Photographer & Olympian Chase Adventure From Baja to the Arctic
- Thread starter kins18q
- Start date
I know! i'm seriously debating. I just love how small, light, and packable the mavic pro is...in addition to some awesome new features. Tough choice!
Any advise on traveling the Alpine Loop? If we do it, we will be driving our F-250, 8' bed with our FWC Grandby Camper in the bed. The big question is how much 4-wheel drive low gear is required? We went way outside our comfort level traveling single lane gravel roads with 1,000 drops into the Pioneer Mountains and across Skalkaho Pass in Montana last fall and loved it. We used 4-wheel high. We have never used 4-wheel low. Any good dispersed camping sites would be great. Thanks, jd
Leg 8: Breckenridge to the Eastern Sierra via a lot places.
Right before I left Breckenridge for the winter, I connected with a woman named Mary. She is an ultra runner, and wanted to climb a 14er in the winter. She was in luck because so did I, although neither of us was quite such why we wanted to do such a thing. So we made a plan to meet at the base of Quandary, 14,265 ft, and we tackled it together. It was a beautiful, but very cold and windy day. At certain points on the ridge, both of us would stop when the wind got particularly strong, then continue moving when it died down. We summited in good time, and got off as quick as possible, but the view the whole time was tremendous.
This is me at the summit trying not to lose things. We tried to take just a standard summit photo, but this kept happening.
We eventually achieved it.
A couple more days on the mountain and a snowshoe later and I headed to Denver to fly out for an assignment with Travel Wisconsin. It was warm my last days in Breck.
I flew from Denver to Chicago and took this tiny plan from Chicago to Ironwood, MI. Only 4 passengers on the plane, but the weather cooperated and we didn't have that much turbulence for the flight. I landed in Ironwood, a mini airport and asked the guy where I should pick up my rental car. He looked at me like I was insane, trying to explain you can't just roll in to Ironwood, MI and rent a car. I explained that the company I was working for said they had arranged something. He looked to his right in a basket and sure enough there was a set of keys there. I walked out to the parking lot, and in the corner there was a sign that read "Red's Auto" with exactly one car underneath it. I guessed that was my ride for the week, and began the drive through the snow from Michigan to Bayfield, WI. I was finally able to crawl into bed around 1am. Here was the view from my balcony during the next morning's commute.
Little did I know the next few days would be a whirlwind of ************* awesomeness. When Travel Wisconsin asked me to do this trip I thought it was great because I had never been to Wisconsin! But they wanted me to go in the dead of winter. How much could there be to do in the dead of winter? Well the answer is A LOT. I did several things I had never even considered doing. The town, the people, the place was unreal. Everyone is friendly and they really made me feel at home. It is a trip I will remember and cherish for many, many years. Don't believe me, check out these pics.
Resident bike expert and fat bike enthusiast, John Murphy, took me fat biking across Lake Superior to Madeline Island. It is such a unique experience, and one of the coolest things I've done. Along the shore there were blocks of blue ice the size of dining room tables stacked haphazardly on top of one another. The blocks seemed to glow blue making them really fun to photograph.
Hey Mom, I managed to get my tongue stuck to a piece of Lake Superior. What now?
It's an eerie feeling when you're 5 miles out in the middle of Lake Superior on fat bikes and all the ice around you starts cracking and giving in. John Murphy, my guide, and a Bayfield local shouted for me hold up. I circled back around, seemingly sinking deeper with every pedal. Finally, I made it back to him and he pulled out his ax. He said he wanted to make sure we were just breaking through the top layer. So he started swinging, and sure enough there was a gap between the top layer and the thicker layer underneath. Probably caused by melting and re-freezing. It turns out the ice beneath us was about 10 inches thick, and we were safe to cycle on.
The next day I met up with local canoe-er, dog sledder, and author Julie Buckles. In her 30's, she and her husband, Charly, spent a year paddling from their front yard on Lake Superior to Lake Wollaston, 1,700 miles north! They then spent the winter homesteading on an island there. She wrote a book called Paddling to Winter, I just finished it and it's quite and amazing tale. She took me to this gorgeous location and then I made her go stand on the edge of oblivion, while the wind was whipping in our faces. But aren't those some beautiful colors and sandstone formations at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore?
