Day 129, 130, and 131: Triple Zero in Kalispell

Mileage: Zero

Me and Commando got a hitch with a nice lady who took us to Columbia Falls outside Kalispell. After we crossed the divide at Mariah's Pass all of a sudden the barren landscape transformed into lush, deep green forest more remiscent of the Pacific Northwest than the barren plains we'd left behind. Towering spruce and fir trees dominated the landscape as the rains fell more generously on the western slope than from where we'd come.

Michael, my friend Cody's dad, picked us up at the coffee shop in Columbia Falls and took us back to their house a bit south. It was a beautiful house on about 20 acres of property, complete with a pond and horse pasture. Michael is in his sixties and one of those guys that can talk forever about one story or another - whether it's about hunting or traveling with his wife or kids, he always had an anecdote ready, and I was happy to listen. 

When we arrived he immediately offered beers and I ended up drinking plenty of beer with him and Casey over the weekend. He showed us his African animal collection on the wall complete with Oryx, Black Bear, and Deer. 

We went out and fed the fish in the pond, trying to scare off the osprey which was stealing his trout. The western slope of the Bob Marshall Wilderness lay to our east and we knew all this rain would open it back up. As it cleared up we saw the tops of the nearest peaks were all licked with snow. We laid around and ate a lot. I texted my buddy Cody telling him how good of cook his mom is and he responded: "She'll try and make you fat" Our breakfasts were awesome, including eggs, toast, and bacon and then fresh-baked banana bread the next day.

I watched the first Husker game and though they lost a heart breaker I was proud of how they played. Afterwards I played bumper pool with Michael as Casey had gone to hang out with another friend. We drank more beer and hot chocolate with schnapps. I fell asleep early that night, sinking into the soft bed.

The next day we went to a muscle car show and Karen and

Michael's friends came from Oregon. Good appeared out of nowhere and we all feasted for lunch. 

My mom came and picked me up with her friends Rebecca and Yes and our dog Cooper! We all drove to East Glacier and we had a nice dinner at Luna's. It was great to see my mom and dog, though it almost didn't feel real. I planned to meet my mom at St Mary's on Tuesday and I shared a room with Commando at Brownie's. His planning ahead was good and we both slept well.

Rebecca, Yes, and my mom in the back, me and Commando up front - a tight squeeze!

Sharing hot chocolate with mom.

Day 121: Zero in Lincoln

Mileage: Zero

I slept in until almost nine and only got up because my back hurt. I watched TV and drank beer and then resupplied and bought fruit and baby carrots. Then I ate pepperoni hot pockets with Doritos - real nutritious... 

Commando arrived and we shared a room and hung out with other guys working on a beer pyramid. We heard there was a fire in the Benchmark area north of us and now the Bob Marshall Wilderness was rumored to be closed. This absolute gem on the trail we'd been slogging towards was closed. Great!

So we had to roadwalk to Augusta instead and then 120 more miles on road all the way to East Glacier. And to top it off, my passport was Benchmark Ranch where there was a fire a mile away from. My passport. 

There was nowhere to go from the ranch as all exits closed and the Bob as well, so we'd have to find a forest service escort to get in. Resigned, we drank more beer, ate Doritos, hot pockets, and fell asleep after watching a Little League World Series game with Commando.

Day 110: Zero in Bozeman

Mileage: Zero!

I slept in until 8:30 and took a long, hot shower. I went to the gas station to resupply since I just needed a day or two and also picked up two breakfast sandwiches. I talked to Laura for a bit and tried to help her get over making a tiny mistake or two while guiding her trip across country and then I scheduled my massage.

My feet ached and I was long overdue. Unfortunately, everything was either closed or booked, including the place I eventually got into - I told them I was walking from Mexico and that eventually got them to squeeze me in.

Before my massage I went to a coffee shop and caught up on my blogging and had a wonderful cappuccino. I talked to my mom and then Laura some more and then headed over for the massage.

It was absolutely wonderful. My massage therapist was young, but very good. She really focused on my legs and feet, which was something new for me. I'd never specifically asked for this until now and the foot and calf massage were especially amazing. She told me, "Yeah, not many people can withstand an elbow to the calf, but your muscles are like taut ropes." We both wished we had two hours to work out all the knots, but she did stretch my hour to more like 80 minutes so I was extremely grateful for that. 

