Contrasts

It’s been an interesting day back in the routine. Because it hasn’t been routine.

I slept poorly last night. Toxins, rebuilding, and all the psychic baggage, I suppose. I gave myself the morning to work on the video (below), it’s a good thing to get out of system and let me come to terms with being back where I am. Then I went to do laundry and found that the outflow pipe is clogged when it exploded back onto the basement floor. At least there’s a drain. So I pulled the plug, hauled all the wet clothes into the yard and hosed them off. M called our landlord, she’s on the way over.

M then went to fetch me some flip flops, as they’re the only sort of shoes that might let me walk around without wincing and gimping. She got pulled over because we let our registration lapse (doh) a few months (DOH!). She’s still out looking, as Walmart didn’t have them in mens 11.

Sigh. Lemons and lemonade, right?

In any case, here’s the first crack at a summary of six mind-blowing days.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7129273&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=c9ff23&fullscreen=1

I’ll write more later, when I’m more lucid, but I’d remiss to not laud Kevin. He’s by far the strongest, more experienced and organized person with whom I’m ever spent time in the backcountry. I learned a ton from watching his systems, but even more from his mellow style. We did exactly what we planned on; hiked hard, 14 hours camp to camp a few times, but also slept well, took photos, and saw all the relevant things. The only choice we came close to disagreeing on was after we finished, when my impetus to hitch into town, shower, and eat over rode Kevin’s to camp out and hike in. Most of the time we were thinking exactly the same thing about route and camp selection and what not, and by the last half of the trip were all but finishing each others sentences. People do a lot to make the trip, and this was a home run across the board.

To finish, M is now back, and flipflops were not to be found at Walmart, Target, or Old Navy. Why me?

14 responses to “Contrasts”

  1. Dave, great video! I'm curious to know what you use for video editing and cameras…I really enjoy the whole presentation of your adventures.Thanks for sharing your passion.

  2. Thanks Doug. For editing I use the iMovie and iPhoto that came on my MacBook. My camera is a 7MP Insignia digital. The cheapest thing Best Buy had right after Christmas. It has some very annoying features (slow) but does quite well for the cost.

  3. Bows head while genuflecting and averting eyes…You da men!Top notch, and I'm sure I don't know the tenth of it!Kept waiting for the ice to crack while K was tippytoeing across it (it looked like it was *flexing*).Loved the mid-trail clothesline. Gotta do whatcha gotta.MC

  4. that kicked ass Dave.

  5. Awesome video Dave, I really enjoyed it! Maybe slow some of the transitions down a little, I do want to be able to enjoy some of those awesome pictures.I could hear the ice popping and cracking.Ok, a pet peeve of mine :-) Is it really easier to walk in snowshoes when the snow is less than knee deep? I see people using snowshoes in ankle deep snow all the time and I can never understand it. Perhaps a pair of Yak Tracks would work better in those conditions?Congratulations on completing a stellar adventure and let those poor feet heal.Ed

  6. Way to go!You are just as nuts as everyone thinks you are.

  7. Ed:Generally, I hate snowshoeing. Skis were invented for a reason, but I have to admit that for trips like this one and conditions like we had they're obligatory tools. The ideal shoes would have been smaller, lighter, and more manuverable than my monster expedition ones and a bit bigger than Kevin's racing shoes (the smallest model Northern Lites makes).As for depth, is does depend on the snow. Especially with a pack, and presuming the snow will go on for long distances, I think they're useful for 6-8" or more. The long section (12-3 miles) along the Chinese Wall at the beginning of Wednesday was 12-8" deep the whole way. Without shoes that part likely would have taken all day. As it was we were working quite hard to go two mph.We also both agreed that we were looking forward to ski touring this winter.

  8. Strong work. I can't get my mind around that sort of hike.

  9. Yeah snowshoeing bugs me too.Hey, JJ and I hiked a whole 12 miles on Sunday, take that you marathoner ;-)Ed

  10. Just how hungry were ya?

  11. Congrats on the win, and thanks for the video.I guess bikes wouldn't have worked out too well in those conditions? Looked cold, snowy and sloppy.

  12. Bikes were a total no-go. Too much snow, then too much mud.I hasn't really hungry during the race at all. I have been hungry and dead tired almost all day every day since, and I think being undernourished and especially not eating enough protein was to blame. Kevin and I had also talked about hiking on into the day on Saturday. We didn't because I was knackered and wanted to be done, but I also didn't have a dinner for Friday or a breakfast for Saturday.Here's what I'd do differently next time:-More variety and slightly greater quantity of snacks.-More for dinners and breakfasts (7-8oz dry for dinner, 6-7oz dry for breakfast, both probably 2-3 oz more than I had).Bringing the butter was great, I had 3-4 Tbs with dinner every night.-This is Dave.

  13. Great video and trip Dave! Hats off to you both. You'll remember that one for ever. It's why we live here. Any cool critters?

  14. […] An interesting example of what I wrote about a few days ago is currently afoot here in Montana, the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act sponsored by our senior senator Max Baucus.  The Front is a spectacular location, where the Bob Complex meets the prairie without mediation in a tangle of limestone reefs, broad valleys, and pine forests.  You can see a bit of it here, here, and here. […]

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