Kearsarge Pass, what’s up snowy Sierras?
I am now on day 45 of my hike from Mexico to Canada. Though I always seem to get behind on posting, I am writing and uploading when reception allows. I’m a girly girl who’d never backpacked a day in her life before this…
(via thechocolatebrigade)
Though I’m about to hike across the continent I don’t have much experience in this area. However, one of my few previous hikes took place here, around the neuschwanstein castle. A perfect setting for a most unusual castle, inspired by Wagner’s opera “Tristan and Isolde”.
Upon deciding to hike for 6 months I did not take into account how it might effect every single area of my life. Even down to the roots of my hair. Since 2002 I’ve been avidly coloring my hair. I’ve had about every shade of red in the color spectrum as well as black, brown, blonde, and a mix of other colors. Here is a small sampling of the colors I’ve had over the past four years:
Red with blonde streaks.
Black.
Medium red.
Dark red/brown.
Strawberry blonde.
Blonde.
Yes, I like to spell blonde with an “e”. Now, in the past eight years I have not gone without dyeing my hair for more than 12 weeks. Even that is pushing it. So for the multi-month hike I decided there were three options:
When some heard of plan numero uno they rolled their eyes and said, “You’re going to be in the woods! Who cares about roots? No one is going to see you!” “I don’t care, I’ll know that they are there, it will be disgusting!” I would wail back. I also had never gone so long without switching colors, I had gone almost 1.5 years as a blonde and I was enjoying it. But then, a thought did pop into my mind. I had always wanted to dye my hair an outlandish color, but it wouldn’t work unless I had a blonde or a bleached base. I had that! I am not allowed to have weird colored hair at the workplace, but starting September 25th I was taking off 6 weeks to go work on a film in North Carolina. And the only thing that would cover the crazy color would be a darker color, close to my root color. So, the only way to make myself happy about going back natural was to treat myself to some blue hair first. So that’s just what I did.
Over the six weeks it began to fade, but that made it perfect for covering up…now that I have to go back to slinging spaghetti next week.
The hair issue is now solved, hopefully no visible roots or hair dyeing on this trip…but toe nail polish is a whole other issue.
Last year while working in The Bahamas on a film I got unofficially voted the crew member most often in the water. I didn’t tell anyone, but I was secretly honored.
If I believed in reincarnation I know that one of my previous lives must have a been as a fish or a dolphin or a sea otter, or something that belongs in the water.
The only unfortunate thing about the water is that it can ruin things, specifically digital cameras. So after buying my G10 to take on the hike I immediately ordered Canon underwater housing specifically made for my model camera (rated up to 130’). For certainly we will be caught in torrential downpours at times whilst hiking through the mountains and 1) I don’t want to be worrying the whole time about leaks or water that might get to it and ruin the camera 2) What if I want to take pictures in the rain? There may also be streams I want to stick my camera in, or who knows what other opportunities may come my way. The housing adds 1 pound to my weight count for the trip, but it adds much peace of mind. I know that I will probably completely ruin the case by the end, but it will be well worth it. And between now and the hike I can use it underwater, the way it was meant to be used.
Late in September the package came in the mail, complete with B&H brown paper tape keeping the box snugly shut. After getting off work the next day I rushed home, suited up and went out to the pool. It was cloudy and almost cool from days of rain, but I figured I could brave a little cold water to do some testing.
The front of the housing.
The back of the housing. As you may notice, there are buttons for every control. The only control I can’t use is the wheel that can easily change the shutter speed.
First I tested the housing while empty.
After a few minutes of submersion I pulled the case out, dried the outside and checked the inside. No water found!
So I put the camera in the housing…
…and stepped into the pool!
It works!
Still working… No leaks!
It was very easy to use under the water and fun to play with…too bad summer’s over.
I had to get out of the pool eventually, it wasn’t heated and I was getting chilly. I now have another toy that will only increase my urge to get in the water and play in the rain.
