Need to slow down

Work is getting a bit out of hand. I do like what I do for a living. It's in my chosen career field, and it's gratifying (at least many days), and it keeps my brain engaged. But a bit too engaged lately. Usually I teach a week or two, then have a week or two to catch up on office work that piles up. The office time allows me to catch my breath and keep up to speed on what I need to teach, and provides a bit of rest from lecturing 8 hours a day (plus usually working a couple more on each end) on technical subject areas and being on my feet. I haven't had a full week in my office in 2010. Just a rare couple days here at there. Needless to say I'm exhausted. (But thankful to have the work and way to take care of our family at the same time.)

My off time is usually spent with outdoor activities as is apparent by this blog, but I've had the strange experience of getting too tired for my regular routines lately. I've also been increasingly irritable. There is most definitely therapy to what I do outside. No question about it. I'm sure it can be reduced down to chemical reactions within the body during exertion, and that very well may be the case. But whatever it may be, I have been missing my regular high-frequency of climbing, biking, and foot-travel enjoyment.

I rode to work on Friday, which I haven't been doing anywhere near the amount I have been known to in the past. I've been driving to work due to the shear fatigue of my schedule, and it's gotten down right boring. I was tired Friday morning, it was raining and in the forties, and I rode anyway. And I had one of my best days at work that I've had in a while. The riding was peaceful, the exercise felt great, and air smelled wonderful (spring smells pretty good around here after the winters we get).

I've spent a bit of tonight reading up on various cycle-tour journals on crazyguyonabike.com, and it got me thinking of the freedom of the road again. Alison and I have been talking about going on a tour together sometime soon. It would be her first. We are talking of a mini-route that would spend a long weekend somehow connecting Lake Itasca (the end point of last year's tour), and Lake Superior. It should make for a relaxing roll through the woods of MN which is something that I think we could both use soon. I don't know if we'll be able to put the long weekend together for a while, but I think we should try. My dreams of spending a couple months or more on my Surly may be out of the question during this period of life, but who knows what the weekends can put together on a semi-frequent basis. MN is a quite decent place to enjoy some bicycle vagrancy. I think soon it'll time to slow down the schedule and roll a few miles.

March/April '10 Happenings...

Been a very busy month. I’d like to say it was packed with non-stop outdoor fun, but most of it was working long hours and getting exhausted teaching over and over. But there were a few good highlights to my days since last blogging.

Alison and I got out to SLC to visit team Paasch after not being to UT since last June-way too long to stay away from such a great place with such great friends. Alison and I hadn’t skied (alpine) at all in the ‘09/’10 season, so we took advantage of a program Park City has with the airlines to get a couple free lift tickets at the Canyons (fly in the same day you ski and it’s free.) We kept busy tearing up the green and blue runs (remember we’re from the Midwest and ski maybe once a year J ), and enjoying the mid-fifty degree temps. That evening we enjoyed dinner at the Wasatch Brew Pub in Park City, where I tried one of the most interesting brews I have in a while- Jalapeño Cream Ale. Very tasty. I’d highly recommend it, even though the name probably doesn’t conjure up a very classic taste.

Sunday we went to church with Kelly and Julie, ate a great home cooked meal at their place (thanks again!), and headed up to Little Cottonwood Canyon for some climbing. Kelly took us up the Coffin Crack, and the Viewing, with the Closed Casket Variation. All a great time, although I felt a bit soft that day and had to work pretty hard. I managed also to bring along three right shoes (instead of two complete pairs), and ended up climbing with no rubber on, or holes in the toes of my shoes. (Not so good on slab.) But it was great fun nonetheless.

Another highlight to the month was a visit home to see my family in the Minot, ND area. It had also been a while since Alison and I had been there. We had the chance to get up to Mohall, ND as well to see my grandma Ruby, who has Alzheimer’s. It’s always a bit hard to see her in her in that condition, but aside from Alzheimer’s she is healthy and seems to be in pretty decent spirits. We intended to also visit my grandpa Glen, but he was out in D.C. on an Honor Flight for WWII veterans. We look forward to seeing him next time we’re in ND.

