Year in Review 2008

I see a lot of year end lists but none of them seem to document what's happened in my life. I revisited my posts throughout the year, which I admit have been thin, to review what went on in our lives this year and to fill in some gaps. We started the year in Atlanta, with Chad visiting from Santa Barbara, but just days later we received another visitor who stayed for six months. Jorge lived with us from January to July and was a member of the family. January 2008 also brought Atlanta some snow that actually stayed on the ground. We first experienced it while at a mountain cabin with my fellow and lady city planning students but got another taste upon our return home.

In February school at Emory was in full swing and a routine for the next several months began to take shape. Unfortunately, there were a few bits of bad news for the month. First, Lauren was badly shaken up by the stunning defeat of the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Then she had her 30th birthday. We had a sports-themed surprise party where everyone dressed up in sports gear they had lying around the house.




In March, Lauren jetted off to Brooklyn to see here sister for the weekend. Jorge and I stayed home and started construction of the garden and the cleaning up of the back yard. Also, in March 2008 Lauren and I went to the wedding of our friends Michelle and Alex. It was one of the first times I visited and stayed in downtown LA. The wedding was great but the national news that weekend focused on Atlanta and the tornado that had ripped through downtown. We returned home to find our own neighborhood particularly hard-hit.

April was a busy month. First I turned 29. Next Jorge and I set off to DC for a conference and some sightseeing. I was presenting at the Active Living Research Conference and he wanted to see the city. We stayed with Gill and Mikey but I remember hardly getting to see them and thinking that we were all pretty busy. It was also my first chance to meet Purvi. The pleasure was all mine. On the way home from DC we took a long layover in Detroit to see the family, but April doesn't stop there. Later in the month I headed to Montreal for Paul's Bachelor Party. Here I got to see more of Gill and Mikey in an environment that I'm more accustomed too. Also got to see Bilski, Chad, Jesse, Peter, Rob, Freeman, Michael, Brian, Scotty, Jake, Matt, and of course Rico. That's all I'm going to say about that.

In May 2008 Lauren's dad and sister visited independently for work within a week of each other. We visited the Museum of Natural History and saw a Braves' game, respectively. Then Lauren and I spent the rest of month in the islands, sort of. We headed to Jekyll Island with John, Shannon, Mike and Hannah. It was our first time there and our last time camping with children (kidding). It was great to ride our bike around the island but I also remember the ticks and the raccoons. In between our island trips, Lauren and I drove up to Blowing Rock, NC to pick up a table that had been made for us in Hampton, CT. We met her mom and Mack at a family house there and spent the weekend listening to and learning mountain dulcimer. The next weekend we were back to the islands. We went with Dave and Liza and stayed in a condo on Folly Island near Charleston. We walked to the beach and played of lot of surf football catch. May ended with Lauren and I back in the mountains. She headed to Yellowstone for work and I went with Jorge to North Georgia.


June was comparatively low key. Matt and Priya held a wedding-warm-up-weekend in ATL for their friends. We did take one trip to Raburn County to visit with Sam at her house up there. Not much else went on. Jorge grew a mustache.







July started with a trip to San Francisco for the wedding of our good friends Paul and Hilary. The wedding was in the Presidio. We stayed in an officer's quarters and could walk home from the reception and the bowling that followed. It was a great time. Sadly, in July we also bid farewell to Jorge and to Dave and Liza. Jorge returned home and D+L moved out to Salt Lake City. At the end of July I also set off. I went out west again to hike the west coast trial. There are a number of posts detailing the trip which was quite the experience.

I returned from Seattle in August and proceeded to attend my first ever used car give-away night at a minor league baseball game. Matt, Miguel, Ben and I headed up to Chattanooga for some climbing and then went to a Lookout's game where they gave away a used car every inning. August also saw us back up in northeast Georgia for a camping trip along the Chattooga, 'The Deliverance River'.

In September Lauren and I celebrated our second anniversary by going to the Chattahoochee Hill Country in South West Fulton County to a place called Serenbe. We spent two days there walking around the grounds and enjoying the beautiful fall weather and each other. Lauren got the chance to go to Rhode Island and celebrate another wedding that month. Her Aunt Laurie was married in September 08.
The first weekend ofOctober Ben and I headed back to Blowing Rock, NC for a bouldering competition at Hound Ears. This is the first stage of the Triple Crown which is held each year in the Southeast. Shortly after that my family came into town to visit with us. We went apple picking in North GA and visited the local drive-in movie theater. One of the most fun things we did was to go to the climbing gym and get my sister and my dad up on a rope. Later that month I attended another bachelor party, this time in Nashville for Jason Chernock. Finally I got to go out to San Diego for the American Public Health Conference. I stayed in a hostel in the Gas Lamp District and Chad came down to hang out for a couple days. I liked it there mostly because of the weather and the ocean.
In November, we once again headed up to the mountains of North Carolina (it seems like that's all we do). This time to Asheville, NC to stay in a cottage for the weekend with Ben, Katy, Ariel and Chad. Ben and I got away for a day to do some climbing and we all spent our nights in town with delicious food and beverage. I can't forget to mention the exciting election night that this November brought with it. For the holiday, we returned the favor to my parents when we drove up to Detroit for Thanksgiving. I was a good trip: got to see family and friends, eat well and visit some favorite spots. One thing I have done the last few ties up there is drive around Detrit with my dad and take pictures. The saddest thing I saw on this trip was Tiger Stadium literally cut in half and in the process of being demolished.

We rounded out the year like we do every year, with December. This Year we decided to get a Christmas tree for the house. We went south to a farm where we could cut down our own. This was the first real tree I have ever had, let alone actually cut down. The Chernock wedding that we preemptively celebrated in Nashville went off in December 2008 without flaws. Then Lauren and I took a trip up to Brooklyn to visit Susan and attend Stash Bash 08. Next we headed to New England to spend the holidays with her family. We ran back and forth between CT and RI and managed to spend some time in Providence and see a motion picture. We closed out out 2008 back up in the north GA mountains at a cabin with Liz, Derek, Derek, Mellisa and Aly. It might seem a bit low-key for New Years but felt good to us.
2009 has started off very busy. On Monday of last week (2008) I spent hours trying to return a dog that was loose on campus back to its frat house. Then on the first day of the new year I was bit by a dog while trying to break up a fight. If that's not twisted karma... Everything is fine, I just need some recovery time for some bruising. One thing I learned, break up dog fights from behind the dogs, not by going between them. Lauren leaves for Bangladesh this week, I (surprise) am heading back to the mountains for the CRP cabin trip, and we have other trips planned to DC for inauguration, Phoenix for a bachelor party and Matt and Priya's wedding in March. Plus I'm sure we'll throw in many more camping and climbing trips along the way.

