NZ 2014 picture session

Not all in chronological order....but I figure I gotta get these pictures up, we've been back for about 3 months!

Helicopter ride to Volcanic White Island

We stopped at Hot Water Beach, where scalding hot water comes up through the sand. People dig their own little jacuzzis right on the beach.

Boat Tour around part of the Coromandel Peninsula. We saw endangered fish, a seal, beautiful beaches, rock formations, and went in a blow hole (where the tides go under a cliff and push a hole out the top).

Kim Really liked these trees (even though they are apparently imported and not native to NZ)

A few pics from the Hot Springs Resort on Lake Taupo 

We saw a string of thermal areas. They were marked by steam coming out of the ground....bubbling mud, very colorful hot (!) mineral waters....and a certain sulfurous smell. 

Kim loved that this mineral pit was nearly the color of my shirt...

The water in NZ is all spectacular.

Staging for the Ferry/Cruise to the South Island

Starting our trek down the east coast of the south island

Then driving across the the rugged west coast

Our trusty jucy van. I liked the fact that it is basically a Previa.

Kim liked the fact that they were everywhere and you could wave to the other tourists who had them.

Our first tramp, the Hump Ridge Track at the very south end of the south island. 

3 days, about 13 miles/day. Along the shore, then up ~3000' to Okaka Lodge.

We made a point to use the water facilities, just lower the pot 2 feet down to the creek and pull back up. Drink without treating.

Heading upwards

We started the day at the furthest white spec near the left side of this pic.

Roots! Everywhere.

At the top of the ridge the plants are very fragile so they've built miles of boardwalk.

It was getting cold....

It was howling cold winds up here, but it was clear, so we hiked up above the lodge to the viewpoint before running back down and unfurling our sleeping bags for warmth.

Upon Arrival.....it was below freezing, but looked inviting.

And in the morning.....Snow had fallen.

Starting down the ridge, it stayed cold and cloudy and snowy for a couple hours.

This tree has a..... let's call it a.... "reputation" along the track.

Reaching the coast again it was a bit warmer, but the flies came out.

Here are some pics from the day tour we took of Milford Sound. It was cloudy so we missed some of the grandeur.

These waterfalls are the "four sisters" - Kim understood all too well.

Seals, dolphins, and penguins we all spotted around the Sound.

I was tired and not the best boat passenger.... but of course Kim always thinks the more turbulence/rocking/waves the better!!

We didn't take enough pictures to convey this, but there are alot of sheep in NZ :)

Our second tramp....The world famous Kepler Track.

I was sick the couple days before, and didn't want to go, but after a bit of a ..... conversation ..... Kim basically dragged me into starting the hike. It's another 3 days of 10-13 miles/day. Starting in the valley, heading up to Luxmore hut, then traversing the ridge line on amazing exposed trail for half of the second day (in 100km winds and snow!!) and then descending down the the valley again, in a loop.

We had started across the lake.

As we neared the ridge the wet fluffy snow started. Kim turned into a pumpkin with her UT poncho :)

Luxmore cave is a short trek from the hut, we weren't too adventurous in spelunking just 50 feet or so.

I trekked up to the summit in the afternoon, which ended up affording the clearest views of the trek.

Some resupply's come in on helicopters. Apparently you can also pay a couple hundred bucks to get lifted up the mountain. cheaters!

Heading out on the second day we were warned about gale force winds on the exposed sections of trail. Luckily it was less dangerous and more "high adventure." We were 2 of only 5 people who made the trek this day....the warnings scared off the other 10-15 people who were scheduled for the day.

If you zoom in on this one you can see a couple of our friends (who were tramping on their honeymoon) on the ridgeline near the left of the picture.

We are starting to get a reputation for hiking together in frigid conditions. Thank goodness for the insulated hoods. :)

Starting the descent....the trail was the ridgeline for nearly 4 hours!

This was just some hotel food, but we were happy. We ate dehydrated soups along the trail.

We flew from Queenstown back to Aukland and had a day to wander around town, finding their "space needle" - we went up and surveyed the area.

The next day we flew home. It was a rigorous trip, we saw as much as we could, and enjoyed it. We wished we had more time, but we loved what we got..... Until Next Time!

+1 year, NZ teaser post

Holy Cow.
Over a year since the last post.

Work took over. The shop consumed life.
There were still adventures, but few of them were outdoors.

Time to re-center.

Here's a teaser from the 3 weeks Kim and I just spent in New Zealand.
We'd both always wanted to go there, because of the amazing topography, flora and fauna of these islands deep in the Pacific.

