Sunday Feb. 26, 2012

2012 has already been a year to remember. Had a great weekend of shredding pow at Baker, and hanging out with good friends around Bellingham for my birthday. Also got to hang out with Michael Howell for his birthday (prime rib throw down). Next came flying to St. Louis, MO for a Shirley Sahrmann course that I've wanted to take for a while. Got to meet a bunch of nice people, learn from one of the best in the business, and spend some quality time with Shirley. There's the possibility of going for one of their "satellite" fellowship programs around Seattle this next year. Many exciting possibilities. Then there's the "not so cool" moments of 2012. Take losing my job with zero notice for instance. "We have to send you home right now- and we've given your patients to other full time staff members." Hmmmm....OK....guess I'll be going now.......cue road trip. Hmmmmm......winter has been hit or miss so far.......Tahoe is bare.......Baker is teeming with people......Hurricane is too unpredictable......The high biking trails are covered in snow........I guess I'll take the John Barnes Myofascial Release seminar series in Sedona, hit up Tahoe for some recreating, maybe some climbing in Vegas, and who knows- an exploratory mission to Virgin, UT for some meat hucking good times. I threw my splitty (but not my inbounds board-a decision that might have come back to bite me), climbing gear, bed, food, camping gear, and two bike (DH/XC) on the van and pried myself out the door Feb. 8th around 6 PM. Drove to Eugene and passed out at a rest area (slept surprisingly well), then through Shasta/Weed, and over to Truckee via Reno the next day. Met up with Daron at the Backcountry, put down a beer (right to the head), then to the bar (Daron's friend hook'n it up), then to the Cottonwood where I ran into Charlie, Rob Anthony, Warren/Christy, etc. Man I was passed out on my feet for hours!!

Daron decided to let me borrow the WR 450F for some desert moto action the next day. We met up with a group of people including Charlie, Mike (BC owner), Greg Long (!!), and some other dudes. We rode briskly around, and my R arm pumped out in no kidding 5 minutes. Nuclear arm pump abound, I piloted that motorcycle all over the desert that day. Up hill climbs, through washes, over rock waterfalls, UP rock waterfalls, etc. Oh, and whoops, LOTS and LOTS of whoops (think big, evenly spaced out bumps) that you have to hit just right to keep your momentum, speed, and balance dialed. It was a LOT of fun, and I was already looking forward to doing it again. I didn't have to wait long. We rode three days in a row!! The next day was nearby, but a bit different zone. We just charged around exploring a wealth of tight twisty desert singletrack. SOOOOOO much fun!!! Day three was the Black Mamba. 2 hrs away and every bit worth it. We did a long chilly rode ride to a fun trail that brought us out at an amazing view point (dried up huge lake bed, mountains for as far as you can see). We then twisted around and down to the lake, followed by some crazy wash riding. Then the MAMBA. A huge third gear aching hill climb leads to a traverse over some exposure before gaining the first saddle. Looking up the ridge I gasped. A multi-tiered climb right on the ridge with exposure on both sides!!! Daron stuck it first go, then watched me flail a few times before I high pointed it enough to make me happy (or maybe I was too tired to try it again!!). We dropped over the other side, did another couple amazing hill climbs, scoped some just bonkers hill climbs, and explored around a bit more before I ran out of gas, and had to head for the truck before the reserve ran out.

The next day we had some powder and headed for Sugarbowl. Nothing like riding bony inbounds pow on your splitty. I took a couple brutal core shots, but had some good pow- mainly on obscure runs like Cornice Bowl or random tree shots.

Castle Peak was the plan the following day. Sam came up from the Bay Area, and we joined Justin (Mountain Hardware), Emily (first time touring in a while), and Matt Delheimer. We got some really good turns in back there and lapped it a few times before the team pushed off. Sam and I stayed and rode one more lap. It was my worst lap as I got sucked into a cliff band. It turned from bad to worse as I hit a sheet of ice before the bottleneck on this chute, and self-arrested around 5' from disaster. It was not wide enough to side slip through and I had to jump to my feet and point it through the choke before surfing the L wall (icy) and hucking off a rock in relief back into the main gully. Feet hurting we skinned back to the car- the LONG way of course (why do enticing pow fields always lead you astray?!!). Thanks Sam- I told you.

