Locomotion

Things that stay in motion tend to stay in motion. People that are loco tend to stay loco. It's a theory called locomotion. If you're loco and in motion, you will most likely continue to stay loco and in motion. Jackpot!

[Behind the wench, the morning Casco Bay Lines ferry passes by.] What does cross-training for an expedition look like? What does the life of locomotion feel like? Wake up at 4am. Walk fast for 30 minutes to catch the ferry at 5am.

Take an hour-long ferry ride, trying to sleep on cold seats. If you're lucky there'll be a man named Mark who gets on from Cliff Island and makes coffee for $1 before you land on Chebeague Island.

[Sean Conroy heaves the last trap of a string into the blue abyss.] 1. Lobstering: the act or business of catching lobsters. In reality, it means waking up early and being on the water before the sunrise, hauling and baiting at least 267 traps a day, with an average of 1400 fish. The difficulties of lobstering as an exercise are tossing the traps around and being in near-constant motion. Breaks are taken when possible to remove your rubber gloves and shove some snacks in and hydrate. You wear pants - and in inclement weather, a jacket - made of 69% PVC, 31% Polyester. They're heavy! This takes me to 3pm.

[Sean Conroy pulling a baited trap into order with bait irons at the ready.] 2. Training. Earlier in the summer, this was succeeded by a training regime of previous history. Namely, biking, running, and climbing. Now, at least half of my evenings are comprised of a second job. Either construction work for a few hours, which matches the grueling level of lobstering, or valet parking, which is physically and socially the polar opposite of lobstering. Concatenating a normal 3-5 hours of triathlon training as an addendum to a full day of lobstering has taken the training level up a notch. Maintaining a healthy diet amidst sleep deprivation is of utmost importance. With one day off a week, it's very important to me to create good memories and take full advantages of these Choice Days, where you get to choose what you do. It can be ANYTHING! Chuck Curry gave me the great idea a while back to do the Presidential Traverse. I got a map from my friend Rebecca Lambert the night before. It seemed to amazing to pass up! 7+ presidential mountains in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, renowned for their elevation gain and beautiful landscapes.

[Retracing the Crawford Path southward to Mt. Eisenhower and Mt. Pierce.] There was a problem already, though. I was going alone. And, as a traverse, it was over 20 miles in one direction, leaving you over 20 miles away from your starting point, also known as parked car. I immediately thought: no problem, I'll just do it twice - there and back! That's an even better challenge! But, with over 9,000 feet of elevation gain, only going in one direction, I knew I was up against a formidable opponent made of brute nature. I decided to get an early start and give myself a turn around point at midday, especially given the shorter period of daytime that lasted roughly from 7am-7pm.

[A self-portrait chugging Gatorade just prior to 7am start at the car, a Subway sandwich left in the car for my return. The day's conditions were flawless like a diamond that cut away the clouds and haze, revealing the voluptuous vistas.

[Rocky "Soulman" from Guilford, Maine, at age 40 is thru-hiking the AT's prettiest patch of presidential mountains.]

[The glistening morning sun guides the hiker through the AT's Crawford Path. Photo shot from Mt. Monroe summit trail, down upon Crawford Path.] Just a tidbit about my best day off this year, I managed to make it to Jefferson and all the way back in 11 hours. This was comprised of jogging and running, interrupted by bouts of photography and chatting with thru-hikers who had awesome names, tales, and wild hairdos. I think with less weight, no camera, and a better plan, I could do the entire traverse twice in a day. Just maybe not this year with other goals. I highly recommend doing it, though. I plan on going back and hitting up Mt. Adams and Mt. Madison.

[There is a cog rail that takes people up to the summit of Mt. Washington on a train that hits the breaks the entire way down. Passengers were taking pictures of me hiking when it passed by. Hm.]

[Some hikers even brought their dog! These two gentlemen were doing a loop with Washington at the nose of the bull-ring.]

[The winds were an astonishingly mere 4mph at the summit of Washington. It was 61 degrees out; unheard of quality. All the thru-hikers were amazed that a) this existed and b) the one day off I managed to get up here was this very day.]

[A self-shadow-portrait with the rest of the presidential mountains spread in bountiful array awaiting my return.] May you all get your escape on! Let me know what you think of this post / photos / writing / etc.

