Early Christmas

My cool brother and his "mad" skateboarding skills!
View from the beach house
Younger bro, myself, my sis and older bro's dog hanging out in Capitola on the broadwalk
The house my mom grew up in in Bakersfield, California




I have really, really been slacking on my blog updates. My life really isn't all that exciting since I only travel occasionally ;)

For Christmas this year, our family decided to do an early Christmas road trip. We went to California. Our first stop was Bakersfield (where my mom grew up). We visited family. It was Halloween so my cousins kids came over all dressed up in their costumes. My aunt, ever since I was little, dressed up in costume. One of my favorite memories of my aunt, when visiting for the summer, is playing bingo for "valuable" prizes.

From Bakersfield we headed to Capitola (the scenic route that was an extremely curvy, narrow road that my mom drove at high speed) to see my older brother. He was not able to get work off to join us on the great road trip. After spending a couple of days hanging out, shopping, and eating our hearts out, we headed down the coast to Shell Beach. My mom's brother has a beach house that he let us use for a few days. The beach house is actually more like a regular house in a regular neighborhood. It is located about a mile away from the beach. Not really my idea of a beach house.

The trip was relaxing. No better Christmas present then to spend some quality time with your family.

ToNar Cruc (Short For Totally Narly Crucial)

Kayaking on the Chilkoot River
Look at that view. Amazing!
Sunrise the morning of our first summit climb
At the top of Flower Mtn. My first mountaineering summit!


It has been far too long since I posted last.

At the beginning of August, I went on a trip to Alaska. I decided that I wanted to learn how mountaineer. I found out about this great guiding company that spends half their year in Haines, Alaska and the other half in Alta, Utah. They provide a variety of outdoor activities all year round.

Haines is located on the shores of the Lynn Canal, Haines is home to the first permanent army post in Alaska, Fort William H. Seward and a central point in the Golden Circle, a unique driving route with eye-feasting scenery.

Before heading out on my 5-day mountaineering course, I went sea kayaking for half a day. It decided to stop raining and the sun came out for an absolutely beautiful sea kayaking experience in Alaska. I did see a bear crossing the road after succeeding in retrieving a salmon from the river.

My guides for the mountaineering course were Wes (who liked to shorten his words and use a more slang like style which is where ToNar Cruc came from)(from Salt Lake City) and Jim (from Tennesse with the greatest accent), the guests included myself and 3 other guys. That just shows what an incredible tough woman I am.

Day 1 Mountaineering:
Drive up narly a-- jeep road to home for the next 5 days, set up camp, hike to snow to learn to self-arrest, weather was beautiful...you could see all the way into Canada

Day 2 Mountaineering:
learn to rope team and anchor

Day 3 Mountaineering (the night the weather turned):
Flower Summit attempt and succeed, quite remarkable to summit after only two days of skill learning, some amazing yet scary moments for me on the climb, after climb a little rest before learning how to tie knots

Day 4 Mountaineering:
It rained all night, actually, poured is a better way to put it. That, however, didn't stop us from getting out and learning a thing or two. Let's see today we did a little snow climbing before we began to freezeeeeeeeeeeee. Our guides decided that we should spend the afternoon getting warm in our tents.

Day 5 Mountaineering:
Since the rain wouldn't give up, my guides decided to not go ahead with our plan to try another climb. Instead, we learned another important thing about mountaineering...how to crevasse rescue.
That afternoon I was picked up for the very muddy, slightly scary ride back to Haines. Even though everything that I had on the trip was wet including me, I still would have liked to stay a few more days to learn more and possible attempt another climb. I guess I might just have to take advantage of some of the things the company offers at Alta.

A week after my Alaska trip, I went on a river trip with a group of women. Some of them I worked with at the law firm and others were affliated with the law firm somehow. Fun trip with a great group of women.

Let's see...what else have I been up to since my last post...bought a MacBook which I LOVE...am taking an American Sign Language class that I am really enjoying...turned 30 (WTF)... and finally bought a new road bike (Specialized Carbon Tarmac) thanks to a guy that I work with. I will post pictures in the very near future.

I apologize for taking so long to update my blog. I will try update more often. However, my life isn't all that exciting right now.

