Jackson Hole Bachelor Party

Blaise with the Teton Range

The saddle at 10,000 feet

Everyone looking happy before I ruined mountain biking for them

I (Jeff) just spent 4 days in Jackson Hole for my friend Brian’s bachelor party.  Blaise had a hook-up for a really nice 3BR condo right at the foot of Jackson Hole mountain, so 9 of us piled in for a long weekend of mountain fun and beer (of course, drank from Das Boot).

6 of us arrived in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, and we caravanned up.  On Thursday, I took Brian, Blaise, Ben, and Andrew mountain biking.  I’ll say it was fun, but honestly It was a bit of a disaster.  Most were beginners, and I had researched a good green circle route – up a canyon on a slightly inclining jeep road, and then back down another canyon on a nice, easy road.  Sounds good so far.  But I directed us to the wrong trail head, and we ended up on some hard intermediate/advanced singletrack – steep switchbacks straight up the mountainside, etc.  Sorry guys.  I don’t think many of them will ever mountain bike again.  Whoops.  We finally found the jeep road, and were all so exhausted we decided to just bomb down it back to the car.  At least everyone seemed to like that part.

On day 2, the rest of the crew was in town, and we headed over to Teton National Park to hang out at a lake, have some lunch, and throw around a frisbee.  Teton National Park is absolutely gorgeous – the mountains rise 6,500 feet straight out of the plains with no foothills.  They are very craggy, and look sort of like a mini-Himilaya.

On our last day, Brian had planned a hike up to Amphitheater Lake – an ~11 mile walk with about 3,500 feet of elevation gain.  It was probably the best hike I have ever done.  Steep switchbacks most of the way, with constantly improving, panoramic views of the tetons and the plains below.  The actual Amphitheater Lake was still frozen over, and the last 3/4 mile of the hike was over snowpack.  At the top, we rock-scrambled up to the saddle below the Grand Teton for a view of the mountain glacier and the valley below.  The way back down, though, was not as fun.  We were all pretty destroyed from the hike up, and it seemed like everyone was twisting ankles and such.  We also saw some choice wildlife – elk, marmots, and a black bear (he was far away and munching on some leaves, so not a threat).

All in all, it was a great weekend, and what I imagine was the perfect bachelor party for Brian.  See everyone at the wedding in September!

Picture album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22845041@N08/sets/72157630286490654/

Fruita, CO

Jeff overlooking the Colorado River from Mary’s Trail

Independence Monument, part of the Colorado National Monument canyons

We just spent 3 days in Fruita, CO.  Everyone asks us, ‘why are you going to Fruita?’.  Mountain biking, that’s why:

“I used to live in Moab.  We drove to Fruita to go mountain biking.” – bike shop mechanic in SLC

And it was . . . everything it was promised to be.  We started out by riding 4 hours on Saturday and 3 on Sunday at the 18 Road trails area.  It was almost 100 degrees every day, dry as a bone, and we loved every minute.  The best was definitely Kessel Run, which is a roller coaster of a smooth downhill with tons of bermed corners and rollers.

We intended to leave Monday morning for SLC.  But on Sunday afternoon, we stopped by the local bike shop (Over the Edge Sports), and the guy there (Max) told us we couldn’t leave town without riding Horsethief Bench, over at the Kokopelli Trails area.  We’d heard Kokopelli was very difficult, so we figured it wasn’t for us (yet), but he made a good case.  So we figured what the hell.  We rode Mary’s to Horsethief early Monday morning.  The guy from the shop was right – fantastic views of the Colorado river, technical singletrack, and ripping downhills.  Now, we walked probably 30% of the trail – some of which was ride-able for us in the future (~1-2ft risers, steep slickrock), and some of which we will never ride (4 in wide rock benches right next to a cliff, and the infamous drop-in to Horsethief).

Afterwards, curiosity got the better of us, and (exhausted) we drove up to the Colorado National Monument.  Kristen was starting to lose it and was falling asleep in the car, but we were able to snap some great shots on the drive up and around the canyons.

The whole thing turned out to be a perfect introduction to the Southwest.

Picture album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22845041@N08/sets/72157630193979696/

Hanging Lake

Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon

On the way from Boulder to Fruita, we decided to break up the drive by doing a quick hike up to Hanging Lake. The hike goes up Glenwood Canyon, which is also really beautiful, but can be seen from the highway and probably doesn’t merit pictures.

Picture album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22845041@N08/sets/72157630193928514/

Boulder

Us with the distinctive Flatirons rock formation that overlooks Boulder

Kristen and Maggie at Rocky Mountain National Park

We stayed with Kristen’s aunt Maggie in Boulder for about 5 days. If you haven’t been to Boulder, go. This place is great – very outdoorsy (you can see famous pro endurance athletes on the street), but with great restaurants and markets and such. I think 70% of the population owns a Subaru with a roof rack (including Maggie).  And no joke – we were walking down the street at dusk our first night, and a man sitting outside his house called to us to offer some extra romaine from his garden.

