Winter, it seems, is here to stay. It declared its occupation with a two day fit of flurries and overcast skies. A mattress of clouds obscured the sun through its few hours of weak eminence and the waxing, near full moon illuminated the sky, leaving little difference between day and night. That initial fit dropped a playful dusting of snow, just enough to fill the washboard rivets in the roads and to speckle the spots between shrubs in the fields. Then a sharp, crystal clear day sliced the temperatures below zero and we have not seen anything above 30 degrees since then.
Farm life is making the reverential and requisite adjustments. We gear up in heavy layers of insulated Carhartts, lined gloves, and heavy winter boots. I imagine we look rather turtle-ish, lumbering about, comically small heads poking out the collars, the only part of the body with much range of motion, and even that is stunted. Outlet plugs dangle out of the grill of the vehicles, rather like umbilical cords and serving much the same purpose. Even so, we have to let the cars warm up for 10-15 minutes before it is fair to ask them to move, thereby making me exactly 15 to 20 minutes late for just about everything and further extending Gay’s customary one hour lag. Also, the season demands that a girl blow dry her hair should she be silly enough to shower in the morning. This has nothing whatsoever to do with fashion, rather with combating ISS (Icicle Scalp Syndrome).
The ugly underbelly of the farm also turns its frigid face to us at this point in the season. The inoperative water heating units, which have snuck through a summer and fall without detection, are coming to attention. The kids are out thawing the underground lines which froze because the heating units decided to not work with this first real freeze.
The cows amble the fields, unfettered by their calves for the first time in nine odd months. Gay sold 100calves, (50 heifers at 541 lbs average and 50 steers at 562 lbs average) leaving us with a dozen or so dinks and two cripples who pace around the corral. They finally quit bleating for their mothers and the particularly insistent mommas abandoned their mournful posts outside the corral some days since. Yesterday we preg checked the cows; gotta earn their hay somehow! We pushed small clusters into the chute where the vet not so delicately made his arm disappear up to his forearm and shouted either “she’s good”, or “she’s dry” at which point the cow was doused with a bug killing chemical, given a shot, and released from the head trap to hustle over to her friends where they conferred as to the disgrace which they had just undergone.
As a show of solidarity I scheduled a Doctor’s visit on that same day. The doctor was incredibly knowledgeable and Montana style blunt. We discussed vitamins which I might need on the trail and she had her nurses pump me full of shots to protect me from dirty water, rusty nails, and other such threats. It really was comforting to be able to sit with her and hash out some of the finer topics which I had yet to tackle myself. By the end of it she informed me that she and her nurses had decided to quit their jobs and hike with me. As with most established adults she celebrated my adventure and bemoaned that she was now too “bound down” to indulge such escapades. I thanked her for helping me get mine on its feet and marched out with three Snoopy band-aids on my arms. Despite the freezing temperatures I went to the post office and grocery store with my sleeves rolled up, that others might be able to properly revere my obvious tough-itude (three shots in one sitting, and two at once no less!) but no one showed the proper awe so I went home and marveled at them myself. Not quite, but nearly as gratifying. The Tetanus shot made muscles that I didn’t know I had, ache.
I finally have the itinerary for the Pacific Crest Trail roughly plotted. The specifics will be dependent on weather but I will be starting in southern Cali late April. As I said, my buddy from High School and Philmont, Tyler Griffin, will accompany me for that first month. Side trips for restocking aside we should cover just under 500 miles in about a month. Figuring this as the sort of warm up leg we will average between 14 and 17 miles per day, with a few lay-overs if necessary. It seems that the largest challenge we will face will be maintaining our water supply. There will be some lengths where we go nearly 30 miles without an easy water access! And water weighs a lot! Hopefully though we will be able to compensate the weight with lighter clothing and packs, as the temperatures down there tend toward hot more than cold. However there will be some points of elevation so those must be considered as well. We are considering doing that piece of the trail without a tent, maybe just light tarps to wrap ourselves in our sleeping bags should it decide to rain. We will end that section around a town called Agua Dulce from where Tyler will (hopefully) head to Philmont for the rest of the summer and I will spend a few days in LA with a dear friend from college, Bryan Crawford.
