January, um, recently,,,

Yeeeaaaah.  Thought I was going to write here a little more often, still getting into the swing of it!  In the interim, I've set my sights on Bidwell Park.  There are a ton of great trails in Upper Park, and I'm determined to hike them all.  To this end, I created a Facebook event as sort of an open invite to any friends who are interested in discovering these trails with me.  Since then I've been out twice, and crossed four trails off the list!  The first time no one showed - maybe because I was hiking at 9:30 in the morning on a Saturday.  Totally cool though, I enjoy solo hiking.  Decided to knock out Upper Trail, Live Oak Trail, and Lower Trail in a little loop of sorts that amounted to around 4.5 miles.  I'd never been up onto the North Rim before (other than down by Monkeyface), and the views from the top of Live Oak Trail were amazing.  Naturally I forgot my camera, so my crappy cell phone had to suffice for pictures.  As will so often randomly happen in this small awesome town of ours, just as I was reaching the end of Live Oak Trail where it runs into the North Rim trail, a friend of mine happened to be jogging by.  We stopped to marvel at the trails for a few minutes, and then went about our respective ways.  Had so much fun that day that I decided to go again the next day!  That time I was accompanied by no fewer than five friends, and we hiked the Guardian trail in its entirety and finished up with a section of South Rim trail/Annie Bidwell trail to get us back to Horseshoe Lake.  We did it in a one-way shuttle hike fashion, which put us at around 5 miles in hiking.  Tons of fun!  I remembered my camera this time, but naturally I forgot to check the batteries, which were dead.  Rad.  I had never been on the southern side of Upper Park before, and it was really very beautiful.  Far less traffic as well.  Recommended.

So, in other news, I've very recently gotten very excited about a profession that I didn't know existed, and that I think might be what I should do: Wilderness Therapy.  I only just found out about this line of work after my awesome Shyla sent me a couple of links.  The idea is that you do what I'm already doing - work with at-risk youth - except that you do it in a wilderness or backcountry setting.  After scouring teh interwebz I came up with a list of 11 different agencies in places ranging from Oregon to North Carolina, all of which have ongoing hiring, and all of which I am totally qualified for.  Interestingly enough, for the most part all of these agencies structure their programs very similarly (at least from the employee side): the pay is in the same range, there is opportunity for rapid advancement, the work schedule is the same (totally crazy - 8 days on/6 days off!!!), they all have full benefits, they all provide paid training, and they all provide sweet discounts on gear.  Whoa!  So, they pay people to take a bunch of kids backpacking for 8 days, and then you get 6 days off to go traipse around the wilderness yourself or sleep or take a road trip or whatever.   I think I can handle that.  Pretty excited, was tempted to quit my job yesterday.  Yeah, yeah, not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent.

Now, what does this mean for New Orleans, you say (or maybe you don't, but in my head you do).  Well, that's still there.  Me and the wife have been realizing that, really, since we've made the decision to move, the possibilities are endless.  We don't have to be anywhere by any certain time, and, though the money will run out sooner than later, we can pretty much go anywhere and do whatever.  For me, this is intoxicating.  I feel alive.  It has crossed my mind recently that this bit of wanderlust that is gnawing at me so intensely has always been there - I never intended to stay in Chico, and this lust has only really been satiated I think by touring with my band so frequently for all those years.  I don't have an actively touring band anymore, and I haven't been on a significant (timewise/lengthwise) tour since the summer of 2009.  This has left me to stew for these last two and a half years, and I really feel that it's reached a critical point.  Well, obviously, since we made the decision to get the fuck out of here.  So we will wander.  First through Europe over the summer, then through the U.S. once we get back, and who knows where we'll end up in the short term.  New Orleans is the long term goal, but who knows - maybe we'll need to make a few detours on the way there... :-)

Well, it's raining finally and will be for several days, so this weekend I think we're staying in and plotting out a few adventures for the near future, like our epic awesome 4 day anniversary trip in March (yes, yes, I know we got married in May, but we celebrate our original anniversary AND our wedding anniversary, because we love each other THAT much).  Stay warm, see you soon!

January 7-8

The trailhead

BACKPACKING!  This winter is being bizarre and warm and dry, so we decided to take advantage and get outdoors for an overnight hike.  Shyla had never been before, and I hadn't been in quite some time, so this was an exciting new experience for us together.  After going over a few spots, we ended up with the Thomes Gorge in-and-back trail.  Not too long, about 5.5 miles each way from start to finish.  The topo map from the Chico Hiking Association indicated that there was a good spot to set up camp right at the end of the trail next to Thomes Creek, so off we went!  Not too far really, about an hour and fifteen minutes from Chico, just about due west, just up into the coast ranges on the other side of the valley, and just barely into the Mendocino National Forest.  The hike started at a pullout at about 2010' in elevation, and the entirety goes through an uncommon region of Northern California chaparral, very pretty, with lots of manzanita, some laurel, a few oaks and pines, and a host of other shrubberies.