Afterwards, they gave me a pass to the adjoining fitness club and I went and ran 20 miles just to stay in shape. Haha, just kidding. I actually went to the dry sauna and just tried to sweat out some toxins, while I rehydrated. Then I met up with the friend of a friend who was putting me up for the night. She informed me we were seeing the new Mission Impossible movie and I was pumped. I was enthralled by the big screen and comfy seats, as well as the non-stop action. After the movie we got a Safeway pizza and split it before bed with a pint of Ben and Jerry's and a beer. 

Day 89: Zero in Rawlins

Mileage: Zero

I slept in and bought new shoes at Shopko. My feet had been killing me even with the new insoles and I didn't think I'd last the 115 miles to South Pass City. Like trying on insoles, it was impossible to tell which shoes were going to work for me over the long haul. I'd have to walk at least 100 miles before I'd really know if they were working or not. I ate breakfast at Penny's Diner. They didn't have sausage or milk, and I thought "what kinda diner is that?" Maybe just one in a small town during high season, I guess.

I mostly sat in the hotel bed, soaked my feet, talked to Laura, and watched TV. Not a super exciting day.

On the way to Pizza Hut to grab dinner my phone fell out of my down pocket and the front of the screen cracked. I felt like such an idiot, but I'd taken the phone out of the Lifeproof case so I had better Wifi signal at that hotel. 

To add insult to injury, on my way back I got a text from Laura and her schedule got flipped around so we'd no longer be seeing each other in a week - we perhaps wouldn't get to see each other the rest of the summer. That hit us both pretty hard.

What an end to a great day. Well, it was good in some aspects - a much needed rest, but I was ready to get back on the trail. Tomorrow, I'd do that.

Day 73: Fourth of July Zero in Breckenridge

Mileage: Zero

Well, I've taken a lot of zeros lately, but who wants to spend the 4th alone? And what a good Fourth of July! It didn't start out great as I was up around 5am, unable to sleep for whatever reason. After messing around with my phone for 45 minutes I finally was able fall back asleep, this time until about 8am. I laid in bed for awhile and then headed downstairs to see who else was up. I found Clare on the couch reading her book and she told me there was toast and bagels in the fridge. I made myself some toast with peanut butter and banana and sat on the couch with Clare.

Jim and her folks weren't up yet, so we chatted some and I grabbed Jim's computer so I could put some new music on my phone. The rest of the gang got up over the next hour or so and they were poised to take a hike up to a lake nearby. I wanted to hang out with everyone, but definitely did not want to hike on my day off so I stayed behind.

I figured it'd be nice to give them some family time as well without the smelly thru-hiker. While they were gone I just lounged on the couch with my cup of coffee, updating my blog and reading the New York Times. In fact, when they returned a few hours later I basically hadn't moved except to make myself a sandwich around noon. I had sat out on the deck some, but the sun was so strong I decided I'd rather just be inside.

They had a great time hiking, maybe getting a little bit more than they bargained for. They came back with smiles and lots of good pictures so I think they had a good time despite being exhausted. After they got back, Jim and I sat around watching hilarious music videos from the 90's (e.g. Smashmouth, Alien Ant Farm, etc). I didn't even remember that they were making music videos back then until Join reminded me of TRL on MTV. 

After having my second lunch, me and Jim started watching "Better Call Saul", the spinoff from "Breaking Bad", which Jim had downloaded on his computer. It's funny because the series starts with Saul working at a Cinnabon in Omaha, NE. By the time the night was over we had watched the first five or six episodes - Jim kept saying, "well, we can't stop there!" In between episodes we squeezed in a wonderful steak dinner cooked by Clare's dad, also Jim, and watched some fireworks. All we had to do was walk down the road about 2 mins to a clearing and we had a wonderful view of the show. We could even see the flash of other nearby town's shows, which almost looked like lightning in the sky.

After a great show, maybe the first I'd seen where I was looking down on the fireworks, we headed back to the cabin and had some loaded banana splits. Jim and I watched "Saul" until nearly 2am - I think the only way I was able to stay up so late was we had some coffee before the fireworks. Somehow exhausted from a day of doing nothing, I fell asleep almost the instant I closed my eyes.

