As summer was winding down in Crested Butte, I headed off on a road trip to the West Coast of the USA.   Almost 8000 miles (that’s 12,874 kilometers for the people who live in the “real” world!) and 2 months later I am now back in Crested Butte.   I have often said that I must have been a long distance truck driver in my previous life – cause I sure do love to go on a road trip!!

First stop was Bishop, California (Mile: 873).  I had joined up with friends, Skip, Ruth, Tom and Chuck, to do a backpacking trip in the Sierras.   We shouldered our packs and headed up the trail to Bishop Pass and then over the top down into Duzy Basin.   Beautiful mountains, beautiful lakes, great trail – what more could you ask for?

Bishop Pass in the Sierras

The others were planning on climbing several 14,000-foot peaks (that’s 4,267 meters) but I was only going along for the hiking and camping.   I love climbing mountains, but I think I am past wanting to go somewhere that I need ropes, harness and helmet!  The first two 14,000ers were not as accessible as they had hoped and both days they got turned back.  Meanwhile, I was doing day hikes to different lakes in the area, taking photos of the flowers, and just totally enjoying myself!   Tom and Chuck took off at 3 pm one afternoon to summit the 13,000-foot peak that was near our camp. They got caught in afternoon rain and fog – and had to wait for it to clear and the moon to come out before they could get back to camp.   Of course, Skip, Ruth and myself were picturing death and destruction when they didn’t get back before dark!   That was a bit scary for all of us!   We headed back to Bishop one day early and went across the valley to climb White Mountain (another 14er).   Since it was just a “walk-up”, I went along on that one.

On top of White Mountain Peak: 14252'

Next stop was Santa Barbara (Mile:1418) to visit with Craig and his family.  I had a lovely time with them. Craig and I took the train to LA to pick up his new car.   A whole new world has opened up for me between Santa Barbara and San Diego:  The Train!!    The last night I was in Santa Barbara, we went to hear Dakota’s band play.  Not exactly my type of music, but they sure are talented!

Craig figuring out how his new car works!

From there I went just south of Yuma, Arizona to visit Levi Jackson (a man who is in prison who I have been corresponding with and visiting for about 10 years).  I found a casino on one of the Indian reservations that had a special parking lot for RVs.  So I just pulled my little Gray Jay in and we pretended to be an RV!  :-)

Then I went to Tucson, Arizona  (Mile 2147) to visit with my friends Kathy, Alice, Dodie, and Jan.   I had great fun going out in the early mornings and riding my kick bike around Tucson.   By mid-morning it was too hot outside to do anything but jump in a swimming pool.   Luckily Kathy has a lovely pool!   Dodie, Kathy and I did go up to Mt. Lemmon where it was a bit cooler at altitude and it was nice to do a bit of a hike!    I also had some great Tucson Mexican food while I was there!

Bring on the Margaritas!!

Next stop (Mile 2712) was beautiful San Diego to visit Steve and family.   Again I got some great kick biking in while there!   Steve, Gates and I went to an air show and got to see lots of exhibits (planes, tanks, guns, etc).   But the real attraction was the Blue Angels!   Amazing flying formations at those speeds.

Kick Biking in San Diego

Steve and Gates at the Air Show

From San Diego, I went North and my plans were to follow California Highway 1 all the way.   Now I was on my own schedule for a while and took plenty of time to enjoy beach walks and kick bike rides.

Camping on the California beach as the sun sets in the West

Highway 1 starts just south of Los Angeles and ends near Leggett in Northern California.   It was a beautiful drive!   I stopped in Santa Cruz to visit Alison who went to highschool with me, and then I kickbiked over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco!

I got lots of comments from the other tourists on the bridge!

But I have discovered that California State Park campgrounds are expensive!!!  At Big Sur, I was charged $40 for a site with no electric or anything  (of course I don’t need anything – so I usually get a “tent site” that doesn’t have any hook-ups – so $35 or $40 is a bit much! But then I guess they will say “location, location, location”)  And the “senior discount” at those campgrounds was $2 – good grief!  I was glad to get to Oregon where the camping fees were a bit more reasonable.

California Coast

The Oregon Coast was spectacular, as always! (photos of that later in the blog…)  I drove up about ½ way across the state then I headed inland to visit Pat Hopson in Salem Oregon (mile 4167).   We had a wonderful time reminiscing on old times in Crested Butte! After a quick night with Pat, I headed to Corvallis (mile 4200) to see my niece Heather and her husband Grady.   We spent the weekend on the other side of the Cascades in their RV.   I love camping in Gray Jay, but I will admit it is pretty nice to have a sink, stove and toilet ) We hiked part of the Pacific Crest Trail,

On part of the PCT with Heather and Grady

and hiked around the Tam McCarther Rim, and then on Sunday we hiked around Smith Rock.  We had some rain and some sun – so that is pretty good for Oregon in October!

Next stop was Seattle (mile: 4474) with my friends Karen, Tighe and their daughter Anna.   Karen and Tighe and I were friends from Antarctica.   We had a lovely time taking Anna (age 2) for walks in some of the beautiful parks in West Salem.

Karen and Anna - 2 year olds sure do love to swing!!

On October 19^th– Joni Windsor from Crested Butte joined me for the rest of the trip.   Joni had been in Whitefish Montana visiting a friend and she took the train to Seattle.   Our first night in Seattle we managed to get a parking ticket and get totally lost trying to navigate back to Karen and Tighe’s house.   But we did have a delicious fisherman’s platter!  That’s enough of the “big cities” for us!

That was an expensive dinner if you add in the cost of the parking ticket!

