footprints are free.

Stars

2010-12-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

This is an experimental time lapse sequence I shot with my canon S90 using CHDK, a wiki based firmware hacking program. There's a good bit of noise but not bad for a point and shoot.

Northern Terminus

2010-09-25T09:50:00.001-07:00

We woke up antsy, excited and very, very cold just before the sun peaked over the distant ridges to the east. It was September 22nd, 2010 and it was our last day on the Pacific Crest Trail. From our camp that morning M, Rising Sun, Charmin and I walked out on painfully cold feet, 7 miles to the Canadian border and the northern terminus of the PCT. As the border monument came into view we erupted in cheers of victory and savored this moment which we had all so vividly dreamt of for over 2600 miles and 5 months. There were congratulations all around.

The end of such a journey leaves each person with a unique experience of thoughts, feelings and emotions because even our reasons for starting such a journey are different as well. For me, the end is bittersweet but mostly sweet. The beginning of this journey forced me to step outside of my comfort zone when I left Virginia on a bicycle in the middle of winter 8 months ago. There were certainly times when I felt like I had bitten off more than I could chew, but I never lost the drive to keep trying. The feeling of accomplishment is great, but above all else, I am glad that I got to share so many different parts of this trip with so many people, even through this blog.
Right now I'm in Bellingham, Wa with Anna (Charmin) who has decided to join me for the Bellingham Bay Marathon before she returns home to Switzerland. Sunday we run. Why? Why not?
The forecast for race day: Pouring rain. All day. Bring it on.

Thanks for following along, and thanks for all the support from my family, friends and random kind strangers.
"The tallest tree begins as a sprout and a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
-Lao Tzu, Tao te Ching
Ryan Hasty
Bellingham, Wa

Rivers in the sky.

2010-09-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

Tunnel Falls, OR. Plain Slice treks on.

Mt. Adams, Wa. I've got to come back and climb this one day

Another cold rainy day in Washington

"At least its not the desert" I'm sure there

are mountains around here somewhere

2010-09-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

Goat Rocks Wilderness, Wa

Beads of water on Huckleberry leaves

Readhead (Front) and Danny (Rear) guide ZeroZero (Middle)

across wet logs in the rain in Washington. By the end of the

trail, ZeroZero will be the first blind person the complete the

PCT and by next year, the first to get the triple crown.

For a moment, the clouds break in the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Washington is mousey. Very mousey.

2010-09-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Alright, I've been slacking on pictures lately, so here are some since I last posted (above)

Crater Lake, OR

With less than 200 miles of the trail left, its hard to believe that we've come this far. A few days of sun have lifted the spirits of many as the rain has fallen steadily for nearly 2 weeks since we entered Washington. I hitched into Skykomish, Wa today at about noon, after another wet night, motivated by the thought of food and new shoes. Thanks so much the Harrisons for the new shoes- with nearly 800 miles on my last pair, my feet were starting to really hurt, but now the footprint factory is running at full bore once more.

Ryan Hasty

Skykomish, Wa

A Boreal Existence

2010-09-08T21:28:00.001-07:00

Whew.. its been a while since my last post. Internet access has been hard to come by lately. Right now I'm nearing central Washington. After 9 straight days of very cold steady rain and big mountains, any sunshine is reason to celebrate. I'm feeling great and happy to be hiking strong after enduring and overcoming the most unpleasant and incapacitating intestinal parasite in the Mt. Hood wilderness. Keeping with our 25 mi/day average, we should be hitting the border by September 20-22.
It's been great hiking with Team Farsight, fire marshall, and zero zero, the first blind man to thruhike the PCT and by next year after the CDT, the first blind man to get the Triple Crown. Redhead, Danny, Charmin, and Neon are close by as well. This will be a great crew to finish with, awesome people all around. An early and unseasonably wet winter is setting in that will make a thruhike impossible for many this year who have already walked over 2000 miles. We've already had snow and are in a race against time to tag the monument while we still can. Onward!
Ryan Hasty
18 mi south of Snoqualmie, Wa

State lines and testing limits.

2010-08-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

I must say.. I am so tired of buying shoes. Its taken 7 different pairs since the trip began but I think I've finally figured it out: first of all, Keens aren't awesome. Secondly, I learned what 'medial posting' is and that I need shoes with that. Thanks to 'Drugstore' for helping me out with that one. My main limiting factor each day is intense pain on the top of my foot right that is the result of chronic pronation over a span of about 28 miles, I was limited to low 30's at my max. Gleb 'Drugstore' (www.poindexterendurance.com) is an Ultra marathon runner from Oregon, we hiked for 2 days together out of Seiad Valley and covered some ridiculous miles. Yesterday was the biggest day yet for both of us. We got an early start a few miles north of Green and Cook Pass, pounded caffeine and rocked 50 trail miles unsupported over the next 18 hours out of California to I-5 that leads into Ashland, OR. His parents met us there at 11:30pm with lots of great food and I was ever so grateful to get to sleep on the floor of their hotel room. What wonderful people they are.

Crossing the first state line was a great feeling of accomplishment, but for some, it's a grim reminder of the fact that there is still a very long way to go. We are catching word of many of our friends behind us dropping off and going home due to injury or just no longer feeling the urge to continue on any further. Looking back on how far we've come, it's truly difficult to grasp the distance we've traveled up the this point in terms that do justice to the experience- 1730 trail miles from Mexico to Oregon, I guess that will have to do. The distance from here to the end can now be expressed in one triple digit figure, about 925 miles. Strange. At that point things are going to change in a big way for me; finding a job, a place to live and readjusting to 'civilization' again all at the same time- but I'm not the only one.

MAIL DROP!
Here is my next mail drop address:
-----
General Delivery
Ryan Hasty
Cascade Locks, OR 97014
Please hold fro PCT hiker ETA: Aug. 24
-----
Note: the ETA date is an estimated date of arrival I could be there up to 4 days before that.

And also, thanks to everyone who has supported me/us in any way on the journey so far. The kindness and generosity of everyone we meet along the way continues to replenish my faith in the future of humanity. Thank you.

Ryan Hasty
Ashland, OR
Mile 1730

Fifteen-ten

2010-07-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Still a long way to go

Seeing Mt. Shasta crest the horizon was a very refreshing sight. Now that we are out of the High Sierra the familiar aspects of the desert are slowly returning. From 100 trail miles away the snowy volcano dominates the landscape.

Mt. Shasta 14,163 ft.

I drank my last liter of water and pushed on over Hat Creek Rim- a 26 mile exposed waterless stretch- the acrid sun oppressed. I kept a keen eye on the cumulus clouds boiling to the south, we had been warned about lightening on this leg and heard many stories of hikers caught in storms on the ridge. The day passes without incident and we camped near a small water cache on the trail as the ridge drops off into the valley. The next morning around 10:00am the clouds begin to rise over the rim and the first bolts of lightening are seen in the distance. I watched carefully and kept hiking with memories flashing back in my mind to Sonora Pass when Charmin and I got caught in a electrical storm on the red volcanic rock of the north ridges, but back to reality: I checked our position against the darkest clouds and stopped to look back up at the knife edge of the rim just in time to see it getting hammered by massive bolts of lightening. I knew there were other hikers up there on that section of trail, I could only hope they were ok. Being caught in lightening is a very helpless feeling, the sensation of the static charge crawling over your skin reminds you that every moment you are alive is amazing. It can also make you wonder why you may have decided to go on a ridiculously long walk through the mountains in the first place. It's good to have a solid answer for that question, even if it can't necessarily be expressed in words. For me though, I'm still having fun.