Song Quote of the Blog:
"Hang on, Help is on the way, Stay strong, And everything, everything will be fine
Everything" Details In The Fabric -- Jason Mraz/James Morrison

A Few Answers (or is it questions)?

I got these questions off of a friend's website.  I am sure she doesn't mind me copying her idea:)

1) Name something you have in common with all your siblings? hmmm....we all have the same parents other then that we are all pretty different so nothing comes to mind that all 4 of us have in common.

2) Do you fold your underwear? Yes

3) Do you like to drink the juice out of otter pops? I haven't had an otter pop since I was a kid.

4) Who was the last person you wrote a letter to on paper? don't remember

5) What was your first job? O.C. Tanner, seasonal gift wrapper....wait, I work there now ;)

6) Aside from driver's ed, who really taught you how to drive? my mom and grandma.  I almost hit a car once when I was driving with my mom and it scared me to the point of almost not wanting to get in the driver's seat again.

7) What's the one thing you love/miss about your grandma's cooking? nothing really

8) What color is your favorite hoodie? red w/white polka dots and it zips up

9) Name a sound that disturbs you? vacuum cleaner, I know weird

10) What's your typical ice cream order at dairy queen? haven't been to dairy queen in ages...i used to get blizzards

11) What do you think of when you hear the word cabbage? it is good ruffuge

12) What did you do today? slept in, read, went for a hike

13) What did you do last night? took Julius (the dog I am dogsitting) on a walk, read and watched Ocean's Twelve

14) Do you have a cell phone? yes but didn't get one until I was at least 25 or so

15) Are you emotional? yes but at least the littlest thing doesn't set me off now

16) Have you ever had the same dream more then once? yes.  when I was little I slept on the top bunk and would have a nightmare that someone was climbing up the ladder and would try to choke me.  Scary!

17) Name a song that makes you happy. 

18) Do you use chap stick? not as much as I should

19) What was the most recent thing you bought? groceries

20) What is on your refrigerator door? I don't have a refrigerator;)

21) Name something you have to do tomorrow? work, blah

22) What was the last movie you watched? Ocean's Twelve

23) Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk? neither, both gross

24) When was the last time you had Starbucks? I don't drink coffee but I prefer the Coffee Garden over Starbucks

25) Can you whistle? no

26) Do you have a trampoline at your house? no

27) What movie do you know every line to? not sure that there is one movie that I know every line to.  I have a few that I know a majority of the lines to...jerry maguire, grease

28) Do you maintain any friendships originating from elementary school? yes, Melissa and Wendy

29) What are you wearing? does it really matter 

30) What was the last thing you ate? an apple

31) Do you take pills daily of any sort? Yes. 

32) When was the last time you did the dishes? this morning

33) How much sleep did you get last night? enough

34) Do you own any band t-shirts? yes, a few (Jonny Lang, Dave Matthews Band, The High Violets)

35) Last song you sang out loud? a song by James Blunt (not sure of the name)

36) When was the last time you slept on the floor? don't remember

37) Would you chew gum that has already been chewed? hello...never

38) Who have you talked to today? Amy, my mom

39) What comes to mind when I say pumpkins? boo

40) Color of your shirt? gray

41) How old are you? 29 and counting the days left in my twenties

42) What is your background on your computer? I don't have a computer

43) Do you wish on 11:11 pm? no

44) Good advice if you go camping? don't get eaten by a bear

45) Favorite color? red

Guess What?

Not that this is necessarily worth posting, but I have a new phone and it's pink.  Now, if any of you know me, I have had  an old school cell phone forever and also, I am not a pink kind of girl. 

I am glad I forked out the extra money for an updated phone because I am really liking it.  It is way better then my old one and the pink isn't bothering me that much.  However, it kind of screws up my image;)

Memories

One of my friends had the following on her blog so...

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together.  It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.  If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave a memory about you.  If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.  Have fun.  I can't wait to read the memories.

Move...Work...Enjoy The Outdoors

A couple of weeks ago, I was out with a couple of friends and one of them informed me that I need to update my blog.  She must of been having a brain fart that day and forgotten that I don't a computer/laptop anymore which makes updating my blog a little more difficult these days.

After checking out when I posted last, I didn't realize that I haven't posted anything since the beginning of May.  I guess I am really due for bringing everyone that reads this up to date on what I have been doing the past couple of months and maybe I'll throw in a few random thoughts.