We headed across the channel on the ferry – and drove up the Olympic Peninsula to Port Angeles (mile 4638).  We found a campsite in the Olympic National Park.  We parked GrayJay and I started to flip the top up – but “CRACK” and the gear/rod to raise the top broke!!!!   Wah!!!!   So for the rest of the trip, we had to move all the packs and suitcase from the back of GrayJay to the front seats – then we could sleep in the back.   In the mornings, we moved the gear back to the back.   Well – it’s not ideal, but it is doable…  And Joni was a great “sport” about it.   (And camping is certainly cheaper than motels!)  The next morning we got on a ferry to go to Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island.   We drove up to see the beautiful Buchart Gardens – which were lovely in the fall colors.   There were some flowers blooming  – it being so very maritime that there was plenty of greenery too.

On the ferry to British Columbia

Buchart Gardens with some of the fall foliage

Back to The Olympic Peninsula, we headed to Sol Duc Hot springs in the National Park – only to find that it was closed for the season – bummer!   We were totally looking forward to a good soak in the hot springs! So we camped nearby (at least that one was free!) and we took off early the next morning while the rains were still dripping on our roof!

Now we are definitely in the mode of “go where the mood strikes us” travel.   So we headed out the Olympic Peninsula to the western most point in the continental United States – Cape  Flattery.   At the cape we saw a whale cruising around in the ocean right below our lookout!

Cape Flattery - the western most point in the continental US

We spent that night in the Quileute Indian Reservation at La Push.   We were expecting rain, so I rigged the tarp over the back of GrayJay which (of course, Murphy’s law) made the weather clear off and no rain!

Believe it or not: GrayJay and a picnic table and our bikes are all under the tarp!

Love the hanging mosses

The rest of the way around the Olympic Peninsula took us to the Hoh Rainforest.   We went for a hike under magnificent trees with ferns and fungus and it was about the only place that it wasn’t raining on us!

In the Hoc Rainforest - amazing trees!

Beautiful beaches along with the rainforest!

And then there is the fungus - beautiful!

The rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula is beautiful (I want to come back and do some backpacking in this part of the world!   Better be sure to bring my eVent raingear! Sure is different from Crested Butte!)

A small piece of driftwood on the beach!

We followed Highway 101 down the Washington Coast and stopped at one of my favorite campsites of the trip:  Kalaloch, where we were overlooking the beach.

Cocktails at Kalaloch - notice the demise of our wine glasses - we went from plastic glasses to coffee mugs and finally ended up with plastic milk bottles!

Then on to Lake Quinault and the Willapa Wildlife Refuge. We went for a walk in the wildlife refuge and out in the middle of nowhere we found a labyrinth!

Labyrinth in the middle of nowhere! Of course we had to take a few meditative moments and walk it.

That night we camped at Cape Disappointment State Park and decided to stay put for a day! (What a concept!)   It was nice to have a bike/kick bike ride along the sand dunes,

Kickbiking along the dunes - I loved this sculpture of dolphins.

It was a perfect day to take a "day off" and enjoy the sand dunes and the beaches!

some relaxing, and cocktail hour at the lighthouse.

Cocktails at sunset next to the local lighthouse

There were some sneaky raccoons in the campsite, one of which stole our leftover ham right off the top of the picnic table while I was 2 feet away.  He instantly disappeared with it!   Sneaky!

Cape Dissapointment is just above the Oregon Boarder, so the next day we said good-bye to Washington and continued South into Oregon.   Oregon’s beaches are famous for beauty and they should be!   Lots of beautiful coastal waters crashing onto the rocky beaches!

Some of the "locals" enjoying the rocks!

We stopped at the Tillamuck Cheese Factory in Tillamuck and did a tour of the factory (and sampled the cheeses for lunch!)  We found a campground at the state park in Nehalem, Oregon,  and we decided to splurge and we rented a Yurt (which wasn’t that much more than a tent site for Gray Jay)  It was nice to have electricity, heat, a table and lights.   We still had to cook on our camp stove outside.  But we were able to watch a “chic-flick” on my computer that night! – luxury!

GrayJay was glad to have a night off while we slept in a yurt

We went to the Newport Aquarium – it was lovely, but I think I could have skipped that part.   The best thing about it was that I saw live sand dollars and the sea horses were pretty cool.

On our way south from there we came upon a great blowhole – at Devils Cauldron – as we were there just at high tide.

A way-fun blowhole at high tide

We didn’t stop at the Sea Lion Caves because it was high tide and all the sea lions were out feeding!  But we saw so many beautiful Oregon beaches!

Rocks, waves, and sea gulls - I guess that says it all!

We found another botanical garden at Cape Perpetua.  And while we were wandering in the gardens we could hear the sea lions barking on the beach. So we wandered to where we could look out, and there were hundreds of sea lions and seals.

What looks like piles of rocks are actually piles of seals and sea lions! It was quite noisy!

We tried to rent another yurt at Bullard’s Beach, but it was Friday night and they were all full.

We left early the next morning and had breakfast in Bandon – a lovely little beach town.   It was pretty funny as we walked into a little café and joined in with all the early morning locals.   In Bandon we found a fresh fish market, and bought some fresh King Salmon!   Most of the rest of the beaches on the Oregon Coast we saw through the clouds and rain – but I guess that is to be expected.

Beautiful Oregon coastline even in the rain.

But what was really funny is that the rain stopped almost exactly at the California boarder -  now how did the CA chamber of commerce arrange that?  We enjoyed the CA beaches and drove into the Avenue of Giants (mile 5750) where we camped among the redwoods for the night!   I think I could feel the energy of those beautiful trees!

Sunshine as soon as we hit the California boarder - how did they do that?

GrayJay on the Avenue of the Giants

The trees are just SO amazing!

Next stop was California wine country (mile 5906).   We had planned to go to the Napa Valley, but we got sidetracked and ended up stopping in the Dry Creek Valley.

Wine on the vine!

There were plenty of vineyards, wineries, and some great biking/kickbiking to be had!   We headed of on our bikes for a little loop (which ended up being 24 miles! That’s not bad on a bike – but I was a tired puppy from my kick bike!)  Not so tired that I couldn’t stop and buy some wine!

