bluegrass, stories, and soreness

I finally found some folks to make music with.  I heard in passing about bluegrass tuesdays at the Wort, so I went.  Good band with two guitarists, a drummer, and a ripping mandolin player.  I'd describe the music as jam-grass, but they didnt really start jamming until the second half of the show.  Mandolin with a wa pedal was surprisingly awesome.  check em out: one ton pig 

I talked with the guitarist, Michael, after the show.  Told him I could play the fiddle and wasn't looking to perform but just to play.  He said he was always looking for people to jam with and took down my number.  Also spoke with the mandolin player, who said that there's high demand for fiddle players in jackson (score one for me).

Met a group of ~5 year locals outside the bar, including Steve, the kiter student of Bill's that I met at Bondurant.  They were headed to Steve's house and I went along, although I probably should have gone to sleep.  Met a bunch of folks, including guitar player Carsten who was interested in playing.  Hopefully tonight.

I don't think I can tell stories.  Steve called on me for a story last night, and I blanked and couldn't think of any stories.  I still can't.  I need to figure out some stories to tell, because folks here seem to spend a lot of time talking with each other, and I think as a newcomer a good story would be valuable.  I figure story telling is just something that takes some practice like anything else, but I'm really blanking.

Uh so this is a call on whoever's reading for story ideas?

So today, so far, has been a total day off.  Good thing too because i have trouble standing and walking and such.  Tomorrow I'm thinking about strapping my board on my back: hike the same hillside I hiked my first day, hike the ridge across snow king, ride down the south facing slope on the other side of snow king (mostly untracked), and then hike back to the trailhead.  A good route because I can bail at any point down snow king if time gets tight, but it will take a while.  

I went to teton mountaineering last night and talked for a long time about places to go and what was considered okay to do alone, etc, etc...  At first the woman I talked with was giving me really flat, short loops that looked boring.  Then I mentioned climbing straight up the snow king ridge and was there much over there...and she sounded surprised and gave me some better recommendations. 

the village

I rode the village today and yesterday with some lower cost options.  Yesterday was with Doug and Steel.  Conditions were tough.  It was snowing lightly with  mixed visibility and no snow within the last four days or so.  Plus it's been windy so there's wind crust and exposed hardpack but also some stashes.  Tough conditions because they changed so fast, but great practice.  

I felt great, rode really well.  Doug had to quit early from an old ACL injury, Steel agreed that the day was epic (in an exhausting sort of way).  I talked with a few folks today that shared the sentiment and everyone's ready for snow.

I swore yesterday I would take today off, which I've been saying for a couple of days already.  But there wasn't a cloud in the sky so I took a half day.  I quit early from complete inability to control my speed even though conditions were softer, hung out in the parking lot until sunset and cooked an early dinner.  

I really enjoy people's reactions to my living in the truck.  I always get big smiles and encouragement.  Folks don't seem to think it's crazy, and I'm glad.  It bugs me when people say something I do is crazy--a la downhill biking, because all it usually means is they don't understand it.  So the truck business is a good conversation starter too.  Met Eric from Bozeman today.  I got his number and he said he skis Bridger pretty much monday through friday and I should join...

I have a decent stack of business cards, most of which have numbers on the backs as well.  I should probably start writing them down so I dont lose track.  

I can't get started now on how sweet the mountain is, I'll save that for later after I know it a little better.  but it's amazing.  It's a big mountain. 

super bowl

I went to the cadillac for the super bowl.  The place was busy as usual (for 2 for 1s), and I got to talk with a bunch of new folks.  

The game was pretty good.  The dude next to me at the bar had to explain some football stuff, but he also told me his story, which was pretty interesting.  He's older, probably 30s, married with a 1 year old.  He started working in jackson as a park ranger and wildland firefighter, which he seemed to remember fondly.  Then, with the kid, he had to change his lifestyle a bit.  He, as do/did many of the locals, lived in his truck for a while.  Unfortunately he and his wife arent making enough to support their family here, and he seemed disappointed that he was headed to massachusetts in a few months.  

He brought up an interesting point--that jackson is a good town for the very rich or the seasonal-type folks, but is a difficult place for working families (and the middle class I suppose).  

