It's Hot

Well, made it past Yosemite and through Nevada and into Utah. As I was coming over the border, I heard on the radio that the whole state was under a severe thunderstorm warning. And sure enough, as I got into the border town of St. George, I could see these massive thunderstorms to the northeast. As I was driving I saw 10 lightening strikes in the national forest to the north and east. I ended up at a Utah state park, which unbeknownst to me is also the local redneck summer lake hangout.

away that had just started. There were probably ten or so spotter planes and air tankers all flying around these two fires. Combined with the big blaze on the California/Arizona border (IBut as I was making dinner there were two fairly large wildfires burning about a couple of miles can see the smoke up here from that one) it was a pretty gorgeous sunset. The firefighters managed to put one of the fires out, but the larger one was stile going when I went to bed. Overall, I like the geography of Utah, but not the state parks division. For some reason, they don't take out-of-state checks. And their roads are shitty.

I'm heading into Zion today, so I'll have some pictures of that for you all. Depending on when I'm done with interviews (either monday at 2 or sometime tuesday) I'll be heading back up after that. Peace.

Yose

Sorry for the posting delay, but alas, there is no internet connection in the Yosemite Valley. But I still had a blast. Though I spent a week there, I could have easily stayed another month. I arrived in the valley on monday morning and got a campsite at Camp 4, where all the big-wall climbers stay. Camp 4 is a primative campsite, where you share an area with 4 other people usually. I was staying with a guy who had worked for big pharma company for 7 years, then quit and was now traveling around the country climbing and trying to figure out where to settle down and open a coffee shop/guide service. There was also a couple from San Antonio, who after spending three months in India, were traveling around the western US and planning on spending a few months in Portland before heading off to Thailand.

One of the things I really loved about Yosemite was the great community feel of the place. Especially at camp 4, where most of the climbers spend the summer, everyone is awesomely friendly. The first night I was there, one of the original big wall climbers at Yosemite (back in the mid-60's) put up a slide show of his pictures on the side of the bathroom and practically the whole camp came over and watched. Everywhere I went in the park, people were friendly and just generally happy. That was really refreshing, coming from central california where everyone is an ass.

It really is hard to explain how cool a place Yosemite is. Surrounded by 3000 foot walls, the valley is one of those surreal places where every 5 minutes you have to stop and look around for a while. Even hiking the walls was a new experience. On thursday I decided to climb to the top of yosemite falls, a trail rated severly strenuous by the guidebook. It was definitely gnarly; 3500 vertical feet in 3.2 miles. One of the guys I camped with did it in 1 hour, running. I was hoping for two hours to the top, but I managed to do it in 1:25. Not bad, but I was ready to puke at the top. The valley floor is at 4200 feet, and the top of the falls is at 7850, so the air was getting pretty thin towards the top. From the valley floor, the falls don't look so high, but once you get up there, its pretty incredible. Only very few places on earth can you look straight down 3500 feet of granite. Photos coming soon, as soon as I pick up a card reader.

All the interviews went fine. I won't bore you all with the details, but it was well worth it. I'm looking forward to Zion, and I promise more timely updates this week. I miss you all and can't wait to see everyone again.

Sactown

Finally made it to Sacramento, and so did the rain. It sprinkled/poured all the way from Shasta down to sactown. The rain was a bummer, but luckily I was able to get a replacement segment for my tent pole, so all is good. Called my friend Sally (from good ol' terra) as soon as I got into town. Had dinner with her family last night, and then walked around downtown Sacramento to see the sights. We stopped at a sweet dessert place, then met up with some of her old friends from high-school. They go to UO, which is kinda funny, as they haven't seen Sally for about a year. So it took them coming south 600 miles to meet up when we all go to school 45 minutes away up in Oregon. And thank god for sacramento; the Salem dryness has passed.

I finished up all the preparations for meeting with my interviewees on Monday and Tuesday. I’m getting pretty excited about it. Except for not having a camping spot; that could be a problem. But, supposedly half the camping sites in Yosemite are first-come-first-served, so I figure if I get there on Sunday morning before 12:00, I should be able to nab a spot. At least I hope so, otherwise I’m going to be sleeping in the back of the car somewhere. But regardless of sleeping arrangements, it is supposed to be 90-95 the whole week. After reading Jon Muir’s My First Summer in the Sierra, I am really excited to see Yosemite. Everyone I have talked to, from the repair guy at REI, to Sally’s parents, have said that it is an amazing place. Not sure what I am expecting, but whatever it is should be pretty awesome.

I hope everyone is doing well, and keep in touch. The next post you read will be from inside Yosemite, complete with pictures!

First Day(s)

Well, the trip started out pretty well. Left Salem about 1:00. Then got stuck in a massive traffic jam on I-5. Apparently there had been an 8 car wreck that closed both north- and south-bound lanes just south of the Corvalis Exit at 12:30. They had the whole freeway detoured over to 99E for 8 miles, then back on the freeway. It ate up an hour or so, but I guess it could have been worse. After that I made good time; drove through the rest of Oregon without having to stop once. I ended up camping along Bear Creek, which is a tributary of the Klamath River. I forgot how beautiful the Siskiyous are. Rugged hills covered with Juniper and Jack pines, which look suspiciously like Ponderosas, except for their propensity to split into two or three crowns mid way up. No cell phone coverage out there, so sorry to those of you I was supposed to call.

Met an interesting guy at the campsite. From Coos Bay, his name was Tim and he had been staying at this place with his girlfriend for 5 or 6 days when I got there. He was a pretty friendly dude, and apparently an inventor as well. As he explained to me over a beer, he had applied for a patent on a sleeping bag with an integrated air mattress. He was shopping the idea around to a couple of companies including Coleman. It sounded like a pretty sweet idea, and I was pretty surprised nobody had thought of it before. He and his girlfriend planned on staying there for a while longer, then campsite hopping the Klamath all summer.

And of course, on the first night out, one of my tent poles snapped. It had been cracked for a while, and so I suppose this is what I get for not replacing it earlier. There is an REI in Sacramento, so I guess I’ll stop there today and see if I can get it fixed.

Up at 6:30 this morning and on the road by 7. I’m always amazed at how early I get up when camping. The excitement of traveling always seems to get me up and awake and out better than anything else. But as soon as I crossed out of the Siskiyous and into Shasta country is started raining. And raining. Of course, its probably beautiful weather in the NW. But, as consolation, it’s been about 90 degrees in Yosemite, which I am definitely looking forward to.

Right now I am in Redding, typing away at a Starbucks. Hopefully tonight I’ll be staying with a friend in Sacramento, then bum around somewhere tomorrow and Saturday, the Yosemite on Sunday. I’m pretty stoked.