Kickbiking through the vineyards

From the wine country – we are now on our way home.   We stopped for the night in Grass Valley, CA, and had a lovely night at Jaye Webber’s home there.   Jaye wasn’t home, but her hot tub was on – sweet!!

The next night on our way home was in Battle Mountain, Nevada.   The only campground we could find was a Circle J truck stop/campground.   The lady said that it would be $25 to camp there – and when I said we didn’t need any hook ups or anything – she said “just park on this side of the fence and it is free”.   So there we were parked alongside all the trucks for the night.   Very funny!

Fixing dinner in "truck land"

See if you can find GrayJay - she is in the center of the photo to the right of all those big trucks!

Across Nevada and into Utah, we saw the Bonneville Salt Flats. We stopped Park City (mile 6829) for a walk on a beautiful bike path then went on down the road to Rockport State Park and camped by a beautiful lake.

Cocktails at Rockport State Park - it's great until the sun goes down!

Camping has been great but we are having a couple of issues:  It gets dark really early, so we have to spend a lot of time sitting in GrayJay reading or sleeping.   And the weather has turned and things are getting pretty cold! There is ice on the inside of the windows when we wake up.   Burr!   It was 8 degrees when we left that campsite at 6 am!   We stopped at a little store and got 2 coffees.   The man at the counter said it was only $1 – we were pleasantly surprised and then he said, “Ain’t no cup of coffee worth more than 10 cents!”.

We continued on Interstate 80 across Utah and Wyoming till we got to Cheyenne Wyoming (mile 7264).   Wyoming was full of snow and even though the roads were mostly clear, there were patches where the snow was blowing over the road.   We saw three semi trucks flipped in the median.   A bit scary!   But we made it through safe and sound (thank goodness I had bought GrayJay new tires in Ventura CA!).   We arrived at Jim and Sue Dean’s that afternoon, and went out for a lovely dinner with them and their granddaughter.

Dinner with Jim and Sue, Erica and Russ

We had planned to make one more stop in Avon, Colorado, but the weather predicted a storm coming in, so we decided to go on to Crested Butte one day earlier.   So down from Wyoming to Denver (mile 7382) where we stopped at a “greasy spoon” for a great burger and milkshake!  Now I am on familiar roads back to Crested Butte (mile 7595).

I am so appreciative of my lovely GrayJay – she may have 240,000 miles on her, but she is still driving like a champ!   Now I’ll see if I can get the FlipPac fixed and we will be good to go for the next road trip!!!  And 36 hours after getting  home, I’m back in the backcountry of Crested Butte:

Back home to snow country - and off to Lily Lake for a Sunday afternoon ski!

The Crested Butte UCC Church has a sister church in Spremberg Germany: Evangelische Michaelkirchengemeinde

In front of the Spremberg Church, you can see the sign post with Crested Butte listed as 8427 Kilometers away!

–they invited us to come and participate with them in a celebration called “Kirchentag”  (that means “Church Day”).   It was being held in Dresden, which is only a couple of hours away from Spremberg.   I love the people that I have met in Germany over the years.   Our relationship with these folks started back in the late ’80s – so we have visited back and forth, watched kids grow up, and had many fun times together.  It was like going home!  Our little delegation consisted of 5 of us from Crested Butte and 1 from Denver.   The St. Michael’s Church had asked us to sing with their choir at Kirchentag and they had sent us the music months in advance.   Well, being typical Crested Butte folks – of course we didn’t get a chance to practice except once or twice before we went!   Well – we weren’t a singing group anyway – but we were going for fellowship with our German brothers and sisters (good thing because singing in a choir is not one of my strong suits!)

So, May 28^th, we flew from Denver to New York to Berlin.   Hans and Roland met us at the Berlin Airport and after loading us and our baggage into their van, we headed to Spremberg…   But, of course, we had to stop along the way and have our first German meal – yum!   I sure love German food – lots of “worst” and ‘kraut”!

It was great seeing all my German friends again!   I stayed with Hans (who is the pastor of the St. Michael’s Church)  and his family and their hospitality was incredible!   I moved back into the room that I stayed in the last time I was in Spremberg and I was very comfortable and cozy!   They took me in like part of the family!

We had a couple of days of choir practice in between touring the area.  Or maybe I should say we toured in between choir practices!    We did a tour of Spremberg and a tour of the mining areas (and reclamation areas) that goes on in that part of Germany.   We also went to an evening organ concert with incredible acoustics!  And then we went to the nearby towns of Reichenbach and Goerlitz, and the beautiful park of Bad Muskau (which is partially in Poland).   Finally with all our choir practice, we were finally ready for our first concert, which we performed in Spremberg at their beautiful outdoor amphitheater.

While our American Indians were drawing pictographs on the rocks, the Europeans were building cathedrals!

Beautiful Castles!!

Check out Tengu on the lion's front paw

I love the German architecture and cobblestone streets

At the lake in the Bad Muskau Park - The park is 1/2 in Germany and 1/2 in Poland

City Touring

The next 5 days of our trip consisted of going to Kirchentag in Dresden.  To get to Dresden, we drove for about an hour, and then took the train (for about an hour) the rest of the way into Dresden.   The opening ceremonies were amazing – 200,000 Christians sitting along the River Elbe with the golden statues and domes of Dresden in the background.  It was such a celebration of life.

Singing in the International Choir (I'm actually in the back row)

Opening Ceremonies of Kirchentag - thousands of people next to the River Elbe with Dresden in the background.

And coming from the wee little town of Crested Butte – to be a part of so many people all together was incredible!   The theme of the week was “…da wird auch dein herz” which translates to: “there will your heart be also”.  That comes from a Biblical quote about where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.  So the question is where is your treasure?   And what is your treasure?  (Lots to think about!)