The next day was one of the defining moments of my year/trip/life. I blew Dawg off for touring on the W. Shore, then hit up the Bowl again with Emily, Matt, and Sam. The wind had kicked up STRONG and the snow was very defected. Good in spots, icy in others. We did some hucking over in Strawberry Fields which was fun. Then towards the end of the day, we were off of Lincoln near Clines/Ottersons. I made the snap decision to do Clines instead of Ottersons since there wasn't a hike out at the bottom. I came into the R shoulder with some speed, and began negotiating the treed shoulder. I struck an underground object and deflected off, gaining speed and momentum before wrapping my L leg around a tree. It was a violent collision. It spun me around 360 deg and deposited me on my butt in a seated position. The only problem was the loud "SNAP" I heard mid-collision. My leg felt immediate pressure and pain. I tried to move my leg and there was nothing restraining the movement. It felt like my shin was jelly and my leg was a rubber band- with pointy edges. I felt bone fragments shear over one another. I knew it in my gut before I even tried to move that I had totally destroyed my leg. Sure enough. There I was. By myself. Off of the main run. Leg screaming. I let out a loud F-$%!!! at the top of my lungs, then sat in total peace with the situation. I got out my phone and began google searching Sugarbowl Ski Patrol with my hands visibly shaking. In a classic display of futility I navigated all over the Sugarbowl website before giving up momentarily. Then a group emerged nearby. I screamed HELP at the top of my lungs and they headed over. One person was sent to get ski patrol and the other three stayed with me. I was in total shock. The pain wasn't unbearable, but I began feeling the cold setting in. After what felt like an eternity that was probably only ~10 minutes, ski patrol showed up. Andy took the lead and was surprised when I stated in a matter-of-fact manner that I had broke my tibia and fibula. He took a quick peak and despite my pleading loosened my boot. There was significant angulation and a 1/2" elevated ridge that looked ominously like my worst suspicions. He whipped out a cardboard splint and got my board off. Then he threw another larger wooden/foam splint over that and got me loaded into the sled. I really wanted to sit up and hold my leg steady, but was encouraged to lay down and get bundled up. The first bit was tenuous at best. We were on a side-hill with a bunch of beat up snow and trees/hidden objects. Sure enough, they navigated me with skill across the slope and onto Clines groomer. Then I got hooked up to a snowmobile for a bit on the flat, more skier power on the downhill, and finally snowmobile to the base. They got me into the first aid room via a little loading ramp and I started to shake more uncontrollably. The nurse wanted to look at the leg too, but I kept deferring because I knew there was nothing she could help me with (unless she had some morphine- which I knew she didn't). They did all the obligatory paperwork (can we go now?!!!), then I got tossed in the back of Matt D's Tacoma and transported down to the Tahoe Forest Therapy Hospital in Truckee. From there it was accelerated for a bit. Lots of vitals, blood work, etc. led up to me getting temporarily knocked out so they could get my boot off and clothes off. I woke up and was told that I repeatedly kept trying to get up and was flailing my arms around and had to be held down. Whoops!! I was naked in a gown with a fiberglass splint on my leg. It actually felt pretty good. I went to x-ray where they confirmed that I would indeed be getting surgery that evening. 6 hours after I last ate I was in the operating room. I only remember being wheeled into the room and watching the anesthesiologist push a syringe into my IV. I woke up out of surgery with my leg wrapped and elevated. Whew!!! No pain that was for sure!! That changed around 3:30 AM when I woke up super uncomfortable, restless, and in pounding pain. The great nurses got me sedated and fed. They also got me to urinate around 4 AM with the threat of a catheter if I couldn't do it on my own. It was a LOT harder to pee than I thought, but I was NUMB down there!!! It was one of the strangest sensations I've ever felt!! I took care of business and avoided the pee tube!! The next morning (thankfully I made it!!), Emily came and got me out of the hospital, picked up my meds and some movies, then got me back to Matt and Daron's. Their steps were a pain in my ass, but I butt scooted, hopped, and crutched my way up to their floor.

Those first couple days were tough. I was popping pain pills, trying to get comfortable, and sleeping for most of it. Warren and Charlie came over to see me. The last night in Truckee Sam and I went to Casa for Margaritas and I made the poor decision to get us a pitcher. Bad idea. It really didn't get along too well with me and I felt kinda green the rest of the night. The next morning Sam helped me pack up all of my shtuff, and we boogied out around 10AM. We stopped and had lunch in Shasta (interesting tourist trap town) at the quintessential hippy digs. Again I slept most of the journey and Sam cranked it out on Monster Lo-Carb drinks and sunflower seeds. Hey- whatever works for 14 hrs of straight driving, eh?!!

