So, I've got this BIG trip planned in May. I want to ride across America on my bicycle! I'll be away from my not so trusty laptop for about three months, but fear not dear readers! I still plan to lavish you with frequent posts about my progress during the trip. The thing is though, my blog host isn't so compatible with the device I'll be using to post. What's this mean? I'm moving the blog to a different host. You can find the new blog here: Dispatches

     Since it's a new year and a new host I have decided to rename the blog as well: Dispatches. Thank you all for reading my blog, I hope you will make the move with me. Either way,

Happy New Year!

    It had been several months since I took my last bikepacking trip, an off road overnight bicycling adventure. This outing took me to Big Trees State Park via forest service roads in the Stanislaus National Forest. The plan was to get there by early afternoon and spend some time at the visitor center and spend some time wandering in said trees. As the saying goes though, adventure is what happens when things don't go according to plan. I assure you I had quite the adventure.

      I immediately made a wrong turn at the beginning but promptly corrected course to begin bouncing down a dirt forest road that was really semi technical doubletrack.  I was passed by two OHVs that ate it up without breaking a sweat. The drivers would be the only people I would see until I got to Big Trees. I did see, however, spectacular views. I worked around a gate declaring 'road closed'. I was on my bike and thought 'how bad could it be?'. Besides, I figured, it just meant less of a chance of any motor vehicles pestering me. I worked my bike around the gate and pedaled on. Not too long after I started on this road I came across a few small potholes, no big deal. Then shortly after that a small piece of road that had cracked and sunk a few inches, still nothing too concerning. Then I ran into the true reason the road was closed. A section that had been destroyed and relocated by Mother Nature. In the picture below consider that, if you look on the hill on the left side of the picture, you can see the road has slid about ten feet down from where is supposed to be, and at the edge of road closest to the viewer there is a drop of five feet.

     After I worked my way through this obstacle I continued ascending. I had been pedaling uphill since I reached a low point of about 4,000 feet. Then I reached 5,000 feet. I was a little foolish when I planned this route and hadn't bothered to check elevation stats. I climbed up and up, then up more. Sweating so much my clothes were getting soaked. Still, it was so cold there were places the ground was frozen solid, my tires breaking through the frozen layer crunching, seeking traction. 6,000 feet. Should I check my map and see how much more climbing I had to do? Nah. Why spoil the surprise? After two hours and a little over nine miles I had gained over 3,000 feet in elevation, topping out at just over 7,000 feet. At last I reached the summit, the highest point I would achieve. I surveyed the beautiful landscape around me before consulting my map to see which direction to go next. I was to go left, but the problem was my left turn was nowhere to be found.

Pretty much how it went

     I was able to reroute and make my way on forest service roads that were more rough hewn trail than road. I eventually reached a logging site and the roads became broad and flat. I descended down to Beaver Creek and pedaled parallel to it, eventually reaching the boundary of Big Trees State Park. I crossed into the park hours after I hoped to, but the road became paved and I was able to make quicker progress, but also had to face several more hills. As the day waned I saw the alpenglo on the forested hills around me, stunning and magnificent. I rolled into camp as darkness fell, leaving only time to set up camp and cook dinner before doing some stargazing and hitting the sack. Throughout the day I had crossed two bridges, saw several small waterfalls, cursed, thanked the gods, sweated, wondered why the hell I was doing this, and found the answer at the end of the day: to discover not only more of the world, but more of myself as well.

Logistics
     For this trip I used Google Maps as my primary source for planning a route. I also had a NFS map, but found it lacked a lot of roads and streets not under the jurisdiction of the forest service. After plotting my route I uploaded it to my Garmin Edge 1000 to simplify navigation. The bike I used was my Novara Ponderosa 29er, which is currently sporting a 1x11 drivetrain. My bags to carry gear were a Revelate Designs Sweetroll and Viscacha, Blackburn Outpost frame bag, and a small backpack.