Lastly, you may recall a post last January about resolutions. This year I would like to reduce my sugar consumption, reduce overall consumption and waste, and increase water intake. How I will increase water intake and reduce water usage remains to be seen. But I was particularly proud of the fact that we did not have to turn on the municipal water once this year to water the garden AND that we have been composting food scraps at our house now for over a year. Also, I would like to improve on my resolution from one year ago and, as always, be nicer. Thanks for reading, Happy New Year!

Beer Club

For about one half of one year now I have been included in a group of beer fans called Beer Club. We currently hold meetings every third Thursday, most often in Decatur. Though it started sparse and disorganized it has gained some semblance of purpose indicative of its members' fervor. Now we have themes and homework. Last month was a beers of the Southeast extravaganza and overlapped with this article's release in the New Yorker. There was even a quiz on items in the article and the winner walked away with a one-of-a-kind pretzel and dental floss necklace (pictured). Conveniently, the November meeting also fell just after a trip to Asheville and their local beer haven Bruisin' Ales. We stocked up on some of new favorite and anti-favorite North Carolina beers.

The idea, as I know it, is the brainchild of Ben and Katy Lovehardstein. Everyone involved brings one or two beers (one large bottle or two 12 oz of each) for everyone to try. Ben usually determines the order of tasting but based on the theme of the meeting this may vary. Everyone drinks the same beer at the same time and then votes on it. The scoring system is our own thumb down (-1), thumb level (0), thumb up (1) and then you total that beer's score. Also everyone gets one double thumbs up (2) for the evening. I think we have tasting notes for all of our meetings somewhere but by the end of it they get lost.

Tonight is the December meeting of beer club and we're focusing on seasonals (my suggestion for a festival of light[beer]s was offered a bit too late). Here's the lineup so far.

Great Divide Hibernation
St. Bernardus' Christmas Ale
Birolla Malthus Chestnut Ale
Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale
Rogue Santa's Private Reserve
Sammy Smith Winter Welcome
Brouwerij Huyghe - Delirium Noël
Dogfish Head Chicory Stout

Winter Lip Warmer

Over the weekend Lauren and I went to Brooklyn to visit Susan. While we were there we got caught up in a flurry of mustaches, otherwise known as Mustaches for Kids (perhaps the most disturbing name for a fundraiser ever invented). Susan's boyfriend Jason was one of the 'growers' and raised money for public education. The competition extended for a month and had some strict guidelines about where and when you must shave. The Atlanta Chapter follows similar rules but donates money to a fund for childhood cancer research and prevention. In Brooklyn it culminated in a Stache Bash on Saturday with judges determining who would be king of the mustaches. They had to drink Guinness to see how much foam their mustaches could retain and also recite (or read) a haiku which they had written for the winter lip warmers or fox's eyebrows, as it were, that now donned their faces. All in all it seems a good way to raise money while drawing attention to your cause. We'll see if I decide to get involved next year at 'the close of the growing season.'

Blowing it

I have an ongoing and growing beef with leaf blowers, particularly gas powered leaf blowers. One look at my yard and you'll know that I do not have a blower, however I have used them and I have cleared my own driveway without one. My distaste for the machines stems from a belief that they cause more harm than good. When I mention the devices I get a similar reaction from most people.

The most common complaint is that the machines seem pointless. "They just move things around," people often say. While it is true that blowing leaves will only move them from one place to another, this season I have also seen vacuum trucks moving with teams of blowers to suck up the leaves. This was on Georgia Tech's Campus and I wondered where the leaves went. The Georgia Tech 2005 Landscape Master Plan the concepts of sustainability, eco-mimicry, and ecological succession are emphasized as objectives. As best I can tell, this would include leaving fallen leaf masses to decompose among the diverse understory shrubs promoted in the plan. Among the action items for ecological succession are

Allow under-utilized mowed areas to revert to more complex plant communities to improve the composition of the soil increase its capacity to infiltrate and manage stormwater. It will also save maintenance dollars.

and

Adjust landscape management to address ecological succession.

Allowing leaves to remain under trees and decompose in place, seems in line with those goals. Even if the vacuumed leaves are taken to a larger composting operation this doesn't necessarily help the areas where the leaves fell. There are a number of ways to manage leaves (see link below). We were planning on mulching ours with our mower.

Recall this whole rant started in a discussion about "just moving leaves around." This is, in fact, the case in many locations around the city; the leaves get pushed into the streets. With the leaves also goes trash and gravel and with traffic's assistance most of it ends up sitting around the road's outer edges. This is exactly the part of the road that bikers are confined to and the type of debris that make riding a bike less comfortable and convenient (not to mention flat tires). As a bike rider this is another reason I dislike blowers.

Their use with trash is disturbing and raises new questions about the definitions of litter. Though not the generators of the trash, should the landscapers be held responsible for the trash they blow from the sidewalk and into the streets? Regardless of who absorbs the blame this point begins to get at their many levels of wastefulness. If landscapers are being paid to clean up sidewalks, patios, and lawns but are only moving the debris to another location (in some cases less than 10 feet away) should they receive payment for a job well done? A more direct example of the waste the machines are responsible for is in fuel. Both gas-powered and electric blowers require some fuel inputs. Most of these are fossil fuels (gasoline, coal or natural gas power from power plants) and generate pollutants including carbon dioxide, elemental carbon and particulate matter (as well as the dust they kick up into the air). (Maybe they're not as bad as I make it sound) The real waste of such fuel use comes from the fact that the work could also be done using a broom or rake. It must be that the cost of fuels have not gone high enough to offset the 'efficiency' gains in speed and volume cleared... yet. But if we're paying people to go out and blow in settings like the one in the photo below (taken last week in the morning, there are no leaves and hardly trees anywhere) than how efficient are blowers?