Walking through this forest with nearly a foot of new snowfall was serene. The lake sounds like an ocean and the second you leave the peaceful forest and stand on the cliff side, the freezing wind starts howling. I knew Wisconsin would be fun, but I didn't know it would be so spectacularly beautiful.
Later that day I arrived at Wolfsong after hiking in the snow all day, and my 2wd rental car barely made it up the hill. I met up with Jenn & Laurel, my guides, and three of their friends ready to sled. I thought, this must be life in Wisconsin, a bunch of ************ women dog sledding together for the evening. Jenn gave me the run down, we harnessed up the dogs, and before I knew it I was piloting my sled flying through the forest.
Stopping for dinner on the trail while dog sledding with the ladies! After dinner, the sun had gone down and the dogs barked with anticipation of running the trail ahead. When we took off the dogs went silent, no sound but the quiet patter of their footsteps and the sled sliding over the fresh snow.
The following day Julie enlisted her husband to take me ice fishing, something I have always wanted to do. When we arrived at our location, Blaise & Charly began the process of making the holes and setting up lines, most of the time with bare hands. This photo must have been after Charly had set up several lines and decided to warm his hands up with small liner gloves. Meanwhile, I have big ski gloves on and my hands are freezing even though they haven't touched the water. The guys would say, "you get used to the cold after a while."
Blaise & Charly set up to fish inside the tent after setting all the lines up outside. When all the windows of the tent are closed and the sun is shining up through the ice, the awesome color and clarity of Lake Superior is revealed and the sunlight glow lights up the interior!
Despite all the set up and Blaise yelling excitedly anytime a fish swam near his line, this was the only fish we caught that day. :ylsmoke:
In all seriousness, though, these guys were awesome and I had a blast with them.
My last full day in Wisconsin I got to take the ice breaking ferry across the lake to Madeline Island. This was exciting for me because I like ferries and had never been on an ice breaking vessel before. I learned that high school aged kids who live on Madeline Island take the ferry to Bayfield to get to school every day. On years that the ice road opens and the lake is safe to drive on there is a two week period when the ferry doesn't run but the ice road isn't open yet. But these kids don't get to skip school for two weeks, no way! They get to cross the lake on a kite powered sled- WHAT A LIFE!!!!
Kelly, who works for the Chamber ditched work to come hike with me on Madeline Island. Well, I guess it's not technically ditching work when this is part of your job!
To be continued... Next up, I leave Wisconsin and head south to New Mexico to visit some friends.
Right before I left Breckenridge for the winter, I connected with a woman named Mary. She is an ultra runner, and wanted to climb a 14er in the winter. She was in luck because so did I, although neither of us was quite such why we wanted to do such a thing. So we made a plan to meet at the base of Quandary, 14,265 ft, and we tackled it together. It was a beautiful, but very cold and windy day. At certain points on the ridge, both of us would stop when the wind got particularly strong, then continue moving when it died down. We summited in good time, and got off as quick as possible, but the view the whole time was tremendous.
This is me at the summit trying not to lose things. We tried to take just a standard summit photo, but this kept happening.
We eventually achieved it.
A couple more days on the mountain and a snowshoe later and I headed to Denver to fly out for an assignment with Travel Wisconsin. It was warm my last days in Breck.
I flew from Denver to Chicago and took this tiny plan from Chicago to Ironwood, MI. Only 4 passengers on the plane, but the weather cooperated and we didn't have that much turbulence for the flight. I landed in Ironwood, a mini airport and asked the guy where I should pick up my rental car. He looked at me like I was insane, trying to explain you can't just roll in to Ironwood, MI and rent a car. I explained that the company I was working for said they had arranged something. He looked to his right in a basket and sure enough there was a set of keys there. I walked out to the parking lot, and in the corner there was a sign that read "Red's Auto" with exactly one car underneath it. I guessed that was my ride for the week, and began the drive through the snow from Michigan to Bayfield, WI. I was finally able to crawl into bed around 1am. Here was the view from my balcony during the next morning's commute.