Burned trees amidst live shrubs

Adding to the already beautiful and different scenery was the fact that there was evidence of recent fires everywhere.I would say that most of the trees we saw near the trail were dead from being burned, but plant life was exploding everywhere - surprising to me, seeing as how it's January and we haven't had any rain to speak of.  In addition to plants thriving, the trail crossed two creeks that were still flowing with plenty of water, Bennett Creek and Bowers Creek.  According to the topo map there were two vernal pools and one lake on the trail as well.  Unfortunately, both the pools were dried up, with nothing more than large mats of dried up aquatic grasses to indicate where they had been.  The lake however, Dead Rabbit Lake, was only mostly dried up.  There was still a bit of a fetid pool lingering on, although it was really not much more than a glorified mud puddle at this point.  Looks like it'd be a cool lake when full; there was a small stand of oaks and other shrubs forming what would have been a

Dead Rabbit Lake

small island in the middle.  Past the lake was the beginning of the last segment of trail: about one mile of downhill, making your way down a ridge to the bottom of Thomes Gorge.  I'm definitely not in as good of shape as I could be, and despite my best efforts I wasn't able to get my pack below 38 pounds (I'll do better next time for sure), so by the time we got to the bottom my legs were a little shaky.  At the bottom we were pleasantly surprised to find fire rings set up in three different areas, we chose the lowest spot, closest to the creek.  Had there been any sign of precipitation, I would have opted for one of the higher spots, as I was told that this gorge drains very heavily during rain.  But, the weather service and the clouds said no rain, so there we camped, on a nice bed of sand leftover from the creek from years gone by.  The creek itself was probably about 5 feet below us, but we could hear it all night long.  There was some wind, though the gorge was relatively protected due to its shape.  Interestingly enough, the wind working through some parts of the gorge sounded at times more like the creek was surging - like it was rushing at greater volume, both of water and sound.  The main feature of the hike, so to speak, was the rock formation that formed one side of the narrowest part of the gorge, some 50 yards or so from camp.  This mini-mountain of sorts jutted up over 500 feet more or less straight up, towering over us, looming, always at the edge of your perception.  Powerful geology.  We were surprised to be treated to a moonrise after dark, the moon full and gradually peaking over one of the edges of this giant rock, now just a beam shining over the

The giant rock

 edge, now a sliver of light cresting, now a full blown celestial flashlight lighting our camp and surroundings for us.  We made a fire from the plentiful dead wood, cooked some dinner on the little backpacking stove, had some delicious canned IPA, and got ready to turn in.  At this point we were visited by the tiniest mouse ever, which was a good reminder to stow our food before sleep.  Strangely enough I didn't sleep well.  I was plenty warm, tired for sure, and the creek was doing its damndest to lull me to sleep, but I tossed and turned most of the night.  After the moon set and before sunrise I finally slept for several hours I think, and woke up feeling fine.  Did the dishes from last night, checked out the food situation (the mouse had managed to get at a small bit of the bag, and managed to chew through and into the trail mix bag.  Ah well!), and whipped up some breakfast, i.e., instant oatmeal and string cheese!  We took in this small valley or gorge again, marveling at the geology of the thing, broke camp, and hit the trail!  That mile of downhill turned into a mile of uphill, with an elevation change of about 650 feet. Not a bad way to kick it into high gear right off the bat!  We actually came across and chatted with some day hikers on the way back, an older group who definitely had way more experience than we did, but who were very friendly.  The hike on the second day was I think easier than the first, I feel like overall the muscles complained less (other than the initial ascent, naturally).  We made it back to the truck in about three hours exactly, loaded up, and made our way home.
It was a great experience.  One of the most incredible things witnessed were moments of complete silence.  I had to stop and listen to it several times... As I write this on the 10th, my legs are still a bit sore, but I can't wait to get out there and do it again.  More photos at my Flickr page, and also on Facebook.

January 3rd, 2012

Had to work today, which was dumb of course, but the evening awaited us!  Shyla and I met at Celestino's for a slice after work, then we pedaled over to the Pageant Theater to catch a movie that we heard was good, Young Adult. Turns out it was more "ok" than good, the main character's lack of any sort of real personal growth or development was depressing as hell.  Whatever, the Pageant serves popcorn with nutritional yeast, which makes up for a lot.  A friend of ours was bartending over at the Maltese for the first time ever tonight, so we cruised on over after the flick for a couple of pints.

The Maltese rules for having shuffleboard, so naturally we had to get our shuffle on.  A couple friends showed up, then all of a sudden we were lost in a hoard of karaoke types showing up for karaoke night.  We had no idea that this was happening, and I had never really even been to a karaoke night before (at least, that I had paid any attention to), so we stayed for the madness.  Not gonna lie, kinda wanted to get up there and belt one out.  Little bit of stage fright.  It's ok though, Shyla and I decided that we're going to have our karaoke debut next time, and we're going to do a duet of "I'm on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen.  Rules.  One of the main reasons for going out in the first place was that the Quadrantids meteor shower was set to peak between 11PM and 12AM, and for whatever reason, this relatively unknown meteor shower was supposed to be one of the two best meteor showers for 2012.  Naturally, what was a mostly clear sky turned into some fogginess by that time of night, and the radiant for the meteor shower was so low that the fog obscured most of the relevant sky.  Soooooooo, we missed it.  Whatevs!  We made the best of it by picking up a couple of 24oz bottles of ale (two of Sierra Nevada's offerings, a Southern Hemisphere and a Torpedo) on the way home, and kickin' it.  Not bad for a Tuesday.

