The White Room

Kris and I got into the mountains again on Sunday. We spent about two and a half hours cross country skiing. Since we had just had over a foot of fresh snow we got to explore a lot more of the trails. It was beautiful out there. The snow was still falling and everything was covered with a foot of powder! Only problem we can see is that our xc area shares space with a lot of snowmobiles. I'm not too fond of the machines, they make too much noise and the people who ride them are normally dangerous as hell! We came across one sitting in the trail, flipped over with nobody around it...strange. Tony and I went out to Bachelor yesterday to hike the cone again. Another foot plus of fresh. As we started boot packing up through the trail we noticed just exactly how much snow we have. We both plunged up to our waists in powder numerous times. The first hike up must have taken around 45 minutes. It was snowy and cold (10 degrees, maybe less) at the top. We pulled our snowboards off and strapped in.
Tony went first and I followed a ways behind him. My first turns were met with light and fluffy powder that seemed to have no bottom. On the third turn I cranked the board hard over on my heel side and a plume of snow went up and over my head. I couldn't see. I was still moving fast but had no idea where to. I dug another turn, this time toe side and launched out of the powder cloud. Amazing, I just had my first face shot. At this point I was hooping and hollering as loud as I could as I slashed turns down the face of the dome. Before we shot down into the trees we stopped to catch our breath and laugh our faces off. I stopped and accidentally sat down. The snow was far too deep to touch the ground with my arms, I didn't make that mistake again.

The trees were filled in nicely so Tony and I put our mark in the fresh snow there as well. We got to the bottom and shouldered our boards for another lap. The second time was even better than the first. We both sped down the mountain throwing fountains of snow in all directions. This time we picked a longer route through the trees and came out lower on the mountain. At the bottom we quickly decided on a third run. My legs had all they could do to carry me back up to the top. More and more people had shown up as well.

We let everyone drop in first to make sure we had the dome all to ourselves. As we started charging big turns down the mountain we noticed a head and shoulders sticking out of the snow. Farther down the hill three skiers were stationary and peering in our direction. Apparently their friend had fallen and basically buried himself in snow. Tony and I swept past the buried man, carved huge turns uphill of the other three and then dropped into the woods without so much as slowing.

At the bottom of the mountain we congratulated each other with a fist bump and headed off to see Tony's girlfriend Kaitlin at the rental department. I picked up my pass paperwork and found out that Kristen, as my wife, can get a half off pass this winter as well (great news). Opening day is today, but we can't get our passes until both of us can head up there. Tomorrow perhaps, I'm dying to get more vertical in!

Total snowfall for this season is 96"!

Bend And Beyond

Well at this point we've been in Bend for around three weeks. We did finally get into our own apartment on the 2nd of November and it has been great. Getting back into a routine has been really nice. Bend is a neat "little" town and we've met quite a few new friends. Here's a pic of our Halloween celebration for those who haven't yet seen them on Kristen's facebook. Bunch of weirdos eh?

The day after Halloween Kris and I headed up to the Great Pumpkin Factory north of Bend to see some good old fall stuff. It was cool as hell. They had a corn maze, all kinds of weird pumpkins, and a air cannon that shot pumpkins at like 90mph. All in all it was a good afternoon, just wished they had more apple cider to sell me... Below you'll see my lovely wife in her fall finest.

We've been exploring the mountains lately too. There was a big snowstorm that hit the week we arrived in Bend. The pic below is from Tumalo Mt. after that first snow. It was around 50 degrees and sunny that day. Enough snow that we couldn't find the trail since we were not familiar with it. Was fun to just hike around in the snow though. Quite a few people were skinning up, or hiking up to ski / snowboard down. It's obvious to me that I'm going to need some new equipment to access the terrain all the locals hit. You can see Bachelor in the background looking dominant!

Tony (our roomate) finally arrived and he and I got out into the mountains with our equipment last week. The pic below is what we hiked (red lines) and skied (blue lines). We started up to the dome, a local favorite, which is attached to the mountain but not accessible by the lift. It was around a 45 minute hike up in our boots. The weather that day (not pictured) was great. Sunny and in the mid 50s. At points when I was going up I was in a t-shirt. The first run down was good, but Tony and I hit a few rocks, sticks and other stuff due to the lack of equipment. Once we were done our first run we were on our way back up when we met a local who knew the mountain. He was on his way up the mountain higher so we tagged along and hiked up to the mid-mountain area and then skied down. This was a nicer run due to the lack of traffic on the runs. All in all it was a sick day and I can't wait to get out again.