Shasta at sunset from Hat Creek Rim

I'm taking my second day off in 800 miles here in Mt. Shasta, visiting Casey, Kyle, the gnomes that live on the mountain and reworking the contents of my pack a bit. The past few days have felt pretty good with 25-30 miles average, but shedding a few pounds off my total pack weight would be the key to sustainable movement at this rate. Pretty soon I'll be in Oregon! Wow!
Ryan
Mt. Shasta, Ca
Mile 1,510

Some pictures July 13

2010-07-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

Eleven hundred

2010-07-10T06:53:00.001-07:00

June 20
It was 6am and woke the sound of zippers and rustling from the tent next to me. Charmin was up, as usual, at the crack of dawn. She has come all the way from Switzerland to thruhike the PCT having never been to the US before- her visa expires in early October so she doesn't waste any time sleeping in, even on the coldest days. Today would be interesting. We had camped next to Tyndall Creek about 3 miles from Forester Pass the highest point on the PCT proper at about 13,500 feet high, but that wasn't the first challenge of the day, first we had to ford the creek. There's nothing like the thought of wading through icy roaring thigh high rapids first thing in the morning to make you want to leave your warm dry sleeping bag.
Charmin packed up and left a few moments before I did, it was cold and she needed to move. I left soon after and headed to the creek. It was lower than it was the evening before when I saw it, its all snow melt and it froze last night, but still I was going to get wet, I knew that much. After crossing I instantly lost the trail, it happens often here in the high sierra, but I have my own topo maps so I climb a small hill to get a better view. There are two possible valleys I could climb and I'm not sure which one is forester pass. I haven't seen Charmin for about 45 min now and I wonder if she made it across the creek. I stare at my maps and compass for another half hour.. crap, I need to make a decision. Everything is rock and ice, no visible trail, but if feel confident in my direction and head east about a mile across snow and scree before I find footprints. They are Charmin prints. Good, she's ahead. The climb up to the pass was solid ice and snow. Some steps had been kicked Into the crust from hikers before but they were sketchy at best and it was a long way down. I crested to pass sucking the thin air into my chest and scanned the valley southward. No one in sight, just huge mountains forever. On the other side of the pass there were 3 other hikers Noga and Shani the Israeli girls, and tortuga. I caught them on the glissade down and talked to them. "Charmin is way ahead, she saw your prints and is trying to catch you" they told me. Charmin was following the prints of someone else with my same shoes. Which we later found out was a group of 5 Kiwis all wearing keens. I pushed ahead to catch up. It wasn't long before the trail disappeared on the rocks again and about 2.5 miles after the pass I found myself alone and on some dangerous ice. When I lost the trail I had gone too far east in the valley and ended up at the top of a cliff 40 feet high. I scanned the rock for a route down and saw something that looked good so I went for it.10 feet down I realized that all the rocks were loose and the hold were covered in clear ice I chocked my ice axe into the rock for better purchase and slowly worked my way down to a rock ledge just above the base of the cliff. At the base I was not in the clear, there was a steep sheet of ice 800 ft down to the valley floor riddled with boulders. I perched on the ledge looking down at the ice and decided that I should strap crampons onto my feet. I knew right away that they wouldn't help much. 6 point trekking crampons are terrible on steep ice. I inched down carefully placing each foot. The ice was so hard that the spikes bearly bit and at one point my grip gave. I hit hard and slid fast knowing that the rocks were not far below. Wrenching into my stomach I threw all my weight onto my shoulder and pressed the pick of my axe as hard as I could into the ice. I was moving so fast that I wasn't sure if I would stop but the axe bit and I did. Whew, that was fun. The snow softened a bit and I glided down to level snow and found my feet again. I looked back up at the cliff and saw about 50 better routes down. Well now its obvious. I haven't seen trail in several hours now and here in the valley there is water everywhere. The trail is submerged. I reach for my trusty maps. They are gone. Lost somewhere up there on the high slopes where I fell. There's no way I would ever seem them again so I turned and pushed on without them. As I walked I ran through a mental inventory of my food, not much left, 2 days at best, I needed to get back on track. I knew the trail ran down this valley but I didn't know for how long. Soon I found Charmins boot tracks again and hauled to catch up. After 5 miles of watery muck, I saw her having lunch under a pine tree. She looked surprised to see me, thinking that I was ahead of her this whole time. I sat down, exhausted already at noon. "10 more miles to onion valley" she said. That's where we would be resupplying and maybe even getting a shower after 8 days out. "Awesome" I said. Yes, this word pretty much sums up the whole trail so far. Rock on.

Arrest thy self

2010-07-05T22:03:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since last time posted, I know. The high sierra have been incredible and wildly rugged. One of these days I'll get to a real computer and write more about events but for now are a few pics. Enjoy.

Here comes snow.

2010-06-12T11:27:00.001-07:00

"There exists a world within the desert that seems like it shouldn't. The desert lillies spurred this thought. Their beingness is that of some sort of suspended animation, leftover from a time when conditions were much different here in the high chaparral. It seems as if each smokey red cup was placed only after deep consideration. Of course, this is all an illusion- we are the visitors here, the sojourners just passing through, so watch your step. We have adapted somewhat to this world, but we will never be as tough as the Mariposa Lilly.

After 700 miles, the spirits of some have been slowly abraded away by the gritty winds, while those of others have been resould in the cloudvield boulder fields and galvanized by the heat of the sands. My feet have endured being ground down and then hardfaced with plates of armor. So too, the relationships between those who share this world have solidified by now."

Everyone seems to be thinking "700 miles of desert is plenty". What an amazing environment it is, but the huge snow capped peaks of the High Sierra looming in the distance are a welcome sight. It will be more difficult, higher, longer between resupply points and very cold. Although some are apprehensive about the huge snowfall, we've made it this far so push on. Reports are coming back that about 50 have already made it through safely. I'm still moving with Kirsten (thump thump), Carmen (Microburst), Sarah (Day-glo) and now Bryan (Shanghai McWillikers). We are taking some down time here in Kennedy Meadows, Ca just before the Sierra. 30 more miles and we'll be in snow. Everyone is trying to pack their bear *resistant* cannisters with enough food until the next resupply- about 10 days out. thats about.. lets see...70,000 calories and these cannisters arent that big. Pushing through the snow burns twice as many calories they say, we already burn about 5 or 6000 a day so 70,000 for 10 days is pretty conservative. One other thru-hiker we've been hiking around, Chance, woke up the other day with a bear at his feet lifting up his legs in his sleeping bag. There have been many bear sightings thus far and the other day Shanghai encountered a mountain lion. Nice.

More pics

2010-05-27T10:31:00.001-07:00

Sweetwater

2010-05-27T10:24:00.001-07:00

Leaving out of Wrightwood we shouldered into the wind towards Baden-Powell. It was close to 10,000 ft and the trail was covered in 8-12 ft of snow in many places. I was happy to have my ice axe. Carmen, Valentine, Day-glo and I trudged up the mountain towards the sun. The radiation reflected off the snow was intense as we climbed above the cloud ceiling. The rhythm of the climb fell into place- ice axe in, kick steps left and right, repeat. The thinner air becomes more apparent above 8000 ft and my heart beats faster, probably more from the excitement. I love getting higher.
The late start that day and the conditions placed us on the west ridges as the sun was setting and the snow was refreezing. We camped below a saddle as a snow storm moved in that night and the cold wind of needles bit through my clothes.
The high sierra are the subject of my dreams, not just in the context of this trail but the pull of the bigger mountains is unmistakable. For now we walk, this is our journey.
Ry
Agua Dulce, Ca

Mail drop

2010-05-14T10:41:00.001-07:00

Ryan Hasty
General delivery
Tehachapi, Ca 93561
Please hold for PCT hiker
eta: June 5th
Let me know if you send something so I know to ask for it at the PO. Happy trails!
Ryan

Pictures

2010-05-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

The Big Snow

2010-05-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

Every year on the PCT, snow is the big talk of the trail.. that and water in the desert. The snows this year were huge, about 120% above average. There is water in the desert, but before I knew it I was postholing up to my hips in snow across Fuller Ridge and feeling good about my decision to mail my sandals back to Kyle and have him send me my shoes and ice axe (Thanks!). Ice axe? I was just in the low hot desert the other day and now I find myself straining against the thinner air at 9000 ft with miles of snow ahead of me. Only about 10% of hikers this year have attempted Fuller Ridge, several have been rescued via helicopter in desperate condition. Many more bailed off the ridge after wandering aimless and lost for hours or even days. I cannot recommend that anyone attempt Fuller, it took Neon and I a solid 12 hours of very hard snow travel to eak out 14 miles to a place we could camp. We were exhausted. 10 of those hours were off trail, it was awesome but only because we knew how to use a compass and topo maps. After just 100 miles out of Idyllwild, my new shoes blew out. Defective pair.