As of this coming Wednesday, I will be homeless ;)  About a month ago, I put the condo that I have owned for almost 4 years and got an offer about 2 days after it was listed on the MLS list and before my realtor's office had walked through.  After counter offering back and forth a couple of times, I was under contract.  Until I decide either a) to stop traveling or b) to get a "real job" (as my mom likes to refer to it) then I will stay with family friends for a while.

I am still working part-time at O.C. Tanner doing deliveries/shipping, customer service and answering phones.  When I am not working, I have been trying to get outside as much as possible.  On May 17, I ran the Ogden Half Marathon.  Beautiful course down Ogden canyon. Since I no longer have a road bike and only now have a mountain bike that I was so close to selling, I have started doing lots more mountain biking.  I have enjoyed it but I would much rather be on the road.  I am looking for a road bike so if you know of anyone that might be selling one or of a good one online, let me know.  It is time for me to get back on the road :)  

On June 7, I decided to relive last year's summer by doing a little trail maintenance on a local trail that I actually do a lot of trail running on in the summer.  I volunteered with REI for National Trail's Day and got a free lunch and t-shirt out of it.  It was a lot of fun (even if we were only doing what I dislike the most about trail work) playing in the dirt.  About a week ago, I also helped open up a family cabin up my favorite canyon where I also worked on the trail.  I can't wait to spend some good quality time up at the canyon.

One more bit of news...on Friday and Saturday I ran in the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay.  It is a running race that goes from Logan, Utah to Park City, Utah (178 miles to be exact).  The teams are comprised of 12 (at the last minute my team ended up short one runner) where each runner run's 3 legs.  I was runner number 12 and ran a total of about 16 miles.  I was only supposed to run about 13 but picked up an extra 3 because of us being short 1 runner.  Fun but pretty much all you do is drive, eat, run, sleep (maybe...in my case about 2 hours) and then repeat.  One thing I did realize is that I would much rather run hills then flat/downhill.  My first one and a half legs were hills and I ran them much better then my other two legs.

I haven't traveled in the past couple of months except to Ogden one night and running the Wasatch Back Relay.  I am due for a vacation.  Maybe a weekend trip or something until I can figure out something out of state/country :)

Song Quote: "Risin' Up, Back On The Street, Did My Time, Took My Chances, Went The Distance, Now I'm Back On My Feet, Just A Man And His Will To Survive"  Eye of the Tiger -- Survivor

Girlfriends Go Bikini Boot Camp Style

Our great guides Betsy, local guide Uli and Lynn

Cute sloth at the monkey sanctuary
What a great group of women!! From left to right: Jill, Whitney, Lynette, Liz, Bridget, Betsy, Shannon, and Lynn



I spent an amazing week in Costa Rica a couple of weeks ago. I went with a tour group called Girlfriends Go Tours. The business partners live in Park City (about a half hour east of Salt Lake City). There were eight women, including myself, in the group. I have been on lots of trips with small groups and this by far was the best group and trip I have ever been on.

In one day we biked to a zip line canopy tour, biked back to Puerto Jimenez for a boat ride to a monkey sanctuary, and then biked back to our lodge. Let's not forget that some of us woke up early and ran on the beach.

At the monkey sanctuary we learned about some crazy monkeys that don't know their own strength and have been known to rip toilets out of the floor and also known to get into the sanctuary's kitchen and thrown dishes around.

Some of our other activities included tree climbing, waterfall rappelling, and hiking in the Corcavado National Park. I also learned to surf. I was kind of worried about learning to surf since I am not all that fond of water. I ended up loving it and felt really quite safe in the water. I can't wait to surf again :)

I fell in love with Costa Rica which is kind of funny since I don't particularly like the beach. However, I found that Costa Rica has lots more to offer then just the beach and surfing. Where I was seems like a good mix of ocean and mountains.

Song Quote: "Nobody on the road, Nobody on the beach, I feel it in the air, The summers out of reach" Don Henley - Boys of Summer

Ed. Note: to see more pictures from Costa Rica and more of my adventures, please go to the following link www.sltuddenham.com

Random Observation

I have made an interesting observation recently. That obseration is my slight fear of the drive through car washes. You all might be wondering "how can someone have a fear of such a thing." Let me explain....when I was going through one a couple of months ago, I thought what if I run into the car in front of me. Since you can't really see what is going on in front of you, it is hard to tell how close you are to the car in front of you.