My plan is to send some of my heavier gear for him to hold and, after resupplying, reassessing, and relaxing, take the train north to somewhere near the California/Oregon border. I will be passing through that area early June which should place me through there after the Spring showers and storms but before the area becomes inundated with other hikers. What the area WILL be inundated with at that time are mosquitoes. I am concerned about maintaining my sanity through such conditions but with cancer causing quantities of Deet and a few anti mosquito tips which I picked up from my friend Andy Borek, I think I can make it. A key factor at that point will be to have a tent to post up in and a vestibule large enough to cook in. All in all, Oregon should take me about 3 ½ weeks and then on up through Washington.
The weather will be cooler, the terrain rockier and more ups and downs, the mosquitoes just as prevalent, and higher chances of rain. I mean, it IS Washington after all. Either way, I am really excited, having recently spent a little time playing in the mountains and hiking on trails near where the PCT passes through. Also, several of my people are smattered across that state and, by the end of the 4-5 weeks which that length should take me, I plan to take a little time to visit my family and friends.
Assuming I am still alive and whole at that point I will catch the train south again and tackle the Sierra Nevada range going north to south through the months of August and September. The way I have laid the plan out I will conclude the whole thing on the John Muir Trail with my Dad. This is one of the most remote lengths of the trail, which will mean packing a lot of food weight so we will probably have to invest in those light weight hiker meals. This length is also reputed as being one of the most beautiful lengths of trail in America and I think it will make a good wrap up.
From what I have read it will be easiest to resupply at the beginning of the trail, with accessible towns every 50-80 miles. Through OR and WA there will be some longer stretches and I will certainly have to mail myself more drops but still quite doable.This entire planning phase has been so incredibly facilitated by the PCTA hiking guides which are so detailed and thorough that it almost feels like cheating.
The next area I plan to tackle as far as planning goes will be food. Of particular concern will be to maintain calorie intake. I know you will all be fascinated.
In conclusion, and on a completely different note, I am headed back in to Kansas City in 15 days. I am stupid excited to see my family and friends and to head down to Belize! After that I have slated a week to hang out with my best friend at her place outside of Denver and, if I can afford it, to do some skiing before heading back up here to survive the rest of winter and then help with the beginning of lambing and calving season. I do hope to see you soon and wish you safe and happy holidays.
Here are a couple web sites which I have found really informative and helpful:
http://cwillett.imathas.com/pct/
http://www.andrewskurka.com/advice/index.php
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
CD Burning and Seasons Turning
The year presses steadily and ruthlessly forward. The seasons cannot seem to decide what they want to have happen. Over a month ago we had a blanketing of snow, today it is 60 degrees and sunny. As I was leaving the post office a passed a cluster of oldies discussing the weather and commenting on these Chinook winds. One of my favorite things, as I travel the Hi-Line with the cattle or just for fun is finding that each town has some sort of little diner or cafe, and if you visit these places at the right time on the right day, you bear witness to the gatherings of the locals. It is fun to hear the things which concern them and which bear enough weight for discussion. I suppose I have inherited my propensity for eavesdropping from my mother.=)
In the great metropolis of Havre, some 28 minutes away, lives one of my friends from when I was first here, Liz. She recently had a birthday and I made her a CD. It was an old scratched CD and I took a match to the back of it and burned patterns into the casing and pasted some neat magazine clippings into the hole in the center. When she opened it she was initially excited, "you made me a burnt CD!" she exclaimed happily. Then she took it out and inspected it further. I must admit that I am sitting here in the library laughing as I recall the evolution of expressions on her face. Then she just looked at me with this blank, flat expression. Of course, I laugh now but in the moment I felt rather uncomfortable and sad that she did not like my art. Yes, I burned her a CD, no it was not what she had anticipated. Oh well, now I am compiling a collection of music to put to a disc and then plan to trade it for my artwork back from her. Some people just process differently, I suppose.
Driving in to town today I was escorted for a distance by a Bald Eagle. It drifted along beside the suburban for a moment before turning to look at me and then caught an updraft and was gone. I said, "thanks for coming by," and tilted my hat to its majesty and the good omen which it bore over my endeavours for the rest of the day.
