn't know where they were going to be either. They couldn't predict the weather. They had tons of stuff go wrong. They were at the mercy of circumstance as well. "But they made it," he assured me.

Dang Zen...It Gets Me Every Time

HCRHST: Day 2 - Memaloose to Mosier to Hood River

2011-01-28T21:10:00.000-08:00

HCRHST stands for the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. My son and I are attempting his first end-to-end which turned out to be about 90 miles. For pictures and back story check out these other pages: Getting Ready, Day 1, Pictures, Progress.

When we awoke it was still dark and there were 8-10 inches of snow on the ground covered with an inch of ice from the freezing rain, but we made it! Camp was broken down as it was beginning to become light and we checked in with the larger Ranger. He didn't think we should continue. Jules didn't think we should continue. My father knew better than to tell me not to continue. Undaunted we headed up to Memaloose for a look at the view we missed yesterday.

Memaloose means "of the dead" in Chinook (a local tribe). Islands such as the one in this picture were the burial place for their people and were frequent in the Columbia before all the dams flooded them. The dead were wrapped and floated out on canoes to the islands as a final send off back to the water the Chinook relied on so heavily.
Memaloose is a famous place on the Oregon Trail as well as heavily mentioned by Lewis and Clark. The Barracuda greatly enjoyed using his monocular to look around at the eagles nesting, the tombs on the islands, and anything else he could possibly spy. He was quite excited to be standing in a place we had read about in Lewis and Clark's Journals and actually able to see one of the islands they found so disturbing. (I'd be disturbed too if I kept passing by islands with multiple dead corpses rotting on them for seemingly no reason).

This Brunton monocular was gifted to The Barracuda by our friends. It is RAD! I would whole-heartedly recommend it for anyone with adventurous kids. The Barracuda carried it the entire time and it came in quite handy. Thanks Laura and Jasper!

Our trip to Mosier was going to mean 3.5 miles backtracking and then another 10 for the day till we could get somewhere possible to camp. I honestly didn't know if The Barracuda could do it. The extreme weather advisory was still in effect and wasn't supposed to lift until the following day. Our packs were still heavy as very little food had been eaten and our journey would be uphill.

Thankfully, the crazy weather meant that Jules (and every other school district in The Gorge) had the day off. He threw chains in the truck, drove up to see us, and jumped us the 6 highway miles to Mosier. This was an incredible relief. We got coffee and ate at the only cafe left in Mosier and then headed out to Hood River. Whew! Crisis averted!

As Jules dropped us off at the trailhead from Mosier to Hood River, we ran into Matt Dewey again. He said hello, asked if we were going to continue, and gave us the weather report (freezing rain all day). I told him we were going to try and he shook his head. He'd opened the tunnels for us and given us a nice track to walk in so we weren't trudging through fresh snow.

Icicles the size of the Barracuda hang down menacingly from the ceiling of the tunnels as water drips through the mountain and freezes. These were a very exciting stop!

The Mosier tunnels are a five mile section of the old highway which was considered a major feat of construction back in 1915. Personally, I still think it is a major feat of construction. The tunnels were blasted straight through the mountain and the bridges were constructed contouring out over the basalt cliffs to give incredible views of the Gorge.

Looking back over our progress was a helpful venture for The Barracuda. He could physically see the Memaloose Islands we had been standing at earlier in the day. He also got a wonderful birds eye view of the Gorge which was quite impressive.

Along with the majestic tunnels were sets upon sets of tracks perfectly preserved in the snow by the freezing rain. Since the roadway is not able to support semi trucks or nearly the traffic of today's interstate, it is now only a walking, biking, and cross country skiing trail. With no cars allowed on the road, many animals use the pathway regularly without fear. Rabbit tracks, coyote tracks, elk tracks, small rodent tracks, bobcat tracks, deer tracks and more we couldn't identify were spotted all spotted. Pictures were taken for The Barracuda's nature journal and many were followed off into the side brush of the trail only to disappear.

Spirits were high as we trudged closer to Hood River. We weren't making amazing time due to the snow and the continuous freezing rain, but mostly due to all the great sights.

By the time we were 3/4s of the way to Hood River, the trials of the night before had been forgotten. The day had been a fun one and the weather was warming enough to not need balaclavas covering our faces as we hiked.

As we neared the end of the trail, it became apparent that my fabulous National Geographic, plastic, rip proof, water proof, swanky, GPS gridded map might not be the greatest judge of distance. It kept seeming like we should be at the end. Thankfully we ran into an at-risk high school science teacher and her dog, Mole the chocolate lab. She was cross country skiing the opposite direction and informed us there was only a mile left. As timing would have it, by the time we had covered that mile, she was returning and offered us a ride into Hood River. We gladly excepted.

She gave us the low down on Hood River, places to stay, the best coffee shops, what her students were doing. We told her about our trip, gave Mole treats, and thanked her readily for her kindness. She dropped us off at the Best Western and went along her way.

The weather had everyone holing up on the highway. Hotels were booked and not too happy to see people on foot with large backpacks and unclean clothes. They refused to take my cash without a credit card, wouldn't except Jules' because it wasn't in my name, and generally were kinda snotty. When another woman heard our trouble, asked if we were on foot and offered us a ride to another hotel in town in exchange for a road report. She was worried about the road, we were worried about a hotel, it worked out well.

The Hood River Inn was our next stop. It was the only place in town with a vacancy. I asked about their cheapest room and if they would take cash. The response was similar to the Best Western - they wouldn't take the card, they wouldn't take the cash, they only had a $150 suite left. It looked a bit hopeless. From the lobby we pulled out the map and scoured it for any campsites possible. Not a one. The closest was a state park down Interstate 84 about 5 miles with no way to walk other than on the shoulder. At this point it was 3:30pm and things were looking to get dark soon. I asked The Barracuda if he wanted to just call it quits. He was adamant he wanted to finish. So we loaded up our packs once again to head for the coffee shop to pay someone 20 dollars to take up down the highway to Viento State Park.

As luck would have it, the general manager (a very nice older woman) came through just then. She looked down at The Barracuda over her glasses with a smile and said, "My, that looks like a very heavy pack for someone your age. It's almost as big as you!"

Now is a good time to admit that my son has the charisma of a cult leader. People adore him and he can talk them into quite a bit when he wants to. He flashes his eyes, throws around a chuckle and a smile, it is obnoxious and borderline sociopathic. We are trying to teach him to use this power for good, rather than evil.

The Barracuda saw his moment of opportunity. He recognized her weakness. She didn't have much of a chance. I stood back to watch the show.

He dropped his little face, quivered his lip slightly, and gave her big puppy-dog eyes. "It is heavy," he said, "I don't understand why we can't stay here. We have money, but they said you wouldn't take it. Why can't we sleep just one night? We won't hurt anything." It was a masterful performance. The lady looked distraught. She gladly accepted Jules' credit card to cover the deposit stating "We probably won't even need it." The room's cost was dropped to "government rate" of only 75 dollars. We were given a large room with two beds and plenty of space to let gear dry out. I thanked them at least a dozen times, quickly signed the paperwork before anyone could change their minds and handed over most of our trip money.

Gear was strewn about the room to dry, the heater cranked up full throttle and The Barracuda promptly stripped down to watch cartoons for hours. Before bed we hit up the hot tub to rest sore muscles. It was awesome!

With another day down and a total 34.5 miles behind us, we slept well.

HCRHST - Days 1: The Dalles to Memaloose

2011-01-27T16:43:00.001-08:00

HCRHST stands for the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. The entire trail is not completed for bicyclists, nor does it run singularly as itself right now. You connect with multiple Forest Service trails in existence. By 2016 it is going to be opened as a contiguous paved bicycle path which runs from Portland to the Dallas.

Our hike began in the Dallas with looming bad weather on the horizon. The winter had thus far been so mild it didn't really bother me. The Columbia River Gorge is notorious for bizarre weather patterns and academic people flock to local universities from around the world to study it. Apparently a bunch of geological stuff all comes together in one place to effect the weather and that doesn't happen very often. Growing up here, it all seems normal. It's just The Gorge.

So we left from the Dallas, in the rainshadow of the Cascades. It was cold, but it is always cold there in January. The air was still dry then, as the day wore on it you began to smell the snow coming.
This was really hard for Jules. He has never left us out into the wilds before. His worry level was quite high, even with me armed with my cell phone. He was able to go home and commiserate with my father.
About 20 minutes in, The Barracuda announced "You're right, Mom, this is a lot of fun!" The Barracuda's experience road walking is quite slim since we normally keep to trails. Road walking has a significantly different feel, but he was quite thrilled with the Ponderosa pines, the cascades of frozen icicles along the road sides, the views of the Columbia we looked out upon.

The kid did the entire time we were out in a pair of Sorel puddle stompers we picked up from Goodwill. He's a beast!

The snow was not expected till somewhere around 5:30 that night and by 7 pm an extreme weather advisory was to come in effect. We had no way of knowing that as we walked, the weather was coming closer and the advisory being bumped up hour by hour.

A very nice woman stopped us along the road, concerned. She asked if we wanted a ride to which we responded no. So she handed over an old Stanley thermos of cocoa to The Barracuda. I explained that we would need to give it back to her since we were on foot and couldn't carry the poundage. She again looked concerned (we got this a lot by the end). We arranged to meet up with her before we crossed over the freeway to our campground to give her back the thermos. Apparently she was a photographer who was taking pictures of the ducks and would be down there anyway.

Hot chocolate raised the cold spirits of The Barracuda. Road walking isn't much fun and often begins to hurt the ankles at about 5 miles.

When we handed the thermos back over and began to walk toward the underpass, the woman became increasingly concerned and actually got out of her car to stop us. Apparently she thought I was going to try and cross the existing highway (an Interstate, with semi's) with my 6 year old while carrying heavy packs. Someone had tried to cross the highway on foot about a month before and it hadn't ended well. She insisted we let her drive us across. The Barracuda was tired, so we agreed. It wasn't until then that I heard the weather advisories on the radio. Snow was projected to hit any minute. It was only around 1:15. The day was hardly over for us.

The nice lady then proceeded to drive us over two miles further down the road to a campsite that she felt was better. It was well intentioned, but our quick jaunt of less than 1 mile across a highway had now become about 3.5 miles tacked onto tomorrow just to get us back on track.

There was no time to think about it, however, because as we were unloading our packs from her car the snow began to fall. It was about 1:30pm and we had to get a tent up fast. We followed the signs to the designated camping area, only to then see that it was closed for the season. If we wanted to legally camp we would have to hike the 3.5 miles back along the railroad tracks. There was just no way. The tent was pitched, The Barracuda went off to play, and I hiked back up to the rest area to fill the water bladder with scalding hot water from the rest rooms.

On the way back down to the campsite I was stopped by the Park Rangers. Matt Dewey was a nice young man, who we would see regularly over the next few days. Jules later became convinced he was in love with me, but Jules regularly becomes convinced of that with many people. Matt informed me the park was closed and we couldn't camp. He also wanted to know what I was doing camping with my son, in the Gorge, in the middle of January.

I explained we were homeschoolers, studying Lewis and Clark, this was close to the time of year they went through (they did it in November), we were heading to Troutdale on foot, a nice woman dropped us off here by mistake, we needed to get out of the weather. His look of "should I call the authorities on this person" quickly shifted to "WHAT?!" About that time another, larger Ranger began walking up the road with a concerned Barracuda.

Now is a good time to admit that I don't trust people, any people. For a long time after living with even Jules I had secret money set aside in case we needed to leave. There is no logical reason why I shouldn't trust any people, I just don't. Thankfully, Jules doesn't trust people either so he understands and it works.

At the sight of the Ranger with my son, my hand quickly went to my Spyderco and my face went dead. I took two steps back from the truck Matt was in, called The Barracuda over behind me and just stared at the two of them. Matt noticed my change and began back-pedalling fast. He called his supervisor to see if we would be allowed to camp that night and the other Ranger talked to us. He asked The Barracuda how old he was, commented on our gear, and asked how the trip was going. Our information was taken down and then made sure we had someone who could come get us if everything went wrong. They were both leery to leave, but we were granted until 9 am the next morning, and told they were going to come check on us to be sure we were out.

