Truing Up The PCT

It's been a 'tic' of mine for many years...The Pacific Crest Trail loses the 'true Crest' just North of Lake Tahoe, temporarily returning close to it at Lassen Volcanic Natl. Park and then seriously loses the 'true Crest' again all the way to the north side of Crater Lake Natl. Park at Beaver Marsh. Map guys and gals will immediately know what I am talking about. we're talking drainages here...one side of the 'true Crest' drains into the Great Basin. The other side of the 'true Crest' should drain out to the Pacific. The Warner Mountains, which are a true Pacific Crest range are left out entirely...as are The Diamond Mountains and Babbit, Sardine and Pegleg lookouts, which are all on the true Crest. Following the 'true Crest' would eliminate much of the extensive burn areas that hikers are now shuttling around and shorten the PCT by more than a hundred miles by eliminating the westward sweep toward the Trinity Alps and the KLamath River.

Caught The Wave That Brought Us To Maeve

We headed west to the Pacific Ocean via SR 36 arriving at our first campsite (Swimmer's Delight) in Humboldt County. We prepared our rig for a three week clockwise swirl up the California, Oregon and Washington coasts and then inland to Lake Christina, British Columbia. After a few days of celebrating Canada we curled southward through Idaho (if you ever need a quiet place to camp near Sandpoint, Idaho try Garfield Bay county campground ) We dropped into 'the pipe' in Montana and Wyoming before 'kicking out' in Park City, Utah. Where we have reaquainted ourselves with Maeve Elliot, the light of our lives. Her parents are equally precious and we so appreciate their generous hospitality.

'Summertime and the Living is Easy'

September welcomes Autumn with temperatures flipping from 90 degree days in August to 60 degree days. This is my first free/retired Summer since the early 90's. We decide each morning what activities we will partake-in during the daylight hours that follow. We are daytime operators...evenings find us safe in our house either playing Scrabble or watching Netflix, often both. Nori, our Labrador gets the first exercise option after we finish our early morning coffee. This means either a dog walk on the trails behind our house or a bicycle-assisted trot to Last Chance Creek (a six mile run that includes twenty minutes of swimming and stick chasing down-current toward Lake Almanor). Afternoons find us in our bicycle saddles, usually headed uphill toward Lassen Volcanic National Park. Six, eight or thirteen mile climbs that are often traffic-free and wind-assisted. Since the Dixie Fire consumed all of the shade offered foliage we are exposed to the lava bones that hold up the Lassen uplift.

Chuck and Nori’s Orchestra

We were a fourteen-piece orchestra on our mountain bike ride this morning. Nori is a fine-tuned Labrador who will always jump at the chance to run with bicyclists toward a water experience....Water music to her ears. I said let's go to Last Chance Creek and she got very excited as I was tuning up my mountain bike. We got off to a slow start through the trees behind our house but the tempo increased energetically when hit the old dirt road. Four miles to the year-round output of Last Chance Creek. My two legs, two lungs, big heart and navigating brain followed her synchronized four legs, hammering lung lobes, willing heart and working tongue to produce a one hour cycling concert deserving of the one minute of applause we received from Lisa when we arrived home.

Still Cranking To The Higher Elevations

It's Monday...third Monday of August. Lisa says, "let's go ride to the NP summit." We start at the visitor's center, 6.700ft. and pedal up the switchbacks to the summit at 8,511ft. Which bikes? I'm thinking skinny-tire road bikes...just because that's always what we have ridden in the National Park and...offroad riding is not allowed in the NPs. She invited Cindy R. on the early morning climb and Cindy has converted over to E-bikes on every ride. Well, I was thinking roadbikes, I tell her. She says, "Great!" So, here we are at 8:30am pulling our bikes off the back of our Honda...eighteen pound bicycles with no electronic shifting, no batteries, rim brakes, front derailleurs, skinny tires, clip-in pedals...so last century! Muscle memory, route memory and effort memory all clicking-in at the same time. Traffic was minimal, it's Monday and the road surface was the best it's been in years...We Love this ride!

Surfing With Maeve

Maeve is our first grandchild. She just invested one of her first ten weeks with Lolly and Pops. She executed her first lake swim, her first hike in her dad's front pack to 9,300ft. which is the remnant of Mt. Tehama called Brokeoff, her visit visit to a U.S. National Park...Lasssen Volcanic. Her attitude is up and down, big wave, small wave...she lets you know when she's not happy, adjustments need to be made. Her mother and father are appropriately responsive...my diapers are full, my stomach is empty. Burping, farting and pooping, "I am taking care of business here and I need your attention here." Lolly and Pops are enjoying the wave action, not primary caregivers but, we get to hold her when her toes are hanging five.