Talked with some younger skiing/climber type local dudes, but they were busy amongst themselves.  As the game ended I got talking with a crew of dudes my age with southern accents.  One was from atlanta, a couple from south carolina.  They were seasonal, and I spent the rest of the night with Doug and Steel.  They were taking a year off from school and spending it in Jackson.  Good guys, although very drunk.  I ended up sleeping on the floor of their hotel room in exchange for a ride and a some fries and a coke.

They have a pit-bull puppy living in the room with them, which is pretty crowded w/ everybody.  He's a sweet dog, but bites constantly.  Not hard, but enough to ruin decent snowboard clothes or sleeping bag.  I hope he learns not to bite before he hurts someone who isnt asking for it.

Sadly I slept a lot worse than I do in the truck.  I missed the truck, but not the cold in the morning.  

kiting

It's always windy somewhere in wyoming, usually within 45 mins of jackson i think.  I did a little research yesterday (Sunday), checked the winds, and headed out to Bondurant, a very small town 30 miles south of jackson on 191.

if you're curious theres kiting info on this site.

I got to zone 3 of bondurant (due to low winds) only to find myself surrounded by barbed wire, and no other kiters.  So I waited for a while and the winds started to pick up, so I checked out zone 1.  I ran into Bill (a local kiting instructor) and his student whose name I forget.  We chatted (the wind was dead at zone 1), and waited for some other dude to try speed kiting for the first time.  Learn what speed kiting is here...I'll probably learn eventually (haha joking).

Then we split for zone 3, where I learned that you just hop that barbed wire fence.  Zone three is enormous.  The kiting extends miles away from the road, but I kept to the "small" field near the road, between the barbed wire and those hills in the picture below.

It took me forever to get my kite setup (its been a year), I had to inflate twice, then tangled my lines and tried not to step on them with my snowshoes...basically it was a mess, but I finally got the kite flying, albeit with a couple of lines crossed.  Kited for an hour and change, conditions were tough with a lot of wind crust (hasnt snowed in a few days), and occasionally the nose of my board would get buried and I'd cartwheel...fortunately the kite goes straight to the low power zones and is easy to depower (love this kite).

Got a few small jumps, I'm starting to get a feel for jumping, but I was getting my legs back and wasnt powered enough for anything substantial.  

Bill and his student split, and I had some trouble self landing my kite.  If the winds were stronger I'm not sure I could do it...gotta get some pointers.  But I got it eventually and bill left his card on my truck (good because he offered half price lift tickets at the village).  I'm not ready to kite alone yet, I need a few more sessions under my belt.

Cooked some dinner at the pulloff.  I was pleased to find that the camper top has an equally good beer opening device as does the toolbox (see below).

Split back to jackson after dinner, here are some pictures from the drive back.  Jackson is an incredibly beautiful place, I need to learn a little more about the geography, but it's amazing.  dunno why this is underlined...oh well.

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happy hour

I finally sucked it up and went to a bar by myself, something that feels weird and depressing.  Happy hour at the cadillac is a good deal--2 for 1, 5-7.  Thankfully, it didnt take long to jump in on some conversation.  

The guy a few stools over, an  older, tattooed dude many years my senior was talking loudly about his experiences hiking the AT and the pacific crest--an easy conversation point.  That's how I met Ronnie and Jamie, employee and manager, respectively, of the thrift store next door.

both were super friendly, we talked for an hour or so, and ronnie offered me a spot in his driveway to park if the cops give me trouble at albertsons.  jamie also suggested the library for parking.  they also offered to introduce me to Andrew A, a dude my age who does some backcountry snowboarding and works at their store.  He wont be around till thursday though.

About the time I was getting ready to leave for my dinner at the hostel, Jim showed up.  he didnt offer up much information about who he was or what he was doing here (ronnie said he was ornery, jim claimed he learned from ronnie), but after many questions I determined that he has something to do with green energy production and home renovation here in Jackson.  I'll definitely try to catch Jim again.

I always try to avoid mentioning the fact that I went to Cornell, even more the fact that I have a masters, unless surrounded by similar academic folks.  There's always that brief--oh, you're smart--that's awkward.  Usually it goes away pretty quickly but not always, and sometimes I think if it comes up to early in a conversation you kind of lose the other person.  I didn't mention it with ronnie and jamie, but got a similar reaction with my major.  I'm okay with that.  Mechanical engineers may be smart, but Cornellians are known to be snooty I think, and I think it may be that aspect that can ruin a good conversation.