Day 70: Zero in Leadville

Mileage: zero

Me and Alex started our day with our favorite Leadville ritual - heading to the local coffee shop for some chemicals and a breakfast burrito (the chemical I'm referring to is caffeine). We hung out and chatted, wolfing down our burritos covered in hot green salsa. We didn't have too many plans for the day but figured we'd go fishing and maybe for a short hike with Margi, who wanted to test out her gimpy knee.

We drove up on a dirt road out of Leadville up towards Mt Sheridan, picnic supplies in the car, with the aim to walk until Margi's knee didn't feel good anymore. As we drove up the road I realized that we had skiied in that same valley this past winter and marveled how much it had changed - the slopes still had some remnants of snow, but were dark green and dotted with wildflowers of all varieties. We got out at the pullout and hiked up an old trail. We stopped often to admire the flowers and look up various ones we were unsure about - Alpine Primrose, Sulfur Cinquefoil, Alpine Sunflower - in addition to all the flowers Margi and Alex already knew by heart.

The dogs, Ziggy and Sadie, ran rampant up and down the alpine meadow, causing the Pika to hide int heir rocks and chirp at them angrily. We laid down in the grass and picked flowers - I was accused of picking the only Alpine Sunflower, which I still contend is false - which Margi was going to take home and press to preserve their fragile beauty.

Alex and their new dog, Sadie May, near Mt Sherman

We headed back down to the car after about an hour and wolfed down some honey-smoked salmon they'd brought home from Alaska and shared a couple ciders, while admiring the beautiful day.

Back in Leadville we looked at some fishing stuff while Margi helped assemble a colorful mural near the Post Office. I got some Chinese food from Szechuan Taste II and immediately regretted the decision not because it tasted bad (I mean, it wasn't good, but what do you expect?) but because the lady completely ripped me off, charging me $2 extra for tofu and billing me a total of close to $15 for lo mein and two egg rolls. I didn't get sick though, as Alex insisted I would.

After eating we headed down to go fishing near the Arkansas River and towards Twin Lakes so I could pick-up my box I'd had sent there. I really regret sending these boxes as I don't even want most of the food and am not really even using the maps. Maybe I'll have my mom stop sending them, but then what will I do with all that food later?

We didn't have much luck fishing and it began to rain. Alex fished for awhile longer and tried close to ten flies before he also gave up. I had tangled up the line pretty bad and realized the new spinning rod he'd just bought was also broken - not a good fishing day, so I just slept in the car.

After fishing we headed back towards Leadville for a BBQ at one of their friend's houses. I've pretty much stopped worrying about eating meat as it tastes really good right now and is probably good for me to gain back some weight. I had two sausages and a cheeseburger before I realized I should probably take it easy. We all had some beers and a good time just chatting and joking around.

Margi brought some lamb that Alex insisted was 'from the Reagan era' (Margi replied it might be 'Bush I' which didn't inspire confidence in any of us). I avoided the lamb and also the conversation because sometimes Alex doesn't know when to leave well enough alone. Whenever a new person arrived he'd tell them about the lamb while Margi would insist it was fine. She ate three pieces and took the rest home.

Fairy Primrose, a little blurry

We headed out by around 9pm as we were all tired from the long day. Back at home I laid out my mat for one last night in Leadville. I'd been there three separate times in the last three weeks, but it was time to say goodbye, for now.

11 day break for College Reunion

Well, the break came at the perfect time. The combination of snow, hip-deep postholing, and freezing rain was definitely wearing on my spirits.

That said, going to New Hampshire for my five-year reunion proved harder than we ever would have thought. The night Alex and Margi picked me up, Alex's check engine light came on and it turned out that we couldn't get the parts for a few days. We decided our best option was to fly since their only other car was a '99 Subaru which had been deemed a 'town car' after the mechanic said it needed a new clutch a few weeks back. And renting a car would have cost a fortune and been logistically difficult to say the least.

Without much other option, we stretched the idea of 'town' and tried to take Margi's Subaru to the Denver Airport. The good news is it made it most of the way before it broke down six miles from the airport at 4am. I was asleep in the back when it happened and Alex woke me up by saying, "Dan, the car broke down!" Margi hastily corrected him, "No, it's in the process of breaking down." We made it up one last hill before it totally died. We were at Exit 6 on Pena Blvd and only had 75 minutes before our plane took off. Margi called a cab and I called AAA. 