SO I've been home for one week now. Lily has been a HUGE help and a wonderful companion to have around. She has been cooking, cleaning, and helping my mound of pillows move around the house as needed. I'm going to try to make the most out of this opportunity. Hopefully develop my app!!! I'm already WAY over laying around with my leg up!! Lily is out shredding 2' of new snow at the Ridge, and I'm here doing ROM exercises to my painful ankle and knee. I think the big mission of the day is going to be a shower and MAYBE even a drive into town to watch some Buckeye hoops. More ramblings to come..........I'm gonna go rest with some warm water running over my head!!

Road Trip 2011

Tues June 28, 2011

I'm hanging out at Tom Andersen's place in Bellingham tinkering around and fixing my bike (again). I've been off work for just over two months at this point. I worked most of 9 months or so in Port Angeles at OMC while living in my dream home complete with hot tub and views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Victoria/Vancouver Island. The trip started out with a 10 day visit from my mama. We toured around the peninsula, and even got to stay at Leif and Jim Whitaker's cabin on the coast. It was constructed in the 60's and is RIGHT on the coast. There is no electricity or running water and the feeling is one of remote wilderness. We explored around the beach and gazed longingly at an island just off shore that is reported to be a sacred burial ground for the local tribe. We stopped at Ruby Beach, checked out old growth cedars, wandered around the Hoh Rainforest, and watched herds of elk prance away gracefully.
Next, Lily and I headed to the McKenzie River Trail between Eugene and Bend late on a Friday night and arrived around bar closing time. The next day we did a nearly 40 mile ride along the river and through lava flows. It rained on us most of the day. Nevertheless we braved the elements and put our heads down, riding into the wind. When I sensed the urgency to turn back due to light constraints we retraced our steps and held on through the technical lava flow sections. Pretty cold and haggard the next day we drove to the Cougar hot springs and soaked our weary bones for nearly 6 HOURS!! That is where we met James Scott. I found myself engaged in an "everything extreme" conversation ranging from skiing to base jumping, to sports cars, and everything in between. He invited us to come stay with him in Bend and we ended up staying for a week. We went to Smith Rocks, Mt Bachelor, Cline Butte, explored downtown, and rode the infamous Phil's Trail. I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer quantity and quality of a number of jump parks in the same area. There was The Lair, the dual slalom zone, and a huge pump track. It IS rather dusty there though, as I'm used to the loam of the PNW. I hurt my hand while riding with Jamie Goldman (pro MTB) at Cline Butte, but also hit some of the nicest jumps I've seen. Geoff Gullevich was there shooting vids and pics w/ Harkooz. I felt very overmatched with the crew riding, but enjoyed myself nonetheless. We met the husband and wife doing Projekt Roam, and I gave out some PT advice while hanging out in their huge RV. We spent a rest day helping Aubrey clean out James' garage full of boxes of clothes and stuff that he never unloaded after moving from Berkeley, CA. I scored a few new clothes items out of the deal. We headed down to California next to hang out w/ Daron Huck.
It was once again storming heavily in the spring around Truckee and we were lured from Bend on the premise that there was 18" of new snow and a forecasted 8" per night for the next few days. What transpired was some of the best turns of the year while hiking our old haunt- Sugarbowl Ski Area on Donner Summit. We got so many face shots that it almost froze my face off a few runs!!! Our legs gave out well before our desire to ride the light fluffy powder did each day. We averaged 3 laps top to bottom (nearly 8000' of climbing/descending each day). When the temps warmed we split for Bishop, CA. Ironically, my longtime friend Dave Melchoir lived near Tom's Place (in Sunny Slopes) where we were planning to ride Lower Rock Creek Springs. We shuttled a couple laps each day, while Daron went exploring on his "new" WR450F. Lily and I went and clipped bolts in Owen's River Gorge a couple afternoons and hit some fun 9's and 10's, including a very cool arete. We also went with Dave's GF climbing at a local crag where Daron and I led dueling cracks next to each other. Man, trad climbing is MUCH scarier when you're relying solely on YOUR gear placements, and whatever features the rock relinquishes. Lily had to be back to work so we packed up the van at the last moment and headed straight back home via Truckee where we had to pick up our stored DH bikes.
After spending one whole night in my own bed I felt the tug of the road, so I packed up a few things, and headed back out the door with two bikes hanging off the back of the trusty Sienna.