Yesterday I was by myself so I decided to hike Tumalo again. These last two pics are from yesterday. It was slightly overcast, cold and windy. Once I got above treeline I was astounded at the wind here. Tumalo stands at 7,775 ft so it's getting up there. On top the wind was howling and rime ice was blowing around like snow. I was there to inspect the backside bowl which the locals have been telling me about. I was excited by what I found. The pic below doesn't do it justice but it's a snowfield that must be around 45 degrees (maybe more?) and extends the entire width of Tumalo. It ends in an area with no exposure that is dotted with scrubby, little pines. Can't wait until it fills in, this is going to be a sick stash!

I had to get out of there after I grabbed the pics since the snow was like ice and I was in danger of being blown down the slope. The walk down was a lot warmer and the sun even started coming out.

So there you have it. As I sit here it's snowing in town which means it's more than likely dumping in the mountains. Bachelor is scheduled to open up next wednesday. I've got a free pass lined up for working at the mountain (rentals, not glamorous but we just want to ski!) and we will get Kris a mid-week pass to save a bunch of money. Now we just need to get fatter skis!

Hope everyone is doing well, drop me a line next time you get a chance. Scott I have your trail map, but I don't have an address. I'll get it from Cheryl or Nan. Talk to you soon!

The Here And Now

So that brings us from Seattle to Bend, OR. Kris and I arrived last Thursday to beautiful weather, 70 and sunny for two days. We spent the next 4 days finding jobs and looking for apartments.

I will be working for an online outfitter doing customer service work. Hopefully that will be good and if not I'll have more time to ski... Kris has signed on with a company for per diem work which pays enough in two days to cover my entire weeks paycheck =o) I love that woman!

We found a quaint (not), little (haha) place in town for ourselves but can't move in until the 3rd. In actuality the place is a palace, four bedrooms and three baths, not to mention two decks. We will be moving into the master bedroom which is equipped with its own bathroom complete with jet tub, boohya! One of the other three bedrooms will be occupied by Tony, a good friend from the island. We may also find another roommate to make rent cheaper but it's not necessary.

Bend is sick. If you're down in the valley it's mild and usually quite nice. Up in the mountains we've already got loads of snow. We are 25 minutes from the ski mountain and other winter activities and we're 40 minutes from one of the most sweetest climbing destinations in the country, Smith Rock.

Check out the pics. The ones from Smith Rock are from Saturday, the rest are from up in the mountains Monday and Wednesday. I can tell we are going to get along quite nicely here in Bend, OR. And they are calling for the biggest winter in a decade to boot!

Scott I intend to send you that trail map of Bachelor as soon as I can get through the gates to get one!

Let's Catch Up

OK, so before I tell you about the new stuff let me get you caught up on the things we did during the second week in October.

Kris' parents flew into Seattle after our Olympic trip so we ran over and picked them up. Once out of SeaTac we headed north towards the ferry to get back to the island for a one night stay. After being delayed at the airport due to a lost bag (Kevin's stuff went to Detroit without him) we were way behind to catch the ferry. We rolled into the landing at the very last minute and after a rally inspired driving effort I put the van on the ferry in the nick of time.

We stayed the night in Friday Harbor and went out to dinner. Heard a good little set of music by some locals and drank some beers. In the morning we caught the ferry to Sidney Canada. Cheryl had the awesome idea of renting an '86 Westfalia for the week to road trip out of. We caught a cab to the spot where we were to pick up the van from the ferry. Unfortunately we had to wait over an hour and half for Arturo "the van guy" to arrive. After going through everything with us HE AGREED TO LET US HAVE EXTRA MILEAGE AT NO EXTRA COST (that was for the owner of the company who is trying to charge Cheryl for the mileage...) and we signed the contract (STATING MILEAGE AT NO EXTRA COST) and got on our way.

