Lately, I have completely lost motivation to update this blog and I am not sure why? If anyone still reads this here is the update. Summer went by fast, I spent most weekends working at the Cigar shop or at the lake. It was a really busy summer. Lots of great things packed in but not alot of time to take it easy. I went to Italy with my family (see post) to. Now it is fall and it seems like life has slowed down a little bit. The second bathroom is nearly finished at my house. No more lake weekends now its football and kayaking. A group of us rafted the Gauley river in west Virginia a few weekends ago. Kathryn is a freshman at Auburn now so I have been to a few games this season (LSU and WSU). Auburn looks completely different now, construction everywhere.
I think I am going to the Nantahala to kayak this weekend. I struggle with wanting to do to many things and not having enough time to fit it all in and rest to. I think weekends need to be 3 days long. I am still involved with the GC at Briarwood. It has been great to see it grow and meet alot of great people through it. I have learned alot and grown alot there. It is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life and neglect time with God and in the word. God's faithfulness is amazing. I am reminded of the wise words of Chad (former JH head river guide) "There are only 2 times to praise God, when you feel like it and when you don't." Good words to remember.
The store is taking up most of my time right now. It is still growing slowly and I guess it is just going to take a long time to get to where it needs to be. I enjoy it and the random people I meet there. I am learning alot there to. Lately, Matt has been talking about putting together a JH intern reunion in January. Climb Shasta, Snowboard Etna Summit, snowshoeing above the Ranch. I can think of few things that sound more fun than that to me right now. Hopefully I can go. Maybe Dan has figured out the Day trading thing by now so we can just trade in between ski season and lake season and work at the Ranch in the summers. Probably not . Maybe one day.
Check out my website It needs help. That is about the best publisher can do. not very good.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Italia !!!
I returned June 2nd from the trip to Italy with my family. It was a great trip! My first to Europe. We flew in to Rome and spent 4 days there. It is a beautiful city but very busy and crowded. We saw all of the major sites there. My favorite part of Rome was this huge park about 2 blocks from the hotel. From Rome we took the Eurostar train to Florence. Florence is significantly smaller and easier to navigate. We toured several art galleries and churches there and went on a day trip to Siena and San Gimagno. Vienna was next. It was my favorite place because there were no cars, just canals and sidewalks. It is amazing that people have boats instead of cars there. It was beautiful. We flew out of Venice direct to New York where our flight was delayed for about 4 hours so we did not get back to Birmingham until about 4am. It was a great trip. Pictures are on the way!
Friday, March 10, 2006
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
What am I doing?
Finally, the long awaited update is here. For some reason I have had a hard time motivating myself to update the blog lately.
I have spent most of the past few months working with my dad to open a cigar store. We finally opened about 2 months ago. I have learned alot through the whole process. Now I am there all of the time. It is amazing how much time went into it. I meet crazy interesting people every day there. Sometimes it is alot of fun but other times it drives me insane.
For the past several months I felt like I had not made alot of progress and then it seems like everything happened all at once. The new store opened, I moved into a house, and things started coming together with my church.
My roomates and I are in the middle of tearing out 2 bathrooms in our house and completely renovating them. It is fun but none of us really have enough time to do it right now so it is taking longer than it should. After the bathrooms we have alot of landscaping to do.
The Grand Opening for the store is next week. It should bring in lots of new people. A local radio station will broadcast their afternoon show from the store on Tuesday and one of the Cigar companies will be here giving away sample cigars.
Jim and I are going to be in a road bike race this weekend near Montgomery. It is my first race. It should be fun if it doesn't rain. I want to start doing these races whenever I have time.
Lake Season is finally here! My favorite time of the year. The boat is running great (1983 Ski Nautique). I wakeboarded Sat and Sunday last week. I am very out of shape. It has been about a year since I have been able to go alot. The weather on Logan Martin lake was great. I think it is going to rain this weekend.
I have spent most of the past few months working with my dad to open a cigar store. We finally opened about 2 months ago. I have learned alot through the whole process. Now I am there all of the time. It is amazing how much time went into it. I meet crazy interesting people every day there. Sometimes it is alot of fun but other times it drives me insane.
For the past several months I felt like I had not made alot of progress and then it seems like everything happened all at once. The new store opened, I moved into a house, and things started coming together with my church.
My roomates and I are in the middle of tearing out 2 bathrooms in our house and completely renovating them. It is fun but none of us really have enough time to do it right now so it is taking longer than it should. After the bathrooms we have alot of landscaping to do.
The Grand Opening for the store is next week. It should bring in lots of new people. A local radio station will broadcast their afternoon show from the store on Tuesday and one of the Cigar companies will be here giving away sample cigars.
Jim and I are going to be in a road bike race this weekend near Montgomery. It is my first race. It should be fun if it doesn't rain. I want to start doing these races whenever I have time.
