Sad World 2014.01.30 Latergram Here this morning, I tried hitching a ride from a woman stopped to make a turn. She refused to give me a ride into Bandon because, she said, “I have my kid in the car.” So you’re going to stop to tell a woman standing in the cold in the middle of nowhere, why you’re not going to give her a ride? Maybe don’t bother. I’m not going to argue with a mother, but we live in a fucking sad world. Read more
New Tires 2014.01.20 Latergram, My VW Westfalia New tires and a proper alignment for my van: priceless. It really cruises now, steers easily, tracks, no rolling resistance, and moves loads safely. I got the Hankook RA08 light duty truck tires to replace the brand new passenger car tires that had gotten completely chewed in under 1000 miles due to a very bad alignment. Shame on the guy who sold it to me. Tires. Next up: engine! Read more
This Cap Was Perfect 2014.01.17 Bikes, Cycling Caps I got this great letter from a customer of mine who loved his Little Package cap. I got many letters like this over the years, and wanted to share this one to share the love! I love getting letters like this. Getting them now that I’m done making caps is a little sad, but that’s OK. It’s nice to be reminded I made lots of great little things. [box type=”note” size=”large” border=”full” icon=”none”]Hi Caroline, I’m sad to hear that you’re not currently making caps. I bought a cap from you a couple of years ago and I recently lost it. I know you’re not open for new orders, I just wanted to share its story a little. This cap was perfect. It accompanied me on countless journeys, […] Read more
Sea 2014.01.12 Latergram Roaring waves and sucking undertow near Pelican State Park, California. Read more
Fridge Out 2013.12.16 Latergram, My VW Westfalia Home sweet home. (Pretty much the first thing I did when I bought the van was remove the fridge for more cupboard space. Then the next thing I did was drop it. Some of the panel broke. I was horrified. Then I gave it away for free. I had a lot to learn!) Read more
2013.12.07 Latergram We all woke up to beautiful snow in Portland yesterday. This was my mother’s view at the boat. Read more
Chief Pete 2013.11.29 Latergram, My VW Westfalia …and then there’s my new home, a 1983.5 Volkswagen Vanagon… This is a photograph of the moment my van got its name “Chief Pete.” There’s my best friend Peter reflected in the paint, wrapped in a Pendleton Chief Joseph blanket. Not much more complicated than that. Read more
PCT Gear Review 2013.10.23 Bikes, Opinion, Pacific Crest Trail I was really comfortable with my gear along the Pacific Crest Trail, so I thought I would share it with you, and explain why it worked. Please note beforehand that I purchased all these items with my own money after carefully researching them, and was not given anything for review. The following are my opinions. If you look at this photograph with me, I will talk about the items shown, left to right, one row at a time. Click a link to skip forward to that gear item. Read more
The Wall of Snow 2013.10.09 Hiking, Pacific Crest Trail We started hearing horror stories about the snow on the trail while in Stehekin 9/28-9/29, but by the time we got to Mazama and Winthrop 9/30, the stories had whipped into a terrible tale of impassable “walls of snow,” irreconcilable avalanche and hypothermia dangers, etc. etc. There’s a great blog post that talks about the chaos on the PCT during this time and about the ill-fated group that headed north one day ahead of us (October 2). I decided to ignore the stories and see for myself. By then I’d learned that fear-mongering was really shit-thick on the trail, and that it did me no good. I formed a team of four for safety (including a South African who had never seen snow before), and waited for […] Read more
PCT Finisher! 2013.10.08 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail That morning (10/6) I knew for sure I was a PCT finisher. Nothing could stop me from making the last 8.11 miles to the border. I kept yelling “PCT finisher!” And yet, it still really hasn’t sunk in. I really did walk 2660 miles from Mexico to Canada alone through the woods. Crazy. PCT finisher! Read more
Devil’s Staircase 2013.10.06 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail Look closely you can see there was a bit of trail- cutting. Cherub climbing Devil’s Staircase Read more
Between a Rock and Woody 2013.10.05 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail Cherub seeming to enjoy the BY-FAR most terrifying and dangerous part of the entire PCT: the 9 or 10 (I lost count) huge washouts between Rock and Woody Passes, miles 2647.5 to 2648.5 in the Northern Washington Cascades. The entire ridge was sopping soaked loose, muddy scree. I thought I was going to die, either falling while crawling in a washout, or having the ground washout from under me, no joke. Read more
Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail On Saturday morning (10/5), I found Midnight Rider and Valentino headed the opposite way after an extremely harrowing episode on the south face of Rock Pass (mile 2646). She, her brother, and Rustic all thought they were going to die that night. The horse, “ass deep in snow,” and apparently frightened, began running off straight down the mountain. She refused to abandon the horse, necessarily complicating the situation. They pressed the SOS button but cancelled it and made it out themselves. Despite major concerns of family and friends, she and Rustic are attempting again today 10/7. Her brother “IS DONE” with the PCT and will not be going. Read more
Mile 2626.8 2013.10.04 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail More ridge walking. Mile 2626.8 of the PCT Read more