The cab arrived after 20 minutes and we carefully grabbed all of our stuff with the cars whizzing by at 70 mph on both our right and left. Meanwhile, the lady at AAA told me they couldn't come pick up the car since I wasn't the owner. At that point I was pretending to be Alex, since I couldn't find my AAA number, and Massachusetts AAA didn't like the fact that he wasn't the owner for liability reasons.

I started getting pissed and began raising my voice: "So, you're telling me you can't tow my fiancee's car when we have to catch a flight in 45 minutes? Are you kidding me? What's the point of having AAA?" It felt strange saying "my finacee" but I had to for full effect. The AAA lady asked to talk to Margi and somehow this made AAA Massachussetts feel better, and they agreed to tow the car. 

Alex is excited we actually made it to Boston

Once at the airport we rushed through the check bag line and security, finally taking advantage of all the travel I'd done with Growing Cities, we were able to do a lot of cutting with my A-List status on Southwest. We were lucky because there were at least 150 people in each line and the only way we were able to make it was by using the priority lane. Somehow, we made it to the gate 25 minutes before our plane boarded, still in time to get seats together.

Canoeing on the Connecticut River

After a few connections, our friend Katy picked us up in Boston and we grabbed a bite to eat. I saw my brother, Ben, who's living in Cambridge and we met up with my cousin for Chinese food. That night me and my bro watched the first new Orange is the New Black episode together. It was fun catching up with him and seeing how well he was doing in Cambridge. He's a computer whiz and working as an intern for a tech company this summer. He's an intern only in name - they tried to hire him last summer before he went to do his Master's and this summer they are paying him more per hour than I've ever received. By next Fall I'll be the least educated in my immediate family, which is pretty crazy to think about.

The next day, Alex, Margi, and I headed towards Hanover, stopping for a canoe trip along the way on the Connecticut River with one of Margi's friends from high school. It was beautiful on the water and was only made more majestic because we were paddling in handmade wooden canoes.

That night we had dinner at Skunk Hollow, a great little tavern in Vermont, and our friend Marc, who was hosting us all for reunion came over to meet us for some beers. It was wonderful to be in such a familiar place, surrounded by close friends.



That weekend, I ran a lot, laid in the grass, ate tons of good food, drank my favorite beer, too much whisky, and just spent time with some of my best friends. Margi, Alex, and I met up with one of our mentors, Scott Stokoe, the recently retired Farm manager, with whom we'd spent countless hours walking through the woods, weeding the fields, sharing breakfast in the College cafe, and generally scheming how we'd make Dartmouth the most sustainable College on the planet. The last part didn't exactly work out, but with his help we were able to make a lot of changes to the College, that are still around today - things like the Sustainable Living Center, changes to the Freshmen trips program, and more local foods on campus. It was wonderful to sit and chat, telling him about our lives and what we aspired to do. Sometimes you don't realize how much you miss someone until you see them again. Scott was definitely one of those people who shaped my life and taught me things I'll keep with me forever.

The rest of our friends arrived over the next few days - Cody and Katie from Vancouver, Tim from San Francisco, Kerry from Philly, and others I'd forgotten from all over the country. We went to the sauna below Robinson Hall two nights in a row, something I'd never done in College, despite spending almost a year basically living there coordinating the Trips Program. Since none of us had actually 'signed-up' per se, we crashed the reunion gathering, and saw so many friends I would have never otherwise made the effort to see, but was so glad I saw them - all my Ultimate Frisbee friends from Freshman year, like Ben and Jake from NYC, Adam in SF, Robin in Cambridge, and so many more.

My friends Billy and Marc were just about to launch a Kickstarter for their band, Etna Old Time, but when I was asking them about it I realized they hadn't actually made a video, and were just going to post a clip of them playing music. Hearing this, I offered to help them out. By early afternoon the next day, me and Alex had shot the video and then I quickly edited it. It was fun and I was glad to help out two of my best friends. You can check out their Kickstarter and video I made here. 