A Few More Pictures From Camping

Robin and I in Little Wild Horse Canyon
This is from our drive through Capital Reef National Park (I love this photo)

Where Are You Guys From?

Me, Mike & Robin in Goblin Valley State Park

After two very long weeks of a couple unforseen mishaps, I figured it was time to get away :)

A couple friends and I headed down south for a couple of nights of camping. We left Friday morning and arrived at our campsite in Hanksville in the early afternoon. We met the campsite overseer, Elliott, who in the course of the next couple of days, asked us not once, not twice but four times where we were from. Nice older gentlemen but poor guy for having to ask us four times. After setting up camp, we headed to Goblin Valley State Park to explore the area.

On Saturday Robin made us a wonderful breakfast of pancakes with homemade maple syrup (thanks to Robin's parents). We then headed out for a hike to a couple of slot canyons. We decided to do a loop hike that first took us through Bell's Canyon, along a jeep road, with a little side hike up to an old log cabin and old car, ending in Little Wild Horse Canyon. Both canyons were slot but Little Wild Horse Canyon had best slots of the two canyons.

Sunday we headed home. We decided to drive State Road 24 through Capital Reef National Park and Torrey. Capital Reef and the surrounding area is one of my favorite places in Utah to be. Beautiful scenary.

Even though, Robin and I made fun of Mike for taking an extreme amount of pictures (his camera was our mascot for the trip and I decided to name it "Little Wild Horse"), I would like to thank Mike for the pictures.

Song: "Four more exits to my apartment, but I am tempted to keep the car and drive, and leave (it all) this shit behind." John Mayer "Why Georgia"

Ed. Note: Because of my unforseen mishaps, there might not be as many pictures posted as before. I apologize in advance but will do my best to post pictures.

Brownie....I'M NOT GAY!

This picture is taken in front of the Brownie shop that we came to love. (from left to right: Brownie owners Cesar and his girlfriend Ornella, Cindy Mom, sister Jessy and moi)


I realize that I am a little behind in posting this but I have had a very rough week and a half since returning to Utah. I won't bore everyone with the details.


One day when while we were out shopping, Jessy and I stopped at a kiosko to get some water. While we were in there, my mom decided to do what she does best and make a new friend. Her new friend owned the shop next to the kiosko. The shop is an espresso and pastry shop. The owner of the shop, Cesar, was handing out samples of brownies. After Jessy and I were finished purchasing our water, we all went and got samples of brownies. We ended up buying a couple of brownies and a couple of banana con leche licuados that are famous in Buenos Aires. They basically are smoothies. Yummy!

While we were waiting for our licuados, Jessy picked up a map of the gay scene in Buenos Aires. My mom asks Jessy "do you think he (referring to Cesar) is gay?" Jessy says "uh clearly duh" Well, Cesar walks out from the back and says "I'm not gay....I have a girlfriend" Pretty funny to say the least.

The next day, we went back by there. His girlfriend was there. We ended up staying for about 2 hours. Enjoying licuados, brownies and just chatting. Cesar wrote down spanish song lyrics and then had Jessy translate them in english. Needless to say, that is why we were there so long. Both Cesar and his girlfriend are very nice. We ended up exchanging email addresses and spent about an hour in there on our last day. The people in Buenos Aires are really friendly which helps to make a city great.

Song Quote: "No Estes Sola En Esta Llevia (Don't Be Done In This Rain). No Te Entregues Por Favor. (Please Don't Give Up)." Song Nos Veremos Otra Vez (I Will See You Again)

Can I Have Your....

Sphere aka "The Pyramid"

Imagine, if you will, sitting at a nice restaurant for brunch with your mom. As you are enjoying the ham and cheese omelet you ordered, suddenly you have a dirty finger pointing at your food repeating something in Spanish over and over. I kept saying no and then the waitress comes over telling the intruder to leave. The intruder didn't budge. The intruder finally decides to grab my omelet off my plate with her dirty, grimy hands. The waitress and the cook were extremely apologetic and we got a free media luna with ham and cheese. My mom was sitting across from me and described the intruder with bit, eyes and looked like a witch. Personally, I thought the whole thing was kind of funny (ok, and maybe a tad sad). Just another good travel story to add to all the others.