We ate at about 3:30, crawled into our sleeping bags and read Call of the Wild till around 5, and hugged the still warm dromedary. We were asleep by 6, but it didn't last long. Every 2 hours I awoke to knock the snow off the tent and keep it from collapsing. At the 9:30 I woke up to a whimpering Barracuda. His face was freezing, he couldn't sleep, and was having trouble staying warm. He crawled into my sleeping bag for us to share the rest of the night and the snow checks were bumped up to every hour and fifteen minutes. The freezing rain began around 3 am so I could sleep longer.
We only emerged from the tent to use the bathroom and all we could see was cold.
And so went our first night. I later found out the temperatures dropped somewhere between 8 and 11 degrees. With the crazy windchill it was definitely much, much lower. The campsite we were supposed to camp in (the one that was open) is an exposed site on right on the Columbia River. I don't know if our tent would have withstood the winds or if we would have been able to handle the cold had we not been taken to the wrong place.

Dehydrating Flavors for Oatmeal

2011-01-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

I am a creature of habit. I like to do the same things in the same order over and over. I even like to eat the same things, in the same way, over and over. The Barracuda has a bit of this. When he likes something, he likes it and that just doesn't change. When something works for him, it works and that doesn't change either. As far as we are concerned, there is no reason for experimentation once you have found what works. Not so much Jules. Jules gets bored. Jules likes variety. So in order to make everyone happy, we go with the tried and true and then try to jazz it up a bit.
Enter the oatmeal.
Oatmeal is a great one for backpacking. It is light, rehydrates and heats in almost no time with very little water, and it is highly filling.

You can buy flavored oatmeal in a dozen or more flavors now, all prepackaged and such. The only problem is that it rarely only contains oatmeal, the packages are very messy when opened, and they are really darn expensive. You then stuck with a bajillion little wrappers to carry around with oatmeal powder gunk on them which inevitably gets wet and then you have oatmeal goo on everything. It's gross. I don't like it. So, much like everything else, we just make our own.

As a general rule of thumb, I packaged 1 cup of oatmeal and 1/4 cup of flavoring per person. This many seem like a lot, and initially it is. However, there is a turning point in any hike when you realize you are not able to consume enough calories. You become constantly hungry in the back of your mind. Even when your stomach is distended and you can't eat any more, you're still kinda hungry. At that point, 1 cup is about right. It fills you up, but doesn't slog you down.

The entire package gets opened and dumped into boiling water. I never measure how much water, I just add until the consistency is about correct. Everything rehydrates in less than 5 minutes. This is usually our lunch so that we can pound between 4 and 6 miles before eating at a nice stopping place. It is filling enough we can then pound another 6 before stopping to do dinner and bed.

The flavorings are simple enough: cranberry, blueberry, blackberry, and apple cinnamon. The cranberry and blueberry are just dried berries from the summer with a sprinkling of brown sugar added. By using jam and cinnamon applesauce we can also stretch oatmeal flavors with products on hand which have been presweetened, but don't contain high fructose corn syrup.

Dehydrating jam and applesauce are a bit of a pain. Luckily you don't need very much. Pour the contents out onto the fruit leather tray of your dehydrator. I tried waxed paper here and it was a complete fail. The plastic fruit leather thing is the way to go.

The Barracuda wants to try strawberry, but I personally think that sounds nasty. I'll probably cave and we can give that one a go, too.
Dehydrate at 145 degrees for a good 14 hours or more. You want them to look like fruit leather and then dehydrate another 8 hours so they are incredibly brittle.

At this point I peeled the blackberries off, ground them up and then dehydrated them again for another 8 hours. They just wouldn't stop being incredibly tacky feeling.

Once they dry out to the point they are stiff or crumbling (or you are just so sick of them you never want to deal with them again), you can package them safely without worry of mold. You want to pulverize the fruit into either small chunks or fine powder in a food processor. If the fruit is in larger pieces it will not rehydrate as fast as the oatmeal and you will either be left with extremely stretchy oatmeal or crunchy fruit. I often will throw in bits of dried apple rings with the apple cinnamon oatmeal as well to give it some added texture.

For the adventurous, you can mix and match your flavors however you would like. Any more than 1/4 cup of any flavoring to 1 cup of oatmeal is a bit overpowering, however.

These are all packaged in mylar and labeled. The mylar can be reused indefinitely and is water tight so you can rehydrate while moving if necessary. This works well when you are freezing. You cut the package open, boil the water and then let it cool till scalding. Add the water to the package and reseal with duct tape. Place the package inside your shirt and walking will gently stir and rehydrate while keeping you warm. Any left overs can also be safely stored in the mylar, duct taped shut, and eaten later in the day. We bring the mylar home, wash and reuse. Since it statics shut, the food residue powder doesn't really come out.

We do not oxygen absorb our backpacking food. For one, it is more weight and two it is really expensive. If we were planning on packaging for months in advance we probably would just to ensure freshness.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2011-01-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

The Bad
Yesterday we had to put the cat down. Princess Bell Bell had a traumatic life before Jules rescued her from a shelter in Georgia. She traveled with him across the country and was very much his girl. However, she has had skin issues for years and neurotically licked herself. About a year ago she was pulled off all grains thinking it was an allergy and that seemed to help. Then had a complete freak out resulting in steroids to get her to stop attacking her skin. After that, she never seemed to quite heal.

The Ugly
She developed mites. They went undetected by the vet for quite some time and eventually I turned to the Internet to try and figure out what she had. At a certain point, they can't be cured and the pet has to be put down. Mites are one thing that I never want to learn more about. Apparently (and disgustingly!) they are constantly on our pets and even us with no one really knowing much about it. It is only when the immune system gets suppressed or when the populations get extremely high that there are nasty break outs. Once there is a break out, it is extremely contagious. Eeew!

The cat gave them to the dog. Only in a small place and it can be treated since we caught it right away. However, it means the entire house has to be washed, disinfected, completely scrubbed.

The Good

Last night and early this morning, things weren't looking good for the dog. I had applied tea tree oil to the patch of skin on her back which was infested. She was bathed and then Neem oil applied. We have given her tea tree before and had no issues, but late last night she began slight muscle tremors and then couldn't walk. She was lethargic, though alert and seemed to be fine other than her back legs. Apparently, she got mild tea tree poisoning. Thankfully she is now up, eating, and has even gone for a walk. She is actively trying to kill the squirrels in the front yard, though still being tender with her left foot. Guadie seems to be 85% better and on the mend.

THANK GOD!

Building an Outdoor First Aid Kit

2011-01-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

Jules and I have always had the decided consensus that we will not breed fear into our child. He can go play where we can't see him, within reason. He can climb large objects, with a bit of climbing knowledge. He can stay home by himself if we are only gone for a bit, as long as he has a cell phone and doesn't open the door. He can play near the water without a life jacket, as long as he can tread water. He personally owns his own axe, BB gun, tent, and Spyderco all of which he can use himself quite proficiently.

He is going to scrape himself up, has cut his body a few times, has been pulled out of a pool by an adult with all their clothes on, and has already achieved a handful of concussions. But he also has a really great sense of his own limitations and the confidence to try things which most kids would be concerned over. One of the better developments is his caution about panicking when he realizes something isn't working out well; he merely asks for help and begins talking himself down. This has meant a few bizarre situations: Getting wedged 3+ feet off the ground between the our fence and the neighbor's fence, jumping on a bed till dizzy enough to gash his head open, getting his pants caught at roof level on the wrought iron fretwork out front, slapping himself in face with a spatula so hard there was a major mark for days, hanging from a tree feet from the ground by only his shirt, running full force into a cabinet door hard enough to slice his head open. He is definitely my son. I was an emergency room kid.

Luckily, we have only had to go to the emergency room once and it was an incredibly extreme situation with a very, very young Barracuda. When your child cries blood, you go to get pediatric facial stitches!

Our ability to hand most medical situations is due to a very hardcore first aid kit at the house and an all purpose outdoor first aide kit whenever we venture into the forest. We use the same outdoor first aid kit whether we are going to cut firewood or just day hiking. With the track record of our son, it seems highly irresponsible to do any less.

Regular first aide kits seem to lack items for serious bleeding, stitches, burns, infections, and adequate medication. They are all just far too generic. They have to be. How can the designers of the kit have any idea about your personal needs? Jules calls them "Boo-Boo kits," because all they really fix are the small "boo boos." So, we built our own designed to our specific needs.

Jules is in charge of this area of our lives. I take care of outdoor food; he takes care of outdoor safety. If you are interested in building a first aid kit for a specific personal situation, check out Nut 'n' Fancy's YouTube feed (search Level 1 first aid kit, and if you're really digging it his entire Level 2 series). Be warned, this dude is HARDCORE and really, really knows his stuff. He will tell you more than you ever wanted to know, but should know if you are compiling something which could save your life.

Click on Image to Enlarge
After 3 different colors, green seemed to show the best. This is designated as a Level 1 kit. We have one outdoor kit, one in each of our cars, and a level 2 kit at the house.

Our first aid kit is laid out in a triage fashion. Items are bagged by the escalation of the injury. Each of these lists is in its own bag. In this way, you don't have to go crazy, dump everything out, and then try and figure out a way to put it all back.

The bags are resealable clear mylar. They are military grade communications pouches which are waterproof and exceptionally durable. You can purchase them on Ebay. The smaller inner bags are just little dime baggies.

Minor Issues
Medication:

10 dosages of Advil - Jules thinks Advil cures everything. It does work to kill swelling and any kind of pain.

8 dosages 800 milligram Tylenol - These are the serious pain meds that don't actively conflict with much other meds if they are necessary.

8 doses Midol - This is the best over counter muscle relaxant there is. My athletic trainers used to hand it out without telling the guys what it was. It's mild enough to not cause you to sleep, but eases muscle cramping.

6 doses Imodium - Dude, food poisoning sucks when you really need to walk a good 10 miles.

6 doses Sudafed - Sudafed kicks the snot out of cold symptoms.

6 doses Mucinex - Mucinex is amazing at clearing up your head and lungs from crud.

4 doses Clariton - There have been two or three times that unexpected allergies have knocked Jules and I down. These will take the edge off enough that you can hopefully get out of the situation.

You may notice there are not childrens medication. This is due to The Barracuda being allergic to a filler placed in most over the counter kids meds. Taking OTC meds induces vomiting, hives, and skyrocketing fever. He would rather suffer, than take something and suffer more. We focus on herbal medicine at home.

Band-Aids:

6 butterfly - These work best on fairly severe cuts around curves (ears, nose, fingers, feet)

6 small - These are for those annoying issues which aren't going to do you any actual damage, but more cause you to hate your life because they just hurt. They are also sized just right for small people.

6 medium - As far as bandages go, these are the go to. Minor cuts and scrapes on hands, fingers and feet.

4 extra large - These must be purchased separately than the multi-pack box. They are big enough you could pad the wound with a 2 inch gauze pad to cover a fairly deep wound.

10 feet of Duct Tape - This is wrapped around itself and folded up all compact. Duct Tape is great when you notice rubbing on your feet or some other area. It is sticky enough to not come off and can be used to prevent future injury. Plus, it's Duct Tape - what can't it do?

1 Strip Moleskin - Used for developed blisters to remove pressure.

3 2nd Skin Patches - Burst and open blisters or burns.

I have highly, highly sensitive skin. I break out in a rash from Windex. Jules fertilized the yard and two days later when The Barracuda and I were playing in it I broke out in hives which lasted 4 days. I just plain don't go near chemicals. We believe natural products are better, but honestly, I can't really use much else. Jules could survive walking through nuclear winter style radiation. If you know of products which work for you, go for it. Even expensive "hypoallergenic" stuff causes me problems.

