The Dago Diaries

Whenever I tell someone what I am currently up to, the conversation always takes the same turn and I am left answering these seven question over and over. Being a bit of sarcastic person I am going to share with you what I say and what I really want to say.

The CDT as it goes along the Rockies

1. From where to where and how long will you be away?

What I say, “On the Continental Divide from Mexico to Canada starting in New Mexico and ending in Glacier national Park, should be gone about 6 months”

What I want to say, “Did you skip the geography classes in school, the Continental Divide, you know the Rockies? That large expanse of Rock jutting up in the middle of the country which ultimately decides if rainfall will wind up in the Atlantic or the Pacific.”

Really I must say this whole leave no child behind program is really doing us all a disservice when it comes to the general public’s grasp of geography.

2. Is your wife going with you?

What I say, “no she is staying behind to work, keep our health insurance intact, care for our pets, and look after things”

What I want to say, “HELL NO she thinks I’m half crazy for wanting to do this, plus 6 months having to go with little showers and pooping in the woods isn’t necessarily her cup of tea, and I can’t say I blame her.”

Raining Chocolate on the SHR Photo by Liz Thomas

3. What will you eat?

What I say, “Dehydrated food, dried fruit, nuts, some candy, lots of beans and Backpackers Pantry Meals”

What I want to say, “Squirrels, Chipmunks, grubs, bugs and other things I forage….or as a few friends call the general hiker diet, the gas station snack isle diet”

4. Are you bringing your dog Karluk?

What I say, “Not for this one too long and hard so he is staying home to rest on the couch while I hike”

Karluk in his happy place, a PNW Rain Forest

What I want to say, “You think I would honestly take my black dog on this hike, 750 miles through the desert of NM for that dog would be animal cruelty, not a fun hike, what type of sicko do you take me for?”

5. What about your job?

What I say, “I stated my intention and asked for a leave of absence but instead we decided I should juts go and revisit trading in the fall.”

What I want to say, “What about it?, I told them I wanted a leave of absence but they said no so I resigned, and frankly life is way too short to keep sitting in a cubicle beating your head against the wall. My job is now just being awesome, and I think I am succeeding in every way.”

6. Are you going with anyone?

What I say, “No I am starting with 4 friends and we’ll see how long we stay together from there.”

What I want to say, “Nope I starting with one motley crew of hiker-trash, we have “Sweet Potatoe” who has hiked the AT and

Big John on his last backing trip, Round the Mountain Trail on Mt Adams back in 2014

PCT, he also happens to be one fo the funniest people you will ever meet. Then we have “Freefall” My good friend, former pastor, and has his “Triple Crown” of hiking. These two guys are hiking New Mexico with me and then heading back to Portland to enjoy the summer. The rest of the crew is the old boys for the trip, We have “The Greg” a 63-year-old accountant who hiked the PCT in 1995 & 1996, he is in decent shape and should bring some good analytics to our team. Then there is my dear old friend “Big John” who I have known for 20 years. We met in 1996 after my Thru-Hike of the AT and in 2009 and 2010 Suzy and I did his resupplies and support for the PCT. “Big John” is a character tp put it lightly and I think he eccentric ways will keep things interesting all day long, for example he hikes in a sarong that looks like two big bandannas.

7. Are you bringing a gun?

What I say, “No there is no reason to carry gun, in over 7,000 miles of hiking I have never felt a gun would f help a situation and instead just been dead weight, I’ll just get some bear spray when I get to WY.”

What I want to say, “What the hell are you afraid of in life that you think you need a gun to go for a walk? I mean unless you are carrying a 50 cal handgun or a 12 gauge shotgun the only thing a pistol will do is piss off a grizzly. Plus do you really think I would of spent all this time to get my pack weight down to where it is at just to add a gun and add all that weight back into my kit. Man you must be paranoid or never leave your house, the chances of my getting killed crossing the street in Portland by someone texting when they should be driving is more likely than dying while on trail.”

Bonus Question “You do know they make planes don’t you?” This one was my favorite question yet, and was asked by the nurse at my Doctors’ office…..frankly all I could do was chuckle.