Finally, how safe are the machines? Most of us who have seen blowers in action have seen operators armed with personal protective equipment (PPE). These accessories include headphones, facemasks and goggles to protect the operators from the hazard of using the machines. However, these machines operate in public spaces in close proximity to people without such PPE. Some of the hazards are obvious, debris and fumes in the respiratory tract, debris to the eyes and hearing damage. Others are less apparent but real for example the nuisance and obtrusiveness of the machines. Some may say that we'll get used to them and learn to ignore them but I take the fact that operators will try to stop when people are walking by as proof that we have not. I think they get social pressures like dirty looks and direct instructions from bosses (landscape company owners who have received complaints) to use such caution around people.

I have raised several questions about blowers here to which I assume you know how I would answer. I am interested to hear your comments and thought about blowers. Bans on blowers represent a possible slippery slope and could take away mowers and things that I use but could be a step in the right direction. It's also important to consider that there are much bigger problems on which to devote our time and energy.

Leaf Management Suggestions

A California town's blower opposition

California Air Resources Board Report on Blowers

Some people (landscapers) hate blower bans

For Best Results

I have one more final to finish and then I can move on to other things (like more blogging). This last final is in Regional Economic Foundations of Planning which is roughly about spatial economics. A main theme of the course is the interpretation of growth vs. development. Stereotypically, the semantics of economics are fairly stringent. Costs and benefits refer only to those things on which you can put a price or which the market puts a price on. I mention it to introduce this brief post and say that semantics are a funny, subjective thing. (and, I guess, thus economics could be subjective and funny, maybe)

Anyway, this is my toothpaste. Excuse the poor quality of the photo. I looked at it the other morning and noticed that it said "For best results, squeeze tube from the bottom and flatten as you go up." Lauren and I have been doing this accordion style for weeks and our teeth have never been cleaner.

Porch Sketchup

As I mentioned previously, we're thinking about how to add a front porch to the house. I have uploaded a sketchup template of the house that is roughly to scale. I am asking anyone interested to take the template and draft a porch design. send your design to us and it might become part of the final plan.

The house id made simply, there is an existing sidewalk out front and a couple of trees that are represented as cylinders.

download the template

download Sketchup - free

learn to use sketchup

Flowing Data

Ben summed it up last week, "I love graphics" and trying to put numbers and data into images. Unfortunately this semester I have been plagued by a malaise for rushing through things and not taking ownership, leaving my work on display lacking. GOOD Magazine has a section each month with some of the coolest displays of information. The clip above is a new one from them that displays presidential actions in the first 100 days. A timely piece considering the momentous election that I've hardly taken time to comment on, and which I will still postpone here.

Some of the best and most formal advice with regard to presenting information comes from Edward Tufte, who (after looking around his website) seems proud of himself and in love with his dogs. Nonetheless he knows how to blend information and art. Some of the graphs sell for hundreds of dollars on his website. I have to admit that even though I don't know what this is telling me, I really think this Japanese Weather map is cool.

Another site that is doing great things with data and maps is called Flowing Data. They do more in the way of putting up time-lapse animations that can show the spread of things (like Walmart), as well as add roll-over content for web-based maps. Many of the examples eventually release code which then allows more users to incorporate the design with their own data. Lauren and I recently did such a thing with some data from here job using an app called Timemap. Many online news sources are getting equally savvy in displaying their data (leaps and bounds from the infamous USA today infographics).

In addition to displaying data, innovations are also appearing for obtaining new sources of data. You may remember a post awhile ago on a Facebook add-in called Lexicon that allowed you to track the appearance of selected terms on people's walls. Yesterday the inboxes of many were ablaze with stories of how Google is using a similar idea to track flu. Google FluTrends is a formalized project for Google.org, Google's philanthropic unit that aims to save the world (I wouldn't put anything past them).

Clover

Over a month since I posted and I'm comin' up for air. Taking a break from work and such for a night and trying to put together a post. Since last writing my family has visited, I went to Boone for a bouldering competition and just got back from San Diego for the American Public Health Association's annual meeting. It was my first time really staying in San Diego and, like everyone, I was attracted to its beauty and weather. However, I feel like that's what makes it for San Diego. While it feels Californian, I don't think it has that unique identity that San Francisco and Los Angelos each claim for themselves. There was a lot of getting around by skateboard though, and I always find that cool.

Also cool was the fact that Chad came down from Santa Barbara to hang out for a day. We watched Michigan football (lose), talked about iPhone apps and explored the environs. When looking for coffee, he brought up the Clover. I had no idea what this was but Chad's enthusiasm about the device (or the coffee) was enough to capture my interest. Chad just finished his PhD in materials science and engineering. As you might expect that means a lot of time spent in the lab with other compatriots. This also means lots of coffee. Chad's group used thermal couples around the lab to control the temperature of water for brewing in their French press. Leave it to engineers to take coffee precision to new decimal places. The Clover was designed by Stanford mechanical engineers with the perfect cup of drip coffee in mind. Chad's mention of the machine planted the Clover seed in my head, now we had to find it.

The machine costs around $11,000 and makes only one cup of coffee at a time. But to call it one cup of coffee is an injustice. I found a coffee and tea shop near our hostel and not knowing the level of coffee snob-dom that the Clover represented I suggested we go there to look for it. The place had knick-knacks from countries that grow coffee and a regular espresso machine (ho-hum). However at the mere mention of the Clover they immediately pointed us in the right direction. There may only be one place in all of San Diego with one of these coffee brewers but the legend of it was obviously pervasive. We were off to Caffe Care Diem.

We weren't after this thing Amazing Race style, the Clover is a cultist (cup of coffee could be over $5) thing and we knew it would be there later waiting for us. So we meandered over to Coronado and to the beach. Later when we wanted some coffee - that's when we started after the Clover. The Carpe Diem we went to was the wrong one, however. Once again I marveled at the way the servers responded to our inquiries about the Clover. It was almost mythical. Everyone knew what we were looking for and had heard about its presence in the greater Metropolitan San Diego Region. Our patience again prevailed and we took our regular coffees with us as we checked out the park.