Miscellaneous Creams and Oils:

Neosporin - Standard low-grade infection prevention and healing. Be sure to wrap it in electrical tape due to heat and cool causing it to burst. If you wrap it up this can prevent explosion all over the other stuff. Not really the end of the world, but gross.

100% Tea Tree Oil - 1 half ounce vial. This is hardcore infection prevention and killer where only a little goes a long way. Its anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-septic, anti-everything. It is also a natural thing which won't harm the wound, cause me to break out, be too harsh for our child, and can be used externally everywhere. It has personally killed a staph infection on myself which Jules was on 3 rounds of meds and in and out of the doctors office for.

Vitamin E Lotion - Jason 25,000 I.U's of Vitamin E Age Renewal Moisturizing Cream. This is wonder gunk. I don't even know how it works, but any skin issue it takes care of amazingly fast. Rashes, irritation, chap, blisters, swelling, hives, peeling skin, bites, sore feet or muscles, etc. Once the heat has been removed from a burn it takes care of it brilliantly. It also doesn't go bad and is safe to use on my highly sensitive skin and The Barracuda.

6 Alcohol Swabs - Basic alcohol swabs for quick cleaning and sterilizing tools for use.

Sprains and Stitches

10 feet 3M Porous Medical Tape - In our house, this is called stitches tape. By cutting small sections and pinching a fairly serious cut shut, it can seal it. Think butterfly bandages on steroids. The Barracuda has had me use stitches tape on him at least 3 times. It has prevented many a trip to the hospital and I am highly impressed with its effectiveness. It won't close a sucking chest wound, but man it's good. It can also be used to hold on gauze in an area where the skin needs to breathe. We keep it wrapped around a slice of an old credit card.

5 feet First Aid Athletic Tape - Standard white waterproof tape used to splint sprains or support broken fingers or toes. This is also wrapped around a slice of an old credit card.

Swiss Army Knife - Just a small one to cut the tape as needed.

Severe Injury

3 Tefla Prebandage - This goes onto the wound before gauze in order to prevent ripping the wound back open with removal. The prebandage stays in places and allows the wound to breathe.

3 Giant Adhesive Bandage - These are 4x6 and designed to cover the gauze and contain moderate bleeding. Basically a giant Band-Aid.

3 4x4 Sterile Gauze Pads - Standard gauze for moderate bleeding. Before applying gauze read up on basic aid training as more damage can be done to a wound if used incorrectly. All good intentions can actually wind up hurting someone instead.

3 5x9 Surgipads - These are serious bleeder situations. They are designed to contain major blood loss. If you are using these, the goal is to physically remove someone as fast as possible or they are going to die.

Suture Kit - This is used in self rescue types of situations to close a gaping wound. Something has definitely gone wrong. This is another one of those situations that if you are pulling it out you've gone through every other option and someone is not going to make it. Don't carry this if you don't know how to use it. It's another situation you can do way more harm than good if used incorrectly.

I honestly thought Jules was a bit over reactionary when he put the first IFAK bag in my car. Three or four uses patching our son back together and I'm now sold. We need to add some burn gel and some Derma glue, but all in all it works pretty well. Like anything, it is still evolving as we go. Every kit should be personalized, this is just our take.

The entire kit weighs 8 ounces which makes it doable to carry around for just about anything outdoors that we need.

We Wanted an Adventure

2011-01-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

We are home. We had to stop. Jules picked us up today after work. There is serious flooding around these parts. When we hunkered down in the rain, even Multnomah Falls (major revenue and tourist attraction) was closed. The Sandy river (which we would be walking in less than two days) was evacuated on foot because it was flooding and taking out the roads. If you would like to see some incredible footage, check it out.

For our part, Wednesday was filled with rerouted trails, washouts, landslides, rock slides (gorge basalt is a finicky thing), and boulders covering the trails.

These became our makeshift trail markers after three reroutes. The Forest Service began throwing down straw trying to absorb water and keep as many trails as possible open.
This is the trail. The blow downs were so dense in a few areas we began to cut switch backs in an attempt to go on. Cutting switch backs is a grave offense under normal conditions. The Barracuda was quite shocked.
Boulders larger than me dumped down onto the trail causing us to boulder our way across. As exciting as this was at first, it became a bit scary as smaller versions fell over our heads and dusted the trail.
Frequent washouts and small, spongy crossings looking out over large drops filled with rubble.

It was getting to the point of possible unsafety. When we hiked out the maximum temperature was going to be 43 degrees, the nightly temperature in the 20's. With rain and extremely low temperatures spirits were dampened and again, it looked unsafe. Hiking in the snow is one thing, hiking in 30 degree rain and then sleeping in below freezing temperatures only to go again tomorrow seems like a great way to get pneumonia to me.

So with 30 miles left to go, we will have to day hike the last few when it looks a bit better on the weather horizon.

What Do You Actually Do?

2011-01-19T06:08:00.000-08:00

It wasn't until I decided to hike with The Barracuda that I thought much about what my life entailed. When you have to consider yourself completely gone from your environment you tend to hone in on the things you actually do and what preparation is needed.

When someone asked me, I had many titles to what my roles in our life were. I was a mom, a radical homemaker, a homeschooler, a writer, a spouse....As much as that seems to suffice for people who ask, it doesn't really say all that much about what I actually do. When I had to think about what wouldn't get done when I was gone, my life evaluation got a bit more interesting.

When it comes right down to it, I have no idea what day it is right now. I think it is a Saturday, but I'm probably wrong. I also have no idea of the actual date, sometime in mid January. I don't know the time either, late enough that I should be in bed.

What I do know is that I need to put in our seed order in about 2 weeks. I need to do laundry tomorrow because Jules is out of work pants. I need rake the remainder of the debris from the yard and reseed. I need to cook the cottage cheese which is culturing on the refrigerator because it is now sharp enough. I know the cherry tree in the backyard has 5 inches of new growth this year and that is the best in a long time. I know the pear trees and apple are hanging on, but not doing as well as we'd hoped. I know one of the Rhododendrons appears to have a fungal infection that was aggravated by all the rains this year. I know that something had died in the refrigerator. I know The Barracuda needs to start back with his math book tomorrow because he is getting squirrelly without schoolwork, we need to finish up the book Hatchet, begin Call of the Wild, and practice his Cha-Cha dancing. I know the garlic is going gang busters and the Spring bulbs have already started coming up with the mild winter.

In leaving for two weeks to hike, it really hit me just how much my life has changed from a year ago when I was working.

Two weeks is half a cord of wood. It's 15 jars of food, two pints of jam, and 56 gallons of filtered water. It's 10 math pages, countless hours of discussion, 10 units of Spanish, and 7 hours of living room dance practice. Two weeks is 5 designated dog walks and 8 cans of tuna for the cat. It's two missed skating trips and 6 missed outings with homeschool friends. It's three loads of laundry, 4 changes of sheets, 8 trips to Goodwill and 2 books. It's 5 blog posts. This is the way I now measure my life.

Not once in my thinking about getting the house ready for me to leave did I consider how much money it was. Before when I would take a vacation from work, things were always scaled across how much money would be lost and how many days I would have to cover for those who were covering my shifts. Now I just write whenever. If articles are available I write them. If I need to leave, I leave. When I return, I will write some more. It doesn't matter what day or what time or even how many (for the most part).

As I stuffed The Barracuda and my packs, it was even more blatant how simple our lives had become. Two weeks is 2 sets of pants, 4 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of undies, 6 torso layers, a hat, gloves, a water filter, 14 pounds of food, and a tent. We don't need much more than that.
Sometimes it is good to remember.

Filtering Water

2011-01-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

Our rain barrels have long been used for most of our water needs. However, the main thing that was missing from our house was a water filter. Until we could filter the water adequately, we weren't going to risk drinking or cooking with it. It never seemed to kill the dog, but then she likes to eat cat poop and I have a feeling that might just kill me.

Over the summer we stumbled upon an estate sale and picked up our MSR MiniWorks Expedition filter for about 7 dollars. Estate sales are the BEST for gear. We have since filtered all our water here at the house for both drinking and cooking. It works out to be about 4 gallons a day which is filtered with the morning chores. I really like it and I'm getting bicepts of steel!

With recent reports about the carcinogens in city tap water, I'm equally happy we have completely pulled off the central grid for our ingestion. Our city is not on this list, but a really close one is! Even before this report came out, it always bothered me that our family is pulling chemicals out of our food, but not our water. We don't need to be ingesting chlorine, or fluoride, or the pesticides and hormones which are known to exist in city water supplies.

We carry the same filter (MSR MiniWorks EX) when we backpack as we use at home. I refuse to go ultra light here. There is absolutely no reason to ingest chemicals with your water. There is no such thing as a benign chemical. If people insist on chemical free food, they should insist on chemical free water.

The filter with the toothbrush to clean it weighs 1 pound.

There are many different types of water filters out there, but the main thing to realize is a water filter has to clog. If it isn't clogging, it isn't filtering the junk out of your water. For this reason, the physical filter is the most important thing to remember. You are going to have to clean it, replace it, and trouble shoot issues with it. If you don't, the filter isn't working.

Micron Filter Level
All the talk when it comes to water filters is about mircons. A micron is the measurement of all the small little particulates which float around in the water but are unseen to the naked eye. The water filter catches these particles by having holes which are so small the impurities cannot flow through. Those holes are measured in microns as well. You want your water filter to have small enough holes it catches the bad stuff and lets the good stuff through. Chryptosporidium and Guardia are both 1 micron in size so smaller is necessary. Viruses can be filtered out using a filter of .01 microns or smaller. Any water filter worth its stuff is less than .1 microns.

Ceramic Filters
I will openly admit being a fan of these filters. They are the most durable, the easiest to clean, and the longest lasting. They are a bit overkill for many weekend warriors, but for our lifestyle I wouldn't purchase anything else. They cost more initially, but will save you lots in the long run. They are what the Peace Corp and Mercy Corps use in disaster zones because of their ease and bomb proof simple workings.

Ceramic filters are made of the material Diatomaceous Earth. This stuff does a million and one things and one of them is filtering things down to a .009 microns. The smooth outer surface is porous and much like sand stone in make up. They are cleaned by using a toothbrush to scrub off the most outer layer. The problem many have with ceramic filters is their weight. Because the filter is brittle in nature, the housing is often made of metal or high grade plastic to protect the inner workings. These filters are slower, due to their density, but last much longer.

Paper Durable Filters
Durable paper filters have accordion folds and honeycomb pleating designed to create the filter. Each layer of paper filters down to a lower micron level and the end result is filtered water. The filters are then impregnated with a chemical like carbon or charcoal to help remove and disinfect. These filters can be carefully cleaned a few times, but ultimately must be thrown away and replaced. They will get holes in them, and just plain wear out. This means you either need to carry a back up or have complete knowledge you can find your exact filter at an outfitter on the trail. I'm not a big fan of disposable items, but I can understand the desire to go with a lighter weight option. These aren't bad filters and Jules used one for his entire AT hike.
To clean you gently scrub down each of the pleats, renewing the filter for more use.

Paper Disposables
These filters bother me. They are layers of paper wrapped around a cylinder or coming out in a star pattern around a central shaft. These are extremely light weight, cheap filters. The catch is, they cannot be cleaned. The filter will last a long time, but then just goes to the landfill. Depending on how long you are going to be out, it can mean you don't need to carry a direct replacement. However, if you want to own the same filter for a while, stock up. Once the exact filter for your model is discontinued, you are out of luck. These just bug me from the environmental standpoint. You are out enjoying nature at the expense of nature itself. Something about that rubs me wrong.