Most recently, we took part in a great wedding weekend for our good friends Edward and Teresa Doerr. Thursday was a rehearsal and dinner, and we got to know many family members on both sides. Friday was a sort of bachelor party marathon, with climbing at Vertical Endeavors in STP, mountain biking in Lebanon Hills, and visiting pubs in the evening. Saturday was the wedding and reception. The wedding was held at Ft. Snelling Historical Chapel, and the reception at a hanger on South St. Paul Flemming Field, with a B-25 right in the middle of the action. Very original to say the least, and very fitting for Edward. I have to say my favorite part of the whole weekend was the atmosphere of hanging out with a large quantity of good people. It felt a bit like college again, before everyone got spread out through the country. Lots of fun. I hope to see everyone again soon. Congratulations to Edward and Teresa!

Comparison

Many of you know of my disgust of Buck Hill Ski Area in Burnsville, MN. It's semi-warranted, but kind of not, too. But I still don't care for it. It's my choice.

I was happy to find a better place to claim the name tonight while looking through various maps (something I often do to get future trips on the calendar).

Buck Hill, in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Looks like a nice place. Void of suburban quality. Certain rattlesnakes and bison have so far been better neighbors to me than certain affluent snowboarding teens. Not to include horses, however, but that is another story, which some of you know.

February North Shore Weekend

Northern Minnesota in the winter is not what many people would think of when they are wondering where to spend their weekends, right? But I suppose if you love being outside all the time, and you happened to live in St Paul, that’s what you do. And you discover that it’s an experience that people shouldn’t write off before they see it for themselves. A certain amount of mental gusto and quality winter gear are required, and I suppose this is what detracts the masses. OK. That’s fine, more solitude for those of us who know better.
I spent last weekend on MN’s North Shore of Lake Superior, snowshoeing and camping with a couple good friends, Ty and Joel. It was a short trip, but it is always refreshing to get out of the city and into the woods. We camped at Temperance River State Park, and only saw one other tent in the whole place.
Saturday we snowshoed up Carlton Peak. A short hike to a small summit, but MN is not known for mountains. If you go in expecting the same experience as the West, you wont find it. Don’t look for epic heights in the North Woods. Look for the North Woods in the North Woods. It is an entirely different experience, valued for it’s own unique outdoor settings. When reaching the top of a “peak” in MN, you find yourself not high above an epic valley or gorge, out of breath in thin air, or at all nervous about making it down safely before nightfall. Rather, you find yourself in a peaceful place just high enough to get a good look at the vast expanse of tranquil woods and lakes (one of them Great) that contain some truly wonderful hiking and paddling. Carlton is one of those lookouts (and it even has a bit of climbing). A nice place to spend a Saturday.
Saturday night we cooked, ate, maybe sipped a little whiskey, and enjoyed a good fire after a great sunset/moonrise over Lake Superior. Sleeping was pretty good, despite the temps somewhere around 12 F, estimated. Not at all cold for the region.
Sunday, I’d say, was the highlight of the trip- a snowshoe hike down part of Wolf Creek and up part of the Devil’s Track River near Grand Marais. February had warmed quite a bit, and the water was not as frozen as January. Still walkable, but only if you’re ok with punching through occasionally (the water in most areas was only knee high at most). We had to be a bit careful picking our route to stay to the areas acceptable for falling in. Honestly, it made it more fun; I guess I’m a little off in the head.
On the up the river, we passed what is apparently one of, if not the seminal MN ice climbs- Nightfall. I think in the next couple years I may finally take the plunge and learn to climb ice. We seem to have enough of ice here in MN to make it worth it.
The weekend was a great experience and yet another lesson in just making trips happen, regardless of the season. MN in the winter is harsh, yes, but staying inside all the time is to me even harsher. We were treated to a great time in relatively balmy MN February temps and I’ll be going back soon I’m sure.

