Trip planning

I really enjoying going on vacation... and more importantly, i really like going on vacation to really amazing places. I've been pretty lucky over the past few years to have some pretty rad mini vacations and some pretty huge big vacations (biking in Europe, back-packing in Alaska, floating the Grand Canyon and etc.)

So... i've been pretty bummed at myself for not having any spectacular ideas for what I want to do for a month long vacation I have starting in August and ending around September 20th... until about 10 minutes ago. I'm going to get in my car and drive. yes. those are my plans. However, i will do things while in this car. I will drive down a highway, i will buy gas, i will eat food and i will see things. Yes. things. great things. What are those things? Not really sure yet... need to do more research. Current plan is to spend a few days in yosemite (or skip it all together). Just park the car and go hiking and running for a bit.... then head on down to the grand canyon and run around there for a bit and check out the rim side of life. On the way i'm going to stop at various locations such as: Crater Lake National Park, Redwoods, Sequoia National Park, Death Valley, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Canyonlands, Glen Canyon, Dinosaur and then head on back up North. Probably going to run alot. might bring a bike... might not. probably just running shoes.

It's going to be amazing... and im going to go through a crap load of gas, but once again... pretty darn amazing.

If you're interested in joining me at any point on this fun journey through the southwest U.S of A... let me know. I'll need help with gas money :)

So, time to brush up on some Ed Abbey and venture toward the land of cacti and waterfalls.

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.”
- Ed Abbey

empty promises

are fulfilled when i download photos off of my camera :)


Here's a photo compilation of my life over the past few weeks. whoa.

The Grads were invited to go hang out with NCI staff for the day. We got to go bird watching, have an amazing meal in La Conner and then go to the Museum of Northwest Art (MONA). At MONA, we saw amazing exhibits and were shown around by the curator and some of the artists that had a showing at the time. At the main entrance to Theodora Jonssons work, she had the following poem:

When you move
Through the waters
with your mind
still and holy
then from all the file
and all the things growing
and all the animals
the sparks of their souls
come out and cling to you
and then they are purified
and become a holy fire
inside you

The following weekend the grads attended the Wilderness Awareness School for part ii of the instructor exchange. The grads from Islandwood also showed up and we had a grand old time with stories, fires & primitive whatnot. The highlight of the weekend was stalking another group for 20 minutes through the forest. This consisted of me stripping down to my base layer of ninja black, and then crawling along the forest floor through mud and ferns. it was fantastic.

During my time at the Wilderness Awareness School, I came across this picture of Sasquatch becoming a yogi in the woods. so fitting.

This past Thursday, Kate and I ventured out onto Highway 20 to see the sights & sounds of the road less traveled.... due to a road closure sign and a foot of snow. It was a beautiful bluebird day with views of the pickets & Hozomeen near the canadian border. talk about a grounding experience 12 hours before one of my larger presentations for the year.

Spandex & cross-country skis. Not a dork at all.

On Friday, the wonderful people of Prana sent me a catalog and within the confines of its FSC certified pages I found the following quote:

"A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world." - John Le Carre


reading that sentence and then sharing it with the greater NCI community during our weekly staff meeting was a strong reminder that quitting my job was the greatest thing I have done in my life. That simple statement summarizes all of the anxious and stressful moments I have had over the past four years, and justifies my decision to leave a very profitable career and lifestyle to mingle with the outdoors.

Cheers Prana. You made my week.

hmmm

do you ever have one of those weeks where you realize it's friday... but you were pretty sure 3 minutes ago it was Tuesday?

welcome to my day.

Big presentation today on my curriculum project. Thankfully, I have a partner that also understands group dynamics and the need to share work equally... so, i think we put together a stellar paper (50 pages... eeek) and a killer presentation. Once I get through this, i'll post up some good photo's and some more updates.

in the mean time, for those of you out there getting out in the snow this weekend, and away from the resort you should get into animal tracking. It's so cool to see little critters footsteps in the snow and then spend the next 10 minutes arguing with your friends over if it is a bunny, squirrel or unidentified mamal. I swear i saw cougar prints one day, came back with another friend and we deemed them a mishmash of other things. just try. it's fun. trust me. And if you want to get involved with the Citizen Science project on Wolverines with Conservation Northwest, let me know.

mushrooms, volcanos & flowers - oh my!

My professor provides us with weekly natural history prompts. This week dealt with the idea of catastrophism and the ability for nature to quickly reclaim itself.

He provided us with an article corresponding with the aftermath of the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens. A group of scientists were flown to the blast zone a few weeks and then again a few months after the eruption. Upon inspection, they found that quickly fireweed and the flower, pearly everlasting were abundant within the landscape.

