Jason and jenn

Well, the last indefinite about our hiking plans has been met. We got a call letting us know all our campsite requests and itinerary through Yellowstone has been approved. We will exit at Gardner on September 15th barring anything drastic happening to change things. Our hiking plan looks a bit like this:

August 13: Jenn’s last work day
August 15: Jason’s last day
August 15 - 17: Tidy up loose-ends in Pinedale, store most of our stuff with friends or give it away!
August 18th: Start Hiking at Sweetwater Trailhead or Big Sandy Trailhead
Hike through the Wind Rivers, following as close to the mountains as we can, but mostly staying on the west side.
August 27th: Hike over Union Pass and toward Togwotee pass and the Abasarokas
September 1st: Arrive at Brooks Lake Lodge - Heading into the Teton Wilderness
September 6th: Enter Yellowstone National Park at the Thorofare.
September 6 - 13: Hike from the south end of the park to the North, camping at Mammoth on the 13.
September 13-15: Hike into Gardiner, MT after nearly 300 miles total.

Yellowstone and the Teton Wilderness has grizzly bears. Lots of em. We have read that a party of 3 or more has never suffered a fatal grizzly bear attack. So, if you’re looking for a vacation, may we recommend hiking in Yellowstone in September!

We are stocking up on gear for the trip, including a new camera. I sold off my “big” digital camera and lenses and bought a more compact but high quality digital camera. It’s a Panasonic GF1. I’ll post some pictures/video from it as soon as it arrives. We’ve also bought new backpacks, and cozy sleeping pads. We have our maps, our bear spray, and are doing some menu planning.

We are inching closer.

“I ain’t seen the sunshine since i don’t know when” - Johnny Cash

While we haven’t been stuck in Folsom, we definitely have felt a bit trapped inside the first half of June. Once again we’ve had a rainy and cool month and that has kept us from getting out as much as we’d like. Still, there have been adventures.

I played a show with John at a remote camp in the Gros Ventre. We rode a UTV through swolen streams, rutted roads, and lots of mud to play music for some corporate types. The camp is right up against the mountains, and there are some cabins that date back to the late 1800s there. One was recently broken into by a grizzly, and the door has been repaired but still has claw marks where the bear got in. There is an old gold slough and the guests stay in cozy tepees. We played until midnight, then got to drive out the same crazy route in the dark. Some of the craziest off-roading i’ve ever experienced, and a lot of fun playing music.

Been doing more rock climbing development, but i’ve had to take it easy since i pulled a tendon in my ring finger. I’ve been trying to mostly crack climb, and Josh and I have been working a route that is probably 5.11c or so.

The weather has made a marked improvement in the last couple days and we’re loving it. First of all, it stays daylight until nearly 10pm, which is incredible. Secondly, there have been blue skies and lots of sunshine. Today we go see friends get married and I’m so glad they’ll get good weather. Better still is that the mosquitoes aren’t out in force yet. However, this just means they’ll come on later and stick around longer. So it’s a mixed blessing. We’ve slept in the van, enjoyed good morning coffee, a cold ale-8 cooled in the creek while we climbed, and our fourth wedding anniversary.

Yep, four easy and amazing years that we don’t regret a moment of. We are anxious to start our next adventure. We think we know what that is, and maybe even where we might go. But four years ago we would have never seen ourselves living the life we are now. So who knows what will be. I’m sure it will be just as great looking back in four more.

Musically, it’s a busy month.

The Science Rockets have been renamed the Tie Hacks, feeling that a more Wyoming appropriate name was needed and given a new drummer, bassist, and the addition of another singer/songwriter in Michelle Humber.

Tie Hacks were loggers in the forest around here who cut trees and then shaped them into railroad ties before they were shipped down the green river to help build the Union Pacific Railroad.

This past Saturday we played at the Grand Targhee Battle of the Bands. We were the headliner and though we did not win the competition, we sure did have a great deal of fun and got some great exposure. The venue for the gig was “the Spud” drive in theater between Victor and Driggs Idaho. Awesome little venue and a great crowd of about 400 folks dancing and having a great time to all the good music. We followed the gig with a trip into Victor to see Aaron Davis (a fellow Kentucky native) play music at the Timberline.

Now I have music booked for every weekend the rest of the month. This should be a fun time as this includes some campfire style duos with John, a wedding date for good folks, and a gig in the park for the Fine Arts Council. Should be fun, but i’m hoping to not be so busy musically in July. We’ll see.

The Tie Hacks on stage at The Spud

It’s June. It’s raining. Seems familiar. Last year it rained 25 days in June.  I hope it just goes ahead and rains today and get’s it out of it’s system. Still, we need the moisture. This is a desert after all.

Been really active toward the end of May. I tried hiking to Glimpse lake and ran into snow about 5 miles in at around 9500 feet. Saw bear tracks in the snow. There were 3 sets, one large and 2 small. This gave me pause and I made sure to make plenty of noise the rest of the day.

We’ve been developing a new climbing area in Pinedale that we’re calling the Ranch. It’s quite nice, with a lot of potential, but requiring a lot of work cleaning and brushing. We’ve put up 10 routes already, with at least that many more to come this summer, and maybe 50-60 routes possible in total. Very cool little domes of granite overlooking some summer homes and a lake.

New living arangements are going well.  Free rent for the summer more than makes up for any hardship of living with other folks.

Speaking of which. Our house in Kentucky is paid for. We paid the last of our little loan. It is surreal to think that we bought and paid off a home in less than a year.  Now we need to save money for home improvements this fall.

So now i’ll take a rest day from climbing. My fingers are sore and the backs of my hands are scabbed. I will enjoy the rain, knowing that it will bring Balsamroot and aspen leaves quickly, and it will give this high desert a much needed drink.