We rolled into Victoria for a while to get Kevin a fishing license and enjoy some local pubs and then hit the van to put some miles on. We got as far as Duncan, the city of totems, before stopping at the only place open to watch football and eat dinner. That night we drove a little out of our way to sleep at a little provincial park. The whole family was thrilled with the space of the pop top as soon as we got everything sorted out. It slept four adults impressively and had all the amenities. The next day we continued our drive towards the west coast of Vancouver Island and found Kevin a couple of fishin' holes to cast at. Cheryl, Kris and I went for a walk and had some beers in the van. We walked down to a fish ladder where thousands of salmon were trying to reach their spawning grounds. It was pretty neat to see, but also very depressing. It rained all day so we didn't get much done but it was good to relax and sit around for a change. Kevin came back late that day, near dusk, with a jack salmon that we promptly brought back to our campsite and cooked up. Had a fire, had good food and had good friends. It was a good night.
Back on the road the next morning we dropped Kevin off at another spot and went in search of showers. After our showers we walked down to see some local petroglyphs carved along the side of a nice lake. Kevin called and said he was finished so we went over to pick him up and headed up the road toward Tofino. It was a long drive down some curvy roads but we made it no worse for the wear. Once in Tofino we scouted around and quickly found there was a surf event going on just outside of town. The Cold Water Classic, sponsored by O'Neil. The surfers were sick and we watched for time from shore. After the beach we hit the locals hang out and had burgers and beers right next to the town pier. That night we poached a spot in the parking lot of Grice Bay so Kevin could fish in the morning. We awoke to some fifty odd workers being offloaded onto shore by a skiff while others climbed aboard. Apparently there is a salmon hatchery just offshore and the shifts were changing. Kevin had a few bites that morning but the best part was the sunrise over the mountains. Truly epic. Back on the road we ran to Tofino to hook up with a local kayak rental shop and get some boats. Unfortunately we had to wait around for the shop owner due to a scheduling error and didn't get onto the water until around 1:30. He cut down the price, which smoothed things over and we had a great time. Tofino is a beautiful place to kayak. The mountains come right down to the sea and you can see glaciers in the distance. The pics don't do it justice but hopefully you guys get the idea. That night we camped locally and started heading back towards Victoria the next day.
After 30 years of hoping Kevin finally got to tailgate at a Washington Huskies game. We drove down to campus, which was a mob scene, and found a parking lot we would be able to get out of when the festivities were over. We walked all over campus and finally found the area where the pre-game events happen. That was furtuitous because we saw both the home and away bands march through and play and we got to see the players coming into the stadium. All in all it was a good time. Afterwards we got pizza and watched the game at a local pub! Unfortunately we had to put Kevin and Cheryl on a plane home that same night...bummer.
The trip was great, although I would take longer next time. The van performed admirably but it did leak copious amounts of gas every now and again.

The place we rented from "WestfaliaRentals.com" out of Victoria (seems to be a franchise company) is run by unprofessional, untrustworthy business people. As I said we waited for over an hour and a half for them to come to the location to give us the van. They told us over the phone they would "be there shortly"... The employee of the company waived the mileage fee and put it in writing but the owner of the company tried to make Cheryl pay it after all. I set a time to meet the same employee on the drop off date and he never showed up...

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS FOOL, HE WILL TRY TO TAKE YOUR MONEY AND HE IS UNPROFESSIONAL AT BEST!

Up To Date...

Hey everyone. At this very moment I'm living in a Wal-Mart parking lot and staying (sort of) at a friends house in Seattle, WA. We're sitting around a table and debating douche bags at MIA concerts (you know who you are a-hole).

I have finished updating pics for the old posts. I've been in touch with a great company in Bend that is willing to give me a interview and we are heading there tomorrow morning. Until then we are having good times with good friends.

I'll catch you all up on the rest of the week in Tofino Canada ASAP and post pics.

Hope you guys are still with me!

The Beaches

Woke up with a splitting headache this morning. Immediately went to the cooler on the porch for some day old pizza, which only made things worse. Went back to sleep when it was evident that everyone was still asleep.

We got moving around 11am and Matty cooked up some killer breakfast of home fries, eggs and bacon. After we all ate we stared to come alive and got the fire going again. It’s been windy and cold all day, overcast with some rain showers. We mustered a trip down to 3^rd beach for some hiking and saw some great sea stacks, a waterfall and some gnarly beach break.

Came back home and Kris and I headed to 2^nd beach for an hour or two. If any of you ever get a chance to come out to the Olympic Penn. And want to hit the beaches I would highly recommend 2^nd. The landscape just off the beach is amazing with sea stacks and crashing surf and the tide pooling is great. We saw three varieties of sea star, sea anemone and loads of other creatures.

We walked around for a while before heading back to the cabin and rousing Matty and Taryn out of bed. Once up the three of them went on a search for fresh salmon (this is an Indian community that thrives on fishing for food and commerce) and I chilled to do some reading. When the got back, sans fresh salmon but some home smoked salmon from a local, we all ran over to the RV park for some commando showers. In and out and clean and nobody noticed that we weren’t staying at the park…sweet!