I believe in fate, because there is no other way to describe what transpired. EB invited me on a trip to the Sunshine Coast with Matt Duran, Bill Hawk, Matty Shelton, and himself. We met up with Jared who was living in Vancouver for work, but lived in this incredibly cool "co-housing" in Robert's Creek. We took the ferry around the corner from Horseshoe Bay and met his wonderful wife and two adorable children. The co-housing was too cool for words. 30 acres, 20 houses, a community center with guest suite, a huge community greenhouse, a wood shop, etc. There was designated parking on one side and predominately foot traffic elsewhere. It was not cheap as the 3 BR house they were in went for 450k. We rode Robert's Creek- both sides of the road- Mach Chicken on one side, and the techy skinnies and FR moves on the other. My Enduro got put through the ringer for 3 days. It was not always happy as I rolled the rear tire off the rim 3x in a row at Sprock-kids park. The park was built by students of the local trail building school. There were also trails above that zone which were raw and primitive but climbed endlessly. We had an epic one day and found ourselves pushing up a ravine with our bikes on our backs for nearly 1500'. BUT we got to ride the aptly named Wildman Loop. The nights usually ended down on the beach a mere 5 min bike ride from their pad. Sunshine Coast- I could live there without a doubt!!
Upon returning from the dream that was the SS coast, I found myself in a dilemma. Where to ride?!! The answer was easy as I met Smokey from Whistler, BC. I took him out to Glacier and after one muddy day of riding he immediately made plans to head out for a more in-depth tour. We did 2 rounds of duty in Glacier, riding and building with the local woods gnomes that make dirt into magic carpet rides for our bikes. Smokey's wife Kari, and her friend Katherine Short came down and visited/rode too. Katherine is a pro DH rider for Cove Bikes and was probably one of the best women riders I've ever seen. I rode Glacier so much that I practically knew every rock on the trails. We rode 6 mile and the Varsity Entrance first as the snow slowly receeded. Lily and I made it up to Whistler for 3 days as well. She is riding amazingly well and rode a couple new double black diamonds- Schleyer, and U/L Whistler DH. She cleared Schleyer on day 2 by finding lines to roll in the drop sections. Pretty impressive to see her flow confidently through sections where throngs of riders are stopped trying to figure out a safe line.
After a few more days in Glacier hanging out with Woods, Will, Cory, Jason (building a new 4 mi with his dog Hueco), Eric, and Ben I realized I needed to expand my horizons a bit, so I packed up and headed back up to Bellingham. Smokey and I ended up riding with Victor, Mason, and Becca on a new jump trail next to the hike a bike on the Snake, and it set off a chain of events. We got invited down to ride w/ Vic and Mason at Cultus seeing as it's about to be logged. It has a jump trail that has been in multiple movies, and slammed me to the ground with a TKO in the 3rd round last time I rode it. Having someone to follow makes all the difference and I was able to clear all the jumps following Mason as Victor's shock blew after we rode the upper "new" trails.
That would not be the last meeting with them, as they drove straight up to me as I was putting on my pads in the Whistler parking lot, going up there for round 2. I also rode with the local Simon, who showed me a sweet stealthy in town camp spot and hot tubs to poach. Locals rule!!
We all rode together and put in some fun days. Simon showed us Stop Drop n Roll off of the lower mountain, seeing as the upper mountain still had a ton of snow on it. I also drug Victor on his birthday up the road 25 min to ride Trespasser (another first descent for the year)!!! We rode everything but the first move which had snow on it!! I ran into a TON of friends at Whistler- Brett Tippie, the Transition boys- Kyle, Kevin, Sam, Scooch, Jason Porter, Brittany White, Julie, Mike Metzger, etc. What a melting pot of radness!!!
Now I'm back in Bham again after my fork seals blew. Got to see Lily for a day after she returned from a Tahoe cousin wedding. We had dinner w/ Mike and Rose, and stopped by to give Lars Sternberg some PT for his broken Fibula.
Today I've run around getting supplies to fix my bike, drank a couple espressos, and contemplated where to travel next. Also how to move back to Bellingham, and how to start my own practice around here and/or work in a non-traditional setting. Not that I have anything against PA, but both Lily and I love it here, and she may even go to PTA school at Whatcom next fall. Lots of stuff up in the air (as usual), but lots of exciting potential on the horizon. Stay tuned!!!!

Jackson Hole-January 22nd-Feb 1, 2011

So we decided to drive to Jackson Hole, WY for my birthday this year. With 10 days to play we agreed to the 16 hr drive as opposed to a 500$ flight with extra charges for 2 snowboards each. The drive went OK....I started it off in Port Angeles at ~6 and made it over Snoqualmie Pass (which was raining cats and dogs and was hydroplane central), and well along I-90. Lily took over until around 2am, then I drove one more rest area before calling it at 3:30am. We crashed out at the rest area and slept ~6 hrs. We cruised into Missoula, MT for breakfast at a pub that was tasty, then back on the road. We arrived in Jackson around 7PM. We found Brady and Lily's house (which is in a gravel quarry) and settled in. We then cruised down to The Cadillac and caught up with Brady at work. After a couple beers we called it good and headed back to get some Z's.