Snowshoeing up Carlton...

























Sunset at Lake Superior near camp...





















Home sweet tents...









































Nightfall...


























Snowshoeing down the Devil's Track...


























Getting a bit sketchy here...




















I may have put a foot (or both) through at the left side of this shot...I appreciate both great gear and shallow ice water...

More "Superior Times" here.

Yosemite February 2010

I went into our recent Yosemite trip with high hopes, and came out with a smile on my face. As usual for the Sierra Nevada. It being our secondary, last minute plan, we didn’t have much of an itinerary, but I wasn’t too worried. We brought a whole heap of gear, including mainly hiking, trail running, snowshoeing, and winter camping equipment- all of which was used. Our trips to Yosemite thus far have only been a couple of days at most, so it was nice to “move in” to the Valley for the better part of a week away from work.

We flew into SFO on Sunday and hung out with friend Edward D for the evening down at Fisherman’s Wharf (a place I once felt had a certain charm, but now am agreeing with many is way too touristy and expensive for what it is.) Nevertheless, it’s always great to see Ed and we had a great time. We stayed in Livermore that first night at the illustrious Livermore Comfort Inn with airline discount and did some grocery/supply shopping for the week.

Monday morning we made the drive out across the Central Valley (now in it’s green season- a much different winter than here), and entered the mountains. Always great. The air got very noticeably fresher leaving cities behind and arriving in cleaner places (even as developed as Yosemite Valley is). I’m always impressed by the first view I get of the Valley when driving in. I’ve seen it on a thousand postcards, in tons of magazines, and in person a few times now, but seeing it live always stirs the outdoor fiend in me. It’s one of the places I’ve been that I will surely keep returning to because it’s left such a mark. That goes for anywhere I’ve been with towering rock walls. And I mean towering. Moab, Zion, Little Cottonwood, Alaska, Colorado, Yosemite. Just to name a few. Many others out there; I don’t mean to ignore them.

Monday evening we set up camp and hung out at Upper Pines, where I’ve stayed before. This time was different though, as it was February, and folks in California seem to think it’s cold or something. Not many people were there. I’m used to barely getting a campsite, and we had the place largely to ourselves. I guess people haven’t been to Minnesota to realize what winter really is. Yosemite was beautiful last week. Highs in the upper 50’s, low’s in the mid 30’s. Nice. That beats the 5 degrees it will potentially be in my tent this coming weekend in Northern MN, but that will be another story.

Tuesday marked a great day hike. I’ve been meaning to hike the Upper Yosemite Falls trail since I first saw it four years ago, and we decided to take the opportunity this trip as it was still open during the winter (it isn’t always). It climbs 2,700 feet in 3.5 miles from the Valley Floor to the North Rim and end in an overlook of Upper Yosemite Falls. On the way up there is a mix of wooded trail, dramatic Valley views, snowfields, and plenty of switchbacks (and the occasional falling rock- watch out.) Overall a wonderful hike, but I’m going to have to do it again, as the final overlook of the falls at the top was unsafe to reach due to snow/ice conditions.

Wednesday we decided that since we never stop running around, we’d have a change of pace and see some of the things to see in Yosemite Village, such as the Ansel Adams Gallery, and the Yosemite Museum. Worth checking out I’d say.

In the evening we hiked out to the base of El Capitan to see it at sunset (and to risk an epic solo of the first five feet of the Nose- barely made it out alive. J ). You simply must place yourself at the base of a rock wall this tall once and a while and just stare.

Wednesday evening involved lots of campfire time and chasing away raccoons (Yosemite is known for it’s crafty animals that are good at stealing. The bears were reportedly waking up and touring the campground just a couple days earlier than we arrived, but they didn’t visit us.)