Speaking of endeavours, I continue to prepare for the PCT. The most exciting news at the moment is that one of my high school buddies and Philmont ranger friends, Tyler Griffin, has decided to do the first month on the trail with me. He is well qualified as being burly and hairy enough to keep me safe from any Mexican coyotes who may be wandering the same California desert hills or coolies. He is also of a pleasantly temperate nature and should provide a good balance to my more...vehement temperament.
While my father does not believe Tyler can be counted on as reliable, I am endeavouring to turn that lack of faith to my advantage by goading Tyler with, "well my dad says..." and he is responding, as I hoped, with an even greater commitment to come.=)
I continue to work my way through the guide books, planning resupply points and considering terrain. The largest factor for which I cannot plan is the weather. It will be a matter of watching how the winter progresses throughout different areas of California so that I know whether to be prepared for an atmosphere in which it is more of a pressing challenge to find water, or to have to clamber through snow banks. Only time will tell.
As I finish up the first 700 miles or so of the trail, it will lead me high into the Sierra Nevadas. Along this stretch lies the John Muir Trail and certain lengths which are purported to be some of the most beautiful hiking in the continental US. However, as I would be arriving there in Early June, and the snow will still be thick at that elevation and the streams will be high and dangerous to cross, I have asked a friend who lives in LA to come pick me up. We will spend a few days enjoying his beautiful city and I will resupply and probably have to switch out some gear. He will then drive me further north, dropping em off at the northern lengths of the Sierras, where I will pick up and continue North bound, God willing, to the Canadian border. From there I will venture back down to the Nevadas and do those as the final segment of the trail, when the streams are less swollen and the snow is less prohibitive.
The planning is fun and tedious. I am often overcome by the need to just shut all the stupid books and go wander around outside, because that is really what I want to be doing. I know this is an important phase in such an undertaking, and I really do need to focus my attention and do my best but there is just nothing like getting out there and actually doing it.
Such a sentiment overtook me rather strongly a few days ago and I got into the suburban and went and picked Liz up. She showed me the way back into the Bear Paws. The girl has a passionate distaste for the cold and so was not often willing to wander too far from the car but we did make a few small forays across rickety, old wooden bridges and up to icy waterfalls. I threw icicles and tried to drop heavy rocks onto the pond but the ice was of that unsatisfying, slushy mixture and so the rock chucking was less pleasing than the icicle hurdling. Then we stopped at a campsite and I made a pleasant little fire and we munched on Smores and talked about whatever it is that women our age talk about. Now, two days later, I have washed myself and all my clothes but when I open my purse of shift something in the car, the smell of campfire wafts up and it never fails to make me smile.
Happy Holidays and warmest regards to you all.
In the great metropolis of Havre, some 28 minutes away, lives one of my friends from when I was first here, Liz. She recently had a birthday and I made her a CD. It was an old scratched CD and I took a match to the back of it and burned patterns into the casing and pasted some neat magazine clippings into the hole in the center. When she opened it she was initially excited, "you made me a burnt CD!" she exclaimed happily. Then she took it out and inspected it further. I must admit that I am sitting here in the library laughing as I recall the evolution of expressions on her face. Then she just looked at me with this blank, flat expression. Of course, I laugh now but in the moment I felt rather uncomfortable and sad that she did not like my art. Yes, I burned her a CD, no it was not what she had anticipated. Oh well, now I am compiling a collection of music to put to a disc and then plan to trade it for my artwork back from her. Some people just process differently, I suppose.
Driving in to town today I was escorted for a distance by a Bald Eagle. It drifted along beside the suburban for a moment before turning to look at me and then caught an updraft and was gone. I said, "thanks for coming by," and tilted my hat to its majesty and the good omen which it bore over my endeavours for the rest of the day.
Speaking of endeavours, I continue to prepare for the PCT. The most exciting news at the moment is that one of my high school buddies and Philmont ranger friends, Tyler Griffin, has decided to do the first month on the trail with me. He is well qualified as being burly and hairy enough to keep me safe from any Mexican coyotes who may be wandering the same California desert hills or coolies. He is also of a pleasantly temperate nature and should provide a good balance to my more...vehement temperament.
