Day 93-95 – Missoula, MT – May 25th-27th, 2011

I arrived in Missoula and went straight to my couch surfers house.  Dick had just come back from a 10 month trip of his own.  He travelled from Mexico City to Panama, mostly by bus.  So we exchanged travel stories, then I headed out for a run.  Like many other towns I have visited there were plenty of running trails and lots of people out running or cycling, despite the pouring rain.  That evening Dick made me dinner, a dish he learned to make in Central America, and then we headed to Kettle House brewery, then Charlie B’s, a local dive bar.  Since Dick had just moved into his place he did not have much furniture, so I slept on the floor with my sleep pad.  I did not mind though, his place was well located.  Each morning Dick also made me some awesome crepe like pancakes.  He said it was his Swedish grandmother’s recipe.  He was a great host.

Since Dick was working during the day, he gave me directions to some hot springs in Idaho, not too far from Missoula.  I headed up there for some trail running, relaxing in the sun and a soak.  Then I headed back to town for a run up to Missoula big “M”.  It seems that in Montana the big M is the thing to do in the mountain towns.  Later I returned the favour and made Dick dinner, my famous chicken fajitas.

Thursday I went into the city and checked out the downtown area.  I was then contacted by Aaron another couchsurfer in Missoula who invited me out for some mountain biking in the nearby Rattlesnake trail system.  Afterwards we drove 25 miles north of the city to the Potomac bar and grill, where his friend Jess was working.  The bar was a real local join with a couple ranchers and local farmers.  One of the ranchers, “Bobby” who was about 65 got a little tipsy.  Then I look over and he’s standing on the bar and asks me for a leg up.  So I hunch over on the bar and then he steps up on my shoulders to grab the joist beam up in the ceiling.  He then climbs up there and sits on the beam.  He told us he was “beaming up”.  Bobby is finally talked down with a shot of whiskey and the threat to call the police.  His response was:  :Call the Police, I have my guns”.  Luckily he left before the police came, too bad I could have been in a real live shoot out!  That night Aaron took me to Missoula’s trashiest bar, the “Elbow Room”, built in a slightly expanded double wide trailer.

Friday I said goodbye to Dick and headed north to Orange Acres, and couch surfing community center run by Jeff, a 30 something normal looking and nice guy.   There were about 4 other surfers there just for short stays and a couple old hippies there for the long term.  The most colourful character there was “Crow” and older guy who’s travelled all over the United States hitch hiking, most recently he spent his winter camping in Yellowstone park.  It's a car dealership / fab shop / junk yard, where part of the shop building has been converted into a rough hostel, with kitchen, laundry and bath, all free.  I got my own little cabin that was on the property with a queen size bed.  Pretty cool place for a long term stay if you need it.   He only asks for a couple hours work for each day you stay (if your stay is longer than 3 days).

That afternoon, I joined the 4 couchsurfers staying there and we headed to Missoula for some breweries, food and eventually the Modest Mouse concert that was sold out.  We were able to buy tickets at the gate from scalpers and the concert was awesome.  Later that night when we returned at 2AM, crow had baked a cake for Mike’s Birthday (one of the couchsurfers with me) and we celebrated and sang happy birthday at 2AM.  Everyone was very drunk (except me, I was the driver and running a marathon 2 days later so did not drink).  The next day I headed for Idaho.

FTF Day 93-95

Day 92 – Bozeman, MT – May 24th, 2011

I arrived in Bozeman early in the afternoon before my couch surfing host, Lisa was home from work.  So I did what I always love to do when I arrive in a new city, I headed out for a run.  Bozeman is a smaller city, with a couple ski hills nearby and like many mountain towns, tons of running and biking trails.  I found a park and trail system that brought me up on a ridge that overlooked the town.

After my run I met up with Lisa and her roommate Evan.  The three of us headed out for a hike up to the big white M that is on the side of hill overlooking town.  Unfortunately on our way rain delayed us, so we ended up at the Bozeman’s newest brewery 406.  Afterwards the rain stopped and we completed the hike.  Lisa is a marathon runner too, and currently training for a 50K (31 miles) ultra marathon, so we had a lot of good running talk.  After the hike we headed for Pizza and beer and then home.  I liked Bozeman; it was a bit small but a fun town nonetheless.

Album Link:  FTF Day 92

Day 88-91 – Yellowstone National Park – May 20th-23rd, 2011

I arrived in Yellowstone National Park and headed for the Madison campground.  On my way in I noticed the huge number of bison, and elk.  I had read that Yellowstone has the highest concentration of wildlife in the lower 48.  I setup camp an then went for a run along the river, where there dozens of buffalo hanging out in the setting sun.  I also met Terry another traveler who was camped nearby.  Terry is retired and like me travelling the United States to visit many of the National Parks.  Although our itineraries and comfort levels were a bit different (he has a small pop up camper with heater), our ideas and reasons for travel are much the same.