On our last night all together we went up to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge and hung out with a bunch of friends. I got to see Maisie, one of my closest friends at the end of College, and also my friend Platz, who has hiked both the Pacific Crest and Appalachian Trail. He advised me to get free pizza in Hanover for thru-hikers (which I did the next day). Being back at the Lodge definitely stirred some good memories and I was so happy I could see one more time before they replaced it in the next few years.

It was a bummer to leave everyone when it was all over, but I was also ready to get back on trail - I'd only completed a third of my journey and was ready to keep moving north towards Canada. On my way back towards Colorado I made a pitstop in Ohio to see my Dad and stepmom. I hung out in there pool and the sauna that I didn't know existed and we took a ride in their boat. It was good to see them and take one final rest before getting back on trail.

Day 58, 59, and 60: Triple Zero with Laura

Not sure where to start this retroactive post, so much good stuff in the days I had with Laura - so much so that I didn't write anything. I missed writing and it's much harder to evoke the memories and feelings of a time without having taken notes and only relying on memories, which seem to be so reliably unreliable. Writing each day is a great way to reflect and also allows me time to compose my thoughts about my day and find some order to the chaos which is hiking all day in rain or snow ... or just the whirlwind of hanging out in town. 

Nonetheless, I do recall the events and that Laura and I were so happy to be together. The first morning we headed out towards the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We planned to hike down the 1,500 ft to the canyon floor and camp by the Gunnison River. We drove around the park some and then stopped into the ranger station and talked to the ranger about getting a wilderness permit to hike. He warned us about how difficult it was, showed us pictures of the route meant to scare us off, and when I told him I was hiking the Continental Divide Trail, he said, "the keyword there is trail." I knew we didn't have anything to worry about when he said that. Again, I'm amazed by how inept our National Park rangers are.  They are programmed from a script to try and scare anyone who plans to head out into the woods and don't take into account people's skills and abilities. Of course, I'm sure a lot of people overestimate those skills, but when someone says they hiked through the San Juan's in the highest May snow year in the last 30 years, you'd expect he might realize that we aren't the typical tourist needing a scare.

 

 In any case, Laura thought he was a cute, older man so she just laughed it off. We took a little driving tour around the canyon rim, admiring the sheer, red cliffs and taking a few short walks, trying to size up what we were actually getting ourselves into. 

We headed down into the canyon around 1pm. At first, the trail is pretty level and well-maintained. A quarter-mile down, the trail cuts off down into the wilderness and it became less maintained and a lot steeper. The rocks were pretty loose and it was definitely a Class III scramble. At one point, there was even a chain to haul yourself down for stability. We worked our way slowly down, enjoying one another's company along the way and enjoying the ever-changing views of the cliffs and the Gunnison river.

We made it down to the bottom by around 3:30pm and setup a leisurely camp. We relaxed by the river and drank our two beers and fixed ramen for dinner. After dinner we discovered a large pile of fresh bear poop about 30 yards from our tent. Laura was adamant that it wasn't there when we walked in. She wasn't sure we were going to make it through the night.

 

The next morning, we shared our Pop-tarts and headed back up the canyon walls before the sun's morning rays reached down into the bowels of the river. It was much easier going uphill and you had to be a lot less careful than going down with all the loose rock. Me and Laura shared my hiking poles which definitely made the going easier. We made back up in an hour and a half and checked back-in with the rangers, letting them know we had survived.

 

We hung out in the ranger station for a bit, mostly asking about good breakfast places nearby, and then headed out for Montrose, CO the closest town. We ended up at Starvin' Arvins which turned out to be a wonderful little spot, famous for it's homemade biscuits and generous portions. It was perfect for us. Laura had the French Toast and I got a breakfast scramble with an enormous, fresh-baked biscuit. We each had coffee and just hung out, trying to figure out our next move. 

We decided we'd head to Ouray, CO and try to find some hot springs along the way or in town. Ouray is a cute, old mining town set in a picturesque location right at the base of the San Juan's, probably close around 9,000 ft. We found a motel there with a 'vapor cave' and were intrigued since the public hot spring was closed for maintenance. We got a good deal with the room so decided to check it out.