Prior to my teacher sending out this article, I had finished a book (which i highly recommend) titled the "Hidden Forest." One of the scientists in the book, was a member of one of the scientific teams to descend on the blast zone weeks after the eruption. He dug a few inches below the ground and found white fibrous strands weaving throughout the pumicey soil and debris.

So, recap:

Volcano (this is the blast zone 30 years after the eruption... notice how it's just starting to turn green?)

Pearly Everlasting - flower

White stuff - Mycorrhizae

Using Mount Saint Helens, scientists were able to see and study firsthand how amazing the natural world truly is. Mycorrhizae is this amazing adaptation of fungi that works with plants and creates a symbiotic relationship with other plants nearby. So, if you look at the picture above, you can see how the root system of one plant is connected to other nearby plants with these white fibers: Mycorrhizae. This allows plants to share nutrients and have a higher chance at survival.

in the case of those plants found immediately after the eruption, they are highly versatile. In the case of Pearly Everlasting, the author had this to say:

It is supremely adapted to disturbance: its leaf color deflects solar radiation; it is covered with tiny white hairs that trap heat during freezing subalpine nights; its roots and rhizomes are so tightly entwined that strong winds cannot dislodge them; it can sprout from root fragments; its seeds are feather light and can colonize long distances.


It's pretty amazing how tiny things that we can barely see (mycorrhizae) and a small plant can be so amazing and so resilient. It's also amazing to have a brief moment into understanding how complex the natural world truly is. Everything relies on each other, and is still able to adapt to the most severe and rare occurrences. Do humans have the same ability?

Next time you decide to go on an adventure, try to venture to a recent forest fire site. It's beautiful to see the torched trees with fireweed and pearly everlasting interspersed between the charred remains.

Harts Pass - Pasayten Wilderness

Old Growth

On Monday, in a far far off land... the grads + my dad explored Rockport state park. I had never been there before even though i've driven by it at least 100 times (no exaggeration). It's kinda in the middle of nowhere on the way to the North Cascades National Park (also, in the middle of nowhere)... so, i never really felt the need to stop... but after Monday, i need to go back and explore more. The park was full of 400 year old Maples and Douglas Firs. We had a pretty intense wind & rain even back in December and then again in January, so there was a lot of disturbance and downed trees, which makes the experience that much more amazing. Can you imagine looking at a 400 year old gigantic tree that exploded at it's trunk due to the weight up high that just pushed it right over? It's pretty cool.

Since it is a state park, it unfortunately does not get the love and care that a park of this nature should get. The state is looking into shutting it down due to budget cuts, and they cannot afford to do any maintenance on the trails since the blow down without the help of volunteers. So, if you're ever looking for something to do, and want to volunteer... highly recommend this park, or one of our many other amazing state parks that is in dire need of love & care.

enough talk. photos

exploding tree with as nick conquers it

Photo wars

log traverse

so much moss, so little time

licorice fern and it's tiny tiny spores!

Birds who flock together....

try to shit on your head.

On Wednesday forever ago, the grads finished up their three day long winter naturalist retreat by going bird watching. Not too sound like too much of a dork, but I was looking forward to this. I have this insane fascination with now knowing the name of everything I see... this was based on a quote that essentially said that you cannot care for something until you know its name. Take a second and think about how true that really is. When you know the name of a mountain, you typically are fascinated with it for one reason or another. Or, when you know the name of an animal, you sometimes are compelled to "save it" (i.e. polar bears). So, if my ultimate goal in life is to save the world, i better start learning a ton of names.

So, i've become fascinated with learning more about birds. They're pretty darn cool, and they have these beautiful songs that are unique to each and every species. There are these little guys that hang out in the bush in front of the picture window in my living room in Bellingham. I hear them every morning, and there are easily 20 - 30 of them.. and they're pretty darn cute. They went from being some small cute bird to the Black-cap Chickadee. Then i noticed it had a friend the other morning, with a brownish head. Thankfully, i have a bird guide now, and i figured it was a Chestnut-back chickadee. Anyway... im getting away from the point.

here are some photos from birding. It was rad.

The grads looking upon a flock of Tundra Swans and Trumpeter Swans

Dad using the binocs while chasing a Red Tail Hawk

Dad & I with thousands of snowgeese (no exaggeration)

The Snowgeese were startled by two eagles and took flight

And crash landed into each other

I took a video of the snowgeese in flight. You can check it out on youtube here.

blowing it

school, work (yes, i have a job... and 2 at that), non-profit stuff and trying to stay healthy has kinda taken a precedent this week. I promise i'll post soon about last weeks grad retreat... and then next week i'll post about the banked slalom.

promise!!!