Since Maggie was able to take a few days off, we got to hang out with her every day exploring Boulder and the surrounding area.

Our days were jammed with fun stuff – hiking (Mt. Sanitas, the Flatirons with my second cousin Gary, who, with his girlfriend Judy cooked us breakfast beforehand), riding (with Maggie through Boulder Open Space, one good mountain bike ride at Betasso Preserve, and one not quite as good at Heil Valley Ranch), and sightseeing (Maggie took us up to Rocky Mountain National Park and over to see the National Center for Atmospheric Research).

Also, something very interesting happened.  When we were having breakfast with Gary and Judy, somehow Go came up, and it turned out that Gary and Kristen friends in common!  He called them immediately, and as it turned out, they were in Denver at the time, so we met up with them for lunch the next day.  Small world.

Picture album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22845041@N08/sets/72157630193228794/

Badlands > Rushmore > Boulder

Wall Drug – free ice water

Kristen and Jeff at Mt Rushmore

The Black Hills are gorgeous.

We had breakfast at Wall Drug (home of free ice water and 5c coffee), then headed up to Rushmore.  Mt Rushmore speaks for itself (we spent 1-2 hours there, which was plenty). Everything South and West of the Black Hills (i.e. Eastern Wyoming) was super boring and brown until we got to the front range of the Rockies.

Also, we drove by the huge forest fire in Northern Colorado right when it was starting. We thought it was factory pollution when we were in Cheyenne, but saw a large area of forest burning as we drove South toward Boulder.

Picture album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22845041@N08/sets/72157630193890638/

Podcasts

We are surviving on a healthy dose of podcasts as we drive around the country. So far, our favorites are:

• This American Life
• Radiolab
• The Americana Rock Mix

We’ve tried a few others but they’ve fallen short. Anyone have suggestions? Audiobook suggestions are welcome as well.

The Badlands

Kristen and Jeff at the Badlands, SD

View of the Badlands from atop the mesa

We spent an entire day at the Badlands. We did a couple hikes, saw a wild herd of bison, saw a ton of prairie dogs, and camped inside the park. The setting is incredible. One thing though – we can’t figure out how it hasn’t eroded further yet. The rock seemed to be soft clay and sand/mudstone, and seemed like it would just melt away with every rainstorm. Yet the park pamphlet says the place has 500k years left before it’s fully eroded. Weird.

We also can’t resist mentioning the two ‘camp showers’ we have – as we are getting to know our gear, we think they are one of the best purchases we made. These things are just plastic bags that you fill with water and leave in the sun all day.  We were able to take hot (although not private) showers at the end of a long day.

Picture album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22845041@N08/sets/72157630168295764/

Minneapolis > Badlands

Idyllic view of the prairie

The Prairie as seen from our campsite 

The drive through South Dakota was some of the most beautiful scenery we have ever seen. The prairie is amazing (at least when it’s green).

The least Jewish meal of all time

While we were in Minneapolis, Ben roasted us a pheasant he shot in North Dakota, covered with bacon.

Detroit > Minneapolis

Kristen on the Lake Superior Coast

Jeff and Ben Shooting Some Clay Pigeons

Our first stop on the trip was Minneapolis. We were visiting Ben, one of Jeff’s oldest friends, and his wife, Betsy. We averaged about 20mpg the whole way there – hooray for flat-land driving at sea level.

On the way in, we stopped in Madison, Wisconsin for some cheese and beer (we recommend sampling the different discarded odds and ends, as well as the New Glarus beer at Fromag’nation).

Our time in MN was fantastic – Ben took us to Duluth for the day, and then drove us North for a quick hike (and some pie) on the Lake Superior coast. Lake Superior is gorgeous, and it was the first time either Kristen or I had seen it. The next day, we went for a mountain bike ride, and then Ben took us out to the middle of nowhere to shoot some clay pigeons with his shotgun. To answer your question, yes, Kristen fired a shot.

Picture album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22845041@N08/sets/72157630193768184/

Detroit

Our Stuff Laid out in Jeff’s Parents’ Living Room

Us at Tiger Stadium after the game

We start our trip in Detroit. I drove the car in from New York with Cara, and then spent the week getting the thing outfitted and set up (meanwhile, Kristen was getting the cats acclimated in Sacramento). It was really nice to be home with the family, and I got to see pretty much everyone. Most of the days were spent running errands, but we did get to go to the Eastern Market, and to a Tigers game (as well as some great family dinners throughout the week).