While my father does not believe Tyler can be counted on as reliable, I am endeavouring to turn that lack of faith to my advantage by goading Tyler with, "well my dad says..." and he is responding, as I hoped, with an even greater commitment to come.=)
I continue to work my way through the guide books, planning resupply points and considering terrain. The largest factor for which I cannot plan is the weather. It will be a matter of watching how the winter progresses throughout different areas of California so that I know whether to be prepared for an atmosphere in which it is more of a pressing challenge to find water, or to have to clamber through snow banks. Only time will tell.
As I finish up the first 700 miles or so of the trail, it will lead me high into the Sierra Nevadas. Along this stretch lies the John Muir Trail and certain lengths which are purported to be some of the most beautiful hiking in the continental US. However, as I would be arriving there in Early June, and the snow will still be thick at that elevation and the streams will be high and dangerous to cross, I have asked a friend who lives in LA to come pick me up. We will spend a few days enjoying his beautiful city and I will resupply and probably have to switch out some gear. He will then drive me further north, dropping em off at the northern lengths of the Sierras, where I will pick up and continue North bound, God willing, to the Canadian border. From there I will venture back down to the Nevadas and do those as the final segment of the trail, when the streams are less swollen and the snow is less prohibitive.
The planning is fun and tedious. I am often overcome by the need to just shut all the stupid books and go wander around outside, because that is really what I want to be doing. I know this is an important phase in such an undertaking, and I really do need to focus my attention and do my best but there is just nothing like getting out there and actually doing it.
Such a sentiment overtook me rather strongly a few days ago and I got into the suburban and went and picked Liz up. She showed me the way back into the Bear Paws. The girl has a passionate distaste for the cold and so was not often willing to wander too far from the car but we did make a few small forays across rickety, old wooden bridges and up to icy waterfalls. I threw icicles and tried to drop heavy rocks onto the pond but the ice was of that unsatisfying, slushy mixture and so the rock chucking was less pleasing than the icicle hurdling. Then we stopped at a campsite and I made a pleasant little fire and we munched on Smores and talked about whatever it is that women our age talk about. Now, two days later, I have washed myself and all my clothes but when I open my purse of shift something in the car, the smell of campfire wafts up and it never fails to make me smile.
Happy Holidays and warmest regards to you all.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Have a Nice Trip...see you next Fall
It seems that Fall is in a real hurry to wrap up this year. About a week ago, leaves were noticeably turned. I enjoyed my daily forays into town to run errands or pick kids up from school. Then I come in today and it seems that God took a leaf blower and blasted every last one of them to the ground. I'm not complaining, I am just saying, it was rather abrupt. Although, still very fun to swerve and drive through the swirling banks of yellow and orange and brown piled up along the sides of the streets. Trunks line the lanes adorned with Halloween decorations, their branches creak overhead, newly exposed so the wood yet blushes.
I have been heralding in the new season by baking. On today's agenda: carrot pumpkin muffins, with a cup of shredded pineapple to taste. I have also been working on developing a peach tea, mainly because there is a massive box of peaches in the bottom of my refrigerator.
I was speaking with Gay the other day about the place I am in my life, this whole "early 20s" business. She extrapolated on, what I can only hope to fully comprehend in a few years, how I am in a period of transition.
Now, we all understand that we have varying layers of emotional sensation. Like currents. Some run deep and steady, some cavort about on the surface and then disappear forever. Well, Gay's explanation focused my sight (one of her uncanny gifts) bringing into relief one of the deeper currents which has been running in my consciousness through this "transitory" period. I recognize it from pre-pubescant and early teen years. I have been here before. It is interesting to observe a sensation from such a different perspective. I know I am a grown up because I can say, a decade sure makes a huge difference.
I am tempted to go on about the weather up here, but I am still just starting to work the words around it to try to convey it appropriately. Mainly my focus is the sky up here, the vast tracts of heaven, pressing so low and wide. I am learning about cloud identification.
