Parker and I rolled into San Diego on Wednesday afternoon. We were welcomed by Bill and Lori Walton, two great friends, and two of our biggest supporters.
As we rolled into Bill's driveway our odometers clicked over to 5002 miles and Bill ran out to present us with an embrace and two cold beverages. Since then, Lori and Bill have given us full run of their house, hot tub and pool. The Walton's have absolutely humbled us with their generosity.
Parker and I are so greatful and feel blessed each and every day to be on this amazing journey and to be able to spend time with our best friends.
Please take a listen to Bill's radio interview this morning where he talks about our ride, today's press interview and our upcoming border crossing. We can't thank Bill enough......
http://doublex1090.com/common/global_audio/40/13806.mp3
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Friday, October 30, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Portland, OR to San Francisco, CA
Parker and I departed Ryan’s house in Portland on a route that took us through downtown Portland and out through farm fields towards the coast.
We met Oris as we were leaving a Taco Shop in Point Arena. After brief introductions, Oris says, I know you’re probably asking yourselves ‘is this guy closer to 78 or 79?’ Well I can tell you I’m closer to 79.”
On our first day we met up with a fellow touring cyclist named Andrea. We first encountered her while she was sitting roadside looking at her map. When Parker and I pulled over to chat with her she immediately told us that she was overwhelmed by the sheer distance between her current location and her final destination of San Francisco. She was out of water and not sure where she was going to camp. Andrea was only 30 miles into the ride and she was already having doubts about her ability to make it to San Francisco. An underestimation that Andrea would remind us of when she made it San Francisco two days ahead of us!
Parker and I suggested that she join us. That night we camped at an area that had originally been reserved as a buffer zone between the white settlers and the Native Americans. Bob, the park host suggested that we hide our tents to avoid any late night hassle from the Park Ranger. The three of us enjoyed a peaceful sleep and the following day we made our way to the coast and started to head south when we intersected Highway 1.
On the second night from Portland we stayed at Ryan’s parents beach house in Waldport. Once again, thanks to the generosity of others, we were temporarily living a life of luxury. We enjoyed ocean views, laundry, showers and a full kitchen. We would like to give special thanks to Ryan and his parents for so generously accommodating us on such short notice.
Having done the coastal route back in 2004 with a group of 14 friends the landmarks and campgrounds along the coast revived some old memories. What differentiated this trip, (besides the 100lbs of luggage on my bicycle) was the great weather. Our 2004 trip was plagued by so much bad weather (11 days of rain I believe) that lack of comfort became comical. One morning on our 2004 trip I remember waking early to the screams of our good friend Avery. When we rushed to uncover the nature of his cries we found him in 4 inches of standing rain water on the downhill side of the Taj Mahal (a walmart quality wall tent). In the end, our positive energy made up for any lack of sun. I believe everyone would agree that the 12 days from Seattle to San Francisco were some of the best days any one of us have spent on a bicycle. I can honestly say that those 900 miles spawned my obsession with bicycle travel.
Rather than report on the daily routine of our travel between Portland and San Francisco I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the colorful characters that we encountered along the way.
The Pacific Coast Cycling Guide that I used for camping references, warned against transients in many of the hiker / biker campsites down the coast. The book states, “You may be better off paying for a regular campsite.” Parker and I would like to tastefully disagree. It was this so-called transient traffic that made this trip down the coast so memorable.
Kemo (the earth ox) – Avenue of the Giants, California
As Parker and I pedaled through the majestic shadows of the Redwoods on the Avenue of the Giants I caught a glimpse of a barefoot man navigating a dry creek bed and climbing over downed trees. I smiled and thought to myself what an interesting cast of characters this magical place seems to attract. We pulled over a quarter mile later and I ran inside a local shop to refill my water bottles. When I returned this same barefoot man had Parker cornered and was in the process of delivering an impromptu sermon.
I joined Parker and we listened as this man preached the “word of jesus” and warned us of the temptations of the devil. At one point he even asked us if we would be tempted to eat the moon if it was made of chocolate. When he finally paused to take a breath I started asking him questions. It was painfully apparent that this guy had a story to tell.
Kemo (as his friends call him) is an “earth ox” traveling the “silk road” through America. The route is arbitrary and is determined by the word of God. Kemo’s silk road has conveniently dropped him at some of America’s biggest music festivals including a recent outing at Reggae on the River.
Kemo has had 4 wives, kids with all them, has spent time in a straight jacket in a mental institution, and was once diagnosed as “retarded.” He used to live an affluent life and would vacation in Hawaii every year but didn’t gain purpose until he took to the road. Kemo travels the silk-road in a Ford Windstar and he also calls this van home.
You can imagine our astonishment when Kemo told us that he was carrying over a thousand pounds of organic vegetables and fruit in the back of his vehicle and our shock when he announced that he would be giving us food for our trip.