Chad had some work to do later that night and did not want to start back too late to SB, but we had one thing to do. Drink the Clover. We found the shop and prepared for our experience. Upon initiating the Clover process I immediately knew that I was in over my head. I do not consider myself a connoisseur of anything and know I was choosing the beans that I would be drinking at their fullest potential in just 5 minutes. The barista's knowledge, on the other hand, was intimidating. I got sentimental and chose Colombia. Upon serving she noted the what the roast was known for and what to look for as it cooled. I tensed up about adding anything to the brew and took it black. And here's the rub, you really need to have beans of adequate quality to justify such a luxury. Also, you need to know your coffee.

As with other gourmet and 'fancy' experiences of the pallet I think half of it is the ceremony and for that, the Clover is worth the hype. The machine is sleek and study, and the attention I was given with my order was nice as well. The Clover is also connected to the internet so that the temperature and time of the brew for your bean of choice is guaranteed to be spot on. Since returning to Atlanta I have looked for, and found, a Clover near me. Not surprisingly, it's at Batdorf & Bronson and of course in Decatur. I am not sure how much I will indulge myself with the Clover, but at least I know it's there. The company was recently purchased by Starbucks, so look for it near you.


The Clover Website
How the Clover works
Video of the Clover

Blowin' the Doors Off

Our latest project around the house has replacing some interior doors. We picked them up at Habitat for Humanity's Re-Store. I highly recommend checking out this resource in your area if you are looking to do some home improvement. Doing these four doors as well as a new screen door on the back has given me the opportunity to familiarize myself with some new tools. Including a plane and a kit for cutting spaces for the door hardware. During the project our spare bedroom was turned into a workshop and we had two bathrooms without doors for awhile.

All's well now and we turn to another tool that we have recently been using quite a bit to unload things onto the only market that hasn't crashed yet. The tool is Craigslist and the market is the junk market. We've unloaded a roof rack, golf clubs, a table and chairs, 4 stools, four doors, ad a used car with this site that somehow is free and has no advertising. (Here's how they make their money) I put the four doors on there for free last night and this morning I had 29 new emails. I had to delete the posting before noon.

So with that all behind us, we continue to poke away at our next huge project, a front porch, and once again I turn to a new tool and skill to help get the job done. This time it's Google Sketchup, the free 3D modeling software released by the world's most famous preteen (they just turned ten and right on schedule they'll soon have a cell phone of their very own). This tool is immensely powerful, unbelievably free, and a lot of fun. Here's a preliminary draft of one design. I'll continue to improve my skills and hope to post about four versions of it on the blog and get your feedback and opinions.

Learn to use Skethup

It's the Environment, Stupid!

All this political hype of the last few weeks has me sick of hearing about the environment. Everybody now feels obligated to mention it in speeches. One particular phase of note is "energy independence." I guess that started with W's State of the Union several years ago but now it's a mandatory mention in any stump speech. I give credit to gas prices. I also hear a lot about drilling. Masses of people demanding, or at least strongly supporting, drilling. It seems like a non-issue. Drilling is going to happen and not much will change, but today the house voted to ease the ban on offshore drilling (and without a new president). Of course those tree-hugging Democrats still left the best prospects off limits and snuck in legislation to investigate sources of energy other than oil. Now tell me, how is that gonna reduce our dependence on oil?.

Getting away from all of the politics and the ubiquitous discussion of issues I still find myself inundated with the environment. It's like the environment is all around me. Green is the new 'zero carbs' in a world where I have to take the bus, rapidly renew things, and shut off lights. Even in chocolate you can find the green marketing trying to move product that was probably shipped to the point of consumption from more than 1,000 miles away.

Lauren and I recently went to Serenbe for an anniversary weekend of relaxation, but everywhere we looked we ran into groups of recycling locavores. This place was half farm, half art fair and all green. For the sake of our psyches I can only hope the fervor of their Earth-friendliness is not sustainable.

This type of constant messaging on the greenness of things is getting to some people. It could drive us all crazy soon. Take for instance the video below. The woman in the video probably saw a Brita commercial on tv, heard how much energy goes into bottled water, read the words "metal oxide salt" somewhere, considered fears of shifting water supplies from "global warming" and was trying to put it all together with the latest news on BPA.



get unstupid

Michael Phelps

Had mad trouble falling asleep last night and then had this dream I was in this car and Michael Phelps was driving (I think Braylon Edwards was in the back seat) and we were getting on a ferry but you had to drive on all these curvy docks. I was scared because I thought he was gonna drive off of them a few times and he kept talking to us and not paying attention. But of course we didn't say anything because he was Micheal Phelps. Then he did and we were in the water and I had to resign to the fact that I was going to die even though I thought he would find a way to swim out of it and then found it really ironic that this is how he would die. I jumped out of my sleep and it was only 2-something.

What does this mean?

I am comfortable with being confronted with death?

I think I have a bond with Phelps and Edwards because they are buddies since they were in Ann Arbor and I feel like I'm in their crowd?

I have an irrational fear of driving on narrow docks over the ocean?

Radiohead Videos

While putting up all these posts about the West Coast Trail trip I have had a lot of ideas for new posts. Today I saw the winners for the Radiohead Animated video contest where they asked fans to create videos for tracks on their new album. The band choose four as winners. Here's my fave.



Here are the others:

15 Step
Entertaining Japanese-style cartoon. A boy runs and goes through psychadelic journey, the end is full of storyboards.

Videotape
This one is eerie and awesome. Mesh of real footage of lonely, beautiful and ordinary places combined with some computer animation.

Weird Fishes / Arpeggi
The beginning of this is really cool and I think the artist paid attention to what Radiohead was thinking with this song but it relies heavily on storyboards. Which, although well done, pale next to the live footage and puppets in the opening.

Until Pitchfork weighs in on them, this is the best review you have. Let me know what you think of them.