Lake Season is finally here! My favorite time of the year. The boat is running great (1983 Ski Nautique). I wakeboarded Sat and Sunday last week. I am very out of shape. It has been about a year since I have been able to go alot. The weather on Logan Martin lake was great. I think it is going to rain this weekend.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
My new bike
Jim and I got my bike ready to go today and went on a 20 mile ride. It was my first time on a road bike. So far I like it alot. It is a Jamis Ventura Comp. Click the link to see the specs.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Why no updates???
I was bored tonight so I checked out some blogs. It is very frustrating that it seems like no one has updated their site since October. If you read this, update your blog.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Friday, December 02, 2005
The Latest Adventure....Smoky Mtn. National Park
It all started with Jim planning a hiking trip just before Thanksgiving. No one could go so Kathryn (my sister) and I decided to go with Jim, family bonding experience. Then my parents decided to go so they drove us up there and stayed in a lodge near Gatlinburg, TN. The drive was about 4 hours from Birmingham to Smoky Mountain National Park. Jim and I left the Auburn - Alabama game (jh ranch tailgate) at halftime and met the family in Birmingham. We woke up early the next morning and drove to the trailhead. The weather forecast looked ok maybe a little rain and snow, nothing to extreme, we thought.
Day 1
Our plan was to start at Fontana Dam and hike to Newfound Gap (a/b 40 miles) in 4 days. The first day started off well. The weather was nice. The hike was difficult, we gained 2000ft vertical feet in the first 3 miles. The last 7 miles were not to bad. We assured Kathryn this was by far the most difficult day on the trail. I forgot to mention this was her first backpacking trip. Kathryn later told me that the whole way up the first 3 miles she kept thinking that it wasn't to late to get Mom and Dad to come pick her up. She did a good job pushing through it. We had a roaring fire at the shelter that night (see picture of shelter) and some great dehydrated backpacking food that really is good. The high temps were in the 50's and the lows in the 30's that day. It was a great day.
Day 2
We woke up very early this morning since we went to sleep around 8 the night before. We hit the trail around 9:30 this morning to . It seemed to be another beautiful day...and then the rain started. It was a slow steady rain that would not stop. It rained and rained and rained. All 3 of us had our rain gear on but I was the only one who stayed dry because I wore a poncho over my rain gear. The temperature stayed in the mid 30's all day. It was a difficult day. Near the end of our hike Kathryn hit the wall and sat down on the trail. She said she couldn't go any more. Jim carried her pack and I hike the last 1/4 mile to the shelter. At the shelter we put Kathryn in her sleeping bag and made hot tea to warm her up. She was borderline hypothermic but warmed up fast. We cooked another great meal that night. Unfortunately there was no dry firewood so we did not have a fire. Around Dinner time the rain changed over to snow as the temperature dropped. It snowed all night. We hiked 11 miles today.
Day 3
The temperature was much lower this morning (in the 20's). It snowed about 8 inches during the night. Everything was covered in snow and ice. Our wet clothes were also frozen solid. It was a good thing we brought extra sets of our clothes. Kathryn felt fine and so I thought we were ready to go. Just before we got on the trail, Jim started feeling very weak and nauseaous and said he could not hike. I told him to get in his sleeping bag and I was going to try to use the cell phone to call the ranger to talk about our options. I hiked up and down the trail trying to get the phone to work. It never did. So I went back to the shelter and Jim was starting to feel a little better. It was getting late (12:00pm) and we had to make it at least 6 miles to the next shelter. The weather was to bad to not make it all the way. So we left about 1pm. The hike through the snow was very difficult and slow and mostly up hill. We hiked on a pace similar to climbing Mt. Shasta, 20 steps...rest...20 steps...rest... It was slow but we made to the shelter around 6pm after hiking in the dark for over an hour. I hate hiking in the dark. We were very cold and tired when we arrived at the shelter. The temperature was below 20 and dropping fast.
Jim somehow managed to get frozen wood to burn and made a nice fire. There were two older guys (40's) staying at the shelter that night named Don and Tom. They were very nice and offered us everything from food and water to liquor and weed. They were very entertaining and had been coming to hike the AT since they were in highschool. It was a cold night. I think Kathryn was the only warm one since she has a 0 degree sleeping bag. Jim and I decided that night that we needed to hike out earlier than planned. At this point were behind schedule and did not think we could make it all the way to Newfound gap in one day. We found a bypass road that would take us out early at Clingman's Dome if the ranger would pick us up. We decided to call them the next morning.
Day 4
We woke up early this morning to try to call the ranger and Mom and Dad. Jim was only able to leave a message for mom. The rangers at first did not want to come get us but eventually we were able to convince them to meet us at the Klingman's dome road around 1pm today. It was only a 5 mile hike to the dome, but it had snowed another 10 inches or so that night. Everyone felt good and was excited about the possibility of hiking out by lunch time and making it home in time for Thanksgiving. Don and Tom decided to hike out with us. Kathryn said she finally realized we were not going to die and it was more fun now. Mom later told us, after receiving our message about hiking out early that she recruited a local "experienced hiker" (as she liked to call him) to knock down the gate and go in after us for the rescue. Thank goodness she waited since we were fine. Probably not a bad idea though.
