Hitch-Hiking

This is a overview of our recent trip out west.

Over the past two weeks, me and by best friend set out on a daring adventure. Just two guys riding the open roads, enjoying life in ways unimaginable.

Trip report: Prayed for Safety Left Tuscaloosa at 9:00 pm, drove 24 hours to Colorado. Stayed with Paige and Scott in Fort Collins, took a shower. Thanked the Lord for a safe trip.

Four day rafting / fishing trip - Colorado River: Woke up, drove 3 hours to the Colorado River. Went on a 4 day rafting trip with Scott, met new people, ate like kings, played cornhole and washers. Fly fished, Caught a brown and rainbow trout. Flipped out of a canoe in Class II white water, jumped off of a 40ish foot cliff. Played hide and seek until the wee hours of the night (all grown ups), diving through and over sage brush, landed on a cactus, pulled spines out of hand. Went down the river in the pouring rain, froze to death. Watched shooting stars Praised The Lord. Made it back to the car.

Drive to the Sawtooth Wilderness - Idaho. Left the river, drove 7 hours to Idaho, Prayed for Safety, found a motel, flirted with the lady at the desk to get a discount, got the discount. Descent room, cooked mac and cheese on sidewalk, took a shower. Woke up ate a big "free" hot breakfast, drove 2 hours to Pocatello Idaho to find a map, didn't find one, drove 3 hours to Stanley Idaho (our destination = Sawtooth Wilderness), found a map. Thanked the Lord for a safe trip. Saw the Sawtooth Mountains Went to the trailhead, looked at the map for hours and devised a plan. Text dad the plans. Changed our plan. Text dad the new plans (30 mile out-and back).  Built a fire. Realized that Grant lost his bear-spray, realized that I left my knife in the motel. Freaked out. Went and bought beer -- regained courage. Slept in car at trailhead.

Day one: Woke up, ate a poptart, packed backpack. Hit the trail, hiked 3 miles. Met a man with a pistol, wish I would have brought a pistol. Hiked another 3-4 miles, climbed 1,000+ feet. Passed the first lake. Climbed another 500+ feet. Arrived at our first campsite (sawtooth lake). Set up camp. Ate dinner above sawtooth lake: backpackers pantry - chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes, and stuffing - it was decent. Hung the food, went back to camp. Sat by the lake, got destroyed by mosquitos, applied 100% deet, got cold, layered up. Got in tent, Prayed for Safety, freaked out about a deer outside of tent, fell asleep.

Day two: Woke up, thanked the Lord. Ate breakfast - instant grits. Filtered water. Took down camp, packed backpack. Hiked 3 miles through fields of snow, saw lakes with beautiful water. Descended 1000 feet. Crossed a waterfall. Hiked another 3 miles, lost the trail in 10 foot tall bushes, found the trail. Ate lunch: Jiff crunchy peanut butter, Hardees Strawberry Jelly, Sandwich rounds - Great. Thought a bear was close, had a heart attack, Prayed for Safety. Hiked another 2 miles, descended another 1500 feet, crossed a river (Class I white water), met a family from S. Carolina.
Game Changer: Changed plans because we didnt want to hike back up that trail. Decided to add 12 miles on the hike, ending at the redfish visitors center and hitch-hiking 20 miles to our car.
Got on a new trail, hiked 3 miles, climbed 700 feet. Set up camp, filtered water.  Ate dinner on a hill overlooking the river: 3 cheese chicken pasta - mountain high foods, Great meal. Hung food, fell on my face going back down the hill. Got back to camp, smelled myself, almost threw up, took a bath with wet wipes. Built a fire. Got in tent, Prayed for Safety, fell asleep. Woke up by Grant punching me in the face because of a concerning sound outside the tent. Had a heart attack. Almost bear sprayed a deer. Fell back asleep.

Day three: Woke up, thanked the Lord. Ate oatmeal and a rice crispy treat. Filtered water. Buried fire remnants, packed up camp. Hiked 5 miles +1000' elevation, prayed for endurance. Got to Baron Creek Falls, breathtaking. Hiked 3 miles, climbed 1000'. Got to camp, met a lesbian couple, met an old rugged man. Set up tent. Filtered water. Cooked dinner: Loaded mashed potatoes, delicious, poor appetite. Tired. Sat by lake, watched the sun go down and the stars come out. Started raining. Got in tent. Couldnt sleep, Prayed for Safety, Fell asleep around 4:00 am.