I've found that it is difficult for me to fit more than 5 days worth of food in my pack, I ran out as I walked into Big Bear City, Ca today. In the Sierras there is a 10 day stretch with no easy resupply points so somewhere between here and there I'll have to figure something out.

There are many wonderful people on the trail this year, I'm probably around more thru-hikers than I was around on the AT. What a culture, pictures coming soon.

Ryan Hasty
Big Bear City, Ca

6 million steps to Canada.

2010-04-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

It's good to be a thru-hiker again. It's a bit surreal to be starting another long trail, the vibe is much different here than it was on the AT. It probably has to do with my state of mind.
I left out of Hollywood on the 22nd and got picked up in San Diego by Sara and stayed at Scout and Frodos house (trail angels). Sara drove me to the border and we met up with lots of other hopeful hikers. There I met Moleman and John, we did a big 20 miles to lake Morena where the big hiker kick off party was being held and spent 2 days there. Although I just rode my bike across the country, there is no shape like being in thru-hiker shape. Getting stronger is always an uncomfortable process.
The sun is hot, the water is scarce, what can I say? It's beautiful out here and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Wet feet.

2010-04-15T08:01:00.001-07:00

Bryan and I rolled into San Diego on April the 11th worn out from the 86 mile day through traffic and headwinds. The Pacific Ocean stretched out before us. It had been a while since I had smelled salt water. It's a long way from coast to coast, but somehow riding a bike across makes the world seem smaller.

We stayed with Bones (AT 2008) in San Diego and from there rented a car and drove to Berkeley to stay with Kyle and my sister who both live near by.

Bryans trip ends here, he is thinking about catching a train home soon, but plans are subject to change of course. I'll be starting the PCT around April 25th or so, but first I'll have to figure out how to get there. I'll be hiking on the pacific crest for about 5 months from Mexico to Canada so these blog posts will be less frequent for sure. I'll do my best to post something once in a while though. Oh, and we went skydiving.. that was awesome.

2010-04-09T22:23:00.003-07:00

Cali.

2010-04-09T22:23:00.001-07:00

Bryan and I have called it a day in Brawley, Ca about 200 ft below sea level after an intensely hot push out of Palo Verde. Tomorrow we will climb to about 4000 feet, it will be a big one.

The Wheelman

2010-04-07T07:17:00.001-07:00

Bryan and I rolled into Phoenix yesterday after 96 miles of big climbs and headwinds. We had set up a stay with Blaise Faber whom we met via warmshowers.org. He offered to meet us in Tempe and ride with us another 20 miles to his house in phoenix. In addition to other bike tours he is planning an epic ride in only a few days that will take him from San Francisco to northern Alaska on a penny farthing (see picture).
He can be followed on his website
www.bygonebicyclist. com

Thanks Blaise for getting us in and out of the city safely, best of luck on your journey.

We are only a stones throw from San Diego now, if you can throw a stone 375 miles. We should be there April 11 or so. Then.. skydiving? We'll see.

R
Wickenburg, Az

California poppies

2010-04-03T12:34:00.001-07:00

Beautimus maximus.
Three way, Arizona

Arizona

2010-04-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

Picture quality is greatly reduced when they are posted to the site, but here are some cool shots anyway.

New Mex.

2010-04-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Cindy and Lee Herman of Las Cruces, NM for.. well, everything. What a great zero day!

We've climbed out of the low, hot desert into the higher elevations where there is still lots of snow on the ground and the nights still dip into the low 20's. Spring has not totally arrived here yet, though the rivers are swollen with the snowmelt. Byran and I visited the Gila cliff dwellings near Hot Springs, NM where there were great hot springs (nah, really?) On the way to Silver City today we encountered snow on the continental divide, not much though. Its still very windy. The slack in the powerlines is evident on a horizontal plane. We'll probably be in Arizona tomorrow or the next day, its hard to tell.

Ryan
Silver City, NM

Hayseed and Tumbleweed

2010-03-26T14:41:00.001-07:00

"It's the windy season"
That's what people keep telling us.

45 mph out of the west with gusts up to 60 mph are predicted for the next few days or for however long it takes us to get past the mountains from which they originate. Visibility has been reduced to less than a mile from all the dust. It's great, if you like having your eyeballs exfoliated- and its free.

I've decided to retire my tires here in El Paso, they are delaminating after after 3100 miles of solid use. I've had several flats over the past few days and am quickly catching up to Bryans total. Patching tubes in the blazing sun while being sandblasted in the face on the side of a busy road is an excellent test of contentment.

El Paso, tx

Stars to sand

2010-03-24T18:49:00.001-07:00

We started off the day by saying bye to Mike as he would spend today surfing the winds east back to Alpine to the Amtrak station. On journey such as these, much wisdom is gained. It's been great, Mike, see you in San Diego.
Today turn out to be one of the most physically taxing days yet. 75 miles against a sustained 30 mph headwind.

Ryan
Van Horn, tx

2010-03-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

We had looked forward to it for so long, and when we finally arrived, it was so much more amazing than we had ever imagined.

Bryan, Mike and I just got the most incredible behind the scenes tour of the two largest telescopes at the McDonald Observatory. The scopes themselves are massive- over 190,000 pounds each and anchored deep into the mountain bedrock for near perfect stillness. The mirrors are so large that as the telescope pivots to follow the stars, they deformed slightly under their own weight. The entire assembly is so perfectly balanced with counter weights that you can move them with your hand. We are staying with an engineer who lives at the observatory, his name is John. He lives here with his family up on the mountain and runs the scopes and fixes problems for the researchers that are using them. What a neat job. Thanks John!

'Malls and malls of dessert in every direction'

2010-03-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

The West Texas desert is vast but far from empty. How do people say that there is 'nothing out there"? The mountains follow no pattern or form and around every bend is the next most wonderful view I've ever seen. There have been intense headwinds, but they are not frustrating. To become angry at the wind or at the hills or the sun makes no sense- what good is it? In every moment there is an eternity, every moment is a porthole to the future that never arrives. The wind simply is. The hills simply are. Miles are meaningless. This is the suchness of life.

In each moment of the day I swear I could not be happier, but I am continuously overwhelmed by the abundace that exists in our world. Even in places that would be considered barren or desolate, there is a fullness in the cycles of life and death that brings a truth to the world unlike anything I could have imagined. It ties us all into the bigger picture. I wonder how it took me so long to realize this on a level deeper than thought or knowledge.

The nights are so incredibly clear, that the stars present themselves as a glowing haze. The sky looks like a hubble photograph, as if I suddenly have super teloscopic vision. The sun setting against the canyon walls and rocky cliffs brings out every color of the rainbow as eagles catch the last of the days rising thermals against the backdrop of distant firey mountains. There is a sense of pure inner peace within, such that if everything I owned was lost, I would still have more than I needed. More than fearing death, we tend to fear life itself.

'Stillness is the language of God, everything else is details.'