The hike out was slow because of the snow but not to bad. The views from the ridges were amazing since it was clear today. Everything was caked with ice and snow. The climb up Clingman's Dome was very hard since we were tired. We made it to the dome around 2 pm and found out later we had just missed the ranger. The road was closed. So we started hiking down the road to stay warm. We hiked 5 of the 7 miles down the road before the ranger picked us up. She took us to the bottom of the road where dad was waiting for us. We were out! We thanked the Ranger and went to meet mom who did not know if we were out yet because there was no cell phone service.
Overall I had a great time. I felt like we were prepared for everything that happened. The one thing that scared me was Jim getting sick because I don't know why it happened. It was a great adventure. Kathryn struggled a little more and I think it was very challenging but good for her. We plan to take her on a less extreme trip sometime soon. Jim had a good time to. Look for the pictures soon. I will try to post them tonight. It was a great trip. I told Kathryn that it was more like 4 or 5 trips combined because of all of the things that happened to us.
Day 1
Our plan was to start at Fontana Dam and hike to Newfound Gap (a/b 40 miles) in 4 days. The first day started off well. The weather was nice. The hike was difficult, we gained 2000ft vertical feet in the first 3 miles. The last 7 miles were not to bad. We assured Kathryn this was by far the most difficult day on the trail. I forgot to mention this was her first backpacking trip. Kathryn later told me that the whole way up the first 3 miles she kept thinking that it wasn't to late to get Mom and Dad to come pick her up. She did a good job pushing through it. We had a roaring fire at the shelter that night (see picture of shelter) and some great dehydrated backpacking food that really is good. The high temps were in the 50's and the lows in the 30's that day. It was a great day.
Day 2
We woke up very early this morning since we went to sleep around 8 the night before. We hit the trail around 9:30 this morning to . It seemed to be another beautiful day...and then the rain started. It was a slow steady rain that would not stop. It rained and rained and rained. All 3 of us had our rain gear on but I was the only one who stayed dry because I wore a poncho over my rain gear. The temperature stayed in the mid 30's all day. It was a difficult day. Near the end of our hike Kathryn hit the wall and sat down on the trail. She said she couldn't go any more. Jim carried her pack and I hike the last 1/4 mile to the shelter. At the shelter we put Kathryn in her sleeping bag and made hot tea to warm her up. She was borderline hypothermic but warmed up fast. We cooked another great meal that night. Unfortunately there was no dry firewood so we did not have a fire. Around Dinner time the rain changed over to snow as the temperature dropped. It snowed all night. We hiked 11 miles today.
Day 3
The temperature was much lower this morning (in the 20's). It snowed about 8 inches during the night. Everything was covered in snow and ice. Our wet clothes were also frozen solid. It was a good thing we brought extra sets of our clothes. Kathryn felt fine and so I thought we were ready to go. Just before we got on the trail, Jim started feeling very weak and nauseaous and said he could not hike. I told him to get in his sleeping bag and I was going to try to use the cell phone to call the ranger to talk about our options. I hiked up and down the trail trying to get the phone to work. It never did. So I went back to the shelter and Jim was starting to feel a little better. It was getting late (12:00pm) and we had to make it at least 6 miles to the next shelter. The weather was to bad to not make it all the way. So we left about 1pm. The hike through the snow was very difficult and slow and mostly up hill. We hiked on a pace similar to climbing Mt. Shasta, 20 steps...rest...20 steps...rest... It was slow but we made to the shelter around 6pm after hiking in the dark for over an hour. I hate hiking in the dark. We were very cold and tired when we arrived at the shelter. The temperature was below 20 and dropping fast.
Jim somehow managed to get frozen wood to burn and made a nice fire. There were two older guys (40's) staying at the shelter that night named Don and Tom. They were very nice and offered us everything from food and water to liquor and weed. They were very entertaining and had been coming to hike the AT since they were in highschool. It was a cold night. I think Kathryn was the only warm one since she has a 0 degree sleeping bag. Jim and I decided that night that we needed to hike out earlier than planned. At this point were behind schedule and did not think we could make it all the way to Newfound gap in one day. We found a bypass road that would take us out early at Clingman's Dome if the ranger would pick us up. We decided to call them the next morning.
Day 4
We woke up early this morning to try to call the ranger and Mom and Dad. Jim was only able to leave a message for mom. The rangers at first did not want to come get us but eventually we were able to convince them to meet us at the Klingman's dome road around 1pm today. It was only a 5 mile hike to the dome, but it had snowed another 10 inches or so that night. Everyone felt good and was excited about the possibility of hiking out by lunch time and making it home in time for Thanksgiving. Don and Tom decided to hike out with us. Kathryn said she finally realized we were not going to die and it was more fun now. Mom later told us, after receiving our message about hiking out early that she recruited a local "experienced hiker" (as she liked to call him) to knock down the gate and go in after us for the rescue. Thank goodness she waited since we were fine. Probably not a bad idea though.