In regards to the PCT: I have begun reading through the Pacific Crest Trail Association's three guide books. Learning what kind of terrain to expect and what kinds of resources are going to be available. I am beginning a list of the towns where I plan to stop and resupply. I am still working through Southern California and it seems my biggest challenge is going to be water supply (I know, big surprise). It seems that it really depends on how the seasons have treated the area. How much snow fall comes down this year and the likes, so I will be keeping an eye on that.
That is all from the High-lines today. Best to you all.
I have been heralding in the new season by baking. On today's agenda: carrot pumpkin muffins, with a cup of shredded pineapple to taste. I have also been working on developing a peach tea, mainly because there is a massive box of peaches in the bottom of my refrigerator.
I was speaking with Gay the other day about the place I am in my life, this whole "early 20s" business. She extrapolated on, what I can only hope to fully comprehend in a few years, how I am in a period of transition.
Now, we all understand that we have varying layers of emotional sensation. Like currents. Some run deep and steady, some cavort about on the surface and then disappear forever. Well, Gay's explanation focused my sight (one of her uncanny gifts) bringing into relief one of the deeper currents which has been running in my consciousness through this "transitory" period. I recognize it from pre-pubescant and early teen years. I have been here before. It is interesting to observe a sensation from such a different perspective. I know I am a grown up because I can say, a decade sure makes a huge difference.
I am tempted to go on about the weather up here, but I am still just starting to work the words around it to try to convey it appropriately. Mainly my focus is the sky up here, the vast tracts of heaven, pressing so low and wide. I am learning about cloud identification.
In regards to the PCT: I have begun reading through the Pacific Crest Trail Association's three guide books. Learning what kind of terrain to expect and what kinds of resources are going to be available. I am beginning a list of the towns where I plan to stop and resupply. I am still working through Southern California and it seems my biggest challenge is going to be water supply (I know, big surprise). It seems that it really depends on how the seasons have treated the area. How much snow fall comes down this year and the likes, so I will be keeping an eye on that.
That is all from the High-lines today. Best to you all.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
I'm Back
Here I am again. Words, for me, are an exercise in self actualization. The huge added bonus of this medium being that I get to keep you guys updated as to my goings on.
So, another summer in Alaska has wrapped up. It was an experience which has now run its full course. I am still working through the amazing lessons with which it presented me and am very pleased to have found a place and situation in which I have all the space and time needed to process.
I am now living outside of Zurich Montana on Dancing Moon Ranch, the place of my fortification during the tumultuous teen years. Except that I am now, as Gay put it, "on her team."
I spent this past week managing the farm, feeding the animals, watching the kids, getting suburbans stuck in mud, worming lambs, chasing the loafish sheep dog, and baking peach cobblers/pies and banana nut bread.
The seasons made a rather abrupt switch this past weekend. The temperatures went from sunny and 80 to blustery and less than 60. We had our first freeze on Sunday night (of course that was the night I had decided to hang my laundry out to dry).
Today I am in the public library (of which I am now a proud card carrying member) after having come out of a substitute teachers' meeting. I was the only one of the group of women who did not have many years in Chinook under her belt and one of only two who did not have progeny in the local school system. Substituting will be a nice way to supplement my income and to give me something to do. My objectives up here are to try my hand at writing some short stories, spend a good deal of time volunteering, and to get some planning done. What am I planning you may ask?
A few days ago I received a box with the three guide books and my membership to the Pacific Crest Trail Association. I have begun to delve into the beginnings of planning this monumental hike. Naturally I am dubious as to any of a number of the many components of my ability to see this project through (logistically, physically) however I cannot but bow to its preeminence in my spirit. Therefore I begin to press forward.
After Alaska I spent a few weeks in the Seattle area with a dear friend from Philmont. Andy Borek and his lovely Leda opened their home to me and Andy and I spent three days on a traverse called the High Alpine Lake Route with another Philmont ranger, Skye. If you are interested, Skye posted some wonderful pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/skyeschell/AlpineLakesHighRoute#
It was beautiful weather, wonderful company, and...unique...terrain. It also invigorated me, tantalizing my spirit and recalling to her the drive to be outside. It assured me that hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is something I need to pursue.
