As I noted in my Solstice Ride post, I’d set out with the thought of walking along the shore and making some coffee (or tea) in the out of doors. That did’t end up happening as my wandering nature got the best of me and the lure of exploring new territory proved stronger. With the weather predicted to turn clear and much colder over the next week, plus frankly I’ve been feeling a bit sedentary…
I have all the vestment I will ever need, not gauzy silk nor twill, and if you ask about the color, neither red, nor purple . . . In the summer it’s light as wings; in the winter it’s my quilt. Winter or summer, of use in both . . . Year upon year, just this. -Han Shan the grey mountain It had been a peaceful night in my little spot in the woods and…
The white dome peak whacked lower down, open-sided crater on the northside, fumarole wisps a long gray fan of all that slid and fell angles down clear to the beach dark old-growth forest gone no shadows The lake afloat with white bone blowdown logs scoured ridges round the rim, bare outcrop rocks squint on the bright ridge top plaza packed with puzzled visitor gaze – Gary Snyder, from Blast Zone the road to Helens is…
This present moment that lives on to become long ago -Gary Snyder a ride in the woods When I arose it was overcast and chilly. It’s hard to express what a relief that was: back home in Western WA. After the steep climb out of the campground I was back on 12 to find the winds out of the south – i.e. the direction I’m going – to still be present. It was…
Things spread out rolling and unrolling, packing and unpacking, — this painful impermanent world – Gary Snyder buy the ticket, take the ride It was still windy when I woke up, still blowing south. This added some difficulty to what otherwise would be a (relatively) easy pass to cross. White Pass ascends in a couple of stages, first up to Rimrock Lake and then over the pass. The trek is made somewhat easier in that…
I still need to get the rest of my non-cameraphone pics up (should be done over the next week or so) and do a pass on the earlier posts to correct the auto-correct errors and such, but here is the final Tour 2009 index to all the posts and pictures. I’ll edit this out when all is done, for those checking back. Tour 2011 – An Unexpected Tour An Unexpected Tour Day 1: Olympia…
At various points in a day of riding songs run through ones mind. I mostly listen to instrumental music these days so the songs that come unbidden into my mind are often from my teen or college years. A number of songs ran through my mind on this tour – the Talking Heads Heaven was one that frequently played. But numerous songs from R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction became the real soundtrack to this tour,…
It’s been a couple of weeks since I returned from tour but frankly I don’t really feel like I have much of a grasp on this experience. I billed this as an “unexpected tour” and I have to say that’s not entirely accurate. I don’t want to get too much into the whole exiting of employment but basically there was a certain amount of time where I kind of knew it was a possibility. I…
Monday 08.29.11: Sunshine Point Campground (closed) to Olympia I slept very poorly this night; I have to admit that stealth camping is perhaps not in my constitution. I got up basically at first light when there was still a few stars visible and Venus shiny brightly well into the early dawn. I quickly put everything away and then made breakfast savoring the last of my coffee. I hit the road and was immediately too cold.…
Sunday 08.28.11: Mount Rainier National Park – Ohanapecosh Campground to Sunshine Point Campground The ride up to Paradise is basically equivalent to another mountain pass – 4500, about 2500 feet of climbing from Ohanapecosh. As usually I wanted to hit the road early, especially as the park is crowded and the road up is a narrow two lane road without much of a shoulder. Alas it was not to be, various tasks, including needing to…