Some people may think that all professional photographers this day in age shoot with a fancy shmancy digital SLR. There are a few exceptions to this rule.
The photographer chooses to shoot with film, whether it be medium format, large format, 35mm, pinhole, polaroid, etc.
The photographer uses a digital rangefinder camera.
The photographer is poor and therefore doesn’t have a D-SLR and can’t afford to shoot film.
You could place me in category three (which by the way, just because I don’t make any money with photography right now doesn’t mean I don’t avidly create work or that I don’t consider myself professional, I’m just different than most). So how have I been taking photographs for the past two years? I only asked for two gifts Christmas ‘07. My car registration renewal and a simple digital point-and-shoot camera (my only specification was that it had to have optional all manual controls). I received the car registration, so I wouldn’t have to drive around illegally, and the Canon PowerShot A570IS, which has since been discontinued. A few weeks ago it died. Now, one may think that a camera that can’t last more than two years must be no good. On the contrary I have dropped that camera countless times, taken over 30,000 (maybe 40,000, can’t remember) pictures, thrown in into the midst of every kind of environment, and tested it to the max. I honestly couldn’t get upset, the camera had served me well, and frankly I think it was just all tuckered out, unable to go on helping me make images any more. It was a good little camera, and I’m actually quite upset that the upgraded model is without manual controls, thus nulling it as an option for future purchase. Here’s a couple images I took with the trusty A570…
As soon as this happened I started looking for a new camera and weighing my options. (Fortunately I had just gotten my iPhone, so I wasn’t completely without anything for an extended period of time.) The most important aspect of my decision was finding a camera that I would want to hike with and carry on my back for 6 months. While I finally have the money for an inexpensive D-SLR there is no way I’m hiking with a non-weatherproof camera that with batteries and a lens weighs over 2lbs. Plus having to power a bigger battery would mean even extra chargers/more weight. Not only that, but I have fallen in love with point and shoot cameras, they are very inconspicuous (for taking pictures of strangers) and oh-so portable. The only thing I despise (digital only) is the shutter lag. Jordan and Emory hiked the AT with point and shoot Holgas, plastic medium format cameras with plastic lenses. Here’s one of my Holga photos to illustrate:
I love shooting with Holgas, there’s a timeless and etherial feeling to the vignetted and selectively focused imagery that it produces. And, I love shooting film (I generally like film much better than digital, but everything has its pros and cons). However I have decided that I want the flexibility and control of a manual digital point and shoot. If things go awry while on the trip I can always have someone send me my Holga and order film. So here is what I determined I wanted:
A viewfinder
Fully manual controls
A wide(ish) lens
Lightweight
Extremely weatherproof/waterproof
An available for purchase battery charger that can hook up to a 12-v adapter, (the solio charger I am getting has a 12v plug outlet) or AA batteries
If digital preferably RAW file format available
Affordable
To my dismay there were no cameras that had all of the above. My solution? A long story shortened: A few weeks ago, after pouring over an infinite amount of specifications for every point and shoot on the market, I was sitting on the floor of my friend’s New Orleans apartment trying to finally push the “purchase” button on the order form for the most expensive piece of camera equipment I have ever purchased.
One Canon G-10.
The package came shortly after. Normally I would not order something like this from Amazon, but B&H was out of stock, and I couldn’t risk waiting since I need to take photographs at the state fair next week (and by need I mean, I live to go to the Texas State Fair).
Getting the camera out of the box! Not the most lightweight camera ever (12.3oz to be exact, not including battery), but if I’ve hiked with a 4x5 camera in the woods before I can hike with this thing on the PCT.
I put the battery in the charger in less than a minute of opening the package. I wanted to be able to play with the camera ASAP!!!!!!
Look! Manual mode! Aperture priority! Shutter priority!
And a viewfinder!
And a wide(ish) lens!!! Optical x5. Roughly 28mm-140mm in 35mm terms.
