Bumbling About

July 5, 2017

I slept HARD! another late start for the day as we didn’t leave camp until 10am. This left is with 6 or so miles to get done quickly… I no longer can move quickly.

Light rain rolled in as the trail closer and closer to the parking lot started to look like an actual trail. Not that I am critical, but trails are important. A well marked trail prevents me from getting lost, prevents rutting, keeps us out of the mud (if they build bridges and place rocks) and I think any one of those should be motivation to maintain the trail. Someone please remind me to start writing our senators for a solution haha.

Okay, so I move slow and didn’t get to my truck until late, but we also decided not to go to the San Juan’s in Colorado, but to drive 4 hours north to Jackson, WY because, well, we were supposed to start there.

Jackson was crowded with people! I don’t know if it had anything to do with 4th of July or if this is normal, but dang! Restaurants were full and staff was slow! A bad combination if you ask me. Also, with how busy it was, everywhere we called was full or didn’t answer. Luckily, 1 block into our drive we found a little cabin motel for $150. Sure beats wandering the forest looking for flat spots to camp at.

Anyways, I am sorry I can’t do pictures here, but life is tough sometimes.

July 4, 2017

I can’t say technology and I are getting along, so text only for right now.

Merry independence day to all! It got very cold last night, but i do not see any frost as I sit here enjoying my new sleeping bag. Here’s a quick product plug.
REI has a slew of sleeping bags with very competitive and comparable stats. Their best bag is also the more expensive bag by quite a bit. Seeing as I am still recovering from being unemployed and trying to save up for a down payment on a house, I wanted to make sure I purchased a very appropriate yet cost effective sleeping bag. Many details are lost to me as I lay here, but it is rated for 25 degrees F, meaning us it comfortable at 35. I wore no thermals to bed, but I did add layers around 4am. It is chilly now, so I dare not leave this warm mummy bag!

Since the sun is now up, it is time to get moving up this mountain!

The trail is very worn and unmaintained. Early sections of the have 4 rutted trails with multiple others already sinking, but then when the trails start to really climb, it ceases to exist. We had a strenuous few times where either boulder fields or extensive swamps kept us from keeping anywhere near what we thought the trail was. To make matters worse for me, I couldn’t stop coughing or keep my nose dry. Even with those problems, we kept on. We hit the summit late, around 3 pm. Where I was please to see I had cell service. So I posted a few things, called my mother and passed my phone to Ryan so he could call home too. The long scramble down was slow and our energy at an end, we hit camp at dark and went straight to bed.

July 3, 2017

Yesterdays rain, the groups canceled flight, and one heck of a small town visit was in no way a valid prep day for today. Since I did not know when Ryan and Ben’s flight was to come in, I approached today like I do any other solo camping day. I made breakfast, a ton of coffee and read my book. I am currently reading The History of Dunkirk. I can’t say the author is amazing, but the approach was to explain the history behind the motion picture Dunkirk which is fine, but it isn’t my style of reading.

Sometime around 11 or noon I decided to clean up and take a nap, but right as I laid down, everyone arrived. Ben and Ryan brought their friends Owen and Andy along for the hike to Utah’s highest peak, King’s Peak. With the late start, we opted to camp on the trail near some water and this spot was spectacular!

Surrounded by the Utah red rocks accented by still melting snow, we hardly noticed the swarms of mosquitos ravaging any exposed skin we had… okay,, so very very noticeable. The site was well worth it and I got a picture of my feet hanging out my tent door. I am one happy camper.

My cold and cough is clearing, so I am glad we didn’t do the Tetons crest and that I had an additional day of fresh air before hiking the mountains. Even tonight, I can tell I am not 100%. Fresh air and the mountains are healing, but I will still take some meds to aid in my recovery.

I hope my tracker and my “all is well” button are still functioning as we head into tomorrow. The hike to the top is going to be about 6 or 7 miles with a vertical gain of about 3000 feet. Wish me luck!

So I am having media difficulties between WordPress and my Samsung phone, so here are some pictures while I wait for my delayed friends. Oh and it rained so two naps in and I am still in a good mood somehow!

Wow, technology and my cell plus me equals not so good times… More on this later, adios!

Saturday July 1

Pack’em up and head on out! I hit the road pretty early in the morning and felt pretty good that I didn’t leave anything behind. While early in my drive, I get a text from Ryan. The Tetons are still covered in snow.

Satellite Image from a couple days ago.

Seeing how the group would rather not go winter camping and hiking across Antarctica, we opted for plan B, Kings Peak in Utah. Thankfully I was still in track to get to the trailhead, so off I drove. Now, while I am disappointed that we didnt attempt the Tetons Crest Trail, it is probably for the better. I caught a nasty head/chest cold and my cough could wake the dead. This shorter drive to Henry’s Fork Trailhead would allow me to rest up and heal. Also, I like road trips, I always see neat things

Like a flowerbed convertible.

Hey, an adventure is an adventure. Plus finding a nice diner is always a plus.

Lunch at this diner was particularly good. The staff had a look if aged focus that you do not see at a Waffle house. This could have meant they were there because they cannot find a job anywhere so they settled at an eatery… I will never know. They smiled, kept my coffee filled and hot, and didn’t interrupt me as I read my wall street journal.

Something I really enjoyed about a diner such as this, is the fact that the ham steak is actually flavorful and thick!

Hand sliced as one side was a quarter inch thick and gradually found its way to a half inch. The freshly made biscuits and gravy was pillow goodness for my taste buds. I was one happy lunchtime traveler. I can’t say I am quite the foodie my last girlfriend was, but I definitely learned how to appreciate well made food. I still don’t use pepper or salt, so perhaps I am not quite there.
Anyways, great food while on the road, I won’t complain.

Driving on,  meant going on gravel road to find, what I thought, was a secluded trailhead. Thirty mile stretches of car-free roads was a welcome sight to my now Denver familiar traffic, where 18 miles can take me 30 to 50 minutes to traverse in my not-so-friendly-to-cities truck.

With beautiful skies and beautiful greens, I continue to enjoy my drive.

I find a beautiful contrast of lighting as I drive down my dusty road.

A sample of my dusty road.

With no gas station in sight, I continue to drive into the wilderness. My heart filled with excitement for this new area of the world.

I arrive at my destination, setup my hammock and enjoy life

Can you tell I love camping? Even if this is an established camping site and my truck is right behind me, this still counts in my book.

Hello everyone! I am sorry my Peru entries suddenly stopped. Had some motivation issue, but i hope the 8 people that looked at it enjoyed themselves.

It has been a bit of a hiking pause in my travels too. Since finishing the Colorado Trail, I just haven’t done anything. But on one fateful day, I was contacted by Ben and Ryan. I met these two on the Colorado Trail and have been staying in somewhat contact for two years. They offered a chance to join them for a hike on the Grand Tetons crest trail! So obviously I said yes!

A problem I ran into is in my work history. On December 23, cncc and I ended my CFO contract. I was unemployed for 3 months (a couple weeks of which I spent in Peru). In April, I had a sudden opportunity and in a couple days, I became the interim director of facilities for Pueblo community college. THEN a guy I worked with in the past, Gary, asked me to apply to the community college of Aurora’s director of facilities. I was offered both jobs at the same time… And chose CCA. But, I made sure CCA would let me go on this trip. So, gear prep!

I consolidated to this

So, stay tuned! Tomorrow I drive and Sunday I hike!!