There were so many presentations and discussions to attend – it was hard to choose!  Luckily they were all translated for us!   We got a little box and a set of earphones so we could understand what was being said.   Some of us decided to go to the discussion on “Is war legal?”   It was interesting to hear about the issue of whether it is ok for a country to invade another country in order to oust their government (even if there is genocide going on).   That afternoon, we ended up at another discussion, which piggybacked on the first about “Does force create peace?”   Lots to think about in these times.   Another one of the discussions we went to was about the economic/resources issues – “Will we grow and die, or can we shrink to live”.    There were thousands of people attending these discussions – I was so heartened to see so many people trying to find some answers for what is happening in our world.

Thousands of Candles floating down the River Elbe the first night of Kirchentag.

Ethical Discussions with the Kirchentag Banner in the background

Tim and me making a heart with our hands...

   

Are there any answers to the problems we face in the world today? Or only more questions?

The Frauenkirche (which was still just a pile of rubble the last time I was in Dresden!)

Along with the discussion groups, we also did some touring of Dresden, which is such a beautiful German city.   It is amazing to see the photos of how much devastation there was in 1946 – and to see how they have rebuilt it.  And even to see the changes since I was last there (which was probably about 10 years ago). We attended some concerts in the evenings and, of course, ate lots of great German food!    On Saturday, our choir sang in one of the neighborhoods of Dresden.   After a couple of concerts in the outskirts, we went to the city center and found another couple of places to sing – it was like we were traveling minstrels.

The last day of Kirchentag, which was Sunday, we decided instead of traveling down to Dresden we would watch the broadcast of the Kirchentag Church Service at the St. Michael’s church in Spremberg.   It was a beautiful service and fun seeing the places we had been during the week.  That Sunday was also my birthday – so I got to celebrate with all my German friends!   It was very special!   And for the afternoon “koffee and kooken”, we had 5 (or maybe it was 6) birthday cakes!   Oofta – just to sample them all was a huge “sugar shot” – and they were all SO GOOD!

It's my birthday - Yikes I can't be that old can I??

Celebrate!!! Yum!!

The next day, three of the Crested Butte folks headed home, two went on to Prague, and I took the train to Nurnberg to see my friends Suzie and Basti (who I met in Chile last year).   I spent a couple of nights with them and toured Nurnberg – beautiful!   Then I took another train to Munich to see my friend Annie (who I had met in Argentina).   I spent one night with Annie and then spent another night in Munich with my friend Michael Bartchinski (originally from Spremberg).   Michael took me on a bike tour of Munich – awesome!  With a bike is the best way to tour a German town!

Love the architecture - this is near Nurnberg.

   

Biking in Munich! Great fun!

People have beautiful flowers now matter where in the world you go! Love it!

Then I took the train back to Spremberg to celebrate the 50^th birthday of my friend Kerstin.    The theme for her birthday weekend was Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales.   My German friends know how to dress up just like the crazy folks in Crested Butte!!!   That was a beautiful weekend celebration – and with more delicious German food, lots of cake, and of course great German beer!    And then back to Berlin to fly home – I had such a wonderful time over there and I send all my German friends hugs and love and thanks for all their hospitality!

The Greischel Family (It's hard to recognize Peter in the wolf costume!) These folks would fit right into life in Crested Butte where we dress up anytime we get an excuse!

Now that's a PARTY! Yum!

With my good friends, Peter and Geisla Bartchinski

The end of March, Craig came to CB along with Deb, Dakota and Roxanne (friend of the family).   We had a great week skiing together – and we had just about all the conditions imaginable:  Snowy, light powder, heavy powder, cloudy “flat light” days, and clear sunny days!   But the highlight of the week for me was when Craig, Dakota and I skied Teocalli Bowl (with our trusty guide: Roxy Lypps).   Pretty fun to have done double black diamonds with my son and grandson!   Life is awesome!

Three Generations at the Top!

After Crested Butte Mountain Resort closed for the season (April 4th), there was still great crust skiing in the backcountry.   Springtime in snow country doesn’t necessarily mean no more snow or no more skiing!   The beauty of “crust skiing” is that you can go anywhere and don’t need to stick to the trails … hum, does that sound like me or what?  Since I am an incurable “morning person”, crust skiing is just up my alley!   Pretty much you need to get out about 7 or 8 in the morning and you need to be off the snow by about 10 am.   After 10, the snow gets soft and you start punching through the top and it is not fun at all!    But the early mornings are beautiful – and when I am housesitting I always have a couple of dogs who love the exercise!

          Early morning refection of Whetstone Mountain

Some of my "early morning" companions

There's never a "crowd" at 7 am!

The end of April, I had two friends in Boulder, Colorado, who wanted me to take them out backpacking.   I have a favorite place near Boulder, Utah, that I hadn’t been to in a couple of years, so we decided to head out there.   The way the timing worked out, it was two separate weeks, but I didn’t mind driving back and forth since I was spending time in one of my favorite places in Utah!  So first, Mel Gonglach and I headed from Boulder, Colorado, to Boulder, Utah and spent a couple of days backpacking on the “slick rock”:

In the desert at the start of our backpacking trip

We had lots of differing conditions – it rained the night before we headed out, then it was sunny and warm – then that day the winds picked up – not a good thing in the desert environment!   Sand gets into everything!  Ears, eyes, teeth, food, drink, etc, etc, etc!   But then we had another nice day.   It rained  on our day out, but in the desert environment even that can be beautiful.

What lovely country it is and one of my favorite places in all of Utah!

Not only is the rock beautiful – and very clean for camping, but there are some interesting features.   One of which is the “iron like” rocks that emerge from the sandstone.   There are thousands of “iron balls” and miscellaneous rocky pieces that look like “car parts” – we call them “jurassic car parts”!  Very fun!

Jurassic Car parts (and check out those cool Dirty Girl Gaiters that Mel is wearing!

Hey ir's windy out here - and the sand hurts!

Out here, water is an important thing to find!

Lovely country!