These are the types of filters which are often in Britta and other countertop filtering systems. They are also the ones which are inside cheaper outdoor filters.
Disposable Disk Filters
These are weekend warrior filters. They are one time use, rather flimsy, and don't need to be cleaned. Water is forced through a single thick pouch of carbon which collects any impurities. The disk filter is then thrown away and the next time you need water you grab another disk. Again, this is a disposable option and not my favorite. However, if you don't get out much, this is the way to go. Multiple filters use the exact same style disks and there is no worry that your model is going to go out of style. It is important to remember practicing leave no trace means you are then carrying about these water laden, round disks which can get smelly after a bit.

Chemical Treatment

As stated above, I am against chemical treatments of water. Yes, they are light. Yes, they are often fairly cheap. And yes, as a child I ingested them because my family did. However, it is important to remember there is a trade off for every easy, cheap decision that you make. I'm not trading anything when it comes to my water supply.

All bacteria are not bad. Your gut is filled with bacteria which are necessary to our survival, because they digest and intake nutrients. When you ingest anything which is designed to suppress or kill bacteria on a broad scale you are hampering your bodies ability to digest and remove nutrients from your food. Unless you are also carrying a pro-biotic to balance out the bacterial water treatment, you are physically harming your system and hindering your ability to perform optimally. As an adult, I can make this choice with full knowledge. My son is 6. He cannot make this choice with his current depth of knowledge. I feel it is imposing far too much for me to give him chemicals without his full consent. I would never knowingly ask my child to drink bleach, iodine, or even chlorine dioxide, why would I put it in his water?

If I filter rainwater for us to drink at home, I will filter the stream water we drink outdoors.

Progress and Pictures

2011-01-16T18:03:00.000-08:00

We've hunkered down in town waiting out the rain. Though it normally rains here, yesterday and tomorrow are going to be wetter than usual. We weren't able to cover much ground, it was down right cold, and we were getting soaked to the skin. The idea of this trip is to stick it out but also to have fun. In order to balance that we are holing up for a day or so, letting gear dry out, getting reorganized, and then going at it again. Though it adds on a few miles a day, it is much nicer than only covering 4 or 5 a day and hating life.

Here are a few pictures from the trip so far. I can't edit any of them, but I thought I'd throw them up so you all could see some of the great stuff we have.

Walking from the Dallas the ecosystem is dryer, colder, and much more windy. This creates the look of ancient hands holding onto the land around the river. The tiny little white specks down by the water is the railroad where a train is going through.
We break camp before daylight so we can maximize the day. The second day we awoke to some serious snow! The freezing rain held the snow in place like glue, creating quite the nice winter scene.
The Mosier Tunnels were awaiting us. These tunnels were blasted out of the mountain around 1915 and still stand as a monument to the amazing construction work of the time. They have been a highlight of the trip.
Frequently while walking the ridge lines, the mountains and trees will open up and we can stare down the Gorge for miles. It is a beautiful way to see our progress in real time and be reminded of the splendor of where we live.
After Wyeth the world tended to thaw out a bit. This meant some serious river crossings as the footbridges were blown. Very little trail maintenance is done until the early spring. The Barracuda learned to be confident and swift of foot. We also have spent much time walking in soggy boots.

The "trail" we are following isn't one that is frequently trafficked. It won't be completely open and well maintained until 2016 because that is apparently the 100 year anniversary of the when the original highway opened. Some sections are great, some sections really require some serious map work to make progress happen. I must say, my son's visual abilities and internal compass far surpass mine.

Crossing the Cascades was exhausting. My heart goes to those Oregon Trail folks and Lewis and Clark's party. The talus slopes almost made it worth it. Scree slope after moss covered scree slope were home to many a pika colony and the vantage point of some amazing views.

We're in world class waterfall country. Everyday we have seen incredible feats of water launching itself to the ground. It helps that this is winter and snow melt is coming down the basalt cliffs in buckets. As far as The Barracuda is concerned, all water is for throwing rocks into.

And water, and water, and water. Everywhere, water. It literally pours off the rocks and moss along the trails. Even when it isn't raining, the earth is shedding excess water. You hear it constantly and then begin to tune it out due to its ubiquitous nature. Sometimes it has been frozen, but as we have crossed the Cascades it is now melted and trickling as we walk.

Oh, but the green! All that water leads to a lushness rarely seen. I used to think of winter as a dead time, but this hike has really changed my perspective. Everything is green, carpeted in green, and encased in green. There are over a dozen types of moss on this tree alone. The type pictured above sticks out a good 4 to 6 inches like furry leaves and thick shag carpeting.

It has been a good trip, but high time for me to get off this computer and go to bed. Tomorrow morning will be an early one.

Fungus Anyone?

2011-01-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

Does anyone know what the name (either scientific or common) of this mushroom is? We found it in early fall in the old growth wilderness on the western side of the Cascades. We haven't seen it anywhere else, or anything else resembling it. It is known as the mystical unidentified mushroom at this point since I can't seem to identify it anywhere.

The bright yellow ring is preceded by a deep brown colored ring which is much more visible in the top view of the mushroom (see the drawing).

So Far....

2011-01-13T11:25:00.000-08:00

We're in Hood River at a coffee shop warming up. They have a computer we can use for a short stint of time.

So far we have traveled through an extreme weather advisory were we got 8-10 inches of snow. I woke up every three hours (and sometimes only a hour or so) to knock the snow off the tent, and the Barracuda and I both shared my my sleeping bag to keep warm. The next day was hiking through freezing rain which came down all day. The Barracuda is still going strong and when it looked like no where to sleep last night, he convinced the hotel lady to let us pay cash so we could continue.

We're off to take on Starvation Creek and Mt. Defiance tomorrow. It's been great.

The Barracuda's favorite parts so far:
Being at the hotel
ice cycles the size of him
lots of animal tracks in the snow
Walking to Memaloose

How to Dehydrate Hamburger

2011-01-12T06:27:00.000-08:00

When backpacking, food needs to provide the most bang for its buck. You want a power house of calories. Anytime you can get some protein in there is pretty darn rockin' too. The best way I have found to tackle this is to dehydrate hamburger. It is light weight, flavorful, versatile, and cheap. The texture is slightly different since it tends to crumble more when dehydrated versus freshly cooked, but it still tastes like beef and adds the same consistency when mixed with other stuff. You could probably dehydrate bigger chunks to save on texture, but then your rehydrate time (and fuel usage) would be much higher.

It used to be that you could purchase dehydrated hamburger by itself. That was about a decade ago, if I remember right. It wasn't sold everywhere, but if you wanted to find it you could. That was before the freeze-dried, fancy MRE craze which seems to have hit every outfitter we know. Now the dehydrate hamburger exists, but it can only be found inside Tasty Enchilada Bake or Beef Stroganoff Supreme. If you want to purchase it by itself, it has to be drop shipped to you an is crazy expensive. So, I just go back old school and dehydrate our own.

Dehydrator Considerations
The main thing to be sure of is the dehydrator is designed for fruit and jerky. The temperature for jerky dehydrators goes up to 155 or 160 degrees. Apparently this is what takes it out of the danger zone for germs. If your dehydrator is only for fruit and veggies it will probably only go up to around 135-140. I honestly don't know how important this is (growing up we had an Excalibur and now ours is a jerky machine) but the last thing you want out on the trail is an upset stomach or food poisoning. If you are going to try it with your home machine, I'd eat a meal at home and see.

Fat
The second consideration is fat. Fat doesn't dehydrate well. It makes things really strange and often times goes rancid rather easily. We avoid this by using canned hamburger. When you can the hamburger it is thoroughly cooked and all the fat cools on the top. If you are using fresh hamburger, be sure you cook the snot out of the meat and strain off all the fat. Next, pour in enough water to cover the meat and stir vigorously to rinse. Dump all the water off and then pat dry in a paper towel.

When canned, the fat rests at the top away from most of the meat. It can easily be removed and you are left with almost fatless hamburger to dehydrate.

To remove the fat layer, merely use a fork and pry it up. As long as the can is at room temperature, the fat will stick together (for the most part) and come up in a couple pieces. Sometimes, if I have overfilled the can with meat, I will need to either discard a bit of meat, or try and separate the fat from it. This is a bit annoying, but not too terrible. Don't fixate too much on removing all the fat - it's never going to happen. Just get most of it.

If you are crazy like me, you can save the fat for making gravy or stew. Ours lives in a small dish in the refrigerator and freaks Jules out.

Once the fat is removed, line a dehydrator rack with a single sheet of wax paper (or enough to just cover the rack). When wet, the hamburger is big enough to stay above the holes. When it dries, however, it falls through and is a total pain to try and get out. Spread the meat out on the rack however it will fit. It can touch each other and be all stacked up, and whatever. Doesn't seem to matter.
The tray seems very full right now, but it will look almost empty when dehydrated. Hamburger is just fluffy. This is the entire pint. You can do smaller batches, but it seems to take as much time as a large one and yield the same result.

Dehydrate for about 10-12 hours at 155 degrees. Check the meat every hour after 8 hours. It is done when it is hard and crumbly. You squeeze it with much pressure and it literally turns to dust. Take out the smaller pieces when they are done. Larger bits may need to be turned or rotated a bit. They will feel hard on the outside, but still squish when squeezed. You don't want the meat to yield to pressure. It should either be rock solid or fall apart when you push on it.

Try to remove the meat as softly as possible. Once fully dry, the meat tends to crumble and fall apart very easily.

The longest we have kept the dehydrated hamburger in our household is 8 months. A package of hamburger gravy got lost in the back of the pantry. On the next backpacking trip it was promptly eaten. According to the crazy survivalist websites (which call them "Hamburger Rocks") they will last for a couple years.

Bring on the Cold

2011-01-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

Jules and I are sitting down in front of the fire eating crappy pizza while my father has The Barracuda. In a bit I'm going to take my last bath for about 20 days. Apparently, snow and freezing rain are on the horizon for our first night and first two days out.
Hoo-Rah!

We might just have another "New Mexico" on our hands to compare all other coming weather situations to. Jules and my father have already reminded me repeatedly that I can just hunker down in the tent if things get too terrible. They have also thrown in that I can just call them and they will come get us. "There is no reason to be crazy after all," has been thrown about a few times as well.

It's not like Jules got frost bite from hiking in feet of snow after sending his warmest mittens home and a freak storm came in....Ahem....

Or that as a child my father had us backpacking in ragged out aluminum out-board frame backpacks.... and all cotton clothing.... and G.I. Joes cheapo sleeping bags......Ahem......

Or that as a family we have slept in conditions which were just as cold and probably colder....Ahem....

Or that Jules talks fondly of watching entire cliffsides sheer off when he snow climbed Rainer due to freeze-thaw conditions that were so extreme even the guides were caught off guard.....Ahem....

Or that as children we woke up in alpine areas to snow all around and then continued out hiking with my father leading the way....Ahem....

Things apparently change where your are a grandparent and a father :)

The blog should auto update itself over the next two weeks. Most of the posts outline some degree of us getting ready for our venturing out. I'll respond to comments when we get back.

Gearing Up to Go

2011-01-10T01:28:00.000-08:00

The Barracuda and I leave in 2 days for our 80 miler. We are hiking West to East in order to begin in the rain shadow and hopefully outwalk some of the coldest rain as we cross over The Cascades. That's the theory at least. Towards the end of the hike is the heart of the Columbia River Gorge and I'm hoping we can tack on a few extra miles doing hikes to the many waterfalls. At 100 miles in less than 2 weeks The Barracuda will be squarely into the territory of being able to do the John Muir Trail. If he can handle it, we will be able to easily do the Wonderland Trail later in the Spring and summit St. Helens in the Summer.

As it stands, we are only doing 8 mile days. Both Jules and I think The Barracuda is capable of something more along the lines of 10+, but we don't want to push him. The hiking needs to be his choice. We've never had a break down on the trail (other than painfully extreme weather in New Mexico) and hope to avoid it at all costs. Usually it is the adults who are ready to quit. Often, he bounds away after dropping and unloading his pack to discover some other natural delight.

The last few days have been very full. Gear is all over our house and dishes are dirty in the sink. Finally the basics are all taken care of.