So my first solo bar experience was a good one.  

common sense

So I did it.  I booked into the local hostel on friday night.  Not because it was going to be the coldest night for the next week, but mostly because I felt sick and I was tired of trying to kick a cold while sleeping in the truck.  well, a shower was nice too.

At any rate, yesterday morning I met Nicolai and Robert (which isnt his name but it's close), two friends who met at princeton from Bulgaria and Germany, respectively.  They announced plans to go snowshoeing, and so did I, so we went together.

Nicolai is a PhD student in molecular biology at princeton, while Robert is a PhD student in computer science at MIT.  Smart dudes for sure.  they were here for one more day, but the rest of their group of 11 left yesterday.  Apparently they had been raging all day long on cross country skiis and snowshoes for the past 10 days.  They were good guys, very friendly, and good company.  I feel, though, that they lack some sense when it comes to the woods.

Today they intended to snowshoe into death canyon, a feat accomplished by a few other members of the group a week ago.  They heard there was a trail.  We left town and checked in at the visitors center, where the woman working there gave us some sketchy details on how to hike into death canyon.  she did not, however, ask if we had a map, which we didn't.  I guess I assumed that Nic and Rob knew where they were going, which was a stupid assumption.

In the winter, summer trails are nonexistent.  What do exist are whatever tracks people feel like making.  They may not follow the summer trails, but most summer trails are probably tracked.  So basically there are tracks everywhere, especially somewhere so frequented as the front range of the tetons. 

So we drove out the road, which looked strangely familiar, and parked.  The hike was expected to take about six hours, and it was 11:15.  Robert remarked that we could easily hike until 7.  alarms went off in my head.  no way I'd be caught dead in the tetons after dark without a headlamp, a map, an emergency blanket, and a damn good reason.

The road continued in front of us, and the lady told us to keep going on the road.  So we did.  In a mile there was a trail to the left...of course how are we to decide what to take, we have no map.  I carried my gps, as I always do now after Rebecca and my sixth? attempt on Mt. Shuksan in the cascades.  that was an important lesson in trusting tracks left in snow.

So we didn't no where to go, and that's about when I realized that hiking into death canyon was probably a terrible idea anyway without a map.  Of course there were other people (none of which had a map??).  They gave us a variety of instructions, some of which were wrong, but eventually we deduced that we had gone the wrong way.  We turned around, hiked the 1.5 mile back to the car, and left on the "other" road from the parking spot.  

Along the way my companions, in what I assume is their desire to see death canyon from the top, passed a variety of maps.  I stopped and did my best to memorize the landscape.  It wasnt too hard, there were a few valleys and a big lake, but summer trails went all over.

So we made some wrong turns, asked some directions, inquired about the weather (the wind picked up and clouds were coming in).  As the weather started to turn I got nervous.  About this time, too, we talked about it and agreed that turning around at about 2:30, regardless, was a good idea.  So now, with some sort of plan in place, and with the gps getting good signal just in case, I felt better.

We never did make it up death canyon.  It was filled with clouds and my companions agreed that it wasn't worth it without the views.  good enough reason for me.  We trekked across the frozen lake nearby and caught up with our first tracks out that wrong road.

Along the way we saw some moose, friendly people (some of which turned around earlier than we did), and nice views.  As it turns out, I've hiked this before!  It all looked vaguely familiar, but I assumed that lots of teton stuff would look familiar.  Then we got to what was, three years ago, Rebecca, Christian, and my campsite for a multi-pitch ice climb.  It rained that night we camped, so our plans were foiled, but I could see the climb today.  It looked gnarly.

At any rate, we had a good 6/7 mile snowshoe, didnt get lost, and I got some free dinner at the hostel last night.  Nic took some pictures, I'll get them up here when he sends them to me.

Always carry a map.

There are some people that with which I do not want to go into the backcountry.

and if nic or the german MIT student that I call robert read this, please be careful.

too many words for no pictures...I'll try not to do that again.

a tribute

It was brief but fantastic.  goodbye honda--and shindagin for that matter.