Suffrage

Before long, this man will be making my life very miserable but the reward at the end of it all should be worth it.

I will spend several hours hiking up a mountain similar to this one in order to make one run on my snowboard.

After that, however, I will be enjoying some relaxation and icy cold beer.  It will be well worth the pain and suffering I will endure.  I guess that's why they call it earning your turns.

Super Duper

This weekend saw several events.  First, there was a super moon.  I'm not entirely sure what makes it so super but I know it was full and that made it pretty cool.  Second, there was a birthday; Cathy's in particular.  Finally, it was Cino de Mayo.  That doesn't have any significance to me, but I guess if we needed another reason to celebrate than so be it.

So Saturday, with the culmination of all these events, a group of us decided to go out into the woods and camp.  We headed to an area that has a great overlook whereby we could enjoy the full moon, have some cake, and drink some margaritas.  It was a perfect night for camping with an amazing moon that was so bright that it seemed like the sun was out.  

The best part about this particular trip was the fact that  I slept like a rock.  There is something about sleeping out in the woods, near a fire, that really works well for sack time.  I guess all the celebrating (read: tequila heavy margaritas) didn't hurt either. 

Build Me an Ark

I think it’s safe to say that this weekend was wet. A nice healthy rainstorm came in late Friday night and decided to stick around until early Sunday evening. Now that we’re into mid March the temperatures have warmed up but we still have snow on the ground. Well, I should say we did have snow. Thanks to the rain, what snow was left disappeared rapidly.

Normally the rain would put the kibosh on any type of outside activity but Herm and I thought it would be a good idea to go and explore the forest to see what kind of damage was being done by all the water and how badly the trails were getting washed out. We planned to do a short hike on the Owl Gap Trail to see what kind of condition it was in for riding and then drive around to assess the flooding. It’s safe to say we got more than we bargained for.

The roads getting into the forest were almost completely clear of snow and ice which was a bit of a surprise to both of us so we had very little trouble getting into the trailhead at Owl Gap. Of course, we did encounter a few downed trees across the road that needed to be moved and we had to pull one yokel’s car out of the mud but other than that things were just a bit sloppy but easily passable. We hiked the Owl Gap Trial in a mild rain. It was a little difficult to navigate the trail as it was now a stream running down from the ridge but we managed to make our way to the top. After we explored around on foot we decided to get back in the car and cruise some fire roads.

The amount of water running down trails, along roadside ditches, busting out of the hillsides, and raging through normally mild stream channels was mind boggling. It was so spectacular we decided to go back on Sunday to check a few more places. It’s was incredible to see what a healthy dose of rain mixed with snow melt could do. Hopefully the trails will dry out soon because it was nice to be back in the woods. However, next time I’ll be taking my bike.

Cats & Dogs Living in Harmony

As a general rule snowboarders (like me) don’t usually get along with skiers. They don’t like me because they have to wait while I get strapped into my binders at top of the hill and I don’t like them because they can traverse through any run-out without issue. Unfortunately the majority of my friends are skiers and the few that do snowboard are switching over to skis so I often end up riding with the two-plankers. While there aren’t many things skiers and snowboarders see eye to eye on, there is one thing where we are in full agreement. Few things beat riding in powder.

This weekend Brian (a skier) and I went to Black Mo to check out the abandoned ski slope. It’s only about a quarter mile hill with around 200 feet of elevation change but when there’s snow it can be amazingly fun. Usually the fumers get to the hill first and track out most of the good lines but this weekend was a bit different. We got to the hill and looked down across a mostly clean powder field. We geared up, dropped in, and proceeded to slay the powder dragons like medieval knights. There we were; a skier and a snowboarder enjoying deep powder.

One down side to the hill at Black Mo is that you park at the top and therefore have to hike back up for each subsequent run. We managed to get in six laps before it was time to call it a day, but those six runs were fantastic. It’s not often you get to experience bottomless powder at Black Mo but we put some of our best graffiti on the hill that day. Not only did I get a solid workout I was also able to shake off some of the hangover I suffered from the night before (since it was my birthday). Thanks for that Herm.

Cleanup on Aisle Two

This weekend I went on a three day - two night backpacking trip on the Black Forest Trail in Central Pennsylvania. Seven of us (plus three dogs) set out to do a 20 mile stretch which was roughly half the total distance of the BFT. I knew everyone in the group but was only close with two of the would-be hikers so I was looking forward to getting to know more about the other four travelers.