We left Kemo with full food bags and sense of bewilderment. How could someone who has nothing be so generous?
Robin, his dog & Chuck – Van Damme State Park
We ran into Robin 20 miles south of Fort Bragg in Van Damme State Park. I was instantly curious about Robin’s story because it is very unusual to see someone actually hike into the designated hiker / biker campsites. Robin arrived to the campsite in the late afternoon with his dog in tow and a noticeable lightness to his step. It was very apparent that this guy has walked a few miles in his life. Within 5 minutes he had camp set and he was enjoying an adult beverage.
When Parker and I arrived at Van Damme State Park it didn’t take Chuck but 5 minutes to make our acquaintance and figure out our story. Chuck was so inspired by our passion for travel that he brought us a paper bag filled with vegetables and started handing them to us to cook. It was apparent that Chuck had spent the afternoon lubricating himself with libations but regardless this guy’s generosity with his food was overwhelming.
After cooking Chuck’s organic vegetables, Parker and I invited Chuck and Robin to share dinner with us around one of the picnic tables. We were both excited by the prospect of getting to know these two interesting characters.
Chuck’s clean-cut appearance and well-groomed moustache disguise the fact that he lives a challenging life. As it turns out, Chuck is homeless and lives in a shelter in Santa Rosa, CA.
This marks the second occasion in one week where Parker and I received a generous portion of food from a homeless person. Throughout the trip we have both been amazed and humbled by the kindness of others but it is the openhandedness of people that have nothing that has given us a new perspective on humanity.
Robin has been traveling the road for over 20 years. With hundreds of thousands of miles of hitchhiking and backpacking experience, Robin has truly mastered the art of budget travel. It’s guys like Robin that need to write travel guides because he makes the Lonely Planet Traveling on a Shoestring Series look like a joke.
Robin has lived and worked everywhere. His list of professions includes; fishing boat deckhand in Alaska, painter, contractor, fisherman, farmer in Mendocino County, etc. Although he currently calls Reno, Nevada home, Robin spends most of his time and energy traveling.
Life is all about putting yourself in situations where you will be able to walk away with a good story. Robin’s has taken this philosophy to heart and his current collections of stories are mind blowing. Some of my favorites include…”how I bummed $100 off a bum,” “my decision to never buy a fishing license,” and “my trip down the Pacific Coast Trail” and “my plan to take over the world.”
Oris - Point Arena, California
We met Oris as we were leaving a Taco Shop in Point Arena. After brief introductions, Oris says, I know you’re probably asking yourselves ‘is this guy closer to 78 or 79?’ Well I can tell you I’m closer to 79.”
Oris has been passionate about bicycle travel since a young age. Oris has pedaled his Trek bicycle over 81k miles (pictured below). When I commented on his Keen Newport sandals he told us they have helped him to pedal over 12k of those miles.
Oris told us that in all those miles he had never encountered anything as crazy as what had happened to him earlier that morning. As Oris rounded a bend in the road he caught sight of a large buck deer. The deer was extremely startled by the sight of Oris and in a panic decided to jump in front of him. As Oris braced himself for impact with the deer a pick-up truck came flying by him and struck the animal head on. Oris said the animal exploded like a “cherry bomb.” He said the only thing more amazing than the truck hitting the deer was the fact that he was not covered in blood.
Other notable characters include; two homeless wanderers that we ate dinner with at Clam Beach County Park in Humboldt County, Cat Boy in Gerberville, CA, Jeannette, a Canadian woman who is traveling solo on her bicycle for the next year.
To see the photos from this segment of the trip click here:
http://pebblepedalers.com/photos/show/72157622550411940Friday, October 9, 2009
Brief Update from San Francisco, CA
We have arrived in San Francisco and are enjoying a few days off the bikes to spend time with friends, family and to let the legs recuperate.
Parker took off this morning for a three day vacation in PuertoVallarta, Mexico where he will be attending a friends wedding. I will take off down the coast solo this afternoon and will reunite with Parker in Los Angeles on October 22nd. This is the first time we have been apart for 4 months. Just in case you were wondering we are still getting along great.
When Parker returns from San Diego he will reunite with Jeff Urton in San Francisco...You may remember Jeff as the guy who lit himself on fire during our fishing trip to Katmai National Park in Alaska. If you haven't heard the story, the blog entry from Alaska is a must read. Jeff and Parker will ride down the coast together and the three of us will rendezvous in Los Angeles.
I will be providing a detailed account of our trip from Portland to San Francisco which will highlight the numerous characters we encountered.
We were featured on the CBS Channel 5 news last night. Here is a link to the clip...