My new toy to cherish and love forever, or until it poops out on me. It also looks a little more professional than my last camera if that means anything. Now, you may be thinking, “Um, excuse me over hur! But there ain’t nothing weatherproof about that camera!” Problem solved, I bought Canon underwater housing for it from B&H which should be arriving tomorrow or Wednesday. Now in rain or snow or sleet I can take pictures without fear!!!
It has happened.
“What???” Mehdi, my friend looked at me with dismay as we waited out a sudden rainstorm together. Underneath the shelter of a bridge that crossed a small Belgian canal we had parked our bikes in order to try to stay dry. We were dry enough that Mehdi was able to pull out his iPod nano in order to begin listening to some tunes. As I mentioned that I didn’t have an iPod he looked at me and exclaimed, “What? But you are from America and I am from Afghanistan! How is it that I have an iPod an you do not? I thought everyone in America has one!”
“Well I think I’m the last American without one,” I replied.
And we both laughed about it.
But it was true, most of my friends had the little electronic device practically glued to their very beings, unable to turn on a car without first plugging in their own personal music player. I had resisted the urge to spend a few hundred dollars on a music container that I would inevitably drop, because I already had a hard enough time keeping punks from breaking into my car and stealing my CD player, much less something even more valuable.
Skip forward five months. January 2009.
I loose the antenna to my cell phone. My ghetto, no email, no frills, no nothing cell phone now can barely get reception. To make matters worse I’m in L.A. and I have AT&T (L.A. + AT&T = hardly any reception). I was desperate to send out texts and meet with people I hadn’t seen in ages. So, I dug around in my purse, finally finding a scrap of goldish aluminum foil. I stuck it in where the antenna should be, and magically three bars of reception appeared.
When I got back home, my friend Anthony looked at my phone and said, “You must either be black or Mexican because no white person would carry that thing around.” Anthony is black, so apparently that makes his statement a little less politically incorrect.
I knew I couldn’t go on living with ghetto rigged poor reception forever, constantly scraping around for pieces of foil and cramming it into my phone, just to make a call. This strain on my already pathetic attempts at socialization through cellular means coupled with the desire to be able to take pictures and blog while hiking the PCT lead me to one conclusion. I NEEDED to get an iPhone.
After a seven month painful wait (in attempts to save a few data plan bucks, and get a newer model) I finally purchased one!!!!
I’m already addicted. To every part of the phone. The texting, the camera, the applications, the Facebook for iPhone. I also realized, that having the iPhone also meant that I have a roundabout sort of iPod, and as much as I hate to say it, I love it. I had never jumped on a trampoline with tunes flowing in from some ear buds before, the world is a joyus place when the two are combined. I’ve found that driving a car while being able to listen to This American Life, is a delight. I finally understand iPod people, I understand.
So once I had purchased the iPhone of course I immediately had to buy some protectors for the darn thing. But I couldn’t buy something boring and black. The only way I would buy something like boring is if it is water/weather resistant, for when I hike (I’m on the lookout for a good one), but for everyday use I need something that will brighten things up. So I found a clear protector for the front and a skin for the back at Gelaskins (skin by Jen Lobo).
But since I’m clumsy and love to throw all kinds of things in my bag I have a “case” to offer extra protection. It’s the HOLGY camera camera case by HINÉ on Etsy.com. It was given to me by Katey, who is a propriater of all things handmade, when I was working for her last year. I keep my phone in this anytime I leave the house.
Now you may say this is all good fun. But how am I planning on blogging in the wilderness with an iPhone that can barely stay charged more than a day? I don’t always plan on having reception, but whenever I run across it I will have a handy dandy solar charger and adapters so I can plug in an iPhone (and a camera battery charger). I’m planning on buying one from Solio. Surely if they can withstand the arctic then can withstand a few months in back country.
I have found many applications that will help my phone blogging experience a delight, but I will go into that later.