Little did I know the next few days would be a whirlwind of ************* awesomeness. When Travel Wisconsin asked me to do this trip I thought it was great because I had never been to Wisconsin! But they wanted me to go in the dead of winter. How much could there be to do in the dead of winter? Well the answer is A LOT. I did several things I had never even considered doing. The town, the people, the place was unreal. Everyone is friendly and they really made me feel at home. It is a trip I will remember and cherish for many, many years. Don't believe me, check out these pics.
Resident bike expert and fat bike enthusiast, John Murphy, took me fat biking across Lake Superior to Madeline Island. It is such a unique experience, and one of the coolest things I've done. Along the shore there were blocks of blue ice the size of dining room tables stacked haphazardly on top of one another. The blocks seemed to glow blue making them really fun to photograph.
Hey Mom, I managed to get my tongue stuck to a piece of Lake Superior. What now?
It's an eerie feeling when you're 5 miles out in the middle of Lake Superior on fat bikes and all the ice around you starts cracking and giving in. John Murphy, my guide, and a Bayfield local shouted for me hold up. I circled back around, seemingly sinking deeper with every pedal. Finally, I made it back to him and he pulled out his ax. He said he wanted to make sure we were just breaking through the top layer. So he started swinging, and sure enough there was a gap between the top layer and the thicker layer underneath. Probably caused by melting and re-freezing. It turns out the ice beneath us was about 10 inches thick, and we were safe to cycle on.
The next day I met up with local canoe-er, dog sledder, and author Julie Buckles. In her 30's, she and her husband, Charly, spent a year paddling from their front yard on Lake Superior to Lake Wollaston, 1,700 miles north! They then spent the winter homesteading on an island there. She wrote a book called Paddling to Winter, I just finished it and it's quite and amazing tale. She took me to this gorgeous location and then I made her go stand on the edge of oblivion, while the wind was whipping in our faces. But aren't those some beautiful colors and sandstone formations at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore?
Walking through this forest with nearly a foot of new snowfall was serene. The lake sounds like an ocean and the second you leave the peaceful forest and stand on the cliff side, the freezing wind starts howling. I knew Wisconsin would be fun, but I didn't know it would be so spectacularly beautiful.
Later that day I arrived at Wolfsong after hiking in the snow all day, and my 2wd rental car barely made it up the hill. I met up with Jenn & Laurel, my guides, and three of their friends ready to sled. I thought, this must be life in Wisconsin, a bunch of ************ women dog sledding together for the evening. Jenn gave me the run down, we harnessed up the dogs, and before I knew it I was piloting my sled flying through the forest.
Stopping for dinner on the trail while dog sledding with the ladies! After dinner, the sun had gone down and the dogs barked with anticipation of running the trail ahead. When we took off the dogs went silent, no sound but the quiet patter of their footsteps and the sled sliding over the fresh snow.
The following day Julie enlisted her husband to take me ice fishing, something I have always wanted to do. When we arrived at our location, Blaise & Charly began the process of making the holes and setting up lines, most of the time with bare hands. This photo must have been after Charly had set up several lines and decided to warm his hands up with small liner gloves. Meanwhile, I have big ski gloves on and my hands are freezing even though they haven't touched the water. The guys would say, "you get used to the cold after a while."
Blaise & Charly set up to fish inside the tent after setting all the lines up outside. When all the windows of the tent are closed and the sun is shining up through the ice, the awesome color and clarity of Lake Superior is revealed and the sunlight glow lights up the interior!
Despite all the set up and Blaise yelling excitedly anytime a fish swam near his line, this was the only fish we caught that day. :ylsmoke:
In all seriousness, though, these guys were awesome and I had a blast with them.