My rig, fully loaded

In Closing

     Mercifully I was able to take a much shorter route back to my starting point in the morning, allowing me to cut out all the climbing I had done the previous day and make this a sub 24 hour adventure. I encourage everyone to explore the national forests of the United States. There really are some hidden gems tucked away if you are willing to seek them out.

     I'll be back in the new year, with a recap of 2017! Keep getting out there and  exploring! If you are having doubts about yourself, what you can do, or just keep making excuses as to why you're not doing the things you want to do, remember:

     After years of anticipation and trying to get permits I finally got to hike rim to rim in The Grand Canyon (even the T needs to be capitalized, it's so grand). My girlfriend, M--, and I had permits to hike south to north. We awoke early so we could watch the sunrise over the south rim. M-- had never been to The Grand Canyon before and the look of delight and astonishment on her face made me smile. We decided to have one more real meal, a delicious breakfast at Bright Angel Lodge, before we began our hike down. Even though we had an early start we encountered a lot of people on our descent down Bright Angel Trail. After hours of taking in the stunning scenery surrounding us we stopped for lunch at the Colorado River. I put my hands in it, just to say hello. After we finished lunch and packed our gear back up we crossed one of the bridges and at last made it to Bright Angel Campground, right along Bright Angel creek. I sense a theme to this day's hike... Miles hiked day 1- 9.5

Dawn at the south rim

M-- and me at the start of our rim to rim hike

Going down the Bright Angel Trail

Just before crossing the Colorado river

     I awoke in the night and looked up to see the vast expanse of the Milky Way before me. The stars were beyond words, and a shooting star streaked across the sky. A truly magical blessing for our journey. M-- and I got a relatively early start toward Cottonwood, our next camp. As we hiked, towers and walls loomed about us, layers and colors so varied, sizes and shapes of formations so sundry, it made an enchanting spectacle of every moment. We saw Ribbon Falls from the trail. Eager to reach camp, and deciding we saw enough of it's splendor from a distance, we carried on.

Trail on the way to Cottonwood

One of the stunning views inside the canyon

Ribbon Falls

   Shortly after we reached camp we selected a site that had a fair amount of privacy, which M-- and I value since we're not really social hikers. We saw far fewer people on the trail today, in fact we saw almost as many deer as we did people. 11 deer in total, 5 of them in camp. Among those five was a young three point buck.  What appeared to be the oldest, and possibly the mother of some or all of them, grazed. One of the younger ones tried to eat some of her food. The older one struck the young one in the head with her hoof! Not hard, mind you, but enough to give a gentle disciplinary reminder to mind their manners. Miles hiked day 2-7.5


     Our final day on our rim to rim journey happened to fall on Halloween, a day I hold sacred, and making this trip that much more special to me. I, however, did not feel very special when I woke up. I suspect it was the not so great dinner I had the night before that gave me nausea, a headache and thoughts of disgust when said meal came to mind. When we finally broke camp and began hiking my pace was slow, M-- moving faster than me. When we reached the Manzanita rest house I began to feel a bit better, and the longer we hiked the less my ailments plagued me. There was message board at the rest house on which I scrawled HAYDUKE LIVES! before we carried on. The section from Manzanita to the footbridge below the Supai tunnel was my favorite of the whole trip. The trail was carved into the cliff sides, providing views beyond belief. I truly cannot fully describe in words what I experienced. We saw the falls at Roaring Springs from above, but did not go down, because we were eager to go up. Every time we paused there was a new amazing view before us. Our progress was slow but steady, and we at last reached the Supai tunnel, signaling we were within two miles of the northern terminus of the trail. M-- was excited and gained a speed I didn't know she could attain going uphill. We stopped briefly, discovered the water at the rest house had been turned off for the season, and resumed our final ascent. It took us a while longer but we finally made. We were both elated and ecstatic. Years of looking forward to doing this hike had finally come to fruition.