Next day Brady, Lily H, and I went to the Village and I bought a ticket for the day (92$.....ouch!!!). We rode the Tram up, which hold 100 people at a time. It's kinda crazy how they load it. You basically start moshing until everyone is in!! Just when you think you can't fit one more person, 10 more push in!! I could see a powder day being a bit of a gong show!! We ended up getting a tour and still hiking for some pow. We did The Crags twice and Four Pines once. It's kinda cool that there is boot pack everywhere around the side-country off the resort.....even skiers rock the bootpack for the most part. We had beers and watched some football before heading back to the house for dinner # 2!! Brady has a LOT of Elk meat and did up some tenderloin for us...with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies....pretty dank b-day dinner!!

The next day (Mon, Jan 24th) we rallied up to Teton Pass and hiked the Glory Peak (3) times!! It's a solid 2000 ft bootpack and a really fun descent!! We did the shoulder and bowl the first lap, 3rd turn (further than we meant to go) the second lap and then first turn the last lap. There were a good number of people hiking it and most were in pretty damn good shape!! Some girl passed Brady and I, stripped down to her sports bra in 30 sec and was GONE!! Pretty impressive!!

On Tues, Jan 25th we decided to head over to Grand Teton National Park and do some touring. We set our sights on Mt. Albright which was 10,252'. It was over 2500' of elevation gain and took us ~4hrs of HARD WORK to get up it!! From the top we looked up at the actual summit of Albright and decided against it (it was wind loaded as hell, and looked like a death wish). The run we did was called Wimpy's Shoulder and I would beg to differ with the name!! It was really fun and long with some treed shoulder skiing that opened up into a couple of large faces of fresh snow!! We took some vids and pics of the lower pow face and lavished in our efforts. Afterwards we cruised to Dornan's for pizza and some tasty beers. It had an amazing view of the Tetons and we stared at our line on Albright for a couple hrs. Wahooo!!

Wed. we "slept in" until 9:30, made a phat breakfast and headed off for the Village again. Brady got me the Cadillac's transferrable pass and we headed for Cody Peak off the Tram. It was actually a pretty gnarly hike. We wove our way through different rock and cliff bands and across the ridge. The wind picked up and we were buffeted around as we made our way up to the summit. We passed a group that was scared silly. Lily dropped in first and rallied No Shadows. I hiked up a bit more and dropped into a steeper entrance. The snow was pretty good and we traversed out right after dropping Cody. We bootpacked back up the shoulder of Cody and around No Name Peak. It was quite the cirque traverse and I even had some snow peel off the cliffs overhead and tinkle down over my head. That made me pick up the pace a bit!! I was b-lining towards a larger face, but Lily convinced me to drop in early since the snow looked better. I watched her drop the line, then I started to traverse back towards her start spot. After a few seconds of traversing back, I turned it down slope and made a couple turns before realizing I was about to air off a cliff. Without thinking I straight lined it and sent it right off the cliff!!! I was surprised by the size of it, and took a pretty good sized impact, but hung on!!! I had to take a couple look backs to make sure I did what I thought!! From there we ended up doing Pinedale which was the next peak over from Four Pines. It was pretty tracked out, but I found some descent snow in the trees before doing the mandatory long ass traverse back to the resort (to Union Pass). We were close to calling it good, but decided to go for one more lap. We rode the Tram back up, then headed out to Four Pines. Another good bootpack and some last turns of the day. By the time we got out of the traverse the lift was closed and we had to hike up a groomer before gaining enough elevation to descend to the base. We hit up the Red Line bus back to Brady's house, changed, and went to the Cadillac for a beer and appetizer. We walked over to Thai Me Up and had another drink and some tasty Thai food before heading back to the crib and chilaxing for a bit. Halfway through the trip and we've already done quite a bit!! The legs go to bed worked every night and surprisingly have popped back to life the next morning!! We may end up going to a hotspring in Yellowstone as a reprieve from the bootpack and skin track, but then again, we might have to use the free passes and go tear up the mtn some more!! Stay tuned!!!

Smithers!!!