Uruguay, Check

ok, ok so I've traveled to a place or two, what can I say I love to travel and explore what the world has to offer. While in Buenos Aires, we took a boat across the Rio De Plata to a little town in Uruguay called Colonia Del Sacremento. Cute little town lined with cobblestone streets, street cafes, street musicians at night. One day we rented a golf cart and drove along the beach coast line and stopped to read on the beach.

Even though getting away from busy Buenos Aires for a couple of days, it felt nice to come back and spend a few more days in the city.

Buenos Aires, Argentina...Check

One more country, one more city to cross off that ever growing travel list. Gee, the keyboard at this 'internet cafe' is crap. The keys stick and one of them doesn´t even work. Add all that to the fact that the South American keyboards are not the easiest to type on anyway. It is like learning to type all over again :)

Buenos Aires is a big city with lots of shopping. I have been here 4 days and I am pretty sure that I have done more shopping in these four days then I have in my lifetime. My mom and I came down here to meet my sister, Jessy, who has been here for about a month trying to make some dance connections before she heads back to Berlin.

Bueno Aires is very famous for its Tango. In La Boca, which is a very colorful part of the city, there were lots of couples tango dancing, teaching the tourists and offering pictures with them. I did none of them above except watching a couple or two as I passed by.

I will post more when I am at a computer that has a fully functioning keyboard (or as fully functioning as a South America keyboard can be).

You May All Think That I Have Gone Crazy....But It's For A Good Cause

This picture was taken during my first marathon. I figure this photo will do until I get one of me cycling.

Since I am "kind of" on hiatus from traveling, I figure I might as well get out and do something worthwhile with my time.

Greetings!

On June 1, 2008, I will be participating in a Century (100 mile) Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe.I've joined up with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a non-profit health organization dedicated entirely to finding cures and saving lives of those with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma.

I'll be training and riding for an honored teammate named Omar Fejzic. Omar Fejzic was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma stage IV on August 7, 2006, and is currently undergoing Chemotherapy treatment. Omar is seven years old, loves animals, watching Animal Planet, and playing games. To help Omar, and others like him, I've committed to raising $3,900.Please consider making a donation to help find a cure for Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma.

There are two ways to make a donation:

1) Go to my very own Team In Training page:

http://www.active.com/donate/tntdms/studdenham

Click on "Donate now to help me reach my goal:

2) Make a check payable to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and mail to me at the address below.

I also would encourage you to pass this letter on to anyone else who might be interested in helping this cause.

Thank you for considering my invitation.

Sincerely,

Shannon Tuddenham

sltudd@gmail.com

801-971-3691

480 Wall Street, C-203, Salt Lake City, Utah 84103

Back In The City of Salt

Self Portrait at Lower Calf Creek Falls near Escalante
Sunrise in Escalante
Rock Steps to place my sister and I stayed at in Escalante


I have been back in Salt Lake City, Utah for 2 weeks and all I have done since I have been back is work, work, work. Where am I working you? I am back at the jewelry store, O.C. Tanner. From one extreme (trail maintenance) to the next (high end jewelry store).

Just a little bit about the end of the road trip with my sister:

After leaving Capitola area, we headed south down highway one through Monterey, Big Sur, and just north of San Luis Obispo, we headed east to Bakersfield. It was so nice to stop in Bakersfield. While there, we saw aunts, an uncle, cousins and their kids, old stomping grounds, and enjoyed lots of reminiscing and laughter.
When I saw the first sign in California of the miles to Salt Lake, I started getting excited to be heading back to Salt Lake. Our first stop in Utah was St. George where we stayed at a family friends house. I went for a lovely bike ride up Snow Canyon. Escalante was our last stop in Utah before Salt Lake. We enjoyed a great day hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls. Road Trip 2007 was a great one.

I should be in Salt Lake for quite some time. I am looking forward to winter here and the fun outdoor activities (skiing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, etc.). Let's hope it snows soon :)

Happy Holidays to everyone and their families.

One Week Down....One Week To Go

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." Edward Abbey

"Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." John Muir

Dancing at the Trout Lake Country Inn the night before graduation.