Day 7 - Crawl to the Finish

Log Jam Creek to Gordon River (5km)

Nothing was on our minds waking up this morning except finishing the hike and finishing it with everyone in one piece. We got up early, packed up camp faster than we'd ever done before and were on our way. We spoke the night before about sticking together and seeing this thing through. So it was that Rob would take the lead and set the pace.

Not too much happened on this day except that we finished. At some point in the trail you realize that everyone you pass is fresh, clean and just off the boat. Also, you can hear the ferry buzzing people to the trailhead and you begin to get excited (read impatient). At one such place in the trail we were all standing behind Rob as he calculated how to scale a fallen tree. A section of the tree had been cut out to make a step and it was about 3 feet (~1m) off the ground. He had resisted help and kept his wrists securely wrangled to his poles for 7 (or 8) days, but at this point, with a palpable urgency of 5 guys behind him, it looked as if all that would change. He began to remove his wrists from the poles' loops and 5 men simultaneously had a common realization and a new sense of hope (like watching a Barack Obama speech). Our spirits were crushed as Rob, instead of taking Matt's steady shoulder to aid his assent, took his poles, threw them past the opening in the tree and began to climb through on his own.

I have to admit, however, that seeing Rob finish this thing was something I thought about a lot and one of the best parts of the trip. We allowed him to lead all the way to the last kilometer, there we all took a picture with the small yellow sign that said 75km. Then, the magnetism to the finish too great to resist, we all fled for the ferry crossing, leaving Rob in our dust. He showed up a few minutes later with his poles drawn like two six-shooters. He was owed manhugs from us all and he knew they were coming.

Next began a whole other journey in itself. It was so hard to figure out who was going to Victoria General to be with Duke and who was going to head back to Seattle that I can not even remember what we did. I think Rob and Rick went to the hospital and then the four young guys also made a stop to say hi and pick up Rick. Duke was in good spirits and still telling his crushed aspirin story to anyone who would listen. We left him there with Rob while we waited, fasting and sponge-bathed, ready for surgery. He'd wait there prepped for over 24 hours more, and in the same time Rob ran around between the US Canada border like a chicken with his head cut off trying to get his other car up to Victoria (still, no one understands why). We arrived in Seattle and dropped off Rick, sometime around midnight (Thursday night/Friday morning), but determined to get some beer before passing out. Duke would finally make it back to Seattle on Saturday and we went over to visit on Sunday. He was bumped in the queue for surgery 5 times and finally gave up, came back to Seattle and had an appointment with his doctor for Tuesday. He had talked to George who had somehow made his way back to New Mexico since we last saw him.

Skip to the present. This weekend Matt is again out in Seattle with Duke, Rob, Graham and Josh for Graham and Liz's wedding. Best wishes to all of you guys and I hope to get back out there soon. It was the trip of a lifetime... until the next trip.

Day 6 - Just a Perfect Day

Camper Bay to Logjam Creek (8km)

We woke up happy to notice the morning absent the sound of water hitting our heads. It was not raining, we'd been able to dry some things out the night before and we even got a fire going in the morning to try and dry some more. The discussion about whether to push to the finish or go our own pace continued but now without words. We weren't going to get the early start that might have allowed us to finish by going our own pace and, in fact, there would still shelter to break down at 8:30. This is what Josh called the work of a subtle saboteur. Regardless, we started the day with a cable car and then headed into the forest for more of the rugged, boggy terrain that we had seen the day before.

I think we were all happy to see that it was noticeably more dry and easier than yesterday. Nonetheless, the up and down over uneven roots and fallen trees made you pay attention to every step. Rob was reliant on his poles and defiant to accept any help with the tougher to negotiate spots. He had taken a few spills on Day 5 but kept pushing along. Day 6 would be more of the same for him. After a few km he, Matt and Duke were hiking at the back of the group. The rest of us stopped at a beach access trail to wait for them but were surprised at how long it was taking. It turned out that Rob had taken a fall that put him in touch with a stump and he now had a gash (about 1" long; 2.54cm) squarely in the middle of his forehead. Matt had a ziplock full of bloody gauze and tissues to prove it. Minor crisis handled.

We skipped the beach access and pushed on. About 300 meters (or maybe 150 yards) down the path we came to the bridge over 150 yard Creek. Matt and I crossed, commenting on the missing boards and single-sided handrail, and were on the other side when we turned around to See Duke face down on the side of the ravine. Rick worked his pack off, we sat him up on the bridge and eventually we tried to see if he could put some weight on his legs. We knew that he had injured himself and thought it could have been serious (after sitting up he briefly blacked out, likely due to the pain). Standing up was not successful and we prepared to sit him down and call for help.

Our cells phones didn't work and the VHF radio we had could only receive, not send. Mostly we could either get the weather report or listen to fisherman and leisure boaters talk about old Norwegian-made skiffs. Finally a group of Canadians passed with a cell phone that they graciously let us borrow and we reached the rescue service and made them aware of our situation and position. A helicopter would be deployed.

We set up a mini-camp to get Duke's leg stabilized and on a thermarest and his body warm and fed. We made some hot water and waited for the rescue team to radio us. I have no recollection of time during this. Finally they called to say the helicopter was leaving and heading to beach access B (see map) about 300 meters, or 8 min of normal hiking, back on the trail. We heard the copter within 3 minutes and Matt and I rushed to meet it.

Two rescue workers exited the plane and recognized our excitement at the novelty of this unfortunate event and they put us to work. Matt carried the stretcher into the site and I helped out with rope bags. Shannon (the female rescue worker with whom Duke had spoken two days prior at a lighthouse encounter) got his leg into a vacuum jacket. James (the other rescuer) set up some ropes near the beach. Like most of the beach access points this one had the trail meeting the beach at a cliff of sorts and this one was luckily short at about 30 feet down a ladder. Since you can't go down a ladder on a stretcher, James would anchor a rope rig around some trees and we would lower the stretcher over the side of the cliff with a couple of us on the ladder guiding the things down with a free hand.