Pack fitting is serious business around here. We are each carrying 25% of our body weight with only two of us. Luckily, Jules has been professionally trained to fit packs and used to be paid a whole lot of money for it.

The obligatory walk about and observation. Both The Barracuda and I have Osprey packs. His is a Jib and will expand with him for the next couple years. Mine is a Talon 44 and I LOVE it.

Adjustments are made and the process repeats itself. If done correctly, it should take over a half hour. For some reason I chose my exceptionally unflattering wool knickers to wear during the photography.

Food has also been portioned, packaged and weighed. Everything is measured, sealed in mylar packages, and then trimmed as small as possible. Mylar is preferable to plastic bags due to its ability to be reused significantly more times, being heat sealed rather than zipped, customizable size, waterproof even when submerged permanently, and its pest resistance. We have had rodents get into our root cellar and eat freeze packed soups but never infest our mylar. We think this is due to them not being able to smell it, but don't know for sure. Its also just plain cheaper.

An entire days worth of food for both of us weighs 1 pound. Yes, I do neurotically weigh everything and own this scale for that purpose.

Clothing has been laid out, approved by Jules and weighed. The Barracuda will be carrying his sleeping bag (2 pounds), his clothing (3.5 pounds), his warm coat (1 pound), and Kitty, his monocular, and Call of the Wild (5 ounces). Add in the weight of the pack (3 pounds) and he totals 10 pounds 12 ounces with an 11 pound limit.

Before The Barracuda's pack is approved to go, he has to dance in it, jump in it, and run around a few times. At that point, if there aren't any problems we call it good.
I get the rest. Water filter (1 pound, 1 ounce), Tent with poles and stakes (1 pound, 9 ounces), First Aid kit (8 ounces), Stove with cookware and soap (2 pounds), Toilet paper and water bladders (7 ounces), Camp shoes for both of us (1 pound, 8 ounces), Rain fly and ground cover (2 pounds), clothing (3 pounds, 3 ounces), 2 fuel canisters (1 pound, 4 ounces), Odwalla bars for lunch (2 pounds, 2 ounces), Dinner and breakfast food (6 pounds, 8 ounces), Cheddar cheese (1 pound), camera with memory card and extra batteries (8 ounces), sleeping bag (2 pounds, 12 ounces), Insulite pads (1 pound, 4 ounces), ground cover (7 ounces), Nalgene (6 ounces), and headlamps and cell phone (8 ounces). Add in my pack weight (1 pound, 12 ounces) and I total 30 pounds 12 ounces with a 32.5 pound limit.

The scale maxes out at 25 pounds or I'd show you a picture. When Jules joins us we are both down to carrying somewhere in the early 20's pound range and The Barracuda around 8-10ish.
Other than a couple of sketchy backcountry connections, the whole thing looks pretty darn great at this point. The Barracuda is as excited as I am. Hopefully this opens up a giant new territory for him to enjoy and us to explore as a family.

The hardest part has been repeatedly telling Guadie she doesn't get to come. She was very excited about pack fittings and wanted hers fitted, too (yes, she has one as well). But, she would have to be on a leash in a couple areas and is just another kid to have to think about. Jules is going to bring her out on the weekend when he joins us for resupply.

Homeschooling Science

2011-01-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

If you ask my son what subject he wants to study the answer will almost always be science. Due to such sustained interest, we have transformed studying science into a more holistic study. There is a bit of history in it, a lot of English and civics, some art, and even some math. It has become the focal point of our lives as we try to live our education rather than just study it.

Jules and I come to the outdoors from very different places. He has loved to spend time in it, lived along the Appalachian Trail, was a buyer for Mountain Crossings at Neils Gap, taught ultra-light backpacking seminars, was a total crag rat, and (before the Barracuda and I) ice climbed Rainer. His natural knowledge comes from throwing himself into the woods and learning to thrive.

I was an environmental studies major and the daughter of a pretty hardcore forestry dad. We couldn't have live Christmas trees in our family because it hurt him too much to cut one down. I learned about the outdoors by studying biogeochemistry (doesn't that sound fancy! It is actually really, really cool), hydrology, identifying everything from mammals to fungus, and generally studying ecosystems inside and out. I can just sit outside perfectly still and marvel at the overwhelming intricacies and interconnected processes going on.

Jules never knew the names of the plants he passed, or exactly how the rock formations were formed, or the sequence of events in geological time which had to occur to witness the landscape around him, but he loves English and would read extensive volumes of environmental literature. I had read about all the plants, animals, tracks, and processes, but never seen half the things Jules has spent time tromping through. Even more, I hated English, found it boring as all get out, and only slogged through the forced classes missing so many amazing environmental authors.

When it came to homeschool science our skills fit together pretty darn well. Though it frustrates Jules that I could stop every thirty seconds to spew some tidbit about a plant or fungus or hydrological phenomenon, he generally likes it. I still have no idea how he can memorize and recite text the way that he does or have such and incredible compass in his head. Together, we have tag teamed science.

Our science is split into three different themes: Global Sciences (geography, global warming, astronomy, lunar cycles, and the like), Physical Sciences (physics, chemistry, machines), and Natural Science (earth cycles, botany and photosynthesis, animals and ecosystems, geology, and such).

Global Science
The bulk of our Global Science comes National Public Radio. Since we don't have a TV, our news is heard via NPR. This is where The Barracuda first heard about Global warming, about world hunger, about the global water crisis, about wars over resources, about fighting in Afghanistan over oil, about disenfranchised native people being exploited by big business. It is one of the big reasons we have the lifestyle that we do. How could we honestly teach our child about the world, tell him it matters, and then do nothing?

So we listen to NPR, we talk about what he hears, we implement his ideas in our lives and do community service so he can combat the world's ills with us. We actively discuss famous activists who were also naturalists, botanists, veterinarians, and the like so he can have people to not only look up to, but be inspired by.

Depaving asphalt to create community gardens and watershed cleanup efforts are just a couple of the activities we take on. At most all these events people not only have fun with our son, but they make a point to talk to him about the importance of his actions and how they effect the natural world.
A large world map in his room has been laminated and written on with Vis-a-Vis markers labeling places people have vistited, lived, or special locations. The Barracuda is also largely involved in maps when we hike or travel.

Natural Science
When it comes to conceptual and natural sciences, he keeps a Nature Journal. Distinguishing features are listed and the different flora, fauna, and geology are compared to one another. Every time we hiked his job was to find at least two things to add. He quickly began wanting five or more things photographed so I turned him loose. He now keeps a nature journal of his own volition and fills it with any rock, fungus, bird, or plant he finds interesting. There are city animals right alongside tracks of elk and deer. He collects interesting rocks to identify. He spends ample time in front of our windows watching different species of birds. As we hike the ecosystems are evaluated, processes and cycles are discussed, and we actively talk about the interesting things we are seeing. He remembers the names of the things he sees, talks adamantly about always wanting to learn more. He's really, really into it.

During the day he can often be found reading about snakes, or birds, or rocks, or mammals, or ecosystems or whatever from one of his various identification books. He will also wander around out in the rain taking pictures of things with the camera.

He draws these creatures, plants, and rocks with a level of borderline neurotic perfectionism that I can highly relate to. He will spend an hour meticulously sketching and then methodically layering the colors of his crayons (many of which he knows by name). He will study the stroke patterns needed to create the correct textural effect. He will then want to draw it from another angle so you can see the way the creature flies versus how it sits or the side view versus the top view of a mushroom. He wants to draw the young deer fern next to the established one so you can see the transformation. After sticking his tongue out and much face scrunching what he comes up with is amazing. Because he takes so much time to draw and dissect each image, he intimately knows these plants and creatures. I am very glad he has found a niche of study that keeps him so engaged. We're going to have to take out stock in Moleskin Journals.

Both my father and brother are professional artists (architect and media design). I am most definitely not, but I try to help here and there. My people are stick figures and even then it is sometimes hard to figure out what I am trying to communicate.

Physical Sciences
Currently, we are focusing on the simple machines and basic theories. Newton's Laws, the Law of the Lever, Bernoulli's Principle, Charles' and Boyle's Laws, Universal Gravity, those sorts of things. We play around with catapults, water rockets, atlatls, rain barrels, BB and adult guns, water filters, rock climbing, fixing the car or our bikes, chopping firewood, and the playground. Most all of our life is built around these concepts so he can find them everywhere and actively apply them regularly. Legos and Erector sets have come into play here quite heavily. He will build something, play with it, and then want to know what each part is called (axel, chassi, hubs, etc) and how it makes the entire creation work. Currently, he has become fascinated with flight, so many paper airplanes are being flown all over the house and birds are being examined.

Bubbles are great for discussing pressure as well as molecular bonding and polar molecules. Plus, they are really fun!

Integration
Jules has also provided and extensive amount of English foundation to the science. He has so much environmental literature that The Barracuda and I can pick and choose from famous authors and read their contributions. This has helped give our son an idea of how others see the natural world. From Native writings and Emily Dickinson to Lewis and Clark, Walt Whitman and Robert Frost, Thoreau and Emerson to Abbey, even other famous naturalists like David Douglas, John Kirk Townsend, and John Muir. By reading about how others see the same things our son is walking through, he is forced to have another perspective and greater understanding. We can discuss the ways that realists see nature versus transcendentalists. We can talk about the emotional struggles of the native peoples cultural view point versus the Puritans and how this can lead to physical struggles as well. We can discuss how modernists have taken the differing fractured viewpoints on the best ways to describe living with the natural world now that it isn't as natural. Currently The Barracuda is fascinated with reading and viewing the journals of other famous people. Leonardo da Vinci, John Muir, Lewis and Clark, and others have all been quite intriguing and helped him in finding his own personal viewpoint to write from.

The Barracuda mainly just wants to understand anything and everything having to do with why things work or look the way they do. As his parents, we go along for the ride and have quite a bit of fun. Who knew learning stuff could be so adventurous?!?

Annual Report 2010

2011-01-02T23:05:00.000-08:00

This post won't have pictures; I'm going to have to use links instead. While outside taking pictures for his nature journal The Barracuda killed our memory card and lost almost 2000 non-archived pictures. He is still alive. There was a moment there that I was on the fence about it, but I decided (after many deep breathes) he was cute enough to keep around. We will soon own many, many thumb drives to put pictures on so this doesn't happen again.
When 2010 started, we still didn't want to talk too much about the things we were doing at home. We didn't want to alienate people, or feel weird, or have to explain ourselves. We knew what we wanted to do, but we also recognized the fact that main stream America didn't live this way.

In all the readings I'd bury myself in, I kept seeing the ideas of self sufficiency being called subversive. I wasn't ready to go there yet. In my mind, we were just trying to eat healthier, educate our son, lower our bills, and gain a bit more transparency to the everyday actions of our lives. Subversive sounded so crazy survivalist. I'm definitely not ready to call us crazy survivalists! Micheal Pollen, Paul Hawkin, Robert Heinlein, Shannon Hayes, John Muir, Thoreau and the like were quite adamant however. The personal was political and our decisions, regardless of the motive, were making a statement. It made me want to talk about our "other lives" even less.

As the feelings of isolation increased, my desire to spend more time at home did as well. You can only live in two worlds for so long before it starts to really eat at you. As Woody Harrelson says, it was time to "nut up or shut up." We decided to stop focusing on the thoughts of others and really define our lifestyle the way we wanted it.

2010 was mainly spent working on putting the mental foundations under our actions. Here's a rundown on some of the things we did to get our heads on straight:

Rioting 4 Austerity: Our family decided to Riot 4 Austerity at the beginning of 2010 as a way to really quantify if we were achieving what we thought we were. We had no real knowledge of how much we were actually conserving other than the fact our bills were decreasing. The idea with rioting is that wealthy nations would need to have their people voluntarily cut back to 10 percent of American consumption in order to save the planet. It took us about 6 months to really fine tune many of our actions, but we made it. Transportation is still too high, but in all the other categories, we're good. Being a numbers person this action really helped give me an idea of how much others use and how much was really needed on our part. At this point, I don't like the taste of tap water, the feel of electric heat, or the cost of most store purchased goods. Oddly enough, it didn't really feel like much of a sacrifice. I would definitely recommend this to others.