Ryan
Alpine, Tx

Random pics from SW tex

2010-03-19T19:17:00.001-07:00

Big sun

2010-03-19T13:04:00.001-07:00

PO Mail drop:
----
Ryan Hasty
2253 Calle De Parian
Mesilla, NM 88046

Please hold for cross country cyclist.
ETA: 3/28/2010
----

Texas gets a gotfr rating of 2 so far. What a nice state. Riding a bike across tex is much nicer than driving. It's the difference between journey oriented travel and destination oriented travel. The trees are budding and the desert wild flowers are blooming everywhere.
Mike, Bryan and I did a big day into del Rio, tx where the celebrated st. Pattys day in a bar with all the members of the local vfw. Cell signal is very sparse in these parts, so I may be MIA for the next week.
There are 60 mile waterless stretches ahead through this next section and at one point on the route we'll be within a days ride of Big Bend NP. I sent home my stove last week to make room for extra water. We run into awesome folks from time to time who stop to talk or share a campsite. (Matt and Page, it was great to meet you both). Sometimes people pull over in their cars and hand us food or water, it means a lot.

More later when I can get to an actual computer. Having a great time and loving life.
Ryan
Del Rio, tx

2010-03-12T04:46:00.001-08:00

Carol Montgomery

Big blue sky

2010-03-12T04:43:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Carol Montgomery of Carmine, tx for letting us stay in her bunk house. What an incredible place!

Her house was unbelievably cool. Hand joined with huge pine timbers, it took her 5 years to build working every weekend during that time. Everything in her house had an interesting life history from the floor tiles to the stained glass. She made us dinner and waffles in the morning, and told us all sorts of incredible stories. True road magic. Thanks again Carol!
While Bryan, Mike and I were there we met another cyclist named Todd from Montana. He's a great guy and we are all traveling together now. He's got plans to head north after west tx and ride up through the Rockies, so he probably won't be with us in San Diego.
Sara, you'll appreciate this: one of his panniers has a huge hole in it that plastered with duct tape. "Yeah, something tried to tear into my bags when I was camped at Dauphin Island." We looked at eachother, "Oh yeah, we know that animal." This raccoon has quite a reputation. It was probably the same one that stole Saras phone charger and bike chain. It was the fattest raccoon I'd ever seen. When we went searching for the stollen items in the woods we discovered a landfill of trash that this raccoon had accumulated over several years of robbing patrons.

Texas is beautiful. I could probably spend a full day just looking at rocks on the road side. To be honest, I didn't think it would be quite like this- the birds the plant life, its unreal. The hills are getting a lot steeper too as we head into the mountains of west tex.

We are in Austin, Tx right now camped out. Mike needs a better sleeping bag from REI for the cold desert nights, and besides, it just looks like a really cool town.

2010-03-07T09:22:00.001-08:00

Flood plains, freight trains and watermelon vines.

2010-03-07T09:13:00.000-08:00

Above post
Left to right: Mike, Bryan, Sara and me

It's strange, but as soon we crossed into Texas, I thought, "Oh yeah, this is definitely Texas. " As if the overall landscape in different states adheres rigidly to political boundaries. The sun is more direct now and the is air is a powerful desicant.

After a long day yesterday, we made it to Hempstead, Tx which is about 20 miles south of Navasota where we are staying at my aunt Peggy's house for a few days. Sara left for home this morning and we were all sad to see her go. We are over 800 miles from where her trip began in Pensacola, Fl. She decided to give it a break after a culmination of various circumstances lead her to reconsider the next 1000+ miles. Long distance trips can be punishing. There are an untold number of unforseeable challenges we face every single day. Several days ago she caught a cold and has been feeling feverish and congested but rode through it. 800 miles is a very long way. It's nearly impossible to understand what its like on a bike, camping in the rain, battling trucks all day, and fending off large toothy dogs. Even for me, the continuity of the miles begins to fade against the backdrop of the incredible distance. We will miss Sara tremendously, she is such a wonderful person and traveling companion. Now its just Brian, Mike and I- three scroungy bearded dudes on bikes. I doubt we will have as much luck asking small town sheriffs offices if we can camp in the local town park. Sara gave us a certain credibility, now we are just a roving troop of serial killers in the eyes of weary locals.

We've heard tell of a bona-fide Texas rodeo happening today at some point. Apparently the Jonas Brothers are playing at the halftime show- seems like an unlikely demographic to play for but I've seen stranger things. We've been hearing things from locals about west Texas. After the initial astonishment that comes from telling people what we are doing, we usually get a list of all the ways we are going to die. "The road will be covered in snakes!" one woman said, "its so hot out there that the pavement boils." So riding on boiling tar covered in angry venomous rattlesnakes probably isn't most peoples idea of a good time, but I am looking forward to the West Texas night sky. Conditions in West Texas make for some of the darkest and clearest nights in the lower 48. Seeing the milky way will be a first for Bryan and Mike who have both grown up in fairly populated areas.

Kountze

2010-03-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

Here are links to the blogs of two of the others I am traveling with. I will try to post Mikes blog soon. These two tend to post updates everyday.

Sara's Blog

Bryans Blog

We are sleeping on the lawn of the local public library in Kuntze, Tx tonight, just across from the police station. No bathrooms, but we take what we can get. That's how we roll.

Texas

2010-03-02T16:22:00.001-08:00

Could it be? Sun in the forecast? Looks to be so. We crossed into Texas today after taking a zero due to weather in Deridder, La. With 9 states down and over 2000 miles behind me, I think I'll call this my halfway point. I got my first flat the other day while heading to Mamou, La not a big deal except I'm keeping a close eye on the half inch gash that is now in my front tire that I had to boot with an old gift card. Bryan can't seem to catch a break from getting flats even with his new bulletproof Schwalbe tires he picked up in Baton Rouge. Mike got a flat today as well while we were taking a break on the side of the road.
In Mamou we slept in the maintenance garage of the local police station and mingled with a few inmates who were doing chores around the building. Crack is a hell of a drug. Carol has gone on ahead and is about 50 miles west of us after pushing through the rain all day yesterday.
We got permission from the mayor of Kirbyville, Tx to let us sleep in the town park tonight. Sara seems to have a way with local government authorities. The last town park we stayed at in Simmesport, La was occupied by a very sweet stray dog that chewed my helmet to pieces while we were asleep. I like to think it adds character to an otherwise unremarkable piece of gear.
The temperatures are still pretty low at night and crossing into Texas brought back many memories of driving across the state last spring break- the smell of vegetable oil and diesel are still deeply entrenched within me. Texas is a really big state. The trucks are fast and the sand blows in the wind.
The road is beginning to feel like such an integral part of living now. I have everything I need- I have even more than I need. With contentment comes an enormous sense of inner calm. The pain and poor weather are merely temporary, as are all forms, but the now is ever present. Wherever you are, that's where you are. It's a feeling to cherish.

NOLA

2010-02-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

Bryan and I split from the group in Poplarville, MS on the 20th and broke south toward New Orleans 70 miles away. We lucked out and got a cheap campsite in Picayune, MS about 50 miles from the city. Since we are off the official ACA (Adventure Cycling Association) maps, I google mapped the shortest way from Picayune to New Orleans that didn't involve getting on the interstate- we had stopped at a gas station the next morning for breakfast and met a girl named Ashley, the cashier, who said that there were no back roads to Nola and that the interstate was the only way. When I checked again, I saw that all the roads I had mapped out beforehand were dirt, submerged or non-existent. Thanks Google. Ashley saved us a lot of trouble.

Then we learned why the ACA does not recommend that cyclists go into New Orleans. I could hear Jim's voice in my head saying "Use your judgement" as we hauled down I-51. Fortunately it was Sunday, so the traffic wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Bryan and I have invented a new sport called "X-TREME TOURING" it involves battling 50 miles of screaming interstate traffic into the city. It is not recommended for the faint of heart.
The shoulder was wide, but littered with tons of debris; nails, plywood, re-bar, angle iron, shredded tires, etc.. it was a 50 mile high speed trash obstacle course. Bryan got his first two flats of the trip on the ride down. On the first flat, he ran over a nail with such force that it punctured his rim and had to be removed with vice grip pliers. Glass was everywhere.

