Outdoor Travel Geek

  • the launch

    T-Minus 17 hours. Approximately 10:30pm EST. My buddy Tim and I arrive at Spaceview Park. We thought we were going to be among the first ones there. Oh how wrong we were. The entire front row along the water is already lined with camp chairs. Luckily we find an elevated planter box, from there I…

  • boyhood dreams

    When I was a kid, I dreamed of being an astronaut. I would spend hours playing with Legos building elaborate spaceships, then I would crash those spaceships into the walls. So perhaps it’s good that I didn’t actually become an astronaut. This week I’m in Florida to watch a space shuttle launch. It’s the second…

  • invading zim zim

    One of my favorite lesser known TV shows is a cartoon called Invader Zim. It’s kind of a quirky show, with ridiculous humor, and an offbeat animation style that was somehow both cute and dark at the same time. The only reason why I bring it up is every time I mention the name Zim…

  • curry cabin fever

    I think most people know that I love to be outdoors. One of my favorite places to go is Yosemite. People come from all over the world to visit Yosemite and for good reason– there’s few places in the world with so much amazing scenery packed into such a small place. The problem with Yosemite…

  • out of hibernation

    If I could choose to be any animal, I think I would be a bear. They have such a cool lifestyle. First of all, they live in the mountains and forests, which I love. In California many of them live in the Tahoe basin and the Yosemite valley, both places that I love to visit.…

  • cesar chavez day

    Today was Cesar Chavez Day. Apparently it’s only celebrated in a few western states, and only in California do state offices close for the day. And since I work for a California state office I was off today. It’s a good thing I found that out ahead of time this year. Last year I actually…

  • identity crisis

    It’s hard to believe that I’ve been at my job for six months already. To mark this momentous occasion I ordered business cards. It seems kind of wasteful because I have a box full of business cards from the previous person who had my position. The position is the same, as well as the phone…

  • snowy success

    I have a pretty terrible track record on snow camping trips. Before this weekend’s trip my record was 0 for 2. My first attempt was with a few friends at an area called Meiss Meadow. We dug out snow trenches to sleep in, which we covered with tarps and laid down a blanket of snow…

  • cyclotic commute

    This is crazy. That thought ran through my mind several times this morning. It’s 6:15 am. It’s cold. My high powered bike light barely cuts 15 feet through the thick fog. My glasses fog up almost instantaneously, reducing visibility to only a few feet. Even though I’m wearing all the cold weather gear I have–…

  • gold run

    Most people don’t know this about me, but I’m actually pretty cocky. I think the worst kind of cockiness is when you think you are better than you really are. That’s inviting all sorts of trouble. People that have ski’d or snowboarded with me know that I’m a decent skier. At smaller resorts like Sugar…

  • donner death ride

    I like works of art that evoke memories of the past– of places I’ve been or things I’ve done, or people I’ve met. I think that’s why I like the Crocker Museum a lot. There’s a room in the museum dedicated to California art, and in it there’s a lot of beautiful oil paintings of…

  • expensive hobbies

    Today I spent about 600 dollars on my hobbies. I spent a little over $200 to repair a camera lens that I had dropped about a month ago. And then I spent almost $400 to overhaul my single speed bike to get it ready for bike commuting. The funny thing is I originally got into…

  • the best laid plans

    But little Mouse, you are not alone, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy! -To a Mouse by Robert Burns This was supposed to be an easy ride. 60 miles of biking on flat…

  • zion narrows

    Last night I might have been the most exhausted I’ve ever been in my entire life. It all started on Wednesday evening. The drive to SF. I’ve done it so often I can almost make the drive in my sleep. In fact sometimes my mind sort of falls asleep and I make the drive on…

  • season finale

    5:45 am. Saturday morning. It’s raining. Buzz….. Buzz…. Dahhh…. Why did I set my alarm so early? Snooze twice. 18 minutes later. 6:03 am. Dahhh… Why did I sign up for this ride? This ride is called the Mercy Fall Classic. There’s a few reasons why I like it. It’s on the American River Parkway,…