Once we finally got Duke on the stretcher it took all four of the youngsters along with Shannon and James to navigate and maneuver the thing down to beach access B. I would say this took over an hour. Two locations were ravine crossings formed with fallen trees. We tied a rope to the front of the stretcher and a couple of us would pull Duke along the top of the log while the others would position ourselves next to the log, sometimes into the ditch, and guide him across. Once we reached the cliff there was one more small detail to work out: Duke had to stabilized so that as the stretcher became vertical and went down the cliff he would not put weight on the bad leg. Shannon tied some fancy knots and we figured we had it. To test it we tilted the stretcher up and let Duke relieve himself, his body completely strapped to the stretcher. It was like silence of the lambs, minus the muzzle. At about this time the pilot came up to say that the tide was coming in and that he was going to have to move. James pushed for a few more minutes and we successfully got Duke to the helicopter with minutes to spare.

By now Matt, Graham and I had sent Rick and Rob with Josh to start moving toward the next campsite. It was getting late and we had about 4km to go before we could stop. We decided to try for a small campsite off the trail just south of the path to the Trasher Cove Beach campsite. We knew we couldn't make it to the Cove (1 km for the actual trail) and we didn't want to add that 1 km onto the next day either so we were shooting for Log Jam Creek. When we caught up to the crew in front we still had over a km to go and it was nearing 8PM if I recall correctly. We also found out that more blood had been shed, as Rick ran his head into a low clearance fallen log. Scalp wounds are known to produce a deceiving amount of blood (I should know), but Dr. Rob patched it up with superglue. We finally pulled into to our site sometime after 9 and quickly set everything up, got water, made dinner and hung the food. Our three tents barely fit in the space. If someone else had already set up shop there we would have been out of luck. We were so close that there was really very little on everyone's minds except for where Duke was and finishing the trail. We had just finished a day where four of us managed not to get hurt.

Day 5 - Rain Forest

Walbran Creek to Camper Creek (9km)

I better get this story down before I forget the dirty details. On day 4 I noted the sound of the rain on the tent as we fell asleep. Well, it was still raining in the morning and on Day 5 we had finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The rain had moved in and sat on us for the entire day. We set up camp in an efficient manner and started toward our next destination: our full day of travel in the forest (no beach).

Before anyone can go on the West Coast Trail they have to go through an orientation. In it they tell you about the animals, the campsite amenities, the ladders, the cable cars, and they walk you through the whole trail. Here they tell you about which sites might be closed, and where water can be found. We did the orientation at Port Renfrew so they walked us through the route from south to north. They always mention that the south portion is the easy part and if you are heading north once you hit Walbran you've finished the first (difficult) section and you have only 53 km left (easy). You'll notice that on Day 5 we started at Walbran Creek (kilometer 53).

We trudged through Day 5. I remember being in good spirits despite being soaked. I also recall huge sections of ladders and a long bridge at Logan Creek. With about one or two kilometers left, Josh and I went ahead to find a spot at Camper Bay and hopefully to get a fire started. We arrived to find one of the smallest sites we'd seen on the trip and certainly the one with the smallest amount of firewood and none of it dry. Surprisingly, the site does have two food lockers and two toilets.

Despite the lack of dry wood we were lucky to be the second group to arrive that day and we began to salvage any wood that looked like it might burn and try to get a fire underway. Some native Vancouver Island guys made up the group that beat us to the site and had already claimed the good wood. They also had a tarp up and had a fire going. The rest of our group arrived shortly and soon we were all freezing. Priorities included getting the tent up and changing clothes. About an hour after I arrived we still had very little flame going and I got in my sleeping bag and took a nap. Feeling lazy and hearing everyone else still outside and moving around I got up a bit later and found that our fire was under way. Rob, who was without a change of clothes and flush with solid fuel for a stove we would never use, had been working on it and finally got it going. We could not have done it without him and an awkward German/Japanese guy who came over to our camp and sawed some wood. Thanks guys.

Eventually the rain subsided after what I estimate to be about 21-22 hours. We somehow had the most kickass fire in the whole bay. By now travelers were rolling in along with stories about the route ahead and how tough it would be from here to the finish. Some arrived after nine hours of wet hiking all the way from Port Refrew but all of them looked at our fire with envy as we dried our clothes. Some people even came over to use it on their own clothes. In the morning it was more of the same, we got the firs going and dried some more before setting off. It wasn't the sunny weather we had enjoyed earlier in the trip but we had weathered the worst of the storm. After such a trying day there was some argument about how far to go on the next day. Some thought we could push all the way to the finish, but we would have to get an early start and reach the Gordon river crossing before 4:00 to catch the ferry. Others resisted the pressure and insisted we not push it and see where we are as the day progressed. Neither of those happened.

Day 4 - Monkey Farts

Cribbs Creek to Walbran Creek (12km)

Coming off the high of Day 3, and anticipating more great weather we once again opted for an early start. This would get us moving and set up at the next campsite with time to relax and enjoy the evening. Getting to site's early also ensured that we would get space in the food locker, firewood - though this was hardly ever in short supply - and a good campsite.

Once packed up at Cribbs our day went pretty much as expected. The early morning mist burned off just as we came to Chez Monique's. This is the very famous 'restaurant' set on First Nation land along the trail. Crab omelets and burgers were available for $20 as well as soda, beer and an assortment of candy. They even had bottles of wine for purchase. The whole situation is a little weird with huge piles of trash behind and next to the kitchen area. For the first time in days we saw pieces of the civilization they had tried to escape briefly and it was a bit ugly, albeit delicious. At the same time I think I romanticize it all more than others. Sitting around the table the group engaged in some vigorous debate and complaining about kids these days. A woman, perhaps Monique herself, chimed in and imparted a bit of wisdom about how giving makes one rich, and ironically Rich was the least willing to accept this.

The day went on in sunny, gorgeous fashion that was all beginning to seem pedestrian (pun intended) to us. When we arrived at at Walbran I laid down next to the fire ring and took a nap in a bbq pit, as Matt so appropriately described it. Our final custom-made-Duke-dinner was prepared: re-fried beans and rice with cheese in soft wheat tortillas. There was also more bacon from the huge Costco bag, which miraculously was finished on its second day. Duke suggested that we also go ahead and make the field tiramisu that we had prepared for Matt's birthday (still 2 days away). We all agreed that it was a good night for it and it would make the packs lighter. This line of reasoning is what also led to the early devouring of the biscotti (2/person) on the previous night. Field recipe tiramisu probably sounds risky to impossible but it was awesome. Well done Duke and Graham on all the prepared meals!

