The Plague, and Adventures in America

Genevieve and I are back from our adventures "outside" or "down-states" as they call it around here, meaning in the contiguous 48.  We've both managed to catch a gnarly cough, which we are affectionately calling "the plague".  It helps to joke about things.  Even when they aren't super funny.  To any of our dear friends and family who we were just hanging out with, if you catch "the plague" we apologize profusely. 

We had some great adventures, and unfortunately took no pictures as our camera is getting its mystical lens repaired.  But we arrived in Missoula happy to enjoy the bug free days, starting with some quality time with Genevieve's parents.  We attended the Mt. Jumbo wedding of Jean-Marc and Natalee Deschamps.  Unlike us, they got married on the top of Mt. Jumbo, which incidentally was one plan we were seriously considering.  It was a great wedding, and featured a spectacular sunset.  And it was great to catch up with the Deschamps, and other people from the good old Bonner School days.                                                

After the wedding, Genevieve and I split forces.  She stayed in Missoula for more hanging out, and I wandered south to visit my folks.  We had a nice adventure off the beaten path in the Sawteeth Mountains, Grandjean to be specific.  If you're wandering through Idaho, I highly recommend it.  Awesome natural hotsprings and excellent mountain views await.  We loved it. 

After that, I wandered over to Portland.  I got to hang out with one of my funniest friends from law school, Lori LeCheminant, a founding member of the surf club and also the real-life inspiration behind the movie Blue Crush.  We met up with Jake and Megan for a night on the town that culminated, as all good nights on the town do, at Mary's Club. 

                  

The next day I headed south with Jake and Megan for a mini Oregon coast surf tour.  Megan, thank you for letting me invade your private romantic last few days with Jake before he wanders off to the dangerous land of Korea for two months.  He'll be doing environmental work at US bases near the DMZ.  Anyway, we got decent waves at Newport and Port Orford.  Port Orford is my new favorite town on the Oregon coast.  And Jake's parents are thinking about relocating there, so he'll have lots of excuses to hang out there.  Luckyyyy!!  Beautiful scenery and nice waves.

                                                 

After camping our way down the coast, we were ready for our main mission... Mt. Shasta.  We were "The Fellowship of the Brokeback Mountain King".  Our crew consisted of Jake and Megan, Jeremy and Carrie Senn, Jackson Bauers, Jason Gilder, Damon Mino, and Daniel, Kent, Lisa, whose last names I obviously don't know.  We crushed Shasta, but I won't lie and say it was easy.  However, the descent was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I've never gone from feeling so crappy to so euphoric in such a short period of time in my entire life.  We awoke at 2:00 AM after close to zero sleep, wandered up to the trailhead, and hiked 7.5 hours to the summit.  The ascent was a mere 7 miles and 7,300 feet in elevation gain.  At about 11,000 I started feeling the altitude.  By the time I reached the top I was feeling nauseous, so my victory thrill of accomplishment was minimal.  I was most impressed with Jackson, who carried a 40 pound pack to the summit that included a dear friend of the family who had recently passed on and wanted his ashes scattered from the summit of Shasta.  Of course, I was also a little proud of myself, despite my flagging physical performance, because I managed to summit in my trusty running shoes.  Who needs boots?  Anyway, I was one of the last of the Fellowship to the summit, but I was the first to wander down.  We reconvened at "The Thumb", about 12,900 feet.

                      

Daniel gave us a quick course in glissading, and off we went down the mountain.  What had taken us 6 hours to climb, we descended in about 45 minutes of sliding bliss.  We sat on chunks of tarp, dug our ice axes in the snow, and slid down at least 5,000 feet.  Perma-grin!  Pure fun!  The following map shows the route - we basically glissaded down close to where the red line starts, made it way past Helen Lake, and stopped somewhere before Horse Camp.  Words can't explain the euphoria of the adventure.  I would do it again in a heart beat. 

And now, we are back in Bethel, enduring "The Plague."  Tomorrow I'm submitting my first indictment to the Grand Jury.  And Genevieve is not travelling.  But she went to Nunap today.  We are reading "Happily Married With Kids:  It's NOT just a fairy tale."   It's not Happily LuPu'd, but it's close enough.  From what we've read so far, having a rug rat can be a major drag in a  lot of ways.  We are preparing ourselves.  We still think it will be fun and funny.  We like to think we're pretty good at laughing through hardship.  And since I've agreed to do 100% of the night-time work, Genevieve's feeling pretty happy.  See, we're laughing already!