"Must We Must Always Teach With Books? Let Them Look At The Mountains And The Stars Above. Let Them Look At The Beauty Of The Waters And The Trees And The Flowers On Earth. They Will Then Begin To Think And To Think Is The Beginning Of A Real Education." Unknown


Well....
my one long summer of vacation came to an end Thursday, October 25 after three days of cleaning up around the center, evaluations, exit paperwork, a night filled with dinner/slide show/skits/dancing for hours, and then finally a graduation/luncheon on Thursday.

Saturday morning I picked up my sister from the airport and headed southwest to start our trip down the coast. The first night we stayed in Bandon, Oregon. The second night we stayed somewhere in northern California. Monday night we stayed with a friend of my sister's in Tiburon which is located in Marin county about 20 minutes from San Francisco. Tuesday early afternoon we headed into the city. That night we were visiting one of my sister's friend's when all the sudden the walls started to shake. At first it kind of seemed like the upstairs neighbors were being really loud. However, it was no loud neighbor's. It was an earthquake. Not a major one (5.6) and lasted at the most a minute. I have only been in one other earthquake and that was when I was younger at the beach on Balboa Island in Southern California.
Thursday we continued south down highway 1 to Capitola (south of Santa Cruz where my older brother lives) where we it would have been a beautiful drive if the visibility wasn't so very low :) This area is really nice. Lots of hanging out with my brother, his dog Max, a little shopping, exercising along the coast where there are multiple amounts of surfers, bonding at my brother's place by watching "Seinfeld" and logging onto our computers because no better way to bond then to not communicate at all :)
Tomorrow it will be time to continue south to Bakersfield to visit old stomping grounds from younger days. Bakersfield is where my mom grew up and where her family/friends still live.

Hitch #9 - Day Trippin'

Day 2: A light dusting of snow
Day 3: A winter wonderland
Day 3: Snow, Snow, Snow
Day 3: Snow Angel with a hard hat on. Sometimes you just have to take time out to play in the snow
Day 3: skinning a tree which is by far one of my favorite things to do.

For our last 10 day hitch, Team PCT N got to sleep in warm, comfortable beds instead of cold, damp tents. Good thing too because we worked in the snow for one day as you can see from the pictures above. We worked on the Pacific Crest Trail in the Gifford Pinchot Wilderness which is located by Trout Lake.

Here is a quick recap of the week:

Day 1: hike 3 miles in the rain, hike three miles out while working on cleaning out drain ditches, take 15 minute lunch because it is so cold and you can't eat fast enough to stay warm.

Day 2: hike 3 miles in the rain, cut a tree down, can't feel fingers because your gloves are wet which in turn makes your hands cold, take a 15 minute lunch because it is so cold and you can't eat fast enough to stay warm.

Day 3: hike 3 miles in the snow, skin a tree, hike out

Days 4, 5 and 6: work in the Gorge hiking in lower elevation while occasionally brushing one or two things.

Days 7, 8 and 9: knocking off berm (excess buildup on downhill side of trail) to widen trail, cut trees down, skin trees, end up with sap all over and I mean all over....in your hair, on your clothes, on your hands, etc., covering up culvert which involved moving a lot of gravel for cover up

Day 10: the nicest day weather wise that we had all week, more cutting down trees, skinning them and ending up with sap all over.

It was a long hitch only because we aren't used to working on our travel days. But since we were doing day trips, we had to work on our travel days.

We had one volunteer, Letha, join us. Letha volunteered with us on our project in Mt. Adams Wilderness. She loved working with us so much that she decided to come back.

As of today, I won't be working on the Pacific Crest Trail or doing trail work. It is kind of bittersweet. Seems so strange to think that the summer is coming to an end. October 27, I start making my way back to Good Ol' SLC. You might be asking yourself, what will I be doing for the next two weeks....well, next week for 5 days, I will be planting trees and then the last week will be cleaning up the campus and graduation in Trout Lake.

Song Quote: "Day Tripper, A One Way Ticket" The Beatles, Day Tripper

Song Quote: "Oh But Everybody Thinks That Everybody Knows About Everybody Else Nobody Knows Anything About Themselves Cause Their All Worried About Everybody Else" Jack Johnson, Wasting Time

Next Stop....Canada

View of downtown Vancouver
Three cargo ships creeping along.