We crossed Lake Pontchartrain to I-10 on the Twin Span bridge that was partially destroyed by Katrina back in 2005 and finally made it into the city. We are staying with Chad Bush, the son of the wonderful Bush's that we stayed with a few days ago in Mississippi. We left our bikes at his house and he dropped us off in the French Quarter to wander about. What an amazing place- a total sensory overload. It took us a few moments to get oriented to the environment. A zero day will definitely be taken here.

So there I am, nearly 1700 miles from my front porch where this Journey began, standing on Bourbon St. It is such a surreal feeling. No wonder people think we are crazy. Of course, there were times early on in this trip that were pretty miserable. Getting in shape is really tough, but the miles pass easily now and I'm having a blast out here. No matter how tough it is, it's important to remember that somewhere down the road you'll find yourself in a place so amazing that you'll say to yourself "It was more than worth all the trouble". I am content.

I will try to post more pictures soon. I can only share photos taken with my phone since I don't have the cable for my camera and the memory cards are not compatible, so hang in there until I figure something out.

Poplarville, Mississippi

2010-02-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

The nights have been cold. In the mornings I wake up in an ice cave, my tent, coated on the inside with a thick layer of frost. I've been warm enough though, I'm glad I decided to bring my down jacket. I thought it was overkill at first, but it has proven an extremely valuble item. Thanks to the Bush's and the Fountains for letting us camp on their property, Sara seems to have some good connections in these parts.

Yesterday Jeff and I cruised out early and kept up a pretty good clip en route to Perkinston, MS. 45 miles into the ride I saw 2 other cyclists crest a hill. It was a nice sight, we hadn't seen many others headed east. There names were Danielle and Greg, they started in Portland, OR and headed south, took a left turn and are now headed to the Atlantic. It was great to stop and talk to them and hear their stories. I must give them credit for, by far, the best cycling term yet: 'Ass-hatchet'- noun. a particularly uncomfortable saddle.
The have a blog here: www.dandgtour.blogspot.com
As it turned out, Jeff and I were feeling so good that day, we overshot Perkinston by 15 miles before we realized where we were. We camped at Silver Run Lake in the yard of Mrs. Nella Ruth Rogers. Great place, except her dog peed all over my tent in the morning. Such is life.

Moving as a group, we have been pushing very short days since Pensacola. The group dynamic is interesting. We each have our own unique ideas about what this trip should be and different resources at our disposal. At this point we are pretty spread out.. I'm not exactly sure were the others are. Bryan and I are planning on taking a side trip into New Orleans from here, it will be either the best or worst idea ever.

I've decided that I will rate these different parts of the country with what I will call the "GOTFR index" (Get Off The F-ing Road). The GOTFR index will be a unitless scale from 1-10 based on how awesome (1) or not awesome (10) a place is. It is based on not just the attitudes and behavior of drivers, but the availability of good cheap or free food and lodging, logging truck density, road surface texture, and possibly weather- but it is mostly based on the frequencey with which someone rolls down the window of their truck and yells "GOTFR!" For example, Georgia gets a 3 for nice state parks and low traffic, but is docked a point because they were hellaciously expensive. Southern North Carolina gets an 9 for unreal headwinds and the worst traffic imaginable, but the Outer Banks get a 2. So far Mississippi is a 3 due to good weather and great people, but docked one point for several GOTFR cases and big trucks.

Louisiana tomorrow.

The crew

2010-02-16T16:48:00.001-08:00

From top to bottom:
Carol with her dog Rosey and her friend 'Hook'.
- Hook isn't travelling with us. Rosey is a certified service dog- she belongs to Carol, but Carol doesn't rely on her services. Carol is retired from the air force and is a very tough lady. Rosey is probably on the most epic adventure a little dog could ever imagine.
Brian 'the dirty bird' Carbone from New Jersey
- Brian is 25 and just graduated with a degree in math. Bryan, Jeff and I move at a similar pace so we are usually on the road together at any given point in time.
Jeff Greenberg from SC
- Jeff is a computer programmer and expert stealth camper from South Carolina. This is not his first tour, to date he has logged over 7000 miles.
Mike Powers from NY
- Mike just joined us in Pensecola, after taking a greyhound bus down from Long Island. He and Sara are fresh out of the gates and just getting broken in for the long haul.
And Sara Dyehouse from p'cola FL
-Ive been staying with Sara while I was in Pensecola. She is an attorney for the state of Florida also has a dream to thruhike he PCT after riding to California.

Sweet Pensacola

2010-02-10T08:46:00.000-08:00

I was all smiles for the last 20 miles- despite the record setting rainfall and unseasonably low temps, and despite the ever present 30 mph headwinds. My odometer clicked over to 1350 mi just as I crossed into Pensacola, the final day of the Atlantic leg of my journey. The constant din of passing traffic wears a little less now and has become an accepted and integral component of this trip.

Kitty Hawk, NC

This section is nearly 400 miles longer than I estimated, and I'm surprized that I made it here when I did. There have been so many unknowns. Up to this point I've been traveling totally alone and primarily by road maps that I've picked up in gas stations. I talk to locals and gather beta where I can, some is accurate, some is not. Roads go missing and turn into clay, sand, mud and water and the weather has been relatively strange as far as recent history is concerned. The other day, while talking with a couple in Kolomoki Mounds State Park, Georgia. I told them that I was thinking about pushing to Florida Caverns State Park near Marianna. "Oh you'd better not go there, it's under 8 feet of water!" See, now that's good to know.

The people I meet in passing are intensely curious. "Where did you come from?" "Where are you going?" "Where do you sleep at night?" and most importantly, "Why?" Why? Well, I just wanted to see the country I guess. That's the hardest question to answer. Some are interested in the classical aspect; the distance, time, the calories, the measurable and empirical. Others are interested in the romantic; the beauty, struggle, danger, the mysticism. The scale can be difficult to grasp, even for me. I sometimes get blank stares from people when answering their questions. It's understandable. Here I am explaining that I'm riding my bike 4000 miles across the country to someone who has never left the town that they were born in. There is no frame of reference or context in which the idea can exist. I am forced to see myself from their perspective and for a fleeting moment I feel kind of silly.

And still I push on. I have a lot of time to think while riding if the traffic is low. I sing a lot, everything I can think of. Since I crossed into Georgia, I've had the sound track from "O' Brother Where Art Thou" stuck in my head. It fits nicely with the endless fields of cotton, peanuts and swamps. I think about food- I have dreams about food at night and fantasize about how cool it would be if I could photosynthesize sugars or glean nutrients from detritus in the passing air currents like an anemone in a tidal pool- such are the bugs in my teeth. It would cut my food cost for sure. I think about my drivetrain, every clink and squeak grabs my attention. I tweek and adjust the transmission daily to silent perfection and douse everything in teflon based lube. I think about the motor and everything it needs to run smoothly; all of the nutrients, macro and micro. Yes, that's me chugging a 32oz carton of half-and-half out side the Piggly Wiggly. Logs on the fire.

For the next few days I'll have a roof over my head here in P'cola. I'm staying with Sara, the only other person I know of so far who has also independently decided to bike across before thru-hiking the PCT. Some other Southern Tier-ers should be here soon from St. Augustine. The whole trip has taken on a different feel. I'm looking forward to finding out what its like to travel with others.

Maida Glew and the Ontario crew.

2010-02-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

Hopping through Georgia state parks has been a lot of fun. As I entered Little Ocmulgee State Park near McRae, Georgia, I quickly met the campground host. Her name was Maida. "I'm Maida- Maida Glew. I'm the only Maida Glew you'll ever meet." I believe her.

I set up my tent and reviewed my dinner options; the outlook was less than ideal- instant mashed potatoes, sardines, ramen. I hadn't had a chance to go by the store all day and the nearest one was several miles away. I was also running low on fuel for cooking, so I asked around a bit. I was soon introduced to Mike O'Grady and the rest of the Ontario crew. They happened to know of a church just a few miles away in town that has a $4 dinner every Wednesday, and they offered me a ride.