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=56430@kpix.dayport.com
In addition feel free to check out our new photo set found here....
http://www.pebblepedalers.com/photos/show/72157622550411940
I'd like to give a huge, huge thanks to Chris at Roaring Mouse Cycles on Irving Street in San Francisco. Chris has taken unbelievable care of us and our bikes. Both of us our in debt to him for his generosity and support. Roaring Mouse Cycles is also the top rated bicycle shop on Yelp. No Big Deal!
While we were in Tok, Alaska Chris talked me through a hub repair while I was standing on the side of the Alcan Highway. Needless to say, I was able to ride the bike for another 400 miles to a proper bicylce shop.
Parker took off this morning for a three day vacation in PuertoVallarta, Mexico where he will be attending a friends wedding. I will take off down the coast solo this afternoon and will reunite with Parker in Los Angeles on October 22nd. This is the first time we have been apart for 4 months. Just in case you were wondering we are still getting along great.
When Parker returns from San Diego he will reunite with Jeff Urton in San Francisco...You may remember Jeff as the guy who lit himself on fire during our fishing trip to Katmai National Park in Alaska. If you haven't heard the story, the blog entry from Alaska is a must read. Jeff and Parker will ride down the coast together and the three of us will rendezvous in Los Angeles.
I will be providing a detailed account of our trip from Portland to San Francisco which will highlight the numerous characters we encountered.
We were featured on the CBS Channel 5 news last night. Here is a link to the clip...
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=56430@kpix.dayport.com
In addition feel free to check out our new photo set found here....
http://www.pebblepedalers.com/photos/show/72157622550411940
I'd like to give a huge, huge thanks to Chris at Roaring Mouse Cycles on Irving Street in San Francisco. Chris has taken unbelievable care of us and our bikes. Both of us our in debt to him for his generosity and support. Roaring Mouse Cycles is also the top rated bicycle shop on Yelp. No Big Deal!
While we were in Tok, Alaska Chris talked me through a hub repair while I was standing on the side of the Alcan Highway. Needless to say, I was able to ride the bike for another 400 miles to a proper bicylce shop.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
STP Seattle to Portland
After exiting the ferry station we headed towards Eric “Ricky” Rose's house in Green Lake via a very scenic route through Seattle. Once we got to his spot we found the key that Eric had left us and entered to find a care package he had put together for our arrival. The package consisted of various primping and cleaning supplies with a note that welcomed us but warned us not to destroy his bathroom. After cleaning up and being very careful not to disturb Eric's pristine living quarters, we met up with Ian Sawyer, and his fiance, Kara as well as Eric for some Thai food which Seth and I had been craving for months (Seth and I had been discussing for weeks all of the places we would eat once we arrived in Seattle). Still tired from a 70+ mile day of riding we decided to call it a night and headed back to Eric's house to rest up for a huge week.
As we had arrived a day earlier than expected, Seth wanted to surprise his special lady friend, Eliza at the airport. Unfortunately, Eliza missed her flight and was forced to purchase another flight later that day. After much secret planning and replanning with Eliza's mother, Geannie, they finally got to the airport and from what I hear she was quite surprised to say the least. However, Eliza was not very happy with her mother and sister for not informing her of Seth's early arrival.
The plan was to all meet up that night at yet another surprise party for Eliza's friend MaTTie, not to be confused with Eliza's sister MaDDie or the legend himself, Matty Fake. This was confusing at times depending who was around. Seth and Eliza went out to dinner with Eliza's dad, Chip, while Maddie (Eliza's sister), Eric, and I hung out at Eric's house and had a few pre-surprise party beverages. We all finally reconvened at a newly opened wine bar downtown Seattle just in time for the big surprise. It was a great party and we all had a very good time. We would like to thank/apologize to whoever covered the tab for the open bar.
The next morning Maddie and Eliza prepared a delicious breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs and we all got ready for a day of boating on Lake Washington courtesy of Captain Chip Veal. The weather was perfect and we spent a long day out on the water cruising and drinking beers before heading back to Geannie's house for another big party. As soon as we opened the door it was evident that Geannie had been cooking all day and the entire house smelled amazing. Needless to say we were pretty hungry and were very excited to learn that Geannie was preparing her infamous jambalaya. Before continuing, it is important to establish that Geannie is an incredible cook. We have said this about quite a few people that have cooked for us on this trip but Geannie's meals, or should I say culinary masterpieces, were truly on another level. For fear of running out of adjectives to describe all of the different breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that she blessed us with during our stay in Seattle, you can assume if she cooked it, it was amazing. Seth had invited all of his college buddies that were still in the area which included Ian Sawyer and Kara, Sam Burns and his fiancée, Eva, Matt Kopicky and his wife, Ginger, and Avery Dahl. Unfortunately, Eric Rose could not make it but we were very pleased to see Ricky show up instead. We were also privileged by the presence of the one and only T Swimme, not to be confused with B Swimme who is also a legend, enjoys napping, and can usually be identified by his bleeding eyes. As many of you know, Seth rowed crew in college and I remember noticing that the average height of everyone at the party was extremely tall. Incredibly, Geannie cooked enough food for this entire crowd including a number of Eliza and Maddie's friends. Two other people that we met at this party were Geannie's boyfriend, Robert and Hannah's (Maddie and Eliza's older sister) ex-boyfriend Doug. We would like to graciously thank Doug for the largest donation we have received thus far on our trip. His enthusiasm for green awareness is inspiring to say the least. We would also like to thank Robert for putting up with us for an entire week and making many sacrifices of his own on our behalf.