Picture album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22845041@N08/sets/72157630193501770/

Pre-Trip

Without going into detail, I’ll say that the past few months are best described by one of my favorite Steinbeck quotes, from Travels with Charley: “In long-range planning for a trip, I think there is a private conviction that it won't happen.”

But we made it.  We’re here!

I recall reading somewhere that the unglamorous truth about conventional warfare is that it’s really just a huge logistics problem.  Our trip is no different.  We have a number of 'must-do’ events throughout the Summer – primarily weddings, bachelor(ette) parties, and family vacations.  At least one per month.  These events defined the legs of the trip, and we built everything from there.  With a ton of flexibility, of course.  Let’s just say it was complicated to organize.

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Two slight disasters before the trip started.

1. We have two cats – Shacks and Chaos – that had to be flown from New York to Sacramento. They will be staying with Kristen’s parents while we are on our trip.  Kristen’s mom came to NYC to visit and to help take one of the cats on the plane to CA.  I’m sure she had no idea what was in store.  Shacks apparently has developed carsickness (which we didn’t see when we took her to Brazil).  In between flip-outs, she barfed and pooped in her carrier in the cab on the way to the airport, and again on the airplane.
2. I got a call at 4am the day after I arrived in Detroit.  It was the NYPD.  My Fiesta (which my sister Cara is taking care of) had been broken into, and a window smashed.  And get this – it was parked across the street from a police station in Brooklyn, and they caught the guy.  Drug-related I guess.  As Cara was in Detroit with me, we had to call and wake up Cara’s boyfriend to ask him to collect the car and take it to a covered parking garage (thanks Keenan!), and then send over some glass repair people the next day.  As I told Cara, the more stuff you have, the more stuff goes wrong.

Our Gear

From what I understand, when you have a big enough truck, with enough stuff bolted on to it, you get to call it a ‘rig’.  Here’s our rig:

It’s a 2011 Ford Expedition, with a Sears X-Cargo roof box, and a Thule T2 hitch-mounted bike rack.

Some people have been asking about the rest of our gear, so here’s a quick overview.

 Front-country and MTB gear:

• 2x Scott Scale 29 Team hardtail mountain bikes
• REI base camp 6 tent
• Queen size air mattress
• Coleman pop-up mosquito shelter
• Camp Chef 3-burner propane stove
• 2x camp showers
• A bucket

Backcountry gear:

• 1 Gregory 65L pack (Jeff), 1 REI 60-65L pack (Kristen)
• 2x Thermarests
• Sierra Designs 2-person tent
• JetBoil
• Indian food packets

The Plan

As we told our friends and family about our trip over the past month or two, we found that pretty much everyone seemed to recommend either a friend or relative to contact, or something particular to do at one of our destinations. So, we figured we’d post our list of destinations here (calendar/schedule to come) in case anyone who happens to read this has a recommendation on a place to go or a person to meet!

Places we plan to visit in the US (more or less in this order):

• Minneapolis/Duluth, MN
• Badlands/Rushmore, SD
• Boulder + Fruita, CO
• Salt Lake City, UT
• High Uintas, UT
• Boise, ID
• Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR
• Bend/Eugene, OR
• Crater Lake, OR
• Las Vegas, NV
• Jackson Hole, WY
• Yellowstone
• Glacier National Park
• Calgary/Banff/Jasper
• Whistler/Vancouver/Victoria
• Seattle
• Olympic range, WA
• Hwy 1/101 down thru WA/OR/CA
• Napa/Sonoma
• Moab, UT
• Grand Staircase/Canyonlands, UT
• Grand Canyon/Painted Desert
• Arches/Bryce/Zion etc
• Albuquerque/Santa Fe/Gallup
• Carlsbad caverns
• Phoenix/Flagstaff/Joshua Tree
• Sedona
• SW Colorado/Durango?

Places we plan to visit in South America:

• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Salta (Cafayate), Argentina
• Mendoza, Argentina
• Santiago/Valpariso, Chile
• Torres del Paine, Argentina
• Cohyaique
• Tierra del Fuego
• Ushuaia
• Quito
• Galapagos

Welcome to our Blog!

Hey everyone, welcome to our blog/diary for our year (or so) off! Here’s a quick intro:

Jeff and Kristen (us) met at work and started dating in 2010. Since then, we talked on and off about moving to San Francisco (our firm has an office there) and taking a year off to travel in the process. In late 2011, we asked for a transfer and a year, and our administration agreed! So here we are. The rough plan is the following:

• 6 months in the Western US – hiking, backpacking, and mountain biking
• 6 months in Argentina/Chile – hiking and backpacking, plus learning Spanish
• TBD afterward based on how we’re feeling (maybe some time in Southeast Asia?)

The purpose of this blog is to create a written record of the cool stuff we see and do, and to let all of our friends know what we’re up to. Oh, and pictures.