The next day I after my morning run and breakfast I made a 2 hr drive up to Bozeman Montana to pick up my friend from Greenville Jill.  Jill was flying in for the weekend, and was going to camp in Yellowstone with me.   We headed back to the park after dinner and got to bed early, we wanted to make the most of our tie to see as much of the park as possible.  Yellowstone is by far the largest and most developed of all the national parks I had visited at this point.  Established in 1872 it is the world’s first national park, it was originally run by the United States army.  One part of the park has old army barracks that are still used to house the many employees.  There are also more lodges, cabins and campgrounds than any other national park.

We spent Saturday visiting the southern half of the Grand loop, starting with many geysers, Old Faithful, Yellowstone lake, the grand canyon of Yellowstone and the waterfalls along the canyon.  That evening I treated Jill to a fire cooked meal of sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, and mushroom sand grilled chicken.  Terry joined us around the campfire and we all shared a bottle of wine.

The next day we packed up camp and headed to the Mammoth hot springs, we were spending our last night in cabin in the area.  On the way we did more scenic drives and short hikes.  We also saw grizzly bears, black bears, elk, pronghorns and more bison.  Luckily we had great weather all weekend with no rain and it was only cold and in the mornings.  Because it is still May many of the parks facilities were not yet open, however it was still very busy.  I can only imagine how crowded July and August must be. 

Monday morning we headed to Bozeman and I dropped off Jill at the airport.  Next up a couple days in Bozeman, exploring big sky Montana.

Album:  FTF Day 88-91

Day 85-87 – Grand Teton National Park – May 17th-19th, 2011

On the way to Jackson, I had caught a glimpse of Grand Teton, and managed to snap a few photos, now I was ready to really explore the park.  I went for the Moose, visitors center to find out what trails were the best.  Unfortunately I was informed that everything was snowed covered.  I decided on a backcountry expedition, solo, with skis.  I was informed that both bear danger, and avalanche danger was very high.  The park ranger asked me if I had a beacon, probe and shovel which I did, and I brought with me.  She also equipped me with a bear proof canister for my food.  The canister is essentially a 2 gallon barrel made of heavy duty plastic with a lid that is so difficult to open it took me 5 minutes to figure out, hopefully I’m smarter than your average bear. 

Since it was spring, and like everywhere else the Tetons had a heavy snowfall this past winter, the avalanche danger was high.  In fact 2 guys had been killed 2 weeks earlier, on a climb.  They were found still in their tent.  I took the ranger’s advice and did a hike into a canyon with shallow slopes, and lowest level of danger.  I took the required gear, probe, shovel, and beacon.  Although I thought it was a bit odd since the beacon only works if there is someone else there to look for you.  If I was buried I have maybe 45 minutes to live, so unless someone is right near me when the slide occurs, a beacon will only help them find my remains.  However I figured maybe I would find someone else in the same canyon. 

After loading up my back, and strapping my skis, and boots on the pack too (pack weight was about 70 lbs!)  I headed in, luckily only ¾ a mile in I had to switch to skis and skins.  This would be my first ever solo backpacking trip, and the first time I ever used my skis and skins on an overnight trip.  Consequently without anyone to share the weight of a stove, tent, shovel and other group gear, I had everything.  No worries, I saw it as an opportunity for some solitude, reading, and honing my skinning and back country skills.

FTF Day 85-87 Grand Teton National Park

Day 84 – Jackson, Wyoming – May 16th, 2011

That's right a double decker bike

Jackson, Wyoming, not Jackson Hole that refers to the whole area.  My initial reaction was that it was a tourist town, at the entrance to Grand Teton, coupled with the fact that there were a couple ski resorts there I figured no one actually lived there, but I was wrong.  I had made arrangements to stay with a couchsurfer, Julie.  Unfortunately she was busy until 8:30PM, so I had contacted another CSer, Jay, to meet me for dinner at the Snake River brewery.  Jay was new to town but liked what he had found so far.  He had a real job, and was not a ski bum or anything like that.  After dinner I headed to Julie’s place.  Julie had been living in Jackson for 7 years and is an accountant, another person with a real job.  She liked the size of the town, and the access to skiing, and climbing.  I was originally planning to stay only 1 night, but she told me about some easy backcountry skiing at Idaho pass just a few miles up the road.  I decided to give that a go and stayed an extra night.  I hiked up to Glory Pass on my own, enjoyed lunch at the top and then zipped down the descent, a bit steeper that I was ready for, but a few falls and slides later I was back at my car.  I wanted more so I skinned up a gentler slope for a quick second run.  I thought ski season was over, but luckily I was wrong!  I was pretty wore out from the skiing, but Julie texted me to ask if I wanted to go to the climbing gym when she was done work, I could not refuse so off I went.  Julie and Kenny (another CSer in Jackson and friend of Julie’s) pushed me to finish several routes, only after I was completely wore out from bouldering.  We headed back to Julie’s and I rallied (with my friend Coke zero) to serve her my world famous fajitas.