Back to GrayJay after an awesome trip!

On our way back to Boulder (remember we are driving from Boulder to Boulder!), Mel and I stopped and played in the Goblin Valley and then stopped at Glenwood Springs for a soak in the Hot Springs!   Now that’s a great ending for a backpacking trip!

Goblin Valley is always fun to wander around in!

So then it was back to Boulder Colorado and Raven Wells and I drove tandem till we got to Grand Junction (where we left his car – it made the drive home easier for me not having to go all the way back to Boulder).    We had gotten a late start so we stopped and camped near Green River, Utah,  at the Crystal Geyser.   The Geyser didn’t go off when we were there (it used to be on a schedule of about every 18 hours –  I don’t know if that is still the case).   But the deposits from the geyser are fascinating – and it is beautifully located right next to the Green River.

Beautiful deposits next to the Green River

Camping in GrayJay at Crystal Geyser

Raven and I then drove the rest of the way to Boulder Utah, tossed on (? – right!) our packs and headed out onto the rocks.   It was another spectacular trip – every time I go out there, even though it is the same area, I alway see something new and interesting!

This was a bit of a "slot canyon"

The sandstone has worn away below this rock and left it balancing on these little pinnacles - that rock must weigh about 500 lbs!

Raven and I had 3 wonderful crystal clear mornings and I was lucky enough to wake up in time to climb out of the canyon onto the top of the rocks to greet the sun!   Another one of my favorite things to do!

 

Sunrise!

Greeting the sun!

An Iron Ball emerging as the sandstone is wearing away

Those are all iron balls congregating in the cracks in the rock

Of course Raven and I had our fair share of weather too.   The wind wasn’t quite as intense as it was on Mel’s trip, but we did get some snow (or “gropple” as we call it – it is like little tiny snow balls from the sky)

Gropple on our tent

Raven hiding out from the snow and wind!

A blooming cactus!

After 3 nights on the rock,  Raven and I hiked out – driving to Grand Junction where he headed to Boulder (Colorado that is) while I headed to Crested Butte.   I did stop in Ridgeway (sort of on the way home) for a soak in Orvis Hot Springs there – Look out, Talie, this could get to be a habit!  

And then, believe it or not – back to skiing the crust in Crested Butte!   This past Sunday, I was able to get up and ski the crust early, get to church at 9 am, and then by the afternoon I was riding my bike in shorts and shirt!   What an interesting springtime we are having!

Next week I am heading to Denver to help with a Landmark Education Forum, and then the week after I’m off to Germany for 3 weeks.   I will be seeing so many of my wonderful German friends over there – I am excited about that!   And then I’ll be back in time for Crested Butte summer!   Life IS good!

Another "busy" day on the slopes on Mt. CB?

Then it was good to see everyone back at church on Sunday.   Monday was a day to get caught up and pack for Tuesday,  and Tuesday I joined with 5 other Buttians (those are CB locals!) and we cross country skied down to the little town of Gothic to spend Tuesday night in a “hut”.

Skiing out to Gothic

The “town of Gothic” isn’t really a town.   It is the site of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (a summer ecological school and study area).   In the winter, the school is totally closed up and snow takes over the area!   In the summer a dirt road (that’s metal to you Kiwis) goes out to Gothic, but in the winter the only access is by cross country skis.

Gothic in the winter

Snowmobiles are not allowed in that drainage, so it makes a beautiful peaceful ski from Mt. Crested Butte to Gothic.  It is mostly down on the way out there, but, of course, that means it is UP all the way back!   Oh, well….

Gothic Mountain under Colorado Blue Skies!

Now this hut is not at all like the huts I spent the night in in New Zealand!   Hot and cold running water, a shower, heated building, 4 bedrooms upstairs, electricity (a stove and a microwave)!

Now this is a HUT! Luxury!

But there was still an “out house” (or as they would say in New Zealand a “long drop”).   After a lovely dinner and a nice night’s sleep, Tom, Skip and I headed out into the snowy wilderness to dig a snow cave!   Skip had scouted out a perfect spot, and we started digging about 10 am.

What a perfect place for a snow cave!!!

Several of the local “Gray Hares” came by to either see our progress or lend a hand with a shovel for a little while.   We also did have help from two of the caretakers from Gothic, John and Ira.   They were AWESOME!   They were digging snow out so fast that it was hard for us to keep up with them by hauling it away!

Hauling Snow out of the Cave

It took us about 5 hours of digging and hauling snow to complete the cave.   But it was a work of art!   Plenty big enough to sleep at least 5 people – but everyone bailed out except for the 3 of us (Skip, Tom and myself).

Skip, Ira, me and John celebrating the end of the digging!

Another couple of friends (Don and Bill)  came out later in the afternoon and dug a second (smaller) snow cave.   Then they joined us in the big cave for gourmet snacks and wine for dinner.

Lots of "down" kept us warm and toasty!

After all that digging, we were pretty tired and it was lights out at 8:30 pm – YIKES – do you know how DARK it is in a snow cave at night when you turn the headlamps off?   Wow – what a shock to the system.   But once I got used to it, I was cozy and warm and had a pretty good night’s sleep.   We had skied out to Gothic and to the snow cave spot under clear Colorado blue skies, but during the night it started snowing and we woke to a couple of fresh inches of powder making everything look absolutely pristine!

Skiing back out in the snow

So it was beautiful quiet skiing back to the hut for a quick cup of tea/coffee before we skied the 4 miles back to the trailhead.    So I guess I am right back into winter here in Crested Butte!  I love it!

Lou, Kate and Pat visiting in the snow cave!

Sunrise on Gothic Mountain and snowed in buildings!

Lunch Break! Ira, John, Tom and Skip

Tom, John, Ira enjoying the fruits of their labor!

Hey, Tengu wanted to come along on the snow cave adventure too!

    

All good snow caves need a kitchen nook (and some decorations!)