The next morning we were spoiled with another breakfast which included grits which was a much welcomed change from oat meal which we have eaten just under a 100 mornings since we left California. After regrouping from the night before we started to mobilize for the UW football game against LSU. We headed to Eric's house to grab some more clothes, had a few pre-tailgate drinks then headed to campus. We found all of our friends at their official tailgate party and we joined even though we didn't have the official tailgate wristband. I noticed that many of the different tailgate parties required a wristband or special t-shirt to be included in the festivities. Because we did not have tickets to the game I also found out that one can eat like a king at all of these tailgate parties once the game has started even without a wristband or t-shirt. On our way back to the car Seth and I enjoyed cheeseburgers, chicken wings, baby-back ribs, sausages, salads, and various fruit arrangements. We caught the depressing end of the game at Eric's house and finished off the night with some Chinese food delivery.
The next day I said farewell to my good friend Thomas and Seth, Eliza, Maddie and myself headed out to the Gorge to see the Dave Matthews concert. The plan was to meet Matt Tong and his girlfriend Jill, Jack Parker, Eric and/or Ricky Rose so we could roll into the show togetherl in Eric's Vanagan. The concert was packed but luckily some of Ricky's friends had saved us a spot to pitch our tent.
We broke camp and got back on the road as soon as possible in the morning and found a park a few miles away where we ate breakfast and got a little rest. After another 60 miles or so we were once again looking for a spot to camp. We were in rural farm country which is notorious for unleashed roaming dogs and sure enough we heard a large one approaching us quickly on our right so we began pedaling faster. I saw a very big black and white pit bull looking dog coming right for me and I quickly turned my bike to the left which caused it to pass me and start running for Seth. The dog then realized that I was still much closer and once again turned back towards me. The bear spray was out of reach so I disengaged my right cleat to punt the dog in the face as he approached but he avoided my foot and bit onto my rear dry bag. I dragged the dog for a few seconds before it finally let go and it looked as though he was about to try round 2 but I yelled at it as loud as I could and he slowed down and turned away. I was very disappointed that I had blown yet another chance to use the bear spray.
We stopped at a grocery/deli/gas station down the road and the owner informed us we could set camp on the lawn behind the store and we gladly accepted. It was a beautiful night and we slept very well. Much thanks to the owners of Mt. St. Helen's Grocery.
We got going early as we had an 80+ mile day ahead of us and we needed to meet Stephen Mull in Portland by 5PM. Just to make things interesting we decided to go12 miles in the wrong direction to start off the day. Now we had lost an hour and had to complete a 90+ mile day. However, we did to see this camel on a farm we passed while traveling down the wrong road.
We put in about 65 miles before lunch and decided we better get a legitimate meal to make sure we had the necessary energy to finish our long ride. I'm not sure how legitimate our meal was but we did order everything on the dollar menu at both McDonald's and Taco Bell. We were a bit surprised and disturbed to find out that a bean burrito was more expensive than a beef burrito of the same size. Nevertheless we made it to Portland with time to spare. Seth had contacted his friend Ryan, another one of his rowing acquaintances, and asked him if we could store our bikes at his house in Portland for while we went fishing for a week. Ryan had no problem with this and we grabbed the few clothes and fishing gear we would need before heading out with Mr. Stephen Mull. Stephen flew in from Virginia the night before and had borrowed his step father's car to pick us up in Portland then go fishing for a week.
Our final destination was the Deschutes River but Seth and Stephen wanted to first hit the Klicketat River which they had fished the year before without any luck. We did not get to the river until after dark and we had some trouble trying to find the campground. After backtracking a few miles Stephen finally spotted the turnout and we quickly set camp. After a few beers we decided to hit the sac as we wanted to be on the water by 6AM at the latest. As Seth was getting into his tent he noticed a large black spider crawling on the his mesh screen which turned out to be the biggest black widow any of us had ever seen.
It was at this point that both Seth and Stephen realized that they had left their tents open while we were drinking beers on the tailgate of Stephen's truck. They both spent the next few minutes inspecting every inch of the interior of their tents before reluctantly turning out their lights and crawling into their bags.