Woke up to Gus rocking the van. It was 9....I had managed to sleep in a bit....even though it was a late-ish night. We got to have dinner at Pat and Patty's on a sweet lake. We had ribs, salad, potatoes, etc. We met them at the high school at 4pm. Patty gave us shuttles on When Pigs Fly (Crank it up w/ less brake bumps), Charolette's (wicked flowy long DH run....did I mention flowy?!!), and Full Bore (more full on DH run w/ some steeps and some loose rocks)....wow!! Stuff sure has been working out in our favor lately!! We had also ridden some wood to wood stuff in Piderny w/ Simon, and Briget. There's free camping at Kager Lake, and the fire squad has been putting a LOT of work into the area. There are 10 walk in campgrounds around the lake, plans for car camping areas, and the trails are wicked!!! Gravity Logic did the trails here, and it was quite amazing to be standing there on a run that belongs at Whistler, but instead it's out in the middle of nowhere in BC!! The town and community have totally embraced the sport and are making things happen. There has been over 400k dumped into trails in the past year alone!! We met an Austrian group of three- Armen, Mariam, and Young Boy. They are on a 5 month BC bike trip, and have already been on Vancouver Island, Whistler, Squamish, etc. They only have one working bike right now, so we have been lucky and have had Mariam shuttle us. We rode 2 laps this AM- Full Bore, and Charlets, then sessioned the Bike Park trails- Smells Like Bacon and it's hard ass skinny that I finally got after a good number of tries. There were wallrides in both directions, a bunch of medium jumps, etc. Squeelin Wheels was a bit jenky, and Gus and I had to hit the moves a few times to hit them smooth.

The last night in Burn's Lake we got together with a couple of the rec rangers, and had some beers by the lake at one of their wicked camp sites. The next AM we got the Rec Rangers to shuttle us on Charolette's Web once more, then we bailed to Smither's. We stopped at COB bike shop where one of the owners is hopping around with a broken leg, got some work done (new cable/housing- blew). Gus and I rode Huckin Eh (sweet flowy trail w/ one bigish drop and a cool rock roll), then Piperdown (the DH race course)- complete w/ off camber rock drop to fast choppy run out, an off camber rock roll w/ fencing to stop you if you fall (I guess there's a CRAZY 60' cliff), and the plane wreckage gap. It was a good run, except I ate shit twice on stupid stuff. Then we finished w/ Backdoor which required a 15 minute push uphill in a gauntlet of black flies. Not cool. The run was super fun and LONG, plus had a 15' high logride, and a ton of flowy logrides in the trail, as well as the log to drop section. We met up w/ Christian and had dinner w/ the WORST service I've ever had (at Boston Pizza- only thing open at 10pm), and ended up crashing at his place. We'll see what happens from here......

Quesnal and PG- July 5-6, 2010

Yesterday we drove from William's Lake after a nice breakfast that Gus made (eggs and cheese topped w/ chives and tomatoes- all cooked together. Nice presentation and not overcooked. We drove to meet Mario in Quesnal. After driving around a little bit we found a short shuttle run that turned interesting really quick. After making it about 2 "clicks" I came upon the first mud hole. I punched it into the mass of water and came out laughing. Then I stopped. There were more. Lots more. I weaved and drifted my way through sure doom. I stopped after one crux and decided to pull the plug. I turned around (barely) and got us back through the same mudholes/troughs/gnar. The van violently bounced a couple of times, but nothing fatal. We had actually passed the trail and none of it was really necessary. Nice. we rode a short trail, w/ some quad track into the field below. We met the landowner and he seemed really nice. We then drove to Dragon Mt. It was a gloomy morning and there had been patches of downpour on the way to the trails. Sure enough, it started to rain. Gus decided to ride the "hardest if it's wet" trail first. WOW. That was interesting!! It was really gnarly and had supposedly been there for ~15 years, making it way ahead of its time. There were rock slabs, off-camber rock outcroppings, the works. Then we rode the DH course and its plethora of steep, loamy goodness. At the bottom, there was a stepdown to this crazy stunt. You had to slide down a steep section, then let off the brakes and hit a small jump onto a platform that then sends you off a HUGE air. I really didn't want any part of it at first to be honest. Gus hit it twice in a row, and I decided to get a little more serious. I took one run into the move, then pushed back up and HIT IT!! It was HUGE!! I was really stoked and let out a bunch of screams of joy!! Then it finishes off with a 25-30' stepdown to a huge table top w/ a super steep landing. What a run!!