Game: Where is this?

Email responses and the winner gets recognized in next game-post! :)

Walking with a Camera

The three of us before our haircuts at The Mensroom in Portland, ME. Dad later lost his beard. Sean's is trimmed. Mine is going strong.I had to take a picture of the real reel of film in the park...We are watched from above. They are watched from below.A phonebooth a-piers.The best tool for deciphering the level of communication and the number of events and activities in any given location: counting the staples on telephone poles.

Just some thoughts on a walk with a camera to tide you over until the next adventure experienced and posted. Coming soon: A Flyer for an upcoming presentation; photos from southern adventure (still being filtered).

To the future!

Incoming

There are many pictures to filter through, and I'm picking out the most entertaining ones for you! A good wine deserves a good meal, so I'll be writing the festive history that accompanies these pictures from our trip to Cochamo this February-March!

Please be patient with me as the pictures and stories shall turn out much more entertaining and fulfilling to look at and read, respectively.

In reflection and in brief: this has been the best 40 days of my life yet. The return welcome from friends and family has left me feeling very happy. I extend the most grateful and sincere thank you to all who have played a role in both my trip and my return.

May there be ever more to share!

Glory Bathing

It is not what you think it is. At least this type of glory. Surviving. Staying alive. Finding your way down a forest that is vertical in many parts, requiring fixing ropes and putting knots in it every meter or so to hold onto when the clouds put the rain in rainforest. That doesn't sound like glory. And maybe it isn't. Maybe it's just the path there. And let me tell you:I'm loving every moment of it!

Dad and I are well. The path to El Monstruo could be much better. Rather, it will be much better. Right now its best attributes are that it is well-marked and breathtaking for its vistas and exposure and grandiose nature. The rest of it, though, I must say I do not recommend for hikers or passersby. But we'll get there yet! You can drink mate anywhere!The short of our story thus far is this: we made it to the base of El Monstruo. We haven't been able to climb, thanks to a 4+ day streak of rain that hit us upon our arrival there, much to our dismay. Keep in mind, we have no weather forecast, being so remote and all. So every morning we awake thinking it might clear up, only to be bogged down by another pee break in the rain. This is the life, believe you me!

Get jealous everyone! But really, this couldn't be more special and magical for me. Quality time with my dad in the place that I love.OK. I'm gonna add a few pictures for a better sense of this whole hot mess. The best ones I'm gonna save for a coffee table book, though. Please don't send me angry e-mails, just jokes in other languages - I love those, and besides sugar, they are the most useful thing to a traveler like myself.Lots of love from this landescaper,
-n8

Puerto Varas

Despues de hacer unos tramites, *Ahem! After doing a few necessary errands in Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt, my father and I are repacked and ready to go to Cochamo early tomorrow morning! Let the trekking and adventure begin!
A quick and accurate debriefing of our activities thus far has been losing a bag, reclaiming it (which is to say, the aeropuertos found it and sent it to the direccion we left with them), and repacking all of our bags. Repacking was necessary for numerous reasons. One: the airports only allow a bag to reach 50 pounds. Since we have since purchased more gear and food locally, it is necessary to fit more. Two: nothing we packed was put in dry bags. We´re going into the rainforest and need to repack all clothing, food, and other weather-weary items into dry bags before placing them into our packs. And last but not least: organization. We have packed our bags such that likes are with likes. We have a bag for camping, clothing, and two for climbing. Then we have our day packs.
OK. That was supposed to be brief.

I can´t tell you all how I excited I am except to say that I can´t tell you. It´s a secret. Was.
Lots of love from this landescaper. I hope you all are having your own adventures and passing on the good vibes! Life down here is already sunny!

ox, -8n

sp, photos to come!

Pre-Trip Activities

How do you train? Although I usually like to have fun without getting yelled at, some human-constructed "chimneys" are just too good to pass up. Here I am at the Portland Museum of Art.
I will be documenting this expedition in numerous ways, photography being one of them. In order to get in the habit, I started the walking and shooting early.
It's been my great fortune to have my family around these last few days prior to departure. Here we are entering Monument Square.
Thanks for checking out the blog! There's more!