We were up by 5AM and on the water by first light as planned but did not move any fish all morning. We fished until 2PM with the same results and decided to make a move as there were reports of excellent fishing on the Deschutes. We made it Maupin by about 4:30PM and decided to stop in the fly shop, The Deschutes Angler, before heading down to the river. The reports were still very good and one of the owners of the shop, XXXX Hazel, was very interested in hearing about our trip. She too had traveled around the world on a fly fishing adventure and when she heard what cause we were riding for she insisted on giving us a bunch of free flies. We thanked her and headed down to the river about an hour before twilight. Seth hooked but did not land one fish which was the only action we saw that night. We found a camp spot nearby and once again planned to be back on the water by 6AM.
The next morning Stephen rose 3 fish on dries but was unable to hook any of them. Seth and I did not see anything so we decided to check out the river below Maupin for the mid-day session. To our disappointment the lower river had been completely blown out by the White River which flows into the Deschutes just a couple miles downstream of town. The rest of the trip turned into a constant battle with the clarity of the water and deciding on whether to fish the crystal clear upper section which held less fish or the mirky lower section which held much better numbers. When all was said and done we caught some beautiful Steelhead in both the upper and lower sections and it turned out to be a very successful week of fishing.
The next day we met up with Stephen's friend Ryan who brought his wife's younger brother Hank and his buddy Mike. Ryan brought his drift boat so we decided to try our luck in the still very mirky lower section.
We fished hard all day and did not move a single fish between 6 rods. We found out from Fish and Game later that day that nobody had reported catching a fish in the last 2 days. However, that night I landed the first Steelhead of the trip and lost another one just before dark. I also fell in a hole in the river and filled up my waders and almost ruined another IPOD and camera.
The next day we hired a guide, Sam Sickles, who went far above and beyond what we had expected for single day float. His determination to get all of us into fish on a day of relatively tough conditions was impressive. His knowledge of the river which he generously shared with us, was essential to the rest of our trip and we all agreed that he was one of the better guides we have fished with. For anyone that plans to take a trip to the Deschutes we would highly recommend contacting Sam at www.riverborneoutfitters.com. Here is a picture of Sam with his 2008 slab of the year on MoldyChum.com. I was conflicted of weather or not to put this picture on our blog as it completely disgraces all of our pictures. Nevertheless:
Seth hooked into the biggest fish of our trip the morning we were fishing with Sam. Let us not compare these fish but simply respect them as two very eaqually beautiful creatures of God.
We were then graced with the presence of our father, Neil, who came out to fish with us for the remainder of the trip. It was just a couple days before his birthday and we were very excited and thankful that he could spend it with us on the river. He had driven all the way from Marin and brought Seth's raft so we could float the entire lower section of the river to the mouth. He had also reserved a very small cabin for us all to sleep in for one night before taking off on the 3 day float. The next morning we purchased all of the needed supplies and put the boat in the river just a few hours before sunset.
We fished till dark and did not move any Steelhead but Neil did catch a good sized rainbow.
The next day was much better conditions as we were blessed with overcast skies. Neil hooked up with another very nice trout first thing in the morning and we were hooking into Steelhead throughout the day.
Till this day all of our fish had been caught in the early morning or just before dark. We were very fortunate to find a great camping spot that afternoon which was right next to a run that Sam and some of his other clients were fishing. He informed us that it was excellent water and suggested we fish it as soon as he left. When his clients were ready to move on after not having any luck we moved in to fish the remainder of the evening. Stephen quickly hooked up on back to back fish followed by Seth and I both hooking up at the same time. Seth had foul hooked his Steelhead in the dorsal fin and it had quickly stripped all of the line off his reel. He was running down the bank trying to keep his line from breaking when he ate shit directly onto his back. I was following him while fighting another fish and I remember looking up and starting to laugh after he had fallen only to slip on the same exact rock. This all occurred in front of about 10 gear fisherman that were throwing out comments throughout the entire experience. Out of all 10 of these guys there were only 3 of them that were still sober enough hold a rod. Somehow Stephen had found the end of Seth's line a couple hundred yards downstream and netted the fish while also filling up his waders with water. I subsequently landed my fish and we released them during the last few minutes of daylight.
This turned out to be the best evening of fishing we had during this trip. Later that night we had the pleasure of hearing the group of drunk gear fisherman sing old frat songs long into the morning. We hit the same hole the next morning but did not have any luck and did not see anymore fish on our last day of the trip. 
We took the boat out that afternoon and packed everything back into Neil's truck before heading to Hood River for his birthday dinner at local micro brewery. We then parted ways with Mr. Mull who had to drive all the way back to Seattle that night. Seth, Neil and I stayed down the street at very nice hotel which was right on the Columbia River. The following morning Neil dropped us off at Ryan's house and we decided to stick around one more night to take care of errands and get a part changed on my bike. Neil also stuck around Portland that night and took us out to an amazing dinner for Seth's birthday. He treated us even further by sharing some wine that he had been saving for 24 years. After dinner we said goodbye and were ready to get back on the road the next morning.