December 31, 2011

We had a great New Year's Eve.  Small party at the home of two good friends - add a few gallons of Irish whiskey, untold cans and bottles of beer, who knows how many bottles of champagne, giga-sparklers, noisy blower things, a fire pit out back, and ridiculous hats, and a great time was had by all.  Among other things, plans to visit Finland this summer were begun... Night one of the new year and already the awesome is piling up...

December 30, 2011

I have a thing for Scotch.  Maybe it's because of the Scottish family heritage, maybe it's because I just like whiskies in general, maybe it's because I have some latent penchant for "the finer things in life" as it were.  I don't really have a lot of in-depth knowledge about Scotch, so naturally I decided on a complete whim to dive in head first and have a Scotch tasting party.  I subsequently spent a few weeks researching Scotch, it's regions, and it's food pairings, because, as our friend Hunter S. Thompson said, if a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing right (interestingly enough a good friend of mine once gave me a book about Scotch, Still Life with Bottle, written and illustrated by a good friend of Mr. Thompson).  It ended up going extremely well (at least I thought so), with about 18 people turning up, and about that many people going home with a warm fuzzy belly full of good spirits (double entendre intended).  Following you'll find what we drank, what we ate with what we drank, and my thoughts about the whisky.

Bowmore 12 year:  This Scotch hails from Islay.  I already knew that I liked Islay malts, and was happy to try a new one.    For food, I paired this extraordinarily peaty drink with baked brie, asparagus lightly cooked in butter, roasted herbed potatoes, and smoked almonds.  Each of these went together very well in their own way I thought.  The smoked almonds really brought out the smoky character of the malt, and the greasiness of the cheese mingled nicely on the palate.  Amber color, intense peaty nose, bold smoky palate.

Talisker 10 year:  I was most excited to try this Scotch.  Talisker comes from the only distillery from the Isle of Skye, and is considered one of the "classic" Scotches.  I paired this Scotch with crumbled Gorgonzola and Kalamata olives, smoked salmon and cream cheese on lightly toasted french bread rounds, an Irish cheddar, and smoked Gouda.  The Gouda really stole the show for me, the creaminess and smokiness of the cheese mixed with the whisky to create some serious mouth happy times.  Talisker was one of my two favorites of the evening, maybe my favorite.  I'll definitely be buying more in the future.  Gold color, smoky and peaty nose, spicy peaty palate.  Delicious.

Glenmorangie 10 year: Glenmorangie comes from the Highland region, and was actually the only Scotch of the evening that I didn't care for.  I paired it with Granny Smith apple slices drizzled with honey (from Frenetae, shout out to my sister Heather!) and cinnamon, milk chocolate with cherries, and Havarti cheese.  The whisky reminded me of trees, and was sharp.  Still developing my Scotch vocabulary, I'll taste it again when I can do a better job describing.  Light gold color, flowery herby nose, piney woody tree palate.

Cragganmore 12 year: Several people thought this Scotch was badass just because the name reminded them of dragons, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this was my second favorite of the evening.  Cragganmore comes from the Speyside region, and I definitely look forward to sampling more of what Speyside has to offer.  I did a very simple pairing of dark chocolate and Havarti cheese for this whisky, and found that the food pairing was lacking.  I'll have to do a better job researching food next time I have a Cragganmore (and there will be a next time).  This Scotch had a delicacy to it, lots going on.  Gold color, herby fruity nose, fruity palate with hints of herbs.






So that was that.  After the official tasting part was over, we all hung out, finished the Scotch, picked at the leftover food, and made merry until the wee hours of the morning.  By some serendipitous twist, no fewer than five good friends from out of town (New Orleans, Washington D.C., Arcata, Oakland) were in town for the event, and being able to catch up with all of them was a bonus cherry on top of an already amazing evening.

Every story has a beginning...

So, it's been a while since I've had a blog.  It's New Year's day today, right now, and I have decided that this year is going to be a year of adventures for me.  Years are arbitrary, of course, and naturally our whole lives should be adventures, but for whatever reason I feel highly motivated to make sure that this year kicks an exceptionally large amount of ass.  Like the amount of ass you find in one of those old "your momma's so fat" jokes.  As a matter of fact, I'm so motivated that I had to start the ass-kicking a little early, which is what my next post will cover.  At any rate, I feel like blogs are a little narcissistic, and I didn't want to clutter Facebook with my narcissism, so this blog will be all about me, my awesome Shyla, and my and our adventures.  Cheers, stay rad, and may your 2012 be as awesome as mine.