Looking out across the north rim

     After relishing our accomplishment we packed up the car and headed for Zion National Park, where we planned to do some hiking the next day. Just before exiting the boundaries of the north rim we were treated to the sight of about 100 buffalo! A few of them fought, butting heads. Later down the road we saw a massive mule deer buck with rippling muscles and huge antlers, the biggest deer I'd ever seen.

Some of the buffaloes butting heads

A small portion of the herd of buffaloes

     As we drove I contemplated the spiritual symbology of crossing from one side to the other on the day when the veil between worlds is said to be thinnest. We arrived in Zion under the light of a nearly full moon, stopping along the road briefly to soak in the splendor of the stunning beauty of the moonlit peaks. Miles hiked day 3- 7 miles

     We spent the next day basking in the magnificence of the mountains that comprise Zion National Park. I found the landscape and the multi-colored peaks towering over us other worldly. The colors of autumn lent themselves to the surroundings. In the park we saw turkeys and deer, and even a couple of climbers scaling the mountainsides. We hiked to the Emerald Pools, looking out over the Virgin River along the way. We spent time meandering along the River Walk Trail and making our way to the Court of the Patriarchs. The whole time we were in Zion we kept talking of coming back to hike the Narrows and Angel's Landing. On the drive back we stopped at a casino on the California/Nevada border that had the car Bonnie and Clyde were shot in on display. We drove back with the setting sun illuminating the Joshua trees in the desert. Miles hiked- 4

A surprise guest joined us for breakfast

Overlooking the Virgin River

Autumn colors adding flair to the landscape

The mountains seen in reflection on the water of Upper Emerald Pool

View from Upper Emerald Pool

Grove of the Patriarchs

Bonnie and Clyde car

Logistics
     We used Trans Canyon Shuttle to take us from the north rim to the south rim. At the time we went it was $90 per person. The shuttle takes about six hours and has two rest stops along the way. For permits to hike in the canyon, start planning well in advance. I tried several times before I finally got one. Being flexible with your itinerary will increase your odds of getting a permit. There are numerous campgrounds on the south rim, as well as several upscale hotels, all located in the park. Services are far more limited on the north rim, especially during the off season when we went. During this time of year water at the rest houses along the trail gets turned off as well, so plan accordingly. The National Park Service provides a free shuttle to get to the more popular trail heads in Zion. It has convenient on and off stops, as well as informative narration on the park. Camping can be found in the park, or there are numerous lodging options in nearby Springdale.

     I brought my DSLR with me for this trip to take pictures, though to be honest I didn't use it much for the actual hiking portions of the trip. I mostly used it for shots from the car. I did bring it into the inner canyon while backpacking, but found it to be bulky and getting in the way. I am still leaning toward using my phone's camera in the future to save weight and space.

In closing
     I encourage everyone to get out there and enjoy our public lands! Weather it's a multi-day backpacking trip or riding your bike on a rail trail, spend some time in the natural world and immerse yourself, challenge yourself even, to get outside and create memories that will last a lifetime. I'll be back again soon with a trip report from some big trees...

   

Day 1-22.6 miles
     I made it to Vancouver, Canada, where ACA's Pacific Coast Route begins as well as my first international adventure. I claimed my bike after landing at YVR, assembling it in the airport. I was even able to recycle my box at the airport.  I wheeled my bike outside and turned on my handy Garmin Edge 1000, delighted to discover my GPS bike computer already had maps for Vancouver loaded into it. I rode through the city to the Air B&B that would serve as my base of operations the next few days.  After I unloaded the majority of my gear I decided to ride around Vancouver and check out some of the sights.  The first place I went to was MEC , A Canadian outdoor co-op, similar to REI in the US. I bought a few odds and ends for my trip before exploring some more. My next goal was the Ovaltine Cafe. As an aficionado of all things Ovaltine I had been wanting to check out this diner since I learned of it's existence. Getting there required me to ride through the worst part of Vancouver. It was so sketchy it could give San Francisco's Tenderloin a run for it's money. I reached the cafe only to discover it was closed due to a commercial that was being recorded inside. It wouldn't open for regular business again until after I left Vancouver.