Things like this don't happen often, but when they do, its true magic. I'd like to extend a very special thank you to Mike O'Grady and the Ontario crew and the rest of the folks I met that night at the McRae United Methodist Church. What an amazing dinner! Such unexpected generosity and good company is a big part of what makes this trip truly amazing. It's great to meet others with such an open and adventurous outlook on life.

That evening was just what I needed for today. With heavy rains predicted by noon, I had the calories I needed to hammer out 65 miles by 12:15 to get to GA Veterans Memorial SP with plenty of time to set up camp before the storm. I think I'll take a zero day here tomorrow to let the storm pass- and also as a way to celebrate officially crossing the one thousand mile mark today.

One thousand amazing miles.

Thanks again,
Ryan Hasty
Cordele, Ga

The palmetto state

2010-01-31T15:06:00.000-08:00

It always comes down to that magical 2 week mark- that's when the body starts to catch up with all of the punishment and exhaustion its been putting up with. Today, like clockwork, I got my legs and hammered out a solid 100 miles without losing my breath. I haven't been in this kind of shape since I was on the AT. It's a good feeling.

The zero day I took yesterday was key. Thanks to Dennis Sohns of Moncks Corner, SC for giving me a bed to sleep in while the rain passed.

I'm only a stones throw away from the Georgia state line right now in Allendale, SC. I've forgotten how flat is here, the landscape brings back a lot of memories.

I guess I've got about 850 miles behind me. It's hard to believe, but at the same time, the sense of continuity from here to there is very real; a feeling that I can remember every inch in between.

I love hearing from everyone. Thanks for all of the good wishes and encouragement along the way.

Ryan

Headwinds

2010-01-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

The headwinds have been tough. 25 mph out of the WSW for the past few days.

Thanks to Jeff for the food, campsite and great conversation on the ferry ride to Okracoke, I had a great time. Also, thanks to Pat and Tony in Beaufort, NC for letting me crash there- I really needed that break. I never would have thought I would end up at a macaroni and cheese cook off.. that was awesome.

Right now I'm in Jacksonville, NC hoping to push a big day tommorow to make up for lost time. Should be in SC in a few days.

R

mail drop. ETA: Feb. 7

2010-01-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

Ryan Hasty c/o Sara Dyehouse
8120 Northpointe Blvd
Pensacola, FL 32514

I should be here in about two weeks.

2010-01-21T13:08:00.000-08:00

I'm holed up in a hostel for now in Kitty Hawk, NC right on the coast waiting for this weather to pass over and giving my tendons a chance to rest. Thanks again to Ben in Currituck for letting me crash on the couch, it was great to meet everyone and visit your church.

There are two peacocks just outside calling to each other "YOW! YOW!" It was kind of cute for about 2 minutes but then I began to think that if those birds met with an unfortunate accident I would have both food and a quiet place to sleep.

With my change in direction to the south, the headwinds I've fought for the past 100 miles are now more or less tailwinds and the change in scenery is great. Not that swamps aren't fun, but the beach has a special feeling all its own.

Highway Haiku

2010-01-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

Awesome trip so far. Here is a poetic summary.

Redhouse, Va

They stare as I pass
Farmland celebrity, on
Carpets of asphalt

They watch as I pass
Take a picture, my cow friend
It will last longer

Greenbay, Va

This dog is faster
I think I'll be naming him
"the motivator"

Lawrenceville, Va

Tent behind a burm
It's holding back a large lake
It's my dam campsite

Ok that's all for now. Pushing for the Outer Banks tomorrow.
Ry>

college town

2010-01-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

I lost one of my maps about 20 miles ago, a whole 80 mile section. Because of this I ended up at Hampden Sydney College in the science fraternity house. Folks here are nice. Dude named Arne swiped me into the Caf for an AYCE dinner. Sweet. Rain tomorrow.

Twenty ten

2010-01-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

They are text on a screen right now, just names. I've been in loose contact with a handful of others that will be starting from Florida and attempting the Southern Tier this season too. I'd like to meet up with them at some point. I'm thinking that if I leave Virginia around Feb 15th, then that will give me 15 days to crank out the 1000 miles to Tallahassee.I'm still planning everything like I will be solo though. Usually people have different ideas of what they want out of trips like these, and different financial constraints as well. It's likely that I will be the only one trying to camp every night. Hostels, even at only 20 bucks a night, get expensive really fast.It's always fun to see what motivates others to take on adventures. I'm looking forward to finding out. For now the snow is still falling and there is more on the way. I'm in no hurry.

Roots in the homeland.

The Bodhisattva.

2009-11-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

It wasn't until about a month ago that I ever considered that anyone would want to sponsor my adventure. That's exciting- getting free gear and even getting paid to do something that's so much fun, entering the world of "professional adventure athletics" just out of college. How many people have dreamt of that since childhood? The publicity, the logos, the stuff.

I am sponsored by foxes. Vulpes vulpes.

I looked into it and asked around. With some help, found some takers- deals were in progress, and deals were made.

There has been lots of very hard work involved and many sacrifices made in order to spend the next 6 months in total freedom, roaming the country and eventually, the world. Its meant living a minimal lifestyle, only buying the gear needed to make these trips happen. And every paycheck earned in the past year was looked at in terms of 'days worth of food while traveling'.

Truthfully, I have what is needed to make it happen (barely), because it's been earned. This blog was about to be plastered with logos from sponsors, and although the additional support would have been appreciated, one must wonder what may have been lost.

Whats to lose?

Something should be made clear:
Whatever you do in life, make sure your motives are intrinsic and pure. You must love your journeys and challenges and claim them as your own in every respect.

They contain the incredible power to inspire others, but if the original idea was seeded by the prospect of fame, or "one up-ing" anyone, the magic has already been lost.
They can earn you money and material support, if you are good, but this should never become a primary motivator. For some, it does.

I've recently decided to terminate all of my sponsorship deals.

Maybe one day I'll look for sponsors again, if I do decide to take on something where that would be appropriate. But for now, this is not merely a hobby, it is my lifestyle and I'm here because I truly want to be and because it makes me happy.

This is my Bodhi tree.

Rollin' on 26", you know thats how I get my fix.

2009-10-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

Transforming my mountain bike into a long distance touring machine has gone well thus far. Here's what I've got:

It's almost ready to go except for the tires and bottle cages. I've ordered the tires already- 26" specialized 'armadillos'. There have been reports of people riding across the country on them with no flats at all.. I like that.

I had to fabricate this special bracket that bolts onto my brake mount in order for my rear rack to clear my brake calipers. This was the only real problem that I ran into with trying to carry gear on a mountain bike frame.

In-line barrel adjusters for brakes and shifters. I found that fluctuations in temperature throw off shifting and braking ever so slightly, and these are nice for minor adjustments on the road.

The drop bars are Salsa Bell Laps. With my body frame I should get 44 cm wide bars (I'm 6'1" and 160 lbs.) but that would be for racing- this is touring, so aerodynamics be damned! The wider bars (46 cm) help to open up the lungs for more oxygen.

The shifters are bombproof Shimano SL-BS77's, the brake levers are Cane Creek Drop V's, and I put on a shorter stem for a minor correction in geometry, now I'm not as hunched over. The handle bar tape is Bontrager double gel.

One of my bike shop buddies recently said to me "I can't believe you are going to ride a MOUNTAIN BIKE across the country! And with THOSE shocks!!" Yes, I've decided to keep my huge front shocks even though they weigh a lot.. You never know when you will be riding along and hit something that makes you wish you had front suspension, like a huge pothole, or a cliff.

Training.. oh yeah.

2009-10-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

With 3.5 months left until the journey begins, it's way past time to begin breaking in muscles for the 6,600 miles of road and trail to come.. My job has kept me in decent shape on my bike, but fitness in cycling doesn't necessarily translate to fitness for backpacking. Also working 2 jobs and going to school full time for 2 majors leaves little room for training. I'll take what I can get.