The hike out was slow because of the snow but not to bad. The views from the ridges were amazing since it was clear today. Everything was caked with ice and snow. The climb up Clingman's Dome was very hard since we were tired. We made it to the dome around 2 pm and found out later we had just missed the ranger. The road was closed. So we started hiking down the road to stay warm. We hiked 5 of the 7 miles down the road before the ranger picked us up. She took us to the bottom of the road where dad was waiting for us. We were out! We thanked the Ranger and went to meet mom who did not know if we were out yet because there was no cell phone service.
Overall I had a great time. I felt like we were prepared for everything that happened. The one thing that scared me was Jim getting sick because I don't know why it happened. It was a great adventure. Kathryn struggled a little more and I think it was very challenging but good for her. We plan to take her on a less extreme trip sometime soon. Jim had a good time to. Look for the pictures soon. I will try to post them tonight. It was a great trip. I told Kathryn that it was more like 4 or 5 trips combined because of all of the things that happened to us.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Matt's version of the trip across the US
I copied this from Matt nolan's Blog site http://mattnolan.blogspot.com/
The Road Trip Home - Yosemite
Sept 15, the day the year of the Ranch ended. Harris and I loaded up the last of our stuff into his volvo, and the journey that took me out of corporate America to the remote Northern California Mountains into the simple life of small town America was now taking me back home. We stuffed the volvo to the brink - literally there was no more room at all. When we left we both had eBay boxes in our laps and for the first 1000 miles the person in the passenger seat had to hold the food box in his lap. Our trip wasn't exactly a straight shot, in fact our first stop was directly below us in California - Yosemite.
We got there the morning of the 16th after a day of driving before, and went into the valley to check out the views from inside the heart of Yosemite. The place was a zoo though, with tons of old people and foreign people all over the place. It was like an outdoor disneyland, with people getting driven around on huge open bus vehicles for tours, and taking millions of pictures of some random stuff. Harris and I decided the only real way for us to experience the beauty was to get away from the crowds and do some hikes. Our first stop was Sentinal Dome, with a 360 degree view of the valley, and then we hiked over to Taft point where an immense dropoff cliff gave us some great views of El Capitan, the famous cliff across the valley. You could walk right up to the edge of these cliffs and look over - views that make your knees weak. In all we did around 5 miles of hiking.
We camped that night and the next morning started early to avoid the crowds in the valley. We hiked up to lower and upper Yosemite falls for some more amazing views. This time we were on the other side of the valley, so we could look across at where we had stood the other day.
There were also some incredible views of Half Dome. At the top we ventured down off the path to where the exact point where the river flows over the cliff to form the waterfall. The water was down, so we could walk around there, where we found this crystal clear pool that was deep enough to jump in, so of course I had to. I stripped down into my polypro boxers and jumped in.
As soon as I hit the water, my whole body siezed up from the freezing cold and I immediately began swimming to the nearest bank to climb out. I was also screaming like crazy...which drew the only other hikers in the area as spectators. There I stood soaking and shivering in my boxers..."I'm OK." We spent a lot of time taking in the views, praying, and enjoying the majesty that we were towering above. I could have spent days up there.
Then we busted it back down to head on to our next destination. We hiked around 10 miles round trip, and pretty fast without taking in too much water, which proved to be trouble since that night we both got dehydrated and woke up the next morning with what I'd call a hiking hangover. Although I am suspicious of that Quizno's steak sandwich...beware sandwich lovers.
The Road Trip Home - Yosemite
Sept 15, the day the year of the Ranch ended. Harris and I loaded up the last of our stuff into his volvo, and the journey that took me out of corporate America to the remote Northern California Mountains into the simple life of small town America was now taking me back home. We stuffed the volvo to the brink - literally there was no more room at all. When we left we both had eBay boxes in our laps and for the first 1000 miles the person in the passenger seat had to hold the food box in his lap. Our trip wasn't exactly a straight shot, in fact our first stop was directly below us in California - Yosemite.
We got there the morning of the 16th after a day of driving before, and went into the valley to check out the views from inside the heart of Yosemite. The place was a zoo though, with tons of old people and foreign people all over the place. It was like an outdoor disneyland, with people getting driven around on huge open bus vehicles for tours, and taking millions of pictures of some random stuff. Harris and I decided the only real way for us to experience the beauty was to get away from the crowds and do some hikes. Our first stop was Sentinal Dome, with a 360 degree view of the valley, and then we hiked over to Taft point where an immense dropoff cliff gave us some great views of El Capitan, the famous cliff across the valley. You could walk right up to the edge of these cliffs and look over - views that make your knees weak. In all we did around 5 miles of hiking.
We camped that night and the next morning started early to avoid the crowds in the valley. We hiked up to lower and upper Yosemite falls for some more amazing views. This time we were on the other side of the valley, so we could look across at where we had stood the other day.
There were also some incredible views of Half Dome. At the top we ventured down off the path to where the exact point where the river flows over the cliff to form the waterfall. The water was down, so we could walk around there, where we found this crystal clear pool that was deep enough to jump in, so of course I had to. I stripped down into my polypro boxers and jumped in.