So there you have it folks a look into the mind fo “Allgood” time for me to stop dinking around online and go sort gear and clothing for resupplies and bounce boxes, get some other materials printed at the shop and kick “Big John in the butt to get him doing the same. Cheers!

After nearly killing myself the past few weeks at home getting things in order for my CDT hike, I decided it was time to take an overnight trip to test out my gear kit and knock the rust off my joints.
I met up with “Tomato” and “Sweet Potatoe” at 9 am on Wed and we enjoyed a few peanut butter and jelly donuts and then started the long drive out to shuttle cars around for the hike.  After a few wrong turns, we finally made it to Harms road to stash a car at the end and descend back down to the mouth of the Klickitat River to start our hike.

At the crack of 12:30 we finally set off.  For Tomato and I this trail is nostalgic, two years ago the two of us plus our good friend “Snorkel” pioneered the Chinook Trail a 300-mile route through the Columbia River Gorge, one of the on trail sections was the Klickitat and we were excited to see it in a different season.  For Karluk this one as his next section to connect on the Washington side since he left us at Bingen and has since been working to section hike the sections he missed.

at the start with “Tomato” and Karluk to relive a section of the Chinook trail

The three of us plus Sweet Potatoe’s dog Rodney started up the trail.  The first thing we noticed. Was how high the Klickitat was all the recent rain it was pushing high up its banks.  The trail also has waterfalls cascading down the walls, wildflowers were Blooming and the overcast sky kept things just cool enough to leave on a wind shirt.

one of the many waterfalls along the way this time of year

We enjoyed working our way up the rail bed towards the town of Klickitat.  We stopped along the way to let the dogs drink from fresh streams and eat a few snacks.  We made it into town around 4:15, not bad considering it was 15 miles or so from where we had started.  We immediately headed to the Canyon Market a little small town American mini-mart with VHS tapes you can still rent, a mini grocery and the warm case of food to fill any hikers belly.  We got some highly processed chicken products I opted for the last chicken patty sandwich in the rack.  It was about as industrial as a sandwich could be even down to the bun, I ate it nonetheless and washed it down with an ice cold Coke.  Now, this is why I love the Canyon Market, as we sat out front the guy who worked the store saw our dogs and came out with a big bowl of water for the two of them, I mean such great service considering my total bill was about $6.

the canyon market home of many tasty treats

After grabbing and few snacks for tomorrow we headed not far out of town towards the Icehouse.  Now the Icehouse is a weird campground and the decrepit old building and proximity to the highway make it something right out of a horror movie.  The site is where a natural carbon dioxide spring bubbles up the water and CO2 were harnessed for years to make dry ice.  When the factory finally closed they made the area a boat launch and campground but left the creepy old building.

the ice house as it sits now

Now we are settled in our tents out here by the river, the fishermen in the campsite next to us have music playing and fire.  Karluk is curled up on the end of my Neo air and we have settled into our tents to escape the gentle rain that has started and get some well-needed rest.

So far my gear seems dialed in for the CDT and I am counting down the 22 days until I leave like a kid pulling the doors off an advent calendar waiting for Christmas to come.

karluk is always happiest when he is out on trail

I can still remember that cold March morning on Long Island in 1996 as I struggled to lift on my heavy Dana Design pack and load it in my parent’s car for the trip to Penn Station.  In a few hours I would be on a train to DC then a few rides with my future hiking partners as we worked our way to Amicalola Falls State Park in GA to begin our thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

Putting on my pack to head to Georgia

 It was a leap of faith for me and my parents.  I was only 18 when I left home and my parents had a hard time trusting me to go out into the big wide world on my own.  For the next 5 months I worked my way north to Maine, found a dog who I named Erwin that I had for many years, and I grew up from being a boy to a man. That journey forever changed my life for the better. 

After my thru-hike I found myself 3 days later checking into my dorm room to begin my college career at Virginia Tech. For the next 4 years I studied Wood Science and graduated with a BS in 2000.  The entire time I was in school I dreamed of graduating and then setting off on the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail to complete my Triple Crown of hiking.