Second lap, and the rain mellows out. Everything was still damp, but the sun was shining. Ah yes, BC!! We reset the shuttle and rode the "new trail." It was right off the tower and had some sweet boulders that were strewn together with wood ladder bridges. Of course, the mandatory drops and rolls were there. As well, the trail in between was kick ass. Fresh and loamy it was like riding powder. We dipped in and out of trees and up and down steep terrain features. All three trails share the same bottom section. It is super long and fun, with tons of natural flowy sections and jumps. There was a cool step up to step down that I guinea'd. We sessioned the huge stunt at the bottom a few times and got some great footage!! We had a beer and some yummy leftovers and watched some videos while getting devoured by mosquitos. We drove for a while and ended up crashing off the highway a bit. Gus in the tent and me in the van. I barely even noticed that I parked on a slant.

Rolled into PG- Prince George- and headed over to some of Gus's friends house. We had coffee and refreshments, and ended up building the 9 yr old, Simon a little stunt course in the backyard, complete w/ table, 2x4 ride, then berm, and two rollers to pump. It was awesome watching him rip it over and over again!!

Then we rolled to Cranbrook and drove up the rather short road. We parked in the middle of a corner off to the side and dropped in. There was a sign that said park along the road, not in the corner. Whoops!! We dropped in and immediately there were a bunch of doubles. We were just COOKING along through the forest hitting jump after jump. After a bit we came to a double stepdown section that also had an even bigger jump OVER this trail. WICKED!! We sessioned the double stepdown a couple of times, then pushed up the big line. We dropped in and were HAULING at this long wood takeoff. I came up a touch shy and kind of cased it, but not too bad. A little scary though, as it was probably 30' out. I chased Gus through a couple more jumps, then backed off on another big stepdown that used to be an A-frame. We pushed back up and hit it again- this time I REALLy hit it hard, and flew like a birdie!! Yeehaw!!!

We kept on hooking up rides back up super easy, and ended up riding ~9 laps, including the last one that his buddy Rob built. He joined us for a lap on that trail- Holy- with Canadian touch- more like Hole-ee. We rallied back to his friends house for dinner.

Looks like we're off to Burn's Lake tomorrow to meet a guy at 4 for some laps- his wife is shuttling!!! We're going to go rip up Cranbrook some more tomorrow too!! Wahoooooooooooooooo!!!!

Sat. June 27th, 2010- Elbow tweeker and ripping w/ Ben and Gus

Sat. June 26th, 2010. Riding bikes again in WL. Gus and I ripped a morning lap on Fox Mt. before hooking up w/ the 13 yr old up and comer, Ben. We went and rallied Snakes and Ladders into Dead Sailor proper off the radio tower (nice xc pedal to get there). I tweeked my deraileur on a skinny and had to do some trail side tweeking. The DH was loose and a bit sketchy. I took one tumble and bumped my shoulder into a tree. Ben and Gus went down once apiece as well. Then we went to Fox and rode Gus's trail AgentSkully. We were having sessions on the various moves in the beginning- the step up, then the gap through the trees which I didn't think was possible. I ended up blowing the berm the first go, then sticking it second go. We got some cool pics!! Then we moved on to the 2 DJ's. Ben was casing the second one pretty good but was still given'r pretty good for being only 13!! Then the downturn of the day occurred. I followed Gus off the 3-pack that leads into a stepdown hip into a gully. I got kicked a little weird on the last set-up jump and sent the step down HUGE. I realized in the air that I was screwed. I got kicked a little weird and landed tipping over to my L side. I let out a huge HUUUUUUUUUUUUH when I landed. I luckily landed on the bike, which slowed me down a bit, but I landed awkwardly on my L elbow, then I smacked my head HARD. I was sooooooooo lucky that there wasn't a rock, root, stump, or any other hard object where my head smacked because I was at the full mercy of the wreck. I rolled over onto all fours once I realized I wasn't knocked out, and shook out the cobwebs. Ben stood on the jump and asked if I was alright. I got up and dusted myself off (I landed in a pile of duff). My head was ringing a bit, but my elbow seemed to turn into the main problem. I took my time shaking it off, then turned into photographer for a bit as Ben and Gus worked the gap into the massive, natural gap (35'). Ben was the only one who went for it. He knuckled it hard twice (I was kind of shocked the first time, and didn't even get a pick since I was standing there slack jawed w/ my camera in my hands), and barely road away. He did the classic both feet off pedals, ass on seat out of control exit move. I pulled it together after getting photos of Gus hitting the pit gap at the end, and hit it myself a couple of times. We ended up hanging out at the house that evening- Megan was busy making granola and energy bars, I made some baked tofu. I did some good MFR/body work on Gus for a good hour and a half. He is all gnarly from tree planting. Off to the good bed again!!

