Wilderness Journal In Death Valley

Well, due to much controversy and criticism I have to post these pictures. This was a 14 day backpacking course through Summit Adventure and Montreat College in Death Valley National Park.

Advanced Outdoor Leadership Training

Well you may or may not know I put together a course for 6 students to Oregon this summer. The main focus of that being to climb Mt. Hood. Everybody showed up in Portland on the 20th. We started off doing some rock climbing at some local crags and camping in the Columbia River Gorge.

After some waiting on the terrible Oregon monsoon we went up to the mountain and did some snow school. We taught how to travel on ropes and basic ice axe use. The following day we put in a high camp around 9,000 feet on the south side of the mountain praying for good weather. It was a great camp to watch the sunset and clouds move in. The clouds looked like you could walk out on them.

The following morning it was cloudy but fair weather so we decided to push for the summit. After climbing up with relatively clarity, the clouds moved in right before we gained the steepest part of the route. We climbing on through the weather and made the summit around noon.

It wasn't exactly pleasant on the summit so we didn't stay long. Coming down proved to be kinda hairy. Luckily we had used wands (small marker flags dropped in the snow) to guide us back to camp. There were a few times when we had to take it slow and fan out looking for the next flag but luckily we found our way down and got off the mountain that evening.

After relaxing a few days the course closed and spirits were pretty high as we all parted ways. Next for me is Mount Rainier. Check back soon for updates on that adventure.

Curt

Summit Summer

This summer has been a climbing filled summer. Mostly in Yosemite but also at Mt. Shasta in northern California. We summated Shasta on 7/21/07 via the Holtum Glacier. The picture of me is hanging in a bergschrund ( where the glacier separates from the mountain. The other pictures are of me climbing in Tuolumne. It is an area in northern Yosemite which is very high and there is a lot of exposed granite to be climbed. Yesterday we climbed Cathedral Peak the “most beautiful mountain in the area” according to John Muir. When he climbed it he was quoted as saying it was the first time he had been to church since he got to California. The top was about as big as a kitchen table and the view was spectacular. You could see all the way into the valley, including half dome which you can see in one of the pictures.

It has been a good summer this far and I have met a lot of great people here at Summit Adventure. The summer will really be gearing up soon so I figured I’d better post something now before I got too busy. Soon I will be going out on a 14 day youth course so I am excited for that. Well, hope all is well with you.

Curt

Address

P. O. Box 534 Bass Lake, Ca 93604. Any mail is appreciated. :)

Big South Fork

As a weekend get away Chelsie and I decided to check out a little gem in Southern Kentucky/ Northern Tennessee. If anybody is interested in the Smokies but prefers to go where there is no crowds (The smokies is the most visited National Park in the country) then I would recommend Big South Fork. It has the Smokies feel with the mountain Laurel and wildflowers with the big rivers of Kentucky feel. An excellent place if you like riverside rambles that are fairly easy going.

Located in the sprawling metropolis of Pine Knot, Kentucky and Oneida, Tennessee. These are fairly nice towns but not a whole lot to do. We saw all the teenagers hanging out at the big hang out (Sonics).

Anyways we had a good time and it was a nice weekend get away. Lots of pretty overlooks and a few neat attractions like an old concrete bridge that spans the river.

Matt Comes

Since Chelsie left for home to start the spring semester I have been clowning around with Matt in the vast expanse of sand and rock from Las Vegas to St. George. We spent our first night camped out on the shores of Lake Mead and then made our way to our new home, St. George. It is a nice city about the size of Bloomington and everything is new and modern. We have found all the amenities of home here except that of a good bookstore. Otherwise things are quite nice. We headed out to Zion National Park to spend an afternoon but, have mostly been preparing to start training for our job on Friday. Today we hiked into Johnson's Canyon on a short walk to try to regain our hiking legs. Living in the truck is working out nicely. It is a bit different than we both anticipated though. Mostly the smell is worse. Every morning I wake to the rudeness of water dripping on my face from the condensation of the topper. Matt is also a bit of a snorer which causes my "arm spasms" to act up promptly striking him in the back. Living life as a homeless is pretty fun so far though. Today we showered up in the St. George Recreation Center for a dollar. You just have to be creative to find a way to what you need. Also if you are viewing please leave comments. It is nice to know who my audience is. Curt

Utah Trip

A few days after Christmas I left for Utah to start my new job. However, it is uncharacteristic of me to go anywhere and not make a vacation out of it. After being stranded for New Years in Amarillo due to snow our first stop was in Northern Arizona in Canyon de Chelley National Monument.

After a day in Chinle, Arizona we moved on to Monument Valley, the site of several famous western movies and many others that take place in the desert. The views were spectacular as the monolith monuments rise sharply out of the desert like sentinels standing guard over ancient Indian lands.

Our next stop would be on of my favorite places, Moab, Utah. The adventure capital of the world provides endless opportunities for climbing, biking, hiking, rafting, and exploring. However, for two under-the-weather adventurers we did little more than auto tour the area. We went to Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. We tried to focus more on understanding what we saw rather than just seeing as much as we could. I bought an ecology book and tried to identify plants and rocks and such.

Chelsie flew home on Saturday after a short stint in Salt Lake City where we toured the campus of the University of Utah. Chelsie is planning on attending graduate school here in the city. It was a wonderful trip full of diversity and much learning.