I'm starting to get that buzzy feeling that I felt when my AT thru-hike was just around the corner. It's easy to get lost in the maps, the distance and scale, the little blue and red lines that are but mere symbols of an epic adventure- innumerable unforeseen challenges await. There are many blank spots in the Western US, places that seemingly contain nothing at all, places that the rest of the world seems unconcerned with or unaware of- I'll be walking through many of these areas. The Mojave desert, the High Sierras etc.. the most wonderful places on this earth cannot be accessed by vehicle. Thank God.

The gear is coming together well, though every time I think about something that I “need” I feel like a total yup’. I bought a headlamp today, a sweet new petzl that I'm wearing right now. It was a $36 semi-impulse buy because it was really cool. Don’t judge. I had store credit. Step back.

Azaleas in the high country
By the way…

Thanks a lot ‘Grandma Gatewood’ for showing up everyone from the very beginning. This woman thru-hiked the AT 3 times with a homemade sack full of her gear slung over one shoulder. She carried an old army blanket, a raincoat and a shower curtain for shelter. And what of modern hikers and the outdoor industry? “Most people are pantywaists” she said. Word.
But really, where does it end? First it’s a headlamp that you think you have to have, next it’s some tiny robot that cooks for you, sets up your tent and clips your toenails and you’ll wonder how you ever did without it. It’s a slippery slope.

So, US Forest Service mountain bike patrol.. what's that like?

2009-09-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I actually get paid to do this.

Background: I do bike patrol on the Virginia Creeper Trail for the US Forest Service. I'm a wilderness emergency medical tech and I can fix bikes.Me with Brit, my spirit animal on the VCT

My section of trail is very popular in the area and sees over 130,000 tourists each year, mainly due to the fact that you can rent a bike in Damascus, get shuttled up to Whitetop Mountain, and ride back to Damascus 17 miles DOWNHILL.. yes, downhill the whole way. The VCT, an old railroad bed, winds through some impressively beautiful countryside (all national forest) along secluded rocky mountain streams, through dank wooded Appalachian hollows, over about 30 high wooden railroad trestles and at a downhill grade of about 2%, is seemingly manageable by even the most ill-suited for any type of outdoor experience whatsoever. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

It's a favorite vacation activity for families, obscenely large groups of fearlessly unprepared and overweight boyscouts, church groups whose average member hasn't touched a bike in about 20 years, and for the most part, in general, North Carolina city folk.
That's where I come in.. on any given day there are flat tires, broken chains and wrecks with injuries of all kinds and in all places. There are screaming kids and fighting parents that like to scream and fight all the way the down the otherwise pristine and placid trail. I am their shepherd.
-----
The following story is true..
It's 9:00am on Saturday morning and I'm starting my day.

That's me, on the red Gary Fisher mountain bike with the two bright orange rear panniers full of camping gear, tools and first aid supplies- Black helmet, dark sunglasses, olive drab shorts and a very official looking Forest Service uniform shirt complete with very official looking Forest Service badge. The trail will be quiet until about 11:00am, when I meet half-way with the hoard of tourist headed downhill my way; a pyroclastic flow of pudgy cyclists destroying everything wild and holy in its path. "Yer goin' the wrong way!" some of them like to say as I trudge up the mountain.

At about noon I round a corner on the trail and see three people hunched over a bike turned upside down on its handle bars and seat: two men and a woman. Bike trouble, and I'm more than happy to help out.

"Is everything alright?" I ask rhetorically.
"Oh thank goodness! Are you a ranger?!"
"Yes." (Though technically, "No." would be a more accurate answer) "What seems to be the problem?"
"Well I was just ridin' along and then I started to notice that I was slowing down and then about 20 minutes later I looked down and realized my front tire was flat!" (it took you 20 minutes to realize that?!)
"Ok, it appears that your tube is shot, I've got an extra I can replace it with."
"You can fix it!? Oh, thank God! You've saved our vacation! We are so blessed, God has sent us a guardian angel to fix your bike, Jerry! Oh, thank you sweet Jesus!!" (Because God hates everyone else whose flat tires I'm not around to fix)

I get the tube in place and I'm pumping it up, all the while making small talk with them about where they are from, what kind of group they are with (church group), had they been here before etc etc..

"Are you single?" the woman asks.
"Umm"
"We sure do appreciate your help! You should meet our daughter (17 years old), she's jus' down the trail a ways at Green Cove station. She's gorgeous, wearing them tight bike shorts and all, you ought to check her out." She makes a hand gesture which alludes to the fact that bike shorts are terrible at hiding sumptuous feminine curves.

And then, she winks at me suggestively. I stop what I'm doing momentarily and glance at her husband who, with eyebrows perched and wearing a mischievously hopeful grin, is nodding slowly at me.

Queue awkward silence.

Thanks, but no thanks.
-----

Towards the end of the day, the tourists start to dwindle, the sun sinks a little lower and I slowly make my way down from Whitetop to my favorite hidden campsite just above Straight Branch. I pitch my tent and unstuff my sleeping bag and head to the water. The air is alive and I'm all alone sitting on a rock in the middle of the river. I rinse the dirt off of my legs and decompress for the evening as the sun dips behind the horizon in a blaze of abalone and orange.

I can't believe I actually get paid to do this..

Antarctica or bust!

2009-09-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

Who the hell would want to go to Antarctica? I would.

It all started with this site called couchsurfing.com. If you've never heard of it and you are a traveling adventurous type, then you need to. Basically, there are people who will let you sleep on their couches given that you are not dangerously insane and that they aren't either. Sound scary? Get out more. Check out the site, its genius.

Anyway, every country is listed where there are people willing to lend a place to stay for the night, and there are currently about a million+ people all over the world involved in the experiment. But something caught my eye..Antarctica? That's neat.. So I looked into it and discovered that each austral summer a thousand or so people are hired to live and work in Antarctica to support a small city called McMurdo Station whose purpose is as a base station for scientific research. How could I not apply? The conditions are brutal, the hours are long, the risk to life and limb can be substantial, and during the winter temps can easily hit -110 F with windchill..PERFECT! Away from the station is some of the most pristine wilderness on earth- gigantic ice and rock formations, meteorites, vast expanses of unforgiving oblivion, mountain ranges, volcanoes, penguins on the coast and probably one of the few places on earth where even the sky is untouched by those damn con-trails from passing jets.

In the winter the sun disappears, and about 800 residents remain to tough it out- a physical and mental challenge that would be difficult to match. Its not the time to decide you want to go back home because there is literally no way you can leave the continent that time of year, even if you are desperately ill or something. The beauty remains, however, and the sky comes alive at the intersection of sky and space with the Aurora australis

Nature is awesome

and I..

...can dogmatically accept that.

One of my friends mentioned that I would probably get a job if I applied because who would want to go there? They must be desperate to find people dumb enough to want to live there! But even though employee turnover is very high, so is competition for jobs. I guess I do have kindred spirits.

Birds eye view

2009-09-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

You can click on the link over on the right side of your screen now to get the google earth files of the Southern Tier and the Pacific Crest Trail. I try not to look at them too much.. I don't want to know everything about the trip before it happens. I'll get there when I get there.

I don't have that good of a map of the Atlantic leg to post yet- I'm really looking forward to that section. Something about getting up early in the morning while it's still dark and watching the sunrise over the Atlantic with the sound of frosty waves crashing against the frozen sand and sleeping amongst the sea oats sounds really great to me.

I went to my Local Bike Shop (LBS) and told Bill, the mechanic, that I was looking for some cone wrenches (used for working on wheel bearings). He told me that there are 36 different sizes! Well, hell. And then he told me that there are over 108 different sizes of seat posts.. So much for standard measurements in the bike industry. Bike parts can go obsolete almost as fast as computers it seems too. I figured it's time so clean my wheel bearings since I've never done it before, its probably due time, and those are parts you definitely don't want to malfunction on a 4000 mile tour. I disassembled my Crank Bros. pedals yesterday to regrease the bearings and found that they where totally shot! They had been rusted out and crushed to a rusty mud colored powder. Time for new pedals, I guess.