Working at Home: In April, I began working from home. This was weird. There is no other word than weird. Being home has required a re-evaluation of mindsets and a hard look at many cultural norms that I didn't realize existed. Much of my self concept came from the job I did outside the house. Without a boss or supervisor to give you "atta-boys" you are left only receiving them from yourself or your spouse. This took a little time to recognize and an even harder time to articulate. I also didn't realize just how much my resources were being pulled in a thousand directions even with a part time job. When all my energies were placed in to really schooling our son, really working on our house, really figuring out ways to achieve our goals it is amazing how much more depth can be obtained. Lastly, it also meant that Jules and I had to be completely all-in with this whole committed to each other thing. As difficult as it is to constantly be faced with being odd, it is even weirder to then leave everything and not have anyone else in your life. I now don't really have credit history (no checking account, no paycheck, all direct transfer), any employer to vouch for me (I'm all telecommuting and all digital), or any real separation of our lives. All money is our money. I hadn't been this nervous since we started a shared minute plan on our cell phones.

Homeschooling: We decided to take on a second year of homeschooling, joined a homeschool group, and really got to explore what The Barracuda wanted to learn and we wanted to teach him. This year it has been much more learning as a family and choosing to grow together. The Barracuda not going to school in favor of being at home had much the same emotional impacts that my leaving work did. Though the freedom of not being in a classroom exists, I am the one who needs to realize those atta-boys are necessary. It is also very apparent I need to frequently explain to him we are learning together. Long past is the time of treating our son like a child, but I need to get better about connecting with him as an equal.

He is currently watching Cinderella in his room singing Gin and Juice by Snoop Doggy Dogg. He's a kid, but not a kid at the same time. That is hard for me to negotiate.

Roadtripping the US: Driving across the country was pretty great. Jules and I learned a lot about being stuck together, a lot about our personal routines, and a lot about how differently we arrive in the same place when it comes to ideas. We also got to share some rather incredible stuff together that neither of us had ever seen before. There were also some not so fabulous times (He threw a shoe at me in Zion Canyon; I went postal about not being able to use the stove in a hotel in Kansas), but I wouldn't really trade it for much and now it is kinda funny. Being trapped in a car with your child while disagreeing is a really great form of counseling even if it does mean total silence through the entire state of Idaho. This really opened our eyes about how much can be done when the family has a digital commute (me-work/The Barracuda-school) and definitely means more time with The Barracuda and I venturing off ourselves. Due to the time limitations, we only spent a day or so in each incredible place, next time we are probably going to do more like a minimum of a week in each place instead.

Getting Outside: Though we have always liked to be outside, it was really the road trip which showed us how much we needed to be outside. As stressful as moments of the trip were, being out of the city took such a weight off of our lives. Jules and I also greatly underestimated our son (again) and what he can do. The trip gave us the confidence to move forward in weekend hikes of 5+ miles a day. After even more surprising feats by our son, we have now made 8+ hours a day and are planning decent sized trips. After coming home it didn't take too long for us to begin seeing how much the city just didn't make sense anymore.

Redefining Family: Being home with my son all day and taking on learning together has meant a distinct level of connection we didn't have before. With the new year and us venturing out together on backpacking trips this bond will only continue to grow. I'm having to really step back and evaluate being able to be a mentor more than distinctly a mom.

Jules and I are quite quickly trudging into a place where the security of our household depends on each of us trusting the other explicitly. That may sound a bit like a 'well duh!' but post traumatic stress makes this rather difficult for both of us. Working this out, and actually admitting it, have been a process of personal development for both of us. Dare I say we might be getting the hang of it.

Jules has had to come to terms with the loss of his mother this year. She is in late stages of Alzheimers. With each visit the reality sunk in deeper and for all intents and purposes she is no longer Mom. At this point, he is the last survivor of his family and holder of his entire family's memories. Such a difficult time for him has meant much leaning on those who are not biological related, but family none the less.

The redefining of relationships and much sole searching about how we fit into the mix seemed to keep reappearing this year. Before, family meant living in a house together and loving each other. This year has shown us that in reality it means way, way more than that. It means falling apart and completely losing it; feeling emotionally exhausted; being stressed out and not knowing if you can make it all work; screwing up repeatedly; admitting when you hurt, when you need help, when you're scared, when you don't understand; and most importantly knowing it doesn't matter to us because we will be here and it will all be okay. This year we decided to become a family, together.

Goodbye 2010. You've been good to us.

Dehydrating Salsa

2010-12-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

Confession time: I'm a real food snob. I like to eat things that I know the contents of. I want them to be composed of actual food not some food product which once resembled some kind of natural substance. I'm not big on additives, sodium, weird chemicals, fake sugars, or preservatives. This isn't to say that I don't sneak Lunchables when they are on sale and my son is asleep. I tend to LOVE Lunchables in a very nostalgic way. However, I openly admit they aren't food and they won't really sustain me.

The real food snob thing tends to really come out when we backpack. Jules likes to live on Snickers bars and Pop Tarts. In fact, he often will judge a day on how many Snicker's bars it will take. "Today's a 4 Snickers day...." It makes my pancreas hurt just thinking about it. He also finds Mexi-Velveeta cheese dumped over murshy pasta a culinary delight. I just can't do it. I get why he does it, but I'm not down. I want real food.

This has required a bit of patience on both our parts. Much like combining a household, we have to combine our backpacking routines as well.

Since I'm in charge of the cooking and food within the house, I've also become in charge of the meals we eat when we are backpacking outside the house. Since he has to also carry the food, and is stuck eating whatever I bring, Jules has given me a few parameters:

Can't Weigh A Lot - We have to carry it, sometimes a lot of it, so it needs to be light as possible. Sometimes, we have to mail it and that can be expensive with heavy items. This includes packaging, cooking needs, and bulky items.

Has to be Palatable - This should read, "It can't taste healthy." After a long day of 'packing, Jules wants food that tastes good. It is great that it isn't filled with crap, but it should taste like it! This also means there needs to be variety. I can eat the same thing over and over and still like it, not so much Jules.

Small and Not Messy - Since our food is jammed into a backpack with all our clothes, it can't leak or spill or smell funny. As important as food is, it also has to compete for space, so it needs to be as tiny as possible.

Easy to Cook - Not only can the food not take a lot of time, it can't be crazy complex. We have to conserve as much fuel as possible and we only have 2 bowls (and a Nalgene or two) to use. He also wants to eat, not fuss over food.

Lots of Calories - Both Jules and I have high metabolisms, plus we are burning calories faster than we can eat them. The Barracuda is burning calories growing as well as with all the walking. The food needs to be dense and really stick with us. If we want to eat again in an hour, it won't work.

Last at Least 1 Week - Sometimes we are carrying food for a week, sometimes it will be sitting in a hiker box which was either packed or mailed weeks previously. It can't spoil.

Water Tight - All you have to do is read about New Mexico to understand this one. The food needs to be able to be submerged in water and still be dry inside.

These are not crazy requests, but when combined with my real food snobbery, they made things a bit complicated. What has come about is the need to find foods what are highly versatile and also extremely flavorful. Once dehydrated, they are then combined with staples like potatoes, rice, or pasta to create multiple meals. Salsa is the best one to date.

Dehydrating salsa might sound a bit crazy since it is mostly water, but when concentrated you only need a small amount. You can also add it to potatoes. You can add it to rice with chicken. You can add it to tortillas with cheese. You can add it to pasta with beef. Jules might just eat it straight if we could find a way to hike with chips.

Dehydrating Salsa
Pour the salsa onto the fruit leather tray of your dehydrator. You can also fold wax paper over about three times and pour the salsa onto it. Be sure the waxy side is the side touching the salsa. Experience has shown me it sucks to peal off otherwise. You do not have to worry about full coverage or how thickly it is poured on. Since you are not making fruit leather, thinner is probably better.

Dehydrate it at 140 degrees for close to forever. I usually set the tray on the bottom of the stack and just let it go on and on with everything else dehydrating on top. Check every 8 hours or so and poke at it. You don't want any part of the salsa to be squishy. At 16 hours or so, it should be close to done. Often we let it run overnight.

If it isn't crackled, I'd put it in for another hour or so.

The salsa will be crackled all over and look way too thin to be able to pull off. Use the tip of a butter knife to pry the salsa up. It will crack and be highly brittle. This doesn't matter because you are going to pulverize it in a bit anyway.

Using the blunt tip of a butter knife tends to make it peel off in nice sized sheets.

Take the sheets of salsa that come off and place them into a plastic bag. Make sure it closes really well. Then beat the snot out of it. You do not want to put this salsa into a food processor or blender or anything where you will be breathing the dust. It has dried chilies in it and it will burn something crazy.

The pulverizing is The Barracuda's favorite part.

What you are left with is salsa powder. It will last easily 6 months without any kind of spoilage. A teaspoon works well on the top of potatoes and about a 1/4 cup mixed into rice while it is cooking makes really nice mexi-rice. Half a cup of the powder mixed in while reconstituting hamburger gives you a fajita like taste.

Jesus Died and Then Came Back To Life For Presents

2010-12-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

When one of The Barracuda's friends came over the other day, he was incredulous to find out that we don't do Christmas. What? He quickly recovered and responded with a Happy Hanalla (Hanukkah). The Barracuda told him we didn't do that either. This was about when I started to really listen. The interaction was fabulous.

"But...like...Santa comes, right?"

"No"

"Oh, like you do Christmas somewhere else. Just not here in your house. You go somewhere for Christmas."

"Huh-uh"

"But all those times that your mom leaves without you, she is getting presents and stuff....right?"
The Barracuda was beginning to get concerned.

"What?"

"Like, your parents go away by themselves all the time right now so they can get you stuff."

"No...."

"But, God killed his son so we can have presents! Jesus wants you to have them. He came back to life to celebrate presents!" I LOVE this 8 year old logic. I love it so much!

At this point both boys came out of The Barracuda's room with very bewildered looks on their faces. The Barracuda was concerned that Symon's mom was leaving him places and that God was killing his son and no one was doing anything about either. Symon was highly worried The Barracuda was being greatly abused by not getting enough stuff. After all, Jesus wanted him to have presents so much there was a resurrection. What kind of bizarre heathens were we?!

This has always been a hard one for people, and not just kids. In fact, kids are usually the easiest to explain it to.

In our family, we celebrate Solstice. The earth is resting and so are we, gearing up for the craziness of the coming Spring season. We spend time together as a family and are reminded that loved ones will always be with you for support during the darker times of the year, as well as the darker times of your life. Family all get together and we eat, and eat, and eat. There is laughter, and playing, and reminder we have all come a long way. There are 4 separate times when different configurations of family all get together. Even my father has given up the tree and piles of presents after really seeing how much nicer it was to be stress free.

For Solstice, we get one present for the entire family (technically the Barracuda gets 3 if you count each party). The present must be something which brings us closer together as a family and can be enjoyed by everyone. It must also be something which will last at least one year. This year, The Barracuda and I went to a dance camp on Solstice and learned more dances which we can do together in the evenings. The Barracuda also added that his dad coming home was part of our Solstice celebration as well. Jules' absence has been hard for him.

Their mischief rarely stops. It is quite hard sometimes to tell which one is the child and which one is the adult. They are both remind me of 14 year old sophomores most of the time.
My extended family (and that is a whole lot of people) get together for a giant potluck and all children under 8 (The Youngin's) receive a hand made present from "The Grandparents." This includes every family member who is a grandparent. By having everyone work on everybodies, it reinforces the idea that it doesn't matter how we are related, we are family and that is all that matters. All the "Youngin's" get basically the same thing. The gift is never large or lavish, but very well thought out. Last year they got quilts which folded up into pillows. The Barracuda sleeps with his every night and refuses to use anything else. I worry every time I wash it.