"The only conceivable static (stability) is life, development - movement, or as follows:
For Statics
Everything moves continuously. Immobility does not exist. Don't be subject to the influence of out-of-date concepts of time. Forget hours, seconds and minutes. Accept instability.
LIVE IN TIME. BE STATIC - WITH MOVEMENT. For a static of the present moment. Resist the anxious fear to fix the instantaneous, to kill that which is living. Stop insisting on 'values' which cannot but break down. Be free, live.
Stop painting time. Stop evoking movement and gesture. You are movement and gesture. Stop building cathedrals and pyramids which are doomed to fall into ruin. Live in the present; live once more in Time and by Time - for a wonderful and absolute reality." March 1959 Tinquely

As a birthday present to myself, I decided I would go to Canada. I had never been and figured since I was so close to the border -- what the hell.
I arrived in the big city of Vancouver on Thursday night. On Friday, I walked all over the city. To Granville Island, through Stanley Park, Chinatown and many more areas of the city. It was slightly overcast which meant I wasn't able to see the beautiful mountains in the background of the city. Although big, Vancouver is a great city.
On Saturday, I went to North Vancouver to the Capilano Suspension Bridge which is more of an overpriced tourist attraction. I did receive a certificate which entitles me to two years of bragging rights for braving 230 feet and a 450 foot span across the raging (not so) waters of the Capilano Canyon.
After an hour of waiting to cross back into the United States, I drove over Deception Pass Bridge into Whidbey Island. While on Whidbey Island, I did a loop trail around Ebey's Landing and spent a very windy night at a campground (sleeping in my car) at Fort Casey (467-acre park with a lighthouse, an old artillery with two historic guns on display). Fort Casey is one of three coastal forts built in 1890s to defend the entrance into Puget Sound and the United States Navel Shipyard in Brementon.
On Sunday morning before I left Fort Casey, I walked around the old artillery, by the lighthouse. That was really cool.
Instead of traveling for one more day, I decided it best to get back to Trout Lake for a day of relaxing/getting some personal stuff done so that I didn't feel so rushed for going out on the next hitch. Which turns out we will not be spiking out and just doing day trips out of Trout Lake. It will be a little weird to work and then sleep in a bed instead of a tent.

Song Quote: "I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war if you can tell me something worth fighting for" Coldplay - Rush Of Blood To The Head

Hitch #8 - You Know It Is Time To Stop Lopping When....

North Bend -- Historical Railway Station
Snoqualmie Falls
Taking a break from lopping on the last day

Our second to last hitch, took us the farthest north that we would be going. We were west of CLE Elum in Washington and about an hour east of Seattle. The week was 8 days of lopping/clearing brush. Even though lopping is one of my favorite things to do on the trail, 8 days of it is not all it is cracked up to be.
After 4 days of being wet/cold/rainy, it was time for a "development day." We all needed a break so we went to North Bend, Snoqualmie Falls (cascades 270 feet (100 feet higher than Niagara Falls) through a rock gorge), and then into Seattle to REI and other site seeing.
The day after our "development day", we had a team of 9 (5 girls, 4 guys) Envirocorps come out and join us for remainder of the week. It was fun to have them join us. We enjoyed a game or two around the campfire.
On the last day of lopping, we knew it was time to stop when one of the leaders laughed so hard that they were brought to tears.

Hard Core

A little peak inside the crater of Mt. St. Helens
We made it. Karlena and I at the top of Mt. St. Helens

In order to climb Mt. St. Helens, you have to obtain a permit. The only way to do that is online. The fee is $15 plus a $7 handling fee. Only so many permits are given per day which means that you have to purchase it in advance without knowing what the weather might be like on that particular day.
September 17 was the chosen day for Karlena and I. It was the only day that worked with our schedule.
As it turned out, that day was rainy. We arrived the night before to camp at the trail head. It was cold, windy, foggy and rainy the night before at the trail head. The next morning the weather had not changed.
The elevation of Mt. St. Helens is 8,365 feet. The climb is 5 miles up/non technical. However, it is steep and the timberline is low so a majority of the climb is on volcanic ash. Once at the top, we did see some blue sky and the fog rolled in and out of the crater which was pretty neat to see. It would be great to climb it again on a clear day so that you could see the whole crater and the surrounding landscape.