Thursday we drove up to the Badger Pass area, and put on snowshoes. We hiked a mixture of groomed trail at the resort, then well stamped meadows, than a bit of deep fluffy stuff on our way out to Dewey Point, which overlooks Yosemite Valley from the South Rim. Earning a view of the Valley from above is a Yosemite must, and winter makes it even better. I was wishing we were staying the night at Dewey, as many others on snowshoes or skis were doing, but we had another great night at Upper Pines after the day hike instead. Next time. There are hut options out there as well, where the backcountry rangers are even known to roll sushi for ski/snowshoe overnight guests. Sounds like fun (although a rather commercialized backcountry experience).

Friday needed to be a “use up your energy and leave tired cuz it’s your last day” day, so I decided to bite off a good trail run. I’m still a new runner, so I didn’t plan on going all that far. I planned out a 6.5 mile trail loop that would take me under El Capitan and Bridalviel Falls along semi-rocky trail, as well as through the grassy area of El Capitan Meadows. I ended up doing that much, and then extending it to Yosemite Falls, making my first 10 mile run. It felt great. I have of course never felt that kind of motivation running on the treadmill at my climbing gym while it’s dark and freezing outside, so it was great to get the extra boost from such an amazing place. I just felt like going and going. Another note was that I ran the route in the only footwear I now run in- my Vibram Fivefingers. I am now completely convinced that this is a better footwear choice than modern running shoes. The terrain was burly, and my knees/hips felt just fine. So did my feet. I couldn’t handle running a quarter of that distance without ending up in pain in my expensive Asiscs. Actually feeling the terrain underneath, and thus setting down softly and gracefully on the mid to forefoot (as it seems the foot is designed to do) is a big difference from mashing down on heels that have a deceptive inch of padding that somehow is supposed to dissipate the full force of a body impacting the ground (in an unnatural way) without hurting your joints (not going to happen). Check out Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall; I won’t regurgitate it all here. The point is that I am enjoying being a runner for the fist time in my life, (and doing it in Yosemite was quite alright.) I was able to leave for Livermore Friday night feeling nice and tired, satisfied with a good few days spent playing in the Valley with my wonderful wife.

We will be back to Yosemite. As an inspiring outdoor locale always does, it motivated and intrigued us to build more trips to the Sierra. We haven’t yet seen the vast majority of Yosemite that lies outside the Valley where most of the people are. I want to do a high country backpack trip sometime in the next couple years. It may already be too late for this year as I have so much planned and it takes several months for permits in a park as busy as Yosemite. And I really would like to climb in the park as well. I’m no big wall hero, but I’d love to do some of the more “reasonable for working people” lower pitches in the Valley. It would be great.

I hope you get the chance to see this place for yourself sometime (if not many times). For now I’ll leave you with a few pix:

On the hike to Upper Yosemite Falls:

El Capitan:

Staring up at El Cap:

Snowshoe prints on the way to Dewey Point:

Near Dewey Point:

Dewey Point above Yosemite Valley:

Trail run in Yosemite Valley in the Vibrams (and Hawaiian shorts in honor of the original failed Kauai trip :) )

Trail along the Valley floor:

While running through El Capitan meadow:

Finished with the run at Yosemite Falls. "Look at that man's shoe's mommy!" (heard more than a couple times during the day) :)

Pushing gear through SFO to go home. I'm going to go back. :)

A larger collection of pix from the trip can be seen here.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160888&id=515680975&l=c7b4013137

A good substitute.

Well, I'd hardly call Yosemite National Park a substitute, but that's what it will be this week. Our Kaua'i trip will not work due to flight loads. Some other time. So we're going to CA instead to see some granite country in the winter. Mmm. It'll be great. Off to plan it...

Mullet is currently tunneled underneath Yosemite National Park. I think he wants to come with.

Return to Hawaii

This Saturday Alison and I are hopefully returning to Hawaii for a second trip down there since November. Nice. Spoiled with flight benefits. This time we are going (flight loads permitting) to Kaua'i, and our friends Nate and Emily are coming with. The goal is to backpack the Na Pali Coastline on the Kalalau Trail, see the Waimea Canyon (nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific), and relax on many beaches, getting out of the cold for a bit. (Although it's been a totally balmy 25ish around STP lately with fluffy snow- good winter).