The rest of the night was spent creekside skipping rocks, chatting and throwing monkey farts - a trick Matt showed us. You take a rock that might be good for skipping and throw it high up into the air. You want it to hit the water exactly opposite of what you are going for with skipping. The sound you hear is supposed to resemble that of a monkey farting. The rocks here and the still, deep river are perfect for it.

Walbran Creek is the first site where we heard about the mice. Some of the sites are very close to the woods and at night they come out and they will get into things. Matt and I had selected a spot right at the edge of the woods and we heard tons of them scurrying around and squeaking to each other. At one point a mouse came under the fly and onto the tent. To be exact it was on the outside of the tent right over Matt's head, which because of the design of the tent and the height of Matt meant that Matt could feel it on his head. We are wimps. I'm not sure how we
fell asleep but I remember it starting to rain before I drifted off.

Day 3 - Swimming

Tsusiat Falls to Cribbs Creek (16km)

I woke up this morning nervous about the back of my foot. I had a sharp pain from the way the back of the boot folded and put pressure on my Achilles when I took a step. Also, I had just finished a day that I thought was the worst of the trip so far but I was not about to quit or complain. Of course neither would have done me any good. Richie "Hollow Point" Powell hooked me up with some anti-inflammatory meds and I laced my boots up in their old 'classic' way (the same as from the first two days, but I had strayed from this style the on the day before). I felt pretty good as we set off from the falls.

This day's hike was scheduled to be a long one, since there were limited points at which to obtain water and a camp site in the middle - Cheewhat River - was closed due to bears in the area. It would be our longest of the trip at over 16km. Thus we got an early start and the organic rhythm that began to make itself apparent the night before again appeared, this time a bit more refined still. The early start did us well. We started on the beach and came up to Hole in the Wall within the first hour, a classic spot on the trail.

In addition to the early start the group had vowed to avoid the mistake of the prior day which was to skip lunch so as to reach our final goal even faster. This last goal wasn't much of a problem because of the ferry crossing at Nitinat Narrows. When we arrived the sun was shining and the sky was blue. On the other side of the crossing there were fresh crab lunches ($20) and beers ($5) to be had by the rich.
Following lunch we continues on in the good weather and after km36 we popped out on a beautiful beach and took some time to admire it. The weather seemed to carry us and the weight of the packs was no longer obvious but more assumed and beginning to feel natural. I think it surprised everyone when we arrived to our destination; I thought we had about 3km to go.

On the far side of Cribbs Creek we found a nice shelter next to a small stream and a wall of rocks. We all went for a dip in the ocean, tried to dry some clothes in the sun, and made the most of this late afternoon glory. Josh and I tried to do some climbing on the rock wall next to the site. For dinner we had what was called the unwrapped baked potato. It was dehydrated mashed potatoes, vegetable medley, pepperoni, cheese, bits of real bacon and butter buds. That's right we carried with us pepperoni, smokes salmon, and real bacon (a huge Costco bag that was subsequently used for snacking, throwing a pinch in like a chew and with meals that followed) through bear country. It was a bit salty but hardy. We sat on the rocks and watched the sun set. Having accomplished our loftiest goal thusfar and with our spirits lifted by the beauty of the place we were part of, we felt optimistic about the rest of the journey.

Day 2 - On the Trail Again

Darling River to Tsusiat Falls (11km)

We woke up on this morning to find ourselves engulfed in the misty rain that is so characteristic of the region. It creeps in and then just sits there on top of you. The weather does, however, help everyone pack up with increased efficiency. Rob had dazzled us just two days prior with his modular, stripped down pack from eBay. Unfortunately, the ultralight pack, which sat on a hook on a belt, broke before we were 5km into the hike. Today he was once again exhibiting the pinnacle of equipment performance with his rain poncho/pack cover all in one. The concept - like that of the pack - was solid but in practice it presented issues. The elastic cord to cinch up portions of the poncho ended up dragging behind Rob, occasionally getting hooked on roots and branches. Josh, who was Rob's unofficial guardian on the trip, would have stop Rob once the cord had stretched about 25ft behind him and before it would release and snap back at Rob.

Personally I felt this was the worst/hardest day of the entire hike. The trail was much more rugged than the first section but not as rugged as we would run into later and I had this biting pain in my Achilles from the boot. It made the relatively short day go on forever. Day two did give us our first cable car of the hike. No matter how bad the day is going the sight of some serious mechanical hardware makes you feel like a kid.

Our stopping point for the day was the Tsusiat Falls campsite, perhaps the most picturesque of all the sites along the trail. We got there at a decent hour and had some time to enjoy this idyllic spot. We were sure about the rules regarding bathing in the water since everyone was also using it to obtain their drinking water but we some people go for it. For dinner that night we had hummus, textured vegetable protein (TVP) flavored with Middle Eastern spices, couscous and tomatoes. Also we were beginning to realize that our planned meals were actually much larger than needed for the group. We managed to give our extra hummus and couscous to a young Vancouver Island native to whom we gave the name Lars and whom we saw at several other points along our trip. Despite my feelings about the day's section of trail our trip was back on track and we were moving closer to our ultimate goal.

Day 1.2 - George Returns

Darling River to Pachena Trailhead to Darling River (28km)

George earned the nickname Penny Candy, during our treat-crave-fueled theme for nicknames on this trip. He was continuously telling stories that could have been, and at times were, preceded by "back in the good ol' days." We figured that in those same days candy could be procured in individual samplings for the price of one hundreth of one American dollar, hence he was Penny Candy.

As you might expect, before falling asleep the first night discussions were taking place about the goings on the first day. One of the main topics was what George was going to do in the morning. That first day he had fallen behind and needed assistance at several point on the trail. All this starting from the north end of the trail, the section that everyone agrees is "the easy section." Everyone knew that he was not going to make it but we also felt that he would have real troubles getting back to the trailhead with his equipment if we did not help. George knew most of all I think and was at a point where he was willing to accept the help offered by others. So in the morning a party of three - Matt, Josh, and I - split up George's pack weight and escorted him back to the trailhead. He was in pretty good spirits, singing his show tunes all the way back to Pachena, but it was sad to see him defeated and leaving.