The Route

2009-09-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

Somehow I am finding it hard to justify spending $120 on maps from the Adventure Cycling Association for my route across the US. The budget for this trip will be extremely tight- I may have enough to spend one night in a hotel but that's it. Several hours worth of googling came to fruition when I stumbled upon a southern route mapped out on google earth! Free.99 hell yes.

Damn you, Oceans.

I haven't figured out a way to post a link to the actual google earth file yet, but you can click on the picture to see it better. I also need to figure out how to measure the routes.. All together I'm guessing about 6,600 miles. The Atlantic leg from Virginia is turning out to be about 975 miles long- longer than I thought. And in February will probably be colder than I think. The entire bike route will go through many major cities along the way (Tallahassee, New Orleans, Houston, Austin, Phoenix, San Diego etc..) and I'm hoping I can at least shoe horn my way through the most crowded areas, if not I can always skirt around them, and I'm hoping the coast will be mostly tourist free during the winter.

And also, thanks to the Adventure Damascus bike shop and "yard sale Larry" for the free bottle cages!

I still need a few key items before I can say that I'm ready to leave in Feb: My handlebars are still waiting to be ordered by the bike shop in Abingdon, I need some sort of cycling computer to track mileage, waterproof shoes of some kind (Keen?), rain shell pants, armadillo tires, a small dry sack, extra spokes and.... probably a few other things I won't think about until I've already left.
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The leaves are already changing in the higher elevations up near Mt. Rogers and the spirit of fall is here now- that ancient feeling that you hope you've stockpile enough nuts and berries to last you through the winter. It is a sense much like that of preparing to settle into a deep sleep at the end of a long day, and yet there is an urgency in the cold winds that will soon bring the forest into its annual quiescence.

A new plan..

2009-09-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

This summer I bought my ice axe for the PCT.. and I hung it on my wall because it looks cool. Whats not cool, though, was that it would have to remain on my wall unused for a year and a half before it ever saw any serious snow or ice. How sad.
However, I've decided that I can't put off the PCT any longer, but I'm still going to do my bike trip across the US, so here's the deal..

I'll be leaving the coast of Virginia around Feb 1st, and biking down coastal NC and SC to avoid frostbite. I'll then cut west through Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. It should total about 3700 miles. That puts me in Southern California in time at about April 1st, just in time to start the PCT, another 2600 miles on foot from Mexico to Canada via California, Oregon, and Washington. Preparation starts now, route mapping, gearing up/down, food and oh yeah.. graduating.

Avid BB7 Road Brakes!

2009-09-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

I got my Avid bb7 road calipers and disks in today! Footprints are free, but really nice bike parts cost many frog skins.

These will replace my Avid Juicy 5 hydraulics because there is no way to mount the levers on my drop bars (also coming soon!). They look pretty sturdy, and I think they will work just fine. I had reservations at first about putting road calipers on my mtn/ touring bike, but apparently all of Avids brakes are built strong enough to be used for downhill racing, so they should be able to stop me + 30 lbs of gear at 30 mph. One hopes.

The Levers: Cane Creek Drop V's

The drops bars I've chosen are the Salsa Bell Laps. There are mixed reviews about them, but the type of bars one chooses is a very personal decision- and theres no way to tell if you'll like them without trying them. I just ordered those from my local bike shop (LBS) and my bar end shifters are also on the way from JensonUSA.com

The Pacific Crest Trail

2009-08-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

I think the biggest thing an AT thru-hiker can do to prepare for the PCT is to kill any preconceptions that it will be anything like the Appalachian Trail. Their common ground is that they are footpaths, and that's about it. I've never really been out west, and I want to see the land in its purest form foremost. It's dryer, hotter, colder, higher and lower, and I'm looking forward to something other than the long green tunnel

The PCT is a trail that extends 2,600 miles from Mexico to Canada. It crosses through every major ecosystem type found in the US from the low hot deserts to alpine tundras and snowfields, and cuts through California, Oregon, and Washington.

I've got a slightly larger pack than I had on the AT, a Mystery Ranch 12 bar. I want to be able to carry as much water as I need and actually eat well on this trip. On the AT, I could never carry enough food. My packs' load capacity maxed out at about 30 lbs. (Granite Gear vapor trail) and sometimes it was hard enough loading 4 days worth of food into it, much less 7-12 days worth. My pack will be heavier but I'll make up for it by getting better nutrition and getting stronger this time.

Trans America bike journey

2009-08-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

This post starts a new segment about my upcoming trans America bike trip in May. Firstly though, I'll need to transform my '08 Gary Fisher 'Big Sur' hardtail mountain bike into a touring machine. I see that a lot of people out there have questions as to how to retrofit mountain bikes with the proper equipment for touring, so I'm going to do it here and show you how.

One less car

This is a great bike already. I put well over 1000 miles on it just this summer doing mountain bike patrol on the Virginia Creeper Trail for the US Forest service as an EMT. The componentry is great, but I'd like to put drop bars on it for more hand positions. This in turn means that I'll have to switch my hydraulic juicy 5 brakes out with a mechanical road set and road levers that fit my new bars. The rack is made by Old Man Mountain, a small company out of California that makes bombproof racks, but specializes in racks for hardtails with disk brakes and even rear suspension. I have the "Red Rock" model for about a year now, and I've been very pleased with it.

The Appalachian Trail

2009-08-19T16:33:00.001-07:00

This past Aug 31st marked the 3rd anniversary of the completion of my thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail- 2,174 miles on foot from Georgia to Maine, starting on March 1st from Georgia. I decided to take a semester out of college to hike it. That would explain why I'm in school for one extra. I see my friends, with whom I was supposed to graduate, with heading off to grad school and on their own adventures and of course I'm jealous- but the I think of what my life would be like without having hiked the AT. I can't even begin to imagine it.

I can honestly say that I have thought about my thru-hike every single day since I finished it. It will always be an unwavering source of inspiration and motivation. How ironic that it could sometimes be dangerous.

The good thing about thru-hiking the AT is that afterward, you pretty much feel like you can do anything. Thats also the bad thing.

I hiked the entire AT in a single pair of sandals- I never wore shoes, not once. I carried minimal clothing during the colder months and spent several restess nights close to hypothermia. Its funny how the mind sometimes forgets how hard the hardships were. So now even when its 10 degrees out and there's 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground and I want to go for a hike, I always grab my sandals. I think, "Hell, I thru hiked the whole AT, I can go for short walk in the snow with my trusty chacos." My feet inevitable get uncomfortably cold and then I think " Ahh, shit that's right- that part of my hike where I was postholing through snow in sandals SUCKED!"

If you've ever thought about thru-hiking a long trail, stop thinking about it and do it. The number one (by far) comment I get from people when the subject comes up is "Thats great you decided to do it now, I wish I had done it before I a) blew out my knee b) got married c) had kids d) started a career" etc etc.. besides, a career is just a job that you've had for way to long.

Hiking the AT opened a huge window in my life, one of perspective and opportunity. So now I'm planning other adventures: A Trans America bicycle trip (May '10), and the Pacific Crest Trail somewhere close by.

So work your ass off once in a while for food money, its your only expense. Footprints are free.

Today

2009-08-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

Housemates are moving back in, people are starting to appear on campus and the feeling in the air is that of settling in for another semester.

It's like a huge storm on the horizon- which is great, I love huge thunderstorms, but once it hits its more like several months of rain with very little window shaking, power killing, shingle relocating excitement. This is my last semester here. One more semester and I'll have degrees in both chemistry and environmental science.

What really keeps me going though, is the huge expanse of temporal freedom that looms on the horizon. That is why this blog exists.

When it comes to keeping in touch with my friends and family, I'll be the first to say that I could definitely stand to do better.. ok, I'm terrible at it. So here it is, a porthole into the life and adventures of Ry. Peace.