The next morning I headed for Grand Teton, and another adventure.

FTF Day 84

Day 82-83 – Fort Collins, Colorado again! – May 14th-15th, 2011

Upon arriving in Fort Collins, I had about 4 hrs to kill before Kelley was done work, so I went for a 3 hr run on the La Poudre river trail system, I noticed even more cyclist swarming the streets than I had the last time I was in Fort Collins (FoCo).  They seem to be everywhere, such a great place to live where everyone seems to be on their bikes.  When I was finished I headed for the Odell brewery to have a beer and wait for Kelley, in front of the brewery there were tons of bikes!  It seems the thing to do in Fort Collins on a Friday afternoon is bike to one of the local breweries (there are something like 6 of them, not mention all the brew pubs)  After a couple beers we headed back to Kelley’s place to I could get cleaned up.  That evening we met with Julie for dinner, then headed to a basement Jazz bar, very fancy and very un-Colorado.  After a drink or two we brought balance to the equation by hitting FoCo’s diviest bars, TrailHead where one can enjoy (and I did) $5 pitchers of PBR.  With all the great beers brewed in Colorado I feel ashamed drinking PBR so much, but you can’t beat the price.

The rest of the weekend we had a great breakfast at Smooze, I had the pancake flight three different flavoured pancakes, we visited O’Dells again, and then headed to a house party with some of Kelley’s Salsa dancing friends.  Sunday morning I said adieu and hit the road early.  I had a 7.5 hr drive to Jackson, WY ahead of me.  FoCo is definitely high on my list of places I could live, the only drawback is the distance from the mountains, a minimum of 1.5 hrs to ski but more like 2.5 or 3 for most resorts.  Rocky Mountain National park is just over an hour away so that is a plus.  It will remain on the short list along with Denver, and Boulder.

FTF Day 82-83

Day 78-79 – Back in Denver – May 10th-11th, 2011

Rose and I returned to Denver for a couple reasons.  I know you’re thinking why are they still in Colorado?  Well because of my unexpected ear surgery, we had to head back to Denver, so I could see my ear surgeon.  I had to get the packing removed.   We are also back so that Rose can catch a plane to Alaska.  We have decided to part ways, as our interests are too different, and 2 ½ months of travel has been tough on our friendship.  We wanted to part ways on good terms, and did just that.  Rose will be heading to Alaska to WWOOF at a kayaking Eco-Lodge for a few weeks.  We are planning to try and meetup again later in the summer, if it works for both our schedules.  We made arrangements to stay with our favourite hosts in Denver, Annie and Ian.  Unfortunately Annie was out of town on business, but we got to hang out with Ian plenty, share some stories, beers and laughs.  I had some ‘Salted Oreo’ ice cream at Little Man ice cream, yes it was a bit salty but tasty.  We even managed to get to Pasquini’s, our favourite bar in Highlands.  We found it on our first trip to Denver and it was awesome!  They have a progressive happy hour:

Pasquini's Progressive Happy Hour (everyday)

5:00-5:30 PM = $0.10 Sliders (small meatball sandwiches), and Pizza slices (they are good too) and $0.50 PBRs

5:30-6:00PM = $0.50 Sliders and Pizza slices, $1.00 PBRs

We arrived right at 5:00PM, too take advantage of the deal, Ian met us there and we all ate and drank for $11!  Ian was even kind enough to pay for it all!

I still rank Denver as top of my list of places to live, the weather, people, neighbourhoods are all great.  I had a great run through the city and along the river, and could definitely see myself living there one day. 

After my appointment, I drove to Leadville, CO to meet my friend Mike Mays.  I had made arrangements with Mike to do one more mountain climb before I left to head north.   Our objective was Mt. Harvard.