June 25th, 2010 Mega Sesh w/ Gus- WL

I'm Chilling at Gustav and Megan's cozy basement apartment in William's Lake, BC. I've been here for one week on the nose now. It has been an awesome mix of cool town, tons of riders, and open arms and hearts. Since linking up w/ Gus a few days ago for some riding, we've been at it all day, often sessioning stunts and jumps numerous times. Two days ago now, Friday the 25th, we had an awesome day that started on Shuttle Bunny. I had never ridden the whole trail, and it was super cool. After getting through the tree slalom course w/ my wide bars, it opened up into some stepdowns and jumps, including the mega sniper road gap. I was happy to hit it smooth on my first go, and I happily took pics of Gus sessioning it. We ripped a super high speed gully at the bottom which was a hoot, then took the connector back over to Hillbilly Deluxe's exit. Then we cruised back into town on the road, swooping through a park and hitting a few jumps before making our way to the Gecko Tree Cafe for breakfast w/ Megan. After breakfast we boogied back up, got my van off Fox Mt. and headed over to Slater Mt. We rode Clean Slate, which is the ridge above Gutterball. It was a bit pedaly at the start and after ducking under a barbed wire fence we were off to the races. It was pretty fun with some jumps and flowy sidehill sections. Gus and I made short work of it. At the end it tied into Gutterball and we picked our way through the gnar. It's tight w/ boulders and drops in various situations and at different angles. It's also loose and dusty w/ rocks regularly flying in all directions as you pass through the walls of rock. We reset the shuttle situation and rallied onto Gutterball. We hit the opening flowy berm section into the 3-pack of 15' gaps a couple of times and set the precedent for the day- lots of sessioning. We hit up the hip over the stump stepdown, the wood drop/stepdown into the gully of 2 jumps. The DH log ride into the gap over the barbed wire fence, and then into the newest feature- a berm that turns uphill and into a hip jump that you hit over the usual step up hip line to the R of it. The landing was a tangle of logs and sticks that did not invite the would-be sender. We cleared the landing after Gus was first to hit it- sans helmet on a "run in." He nearly flew into a pile of logs downhill from the landing. After stomping down the pillowed dirt (which actually had some moisture in it), I decided to hit it. I ended up hitting the ground after 50/50ing the landing and taking the tumble. We got it dialed- a combination of railing the berm at mach 9 speeds and holding it together, combined w/ timing the pop and making sure to send it over the other jump w/o eating it. We then pushed back up, climbing under the barbed wire fence, and hit the whole line, then into the next set up double and then the big hip. It's hard to sprint, hit moves, sprint, hit moves, and keep it all super precise, which is what is needed for success. We hit the whole thing a bunch of times. I was really starting to get worked so we "hit it and quit it." We sessioned the next 3-pack of DJ's, then the step down, step up. Near the bottom, Gus hit the super sniper turn under tree to hip transfer. I didn't even think about trying it. That kid is an animal!! He didn't even have a sip of water the whole 3.5 hrs of sprinting at jumps, then pushing back uphill for another go. We then did something silly. We enlisted Megan to drive us 30+ minutes to do a Godspeed on Desous Mt's backside- at 8:30PM!! Once onto the trail Gus got an immediate flat. I gave him shit (and rightfully so) for not carrying a pack w/ all the necessary tools. Once he got it fixed up we were ripping some of the most fun, flowy trails around. We railed corner after corner on perfect dirt. No I wasn't dreaming. Then came a steep trough of gnar that claimed Gus. I went by him and rode the "not as gnarly as I thought it was going to be" section. I rode it slow and cautiously. If it was super dry it would be SKETCHY!! It opened back up and I blindly hit a 20' creek gap. Then I waited for Gus for w bit. He was getting worked on his small bike. The bottom rode through a creek bed of Soapstone, and unfortunately had been subjected to a recent mud slide. It was definitely the gnarliest stuff that I've ridden in William's Lake. A couple of times I was getting bounced around HARD- one leg flapping in the breeze trying to keep up some sort of balance as I desperately pin-balled through the creek bed. The bottom opened up for a bit before dumping us onto the road w/ the late evening sun shining down on us. Oh glorious day!! We went back to Gus and Megan's house, and sipped some organic beers before wandering around a small bit of woods nearby their house. I'm back out of the van and back into a comfy bed in a spare bedroom. SCORE!!