Category: General

Snow!?

It snowed last night, which is discouraging for someone who was hoping to someday get their truck unstuck and go somewhere.  It’s suppose to be in the 50’s, during the day, for the next week.  So it shouldn’t be too much longer before I’m mobile.

Yesterday on my walk a neighbor drove by me and for the first time this winter I felt envious.   She was all smiling and waving and driving to town; it made me a little annoyed.

uh…maybe not

I loaded garbage and dirty clothes into my truck and with dreams of town food, headed to town.  I didn’t get far.  If I could just get past my gate I could make it.  It froze last night and I thought it might be easier to go through the snow when it was frozen but maybe I’m wrong.    It might be that this afternoon I will try when the snow is more slushy.  Disappointment reigns, for a brief  moment I was like another person– a person who could get in a pickup and drive somewhere.

Step one.

Today I put chains on my truck, the front and the back, and moved my truck around a little bit. I’m not sure if I can make it down the big hill, but if I don’t I’m sure I can’t back up it.

I’m thinking if I shovel out the gate and open it so that I don’t have to stop that I may make it through the deep snow at the gate. I think I’ll try going to town on Tuesday, as the dump isn’t open till then and I have a pickup with a winter full of garbage in it. Then I’ll get my propane tanks filled, some fresh food and maybe even do laundry.

Town isn’t very exciting, laundry, grocery shopping and a very small library is about all there is to do You can stand on one end and see the other end.

It’s a little sad to see winter end; it’s been nice, but it’s time. Now I have to make some decisions about what to do this summer.

Outward Bound

When I was thirty-six and my son was grown, I signed up for a 78 day Outward Bound winter semester class. I had always dreamed of doing an Outward bound class so I saved up ten thousand dollars, went hiking everyday, after work, to get in shape, and signed up for the course. The other participants were 18-21 years old and none of them had ever left home. The woman I shared a room with, the night before the course started, had never even ate in a restaurant by herself.

The course included rock climbing and a desert trek in Joshua Tree, an advance wilderness first aid course, alpine mountaineering in the Sierras, and sea kayaking in Baja. For 78 days I endured the non stop chatter of 10 other people, heavy gear and the humiliation of being treated like a 5 year old out on a field trip.

Once, in Baja, we turned our kayaks into a beautiful protected lagoon. There was a huge whale skeleton laying on the beach. I beached my kayak, grabbed my snorkel and mask, jumped into the three foot deep water and started snorkeling. It wasn’t long before I hear a whistle. I looked up and there was the instructor, he said, “In order to snorkel, you must first have a snorkeling safety class, then find a snorkeling buddy to go with you, have an instructor in the water, and an instructor in a kayak.� Outward Bound could suck the fun out every outdoor experience.

I think that Outward Bound class has cemented firmly in my mind the ideas of light weight travel, the joys of solo adventure, and never, no mater what, signing up for any group experience.

Spring is coming on fast.

The snow is receding quickly.   Already the first 1 1/2 miles up my road is almost clear of snow.  It’s warm, now, and the weather forcast is calling for the same the rest of the week.   I’m hoping, by Saturday, I will be able to get my truck out and  go to town. There is still about  two feet of snow at my gate but I think I can shovel that aside. I was down at the little store, today, there was a man there who said in town the spring flowers are blooming.   Town is about 2000 ft. lower then me, I think.   The little store is 550 ft lower.  I like being up high but it takes longer for spring to get here.

Trail food:Nutritional bars

Despite their high cost I find nutritional bars make good trail food for several reasons.

1. They offer a source of vitamins, protein, carbs, and fat.

2. They taste good enough to be sort of a treat but not so good that you would be likely to binge on them.

3. They are a convient food for when you don’t want to eat breakfast but just need to get hiking right away to avoid the heat.

4. They ride well in your pocket and are handy to have there when you need to eat something but you don’t want to stop, like when it is raining.

I usually pack 2 bars for every day I will be out on the trail.

If it will be really cold, be conscious that some bars freeze rock hard and will be impossible to eat.

How to confuse the mountain lion hunters and their stupid dogs.

On my walk, today, a man pulled over and told me that there are people tracking the mountain lions with dogs and killing them. He said we should carry cat poo with us when we hike and drop it where ever, to throw off the dogs. I don’t have any source of cat poo and I really wouldn’t want to carry it around even if I did but I thought I would pass on the advice.

The most arduous journey yet.

It snowed an incredible amount last night and it was still coming down hard this morning. We probably got a foot of new powder. I put my propane tank in my backpack, strapped on my skis and headed down through state land to the little store to get it filled. I commented to the woman at the store that all this snow felt kind of festive but she said “No, it’s kind of fucked up, is what it is”.

I used my snow shoes for the way back. Man, I was tired. With the skis and full propane tank it was probably close to 50 lbs. Trudging up hill through all that new powder was so hard that I wanted to lay down in the snow and rest for awhile. By the time I got back, the propane tank had made a sore spot on my lower back. I need a pack board. I was looking at Luxurylite pack board. It’s really light but it’s sort of expensive.  Cabelas has a pack board that might be a less expensive solution. They have packboards ranging in price from 70 dollars to 120.00.

Stale winter.

Well, here I am.  Spring’s coming.  A lot of the snow has melted but then the melt re-freezes.   So the road is a thick solid sheet of ice.  New dry snow fell today.  It doesn’t stick to the ice.  When I went for my walk I slipped  and fell a lot.  It’s like walking on cardboard across a waxed floor.

The Internet is seeming mundane and small.  Watching movies sometimes feels like a chore.   I’m antsy but not sure for what.

I’m only eating between 10am and noon, now.   It’s for health and for a discipline.  Every day is a mini fast and my body is responding well to it, although it seems to be filled with a lot of unfocused energy.   It’s hard to sit still.  Besides my 10-to noon eating thing I have also quit drinking coffee, for awhile, maybe forever.

My wood pile is really low; probably not another month worth left.

It’s been 3 months now since my truck has moved; I started it just to make sure it would start.

It’s been three months since I have washed my clothes or bedding.  I’m looking forward to the day  I can finally can get out and go to the laundry mat.