The return party ate lunch at the trailhead and started the breakneck journey back to camp. Now we had two packs between the three of us and enjoying that same good weather that had chaperoned us just one afternoon earlier. We did in just over three hours what had earlier taken us over five. Our compardes back at Darling River had spent the day licking their wounds (aches, perhaps) and gotten the site in proper order, including secure spots in the food locker for our things. Duke (I assume it was Duke) even made us a small, modestly decortated dining area where we sat and were waited on for dinner. This evening's offering was one of the planned meals that Duke and Graham had researched and tested back in Seattle: real smoked salmon and dehydrated peas added to rehydranted pasta primivera with spices from the traveling 'pantry.' This is a bag that Duke prepared that included spices and things like butter buds to add to each night's meal and made it just a little but more than a readymade meal in a bag. I highly recommend putting one together before any big trip. We went to sleep fed, relaxed and one man down but looking forward to moving after a day of rest.

Day 1 - "A Whale of a Time"

Pachena Bay Trailhead to Darling River (14km)

What else can you say when the captain of the captain of the whale research vessel you just hitched a ride on asks you to sign his guestbook? (see post title) We started our day at a hotel in Port Renfrew and boarded the vessel sometime just after 6:30. I thought we were just getting a ride to the northern trailhead but it turned out that Brian (captain, my captain) was a whale researcher and halfway up there he got word of some orca and we turned that boat around. We got to see several orca and learned about the different types, how they are identified and how they operate socially - it's matriarchal with the oldest female (some nearing 100 years old) making all the decisions for the pod. We also saw gray whales (less exciting) and sea lions. Rob offered a kid (maybe 10) who had just finished the trail skittles in exchange for carrying his pack for the old man. From then on out we were calling Rob "Skittles" and thinking of nicknames for everyone else on the trip.

From the town of Bamfield we hopped in a shuttle van to the trailhead, signed some papers and were ready to set off. The first day's hike went pretty smoothly. We stopped for lunch at Pachena Lighthouse - very near Vulva Mouth Beach on map - , started to lay down a communication routine and began to understand what we were in for. About 12 km in we popped out at Michigan Creek beach camping - a popular spot for the northbounders - and kept on going to Darling River just 2k down the beach. The beach terrain of large rocks and then soft gravel was far different from the dirt and boardwalk of the forest trail we had started on. About 15 minutes into the beach travel we spotted a black bear ahead of us on the beach. We (6) all stopped and waited to see what it would do. It eventually turned and headed into the woods with a seal in its mouth. Half the group (led by Rob) pushed forward after about 2 minutes and even stopped where the bear had been to look around, fix gaiters, etc. Graham, Matt and I waited a bit longer. Eventually we proceeded and once about 100 ft for the spot of the original sighting we noticed a black mass that had re-emerged from the forest. We walked backward, Graham with his poles flying in the air, and sat on the beach for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile a bald eagle flew overhead, someone spotted a whale off the coast and we realized we were in the wilderness.

That night at camp was a little it rough. Everyone was still at the feeling things out phase and everyone had their own routines for camping - dinner, water shelter, etc. - but the group did not have a routine that was held in common yet. The planned meal ended up not happening as we arrived later than expected and instead we got by with readymade dehydrated meals in a bag. The food locker was full before we got ours in and trees to hang from were hard to come by. Our bags were hung just out of human reach and from a tree that was fallen and tilted out over the beach. Also one of our food bags was just a trash bag wrapped in rope like gift for the bears. We were obviously novice but the learning curve is steep. Stay tuned to hear if we turned this ship around (literally).

WCT - We (well, some of us) made it!!

I am now back safely from the trip to Vancouver Island and the hike on the West Coast Trail. The hike was exciting, unpredictable and rewarding. We had really good weather and saw a lot of wildlife. My walk from the train to work in Atlanta's code orange air this morning had me feeling more dirty than I ever felt in 8 days without a shower on the trail. I look forward to sharing our stories and experiences with you in person as well as through the blog. To whet your appetite I will tell you that we spent 7 nights on the trail, had mostly great weather (one big rain day) and started our trip with 8 hikers but finished only with 6.

I would like to start the adventure by introducing everyone.
Duke - the leader of the pack, lives in Seattle, has had this trip on his mind for some time now and made the whole thing happen

Rob - Duke's elder brother, ultralight, giggles a lot, answers questions like there is such a thing as a stupid question and you just asked him one

Richie - Duke's childhood friend from scouts, consultant to National Athletic teams for the Nation of Bahrain so he know what being in shape means

George - A jean-shorts-clad friend of Richie's in New Mexico, most recent conquest was a 31 day fitness boot camp immersion experiment that lasted 31 days

Matt - Duke's son, the guy who invited me along,

Graham - Duke's future son-in-law, patient and knowledgeable, fresh from a bike-car accident that had him in the hospital less than a week before (shoulder)

Josh - Graham's friend from childhood, unfortunate recipient of guff from the older guys

me - Matt's friend from grad school in Atlanta, Pacific NW first-timer and Canadian impersonator

I am planning to add posts detailing each day of the journey but wanted to put up a link to the pictures that many of you have asked about.

the photos

ATL-SEA

Today I leave from Atlanta and fly to Seattle to begin the journey to the West Coast Trail. There has been a flurry of activity over email between the eight men setting off on this trip. Some of the discussion was humorous other parts analytical, but hopefully we're all set mentally and materially for the hike. I have finally begun to research a bit about just what it is I've signed up for and the more you look into it the more you fear. At first you hear miles of British Columbia coastline in late July and beautiful panoramas appear in your head. Then you begin to read about the trials of the others who have gone before you and you instinctively second guess your initial leanings.

Seriously, it is rumored to be difficult but everyone says that it's well worth it. Stay tuned for updates upon my return. I've created a new label (WCT) for all the posts relating to the West Coast Trail so you can read the whole story start to finish if you like.

Mudhounds - a good diary with pictures from some folks who have been there and done that