Day four: Woke up, thanked the Lord. Ate grits and rice crispy treat, bathed off with warm water from stove. Filtered water. Packed up camp. Prayed for endurance. Prayed for a ride to our car. Hiked 2 miles over Baron Pass, Climbed 1000'.  Hiked down 10 miles, descended 2000'. Met a family struggling up the pass, met a family with 7 whippet puppies. Made it to redfish lake. Waited for shuttle, never came... Hitch-hiked on a Jet boat with a farmer from Idaho. Made it to the lodge. Saw more people in 5 minutes than we had seen in a week. Hitched a ride in the back of a pick-up truck all the way to the car. Thanked the Lord. Unpacked Backpack, met an old man from Jackson. Washed feet. Drove 3 hours to Mcdonalds. Ate a lot of food. Drove 3 hours to Montpilier, Idaho. Got my knife from the motel. Slept in super 8 hotel parking lot.

Drove 6 hours to Fort Collins, CO. Went to a BBQ party. Went back to Paige and Scotts. Took a shower, built a fire. Talked to Paige until 2:00 am. Fell asleep.

Woke up. Ate a bagel. Left Fort Collins. Drove through Kansas. Devised a plan to remove Kansas from the U.S.. Drove through the night. Made it home in 23 hours.
 
Thanked the Lord for a safe trip and praised him for the world He created.

Undeserving Love

Blindly I walk with a heart open wide,

Through fire and high waters my soul shall abide.

Uncertain tomorrow and weary next week,

My life in your hands, your will I seek.

I constantly fall into temptation's snare,

Even in my darkest of times I know you are there.

In times of my greatest fears, times I am not strong,

I am an outcast in this world, but in your house I will always belong.

The desire of my heart, your praises I sing,

To your mighty power and love I forever cling.

Always by my side, I am never alone,

I forget my earthly desires and bow before your throne.

Maybe it is okay to keep your back against the wall.

D&D Wood-Working

We built this swing a few weeks ago.  I am just now getting around to finishing it.  I have a primer coat on it now. I will add a glossy white coat over that to complete it.  Christmas present for my mom!

On Moustaches

"Moustaches are like newborns. As soon as you get one, people you don't even know just walk up and start talking to you. They want to touch it and, in general, share in the joy that it brings to so many people. You'd think that moustaches would have the exact opposite effect since they're responsible for so much violence in this country, but it's the new mustache that people want to be a part of. Once the mustache is a bit older it gets cynical and loses some its innocence, but it's easy to enjoy in the short term."

This post is dedicated to none other than Fudd Phillips

D&D Wood-Working

I have decided that wood-working projects are on my top three favorite things to do list.  The most recent project was a coffee table.

The actual construction took about 4 hours and the design was created by Grant and myself.  There are a few unique ideas that were implemented in this table. The first is the two 1x4 strips that we placed across the top adjacent to the other pieces that form the actual table top.  We cut the top so that the strips fit flush across the table top.

The next is the legs.  We made them to where the two legs cross each other to form an 'x' but fit flush together so that they are 1.5" wide.  The last is the horizontal support that runs below the table top.  It is secured by a 1" dowel rod.  The dowel runs 1" into the support and through the middle of the leg joint.

I stained the table to have a pretty dark finish.  I used a "jacobean" stain that I bought from Home Depot.

This table will be included in the D&D furniture line for $200.

The BackpackerS

This is the first of  series giving the inside scoop on some of our backpacking trips.  To start this series off, I am going to look at the first of our trips out west.
Best of the West 1 - Spring Break 2008
Grant Davis, Trent Smelley, and Myself
Keep in mind, this was one of the first major backpacking trips other than the pinhoti. We packed up Grant's dad's Prius with our camping gear and snow shoes.  We left late at night and drove non-stop to Jackson hole Wyoming.  The drive was somewhere around 29 hours but it was as fun as riding in a car for over a day can be. It was night time when we got into Wyoming.

We got into Jackson Hole around 3:00am and decided to set up my golite tent in the middle of a park.  This seemed like the best idea at the time and it was great until 10:00 am when a very nice police officer woke us up and let us know that we were not allowed to put a tent up in the city. At least he let us sleep in a little!

So we got up and stopped by what I still consider the best outdoor store in America: Teton Mountaineering. After that, we stopped by the visitor center in the Grand  Teton National Park and then made our way into the snow covered wilderness. We strapped on our snow shoes and put on our snow gear to fight the winter storm that was rolling in.

The snow covered landscape was breath taking. We had to dig down about 4 feet into the snow to put the tent so that we wouldnt get blasted by the wind and snow.  

We were forced to hike out when Trent was self-diagnosed with Giardia.  The hike our was rather grueling because every step you would take you would sink up to your knees or further. When the weather cleared up, the scenery was amazing.  This is when my Tetons virginity was taken. (I dont regret it)

When we got out, we hit some public showers (interesting moment in my life). Then headed south to Boulder Colorado.  We did some exploring there and came across a little state park that was pretty neat.  So we ate lunch here.

So that was about it.  I got a $150 speeding ticket on the way home.  Colorado is still my favorite state.