With my Aarn Pack and pulling a sled out. I was glad I didn't have to pull it UP to the trailhead!

Even though I am home, I did want to share the photos of my last few weeks in New Zealand, because I still was seeing some very beautiful places.  At the end of my last entry, Dan, Annabelle and I had just climbed up to the Pylons above the Mt Aspiring Hut.   The next morning, we hiked back out to the trailhead and then drove (across all the 8 fords in the road) back to Wanaka.   We all headed to Queenstown from there and they went to catch up with their friends and I stopped to pick up hut tickets to do the Routeburn.   These last two tramps I did are both “Great Walks”.   New Zealand has 9 Great Walks : The MIlford, The Able Tasman, The Heaphy, The Routeburn, The Kepler, The Rakiura [I did part of that on my Stewart Island trip], Tongariro Northern Circuit, Lake Waikaremoana Track, and the Whanganui Journey).  These are some of the most popular tracks, and they are very well cared for (which is probably the reason I don’t usually do the Great Walks) by the Department of Conservation.   I guess another reason I don’t usually do them is that my hut pass isn’t good for the huts on these tracks.   Anyway, I decided to end my trip this time by doing two Great Walks (The Routeburn and the Kepler).   Dan and Annabelle said they could bring Yanqui from the start of the Routeburn to the end of the Kepler.   It only necessitated me to do a hitchhike into TeAnau from the end of the Routeburn.

I picked up my hut tickets for the Routeburn in Queenstown and drove to the trailhead.   The first day was pretty mellow, following the Routeburn (a “burn”  is a small stream – a word that comes from Old English).   It was beautiful following the stream and the trail was like a highway and it was a gorgeous day!

The Routeburn

Like a highway! Nice!

I stopped at the Routeburn Flats hut for lunch, and then it wasn’t much further to the Routeburn Falls hut.   What a beautiful BIG hut (I didn’t have it all to myself this time )   I knew that the next day was supposed to be rainy, and since I was at the hut early, I decided to go on up to the pass (which was what I would be doing the next day) and climb a little peak up there called Conical Hill.   It was a fantastic afternoon and the views were spectacular!

Lake Harris at the pass

On top of Conical Hill

You can see all the way to the Tasman Sea

The next day I was really glad I had hiked to the tops, because it was totally socked it and rained on me all day.   It was a shame because that day is the most beautiful day of the hike – all along the upper Hollyford Valley.   Oh, well…..  I didn’t have my new eVent raincoat with me (it was back at the “shop”) so I used my Go Lite Umbrella.   I felt like Mary Poppins as I hiked along – but the other people on the trail were envious!  :-)

Coming down to Lake McKenzie and the hut (upper right on the lake)

The second night (after a very wet day) at the Lake McKenzie Hut, there were about 30 people – and only 3 of us were native English speakers.   There were lots from the Czech Republic, Germany, and Israel.

The next day going from the McKenzie Hut to the Howden Hut (it did clear off somewhat), there were lots of waterfalls and one of the most beautiful rainbows I’ve ever seen!

Lots of rain means lots of beautiful waterfalls!

The trail went next to the bottom of this falls (I got soaked!)

The picture doesn't do it justice - the colors were SO vivid!

I got to the hut early again, so in the afternoon I hiked up to Key Summit.   On the way, I discovered a track (Pass Creek) that would take me down the Hollyford Road.   From there it was only a couple of kms up to the Lake Marion track.   I thought that would be a wonderful way to end this track before I started the Kepler.   However the Hut Warden (the Great Walks have wardens at their huts) said that there was a big “slip” (a mud slide) and the Lake Marion track was closed.   Hum….  Now why would that stop me??  :-)   So off I went – down Pass Creek – and up the Hollyford Road to the Lake Marion trail head.   I’ve been up to Lake Marion twice before, but it is so beautiful up there – I just had to go one more time.

From Key Summit - that's Lake Marion next to my head.

Oops - looks like I have to climb over the tape...

It's a "slip", but they have put markers through it. It wasn't so bad, but I could see why they wouldn't want inexperienced hikers going up here.

Tengu and me at Lake Marion

So from Lake Marion, I hiked back down to the Hollyford Road.   I scooted into the bush and changed into a clean shirt (for the sakes of whoever picked me up) and turned around to hitch hike into TeAnau.   The very first vehicle picked me up – it was a group of 5 people from the UK who were on a tour.   They had been viewing Marion Falls when I came down.   Their guide said when he picked me up, “Anyone who would change their shirt in front of us, we though we should pick up!”  Oops (I didn’t know they could see me!

So after a night in TeAnau, I headed up the Kepler Track.   The Kepler is right across Lake TeAnau, and since I was splurging (by paying for Great Walks) I decided to really splurge and I took a little ten minute boat ride across the lake which cut off about 2 hours of hiking around the lake.   Once again, I knew there was rain coming in so I wanted to get up to the hut before it started raining.   Since I was up there early, I had a great time getting to know the Hut Warden at the Luxmore Hut.

Luxmore Hut - Now that's a HUT!

The next morning, the rains had cleared off and it was a beautiful day to go across the tops.   The hike from the Luxmore Hut to the Iris Burn Hut goes along the tops almost all day.   There are beautiful views of Lake TeAnau and the Murchison Mountains.  It is a beautiful day of hiking!

View from the top of Mt. Luxmore

After going along the tops for several hours, the track goes down to the Iris Burn Hut.  Then day three is pretty mellow going out along Lake Manapouri till you get to the Moturau Hut.   And day four takes you out to Rainbow Bridge trailhead or you can walk another 2.5 hours on into TeAnau.   Dan and Annabelle were meeting me at the Rainbow Bridge with Yanqui.

Their plans for the rest of the day were to drive down to Milford Sound and do the boat tour.   There was room in their friends’ car, so I tagged along.   It started raining (bucketing!) on us as we drove up/down the Milford Road and by the time we got to Milford Sound, the waterfalls were everywhere and were huge!   It was great!