One of the primary purposes of this blog will be to track my progress in the planning process.
Please, any input is invited.
I have begun by setting aside $4000 for the hike itself. While in Seattle I went to REI and 'invested' in a pair of leather hiking boots and a pack. I spent the first week breaking the boots in and, as I continue to wear them around the ranch, will decide whether this fit truly is the be-all end-all for my picky feet. If they work I will order a second pair and break them in as well so they are ready in case my first pair bite the literal and proverbial dust somewhere along the 2,650 mile trail. The plan is to leave the second pair with my parents, who have, unbeknownst to them, been bestowed with the great honor of being the command center while I am on the trail.
At this point I am reading through the guide books, deciding whether I want to try to do this as a single contiguous trek, or if I might do the lower desert reach, then hop up further north and do Oregon and Washington and drop back down to do the Sierra Nevadas and the John Muir trail last. As I have said, there is much planning ahead.
But, for now I have to go meet Gay and flag as she drives the Combine back out to the farm.
Gross, the kid next to me just picked his nose.
So, another summer in Alaska has wrapped up. It was an experience which has now run its full course. I am still working through the amazing lessons with which it presented me and am very pleased to have found a place and situation in which I have all the space and time needed to process.
I am now living outside of Zurich Montana on Dancing Moon Ranch, the place of my fortification during the tumultuous teen years. Except that I am now, as Gay put it, "on her team."
I spent this past week managing the farm, feeding the animals, watching the kids, getting suburbans stuck in mud, worming lambs, chasing the loafish sheep dog, and baking peach cobblers/pies and banana nut bread.
The seasons made a rather abrupt switch this past weekend. The temperatures went from sunny and 80 to blustery and less than 60. We had our first freeze on Sunday night (of course that was the night I had decided to hang my laundry out to dry).
Today I am in the public library (of which I am now a proud card carrying member) after having come out of a substitute teachers' meeting. I was the only one of the group of women who did not have many years in Chinook under her belt and one of only two who did not have progeny in the local school system. Substituting will be a nice way to supplement my income and to give me something to do. My objectives up here are to try my hand at writing some short stories, spend a good deal of time volunteering, and to get some planning done. What am I planning you may ask?
A few days ago I received a box with the three guide books and my membership to the Pacific Crest Trail Association. I have begun to delve into the beginnings of planning this monumental hike. Naturally I am dubious as to any of a number of the many components of my ability to see this project through (logistically, physically) however I cannot but bow to its preeminence in my spirit. Therefore I begin to press forward.
After Alaska I spent a few weeks in the Seattle area with a dear friend from Philmont. Andy Borek and his lovely Leda opened their home to me and Andy and I spent three days on a traverse called the High Alpine Lake Route with another Philmont ranger, Skye. If you are interested, Skye posted some wonderful pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/skyeschell/AlpineLakesHighRoute#
It was beautiful weather, wonderful company, and...unique...terrain. It also invigorated me, tantalizing my spirit and recalling to her the drive to be outside. It assured me that hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is something I need to pursue.
One of the primary purposes of this blog will be to track my progress in the planning process.
Please, any input is invited.
I have begun by setting aside $4000 for the hike itself. While in Seattle I went to REI and 'invested' in a pair of leather hiking boots and a pack. I spent the first week breaking the boots in and, as I continue to wear them around the ranch, will decide whether this fit truly is the be-all end-all for my picky feet. If they work I will order a second pair and break them in as well so they are ready in case my first pair bite the literal and proverbial dust somewhere along the 2,650 mile trail. The plan is to leave the second pair with my parents, who have, unbeknownst to them, been bestowed with the great honor of being the command center while I am on the trail.
At this point I am reading through the guide books, deciding whether I want to try to do this as a single contiguous trek, or if I might do the lower desert reach, then hop up further north and do Oregon and Washington and drop back down to do the Sierra Nevadas and the John Muir trail last. As I have said, there is much planning ahead.
But, for now I have to go meet Gay and flag as she drives the Combine back out to the farm.
Gross, the kid next to me just picked his nose.
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