As soon as I hit the water, my whole body siezed up from the freezing cold and I immediately began swimming to the nearest bank to climb out. I was also screaming like crazy...which drew the only other hikers in the area as spectators. There I stood soaking and shivering in my boxers..."I'm OK." We spent a lot of time taking in the views, praying, and enjoying the majesty that we were towering above. I could have spent days up there.
Then we busted it back down to head on to our next destination. We hiked around 10 miles round trip, and pretty fast without taking in too much water, which proved to be trouble since that night we both got dehydrated and woke up the next morning with what I'd call a hiking hangover. Although I am suspicious of that Quizno's steak sandwich...beware sandwich lovers.
The update...Birmingham
After several weeks of contemplating the future of my blog, I have decided to keep it going. I know that there is probably not anyone who still reads it but it will continue anyway, mainly for the benefit of everyone I was with in California who are spread out all over the world.
The trip back from California was great. Matt and I took 10 days to drive back across the US in the trusty volvo (pictures soon). We stopped at Several national parks and even visited Seth, Travis, and the knife guy. I was ready to get out of the car by the end of the trip. 10 days is about the limit for me unless I had an RV. We rolled into Birmingham and ate a great steak dinner with my family.
So the next day I was thrust back into reality when my dad let me know he needed me to help move one of the stores (translation: Scrub the floors for 2 days with a brush). I have been working with him since then (about 5 weeks). He has retail tobacco stores on the outskirts of Birmingham. I spent 1 week working at each store and another week filing everything he has not filed for the past 10 years. Basically I am learning how everything works and trying to document it.
It has been very strange to be back in a city where everything is busy. I miss the pace of life at the ranch and realize more and more what a great experience it was to be there for nearly a year. It is great to be back to see friends and family.
So other than that nothing to exciting is going on. Jim, Kathryn (my sister) and I are going backpacking on the AT in about a week and a half. 4 days 45 miles or so. Kathryn's first real backpacking trip. We are starting near Fontana Dam in the Great Smoky Mtn. National Park. It will be cold.
I am still not sure what I am going to do long term. So that is the summary of my life right now. I will be posting pictures soon.
The trip back from California was great. Matt and I took 10 days to drive back across the US in the trusty volvo (pictures soon). We stopped at Several national parks and even visited Seth, Travis, and the knife guy. I was ready to get out of the car by the end of the trip. 10 days is about the limit for me unless I had an RV. We rolled into Birmingham and ate a great steak dinner with my family.
So the next day I was thrust back into reality when my dad let me know he needed me to help move one of the stores (translation: Scrub the floors for 2 days with a brush). I have been working with him since then (about 5 weeks). He has retail tobacco stores on the outskirts of Birmingham. I spent 1 week working at each store and another week filing everything he has not filed for the past 10 years. Basically I am learning how everything works and trying to document it.
It has been very strange to be back in a city where everything is busy. I miss the pace of life at the ranch and realize more and more what a great experience it was to be there for nearly a year. It is great to be back to see friends and family.
So other than that nothing to exciting is going on. Jim, Kathryn (my sister) and I are going backpacking on the AT in about a week and a half. 4 days 45 miles or so. Kathryn's first real backpacking trip. We are starting near Fontana Dam in the Great Smoky Mtn. National Park. It will be cold.
I am still not sure what I am going to do long term. So that is the summary of my life right now. I will be posting pictures soon.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
It has to end...I guess
It seems really strange that Matt and I leave today. Hopefully we will leave this morning sometime. It has been a great year here. I have learned so much that will impact me for the rest of my life.
So here is the itinerary...
Sept. 15 - 20 Visit Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Zion, Bryce, and Canyonlands National Parks (camping, hiking, backpacking, etc.)
Sept. 21 Visit Travis in Vail, Colorado
Sept. 22 Drive Vail to Des Moine, IA to visit the knife guy (from the wild at heart retreat)
Sept. 23 Drive from Des Moine, IA to Illinois to visit Seth and Dan
Sept. 24 Drive from Illinois to Birmingham
10 days total. So yes Mom that means I will be home earlier than I originally said.
So here is the itinerary...
Sept. 15 - 20 Visit Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Zion, Bryce, and Canyonlands National Parks (camping, hiking, backpacking, etc.)
Sept. 21 Visit Travis in Vail, Colorado
Sept. 22 Drive Vail to Des Moine, IA to visit the knife guy (from the wild at heart retreat)
Sept. 23 Drive from Des Moine, IA to Illinois to visit Seth and Dan
Sept. 24 Drive from Illinois to Birmingham
10 days total. So yes Mom that means I will be home earlier than I originally said.
Friday, September 09, 2005
An Epic Week.
Last week we packed in a little of everything before Jonathan left for Birmingham. This was his last chance to do fun things since baby #2 is almost h
ere. We rode 4 wheelers to the Bingham lake trail and hiked in to the lake the first night. It was great. We sat by the fire and talked for hours. The Lake was beautiful. We hiked out early the next morning to go back to work at the Ranch. That afternoon we headed to San Francisco.