My last full day in Wisconsin I got to take the ice breaking ferry across the lake to Madeline Island. This was exciting for me because I like ferries and had never been on an ice breaking vessel before. I learned that high school aged kids who live on Madeline Island take the ferry to Bayfield to get to school every day. On years that the ice road opens and the lake is safe to drive on there is a two week period when the ferry doesn't run but the ice road isn't open yet. But these kids don't get to skip school for two weeks, no way! They get to cross the lake on a kite powered sled- WHAT A LIFE!!!!
Kelly, who works for the Chamber ditched work to come hike with me on Madeline Island. Well, I guess it's not technically ditching work when this is part of your job!
To be continued... Next up, I leave Wisconsin and head south to New Mexico to visit some friends.
Last edited:
bigskypylot
Explorer
Right before I left Breckenridge for the winter, I connected with a woman named Mary. She is an ultra runner, and wanted to climb a 14er in the winter. She was in luck because so did I, although neither of us was quite such why we wanted to do such a thing. So we made a plan to meet at the base of Quandary, 14,265 ft, and we tackled it together. It was a beautiful, but very cold and windy day. At certain points on the ridge, both of us would stop when the wind got particularly strong, then continue moving when it died down. We summited in good time, and got off as quick as possible, but the view the whole time was tremendous.
This is me at the summit trying not to lose things. We tried to take just a standard summit photo, but this kept happening.
We eventually achieved it.
A couple more days on the mountain and a snowshoe later and I headed to Denver to fly out for an assignment with Travel Wisconsin. It was warm my last days in Breck.
I flew from Denver to Chicago and took this tiny plan from Chicago to Ironwood, MI. Only 4 passengers on the plane, but the weather cooperated and we didn't have that much turbulence for the flight. I landed in Ironwood, a mini airport and asked the guy where I should pick up my rental car. He looked at me like I was insane, trying to explain you can't just roll in to Ironwood, MI and rent a car. I explained that the company I was working for said they had arranged something. He looked to his right in a basket and sure enough there was a set of keys there. I walked out to the parking lot, and in the corner there was a sign that read "Red's Auto" with exactly one car underneath it. I guessed that was my ride for the week, and began the drive through the snow from Michigan to Bayfield, WI. I was finally able to crawl into bed around 1am. Here was the view from my balcony during the next morning's commute.
Little did I know the next few days would be a whirlwind of ************* awesomeness. When Travel Wisconsin asked me to do this trip I thought it was great because I had never been to Wisconsin! But they wanted me to go in the dead of winter. How much could there be to do in the dead of winter? Well the answer is A LOT. I did several things I had never even considered doing. The town, the people, the place was unreal. Everyone is friendly and they really made me feel at home. It is a trip I will remember and cherish for many, many years. Don't believe me, check out these pics.
Resident bike expert and fat bike enthusiast, John Murphy, took me fat biking across Lake Superior to Madeline Island. It is such a unique experience, and one of the coolest things I've done. Along the shore there were blocks of blue ice the size of dining room tables stacked haphazardly on top of one another. The blocks seemed to glow blue making them really fun to photograph.
Hey Mom, I managed to get my tongue stuck to a piece of Lake Superior. What now?
It's an eerie feeling when you're 5 miles out in the middle of Lake Superior on fat bikes and all the ice around you starts cracking and giving in. John Murphy, my guide, and a Bayfield local shouted for me hold up. I circled back around, seemingly sinking deeper with every pedal. Finally, I made it back to him and he pulled out his ax. He said he wanted to make sure we were just breaking through the top layer. So he started swinging, and sure enough there was a gap between the top layer and the thicker layer underneath. Probably caused by melting and re-freezing. It turns out the ice beneath us was about 10 inches thick, and we were safe to cycle on.
The next day I met up with local canoe-er, dog sledder, and author Julie Buckles. In her 30's, she and her husband, Charly, spent a year paddling from their front yard on Lake Superior to Lake Wollaston, 1,700 miles north! They then spent the winter homesteading on an island there. She wrote a book called Paddling to Winter, I just finished it and it's quite and amazing tale. She took me to this gorgeous location and then I made her go stand on the edge of oblivion, while the wind was whipping in our faces. But aren't those some beautiful colors and sandstone formations at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore?