Driving down to Milford Sound - lots of waterfalls!!!!

So the next day I sent Dan and Annabelle and friends off to do the Kepler and I drove back to Christchurch.   I spent a couple of days getting Yanqui ready for her new owners, packing, and getting ready to head home.   Myles and Margaret gave me a going away dinner and I showed my “slide show” with their family (and the next night with our friends Gus, Bet and Stewart).

From Christchurch, I flew up to Auckland to see Dianne.   She had planned a trip out into the bush to Jon’s hunting bivy with a bunch of friends and invited me to go along.   So off we drove down to Taupo and hiked out into the Kaimanawas.   It was a great way to end my trecking for this trip.

Camping in the Bush at Jon's Bivy

With Dianne and friends

So on February 15th, I flew home to the USA.   I was sad to be leaving New Zealand – I sure love it down there, but it is always good to get home and it was especially good to spend some time with Craig and Steve and their families.   Since my truck, GrayJay, spent the time I was gone at Craig’s, I drove home to Crested Butte from California.   Luckily I was able to drive with clear roads – I was trying to beat a storm to Colorado (which I did).   It has been snowing since I got home – with about an extra 12 inches of fresh powder.

Now I am trying to adjust to the altitude once again.  Trying to make an transition from camping and hiking in shorts to wearing long johns and down jackets!  I am staying in Carol’s lovely condo in Mt. Crested Butte, I start working Guest Services tomorrow, and I have a ski pass for the rest of the ski season.   LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Typical Crested Butte scene - got to shovel a spot for your bikes!

Key Summit overlooking Lake Marion

It is so interesting to spend Christmas and New Years in the Southern Hemisphere – and this is the 4th one in a row I have been below the Equator:  Antarctica, New Zealand, Chile, and New Zealand again.   It is a totally different feeling (for those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere) to have the holidays be the beginning of summer!   All the Christmas songs still talk about having a “White Christmas” and “Frosty the Snowman”, but the celebration becomes a picnic outside or a trip to the beach!   I love it!  And the school holidays for the kids start with Christmas and go through all of January with schools going back sometime in February.

So I have been in and out of the bush – seen some beautiful places, stayed in some wonderful huts, and am totally enjoying New Zealand!   To me, the hut system down here is better than anyplace I have ever been.   I just love it.   Since I have already been on most of the most popular trails, I keep going out to find the “less traveled routes”!    Even during the biggest week of the year (between Christmas and New Year’s) I was in 2 huts all by myself!    And the 3rd night, I was joined by another solo girl hiker.   We had a great time swapping stories about “going solo”.

So I have been back in Christchurch for a couple of days: got my boots repaired, got Yanqui’s oil changed, and rested up from a head cold.   Now I’m ready to be back on the trail as I go into my last month down here.

45th Parallel South!

Track around Lake Hauroko - see sometimes the tracks aren't muddy!

Another night sleeping in a rock bivi

It may be rainy, but it sure is GREEN!

It's just SO beautiful!

The Fern Burn Hut - on the Motatapu Track

Christmas dinner in the garden!

Another high point!

Up the Matukituki River

The Rob Roy Glacier

Thunder Falls!

Sunset on Mt. Cook from Gillespie Beach

The rest of the Sunset

The Milford Road is a trip in and of itself, and I stopped lots of places to take photos.   There is a section where the most incredible Lupines grow.  Lupines are an invasive plant down here – but being from Colorado where they are native to our region, I just love them.  So after about 10 photo stops, I finally made it to the Gertrude Saddle trailhead.

I walked up the valley – a high alpine valley with beautiful clear streams running through it!   At first you can’t tell which way the end of the valley will open up – it looks like it is impassable on both sides.   But as you get to the end of the valley, there is obviously a route taking off to the left.   You can’t see the top of the saddle (hum – is this an indication of difficulty or what??), but it is a pretty straight forward hike.   The little printout warns you not to necessarily follow the cairns you see up there.   They say that you need to be sure of the route you want to take, and not get on a false route by cairns which may have been put up by someone else (that is also “shades of Colorado”!).   Ah, well, there really wasn’t a problem with the route.   It was steep in places, and there were several snow fields to cross, but nothing that a “good ole Colorado girl” isn’t used to!  I met a couple of young men on the way down, they said they hadn’t gotten to the top because they didn’t have poles and only had running shoes on – they didn’t think they were prepared enough.   That made me think a little bit…..   The next young man I met on the way down, said he had been to the top, but that it was still a pretty long way up there – obviously I was looking at a “false summit” (another typical Colorado happening!)  All and all, it was a beautiful climb – not too difficult (they had put cables on the rocks where they thought it might be difficult) – a beautiful day and what a BEAUTIFUL view!   Awesome!   I stayed on the top of the saddle for about an hour and a half  – hiked over to a second lake near the top  (the lakes up here reminded me of Yule Lakes outside of Crested Butte).

Now I am pretty “stoked” to have completed the North West Circuit and Gertrude Pass!   And, since then, I have been rained out of my next two trips (around Lake Hauroko, and then to the North Borland Hut- actually that was a swollen river I couldn’t cross).   Well, you win a few and you lose a few.   At least that gives me more things to do next time….  But then I still have about 6 weeks before I head home – so I have plenty of tramping to keep doing down here!   I feel most fortunate!

Mirror Lake on the Milford Road - I think they named that right!

Love those Lupine!

Gertrude Valley

Why does this remind me of hiking in Colorado in the summer?

Cable on the rocks - Does this mean it is "steep"??

View from the saddle - I could see the cruise ships in Milford Sound.

The "chain" leaving Bluff...

The "anchor" on Stewart Island

They have a wonderful sculpture down here – that starts at the bottom of the South Island (near Bluff) and finishes in Lee Bay on Stewart Island.  It as a giant chain and anchor that gives the impression that Stewart Island is the anchor of the South Island!   Awesome!