Photo Album:  FTF Day 78-79

Day 80-81 – Leadville and Mt. Harvard Climb – May 12th-13th, 2011

I arrived in Leadville around 5PM.  I met Amy and Mike at Amy’s new apartment.  I had never visited Leadville, and was looking forward to my visit and meeting Amy.  Leadville is famous for the Leadville 100, an Ultra marathon race in August each.  The race is 100 miles of trail running, there is also a 100 mile mountain bike run in Leadville too.  Leadville is the highest incorporated city in United States, sitting at 10200 ft above sea level adds a whole new dimension to any distance race.  Amy is currently training to run the race this year.  It will be her first time competing.  She has never even run a marathon, 26.2 miles, much less a 100 mile race.  We had a lot of conversations about running, travel and mountaineering.  It was great to catch up with Mike Mays as well.  Mike is always full of great stories, good information and insight on mountaineering.  He has years and years worth of experience, and is a great person to learn from.  I wanted to get one more climb in with him before I left Colorado, so we made plans to climb Mt. Harvard.

We left early the next morning and headed for the trail head just west of Buena Vista.  Mike did his best and got us within a ¼ mile of the trail head, but the snow got too deep to go any further, so we proceeded on foot.  We started our climb around 8AM.  We immediately noticed how deep and heavy the snow was, this made progress slow, and we constantly had to look for the trail as it was very easy to get off trail.  Luckily Mike had climbed Harvard at least 5 times before and knew the route quite well.  After a couple hours we took a break a discussed how things were going.  We decided that we would keep snowshoeing to near the tree line, but would not attempt the summit.  The large amount of new snow on top of old snow, and the warm temperatures made for prime avalanche conditions.  It was not worth the risk.  Ideally if we had known there would be that much snow (this is rare for May 12^th even in Colorado), we would have planned to camp near tree line and then, made a summit attempt the next day.   So we made the most of the day and got a great work out from snowshoeing.  I spent the night talking mountains and future plans with Mike and Amy, and enjoying some of Leadville’s finest pizza.  Mike has asked me to join Steve and him in Peru on an expedition to climb Huascarán Sur and Norte Peru’s two highest mountains (6746m and 6655m) or (22132ft and 21833.ft).  I am tempted to join, them but it would derail my plans for Alaska, as I would be gone about a month.  I have not completely ruled it out but will have to decide soon, if I am to join them.  I left the next day and headed for Fort Collins. 

FTF Day 80-81

Day 80-81 – Leadville and Mt. Harvard Climb – May 12th-13th, 2011

I arrived in Leadville around 5PM.  I met Amy and Mike at Amy’s new apartment.  I had never visited Leadville, and was looking forward to my visit and meeting Amy.  Leadville is famous for the Leadville 100, an Ultra marathon race in August each.  The race is 100 miles of trail running, there is also a 100 mile mountain bike run in Leadville too.  Leadville is the highest incorporated city in United States, sitting at 10200 ft above sea level adds a whole new dimension to any distance race.  Amy is currently training to run the race this year.  It will be her first time competing.  She has never even run a marathon, 26.2 miles, much less a 100 mile race.  We had a lot of conversations about running, travel and mountaineering.  It was great to catch up with Mike Mays as well.  Mike is always full of great stories, good information and insight on mountaineering.  He has years and years worth of experience, and is a great person to learn from.  I wanted to get one more climb in with him before I left Colorado, so we made plans to climb Mt. Harvard.

We left early the next morning and headed for the trail head just west of Buena Vista.  Mike did his best and got us within a ¼ mile of the trail head, but the snow got too deep to go any further, so we proceeded on foot.  We started our climb around 8AM.  We immediately noticed how deep and heavy the snow was, this made progress slow, and we constantly had to look for the trail as it was very easy to get off trail.  Luckily Mike had climbed Harvard at least 5 times before and knew the route quite well.  After a couple hours we took a break a discussed how things were going.  We decided that we would keep snowshoeing to near the tree line, but would not attempt the summit.  The large amount of new snow on top of old snow, and the warm temperatures made for prime avalanche conditions.  It was not worth the risk.  Ideally if we had known there would be that much snow (this is rare for May 12^th even in Colorado), we would have planned to camp near tree line and then, made a summit attempt the next day.   So we made the most of the day and got a great work out from snowshoeing.  I spent the night talking mountains and future plans with Mike and Amy, and enjoying some of Leadville’s finest pizza.  Mike has asked me to join Steve and him in Peru on an expedition to climb Huascarán Sur and Norte Peru’s two highest mountains (6746m and 6655m) or (22132ft and 21833.ft).  I am tempted to join them, but it would derail my plans for Alaska, as I would be gone about a month.  I have not completely ruled it out but will have to decide soon, if I am to join them.  I left the next day and headed for Fort Collins. 