Clean and dry and warm, I have a feeling the drinks will start flowing again. Tomorrow it’s off to the Hoh Rainforest and then staying farther south on the coast again tomorrow night. Picking up the in-laws on Saturday afternoon to head to Tofino! Can’t wait to see you guys, hope you’re in for some adventuring.

La Push

Kris and I woke up early and got out of the dark campsite heading toward the beach. We figured there would be more light on the beach and it would be more pleasant to eat our breakfast. We were wrong on the more pleasant part. It must have been down around forty degrees and the wind was whipping to boot. I could hardly get the water to boil for coffee due to the wind and we spent a very long time standing next to the pot shivering. After I finally got coffee prepared we sat on the beach for a few minutes before my hands finally went numb and we called it.

Back in the van we drove out of Moria and headed back towards The Forks area to get cell phone reception and wait for our friends Taryn and Matty to show up. I blogged a bit, got some messages on the phone and tried to upload pics. Unfortunately this stupid blogger program is slow as death going up hill on crutches and I didn’t get my done in the way of pics. I’ll post ASAP!Matty and Taryn arrived and we headed back towards La Push. The surf was going off, over head high, and Matty suited up and went in to get pounded by some waves while the rest of us chilled on the beach. By noon the temps had risen into the mid seventies and we were in t-shirts drinking beers before we knew what happened. Got some great pics of the beach and the waves. Matty was in for around two hours and almost caught a couple of waves. The surfing was tough and he is new to the sport but he put in a good effort out there.
Once he was done we headed to the little “resort” where we would be renting a cabin for the next two nights and checked into our place. A little 12X10 A frame with a wood stove, running water (no hot water, no showers) that sleeps four. Nice little place, reminds me of huntin’ camp up Maine way.

We quickly got some food into us and began making cocktails. It was nice to have a place to hang out inside with some amenities. It was warm and dry. Good friends, good food, good wine was the course of the night. We got in the worlds smallest dance party and checked out the stars before we decided we needed to sleep.

Bear Scare

In the morning the frost covered everything and it was hard getting out of our warm sleeping bags. I got up and started the stove to make oatmeal, coffee and my wife’s “face water.” After a few minutes I rousted Kris and we got breakfast out of the way. It was bluebird out so we decided it would be best if we hiked back up to the high point above Heart Lake and take in the views that we missed the day before. We needed to pump water out of the stream to fill our bottles before we headed out. We would leave the packs on the platform for the duration of our hike and then come back for them and head down to the parking lot, another 8 miles.

We headed over the to stream and pumped our water. Kris walked off first with the bottles in her hands and I was putting the filter back together. I started walking back towards camp and I thought I heard something rustle the bushes behind me. I glanced back but saw nothing and walked a few more steps. I heard the rustling again and turned back again. Thirty feet away from me, right where we had been pumping water, a black bear came charging out of the bushes heading directly down the trail right for me. Everything went into slow mode. All I could think was to make a lot of noise and make myself look big. Before the bear had taken a full stride toward me I waved my arms and yelled “O Bear!, Hey Bear!” as loud as I could. He immediately turned right back across the stream and ran up the hill away from us and the campsite. My heart was pounding and I was more than a little excitable. Kris was spooked pretty good too considering she didn’t know what was going on until she saw the bear running up the hill away from the campsite. We both packed up quickly after that looking over our shoulders at every sound. I’m sure the bear just happened to be walking down the hill and into the path when were there, but I’m happy that it didn’t get any closer.

We headed back up the ridge and got above Heart Lake in under an hour. The views were amazing so we snapped off a couple of pics of the glacier over on Olympus. We stayed on the ridge for half an hour before finally pulling ourselves away and headed back to our site. Once there we put on our packs and started trudging out to the parking lot. We were down to the lot by 2pm and headed to the Sol Duc Hot Springs.

The hot springs, like most we’ve come across, are just a pool fed by hot springs. This sort of place tends to attract a certain mix of very old people, very out of shape people and the French. We had one look at the place and decided we would just pay for showers instead. Once inside the shower house Kris popped her head into the women’s area and came out smirking. When I inquired about the smirk she informed me that the showers were indeed group showers with no stalls. Great, I didn’t like group showers in high school and I don’t like them now. Fortunately I was one of the only patrons in the shower and I was most definitely the best physical specimen so I had nothing to worry about. Once out of the shower I visited the store adjacent to the springs and picked up a six pack of beer and all was good in the world.

We drove out of the Sol Duc area and headed west to meet our friends Taryn and Matty in La Push, which is on the western coast. Before hitting the next campsite we drove down to the beach and watched the surf and the sunset. It was the first time we’ve seen surf (San Juan Island is protected by other bodies of land so it doesn’t get any surf) since we left home in April. It was a sight for sore eyes!