On our way to San
That evening we went to Fisherman's wharf and ate clam chowder. It was very good. The next morning we woke up early to go Sea Kayaking with Chad (he is a guide) around the golden gate bridge. It was beautiful. The kayaks were much less stable than I expected and very challenging. We paddled through some pretty rough water. It was a great day and a long weekend but fun. After Kayaking we drove all the way back to the Ranch. Jonathan likes to pack every minute full of things to do. Here are a few more pictures...
ere. We rode 4 wheelers to the Bingham lake trail and hiked in to the lake the first night. It was great. We sat by the fire and talked for hours. The Lake was beautiful. We hiked out early the next morning to go back to work at the Ranch. That afternoon we headed to San Francisco.On our way to San
Francisco we stopped at Mt. Lassen and did a night hike up it (about 2 hours) and camped on top. We woke up at 6am and continued the drive to San Francisco (5 hours).
The sunrise was beautiful. Lassen is 10,400+ ft. tall.
We arrived in San Francisco around noon and met up with Chad (former JH staff) and Ben Mohr to go Mtn. Biking at Mt. Tamalpaise. We rode the tenderfoot trail which is supposed to be one of the best mtn. biking trails anywhere and the birthplace of the sport. I was having a good time until I hit a root and went over my handle bars and had a rough landing. For some reason this keeps happening to me when I go mtn biking. Maybe thats why I am not that into the sport??
That evening we went to Fisherman's wharf and ate clam chowder. It was very good. The next morning we woke up early to go Sea Kayaking with Chad (he is a guide) around the golden gate bridge. It was beautiful. The kayaks were much less stable than I expected and very challenging. We paddled through some pretty rough water. It was a great day and a long weekend but fun. After Kayaking we drove all the way back to the Ranch. Jonathan likes to pack every minute full of things to do. Here are a few more pictures...
Mt. Lassen Sunrise I
Chad riding on Mt. Tamalpaise
Sunday, September 04, 2005
My new (to me) Laptop
So I decided one day that I wanted a laptop computer. Not for any good reason other than just to have one. Since I could not justify buying one in my current financial situation I decided to pray that someone would give me one. I prayed this and then thought about it every once in awhile. About 2 weeks ago I was cleaning up my cabin to move back to the Greenbean and I found a laptop buried under clothes on the porch. My first thought was where the heck did this come from. Then I remembered Dan had left it and said it didn't work. So I emailed him and asked if he wanted it. He said no and he did not know what was wrong with it.
I have not had any time to mess around with it until this morning. I finished installing windows XP and the computer seemed to work fine only it would not connect to the internet and it is missing the battery. I found the driver for the ethernet card, installed it and now it works! I am now looking on ebay for a wireless card and battery and then it should be completely fine. I'll write more when I am finished with it and it works completely.
Interesting what prayers God chooses to answer yes to?
I have not had any time to mess around with it until this morning. I finished installing windows XP and the computer seemed to work fine only it would not connect to the internet and it is missing the battery. I found the driver for the ethernet card, installed it and now it works! I am now looking on ebay for a wireless card and battery and then it should be completely fine. I'll write more when I am finished with it and it works completely.
Interesting what prayers God chooses to answer yes to?
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Lost Coast Trail click here to see my pictures
The hike was incredible. Things have been crazy since the hike so I am just now posting the link to my pictures and Matt's. Let me know what you think! I will be posting a summary of the trip later today or tomorrow. I will also write about climbing Mt. Lassen and the trip to San Francisco. It has been a great week here. Here are the links to the pictures. You can also click the Harris's photos link on the right side of the page.
Harris's pictures
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=saundha&P=&AID=2759380&Show=Y
Matt's Pictures
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=saundha&P=&SID=42298&Show=Y
Harris's pictures
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=saundha&P=&AID=2759380&Show=Y
Matt's Pictures
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=saundha&P=&SID=42298&Show=Y
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Lost Coast Hike
It looks like our next trip is going to be to hike the Lost Coast Trail. It is a 25 mile trail along the coast of Northern California. Click the title to read one guy's story about a close call on the Lost coast trail. Ignore anything on his site that doesn't have to do with the trail.
Staff retreat II and Napa Valley
The last week at the Ranch was kind of boring to me. We mostly worked on cleanup and end of summer projects because the group was not rafting this week. It seems like forever since the last rafting trip. Our second staff retreat was on the way to drop off the last of the staff in sacramento. We drove to the coast to Patrick's point state park http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=417 . It was a long, long drive through windy mtn roads (about 5 hrs). The park was beautiful with huge trees. I haven't seen anything like it. From there we hiked to the coast (not far). The coast was very rugged and beautiful. Much different from the beaches on the gulf coast. We also hike to Fern Canyon (4 miles) where scenes from Jurassic Park were filmed. It looked like a place dinosaurs would live. We camped that night and left for the sacramento airport at 5am the next day. It was a cool trip but a little rushed. I don't like to be in places like this.