OVALTINE!!! Why hast thou forsaken me!?

     Disappointed, I mounted my bicycle and headed for Stanley Park. I was treated to beautiful views of Grouse Mountain in the distance as I rode. Stanley Park itself was quite scenic, redwoods abounded and I paused briefly to look at totem poles that were a representation of native beliefs.

Entering Stanley Park

Totem poles in Stanley Park

     On the ride back to my room I rode past city hall, reminding me that I was truly in a whole other country.

Vancouver city hall

    After I got back to my base of operations and cleaned up I walked over to nearby Oakridge Mall. It was one of the largest shopping complexes I had ever been to. I ate dinner there and had poutine for the first time. It was okay, but a bit a bit too rich and heavy for my tastes. I decided to take a look around and burn off a few meager calories of what I just consumed. Amidst the high end boutique stores I came across an exhibition of sculptures made by Salvador Dali. I'm not really an art connoisseur, but I found the installation intriguing. 

Dance of Time I by Salvador Dali

     Day 2-21.2 miles

    I started the day by visiting the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the northern terminus of the ACA Pacfic Coast Route. The ride there had a juxtaposition of riding conditions. One moment I would be in the middle of a frantic gnarl of traffic in the bustling city, only to turn a corner and be on a car free street lined with suburban houses, some looking like they were fairy tale cottages, with perfectly maintained lawns. At the museum there were exhibits covering pirates, the Japanese population in Canada during World War II, and Canada's maritime history in general. To me though, the highlight was the ST Roch. One of the first ships to navigate the fabled Northwest Passage, and the first to do so in both directions. I was able to walk through the ship, and as I did so I imagined what life must have been like for the people aboard. At one point the crew and passengers spent two years on the vessel, among them a family of seven native people who helped the crew learn the lay of the region. Since the crew quarters were not large enough to accommodate everyone on board the native family lived in a tent on the deck with their sled dogs!

The bridge of the ST Roch

Looking up the mast

On the main deck

     After leaving the museum I rode through Stanley Park again and made my way back through the west part of Vancouver. There were rainbows displayed everywhere in this part of town, even in the crosswalks. I had a cheap dinner at the mall and called it a day.

Day 3- 67.7 miles

     The actual beginning of my main ride which would take me to Seattle. There was a lot of stop and go riding as I navigated through the Vancouver urban sprawl. I made more than one wrong turn, but eventually crossed a bridge that led me into Richmond. I found the bridge architecturally interesting. I may not be an architecture expert, but I do know what I like. The Richmond portion of the trip took me through a not so great industrial area before giving way to scenic river side roads. After making a wrong turn at Surrey I reached the border. It took me only five minutes at customs and I was back in the good old US of A!

Back in the USA!

     Shortly after I made it back into my home country I was riding on beautiful country roads in rural Washington. Just outside of Bellingham,  the end of the days journey, I saw four does and a buck in someone's front yard. After checking into my room for the night I explored the town a bit. It had a small town feel, despite the fact the population was over 87,000 residents. I feasted at a local pizza/sandwich shop before bedding down for the night.

Day 4- 73.6 miles

     I left Bellingham before sunrise. In the morning twilight the town was quiet, and the streets along the waterfront had the feel of a small coastal village. Chuckanut Drive was one of the days highlights, taking me through the rain forests of the Pacific northwest and Deception Pass, and giving me stunning scenery as I rode.

One of the many views at Deception Pass

     As I rode on there were a few hills, but nothing epic. I went past a naval base that had jets flying so low I could see their missiles. Continuing along the coast I saw an otter crossing sign, and just before I arrived at the ferry that would carry me to Port Townsend, I saw one!

Run, otter, run!

     Other critters along the way I saw were rabbits, a hawk and two great blue herons. On the ferry I met a fellow cycle tourist from Winnipeg. He had bought his bike just a few months previously and was riding all the way down the coast to Mexico. Truly inspiration to just get out there and live your dreams!

