Hiking the South Fork (from 2016)

Hiking west on the South Fork of the Hoh River Trail.


At Christmas my brother-in-law asked if I wanted to go hiking in the Olympics and I jumped at the chance. I have always wanted to visit the mountain range to the west of Seattle (my unofficial “home away from home”) and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.


I didn’t do a whole lot in preparation for this trip until summer rolled around. Once summer arrived I started regular visits to the local REI for equipment and advice (Thank you Ginger!) and I signed up for classes on Backpacking, Reading a Compass in the Backcountry, Wilderness Survival Skills. On the daily trips to walk the dog I started carrying a loaded backpack to help get used to carrying the weight. Finally, I ventured to Afton State Park and did some hiking and camping there. Thank goodness I did some preparation, because I had no idea what laid ahead.


In early August I loaded up my gear and flew west. We met in Portland and drove north and then west to get to the South Fork of the Hoh River Campground. Thankfully the bridge to the campground was finished and that saved us another 3.3 miles of hiking. After a “quick” stop at the campground, where I lost my wallet in the pit toilet, we were off to the trailhead and the start of a great adventure.


Within the first thirty minutes of hiking we came across a herd of Roosevelt elk and this was just the beginning. I came to be quite fond our friends the elk. They are gracious enough to create trails through the woods and river bottoms; and there is nothing better than hearing the elk call out to one another as you move through the forest. At the end of day two we stumbled across a herd that had been sunning themselves. I was so tired, that I didn’t get a good picture…





Out of focus shot of the elk getting ready to leave.


The scenery was wonderful. In the morning and the evening the fog would roll in over the mountain tops and sometimes even sink down to the valley floor. Some locations were just out of the wind enough that they seemed to always be generating fog.





Fog poured out of the same spot in that mountain almost all day.


Our first two days were blessed with sun, almost too much sun, and our last few days the sun was more “hit or miss”.


I learned a lot about second-growth forests and how the trees change as you gain altitude, but most of what I learned was about myself. There was something comforting in working so very hard and then setting up camp and having a wonderful dinner. It was fun to learn how to be more comfortable and to learn about what items I packed, that I really should have left at home.


We took some routes that I wouldn’t travel on again, and I was reminded about how much of life is your attitude and mental flexibility. At times I let the degree of difficultly beat me down a bit; but as always, there was more to the story. Good things happen if you just keep moving forward.


One of the many joys of the trip was the opportunity to refocus on what things are important to me. When I was most tired and weary my journal was a source of assistance, but the main force that kept me going was wanting to be reunited with my loving wife. Funny that a trip outside my comfort zone helped refocus me on what is important.


Hat tip here to my guide and partner in crime on the trip. I have never travelled with someone who was better at finding the trail and reading how far we could push it in one day. Amazing experience.





I also owe my wife and Oregon friends a debt of gratitude for getting my passport to Portland so that I could fly home.


It was nice to brush up the the edge of my boundaries and push them out a bit. I am a better man for having walked in the woods.

Bucket List #61

So it is Sunday morning and its warm enough to get my butt on a bike are ride to coffee with the boys.

43rd Street Sunday Morning Coffee Group

It occurs to me while I am at coffee that I could head down to the lake and see the Art Shanties on Lake Harriet.




This would be a great way to get more time on the bike and some sorely needed exercise. Wait a minute. I could bike across the lake – it’s January, and it has been a cold winter…Bucket list time.

Our First Trip to the Wolverine State

First posted 2 July 2018

So we packed up the dog, rented a mini-van, and headed east to explore the shores and beaches of western Michigan. We booked late and this is where we ended up.





Our place in the woods for four days.


This humble abode has a screen porch on the back, and it was here I first discovered the cloud like wings of the trees in the forrest. I couldn’t believe when the wind would move through the forrest – the branches would slowly move up and down and I felt as if I was in the clouds.



While we never made it to the beach to sit in the sun and read, we did do some great birding. Here are a few of Karyl’s great shots.





Red-bellied Woodpecker





















House Wren





Gray’s Catbird





American Tree Sparrow

The Scene of the Crime...

The Minnesota River meets the Mississippi River.

A Beautiful Ride along the Minnesota River

Today I enjoyed a beautiful bike ride from the 494 Bridge in Eagan, north on the Big Rivers Trial.  I love the view of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers as they merge, but along the way I noticed some handsome older buildings, and I just had to investigate.

Hidden Gems

I love home built from stone.  They look so solid, and it feels as if one could withstand any winter that might come your way.  I have seen the homes of Cornish miners near Galena, Illinois - a

Henry Sibley House

Ice House

Lo and behold, I found the Henry Sibley House.  I read that originally there were log cabin homes here, but in 1862 (a pretty important year in Minnesota history) Mr. Sibley built these more permanent structures.  There was the ice house, a trading post, and the home of another trader, Jean Baptiste Faribault.

Money First and People Later

I know that in 1851, in this area the Dakota "signed" away millions of acres to the US government.  After signing two copies of the treaty, the Dakota were led to a third document which stated that part of the money that was promised to the Dakota was to go to traders like Sibley to pay off their debts.  It would appear that while the trading business was not doing well for Mr. Sibley in 1851, he used the Dakota money and he did very well financially over the next eleven years.

I know you aren't supposed to judge people from 1862 by moral standards from 2018, but it is hard not to look at these beautiful homes and feel that they are a shameful part of Minnesota history.  I guess this is what happens when you look at others and don't seem these as people too.

Home of Jean Baptiste Faribault

I still can't help thinking that Mr. Sibley should have done better.  He seems like a bit of a shameless opportunist.