I'll add pics to all these post ASAP so check back soon. Service here sucks and so does the blogger program!

Seven Lakes Basin Loop

The next morning we got up as early as possible and got our breakfast. We were trying to be on the trail by 8am, but that quickly became 930. Once at the trailhead parking lot we shouldered our loads and headed into the woods for some good old trudging.

The first four miles went quick and we were soon at Deer Lake. This is the ending point for most of the hikers on the trails and most of the backpackers stay here for the night and then head back down. Kris and I stopped here to eat a granola bar and drink some water before heading on to the higher points. Once we got up the trail we stumbled onto a small herd of elk crossing an open space to our right. We watched them for a while until Kris coughed and they all spooked and went crashing off into the woods. We could hear the males up on the ridge rattling against the trees, I don’t think they liked being run off like that.

The trail was quite gradual and well laid out with switchbacks so that we didn’t feel like we were pushing too hard. This allowed us to put on a good amount of miles and before long we were up on the ridges above tree line. It was here we ran into our first bear of the trip. About a hundred yards up slope of us he was foraging on the berries that scattered the ridge. After about five minutes of watching we made some noise and he ran off into the woods. Over the next two hours we had three or four more bear encounters on the ridges that run up to the high divide. At one point we came across a female and her cub standing thirty or so yards from the trail. We waited for a long while for them to move along but they were more intent on eating than on us. We made a bunch of noise but they wouldn’t move. Finally Kris and I just had to walk past and they didn’t even glance in our direction.

Shortly after we made it to the Hoh Lake cutoff and sat down for lunch. PB&J sandwiches with beef jerky and almonds…sweet. We ate rather quickly and got back on the trail so we could get up on the ridge and catch views of Mt. Olympus. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating and we ended up walking the entire High Divide with only views of fog to the south of us. We did see some great views of the ridges and valleys to our north and west. We caught glimpses of many more bear of the next few hours and before long we were nearing the campsite for the night which was at Heart Lake. As we came over a ridge we noticed a small lake down below which was curiously shaped like a heart. Kris pulled up and turned to me, “do you think this is Heart Lake?” she asked…

Since it was only 4pm and we had daylight left we decided to keep moving on. We had put in 11 miles by this time but another campsite a mile down the trail seemed a better spot to shelter the fog and cold that was blanketing the mountains. We trudged on for another half hour or so and came to Sol Duc Park, which would be our site for the night. When we explored a little we found the resident ranger’s site was seasonal and they had taken down the tent that housed the ranger but the platform was still there. This seemed like the best place to make camp for the night and we figured it would be fun to stay on the “Ranger Station”. We put up the tent, cooked our meals and ate and then headed for the warmth of our sleeping bags for the night.

A Rainy Day Three

The rain finally found us on day 3 in the Olympics. We woke up and got breakfast out of the way before we set off to find some showers and another hiking trail. We drove up to a dam that will be deconstructed this year and had a look around, not too exciting but we figured we should see it since we were there.

As soon as we hit the main road we were in fog and mist and soon everything around us was sopping wet. We decided to hike around Crescent lake, which is near the middle of the northern end of the Olympics. Kristen also noticed that a little “resort” on the edge of Crescent had showers which was fortuitous for us.

We pulled down the road that runs to Crescent and drove to the end where the trailhead is located. Pulling on our boots we started up the trail which meandered around the eastern edge of the lake for miles. We got some nice views of the surrounding ridges and the trees were incredible as usual. The entire forest was covered with huge ferns and thick mosses. Everything was soaked, but the rain held off except for a little drizzle.

When we left the trailhead we only had to drive a few miles to get to Log Cabin Resort. The “resort” was a few little cabins, a RV park and a shower house tucked into the corner near the lake. When we pulled in there wasn’t another soul in sight and it appeared that everything was buttoned up for the season. Kris was visibly shaken by the fact that we may not be able to get showers here. We drove up to the bathhouse and the lights weren’t on, not a good sign. Kris slipped one quarter in the shower receptacle and the water started! Praise all that is holy we had showers! Of course to conserve water and money we showered together…in the women’s stall.

After our showers we headed up the road to the next stop, Sol Duc campground. This would be the starting point of the backpacking adventure for the next two days. The campsite was nice, as they all have been in the Olympics. Huge trees all through the grounds soared above us. Many of the sites were open so we had our pick. Once we parked I slept for a few hours before we cooked up some mexi wraps for dinner. We packed our bags for the next two days and hit the hay early to get some rest.