“But man’s values change as his life changes. The deeper he plunges into the whirlpool of modern living, with its speeding transport, vexing problems, and harassing pressures, the more he prizes the escape of an adventure as old as mankind itself—a solitary walk in the wilds.” (Edwards, Mike W. , “Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail.” The National Geographic Magazine vol 139, No 6. June 1971)
Not surprisingly I was perusing the Internet a month or two ago for maps of the Pacific Crest Trail. Via google images I found this picture/scan of this National Geographic cover:
Seeing that there was an entire National Geographic article on the PCT I decided I had to read it. I searched the Internet high and low (digging deep into National Geographic’s website, finding interesting tidbits but no June 1971 article). So, it was time for me to go to the library.
I’ve always been a big fan of libraries (despite the huge fines I rack up in forgetting to return the massive quantities of books I have checked out at one time) but sometimes I go for long periods without going to them. My younger sister Shelly works in the library, bringing home strange tales of the crazies who often abide there, so I often feel as though I am vicariously spending time at the library through her.
I went to the Richardson public library and descended straight to the reference section, in the basement, and found nothing but a few computers, patrons, and one librarian.
Sure I’ve researched things at other libraries in the past eight years, but I haven’t had the need to do so at the Richardson Public Library since high school. Upon some questioning I found I needed to go up to the third floor to find the magazine archives. I trudged back upstairs and filed my archive request with the least friendly librarian I’ve encountered in a long while.
I happily received the requested volumes a few minutes later and skipped over to the copier. Really, I wasn’t about to read a 37 page article (don’t worry, lots of pictures) in the library, I would rather pay the 15 cents a copy to take home the article and read in the comfort of my own bed, over and over if I needed.
I quickly used up all my jingle jangle and resorted to crinkly dollar bills, but alas they were too crinkly (or so i thought). I went over to the grumpy librarian to see if she had any change. She didn’t have coins, but she did begrudgingly change out the crumpled wads I had for crispy new dolla’ bills.
That’s when I learned that no matter how flat and perfect your paper money was, one wasn’t going to be able to make any copies with that machine. No joke, I think I tried each bill twenty three times.
Blast! I had to convince the librarian to let me take the volumes downstairs to another copier. Allowed. Crisis averted…but, the second floor had a JACKED UP looking copier that certainly wasn’t going to allow legal sized copies. Luckily that floor had a change maker. So, I opted to change all the bills into quarters, I hiked back upstairs, and finally finished the copying.
Simple ten minute task = 30 minutes. Typical.
That evening I started reading the article, which was quite enlightening, full of history, short tales of people who have lived near, influenced, or traveled the trail, descriptions of the landscape, and a general sense of the journey (even though the author only hiked small portions of the trail). However it was written at a time when the trail was 2/3 finished (to planners standards), only three years after congress had designated the PCT and AT as national scenic trails. The border-to-border trail was proposed by Clinton C. Clarke, a conservationist, in 1932, but it wasn’t until 1993 that it was totally complete.
I’d gotten a little busy over the last week, therefore I just finished reading the article tonight. I must say, though it was written nearly 40 years ago and I’m sure many things have changed, the story sums up nearly all my reasons for hiking, at least the ones that I haven’t been able to voice.
So go read the article if you just happen to have a stack of old National Geographic magazines sitting in your garage.
Eight years ago my definition of a blog was having a livejournal. I had one. I was a partially emo kid writing semi-angsty posts, letting my feelings seep into the Internet. Now, I still consider livejournal a blog just as much as any other blog, but blogging has so many more meanings. These days it seems like every business not only needs a regularly updated website, but a blog to go with it, and oh, don’t forget a twitter account so that all the busy people of the world can follow their favorite business in whilst going about their fast paced lives because heaven forbid all these new products be overlooked and forgotten.
And then there are the blogging competitions that generate even more free advertisement. Recently hundreds of thousands of people competed for the “Best Job In The World!”, a job feeding the fish and blogging about everything in the Great Barrier Islands so that Australia could generate more tourism in those islands (hope not too many hapless tourists go, wear harmful sunscreen, touch all the coral, and kill it). And I just found out today that there is now a contest to become a blogger on an expedition in Antarctica. The problem with some of these contests is the voting. It seems like whoever spends all their free time creating new email addresses or whoever has the most family and friends on Facebook will be the winner of those contests.