I have wanted to walk the Stewart Island’s North West Circuit ever since I heard about it.   Do you think  the fact that it is “hard” “challenging” “muddy” and “remote” have anything to do with that?  Hum??   So I  set my self the goal of completing this hike on this trip – after all, I’m not getting any younger!  It’s a 10 day trip and 120 kilometers all told.    I was a bit apprehensive as to doing a 10 day backpack trip – that’s a pretty heavy pack to be carrying.   But I now have a wonderful new pack designed by a Kiwi – an Aarn Body Flow Pack.   It is designed to support all the weight on your hips and not on your shoulders – and to distribute the weight so that your center of gravity isn’t compromised.   I love my new Aarn!!!  (You can look it up at:  aarnpacks.com)

Stewart Island is the “third” New Zealand Island – it is South of Bluff, which is South of Invercargill (if you are looking at the map).   I drove down to Bluff – and put together everything I would need for 10 days (that’s a lot of food- 10 breakfasts, 10 lunches, 10 dinners!).  I left Yanqui in the ferry carpark in Bluff and basically started my trip by walking from the carpark to the ferry!

The ferry from Bluff to Halfmoon Bay (which is also called Oban) takes about an hour to get across the Furneaux Strait.   The Strait is usually fairly rough (even on a good day), and one of  my new friends next to me on the ferry turned a little “green around the gills”, and several people were using their “little white bags” (like you find in the seat packet in front of you on an airplane!)

Once I got to Stewart Island, I walked to the DoC office (Department of Conservation) where I signed an “intention sheet”.   The local DoC offices down here request that trampers sign an intention sheet so if something happens to you “out there” they have a “panic date” and know whether to come look for you or not.   Since I am usually “out there” on the trails solo, I also carry an “EPRB” (Emergency Personal Rescue Beacon) – that way if I break a leg, I can call in the helicopters (one would hope….)

So from the ferry and DoC office, I had 5 kilometers to walk on the paved (they call it “tar sealed”) roads.   I tried hitching, but it was a Sunday morning and there wasn’t much traffic on the roads.    So after my 5 kms, I was finally on the track!

The first few hours of the track were pretty easy – it is part of the Rakiura Track which is one of the Great Walks.   But then after leaving that section, it was into the mud!   Some of the muddy areas you could go around – but usually even the surrounding area was pretty boggy.   Mostly you just had to slog on through.   It was every kind of mud you could imagine – slippery, icky, gooey, mucky  (do I need to “go on”??) .  But then I knew what I was getting into!  The mud did slow you down somewhat – and after a while you just stopped trying to get around it – you just plowed right on through.

But what was beautiful about this whole track was the incredible rain forest, the beaches, the birds, and the solitude (for me at least!)   My first night (Bungaree Hut)  I was in the hut with 3 young men from Spain (they were hiking out the next day); the second night (Christmas Village Hut), a man from Switzerland (he was hiking out also); and the third night (Yankee River Hut), two DoC workers.   From then on, I didn’t see another person till day nine (Long Harry Hut, East Ruggedy Hut, Big Hellfire Hut, Mason Bay Hut, Freshwater Hut).   The two hardest days were day 6 and day 7 – they were the longest days, and of course the most rainy days.   I do have to admit that there were times on those days that I did ask myself, “Now exactly WHY am I doing this??!!”  But the good part of those days was that by this time my pack was noticeably lighter!   The more I eat, the lighter it gets! Yea.  It is quite a “balancing act” though to carry enough food, without too much weight.   I have to admit about half way through the 10 days, I was finding that I could have eaten a lot more per meal (but I don’t think the first few days I could have handled the extra weight!)

Another one of the things that I was hoping for on this trip was to see another actual Kiwi in the wild (not the “human” kind but the Kiwi bird!).   There are some Kiwis on Stewart Island that actually feed during the day, and I think I saw some  of those in the ferns that were rustling around.  But they wouldn’t come out where I could actually see them.  However, on my second to last night, as I was doing my “after dinner, dusk, kiwi spotting walk”, sure enough a little guy came out of the bushes right in front of me.   He let me watch him rustle in the leaves looking for bugs for about 10 minutes!   Very fun.   It was too dark to get photos, so I just enjoyed the experience.

My last night (#9)  on the track was in the North Arm Hut.   It had been a pretty good walk to get there since I had to climb up and over a ridge (with the usual mud and roots and slippery rocks…).   That hut is part of the Rakiura Track again – and from  not seeing a single person for 6 days, all of the sudden I am in a hut with 8 other people.   Culture shock!   But one of the beautiful things about the North Arm Hut is that there are mussels on the rocks in front of the hut.  By this time, I was never quite getting full at each of my meals (I guess I was burning a few more calories than I was eating – remember the weight factor!) and pasta was getting old after 8 nights of it.   So I collected a bag of mussels, and luckily had just enough fuel for my stove to steam them open.   A wonderful German couple shared some butter with me, and I had mussels in melted butter.   I was in heaven!   And by the time I added my pasta, I was finally satiated.

On day 10 when I finally walked back into Oban/Half moon Bay, I was really happy to have survived and totally completed the Stewart Island North West Circuit!   I guess 64 isn’t too old yet…..

Yes, I really am a "Tree Hugger"!!

Day 1 - with my heavy pack!

The start of the mud!

Start of Day 2 - that's a Paua shell I am holding.

One of the many swing bridges!

The beach at Long Harry Hut

Long Harry Hut - My favorite hut on the track! I had my own personal beach front home for a night!

That is mud interspirsed with slippery roots and rocks! This was what the track looked like for many miles!

There were ferns everywhere! Beautiful!!!

Oops this one was a little deep!

Yep - It's muddy!

Just doesn't get much more beautiful than this!!!

One of the many beautiful beaches!

Start of Day 10, at North Arm Hut. Yea!