After we dropped everyone off at the airport Ian, Matt, and I headed over to Napa Valley (about 1 hr) http://www.napavalley.com/ . I figured since we were so close it would be interesting to tour one of the wineries. Chef Bob is somewhat of an expert on Napa so he gave us some good tips on what to do. It was late in the day and the wineries were closed so we drove a little past Napa to the town of Calistoga (known for their bottled water) and looked around http://www.calistogafun.com/engine?action=main . The town had great restaurants and coffee shops and felt like an old west town from the 1800's.
The next morning we drove back to Napa (15 miles) and toured the Robert Mondavi Winery http://www.robertmondavi.com/AboutCompany/thewines.asp . It was a beautiful place. Our guide was great and I learned alot about wine and how it is made. After the tour we had to rescue the other van since we had locked the keys in it earlier. Ian and Matt took the window apart and Lassoed the door hand with a belt attached to a stick. Quite impressive.
Then it was back to the Ranch. It took about 4 hours to drive back. This was our first night to be back in the Green bean (where we lived this winter). It feels like we are home. It is weird the other 4 guys are gone. Pictures will be coming soon.
After we dropped everyone off at the airport Ian, Matt, and I headed over to Napa Valley (about 1 hr) http://www.napavalley.com/ . I figured since we were so close it would be interesting to tour one of the wineries. Chef Bob is somewhat of an expert on Napa so he gave us some good tips on what to do. It was late in the day and the wineries were closed so we drove a little past Napa to the town of Calistoga (known for their bottled water) and looked around http://www.calistogafun.com/engine?action=main . The town had great restaurants and coffee shops and felt like an old west town from the 1800's.
The next morning we drove back to Napa (15 miles) and toured the Robert Mondavi Winery http://www.robertmondavi.com/AboutCompany/thewines.asp . It was a beautiful place. Our guide was great and I learned alot about wine and how it is made. After the tour we had to rescue the other van since we had locked the keys in it earlier. Ian and Matt took the window apart and Lassoed the door hand with a belt attached to a stick. Quite impressive.
Then it was back to the Ranch. It took about 4 hours to drive back. This was our first night to be back in the Green bean (where we lived this winter). It feels like we are home. It is weird the other 4 guys are gone. Pictures will be coming soon.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Cosmic Wall climb Castle Crags
The campers are gone for the summer. So Jim talked me in to climbing the cosmic wall at Castle Crags State Park. It is a 5.6 climb 800ft up a granite wall. Jonathan had climbed it before and told us it was a great climb to learn on. This was our first multi pitch climb ever.
We left the Ranch at 6:45am with all of our gear loaded into the volvo (of course. Castle Crags state park it about an hour and 15 minutes from the Ranch. Most guide books describe it as undiscovered and hidden with very good quality climbs. Jim and I have been there before to hike up the Castle Dome.
So we arrived at the trailhead by 9am and started to hike in. The hike according to the Falcon guidebook was about 2.5 hours. Our packs were heavy. We made good time to the rock but struggled for over an hour to decide where the route started. The manzanita bushes were very thick and we had to bushwack through them for over an hour to get to the rock. It was very frustrating. Finally, we found it and started climbing by noon. The pitches went by slowly. Jim lead the entire way. I had the easy job of "cleaning" the pitches meaning that I was at the bottom and did not have to worry about placing the gear. We took our time and resting at each belay point. The climb seemed to be taking alot longer than expected but it was still early and seemed like we had plenty of time. Jim ran out of water about the 4th pitch (of 6 total) and started to get dehydrated. He did a good job of pushing through it and didn't fall at all.
On the 5th pitch we rested on a huge ledge and called Mom to tell here we were alive. Jim called Vaughn to tell here he missed her. It was now 5pm, still not to late but we realized it was time to pick up the pace. We had 2 solid pitches left and then the rapell down. I really did not want to hike in the dark. I've had a few experiences I didn't want to do again with paddling and hiking in the dark. The 6th pitch went by fast and then we slowed way down on the 7th and final pitch.
Jim was still leading and had to take a route that was much tougher than the rest of the climb. Time flew by and we were still on this pitch. Finally we made it up and on to the summit. The wind started to blow fiercely while we set up the rapell. The sun set and it was starting to get cold. It was now about 8pm. I just wanted to get on the ground before dark.
It didn't happen. The rapell was 2 100ft sections to get to the ground. We had to get out our headlamps for the second section. It was now very dark. The moon was half full but did not help very much. As soon as we hit the ground we threw the gear in our bags and began the tedious hike back to the base of the climb to get out big packs and hike to the car. Sounds easy right? That's what we thought until we got lost in the Manzanitas because it was to dark to see any landmarks. Thats when the
2 hours of pure torture began. At this point we have been out of water for several hours and are starting to feel the effects of dehydration. My legs are completely ripped up from the manzanita bushes.