The rooms were nice enough, but the vapor cave was really cool. Back in the 70's they'd blasted out this underground cave, with enough space for probably 20 people to lounge in various hot spring pools. The water flows directly out of the rock and into the pools at 103 degrees, which is perfect for soaking, but not too long. It was a bit hot for Laura, but I really enjoyed it. The steam was trapped in by the cave, so you not only had the water soaking your body, but the steam enveloping you. We soaked on and our for 20 minute intervals, reading local travel magazines in lawn chairs in between.

Later that day we walked around town got coffee, some jerky, and generally browsed around town. I took a run around the 5-mile perimeter trail, which took me to a beautiful waterfall, billion year-old rock, their ice climbing park (melted), and a narrow tunnel through the cliffs. I imagined this being my local running trail and was very jealous. It was also the first run I'd been on in nearly two months, so it was slow. I had no problem going uphill, but I definitely felt it - my muscles just felt a bit heavy. I felt like I could run uphill forever, but just not very fast.

We went out for dinner at the Ouray Brewery and had some beers. It was a good night. The next day we soaked some more and then started heading back towards Lake City. On our way we made a detour south to Telluride and hung out in town there. We went up to the Mountain Village in the free Gondola. It was super eerie going up that way, surrounded by billions of dollars in real estate, yet almost no one was there during the summer. It's crazy to think that all these houses are empty so much of the year, not only here, but in every resort town across Colorado. What made it even stranger is that all the shops were still open, despite the fact that no one was around. We got some coffee and I had a donut before we made our way back up and down towards Telluride.

We stopped at the top of the mountain and admired the San Juan's on a short walk. Below, we could see the U-shaped valley in which Telluride rested, carved by glaciers thousands of years ago. Getting back on the gondola one final time, we saw a few elk and a rainbow on our way down and took silly pictures of ourselves.

Back down in Telluride we took a short walk and then grabbed some pizza and wine for dinner before heading back to Montrose to sleep at the Black Canyon motel. We were exhausted and sad this would be our last night together before we went our separate ways.

Day 56 and 57: Double Zero in Lake City

Mileage: Zero

Karma and I slept in some and I did yoga for the first time in months. It was a pretty dreary Saturday but we didn't care as long as we had somewhere dry and warm to sleep - plus our own rooms to boot!

We went over and had breakfast at the local diner - they had small portions and served everything on plastic plates, but the service was good and the waitress kept our coffee warm. I headed over to the post office after breakfast and hung out there until they opened at 11am. Who's ever heard of a post office opening at 11am? Even on a Saturday in a small town?

I ran back to the hostel through the pouring rain in my homemade thong sandals, drenching both my shoes and socks in the process. We sat around Raven's Rest most of the morning, drying things out and doing some light gear repair. Around noon, Lucky walked in and asked us if we would want to go whitewater rafting. He said it wasn't for sure, but we should be ready in an hour if we wanted to go. Sure enough, an hour later he walked in and told us there was room in the boat.

We were headed to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison, or as locals called it, 'the Lake Fork'. It was running high, around 1,200 CFS (Cubic Feet per Second), and had Class III and IV rapids, much more intense than our day trip on the Rio Grande. As we drove north on Highway 149 out of town we saw the Lake Fork on our right and hills full of Purple Lupine and the fiery red spikes of Paintbrush on our left. 

Our guide was Jack, a solidly built man in his 50's, who at first came off a bit gruff, but who clearly knew more about the river and surrounding landscape than almost anyone else around. He'd owned a rafting company in town for nearly ten years before he had to shut down for legal issues with a wealthy private landowner. Our other companions on the trip were Patrick and Eric, a local and his friend from the front range, respectively. Everyone had beards. It was raining steadily as we unloaded and inflated the boat. As I took my turn pumping the air into the raft I realized how out of shape my arms had gotten. I'd pump for thirty seconds before I got tired and had to tag out.

Once we were all set with life jackets and helmets, Jack went into serious mode for the safety talk to scare the crap out of us and make sure we knew what to do in an emergency. My takeaway from the whole thing was don't fall out of the boat because that would suck for everyone, especially you.

We got going down the river and Jack started hollering out commands as practice before the big rapids. 'Right', 'Left', 'All forward', 'Back left', 'Back right!' He told us to dig deep into the water and use our full bodies to paddle - not just our arms. I was seated in the back right near Jack. It was nice because I could ask him about the various plants I was curious about along the way. The Choke Cherry bloomed in umbels resembling white bundles of Lilac from faraway, while the Alder and Aspen filled out the remainder of the banks, with the occasional Spruce or Fir along the way.