Here' the Photo album:  

Day 78-79 – Back in Denver – May 10th-11th, 2011

Day 76-77 – Colorado National Monument – May 8th-9th, 2011

Colorado National Monument

We left the farm early on a Saturday morning and headed back to Colorado and then North towards Grand Junction.  On the way we ran into a traffic jam, not a traditional traffic jam, but a herd of about 200 cattle roaming around down the middle of the road, we proceeded to get into a 10 minute long mooing and honking battle before we finally managed to get through.  We finally arrived at our Colorado National Monument around 5PM.  Even though it was a Saturday night on a beautiful weekend, we managed to get a camp site ( one of the last) and had dinner and relaxed.  It was also the first time we had ever mobile phone reception in a National Park, so we could make some phone calls and catch up with home.  The next morning I woke up early and headed out on a 15 mile road / trail run.  What a great way to see a park, and get a long run in at the same time.  I am in the process of preparing for the Mayor’s Marathon in Anchorage Alaska, June 18^th.   Rose and I spent the afternoon, hiking about 4 miles down into the canyon, and then returned back up to the Canyon rim under a hot sun.  This was the best weather we had see yet on the trip, for the first time we were in shorts, ti-shirts and flip flops at camp.  The next day we packed up camp and headed for Denver.   

Photo Album:  FTF Day 76-77

Day 63-75 – Wwoofing on the Montezuma Canyon Ranch– April 25th – May 8th, 2011

Rose and I had always discussed the desire to Wwoof for a couple weeks at some point during our tip.  Wwoof (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is an organization that puts volunteers in touch with organic farmers.  In exchange for 30-40 hours a week worth of work you get a roof over your head and all the food you can eat.  Rose and I had both done some research and sent several emails to a number of different farms.  Luckily Danny Bull, got back to us right away and accepted our request.  Danny had a organic vineyard, and ranch near Monticello, UT.  We were both excited for a number of reasons:  we were both looking forward to staying in one place for more than 3 nights.  I was also excited to do something productive and less selfish.  Lisa would join us for the first 10 days on the farm, before returning to Vancouver.

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My morning run down the canyon.

Life on the farm was great.  There were 4 other wwoofers, there at the same time, all relatively young people with different goals and backgrounds.  Typically the work day would start at 9:30 am would last until 5Pm, and included a 1.5 hr lunch.  This gave me time in the morning for a run, usually Lisa would join me.  After 3 weeks of no running, I was eager to get back into it and start building my mileage back up for the up coming marathon in June.  In the evenings we would all help out to make dinner, share a few beers, watch movies, go for a hike, or play video games.  One night Danny gave us all a chance to skeet shoot, and rifle shoot as well.  It was the first time I fired a weapon since my days in the Canadian Army reserves when I was 20.

The cabin

Danny had started to build a 800 sq ft. cabin for the wwoofers the previous summer, and was now ready for the electrical wiring and plumbing to be installed, but he did not have much experience with home wiring.  I was able to spend my 2 weeks on the farm, completing the electrical rough and finish install, while helping out with insulation and drywall installation too.  It was really good to have arrived at a time when I was needed the most.  Rose and Lisa spent the first few days planting trees for erosion control, pruning trees, and pulling weeds.  Later they spent the rest of their time helping with the cabin construction, along with the rest of the wwoofers.

The ranch was also entirely off the grid, relying on propane for heat, a well for water, and solar power for electricity.  All of their garbage and recycling had to be trucked out, and mail had to be picked up in town.  I was fascinated to see how this whole system worked, and although I liked the idea of being off the grid, I don’t think I could ever live in such isolation.  Internet was available, but slow, and cell phone service was minimal.

On our weekend off all of the wwoofer and Danny went to Moab camping for the weekend.   Lisa and I took detour on our way and tried to climb the nearby Mt. Peale.  Unfortunately, the road to the mountain was snowbound and we could not get close enough to start an ascent in the time we allotted ourselves.  So instead we opted for some snowshoeing.  We later met up with a group of one of the wwoofers friends, and had a good time around the campfire, late into the evening.  We camped in the Kane Creek Canyon, several miles from the town.  The next morning, I woke up before everyone else and was able to sneak in a 13 mile run up and over the canyon rim.

Our last night on the farm we cooked ribs, chicken and veggies on the open fire, and drank Tomatio shots.  This involves doing a shot of tequila and hot sauce with a friend and then simultaneously slapping each other across the face. 

I strongly recommend WWOOfing for anyone interested in farming, or has lots of time, but not necessarily the money for travel.  I would have been happy to spend 3 months on the farm, exploring the surrounding areas on the weekends, and living a very simple life.

Check out the website for the ranch:  http://www.montezumacanyonranch.com/

Check out the photo album here:  FTF Day 63-75