We missed most of cultural heritage spots, in order to maximize the natural wonder we got to witness.

More complete post, with more pictures (including some panoramas I'm excited to see on a screen bigger than 3"!), to follow.

White Island - we flew there in a helicopter

 View from the Coromandel Peninsula

 Cormorant

 Whangarei Falls

 Lots of hilly pasture by the sea 

Amazing Eastern coast of the Coromandel

On the way to White Island

trans-smokies birthday adventure

Some characteristics of my favorite adventures:

1) good topography.

running around a lake, or up and over a mountain is way better than a less defined route.

2) good views.

being able to see something far away that you either ran from, or are running to provides alot of satisfaction.

3) good distance.

going far enough that driving the same way would take a while is a plus, crossing county or state lines is superb.

4) serendipitous occurrences.

finding trail magic, or a super side trail, or the clouds parting at just the right time, or anything of that ilk is just plain mood boosting.

5) lucky timing.

crossing paths with someone/thing that you had no idea was even a potentiality is cool.

6) additional modes of transportation. 

a run is great, but mixing in some biking or sledding, or even an amusement park TRAM is even better.

7) making it fit into others' schedule.

getting picked up or dropped off by loving family members is great, but "making it fit" with their previously made plans is more fun.

and of course, if you can fit all of these into one adventure....it's gonna be a GREAT one!

So, Saturday Kim and Anna dropped me off at an I-40 exit west of Asheville on their way to Tennessee for the weekend. I'd re-unite with them just 10 hours later, after linking up all of the previously mentioned adventure highlights!

James was begging for some time in the woods, so I spied a route that would (almost) traverse the Great Smoky Mountain National Park from east to west, making James' drive convenient from Asheville, and letting me finish in Pigeon Forge, where the family would be all day.

James picked me up at the exit, and we got a quick breakfast, filled our bags with granola bars, and headed to Cherokee, NC. We parked at the Smokemont pull off from HWY 441, and headed through the campground and up the Bradley Fork and Sluice Gap trails for the mighty ridge atop the smokies.

The weather was super humid, and pretty warm. We were in the clouds and misty rain for the entire 4,000' ascent. Bradley Fork is a well groomed bridle path, which came as a pleasant surprise, but the Sluice Gap trail was a sloppy, muddy singletrack through the weeds (more our style). Getting close to our intersection with the AT, James made the call to turn around for the car, he was under a bit of a time crunch, and since the potential views from Charlie's Bunion and the Jumpoff were likely to be hidden in the dense clouds, he opted to return early. I wished him a safe (and slippery and fast) return, and we parted ways. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qozrVKGezQ&feature=youtu.be

10 minutes later I hit the AT and made my way south towards the Bunion. All that could be seen was the rock within about 30 feet me. Everything else was invisible due to the fog. It was less inspiring than the incredible views to be had on a clear day, but special because I was the only one there to enjoy it today. I continued on, looking forward to the side trail to the Jumpoff, which I've never explored.

Well, it was a little bit of a trek over to the Jumpoff, but wow....the name fits. Since everything was fogged in, I didn't get any previews of where I was headed until I took a step, and looked to my right to find....nothing at all! I single step through the bushes here would surely deposit you 100 feet or more (the fog was too dense to tell) lower without touching anything at all. A bit surreal to look over a precipice like that in the fog.

I tramped back to the AT, and boarded the Boulevard trail towards the sixth highest peak in the east, which promised dropping temperatures and still more rain and fog...Mt. Le Conte.

So far I'd only seen 2 people, aside from James, on the entire hike, and the Boulevard trail continued the trend of solitude. The stony path up was wet and alone on this day, which was fine by me. However, when I reached the top of the mountain, I was greeted by a bustling metropolis in the high altitude wilderness...

I had been atop Le Conte once before, in the late fall many years ago. On that day James and I had seen the cabins and lodge poised on the mountaintop, but today there were a number of people present. I tried the door to the dining room and found it  open. Inside, I entered a setting much like the huts in the White Mountains where Kim and I spent our honeymoon. Apparently they serve lunch to day hikers, although I had missed that by an hour...

serendipitous snackage

Luckily, they still had a barrel of chocolate chip cookies for sale, and I indulged in 3 of them. I still had some granola and crackers, but what you don't have sometimes seems much more desirable than what you've been munching on all day....ya know?