Planning has been going ok, with some stress over permits and flights. Apparently the Hawaiian State Park system is unaware of credit cards and the internet for purchasing hiking permits. Instead, one must round up a cashiers check, mail it overseas, and either wait for the permit to come back, or stop by the park office in Luhue, which is open only occasionally it seems. Wow. It's making me very thankful for our amazing, free, volunteer-based, nationally renown Superior Hiking Trail here in MN. But I wont complain much- the Na Pali Coastline is supposedly a "life-lister" when it comes to backpacking ventures. It's 11 miles in and 11 out along the rugged, worn, cliffs of the North Shore of Kaua'i. There will be many pictures assuming it all comes together. We have high hopes, but it could still fall through.

Either way, it will be nice just not to be at work for a week. I'm sure we can come up with a back-up adventure if we can't make it to the middle of the Pacific...

Point Reyes

This past weekend was spent in California, a decent enough place to warm up in Jan. Although the locals complained the whole time of how bad the weather was (rain, wind, temps in the 50s). The original plan was to get out on a bicycle tour. Many things prohibited that from coming to reality- lack of time, travel logistics, family health related issues on my biking partner's side, wedding planning (also Ed's of course), and a bike not yet purchased. Not a problem, we'll just go hiking we said. True. Edward and I headed up to Point Reyes National Seashore for some trail experience. We day hiked two days (should have backpacked, but the food in town was really good) in the rain and wind of CA January shorelines. It was great. The Park staff told us we wouldn't have any fun and that not many people were heading out at all. They then asked where we were from. I said MN. They then replied- "Oh, well then you'll have a great time." Our winters precede us I suppose. The Bay area folks are spoiled and only like to hike in sun apparently. We did run into a couple hearty hikers while out though, including one dude who was hiking from Point Reyes all the way down to San Francisco via the shoreline/hills. Nice. Said he had a week and a half's worth of food and not much of a real plan. Freedom.

We hike just over 20 miles over two days. Not a spectacular distance with day packs, but enough to get out a see some things and feel like we'd gone somewhere. The first day we hiked the Sky Trail to Mt. Worthington (no view at the top, not sure I recommend it, but nice walk through the woods on the way, especially in the fog/rain). There were better views lower where there wasn't as much tree cover. Later in the afternoon we headed down to Limantour Beach and hiked out to Coast Camp and back. Windy, rainy, sandy, and sweet. Be careful of the tides however. There were recently two missing people in the park, both presumed to be swept to sea nearing high tide by sneaker waves. Read up on beach safety before hiking for sure.

The next day we hiked from the Bear Valley Visitor Center down to Arch Rock, and explored some excellent beach area. We had everything from mossy forest with deer (and apparently mountain lions according to park staff) to starfish and clams. Variety.

It was a nice weekend in a part of the Bay Area of CA newly discovered to me.

Hiking the Sky Trail...

Running from waves on Limantour Beach...

Where Bear Valley meets the Coast and Arch Rock...

Arch Rock and the Beaches below...

These starfish seemed to be sneaking off to somewhere important....

Up on Arch Rock...

5 year vintage

So I realized something looking at this blog recently. As of earlier this month, it had an anniversary. I started it on a very cold Grand Forks January night in 2005, making it five years old. Not bad, considering the number of personal blogs that tend to start with high hopes only to fizzle out in the first year or two. The other thing that makes me feel good about treadnorth making it this far comes from its general purpose. I write about mainly about my outdoor pursuits and adventures, and seeing it survive this long means I’ve had a good five years of fun outside. There have been great trips, both local and distant that have kept me entertained over the past five years, and I intend to have many more to share. Many of you reading have been a part of them. Thanks!