Walking through this forest with nearly a foot of new snowfall was serene. The lake sounds like an ocean and the second you leave the peaceful forest and stand on the cliff side, the freezing wind starts howling. I knew Wisconsin would be fun, but I didn't know it would be so spectacularly beautiful.
Later that day I arrived at Wolfsong after hiking in the snow all day, and my 2wd rental car barely made it up the hill. I met up with Jenn & Laurel, my guides, and three of their friends ready to sled. I thought, this must be life in Wisconsin, a bunch of ************ women dog sledding together for the evening. Jenn gave me the run down, we harnessed up the dogs, and before I knew it I was piloting my sled flying through the forest.
Stopping for dinner on the trail while dog sledding with the ladies! After dinner, the sun had gone down and the dogs barked with anticipation of running the trail ahead. When we took off the dogs went silent, no sound but the quiet patter of their footsteps and the sled sliding over the fresh snow.
The following day Julie enlisted her husband to take me ice fishing, something I have always wanted to do. When we arrived at our location, Blaise & Charly began the process of making the holes and setting up lines, most of the time with bare hands. This photo must have been after Charly had set up several lines and decided to warm his hands up with small liner gloves. Meanwhile, I have big ski gloves on and my hands are freezing even though they haven't touched the water. The guys would say, "you get used to the cold after a while."
Blaise & Charly set up to fish inside the tent after setting all the lines up outside. When all the windows of the tent are closed and the sun is shining up through the ice, the awesome color and clarity of Lake Superior is revealed and the sunlight glow lights up the interior!
Despite all the set up and Blaise yelling excitedly anytime a fish swam near his line, this was the only fish we caught that day. :ylsmoke:
In all seriousness, though, these guys were awesome and I had a blast with them.
My last full day in Wisconsin I got to take the ice breaking ferry across the lake to Madeline Island. This was exciting for me because I like ferries and had never been on an ice breaking vessel before. I learned that high school aged kids who live on Madeline Island take the ferry to Bayfield to get to school every day. On years that the ice road opens and the lake is safe to drive on there is a two week period when the ferry doesn't run but the ice road isn't open yet. But these kids don't get to skip school for two weeks, no way! They get to cross the lake on a kite powered sled- WHAT A LIFE!!!!
Kelly, who works for the Chamber ditched work to come hike with me on Madeline Island. Well, I guess it's not technically ditching work when this is part of your job!
To be continued... Next up, I leave Wisconsin and head south to New Mexico to visit some friends.
Glad to see Wisconsin and the Yoop made a good impression on ya! Wisconsin native here and used to fly those tiny planes back in the day from MKE to IWD.
Lots of fun up there. Did you manage to try some smoked whitefish or a pasty??
stoicalpear
Member
What a inspiring group of trips! Love all the pictures. Where to next?
Maxcustody
Explorer
Absolutely stunning photography...............you are truly talented, thanks for sharing.
Wisconsin to Lake Tahoe, CA
After my gig for Travel Wisconsin I drove my rental car back to the tiny airport I was flying out of in Ironwood, MI. Once the 6 people on the flight loaded in we took off and while in the air saw the sun setting on one side of the plane and the full moon rising on the other. All of that over this beautiful frozen, snowy landscape and all I could do was think how lucky I was to be exactly where I was at that time.
We made it to Chicago and I landed in Denver at midnight. I realized as I was taking the shuttle bus to my long term parking that I did not even attempt to remember what row or section I was parked in. I waited until I felt like half of the people had gotten off and then I got off. There was no method to my madness, just me figuring that somewhere in the middle was my best bet. It was 12:30am by this point, I just spent a week working non-stop in the freezing cold and now I was about to attempt to find my truck in a sea of cars in the middle of the night. At least it was 50 degrees outside in Denver, downright balmy and no terrible to walk around in. Things can always be worse. After I roamed the isles for about 10 minutes I stopped to think about how I drove in and where I went from there. Once I located the entrance I drove in, it only took me a few minutes to find me truck. It helps that there is a mountain bike and solar panels on the roof. Then I started driving. Next stop Los Alamos, NM! I made it about 45 min outside of town and fell aside in a Walmart parking lot.