Hitting the Highlands

This morning we awoke at around 8 and were surprised to find that we actually slept most of the night. My cold is gone into the coughing stages and Kris is feeling much better as well. We decided on a few more days taking it easy and then we will do our backpacking. We made coffee, had breakfast and headed up the mountain to another scenic area called Hurricane Ridge. The drive was around 45 minutes in the van but we made decent time up and were in the parking lot of the visitors center with only a handful of other cars. We changed clothing and headed off on the Klahhane Ridge trail to have a nice little walk. The trail meanders along a nice steady ridge that allows views back down into the valley which we drove up, and over the other side towards Mt. Olympus and even out to the ocean. The weather was gorgeous with warm bluebird skies and temps around the 70s. It was the first time in a while that we were comfortable in t-shirts and we even were wishing we had our shorts on. The walk was spectacular and we made 2.5 - 3 miles before our weakened lung capacity caught up to us. Once back to the visitors center we decided to come back down into Port Angeles and head west out to the Elwha River drainage area. We figured we could use this area as a stop over for the rain that is supposed to hit us on Sunday.

We entered the area around 1pm and scouted around a bit for a place to do some walking. We found a nice little camp spot in the Altair campground and once we were settled we both decided it was better if we got some more rest and napped a bit. We’re on vacation after all. So basically I’ve been sleeping and reading for the last four hours or so next to a glacial fed river that is running by in the background. Not bad if you ask me. Tomorrow I’m taking my beautiful wife to find a shower and then we will head towards the next destination where we will do a simple overnight backpacking trip. I’ll fill you in about that later.

I hope everyone is well out there. We’re glad to be back on the road exploring and we hope you’ll follow along with us! Talk to you later!

Olypic Penn. here we come

Let’s be unceremonious about this and pretend that I didn’t stop blogging for five months. That I didn’t fail to fill you in on all the goings on in our lives. That I didn’t drop all that is sacred and have a great summer with very little responsibility. OK, now that we’re done with that…

Kris has an imperative doctors appointment that we needed to get to in Anacortes at 8:30 AM on Friday. Since we decided to stay in Friday Harbor the night before this meant we would have to catch the 5:55 AM ferry. Kris was sick with a bad cold when I returned from my last over night trip of the season and I promptly caught it. Which means we were both severely worn down and tired when 4:30 AM rolled around. My wife, in the way wives do, offered to get up and get the van down to the ferry landing while I stayed in bed in the back. So I barely noticed when she fired up the engine and my bed started moving down the road towards the landing. The ferry was on time, that was good news, and as soon as we were on the boat Kris climbed back into bed and we slept on the way to the mainland.

Upon arriving Kris drove us into town, I was still in bed, and we hit up a little breakfast spot to get our energy up. I drop Kris over to the docs office and dropped her there and headed to the post office to mail out a package for a friend while I waited. I was back at the office in fairly short time and I was surprised to see my beloved wife walking out of the office towards me. I expected the appointment to take much longer. When I inquired on what happened Kris told me that the doctor told her it wasn’t at all necessary for her to be there and that she could go home. She also told me that we needed to get over the real estate office to sign and fax paperwork ASAP. What good news!

After the paperwork was signed and faxed we headed down the road toward Whidby Island and on to the ferry that would take us to the Olympic Penn. We have 9 days ahead of us exploring the temperate rainforests and coastlines there and are excited as can be. My sickness overwhelmed me as soon as we arrived on the second ferry of the day and I hit the sack again. Kris was more than happy to drive to Port Angeles where we found the ranger station to get some information on the area. We spoke with a very pleasant lady who gave us some great ideas about where to go and what to see and then we went over to the backcountry desk to get our permits and bear canister. Aside from the fact that the guy running the desk didn’t listen to a word we said and was a know it all the transaction went fairly smooth. After almost an hour of rolling my eyes and keeping my mouth shut (very hard for me as you all know) we got out of there with a permit and a canister and an earful of either useless information or info that we already know. Someone should tell that guy what it means to be a registered Maine guide!

A short drive brought us up to Heart of the Hills campground and we made up a nice helping of chili to keep the night chill off of us. Kris and I both pounded some cough medicine so we could sleep and hit the hay around 7pm.

On The Water After All This Time

Hello all, hows things?

We've been great here. The weather has finally turned and the last week or so has been fantastic. Summer is finally in full swing and the island life is picking up...but only a little bit.