We took a lot of time off in between Seattle and Portland and it was great to see our father and friends after being in Alaska and Canada for what seemed like a long time. We have already realized that this portion of the trip is going to be significantly easier as we will never be far from a city that we have either lived in or have many friends that we are looking forward to see.
As we had arrived a day earlier than expected, Seth wanted to surprise his special lady friend, Eliza at the airport. Unfortunately, Eliza missed her flight and was forced to purchase another flight later that day. After much secret planning and replanning with Eliza's mother, Geannie, they finally got to the airport and from what I hear she was quite surprised to say the least. However, Eliza was not very happy with her mother and sister for not informing her of Seth's early arrival.
The plan was to all meet up that night at yet another surprise party for Eliza's friend MaTTie, not to be confused with Eliza's sister MaDDie or the legend himself, Matty Fake. This was confusing at times depending who was around. Seth and Eliza went out to dinner with Eliza's dad, Chip, while Maddie (Eliza's sister), Eric, and I hung out at Eric's house and had a few pre-surprise party beverages. We all finally reconvened at a newly opened wine bar downtown Seattle just in time for the big surprise. It was a great party and we all had a very good time. We would like to thank/apologize to whoever covered the tab for the open bar.
The next morning Maddie and Eliza prepared a delicious breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs and we all got ready for a day of boating on Lake Washington courtesy of Captain Chip Veal. The weather was perfect and we spent a long day out on the water cruising and drinking beers before heading back to Geannie's house for another big party. As soon as we opened the door it was evident that Geannie had been cooking all day and the entire house smelled amazing. Needless to say we were pretty hungry and were very excited to learn that Geannie was preparing her infamous jambalaya. Before continuing, it is important to establish that Geannie is an incredible cook. We have said this about quite a few people that have cooked for us on this trip but Geannie's meals, or should I say culinary masterpieces, were truly on another level. For fear of running out of adjectives to describe all of the different breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that she blessed us with during our stay in Seattle, you can assume if she cooked it, it was amazing. Seth had invited all of his college buddies that were still in the area which included Ian Sawyer and Kara, Sam Burns and his fiancée, Eva, Matt Kopicky and his wife, Ginger, and Avery Dahl. Unfortunately, Eric Rose could not make it but we were very pleased to see Ricky show up instead. We were also privileged by the presence of the one and only T Swimme, not to be confused with B Swimme who is also a legend, enjoys napping, and can usually be identified by his bleeding eyes. As many of you know, Seth rowed crew in college and I remember noticing that the average height of everyone at the party was extremely tall. Incredibly, Geannie cooked enough food for this entire crowd including a number of Eliza and Maddie's friends. Two other people that we met at this party were Geannie's boyfriend, Robert and Hannah's (Maddie and Eliza's older sister) ex-boyfriend Doug. We would like to graciously thank Doug for the largest donation we have received thus far on our trip. His enthusiasm for green awareness is inspiring to say the least. We would also like to thank Robert for putting up with us for an entire week and making many sacrifices of his own on our behalf.
The next morning we were spoiled with another breakfast which included grits which was a much welcomed change from oat meal which we have eaten just under a 100 mornings since we left California. After regrouping from the night before we started to mobilize for the UW football game against LSU. We headed to Eric's house to grab some more clothes, had a few pre-tailgate drinks then headed to campus. We found all of our friends at their official tailgate party and we joined even though we didn't have the official tailgate wristband. I noticed that many of the different tailgate parties required a wristband or special t-shirt to be included in the festivities. Because we did not have tickets to the game I also found out that one can eat like a king at all of these tailgate parties once the game has started even without a wristband or t-shirt. On our way back to the car Seth and I enjoyed cheeseburgers, chicken wings, baby-back ribs, sausages, salads, and various fruit arrangements. We caught the depressing end of the game at Eric's house and finished off the night with some Chinese food delivery.
The next day I said farewell to my good friend Thomas and Seth, Eliza, Maddie and myself headed out to the Gorge to see the Dave Matthews concert. The plan was to meet Matt Tong and his girlfriend Jill, Jack Parker, Eric and/or Ricky Rose so we could roll into the show togetherl in Eric's Vanagan. The concert was packed but luckily some of Ricky's friends had saved us a spot to pitch our tent.
Seth and I soon realized that we were not pitching any regular tent but more like constructing a small compound (Not pictured above. Incredibly we did not get any pictures but Seth did do a Cribs style tour of the compound on video). This was by far the biggest tent I have ever seen and we would like to thank Robert for loaning it to us as we would have been severely under-supplied with our singles. Once we set camp and had a few cocktails it was time to head into the concert where we watched G Love perform before DMB went on. The Gorge, which I would highly recommend visiting if you have not been there, is set against an amazing backdrop of the Columbia river.