Me and Earl Schaffer in 1997

As graduation approached I did a few interviews with various lumber companies to appease my folks, one that stuck out was a company based out of Portland, OR called North Pacific.

The job as they described was being a lumber broker, and essentially I would run my own business. The job paid well, included benefits and they would pay for my relocation. Not having a trust fund or really any other way to support myself after graduating I took the job and figured, “hey if doesn’t work out I’ll go hike the PCT the next year”.  I figured since I would be out on the west coast transportation to the trail would easier.

Now comes yet again another leap of faith…In March of 2000 I was a bar tender at a bar in the neighboring town of Christiansburg, VA.  On March 18th I was introduced to my new supervisor, a woman named Suzy. I was instantly smitten with her, but there was an age gap of nearly a decade, and according to her there was no interest on her end.

Driving through the badlands

 After hanging out a few times after work, just a week before I was to graduate in May I decide what the hell and I kissed her, well that one kiss would change both of our lives. I worked that summer as an intern for USAID and traveled to Central America, when I returned in July Suzy and I traveled to Oregon for my final round of interviews and to scope the area out.  After only dating for a few months we threw all caution to the wind and moved to Oregon together that August.  We had no family, no friends, and no idea where we would live, but we knew it just felt right.  That leap of faith worked out though, we eventually got married, bought a house, and built a life together in Oregon over the next 15 years.

I didn’t get out and do my thru-hikes on the PCT or the CDT after moving here.  Instead I was successful at my job and tried to feed my wanderlust with climbs of cascade peaks, skiing all winter on Mt Hood, chasing steelhead and salmon in the many rivers around us, and backpacking on weekends and vacation time in Indian Heaven Wilderness, Goat Rocks Wilderness, and other areas around us.  As time marched on I missed my longer hikes and dreamed of thru-hiking a long trail again, in 2011 I started to knock off shorter thru-hikes or as I say “thru-hikes for the working stiff”.  

Visiting Devil’s Tower

I was fortunate and with the support and blessing of my wife I started taking my vacation time on various trails.  I was able to hike some of the best out there too including the John Muir Trail, Wonderland Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail, Sierra High Route and even pioneered the first thru-hike of the Chinook Trail in the Columbia River Gorge.  While I hoped this would fill my desire to thru-hike, it really only made it worse for me and with each trip my desire to leave it all behind and get out in trail grew to something I could no longer ignore.

So a few years ago I started to think about my 20th anniversary of hiking the Appalachian Trail, I knew this would be a special year for me so I started to think of ways I could do a 6 month hike again.  While the PCT has been my backyard and I have spent many a miles knocking off section after section, my true desire was to hike the CDT.

Me and Dad heading to Penn Station

 At only 72% completed the CDT held the kind of challenges I like: route finding, a low number of users, alternates galore so I can make my own adventure and a certain wild abandonment that calls to me.  I worked hard to curb my spending and start to save up my money, I talked with Suzy at length about how we could make it work for me to go away.  In the fall of 2015 things started to fall into place and my plan finally started to come together allowing me to make the dream a reality.  So now comes the next Leap of Faith in my life….

Last week I had to do what might have been the hardest part of this process so far, informing my employer of my plans.  I have always worked in the high paced world of lumber brokerage, acting essentially as a middle man between lumber producers and wood manufacturing plants.  The job has always been a 100% commission based and with the benefits of making a great living it also can be very stressful at times.  I sat down with my Controller and the President of my company on Friday morning.  I informed them of my intent to hike the CDT, why I was doing this and we agreed that this was best for me.  They did say that if I decided to come back to lumber brokering upon my return that I would be able to return if my hearts passion was to trade again.  The rest of the day was a whirlwind of meeting with a key few people at work and laying out my exit on Monday.

Springer Mountain official start of the AT

I now sit at home unemployed for the first time in nearly 20 years, getting things in order to leave in a month, and taking yet again another leap of faith to go fill a lifelong dream.  I have not felt this alive in years and while change is always scary it is also exhilarating and I wouldn’t have things any other way.