So after moving on from contests, we get to bloggers who make blogs their life. How someone creates an enormous following without a YouTube phenomenon is kind of a mystery to me. The first big blog I knew of was Pink Is The New Blog. My roommate in Tallahassee, Safia, would read it. It is all that good celebrity gossip without the newsstand price that a magazine holds…plus it is a little more vicious and biting (which equals more fun to read). Soon after I realized she read that blog, the author, Trent, was appearing on daily shows, going to premieres, and interacting with all kinds of not-everyday-kind-of-things.
Some people (probably Trent from Pink is the New Blog) are making their sole income off of a blog, from news related to science, to anything really. Recently my friend Joey Daoud, with his blog Coffee and Celluloid, was featured on ProBlogger.net with his blog promotion How I Got 12,000 Pageviews for $50. After reading that article I started to delve into the ProBlogger site. Whoa! Let’s just say I had no idea there was so much to know about blogs. I felt like an illiterate man in a library. Where to start? The picture books? Upon visiting that site I realized a lot of people are out there making tons of money off their blog or wanting to make a lot of money off of their blog. And some people are purchasing books that look like this…
And while I certainly would welcome money and sponsors with open arms, considering I’m a poor person hoping to just scrape by to make this hike happen, my main goal isn’t to bank off of this…it’s my number two goal.
Then there are the ones that you can’t quite tell if they are making money off of the blog or not, but they are just good, well put together. But it makes you wonder…since it looks like they are blogging full time, how do they have time to go to the events or participate in the things that they blog about. My mom’s favorite blog The Pioneer Woman, which has even won some web type awards, is quite polished, even catching my eye with its huge selection of recipes complimented by colorful photography. But it’s so intricate, with so many sections that I find it to be intimidatingly good and I don’t understand how this woman has a life outside her blog.
Finally, don’t forget the millions of blogs like mine, that are out there floundering around in the world of google land or tumblr or wordpress, etc.
Most of this I have realized just recently. It’s like the time my mom mentioned the PODS moving storage. I had no idea what she was talking about. But because she had mentioned it, it was on the brain. Then I started seeing them EVERYWHERE and it wouldn’t stop. Same thing with the blogs, but on a bigger scale.
Random blog things:
- There is a website that links you to hiking blogs alone. Why would anyone who doesn’t know me read mine when there are so many others?
- I still have no idea what a blogging party/blog party is. Please someone enlighten me.
- Oh yeah, please share your favorite blogs…
- But my favorite will probably remain Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century.
In conclusion: There’s a lot of blogs out there. I just find it all very interesting.
This is not a post on the pros and cons of the North and the South during the civil war. (And no, just because I’m from the South doesn’t mean I fly a rebel flag from the back of a diesel engine Ford pickup truck)
Originally we had decided to hike the PCT from North to South, which would make us Southbounders (also commonly known as Sobos). But as of late it is up in the air. I found a great article (on Francis Tapon’s website) on the pros and cons of going Northbound versus going Southbound. It explains the details the northbound/southbound issue in layman’s terms, so that anyone could easily understand the dilemma we face in choosing. (There are also other great things on the website that have to do with the subject of the PCT, like a gear list.)
Personally I’m leaning towards going Southbound. Why? Less people go that way. If something is less popular I automatically like it better. My mother told me from a young age that I was contrary (adj), but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I really realized that it was truth issuing from her mouth. I don’t like to conform and I don’t like the usual or expected. Isn’t that the whole reason I’m hiking.
On the downside, hiking Southbound would have me starting at the glorious and breathtaking Canada Washington border area. I would end dismally in the California Mexico desert area. Now I’ve never been to Washington, but I have a near mythical image of Washington in my mind. So maybe that’s why the upper border sounds like a more glorious way to end.