We met at Spring’s house on Friday morning to organize some gear and have a little breakfast before driving up to Pine Creek and starting the trip. Once at the trail-head we split into two groups. Four of us and two dogs started off to do the first stretch while the others drove on and parked near the first camp location. They set up camp, prepared dinner, and waited for us to arrive.

The first day was about six miles. The part I didn’t anticipate was the first two of those miles being straight up hill (for about 1500 feet) and the last mile straight down hill (for about 1000 feet). Normally that wouldn’t be an issue but throw in a false dog injury, half broken water filter, shin-deep stream crossing, an attacking swarm of bees, cell phone voice mail (seriously?) and over-loaded packs and you have the makings of a trip with more stories than I can include in this post (which is precisely the reality of the situation).

After the first day was concluded things started to settle in a bit more. Day two started out with bagel sandwiches, hot coffee, and first degree burns (those were all mine though). I wasn’t sure if that was an indication of the day to come but I hoped it was not, especially based on the previous day’s adventures. Fortunately, it was an isolated incident and had no bearing on our future luck.

Aside from the burly uphills and the precarious stream crossings, the rest of the trip went really well. All the camp sites we used were bonzer. They were right along the icy-cold creek which made for invigorating post-hike rejuvenation. The dinners were not only plentiful but also super delicious (thanks Jamie & Darcy). And the conversations by the fire; okay that wasn’t always appropriate but at least it was consistent from night to day (and back again).

By the time the trip was over I learned more about the rest of the group than I probably cared, but I guess that’s what happens when you spend a weekend with people in the wilderness. Thanks to Spring I have at least one more use for rocks, and to top it off I ran into Tomi (of all people) on the trial. It was a lot of fun and definitely a weekend I won’t soon forget.

Party Like It's 2009

Well it’s official; another year has started, but I guess you already knew that. In order to start my year off on the right foot I decided it would be appropriate to include a “beginning-of-the-year” post. Don’t worry, I’m not going to drone on about all the good times and low points from the past year (mainly because I can’t remember all of them). Similarly, I’m not going to tell you about the resolutions I’ve made like getting in shape (the specific shape will be determined at a later date) or being more assertive in my personal life or saving more money or blah blah blah (okay, the second one is something I want to do but you get the idea).

I will say this: I have several goals identified for the coming year, but I’ll be okay if they don’t come to fruition as some are quite lofty. My plan for 2009 is to have fun, laugh, play, reflect, change, stay the same, get a haircut, learn new things, read, spend as much time outdoors as possible (with friends), take time for myself, travel, and do whatever else I can to make the most of the 363 days ahead. Yesterday I went for a hike with Cathy and then had some friends over to the house to watch football and eat dinner. I’d say I’m off to a pretty good start.

The Dangers of Winter Hiking

This weekend I decided to go for a hike in Shingletown. We recently had a batch of storms bringing rain mixed with sleet and ice. This was followed by a dusting of snow so a healthy layer of frozen white stuff covered all the trails. It was cold but the sun was out so I decided a quick trip up to the ridge would be a good afternoon activity.

When I arrived at the trailhead I discovered the crust was a little heavier than I anticipated so I embarked on my journey with cautious optimism. For the most part, the snow was solid. My footing was a little sketchy in some spots as I was having trouble breaking through the top level of wintry goodness; however I decided to press on and continue my solo trek through the woods.

As I got further into the wilderness I noticed the ground under foot was getting steeper. The grade of the trails coupled with the near hockey rink conditions had me second-guessing my decision to reach the ridge. While I contemplated continuing on or turning back I heard something crashing through the brush not far from where I stood. Suddenly the largest dog I’ve ever seen appeared on the trail about twenty yards behind me. It was at that moment I realized it wasn’t a dog at all, but a bear.

Okay that last part didn’t really happen. I’m glad it didn’t because the hike (and I use the term loosely) back to my car was treacherous enough without being pursued by a large fuzzy pile of claws and teeth. As I slid uncontrollably down the trail it became blatantly obvious I was not hiking. Instead it was more akin to surviving.

After about twenty minutes of continuous sliding interlaced with bouts of tree grabbing to slow my decent (my boots didn’t come with breaks) I came to rest near the creek. The ground finally leveled off and I was able to resume my hike. Maybe next time I’ll take skates, just to be safe.