Heading back out into the fog, having let the blood flow slow down, I was chilled for a bit, but it wasn't to last. Upon choosing the Bull Head trail to descend towards Gatlinburg, the weather soon shifted. I picked this trail because it looked from the topo map to be the gentlest (and therefore easiest to run) of the routes. I was ready to actually run at this point, since most of the distance thus far had been covered by walking and slow shuffling. A steep rocky trail is fun, but in wet weather prudence forces one to slow down in such terrain. 

Bull Head turned out to be a great decision. After only 20 minutes, the fog showed signs of clearing, and by the time I turned north around Balsam Point, I could see all the way down to the valley. What a great trail! Dense greenery, broken at times by distant views of places yet to come, along with sights back up to the weather system still hanging around the upper reaches of the ridge.

around balsam point the sun came out

views towards the valley

the weather back on the ridge

flower petal trail next to rock walls

I made it down to Cherokee Orchard, and hit pavement for a few brief moments before  grabbing the Twin Creeks trail and making my way past some rustic historical cabins, and out of the park. I encountered a couple of turkeys and a deer on this stretch, all of whom had minimal worry about my presence, and I was able to get within 15 feet of the turkeys and 10 feet of the deer before moving on. So many visitors to this area where they are protected means they've lost much of their fear for humans.

As I left the park, I plunged into the hectic tourist trap of Gatlinburg. I was still surprised at all the odd looks I got, wearing my small pack and being wet and a bit muddy. *I* was the one who belonged here, at the base of the mountains that are riddled with great hiking trails....*they* are the ones out of place, in their flip-flops and make-up.

Oh well, I walked thru town, hoping to snag a trolley car towards Pigeon Forge, yet 7 miles up the highway. As soon as I left town a park ranger pulled over and inquired about my intentions. I told him I was headed to Dollywood to meet my family, and he strongly suggested that I not traverse this road on foot, due to the curves and small shoulders. I told him that if he was headed that way I would gladly ride in his car rather than hoof it! I had only an hour to make my 8pm meeting time with the family, and I was already sure I'd miss it by a little bit.

He declined my request, and then promptly drove off in that direction. I guess maybe they have a "policy" against helping park-goers, such is life....

Anyway, I decided that having the family drive a few extra miles to save me a harrowing trip on that mountain road wasn't the worst thing, so I walked a few hundred yards back to town. Then, after a few minutes, I decided to try for a ride. I accosted a nice family in their super-duty Ford truck at a stop light, asking as pleasantly as possible whether they were headed to Pigeon Forge and might give me a lift.

Turns out they were from Alcoa, TN (right up the road from my in-laws) and had been planning to go to Dollywood that day just like my family, but had decided against it due to the weather....After thinking pretty hard about it for a minute, they let me in the truck and we enjoyed 10 minutes of chatting before they dropped me off on the square in Pigeon Forge.

Happily I was now 20 minutes ahead of schedule instead of 20 minutes behind, and I'd saved myself the moderately dangerous traverse of a tight portion of the highway. I trekked up Dollywood Lane and a mile and half later, as it began to get dark, I found myself at the back entrance to the park. I asked a worker whether I could get to the parking lot this way, and after confirming that I could walk through, I graciously thanked him....."I'm so glad you didn't say, "you can't get there from here!""

I called Kim and they were waiting in line for a tram ride to their parking lot, so I hurried on up the access road, and found myself at the park exit. Calling Kim again, I found they were almost back to the car, so I stuck my butt on that next tram along with a bunch of screaming kids and happy tired adults, and rode my Dollywood ride for the day....the 1 mile Tram ride to the car!

Sure enough, the fam had just loaded up in the car, and I hopped in. A sandwich and a storytelling session ensued. They'd had a great day at the park, with some rain but also good temperatures and plenty of snacks and fun had by everyone.

All was right with the world.

The trans-smokies adventure was about 30 miles with 8,000' of climbing, and plenty of enjoyment for me on this saturday before my thirty second birthday :) 

honeymooners

kim and i got married last sunday, october 7.

after goodbyes and thank yous with loved ones,

we headed north, to get an early preview on winter....

we hiked for 4 days in the white mountains of new hampshire.

it was a new locale for both of us, and it proved to be equal parts adventure and romantic honeymoon.

at the summit of mt guyot on thursday, the temp was in the teens and the wind chill was said to be nearly -20!

here's to starting things off on the right foot!

 galehead hut - heading out on day 2 into the chill

up up up to...

 south twin summit, our first new england 4,000er

little frosty traversing to mt. guyot

excited to be a new, awesome place

 nearing guyot summit

zealand mountain....the summit?! or some mud in the middle of ice?

white mountain trails are steep

view from zeacliff - wow.