We ran rapids with names like 'Peanut Butter Falls', 'Rollercoaster', 'Rattlesnake', and 'Railroad Falls'. In these sections Jack would rumble out commands, roaring double if we didn't paddle to his liking. At Rattlesnake rapid the raft completely filled up with water like a bathtub. We all dug our feet in tight to stay in the boat as it shook in the rapid. Jack deftly guided us in, out, and around the obstacles of rock and log to bring us to safety each time. He would tell us, 'Great job!' after each rapid, but we knew it was Jack who deserved the credit for bringing us out of the depths of the roaring river, nimbly paddling us along.

By the end, we were all totally soaked and shivering from the river water and the rain but this couldn't take the smiles off our faces. My face actually hurt from smiling. I loved feeling the power of the river, but being able to ride on top - gliding over the snow that we had trudged through just yesterday in the San Juan's. After we finished, we loaded the boat and paddles and headed back to town. We all resembled (and smelled like) wet dogs.

Karma and I dried off and ate at the Southern place for the second time in as many days. I had a catfish po' boy once again, this time grilled. It was delicious. Lucky informed us we were invited over for BBQ ribs at Patrick's house. We figured a second dinner sounded great.

Patrick lived just a few blocks away on the Lake Fork. His house was warm from the wood stove and smelled of cooked meat. Two giant racks of ribs slathered in KC Masterpiece laid on the table. The starving Nebraskan in me outruled the principled vegetarian. I had my first ribs in close to ten years. They were amazing - so much salt and fat rushed down into my stomach and up towards my brain. I could only eat two before I started feeling a little sick, but it was worth it. Eric whipped up some crazy mixed drinks and we all sat around the table and talked about Lake City: it's wonderful outdoors opportunities, the Texans, and the crazy religious folks who'd tricked Patrick's daughter to going to a 'volleyball camp with just a little bit of bible study' - apparently  there is no such thing as 'a little but of bible.' 

Jack stopped by and we all were happy to see him. I'd bough him a six-pack after the trip and was happy to see he had a Budweiser in-hand. We all chatted some more until Karma and I couldn't keep our eyes opened. Jack asked if we wanted to raft again the next day, this time on the upper reaches of the Rio Grande. We said we'd sleep on it. Once we got back to Lucky's I immediately fell asleep, the Lake Fork rushing through my dreams.

The next morning we cooked up some breakfast sandwiches - Patrick stopped by early and we agreed to leave for the raft trip around 10am. This time Jack brought his two kids and wife, Leslie. Leslie was also a river guide. They told us today would be a lot calmer than yesterday but still would have some rapids. His kids were adorable and I kept kidding the younger one that we were going to throw him in the river if he didn't paddle hard enough.

We had a great time lazily floating down the river and paddling as Jack commanded. It was all gravy. That was until the clouds descended on our and it began to rain. It was the cold, wet rain that seemed all too common at this time of year in the San Juan's. Almost right as the sky closed up, we saw a logjam ahead. Logs spanned across the entire river, making it impossible for our raft to make it through. The river was still moving fast, so we had act quickly to get over to the respite of an eddy before we hit the logs which would flip our boat against the hard-rushing water.

Jack got us over in plenty of time and we all got out except him and Leslie. They tied a rope to each end of the boat and slowly maneuvered the boat up to the logjam as Patrick held on to the rope to make sure they wouldn't go anywhere too far. Once they made it to the logjam, Jack and Leslie hopped out of the boat into the shallow water and we lifted the boat over the logs. Once on the other side we all got back in and resumed our trip downriver. What could have been potentially disastrous was no problem for Captain Jack and his experience.

As seems to happen to me so often these days, the sun popped out the second we got off river. After all day of freezing rain, it was all of a sudden a beautiful day for our drive back to town. You can't control the weather, but you can complain about it. I had a good conversation with Jack and Leslie on our way back to town and she kept me and the kids well-fed with pop-tarts and chocolate, while Jack gave me beer. It was nice to feel so at home with people I'd just met the day before. 