Looking to the future, I’m excited for good reason. Over the past several years I’ve had a lot of great experiences cycling, hiking, climbing, running, etc., and each trip has taught me a bit more of what I’m capable of, and what’s out there waiting. The world is whatever size you make it. If you spend all your time at home, it may be pretty small and routine (although not necessarily- I am not speaking poorly of home, just stating it’s wonderful to get out and see things). If you worry about the limits of your fitness, you’ll never stretch them. A decade ago, I was nervous at the idea of a 50-mile bike ride, much less a 530-mile loaded tour. I was a 5.8 climber, not working 5.11’s. I was an excited backpacker but hadn’t been out that far, and didn’t know enough about my gear/clothing. Now I’ll walk in most any weather for as many days as I have available. I hated even the idea of running, and now despite being very new at it, I’m regularly running several miles a week in a barefoot style, and enjoying it all. I was restricted to the areas I could get to by way of an unreliable vehicle stationed in the prairie (and how much gas I could afford was definitely an issue.) Now I have free/(or almost) air travel to much of the country/world due to my job. I am mentally and physically stronger, with a larger taste for adventure than I started out with. I’m ready for more., and you should come with me.

What does 2010 have in store? I have many ideas as usual, and need to set some goals. So far on the tentative menu several possibilities are listed out.: a climb of Mt. Adams; much more of the Superior Hiking Trail (either backpacking, dayhiking, or trail running); the Maah Daah Hey Trail via mountain bike; backpacking the Na Pali Coastline in HI; more UT trips as much as the Paasch’s will have me (thanks); a possible cycle-tour in TX (Big Bend area); a 200 mile one day bike ride? (been dreaming of that one for a long time); longer runs of lengths not yet figured out; whatever rock climbing I can get on the schedule; winter camping on the North Shore of Lake Superior before winter is up (plenty of that left as of now); more weekends with the Long Haul Trucker; riding the full Headwaters 100 with Alison for her first century; whatever else sounds fun outside on a moments notice. These are just my ideas from the first couple weeks this year. More to come for sure.

So I hope to continue treadnorth in the same style, reporting on many adventures I enjoy with many of you over many more years. Thanks for reading…

Chilly commute

So yesterday, Jan 8th, 2010, the high in STP was lower than the low in many many places. Low of -6 in the morning (something like a -18 wind-chill if I recall), and a high of 9, with similar wind-chills due to slightly more wind. I biked to work. Not for any sort of congratulations; most people considered the act foolish. I just like to ride my bike, as you know. I've been very tired of not doing much riding since Christmas, as we had a day of rain then after much snow, and this has left the roads in STP worse than I've ever experienced. I don't have any pictures of them below, as I was too focused on not falling when passing over them. I had no problems whatsoever with staying warm. Most people would conjure that as the biggest challenge to riding on this type of day. Actually, I had to ditch a layer a couple of times due to getting sweaty. -6 is really not terribly bad when you're moving. I'm not seeking it out or anything; I'd prefer low 70's and sunshine, but that's not what I have here in MN in January, so I deal. Adapt. Thrive? Probably not that one. But adapt, yes. I need to do some more adapting, by purchasing a set of aggressive studded tires, but I'm afraid the cost is going to prohibit that for a little while longer, and then spring will be here. With the amount of rutted chunky, crash-inducing ice bonded to MN's urban roadways right now, it's near impossible to "control" a bicycle in places. Which at times during a commute induces a "hike-a-bike" scenario. "What is this, mud on the Maah Daah Hey, steep grades in the La Sals, road biking into a plains wind?", my mind thought as I pushed through the strain yesterday. But I had to answer it- "No, you're just riding in a major metropolitan area on the way home from work." "Why does it hurt so much?" Welcome to MN in January. Cheers. I won't stop.

Getting to work. 8 am. -1F. Wind chill -17F.

What would be a very boring place if not injected with equipment used for better times...

Arriving at my apartment. 7pm. 4ish degrees. Wind chills, well, still friggin' cold.