The next morning I woke up and finished the drive to Los Alamos, where my friends, Mikey & Jason were waiting with their climbing bags packed. I was so tired and was not stoked to go on an adventure at the moment, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. The approach to the climbing was short they said. So we headed out, met one of their friends and hiked a short distance to one of the most incredible views. I didn't take my camera with me because I was so tired, but it the climbing was in the on the side of a canyon overlooking the Rio Grande. There was a seasonal waterfall in the distance too! We climbed until the sun set and then went to a local campsite, made dinner and ate s'mores before heading back to their place. Sorry I don't have any pictures from this time, I did take a couple with my phone but have since replaced it and lost those photos.
After a couple days I went to explore New Mexico. I saw Santa Fe and then slept in the National Forest nearby. This road was supposed to have an amazing view at the stop, but I got sketched out driving on the snow at night so I pulled over and fell asleep.
The next morning I explored a cave in the area and then drove to the Petrified Forest National Park. I had never seen it before and the landscapes there were big and beautiful.
I slept in Winslow that night and I was so exited to see the "standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ" sign the next morning! So cheesy, but I thought it was cool. No that I was in Arizona I really wanted to find some warm places to sleep because I was tired of being cold. So I drove to the Tonto National Forest and finally decided to stop when I got to a lower elevation. I cooked a 2-burner stove meal out of the back of truck for the first time in a while, and enjoyed this view that evening.
My friend Amy was awaiting my company in Phoenix so I didn't spend much time in the Tonto National Forest, but it seems like a great wilderness area with a lot to do. I would love to go back. Amy was just starting a new job so she was very busy while I was there, but as always we still managed to have a great time and get outside a lot. We saw two rainbows in one day when I first arrived!
It rained the first 2 days I was there. I don't know that I had ever experienc:Wow1:ed rain in Phoenix before. It was beautiful.
I hiked Piestwa Peak once with Amy and once with my parents a week later. My dad wanted to do both Piestwa and Camelback so we hiked them both in the same day. My dad regretted that decision at the top of Camelback :Wow1:.
My parents at one of the summits.
Amy and I also went to South Mountain and the Wind Caves. There is a lot to do in the Phoenix area. Especially when it's nice in the winter.
My friend, Meg, on South Mountain.
Sunset on South Mountain
Sunrise on Piestwa
After a week I said goodbye to Amy and parents (who were just visiting the area). My parents went to Sedona and I headed west to San Diego because I needed to pick up a crash pad for my next adventure which was the Flash Foxy Women's Climbing Fest in Bishop, CA. I spent 3 days with a bunch of rad women climbing and learning about climbing in the freezing cold. We did not get lucky with the weather, but we still managed to have fun climbing in 25 degree weather. We even took a trip up to the hot springs but when we got there it was a white-out blizzard and we couldn't see where we were going so we turned around. Here are some of my favorite images from the weekend.
Then I went up to Tahoe to ski with a friend of mine who was spending the whole month of March doing nothing but skiing! It had warmed up by then and people were already SUPing on the lake!
I needed to head back to San Diego for several work things and on the way back down I managed to stop at the hot springs and have them all to myself at 5:30am. Here's the sunrise on my snowshoe in.
UP NEXT: I head to Escalante for work, followed by 2 weeks climbing in Red Rocks with International Mountain Guide Charlotte Austin. Charlotte and I mix work with play when we wrap up our climbing trip with 2 sold out Adventure Storytelling Workshops, one in San Diego and one in LA.
After my gig for Travel Wisconsin I drove my rental car back to the tiny airport I was flying out of in Ironwood, MI. Once the 6 people on the flight loaded in we took off and while in the air saw the sun setting on one side of the plane and the full moon rising on the other. All of that over this beautiful frozen, snowy landscape and all I could do was think how lucky I was to be exactly where I was at that time.