Finally we emerged from the Manzanita maze onto the main trail. This really took 2 hours. From this point the hike was a minimum of 1.5 more hours. We were hiking fast, ready to get back to the car. Slowly dehydration made us more and more dizzy. Fortunately, there was a natural spring 2/10's of a mile off the trail. Jim had a water purifier with him so we took time to pump water. We sat and drank water for about 20 minutes. It was now 12:30am.
I can't explain why it seemed that time was flying by so fast. From then on I didn't even want to know how late it was. I don't think we would have made it back to the car without the water, probably one of us would have passed out. The water was refreshing. We continued on the trail for what seemed like an eternity. It took another 2 hours to reach the trailhead and the car. The volvo was a beautiful site. We climbed in and drove to Denny's in Yreka where we ate some great food at about 3am. Things were crazy at Denny's. When we arrived they were arresting 6 guys for fighting in the bathroom. It was probably rowdy there since Denny's is across the street from all of the bars in Yreka. It seemed like the whole town was on that one corner outside of the bars. We got back to the Ranch at 3:30am went to sleep and then woke up the next morning at 8am for turnover day at the Ranch (work day).
It was a full day to say the least! The climb itself was awesome. I hated the hike in and
out. Another great brother bonding experience! First Shasta, now the cosmic wall. I was sad to see Jim go today. We had a great summer on the river. I wish he could be at the Ranch for the next few weeks. There is so much more we could go do. I'm sure we will be back. It was definitely an adventure to remember. Right up there with getting stuck in our tent on Shasta at 10,000ft in a snowstorm back in April.
Today the entire staff (what is left) went to Applegate church in Oregon and then to Ashland and bowling in Yreka. It was a fun, relaxing day.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Out with a Bang...
I just found out what all we are going to do in the weeks before I leave the Ranch. It is definitely worth staying for a few extra weeks.
1) Camping in the Redwood forest and spend the day at the coast
2) Visit Chad in San Francisco, he is going to take us Sea Kayaking and Mtn. Biking in Marin (the birthplace of Mtn. biking)
3) Bella Fleck Concert in Oregon
4) Matt and I have the 18-25 of august to plan a trip. We haven't decided what to do yet.
5) 3 day 2 night rafting trip on the Rogue River Class IV and V Rapids
6) Climb Cosmic Wall at Castle Crags with Jim (800ft, 8 pitch climb 5.6). This is our first multi pitch climb. Yes, I know this is a big one to start with.
7) Kayak the Klamath one more time
8) Napa Valley
and I'm sure we will think of a few more things to do...
1) Camping in the Redwood forest and spend the day at the coast
2) Visit Chad in San Francisco, he is going to take us Sea Kayaking and Mtn. Biking in Marin (the birthplace of Mtn. biking)
3) Bella Fleck Concert in Oregon
4) Matt and I have the 18-25 of august to plan a trip. We haven't decided what to do yet.
5) 3 day 2 night rafting trip on the Rogue River Class IV and V Rapids
6) Climb Cosmic Wall at Castle Crags with Jim (800ft, 8 pitch climb 5.6). This is our first multi pitch climb. Yes, I know this is a big one to start with.
7) Kayak the Klamath one more time
8) Napa Valley
and I'm sure we will think of a few more things to do...
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Scott Valley is beautiful
I have been really tired lately and just kind of out of it so I decided I need to exercise more. Usually when I start to feel like this it is because I haven't been very active. I left after dinner last night to ride the miner's loop. It is a great ride that takes about 45 minutes. On the first turn I took I was struck by the beauty of Scott Valley. There were 2 horses playing in this field with the sunset and the entire valley in the background. Around the next corner a huge 8 point buck in velvet jumped right in front of my bike. I rode further and passed to many deer to count and about 25 turkeys in a field. For the next 4o minutes or so of my ride I felt so blessed to be here and reminded myself I need to take advantage of this wonderful place as much as I can in my last month here. This is truly an incredible place.
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Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Another Mt. Shasta Climb...
This was the first Shasta climb I have actually enjoyed. There was no snow until after horse camp. The hike to Lake Helen (10,400 ft.) was not to bad other than we arrived a little late. There were many groups camped there. Brian went with us to. It rained all night and my tent started to leak. Fortunately, my gear did not get wet. We woke up at 2am to a white out. We continued to check the weather until 6am which was the latest we wanted to start. We decided after talking to one of the forest service guys that it was ok to climb. We made good time to the summit, arriving just ahead of our turnaround time (12 noon). The trip down was fast. We glissaded most of the way. Glissading made the entire trip worth it. I felt really good after the trip. I may even want to do it again. Overall it was a great trip. I think Jim was very excited to finally make it to the summit. I got some great pictures to. Check out my photo site for more pictures.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Yes, I am coming back...
It is official. I will be leaving the Ranch on September 14th to drive back with Matt Nolan. This is a few weeks later than I originally planned. There are a few church groups we are going to hang around to help out with. We plan to pack in as much kayaking, mountaineering, and rock climbing as possible before we leave. Jim is leading a group of staff up Shasta today.
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