Still, I am leaning towards hiking Southbound. Timing is tricky, but it sounds like a good adventure. Emory and Jordan hiked southbound on the AT and Jordan even has an AT tattoo signifies his Southbound choice.
Feedback? Should I go Northbound or Southbound…but don’t worry I won’t take your advice, because I’m rather contrary.
If you don’t know where the phrase “Let’s Get Some Shoes!” is from, you’re even more behind on your You Tube pop culture than I am. My friend Clayton showed me Kelly’s “Shoes” video two years ago. It now has over 27 million views and is one of the most ridiculous videos you can possibly watch complete with shoes, crossdressing, stuffed animals, pool parties, profanity, a girl with a hula hoop on fire, etc. I’ll never be able to go shopping for shoes or think about them without the phrase, “Shoes, Shoes, OMG Shoes!” running through my head.
I’m the kind of girl who has a lot of shoes, but mainly they are from clearnace racks or thrift stores and they include: flip flops, ballet flats, jellies, high heels, one pair of snow proof boots, and my chucks.
Last week I was in L.A. for a day in a half (one day was for work). So, I spent my half day with some friends and we went on a mini L.A. style (dog park) hike for a couple of hours. When I arrived in L.A. I was wearing flip flops, so upon hearing that we were going hiking I said, “I guess I better change shoes.”
My friend Ryan replied, “Yeah, last time I wore chuck’s and they weren’t really sufficient. You might slip.”
“Well that’s all I’ve got!” I replied, “Unless you think flip flops are better (or sparkely flats)!”
And as I was putting those worn pieces of canvas on I realized that it was time to look for new shoes, at least to hike in. Though I do have to give this pair of chucks special props because I’ve had them for over 8 years and they still haven’t fallen apart completely. My black pair (now more greyish brown) is only four years old and they are nearly dead.
We drove to the park, which was more crowded than we expected, considering it was a pretty grey day. First, we began by descended the hills on a large paved road, but later we broke off and began the accent back up on an unpaved trail with significantly less traffic. Before long could look over the city.
At one point we took a lunch break to eat the cheese, crackers, coconut water, apples, and almonds that Ryan had stashed in his backpack. However, eating the snacks was harder than we anticipated because Runyon Canyon has a dogs-don’t-have-to-be-on-a-leash policy. So every two minutes or so another dog would run up, start slobbering all over us while trying to join in on the feast.
We managed to gobble up most of the food, only occasionally throwing a treat to a dog so he would go in the direction of his master. We packed up our knife and cutting board and finished the ascent not long afterward.
But I didn’t make it to the top of this relatively tame hike without getting on all fours and climbing around like a bear on the steep parts covered with loose sand, gravel, and rocks. Why? My chucks…those worn out soles have NO traction what-so-ever. “It is time to start looking for hiking shoes (or at least shoes with a sole),” I though to myself, “But should I get sandals, or boots, or both? Sometimes it’s going to get cold, but sometimes it’s going to get hot.”
Jordan and Emory hiked the AT in Chacos:
Maybe I will follow suit, Chaco does have some very nice looking Women’s sandals (which will offer me the breathability that I am looking for, for the majority of the hike). But I’m secretly desiring an even more feminie alternative. But as I begin searching don’t worry, I’m not planning on getting something on the clearance rack or from a thrift store. I plan on making an investment. These shoes may end up being the most expensive ones I will have bought thus far in my life (because the Pradas I own were given to me for free).
The moment I decided, “I’m going to hike the Pacific Crest Trail” I knew there was only one thing to do.
Tell EVERYONE.
Once I did that I knew it was be mentally impossible for me to back out. People might think I’m a little crazy for going hiking for a good portion of a year, but if I change my mind then they will think I’m a wishy-washy slacker and a chicken with a big mouth.
I consider the proclamation almost like a security deposit.
I can’t go back down now…since I’ve already told everyone.
My feet are going to hurt, a lot…
-Vern
button
would like.
Best two-level outhouse ever?!
Outside the Peter Grubb Hut in Tahoe National Forest.