All last week I had training for the guiding gig. Went over everything from creatures we'll see in and around the water to first aid and safety issues. Overall it was fairly straight forward and at times a little boring. Sorry Clark! By far the nicest part was the two trips I got out on. All of the newbies (myself and three others) accompanied Tom Murphy on a three day trip out to Steward Island. Stewart is north of San Juan and about 12 miles worth of paddling from the put in. After prepping for the trip we got into the water around 2pm to find that a rather large tide was pushing north along with us. As we were crossing the final channel to the island we happened upon a big male Orca and a peppy little juvenile. They were both coming up for air all around us and got to within 20 yards of the boats. The juvenile was hucking his entire body out of the water when he came up for breath. He must have come out of the water 5 times in the 15 minutes we watched, each time he cleared by no more than a few inches. It was a great show. The best part was that we were away from the main body of the pod which meant that all the whale watch boats were a mile away. We had our own little show.

Spent the next day on Stewart checking out the island. The whole place is off the grid and I didn't see a car the entire time. The roads are all dirt and the local school has two kids enrolled. We got up to Turn Point (the point of land that all boat traffic heading for Canada turns around) which is a few hundred feet off the water. Just down the path was also a cool old light house on the water. It was a good walking tour all in all. Left the next morning and had to fight the tide all the way back to the put in, but it was worth it.

Then on Friday the entire crew paddled out to a local island which is also a wildlife refuge. We brought a bunch of food, beers, wine and the ingredients for dark and stormys. Everyone got very loose and had a great time. I was cooking out of the dutch oven for the first time and had to take some pics for posterity. The next morning we packed up camp and attempted to paddle out. The tide was super low and we ended up carrying the boats (tandems too) a 1/4 mile down to the water to find a place with enough water to launch. The paddle back home was otherwise uneventful, and even a little relaxing.

Unfortunately when I arrived back to the beach the battery in the van was pooched. I left my parking lights on all night... I found an old hippy that had some the means to jump me but he couldn't wrap his mind around what that involved. He claimed he couldn't get at his negative terminal on his battery so he was trying to find a ground on the hood, bumper and just about anywhere he could think of. He ended up convincing me (no idea how that happened) to try and push start the van. With six people pushing we got the old girl moving and I tried bumping it 4 times before everyone tired out and quit. "Battery must be really screwed", was the only thing the long haired hippy could mutter as he walked away. I think it must have been all that acid he did back in Nam. I stayed with the van while Kris and a friend ran back to the shop and grabbed a vehicle. Once I hooked up to the shop truck the van fired up on the first try...guess my battery was ok the whole time, go figure.

After unpacking and getting showers we headed back out to the local asian restaurant The China Pearl. The place is affectionately called "The Hurl" by the locals so you can imagine what it's like. But we weren't there to eat, we were there to dance. The band was T-Flow, the music was from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 1994 and the 2000s... a definitive list. Before long the entire staff from our shop plus many from other outfitters were on the dance floor making fools of ourselves. T-Flow really brought down the house when their third and final set was the exact same as their first set. Guess they really wanted to get it right. Nobody seemed to care since we were on the deck drinking during the first set and didn't get a chance to dance to it. We closed the place down and Kris and I walked back to the apartment which is all of a mile away.

The next day Kris, Tony (OO employee) and I went out for a paddle and once again we saw the whales. It seems like I see them every other time I go out on the water. It's great.

We hope your all doing well. If your reading this drop us line. Would love to hear from you all.

Check out Tony and Sarah with Mt. Baker in the background. It was clear enough on Saturday that we could see Rainier clearly too.

Can't wait to see you all this Summer!

Been A Long Time

It's been a while since I wrote anything and I wondered if anyone was still looking for new postings. Well I intend to continue adding to this blog for the time we are away from all of you fine folks on the East Coast.
The last few weeks have been spent working at the kayak shop and trying to get outside as much as possible. The weather here has been pretty shitty. The locals are actually becoming visibly depressed. The lady at the local market threw my receipt at me the other day after complaining about the weather. Kristen's patients have been in a bad way also. Guess they aren't used to this sort of weather. Nice Breeze...

Anyway I've been getting the shop up and running for the owner. Spring cleaning is what one would call what I've been doing since I started the 17th. The shop is brand new last year and all of the old construction materials were laying around the yard in multiple piles. The grass had been left over the winter and was over knee high all over the place. The boats hadn't been washed or gone over since the beginning of last season and the gear needed to be sorted and placed in storage areas.