The performance was great and Seth and I were both very happy to be back around some music after being in remote wilderness for over 3000 miles. After the encore we hurried back to the tent to heat up the huge pot of chili that Geannie had made for us before we left. I thought that we were excited to eat until I saw Ricky Rose. He must have asked me a hundred times to serve him a bowl while I was warming the massive pot on our tiny burner. Once I did serve him his bowl he politely requested the cheese by saying the word “cheese” another hundred times until he got it. After putting half of the bag of freshly grated cheese into his bowl he found a jar of Tostido's Salsa Con Queso and dumped the remainder of the contents on top of the cheese. Even to us this was quite impressive.
The next morning we broke down the compound, packed the Vanagon, and headed straight for the greasiest breakfast diner we could find. This didn't take long and we were fed and back on the road in no time heading back for one more dinner party at the Veal's before heading south. We even got to see Inglorious Bastards at a really cool theatre/bar where they will serve you throughout the movie. Actually, I was almost denied entrance into the theatre because I didn't have my ID. The only ID Seth needed was his newly trimmed handlebar mustache.
After one final breakfast we said goodbye to everyone and were off to Portland via the famous STP (Seattle to Portland) route, which only took about 10 pages of directions. Luckily Seth had done this route before and we only got lost once at which time I received the lecture I always receive when we get lost on how I need to be more proactive with navigating. I must admit that this is true, however it is much easier to just follow Seth and not worry about carrying so many maps.
We broke camp and got back on the road as soon as possible in the morning and found a park a few miles away where we ate breakfast and got a little rest. After another 60 miles or so we were once again looking for a spot to camp. We were in rural farm country which is notorious for unleashed roaming dogs and sure enough we heard a large one approaching us quickly on our right so we began pedaling faster. I saw a very big black and white pit bull looking dog coming right for me and I quickly turned my bike to the left which caused it to pass me and start running for Seth. The dog then realized that I was still much closer and once again turned back towards me. The bear spray was out of reach so I disengaged my right cleat to punt the dog in the face as he approached but he avoided my foot and bit onto my rear dry bag. I dragged the dog for a few seconds before it finally let go and it looked as though he was about to try round 2 but I yelled at it as loud as I could and he slowed down and turned away. I was very disappointed that I had blown yet another chance to use the bear spray.
We stopped at a grocery/deli/gas station down the road and the owner informed us we could set camp on the lawn behind the store and we gladly accepted. It was a beautiful night and we slept very well. Much thanks to the owners of Mt. St. Helen's Grocery.
We got going early as we had an 80+ mile day ahead of us and we needed to meet Stephen Mull in Portland by 5PM. Just to make things interesting we decided to go12 miles in the wrong direction to start off the day. Now we had lost an hour and had to complete a 90+ mile day. However, we did to see this camel on a farm we passed while traveling down the wrong road.We put in about 65 miles before lunch and decided we better get a legitimate meal to make sure we had the necessary energy to finish our long ride. I'm not sure how legitimate our meal was but we did order everything on the dollar menu at both McDonald's and Taco Bell. We were a bit surprised and disturbed to find out that a bean burrito was more expensive than a beef burrito of the same size. Nevertheless we made it to Portland with time to spare. Seth had contacted his friend Ryan, another one of his rowing acquaintances, and asked him if we could store our bikes at his house in Portland for while we went fishing for a week. Ryan had no problem with this and we grabbed the few clothes and fishing gear we would need before heading out with Mr. Stephen Mull. Stephen flew in from Virginia the night before and had borrowed his step father's car to pick us up in Portland then go fishing for a week. Our final destination was the Deschutes River but Seth and Stephen wanted to first hit the Klicketat River which they had fished the year before without any luck. We did not get to the river until after dark and we had some trouble trying to find the campground. After backtracking a few miles Stephen finally spotted the turnout and we quickly set camp. After a few beers we decided to hit the sac as we wanted to be on the water by 6AM at the latest. As Seth was getting into his tent he noticed a large black spider crawling on the his mesh screen which turned out to be the biggest black widow any of us had ever seen.
It was at this point that both Seth and Stephen realized that they had left their tents open while we were drinking beers on the tailgate of Stephen's truck. They both spent the next few minutes inspecting every inch of the interior of their tents before reluctantly turning out their lights and crawling into their bags. We were up by 5AM and on the water by first light as planned but did not move any fish all morning. We fished until 2PM with the same results and decided to make a move as there were reports of excellent fishing on the Deschutes. We made it Maupin by about 4:30PM and decided to stop in the fly shop, The Deschutes Angler, before heading down to the river. The reports were still very good and one of the owners of the shop, XXXX Hazel, was very interested in hearing about our trip. She too had traveled around the world on a fly fishing adventure and when she heard what cause we were riding for she insisted on giving us a bunch of free flies. We thanked her and headed down to the river about an hour before twilight. Seth hooked but did not land one fish which was the only action we saw that night. We found a camp spot nearby and once again planned to be back on the water by 6AM.