An elaborate race car quilt is folded inside the pillow to create the stuffing
This year he got a handmade box which is specifically designed to hold all his Hotwheels and 4 new cars. It is his favorite color, has his name on it, and he can carry it like a briefcase. He LOVES it. The female Youngin's got portable walk in closets for their dolls complete with a new hip wardrobe. The Grandparents work on these gifts for a good portion of the year and the Youngin's are always very excited. It also removes the burden from the parents who are busy parenting and making holiday food, and gives us lots of inspiration for when we become one of the elite "Grandparent" club. I remember being a Youngin and very much look forward to becoming a Grandparent.

The white elastics hold the cars in place and allow The Barracuda to jam the cars in quickly without worry about anything breaking.
My mother has come in from Dubai (located in the United Arab Emirates. Really close to Saudi Arabia) and hasn't seen The Barracuda for a year and a half. We will visit her for dinner on Christmas Eve. My father, his girlfriend, and my brother will be together at our house on Christmas to eat again. Lots of eating, and lots of cooking, and lots of talking. It's a good time. For years growing up I never thought I could do that with my father or my extended family, so this is a very welcome change. To me, family is a much better present than anything in the store.

Chair Twirling

2010-12-21T17:05:00.000-08:00

So, what do we do without television? We kidnap friend's children, force them into chairs and twirl them in the living room till they squeal!

There are three boys in this chair all cackling and flinging their feet furiously to go faster. The chair was purchased from a Goodwill Outlet when I was in college. I think it cost 5 bucks. It has been a fabulous babysitter!

How to Dehydrate Potatoes

2010-12-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, 10 pound bags of potatoes went on sale for a buck. We stocked up and they have been living in The Hole. Now that Jules is in Georgia (hi Honey!), I can dehydrate them without worry about the kitchen being a total mess for two days.

One bag down, 3 more to go!

Dehydrated potatoes are a staple of our backpacking. If they are thoroughly dried without any blemishes they will last easily a year. We use them to make mash potatoes that actually taste like and contain some kind of food product.

You can do a lot with mashed potatoes and you don't get sick of it like you can pasta. We top them with dehydrated salsa, dried garlic and chives, and cheese. We smother them in dehydrated hamburger gravy. They go great in dehydrated lentil soup. I like them covered in ketchup, but Jules thinks that is rather disgusting. He is crazy.

Since the potatoes are already cooked, they are a simple food to rehydrate and eat. They also contain valuable potassium, vitamin B6 and Vitamin C. There are some carotenoids stuck in there too.

The best part is the carbohydrates which they contain. The bulk of the carbohydrates are in starch. After cooking and cooling (which is what you do when you dehydrate them) the resistant starch increases to 13%. Resistant starch is not broken down by the small intestine, but the large intestine. This provides significant fiber, is a great way to increase glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lowers plasma cholesterol (the bad stuff) along with triglyceride concentrations, and reduces fat storage. Basically, they make you feel full and are full of good stuff. More of those sneaky vegetables I'm so fond of.

The only negative reconstituted potatoes have, as far a long distance backpacking goes, is the reduction in fat storage. This can become a problem when you are burning far more calories per day than you are physically able to consume. By the later part of his thru-hike on the AT, Jules was eating an combination of straight butter, peanut butter and half and half. It tasted terrible, but it kept him from passing out from too little body fat. We have to monitor this carefully with The Barracuda when we really start putting on the miles. He is big enough now to be able to communicate how he feels; however, giving us enough warning to be able to do something is another story.Jules on the AT. I think he's about half way at this point. By the end those bike shorts were over the top of tights and still baggy. Isn't he a cutie! He was 17. He's never going to let me stay home alone again.
The standard way to dehydrate potatoes removes most of their nutrient content. We now bake the potatoes, allow them to cool, peel, slice and dehydrate. By keeping the skins on while cooking and not boiling them, the nutrients are mostly preserved. It also greatly cuts down on dehydration time since the aren't waterlogged.

Directions
Wash and cut off any bad spots. Bake potatoes at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. You're not looking for mushy, I-want-to-eat-it potatoes just slightly soft ones. You want cooked, but still firm.

Remember to stab the potatoes with a fork a few times or they can explode. Exploding potatoes are really cool science for kids about pressure and the atomic bomb, but really messy when trying to dehydrate.

Allow potatoes to completely cool. It is this cooling process which converts the sugars to resistant starch. It is like back stocking the nutrients. As they cool their skins will start to buckle and bubble up. They can then be peeled just like pumpkins.

Slice potatoes as close to 1/8th of an inch thick as you can get them. Lay them out in the dehydrator.

Dehydrate at approximately 130 degrees for 6-12 hours. They take forever, but they don't smell badly and can be done indoors. They will be crisp and translucent when done. Think, mini-Frisbee. If they aren't completely dry, they rot in less than 3 months and get stinky. A flip or two helps them dry faster.

How much you get per bag really depends on the bag, but it seems like I get about 3 quart containers from the 10 pounds.

To reconstitute, soak for a 1/2 hour and then cook in the same water. Cooking water can then be reserved in order to make gravy.

Planning A Thru-Hike

2010-12-18T17:42:00.000-08:00

Most mornings I get up, refill the firewood box, and go get 5 gallons of water to filter for the day. The Barracuda builds and starts the fire, and then we eat breakfast while talking about what his schoolwork will be that day.

This morning, I got up, laid out clothes for the sleepy child (he had a family Christmas party and personal clothing choices of a 6 year old are normally not appropriate), and then drove Jules to the airport. We sent Jules off at the security check point, I hugged the teary eyed Barracuda, and the two of us ventured back to the car to drop him off at Grampy and Grammy's house for the family Christmas party.

This left me all alone to eat chocolate dipped almond biscotti in the local coffee shop.
Once about every year and a half the planets align and I am left with no Jules and no Barracuda for an entire day. This gives me plenty of time to do wonderful things like plan a long backpacking trip!

It occurred to me a couple weeks ago that The Barracuda is getting to the age where he should feel the satisfaction of walking the entire length of a trail. Not a loop, not a side trail, but the whole of a trail which covers some real miles. His first thru-hike. We're not talking thousands of miles, he is still only 6, but somewhere around 100. This bring us to the Historic Columbia River State Highway Trail.

“You have in the Columbia Highway the most remarkable engineering in the United States, which for scenic grandeur is not equaled anywhere.” Theodore Roosevelt

The last of this trail was completed just this year, so there aren't too many maps of the entire thing. You walk the old historic highway which was originally constructed in 1913 along the basalt ridge lines of the Columbia Gorge, a whole series of snaking forest service trails which have been braided together to create a fabulous view of waterfalls every day, and a couple of state parks here and there for a shower or two. There are also many Lewis and Clark visitor centers along the way to get in all that great learning. Most of the old highway is gone, but preservation efforts have rebuilt and refortified the old tunnels and bridges along the way so now people hike through or across them.

Everyone I know plans long distance hikes a little differently. It is just far too personal a thing to have only one-end-all-be-all way. This is the way that I do it. It is meant as a guideline for others who are trying to figure it all out for themselves.

Create Sections
These sections are not divided into days, they are divided into places I can find definitive information about an area. Preferably rather specific information on topography, mileage, camping, water, sites, towns, etc. Some substantial trails have already done this for you. It is a good idea to remind yourself that you aren' t married to predetermined sections. If your pace is different, if your needs are different, if you have a different idea of what the hike is for you, you can change the sections. In many other cases, even finding a very decent map can be difficult. I'm stringing together multiple different hikes from multiple different sources and know that compass bearings are going to be needed here and there. Often times, many longer hikes are like this. It just plain isn't as simple as walk straight and follow the arrows.

Which Direction?
Most hikes have a standard direction, but just like the sections, you aren't married to it. Which direction do you want to hike? You need to consider seasons on some longer hikes and the ability of resupply. Certain state parks and campsites are only open during peak season

Figure Out Mileage
Once the sections and direction are defined it is much easier to figure out exactly how many miles you will travel each day. In many instances it isn't as simple as a flat number. Some days it pours and you won't be able to cover your miles. Some days are all up hill, just after restocking, or in treacherous terrain and the days are just harder. Other days you will have showered, slept well, the wind is at your back and you fly. Using topographical maps, do an honest analysis of how many miles you think you can cover in each section for the difficulty of the terrain. This will construct the number of days out.

Find Water
This may not be an issue on some trails, but on most that are very long drinking water isn't everywhere. It sucks to have to carry your water for more than about 2 days. Water is heavy and rationing can cause anxiety. In each day, mark everywhere there is water. It is important that you don't just mark where you plan on getting the water, but that all water is marked. Some places dry up, some places will freeze, sometimes things just look gross or signs are posted of people getting sick, sometimes you walk right past it and don't realize. Mark all the water and be sure you can have access at least every other day if possible. This might mean a long day or two.

Find Camping
Around here, you can pretty much camp wherever you throw down your tent. This is not the case everywhere. Designated campsites and open enough areas to camp might be sparse. In each day figure out potential camping places. Topographical maps and overlays of state parks can really help here. Keep in mind that if you are camping in a state park or private campsite you might need reservations as much as 9 months in advance.

Resupply
With mileage, water, and shelter covered, food would be next. Resupplying is just plain necessary. There are many methods which are all outlined really well here. Whatever method you use, consider that it will probably add a significant amount of time (and/or miles) to that day. A bit of shuffling mileage might be necessary around resupply days. For many, resupply days are down days where you sleep, eat like a pig, and take a day off the trail.

Other Considerations
Who is taking you and picking you up?
Most long distance trails are one way so you cannot drive yourself unless the car doesn't matter to you. Many places offer shuttles to well known trail heads. Family members and close friends are often anxious to be helpful if only to consider themselves a part of the process.

Where is your mail forwarded while you are gone?
If no one is at home while you are gone, it has to go somewhere.

How do you figure out work?
Since very rarely does a backpacking trip go as planned, a day or two here or there (even week or two here or there) can be common. Everything is approximate. It is important any employer realizes this or that you leave yourself plenty of leeway between time home and time back to work.

Pets?
Lots of trails have special provisions for pets or separate sections where pets are allowed. Many just flat out don't allow them due to the ecosystem or wildlife. Check first.

Family and Friend meet-ups?
It is often fun for family and friends to meet up and hike with you in places. Keep this in mind as it will probably add time or mean you need to check in via phone to report on progress.

Mainly, just read, read and read some more. Then realize that everything you read isn't worth much while experiencing the difficulties which always come on vacation.

This time our trip isn't going to be a long one. At only 80 miles it should take us about 2 weeks. However, ample planning is essential for the trip to be fun and for Jules (and my father) not to be worrying like mad at home.

Tricks for Hiking with Kids

2010-12-13T23:03:00.000-08:00

Being a long distance backpacker, Jules began to lose his mind hiking at the 1.5 mile an hour pace of a 2 and a half year old. When it took 20 minutes due to looking at every twig, snail, and rivulet of water, Jules would begin to get a little tense. By the time it got to lagging behind from fatigue Jules would already be worked up and the proposition of not completing the hike would put him over the edge. As such, we developed a bunch of games to play while hiking that The Barracuda really loves and they keep us up to pace.

Mr. H over at Subsistence Pattern was looking for ideas to keep his grandson interested while still covering some miles when they were hiking. Up until this point, I hadn't really considered too much all the games we played with The Barracuda while we were walking along. I figured I'd throw them up here for everyone else out there looking to get a bit more for their mile.

Fort to Sea trail, Fort Clatsop, Oregon

Warning: Many of these games are only played with one parent. For whatever reason or 6 year old has decided, certain things are not allowed to cross gender lines. You may need to experiment with which parent is involved before finding a match.