I spent a full day and a half mowing and weed wacking. My forearms were so sore from that I could hardly lift my beer that night. Tom Murphy (6th year guide) and I spent most of last week building shelves, refurbishing the drying racks and repairing boats. The place is finally statrting to come together a little now. My boss is already aware of my cynical sarcasm, but I think he knows it's all meant to be good natured. He overheard me bitching about wood screws the other day and found it comical...

Garbage on the island is super weird. Of course all landfill items need to be shipped off island, which makes things really expensive. I've taken two trailers loads of wood and odd materials to the dump and each load was around $120. I can't imagine being a contractor, or having a house built and having to dump the demolition materials. Plus the guys at the dump are power douches. They think very highly of themselves and the positions they fill. I've never heard another human speak so highly of dump matters. And the other day some wannabe hippy lady got on my case for dumping random plastic boat wrappings in the landfill. The dump doesn't recycle that type of plastic but she was going off island and basically demanded I load the plastic in her vehicle so she could properly recycle it. If I hadn't been working I would have had some words for her. Damn greenys! Picked that word up from a client from Australia last week.

I co-ran my first two trips last weekend with Tom. Saturday we brough out nine folks from all over the US. We got to see a few harbor seals, an otter and a Minke Whale surfuced three times about forty feet off the boats. Sunday we were out with just two folks but Kristen came along for the day. The wind and current were up and it made me feel like I was back home in the Atlantic in May. Both good days and it's good to be back in the boats. This guy was on the trip of Saturday, I think he was enjoying that sandwich...

Kris and I are getting very used to island life. We haven't started the van more than twice since we got here. Kris walks to work everyday and I bike or walk depending on the weather. Since we started work we've been meeting a lot of new people. The seasonal folks here are mostly like us, jumping around between summer and winter. Went to a co-workers birthday celebration on Wednesday night and found the Mainers outnumbered everyone. Out of the 20 people 5 of us were from Maine, couldn't believe that. Ended up sitting around a campfire and passing around a bottle of whiskey...just like home.

Today I think Kris and I are going to run, head to the local farmers market and then over to the consignment shop so I can get some more work clothes. Weather is supposed to turn for tomorrow and we plan on taking a couple boats out to a little island just off the coast and having lunch there. Rough life eh?

If you're looking to get in touch with me feel free to call when I'm at work. I'm usually outside and usually near my phone. Clark (my boss) doesn't worry too much about what I'm doing since I've pretty much singlehandedly repaired every trailer, boat, van and most of the gear already. I don't know what he did before I came around.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Orcas Island

So we spent the first week here exploring all San Juan Island had to offer and by weekend number two we decided to head off island for a little variety. There are a number of nearby islands, accessible via the ferry. To walk on or take a bike is free from island to island so its a great way to get a change of scenery without actually having to go (and pay for fare) to the dreaded mainland! Orcas Island was the destination for our first weekend adventure. We decided to take the bikes over and just see what we could see within pedaling distance.

Little did we know that Orcas happens to be the hilliest of all the islands! Immediately off the ferry we were hit with a few solid miles of uphill climbing. A fairly large island itself, we decided to head about 8 miles out one of the most scenic roadways to Deer Harbor. We both agreed that we could have been along any coastal route in Maine. Small winding roads along secluded harbors made for the perfect ride and we definitely earned our lunch as we approached the destination harbor. On the way back we took a break, scrambling down toward the water to read a bit and just relax in the sun. Relax we did until the sudden sound of gushing air brought us both to our feet. Sure enough, the back tire of my bicycle was suddenly flatter than flat. With 5 miles still between us and the 430 ferry it was gong to be a long walk. Ten minutes in and realizing there was absolutely no way of making it in time, I flagged down a passing sherriff and asked very nicely for a ride back to town. Will was unfortunately stuck to negotiate the hills on the way back while I rode back seat with the friendly sherriff threatening to hand cuff me "just for fun" the whole way back! Needless to say...next time we will bring our car to Orcas. We hear Lopez Island is much flatter!

Will started work this Monday, spending most of the week opening up shop, spring cleaning boats, vans, etc. I thought the summer just may have come to an abrupt end when day one he spent 7 hours weedwacking a yard that had not been touched since last winter. The week has progressively gotten better for him and today was his first day out on the water. His boss is a good guy, also very laid back and easy to work for. As the trend around here seems to be, producitivity expectations are minimal and once you get used to "island time" things just seem to move a little slower and easier. The other guide back early for the season is a veteran guide of 6 years who has been spending his winters in Alaska. He's been good about showing Will the ropes and is out on the water showing him how its done today. Things really start picking up for them the beginning of June, but so far its sounding like our days off with be the same! =)