The next morning Stephen rose 3 fish on dries but was unable to hook any of them. Seth and I did not see anything so we decided to check out the river below Maupin for the mid-day session. To our disappointment the lower river had been completely blown out by the White River which flows into the Deschutes just a couple miles downstream of town. The rest of the trip turned into a constant battle with the clarity of the water and deciding on whether to fish the crystal clear upper section which held less fish or the mirky lower section which held much better numbers. When all was said and done we caught some beautiful Steelhead in both the upper and lower sections and it turned out to be a very successful week of fishing.
The next day we met up with Stephen's friend Ryan who brought his wife's younger brother Hank and his buddy Mike. Ryan brought his drift boat so we decided to try our luck in the still very mirky lower section.
We fished hard all day and did not move a single fish between 6 rods. We found out from Fish and Game later that day that nobody had reported catching a fish in the last 2 days. However, that night I landed the first Steelhead of the trip and lost another one just before dark. I also fell in a hole in the river and filled up my waders and almost ruined another IPOD and camera.The next day we hired a guide, Sam Sickles, who went far above and beyond what we had expected for single day float. His determination to get all of us into fish on a day of relatively tough conditions was impressive. His knowledge of the river which he generously shared with us, was essential to the rest of our trip and we all agreed that he was one of the better guides we have fished with. For anyone that plans to take a trip to the Deschutes we would highly recommend contacting Sam at www.riverborneoutfitters.com. Here is a picture of Sam with his 2008 slab of the year on MoldyChum.com. I was conflicted of weather or not to put this picture on our blog as it completely disgraces all of our pictures. Nevertheless:
Seth hooked into the biggest fish of our trip the morning we were fishing with Sam. Let us not compare these fish but simply respect them as two very eaqually beautiful creatures of God. We were then graced with the presence of our father, Neil, who came out to fish with us for the remainder of the trip. It was just a couple days before his birthday and we were very excited and thankful that he could spend it with us on the river. He had driven all the way from Marin and brought Seth's raft so we could float the entire lower section of the river to the mouth. He had also reserved a very small cabin for us all to sleep in for one night before taking off on the 3 day float. The next morning we purchased all of the needed supplies and put the boat in the river just a few hours before sunset.We fished till dark and did not move any Steelhead but Neil did catch a good sized rainbow.The next day was much better conditions as we were blessed with overcast skies. Neil hooked up with another very nice trout first thing in the morning and we were hooking into Steelhead throughout the day.
Till this day all of our fish had been caught in the early morning or just before dark. We were very fortunate to find a great camping spot that afternoon which was right next to a run that Sam and some of his other clients were fishing. He informed us that it was excellent water and suggested we fish it as soon as he left. When his clients were ready to move on after not having any luck we moved in to fish the remainder of the evening. Stephen quickly hooked up on back to back fish followed by Seth and I both hooking up at the same time. Seth had foul hooked his Steelhead in the dorsal fin and it had quickly stripped all of the line off his reel. He was running down the bank trying to keep his line from breaking when he ate shit directly onto his back. I was following him while fighting another fish and I remember looking up and starting to laugh after he had fallen only to slip on the same exact rock. This all occurred in front of about 10 gear fisherman that were throwing out comments throughout the entire experience. Out of all 10 of these guys there were only 3 of them that were still sober enough hold a rod. Somehow Stephen had found the end of Seth's line a couple hundred yards downstream and netted the fish while also filling up his waders with water. I subsequently landed my fish and we released them during the last few minutes of daylight. This turned out to be the best evening of fishing we had during this trip. Later that night we had the pleasure of hearing the group of drunk gear fisherman sing old frat songs long into the morning. We hit the same hole the next morning but did not have any luck and did not see anymore fish on our last day of the trip. We took the boat out that afternoon and packed everything back into Neil's truck before heading to Hood River for his birthday dinner at local micro brewery. We then parted ways with Mr. Mull who had to drive all the way back to Seattle that night. Seth, Neil and I stayed down the street at very nice hotel which was right on the Columbia River. The following morning Neil dropped us off at Ryan's house and we decided to stick around one more night to take care of errands and get a part changed on my bike. Neil also stuck around Portland that night and took us out to an amazing dinner for Seth's birthday. He treated us even further by sharing some wine that he had been saving for 24 years. After dinner we said goodbye and were ready to get back on the road the next morning.
We took a lot of time off in between Seattle and Portland and it was great to see our father and friends after being in Alaska and Canada for what seemed like a long time. We have already realized that this portion of the trip is going to be significantly easier as we will never be far from a city that we have either lived in or have many friends that we are looking forward to see.
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