I Spy
We will play I Spy when The Barracuda seems to be preoccupied with everything around him. This way he walks with us at whatever pace we are going and still gets to look around. We originally started small with "I spy a flower" or "I spy a leaf tree" or whatever. It has now progressed to "I spy a Western Red Cedar" or "I spy Salal" or "I spy a shelf fungus." We take turns and he gets to have us spy things as well. This has really helped with the constant movement. It also works to keep him from realizing he might be getting tired. If we have walked in silence for a while or we notice him dragging a bit, we pick it up and he quickly forgets about any fatigue. I'm amazed at what The Barracuda can remember. The game helps to impart some concept of nature's biodiversity, as well as sharpening observational skills and descriptive adjectives.

Tag
This is a Dad only game. I've tried; no dice. Silly things are reserved for his father and I'm there when the games get out of hand and someone gets hurt. When The Barracuda seems completely enamored with something, has had time to look, and is dragging on, Jules will come up, smack him, scream "TAG!" as loud as possible and then go tearing off down the trail. The child cannot resist this. Regardless of how tired he was or how cool whatever it was he saw, he will follow in hot pursuit. Jules (who is 6'4") will allow himself to be tagged after a bit, give the kid a very dramatic head start and then chase after him a while. Jules also will switch it up by sometimes completely pretending to be tired and being very over-dramatic about it. The Barracuda will begin encouraging him to continue. Jules will then say "Psych!" tag the kid and run away again. The fake out then makes the kid all the more anticipatory. He will pay extremely close attention to Dad and not his own hiking. (Personally, mom thinks it gives them both breaks so they don't pass out from an embolism due to running with packs on.) It continues until one person falls down fairly hard, gets pushed over, or Dad becomes exhausted.

You can cover some serious mileage with this game, even if it is only in bursts. The game makes all sense of fatigue and time disappear.

Hidden Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah

Hide and Seek
I'm sometimes allowed to play this game. More often than not I'm supposed to be the straight man suggesting places Jules could have hidden. I'm also supposed to be extremely surprised when hidden people leap out at me. Scaring Dad isn't funny. Scaring Mom is hysterical.

Originally, Jules would over dramatically run ahead on the trail and "hide." This term is used loosely, especially when he is dressed in orange and 6'4". Now he tends to sneak off like a ninja making the game incorporate ninjas and ultimately be cooler.

I then notice that we can't see Jules anywhere and begin looking in weird places: under The Barracuda's hat, in tree stumps, up in the branches of the tree, inside the dog's mouth, etc. After I can't find him (and much child giggling) I will announce the need for help and suggest that The Barracuda should run ahead and find his Dad. Off he will bound. Jules will give helpful noise clues here and there if the child was really getting distracted or having trouble. Once found, The Barracuda will join Jules hiding. They will wait for me, often with the same noise clues if I'm not traveling fast enough. Another elaborate looking session will ensue "I wonder where The Barracuda went...maybe he is under this nurse log?" I ask the dog for help. I look under pebbles. You get the idea. They then jump out at me, I will fake being scared and exclaim how fabulously he hid. The boy then runs ahead, hides himself for his dad to find, and then both leap out at me again.

Currently this is working because he is 6, wearing bright red, and hides in places like behind a bush which is see through. In a bit we may have to revise it so we do not loose the child.

Though it is a bit like leap frogging up the trail, the running ahead keeps the kid moving. We also have the rule we have to be able to find him from on the trail so he doesn't go off somewhere weird and get lost.

Name Calling
This is a game which is somewhere attached to the Y chromosome. I don't get it. Both the males think it is rad. The Barracuda claims it is his favorite of all the games. The boys will take turns calling each other the most vulgar things they can think of and then laugh about it. Poopy fart face, penis pincher, snot rocket, puke infected drool nose, butt munch, turd nugget, the list goes on and on....I don't know. They will play it for over 45 minutes and compliment each other on when they have a "good one."

Mom has instituted the rule it can only be played with Dad or Grampie since when The Barracuda tried to play it on the playground we got parent complaints. It keeps him moving, he LOVES it, and apparently he is bonding with his father.

Aldo Leopold Wilderness, Gila National Forest, New Mexico

Crazy Science Quiz
This developed when I Spy got a bit old and for a while was apparently "Baby-ish." It isn't anymore, but it was for a bit. Whatever... I just go with it. Since we use hiking to do a lot of homeschool science, this game helps us to see if he is actually applying anything we have talked about. It also helps that it is something fun he likes to do. This is not a Dad game. Apparently Jules isn't qualified....Again, I don't know, I just go with it.

I will come up with a science question like "How do you know it is a Cedar tree?" or "What are the three ways we identify trees?" or "What is this little river called when it runs into the big river down stream?" or "What kind of clouds are those?" etc. This is something we would have covered either in I Spy or in some form of discussion previously. Then I make it sound like I don't know if he will know the answer, that it is really hard, that he might just be too young to know the answer. All of this makes The Barracuda listen really well and definitely gets his attention. Sometime hints are used, sometime profusely. When he gets it right, I then gush over how extremely amazing that was, how there are lots of people and adults who wouldn't know the answer, how he must be a genius. Child is rather giddy and proud of himself.

He then gets to ask me a question. Sometimes this involves the woods that I have no idea about such as "What kind of fungus is that?" pointing to some random mushroom. Sometimes it is totally bizarre like "How come Guadie (the dog) licks her crotch?" or "How come sometime I fart and it smells really bad, but sometimes it doesn't?" Sometimes it involves girls "Why does Claire only play with me if Parker isn't around?" I don't know what goes on in his little head, but it keeps communication open. He will talk much more if we are walking than if I try to talk to him when he is sitting down. It also means that he has to keep his pace up with me and forgets about how far he is hiking.

The Map
The Barracuda is included in looking at the map constantly. We actively talk about features to look for. "There should be a trail intersection up ahead a ways. Can you look for it?" or "See that big lake, which side of the trail would it be on? Can you see if you can find it?" That kind of question keeps the kid not only having to get into the map, but also observe the terrain. He is then looking all around and not paying any attention to how he is feeling tired or how far we are going. It also gives him very tangible rewards. We made it to the lake, next it is the big hill or scree slope, then the trail intersection. He can plan our hike as well as developing topographical skills.
Natural Bridges, Mt. Adam's Ranger District, Washington

Magic Energy Drink
This is so ridiculous I am waiting for the moment it no longer works. Jules first made a big deal out of telling Dae about Magic Energy Drink because it was very special and secret. I thought Jules was crazy. It always works though.

Jules has a special Nalgene bottle. We bring it hiking. It is filled with Magic Energy Drink (aka watered down juice or watered down Gatorade). Sometimes I will put food coloring in to make it look even more mystical. When The Barracuda gets tired and still keeps going, he can then have a drink of Magic Energy Drink. This child will do amazing things after drinking it. He will do amazing things if he knows he gets to drink it. Supposedly he is gifted, but every time this works makes me wonder.

Nature Journal
As another portion of homeschooling, The Barracuda has started a nature journal. We take digital pictures of at least 3 things he wants to remember or finds cool while we are hiking. They then are drawn into his journal later, he identifies them via the internet, and he lists their distinguishing features. It was originally an add on to learning about Lewis and Clark. I thought he would only do it for maybe two entries, but the kid LOVES it. He does it all the time and now that he knows he doesn't have to personally remember every detail that helps with looking at every worm, bug, stick, lichen, rock, leaf, on and on and on. It has also helped him develop quite a nice vocabulary for trying to describe what he sees.

Lemei Trail to Wapika Lake, Indian Heaven Wildnerness, Washington
Environmental Lit
Jules is a high school English teacher with a huge selection of environmental literature. We read a lot of environmental literature and poetry to The Barracuda. When we hike, we now take turns saying lines of the literature. Dad: "Whose woods these are I think I know" The Barracuda: "His house is in the village though" Me: "He will not see me stopping here to watch his woods fill up with snow" on and on and on. Dad: "So much depends upon" The Barracuda: "A red wheel barrow" Me: "glazed with rain water" on and on and on. Dad: "He clasped the crag with crooked hands" The Barracuda: "Close to the sun in lonely lands" Me: "Ringed with the azure world he stands" on and on and on. We talk about the imagery, the setting, the metaphor/similes, the mood/tone, the main idea, etc. Though it is more of the homeschool thing, it is also a great way to bring both the text to life and the woods to words. We have found The Barracuda's ability to articulate himself greatly increased because of the literature we have read. John Muir has this incredible quote about "the burled backbones of trees" or Alfred Lord Tennyson describes a river as "the wrinkled sea beneath him crawls." They are providing language to many things The Barracuda had become frustrated trying to explain. Now he has help with the words.

This game mainly keeps The Barracuda moving and focused on the words not every tiny other thing. In explaining his thoughts he forgets about miles, we are once again communicating, and as a family we are sharing the woods in intimate ways.

Tilly Jane Section of Cooper's Spur Loop, Mt. Hood, Oregon

Mainly, don't underestimate your kid. Often The Barracuda kicks my butt hiking because he is a little powerhouse of energy and doesn't begin to hurt like I do. Talk to them, listen to them and just have fun being with them. The Barracuda is so very full of interesting ideas, neat connections, and awesome goals I never would have learned about had we not just started up a conversation.

We started hiking seriously when he was between 2.5 and 3 years old, and began off trail/backcountry hikes at 3.5. Currently, he can hike back to back to back 8 mile days in stride and would probably max out at 10 miles if we really let him. We're trying to get him up to 12 miles every day for a minimum of a week out. He is determined to through hike the AT before 9 and then the PCT before 12.

Cutting A Rug

2010-12-12T20:33:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a very fancy date with a much younger man. We got dressed up and he combed his hair (a special night in deed!). There was music and dancing and a big ballroom. But it was getting late and tomorrow is a school night. Bedtime calls. He escorted me home (or vise versa) and was a total gentleman.

Shortly after we arrived, however, I was upstaged by a younger woman in a much prettier dress! I'd call her a hussy, but she was really cute.

Then he began working the room and I was left to guard the punch. We're going to have our hands full by 13!

They danced several more times that evening. I snuck in an extra dance here or there in between his harem of girls.

The Barracuda has started taking dance lessons. Shortly after we started, he was asked to join the performance/competition group by the dance instructors and they are currently trying to find him a partner. He is ecstatic and loves to dance. What I did not know is that finding a partner for a small 6 year old isn't really all that easy. As such, we now attend the all classes dance parties offered by the instructors so that we can hopefully find another female which is within the mandatory 2-3 inches of his height without her heels on or 4-6 inches with her heals on. (I know, 2 inch heels!)

The parties are for all classes meaning adult through 5. The instructors are professionals and we got to watch the adult routines of who were attending the World Championships coming up this weekend. The idea is to show the kids and teens what professional ballroom/latin/country dancers look like. We even to got to see a Polka.

They twirled and wore sparkly outfits while the audience clapped and whistled. It was SO much fun.

Mainly, it means fancy parties like this one in a professional ballroom and dressing up. YAY! I'm ~~dragging~~ inviting Jules next time.

Decisions, Decisions

2010-12-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

My Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog came today. SEED CATALOG!!!! In case you all out there didn't know, mid to late December is a time of thanks, gratitude, and joy in our house not because of all that religious stuff, but due to seed catalogs coming in the mail. The Roman Catholic Church must have known this when they picked Jesus' birth to coincide with this time of year. Jules is equally ~~dreading~~ excited about all the questions, and pictures, and discussions about seeds that we get to have. Yay!

It is chock full of page after page of full color garden porn. Normally this would call for running a hot bath and telling the entire household to consider me dead for the next 2 hours. With us moving, however, I currently do not know if I'm going to have a garden (or even a yard).

Slight buzzkill.

The bummer doesn't need to be all encompassing, though. I can still pull out a notebook and pine over tomato, squash, and lettuce varieties just in case.

I've considered making a calendar out of all the pretty pictures inside the catalog so that I can have a fictitious garden which always looks beautiful, never has weeds, and produces perfect food. We'll have to see. In a couple weeks we will know a bit more about exactly where we are going to and when.