We made it to Chicago and I landed in Denver at midnight. I realized as I was taking the shuttle bus to my long term parking that I did not even attempt to remember what row or section I was parked in. I waited until I felt like half of the people had gotten off and then I got off. There was no method to my madness, just me figuring that somewhere in the middle was my best bet. It was 12:30am by this point, I just spent a week working non-stop in the freezing cold and now I was about to attempt to find my truck in a sea of cars in the middle of the night. At least it was 50 degrees outside in Denver, downright balmy and no terrible to walk around in. Things can always be worse. After I roamed the isles for about 10 minutes I stopped to think about how I drove in and where I went from there. Once I located the entrance I drove in, it only took me a few minutes to find me truck. It helps that there is a mountain bike and solar panels on the roof. Then I started driving. Next stop Los Alamos, NM! I made it about 45 min outside of town and fell aside in a Walmart parking lot.
The next morning I woke up and finished the drive to Los Alamos, where my friends, Mikey & Jason were waiting with their climbing bags packed. I was so tired and was not stoked to go on an adventure at the moment, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. The approach to the climbing was short they said. So we headed out, met one of their friends and hiked a short distance to one of the most incredible views. I didn't take my camera with me because I was so tired, but it the climbing was in the on the side of a canyon overlooking the Rio Grande. There was a seasonal waterfall in the distance too! We climbed until the sun set and then went to a local campsite, made dinner and ate s'mores before heading back to their place. Sorry I don't have any pictures from this time, I did take a couple with my phone but have since replaced it and lost those photos.
After a couple days I went to explore New Mexico. I saw Santa Fe and then slept in the National Forest nearby. This road was supposed to have an amazing view at the stop, but I got sketched out driving on the snow at night so I pulled over and fell asleep.
The next morning I explored a cave in the area and then drove to the Petrified Forest National Park. I had never seen it before and the landscapes there were big and beautiful.
I slept in Winslow that night and I was so exited to see the "standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ" sign the next morning! So cheesy, but I thought it was cool. No that I was in Arizona I really wanted to find some warm places to sleep because I was tired of being cold. So I drove to the Tonto National Forest and finally decided to stop when I got to a lower elevation. I cooked a 2-burner stove meal out of the back of truck for the first time in a while, and enjoyed this view that evening.
My friend Amy was awaiting my company in Phoenix so I didn't spend much time in the Tonto National Forest, but it seems like a great wilderness area with a lot to do. I would love to go back. Amy was just starting a new job so she was very busy while I was there, but as always we still managed to have a great time and get outside a lot. We saw two rainbows in one day when I first arrived!
It rained the first 2 days I was there. I don't know that I had ever experienc:Wow1:ed rain in Phoenix before. It was beautiful.
I hiked Piestwa Peak once with Amy and once with my parents a week later. My dad wanted to do both Piestwa and Camelback so we hiked them both in the same day. My dad regretted that decision at the top of Camelback :Wow1:.
My parents at one of the summits.
Amy and I also went to South Mountain and the Wind Caves. There is a lot to do in the Phoenix area. Especially when it's nice in the winter.
My friend, Meg, on South Mountain.
Sunset on South Mountain
Sunrise on Piestwa
After a week I said goodbye to Amy and parents (who were just visiting the area). My parents went to Sedona and I headed west to San Diego because I needed to pick up a crash pad for my next adventure which was the Flash Foxy Women's Climbing Fest in Bishop, CA. I spent 3 days with a bunch of rad women climbing and learning about climbing in the freezing cold. We did not get lucky with the weather, but we still managed to have fun climbing in 25 degree weather. We even took a trip up to the hot springs but when we got there it was a white-out blizzard and we couldn't see where we were going so we turned around. Here are some of my favorite images from the weekend.
Then I went up to Tahoe to ski with a friend of mine who was spending the whole month of March doing nothing but skiing! It had warmed up by then and people were already SUPing on the lake!
I needed to head back to San Diego for several work things and on the way back down I managed to stop at the hot springs and have them all to myself at 5:30am. Here's the sunrise on my snowshoe in.