Day 5-50.3 miles

     The first day of fall, the day to celebrate the Autumn harvest, and on this day I celebrated completing the Pacific Coast Route. I crossed over the Hood River bridge and caught sight of the stunning mountains of Olympic National Park. 

Olympic National Park in the distance

     My final leg of this trip offered the most challenging riding of the journey with frequent rolling hills, though none were more than a few hundred feet in elevation. I, at last, reached Bremerton and the ferry that would take me to 'the emerald city'. As I reached Seattle I reflected on my experiences and how far I'd come, in more ways than one. I began this journey of section riding the coast five years ago. A lot has happened since that first trip, and I really thought about how I wouldn't be the person I am today if not for all those events, both good and bad. Here's to five more years of adventure (at least)!

Wrapping up-

     I spent the next couple of days touring Seattle by foot, hoping that I might like the city the second go around. Last year I had visited and not cared for it much. This time was no different. Although I have come to like the rest of Washington, Seattle still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I did have a few enjoyable moments though. Among them seeing the space needle and visiting the museum of pop culture. I took the train home and along the way was treated to views of Mount Rainer, the Columbia River, the Willamette River and the lush greenery of the Pacific northwest. I realized on the train that I have now also been on the entirety of Amtrak's Coast Starlight train. Two routes completed in one trip!  I arrived back in Sacramento early in the morning and, after grabbing my bicycle from the baggage car, rode home.

The space needle

Space, the final frontier...

Robin William's suit from Mork and Mindy

NANOO NANOO!

Logistics-

      This was the first time I used the 'credit card tour' method for the full duration of a bicycle trip. I stayed at Air B&Bs every night, and ate out for basically every meal. It was an enjoyable experience, but costly, and I did miss camping. My hosts were good for the most part, if not quite what I was expecting. My setup for carrying gear on my bike was two rear panniers and a handlebar bag.

     I flew Alaska airlines and took advantage of their recent policy change to classify bicycles as sporting equipment, which reduced the cost to check my bike to only $25, though it still had to be broken down and boxed to fly. Amtrak's Coast Starlight offers a roll on bike option. All you have to do is hand it up to the person in the baggage car. It's $20 to check a bike on this train, but you don't have to box it up.

     I've been using the camera on my iphone se for my primary camera on a number of recent trips. It takes good photos and saves me the weight of bringing a larger camera. There are obviously pros and cons to both types, but the phone camera has done a great job of capturing most of the images I want.

     That's all for now, but stay tuned for my next adventure when I go on a grand trip!

     

     Before I departed for the last part of ACA's Pacific Coast route that I had to still ride there was another adventure ahead of me: a trip to Yosemite to hike up Half Dome. It had been years since the last time I did this hike. Since the last time I summited this iconic peak the NPS had began a permit system to lower the impact that the massive number of hikers were having on the area, but more on that later.

     On the way to Yosemite the four of us, myself, M--, P--- and B----, decided to stop and take a look at a bit of history. Just off the road was the site of Mark Twain's cabin.  We wandered around, read the plaque (which motivated me to read Roughing It) and then got back on the road.

Mark Twain's cabin

     As we entered Jamestown P--- suddenly realized we were going to be gone for four days. He thought it was only a two day trip. He declared he didn't have the time off work and needed to go back. We attempted to get him a Lyft or an Uber. Neither was available to go the distance he needed. So we sought a rental car. The closest thing we could procure was a Uhaul. So, only a couple hours into the trip, we had already lost a beloved member of our party.

Everyone was a bit philosophical after P--- left the group 

      

We contemplated the loss of P—- from our party and did the only thing we deemed sensible, continued on. We entered Yosemite, got our backcountry permit and headed to the first nights camp. Minutes after we began setting up camp we saw a small bear! We quietly watched from about 50 feet away until some dumb hipster with a man bun snuck up behind the bear trying to take its picture. The bear was startled and ran, coming within inches of B——. We cursed the hipster and finished setting up camp.