Eaten Alive

My visit to these beautiful buildings was cut short by the persist attack of ten thousand mosquitoes.  The wind had not yet kicked up, and even when I stood in the sun and on the road I was mauled by our state bird.  I left wondering how the Sibley's enjoyed their summer months given the enthusiasm of the local mosquito population.

Sibley home and I believe the building on the right is a trading post.

Fremont...Earth

Written in 2017 and finally posted in July 2018...

West Coast Adventures

So I have had the great fortune to visit friends and family on the West Coast for the last nine days.  This has been a great opportunity to create new stories, laugh, read, and do some of the things that don't get done during the academic year.

Seattle:
We decided to hit Pikes Place Market for some Beecher's mac & cheese, some cherries, and whatever else looked good for dinner (mangoes and salmon).

It all begins here.  "Because Beer Matters"

What?

World Cup Blues

Slightly in a fog at work I learned that Japan was up 2-0 versus Belgium at the half.  Excellent news.  Later in the shift I checked in with our guest mechanic (an engineer from Shimano who is here getting some real life training).  He told me that the score was tied in the 84th minute.  Noooo.

Later I went down to use the rest room and Joe the mechanic is watching the game on his phone.  I wandered over to watch Keisuke Honda take a direct kick and the Belgian goalie knocked it out for a Japanese corner. I rushed to use the restroom came back and Joe is disgustedly putting away his phone.  "Belgium won."

"What?"  How could there have been a corner and then a goal at the other end of the field in that short time?  Not possible.

Not possible.  Pass, dribble, pass, pass, goal, game.  Grrrrr.

More Scientific Study

 

The comforting jingle of halyards on masts at Wayzata Yacht Club.

So yesterday it was my day to go long on the bike.  I hopped on the 520 and headed west, taking the Cedar Trail west to Hopkins (with a hat tip to the Depot Coffee Shop for the bathroom), northwest through Hopkins to the Minnetonka Recreational Trail to McGinty Avenue to Lake Minnetonka and the Wayzata Yacht Club.  I was surprised at how short the trip was from the yacht club to the downtown area.

From Wayzata I headed north on Broadway until I found the Luce Line and then I headed west on the Luce Line, hoping to find Micki Wanous's new house.  Unfortunately, I ran out of time and I got within 12 minutes - which is probably two miles, before I had to turn around and head back.  This was my final view west.

Luce Line Trail

You Are Here.

For here I navigated my way back home.  I was surprised at how quickly I was able to get back to the friendly confines of the Depot Coffee Shop.  Here I was met by the Grim Reaper - a chocolate covered old fashioned doughnut.  This was no ordinary doughnut either.  The chocolate frosting was liberally applied, which caused me to abandon all common sense -- forget the bars with cranberries.  I wandered outside to a table in the shade and then I inhaled this culinary gut bomb with all the enthusiasm of a seventh grade boy.  I think I may have got frosting in my ears I was eating the doughnut so fast.  

A very poor idea.

From here I headed east, eventually racing a train to the place where the trail crosses the tracks.  Happily the train slowed down at the intersection before the nexus of path and train tracks so that I make it with ease.

The remainder of the trip - back around the lakes and south back to home is an exercise in paying attention to the body and taking breaks here and there.

So far, on the longer rides, I seem to need a bathroom stop 10-15 miles into the trip and then around the 30 mile mark my neck begins to get sore.

The Doctor is In

Eventually I make it to the bike shop - late for my Monday shift.  In a stroke of good luck no customers were waiting to have their bikes serviced, so I was able to check the 520 in with Andrew Chaffe (an amazing mechanic).  

I thought I might need a new cassette, perhaps some new cables, new hoods, and that might be it.  Turns out the ole 520 needed a lot more attention than that. Your rims are supposed to be a flat surface, but mine have had so much use that there were badly scalloped.  This led to one of those moments where all the mechanics gather and comment about how close to collapse my rims were at.  Hat tip here to Mavic for building great rims.  Not only were my rims trashed, but my trusted "newer" Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires had a big cut in the back tire.  

So it is with great sadness that I say, "goodbye" to my beloved Deore hubs.  Thanks for the ride boys!  So I will be getting new tires, rims, cassette, hoods, bar tape, bottle holders, and who knows what else.

Thank goodness that I took the bike in for a check up with three weeks to go before the big Iowan adventure.

Ups and Downs from the Week of October 17

So earlier in the week it looked like someone forgot to give the Dodgers the memo that this was the year of the Cubs.  The Dodgers had won in Chicago and then the Dodgers won the first game at Chavez Ravine 1-0.  The Cubs looked to be on life support before waking up Wednesday night in game four, and then the bats came alive.  Thursday the Cubbies kept it going and then last night, against Clayton Kershaw they pounded out the fourth win to grab their first National League pennant since 1945.  Congratulations Cubs!

One of several articles about the Vikings.

The front of today's Star Tribune's Sports section is about the Vikings.  Lots and lots of Vikings articles, which strikes me a bit celebrating a bit early.  We have had articles about Bradford's high completion rate and it all strikes me as going a bit too far, to early.

We shall see.

Happily the presidential debates are behind us and we have 16 days until we vote and see how it all turns out.  A special thanks to the Major League baseball for having a game during the third debate.

So far, the best story of the fall is Miguel Montero's pinch-hit grand slam.  Dave Roberts, the Dodger manager, internally walked to have the pitcher's position come up - hoping to have the Cubs pinch hit for flame throwing Aroldis Chapman.  Sure enough, Joe Madden pinch hit for Chapman, but Montero, who was hitting, .221, hit an 0-2 pinch half-way up the bleachers.  The best part was that Mom called the shot.  She said, "Sometimes the .221 guys are the ones who are heroes in these games."  Boom.  Good call Mom.