 SE from zeacliff

hiking down

from winter back into fall 1000' below. 

zealand falls

in front of zealand hut, heading out on morning 3

boggy spot

looking up the trail

love this one

that's mt washington in the clouds (from mt tom)

looking back up at mt tom from near crawford notch

BPSCAR-debrief

scott drove me all the way to fontana dam tuesday afternoon.
i was excited and nervous, plans for a 70 mile bachelor "party" had been dancing in my head....
i was mildly dreading the physical trauma of this trek, but was hopeful that my life/running experience up to this point in time would make the trauma manageable and the appreciation of the journey the lasting memory.

heading up to the ridge line as the sun sank in the sky, i felt very grateful.
that my life so far has been so great, with so much opportunity and joy,
and that my future on the horizon looks to be just as joyful (even with some trauma always mixed in).

less than 2 hours in i had my only bear encounter of the trek (3rd encounter this week) - but it was the first time i've ever had a bear do anything but notice me and immediately book it in the opposite direction.

he was ~100 feet away, and when we noticed each other he was 5 feet off the trail. he gave me a look, and then came slightly towards me and onto the trail. i was surprised, so i said, "hey bear," as i pulled out my camera - thinking i might get a shot of this one...
but then it pulled surprise number 2, it lifted its front paws and slammed them on the ground in my direction. in retrospect i guess he was just seeing if he could intimidate me into leaving him be....but at the time it gave me a moment of concern.
after two-point-two seconds of consideration, i raised my arms up high to look bigger, and growled back at him. he only thought about that for a second before i guess he decided it was a fight he didn't want, so he turned and took a couple steps off the trail, then looked at me again. i gave him another display of size and told him to go on....this repeated several more times, him stopping to make sure i was still coming, and me reminding him that i am big, until he was at least 40-50 feet off trail and i made my way past.
i contemplated an encounter like this happening late at night, and hoped that wouldn't occur, the sun was setting.

all night i walked over the backbone of the appalachians. the air got cold, and the clouds blew up from the valleys and diffused the light from my headlamp. at 4am i stopped to fill my water bottles for the second time, and it took long enough that i put on my long sleeve shirt and jacket. i removed the jacket quickly, but i was very happy to have the extra shirt.

as the sun got close to showing itself, i reached clingman's and i took a trip up the tower, but decided it would be a bit too long to linger in the cold blustery morning for the view to come, so i moved on. by the time i reached the mt. collins overlook the sun was fully in the sky, and i had introduced a little shuffling to my (now downhill) repertoire. 

arriving at newfound gap around 10 in the morning was quite a contrast to the night. the tour buses full of people eager to take a look at the view and pee in the public restroom were a far cry from the solitude and beauty that spends all its time just a few miles from paved roads.

when i arrived at charlie's bunion i felt exhilarated and was very happy to find my body and mind in good repair. i wasn't uncomfortably sleepy anymore (there had been some discomfort between 5 and 8am), and i was getting my first real views from this absolutely spectacular ridge line. a part of me wished i'd done the trek over two days, in order to see it all in daylight....but i was content in knowing that the trail isn't going anywhere, and next time (there is usually a next time, right?) i can go in the opposite direction and see what i missed.

the above happy shot epitomizes the last third of the run. a huge grin on my face as i enjoy the experience of moving through space and time in an intrinsically motivating way. the euphoria lasted for hours.

the traverse took 25:50, which was at least a couple hours slower than i arbitrarily hoped, but really, with the first 13 hours being all walking, and my current fitness on a slow incline, i'm not surprised. i'm thankful to have finished happy and healthy and looking forward to returning (maybe for a faster run, maybe for a week's backpacking with kim, hopefully both).

the trail was rocky, and i had to sprint down from mt. cammerer to meet scott at the appointed time, but the day was fantastic, this route is absolutely inspiring, and i will be back. i indulged in something i really enjoy, and contemplated the next phase of life, with kim, that's coming up. i am so fortunate to be where i am.

what a great route/trip. just fantastic. the euphoria is still here.

"BP" SCAR

BPSCAR <---this is a link to a map, check it later.

i've yet to pack and leave greenville, but the plan is to start at fontana dam tonight before sundown and run 71 miles to I-40 and davenport gap on the other side of the smokies by nightfall wednesday.
it'll be quite a party.