Why it's not a good idea to get too close to a bear

     Shortly after we went for quick jaunt to go to Mirror Lake. Along the way we spotted another bear! This one was twice the size of the one we had seen only thirty minutes before. It was laying on a rock about a hundred yards off the trail. Again, some moron tried to get closer to get a better picture. This caused the bear to stand up on all fours to assess the situation. Once it figured out it could easily maul the idiot approaching it, the bear lay back down. We moved on, and didn't hear anything later about someone getting maimed, so I suspect another clueless person escaped getting a Darwin Award that day. This was the fourth bear I had seen in the wild in the last three weeks! The only other time I had seen a bear in the wild before these sightings was about fourteen years ago. The bear is a very special animal to me, representing power, strength, and individuality.

The bear that almost knocked over B----

     Mirror Lake was barely a puddle when we got there. It was an overall pleasant hike though, despite the smoke from nearby fires, and we saw a small snake swimming in the shallow waters. B---- snapped this photo of stone steps and rocks that people had been piling up:

     The next morning we celebrated my birthday and hiked 6.1 miles to camp in Little Yosemite Valley. We took our time, meandering up the Mist Trail alongside Vernal Falls, pausing at the top to take in the scenery. We met back up with the John Muir Trail at the top of Nevada Falls and were elated when we finally reached base camp. Both falls were spectacular and we spotted several deer along the way. Not too soon after we had camp setup, we heard rockfall. About a week after we completed our trip we heard news of a few larger rock slides in the valley below, slides that claimed the lives of several people. A reminder of how powerful nature is, and that people don't have as much control as they think they do.

Vernal Falls

Nevada Falls

     Day two of our back country excursion, 8.2 miles. We were in good spirits, having spent part of the night looking at the Milky way and glad some of the smoke had cleared.  We were also satisfied we had chosen to do this as a multi-day trip, instead of as a day hike as many people choose to do. It gave us more time to enjoy our surroundings and not feel rushed. As we hiked along and the views began to increase we saw a couple more smaller fires that had begun that morning. The smoke would continue to accumulate over our remaining time, though it wouldn't become insufferable.  We eventually reached the sub dome and it's rough hewn rock stairs. At the base was a ranger checking for permits. Several people were turned away. The last time I had done this hike there was no permit system in place, and it was a crowded mess to say the least. Now, it was limited to only 300 hikers a day. It was difficult to get permits for our group, but in the end I am glad the system is in place now. It made for a much less crowded and enjoyable experience, especially as we began the ascent up the cables.

Going up the sub dome

B---- and me at the base of the cables

     As we neared the top of the cables, the line suddenly stopped moving. A young woman ahead of us was suffering from severe leg cramps and couldn't move. B----, being the gentleman that he is, managed to get her on his back and carry her the rest of the way up. After setting her down, giving her some electrolyte snacks, and showing her some stretches, we roamed around the top of the fabled Half Dome. We spent a little over an hour soaking in the amazing views before heading back down. The woman was still where she had been earlier, her friends that had begun the day hike with her that morning had finally shown up. She was still having problems so B---- carried her halfway back down the cables until she decided to try going down the rest of the way on her own. She struggled, but made it.

 The infamous Captain's stance atop Half Dome

B---- declaring victory

     We made our way back to camp, reveling in our surroundings. Once we made it back we all had a quick dunk in the river and then made dinner with a side of conversation before heading off to bed. The next morning we opted to take the John Muir trail on the way back, about 6 miles to the trail head. It was substantially less crowded than the route we had taken up, and with better views. Once we did make it back to the village we had celebratory pizza, which was surprisingly good. We loaded our gear back in my truck and began the drive back to civilization and 100+ degree heat, already planning more adventures for the future.

M-- and me at the top of Nevada Falls 

One of the many impressive views from the John Muir Trail

Victory pizza!

     Next time, the Captain goes international...