UP NEXT: I head to Escalante for work, followed by 2 weeks climbing in Red Rocks with International Mountain Guide Charlotte Austin. Charlotte and I mix work with play when we wrap up our climbing trip with 2 sold out Adventure Storytelling Workshops, one in San Diego and one in LA.
Escalante back to San Diego
My friend Kristen of Barefoot Theory called with a photo gig in Escalante, so I headed that way, but not before enjoying a pit stop near Lake Elsinore to enjoy the amazing spring super bloom in Southern California.
Then I camped here by myself. It was my first foray into 4x4 roads by myself and I was pretty scared about breaking down in the middle of nowhere alone. That did not happen this time, but no worries, it does happen in the next section of my travels. So at least now I know how I will react to breaking down on backroads by myself.
We arrived in Escalante and shot most of our project in the first day. Here are some images from it...
After we finished most of the work we began to plan our adventures. We hit Spooky and Peek-A-Boo and then a 2 day backpacking trip through Coyote Gulch.
After saying goodbye to Kristen, I headed towards Vegas where I met a bunch of friends for a weekend of climbing during Red Rock Rendezvous. Did some fun multi pitch climbs, learned a lot, and after all that my mountain guide friend, Charlotte, rolled into town and we continued climbing for the next several days.
During this time a crazy wind storm rolled into town. We got down off a climb and it was looking dark to the west so we called it a day. We were sitting in her casita when it began to move due to the strength of the wind. I walked around the campsite afterward and it was a tent graveyard. The crazy winds persisted for two days so we headed to J Tree where we had to do some work, and then some more climbing.
After all the work and climbing Charlotte and I went to San Diego and LA to put on two sold out Adventure Storytelling workshops in partnership with A16.
Back in San Diego I did some work for REI and Kelty.
Up Next: I flew out to Providence, RI to visit Craig, and we spent almost no time in Providence because we were traveling with the college team Craig coaches. We did manage to surf 3 freezing cold east coast breaks while I was there. After that I went to Kansas for some family stuff, and then headed back to San Diego were I had plans to go to Havasupai and then go north. The ol' truck begins acting up in this section.
My friend Kristen of Barefoot Theory called with a photo gig in Escalante, so I headed that way, but not before enjoying a pit stop near Lake Elsinore to enjoy the amazing spring super bloom in Southern California.
Then I camped here by myself. It was my first foray into 4x4 roads by myself and I was pretty scared about breaking down in the middle of nowhere alone. That did not happen this time, but no worries, it does happen in the next section of my travels. So at least now I know how I will react to breaking down on backroads by myself.
We arrived in Escalante and shot most of our project in the first day. Here are some images from it...
After we finished most of the work we began to plan our adventures. We hit Spooky and Peek-A-Boo and then a 2 day backpacking trip through Coyote Gulch.
After saying goodbye to Kristen, I headed towards Vegas where I met a bunch of friends for a weekend of climbing during Red Rock Rendezvous. Did some fun multi pitch climbs, learned a lot, and after all that my mountain guide friend, Charlotte, rolled into town and we continued climbing for the next several days.
During this time a crazy wind storm rolled into town. We got down off a climb and it was looking dark to the west so we called it a day. We were sitting in her casita when it began to move due to the strength of the wind. I walked around the campsite afterward and it was a tent graveyard. The crazy winds persisted for two days so we headed to J Tree where we had to do some work, and then some more climbing.
After all the work and climbing Charlotte and I went to San Diego and LA to put on two sold out Adventure Storytelling workshops in partnership with A16.
Back in San Diego I did some work for REI and Kelty.
Up Next: I flew out to Providence, RI to visit Craig, and we spent almost no time in Providence because we were traveling with the college team Craig coaches. We did manage to surf 3 freezing cold east coast breaks while I was there. After that I went to Kansas for some family stuff, and then headed back to San Diego were I had plans to go to Havasupai and then go north. The ol' truck begins acting up in this section.
ljrunner05
Adventurer
Gorgeous pictures! Thanks for continuing to keep us up to date and inspired!
Did you really sleep here?!