We got back to Lake City just an hour or two before Laura, my girlfriend, got in from Denver. We shared a beer and some pizza and just enjoyed being with one another for the first time in two months. We went out to the bar and sat by a campfire and listened to a guy playing his guitar with an older Slovakian couple who didn't speak any English. The husband kept bringing logs to the fire, until we had to scoot back to keep our feet from getting burned. It was wonderful to just sit with Laura and chat. We went back to the hostel and fell asleep early, anticipating a big day ahead.

Day 52 and 53: Double Zero in Durango

Mileage: Zero!

I woke up pretty early and talked some with my mom. It was nice to catch-up some and hear about her trip to England with her friend Trisha. Around 7:30 Ricky came down and suggested we go out to breakfast. As we walked down Main St. he veered into the very same place, Carver Brewing, Karma and I went for beers the night before. Of course, the same waitress walked up to take our order and recognized me. I got a bagel with lox (my first on the trip!) and it was really fantastic. Me and Ricky lingered over coffee and he didn't get to work until close to ten. It was really nice to be able to spend time just sitting around and catching up with a close friend. It felt so familiar, which I think is one of the things I miss most about being at home - the routines, the people, and the places which weave their way into your everyday life until they become a part of who you are. It's only when they are gone that you realize you're missing landmarks that remind you who you are.

After breakfast, I walked up the Animas River towards the library the smell of spring floated through the air. At 6,500 ft Durango was in full bloom with blazing orange poppies, Crimson columbine, blue and purple Iris, and much more. Rafts and kayaks swept past on the water and the occasional shriek of a young rafter reached my ears. I entered a different world when I got to the library, from one of every natural sight, smell, and sound to the sterility and quiet of the modern, concrete building with computers and books all around. I took care of a few emails and caught up some with friends.

I also read letters from Laura and Ali (my housemate for two years), and it really made me miss home. Laura made a beautiful watercolor of a cactus for me, which I want to keep but am afraid it will get ruined so I'll probably send it home. About 1pm I headed back to town and had an awesome Tibetan/Nepalese lunch buffet with Ricky. I started with an enormous plate of salad and then followed it up with two heaping plates of rice, naan, catfish curry, vegetable tempura, lentil soup, and vegetable coconut curry. Every dish was thoughtfully spiced and incredibly delicious. I also might have been hungry. Again, it was great catching up and hearing about Ricky's thoughts and future plans over chai tea. I realized we both had been seriously thinking about a NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) course and have very similar values when it comes to teaching with the outdoors. It's funny how a place affects your conversation - in two years living together in Omaha, somehow we had never talked about something that was very close to both of our hearts. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon in a coffee shop before we headed over to the hot springs after Ricky got off work. We soaked in the hottest pool they had for over an hour and chatted about Turkey, where he had lived for six months and where I had just visited during my time in the Middle East. We also talked about Egypt, our travels there, and how horrible the current situation is under military rule. We admired the beautiful flowers along the springs and finished with a sauna as the sun set.

For dinner we made a feast with tons of veggies and other ingredients from Natural Grocer. We had Spaghetti with Eggplant and Italian Seitan, salad, and a garlic baguette. To finish the night we Skyped with aome of our best friends back in Omaha, Todd and Chelsea, which was awesome. They were an hour late to our Skype date - I had guessed it was because they were at the Homie - I'm not sure that was right, but I'm pretty sure there was drinking involved. Todd proclaimed he was 'my biggest fan' and reads every blog. Again, I was reminded of home and tried to convince them to come out and walk with me. 

The next morning I woke up to Tomagomaki - a thin Japanese egg roll-up that Ricky is especially good at making - with salad. I went back to library and finished blogs and transferred pictures. We had Thai for lunch (it was no Salween) and then went to coffee shop and had a mocha and took a nap. We finished the afternoon with some bouldering at Dalla mountain park where I demonstrated how completely out of climbing shape one can be despite walking 14 hours a day for two months. We still had a good time and I took pictures of Ricky doing some crazy ape shit. I had him take a picture of me that made me look badass.

We headed back and had leftovers and talked. We finished the night with some very underrated Three Twins Chocolate peanut buttercup ice cream and went to bed earlier than we had been so we could get early start in the morning. The next day we were headed to Silverton and back to the trail.