Obama and river bears

...Aaaand the world breathes a collective sigh of relief as Obama takes the whitehouse. I don't think I even threatened to move to Canada once this year!

In other news, I've got the latest round of photos from the Rogue this year. I rowed Ben's "glass bottom boat" which was akin to taking a leaky bathtub into a hurricane. Aside from having no floor at all, a metal grate tied on for a footrest, very leaky side tubes, too short oars, and the most drag of any boat EVER, oar boating is great! (I really did enjoy rowing the river actually) I got the hang of it really quick and styled Blossom Bar on day two.
I was stoked to have the pirate flag along. It really completed the look.
June's dad running Rainey
Cody's boat on Rainey
Ben's boat on Rainey
Ben's boat again (somewhere....)I have a faint memory of someone (Molly?) tellling me about the "monkies" along the river years ago. Well, this year I finally found them. Keep an eye out, they are in the second half of day one...
Col on the oars. I must say, having two people aboard, one to feed the other wine and one to row, works really well. At one point, right around when the boats started catching up, saying they were out of booze, folks noticed a bear had been following the rafts for a half hour or so. Apparently this pissed off a very drunk Bryan. He decided he was going to kill a bear - with a 4 inch knife. He swam ashore, and with some indian whooping, ran down the trail to kill himself a bear. We saw Bryan round a corner and disappear behind some rocks, then the bear came running out at full tilt from the rocks with Bryan just a few feet from it's heels. Fortunately (for Bryan) the bear was fast and cowardly. We asked Bryan later what the hell he was thinking, and his response was something to the effect of, "I was gonna fuck it up!"
Bryan, knife in hand, climbing up to git hisse'f a bearskin rug!

Snow Day!

Reading Keith's blog last week got me all amped up for boarding this season. Before I left for CA the snow just wasn't happening though. On the drive back however, I was in snow from the Oregon border north. At Siskiyou Pass, I talked myself out of sleeping in the truck and riding at Mt Ashland in the morning beacuse I had to study for an upcoming test for work. Talk about inner turmoil!. Then driving north the weather just got colder and snowier. I spent 2 hours between the Rogue River and Eugene flip-flopping between "Dude the powder is going to be EPIC!" and "No, you have a job and a house now Ian, you have to embrace responsibility and study for this test at some point before taking it." (at this point you get one guess as to what my choice was.) I finally broke down in Eugene, checked the snow phone and called around to see who would go to the mountain with me. Jesse finally gave in and we drove back to Eugene in the morning to catch the Willamette Pass ski bus.
WOW, WHAT A GOOD DECISION!
Everything about the day was perfect. We rode top to bottom all day, hit a ton of different runs, and managed to get knee deep freshies on just about every run. Just in the time we were there we got another 5 inches or so. We figgered ok, last run, lets go destroy ourselves on this little double black over here. I mashed the hill and look up and dont see Jesse anywhere. Looking... Looking... Then he comes shooting out of the trees with a delerious laugh of satisfaction and we ended up taking 3 more runs in the steepest, best, untracked secret run on the whole hill. We rounded out the day with a pitcher of Jubelale in the bar and promptly passed out on the bus ride home.
The 2008 season is upon us!

The best of the cascades

For those of you who remember that hilarious moment in Sunriver several years ago; I found this recently in a Bend newspaper.
"QUIT STARING AT MY BACKFAT!"

So yea, responsibility just smacked me upside the head this week. I am engaged, deep in the throes of planning a wedding(no bridezilla yet!), got a real job that pays really well, stopped smoking herb, don't have internet or TV at home, and have a new pet ferret. My only fear about these changes is how it will affect my climbing schedule...Holy Hell!
Speaking of the wedding, the official date is June 21st 2008(summer solstice). It will be outside of Redmond (sounds like a weird place for a wedding, I know, but it is a nice place, Really!) Besides, if it is in Redmond, you can come to the wedding and then climb at Smith the next day! You should be stoked we are so considerate of our guests! For those who don't climb, we are going to have a bunch of other fun stuff to do for the day before and after. I feel like such a dork, wanting to tell everyone about wedding stuff, but then I have to remind myself that that is just chick stuff and no one really cared how easy it was to get the location or how great the event is going to be. That is all chick stuff anyway right? Ok, I will try to keep a lid on it, unless you ask. Don't tell anyone I am geeking out about a wedding, k?
My summer out here is drawing to a close and I figured that since I have seen some of the most incredible terrain that Oregon has to offer I should share it with the rest of you. Hikes to add to the "To Do List":

Spring:
Metolius River East and West; Two trails travel from where the river emerges out of the ground from under Black Butte through INCREDIBLE wildflowers from may to July.
Park Meadow; a long day emerges into a large perfect meadow with views of all the Sisters and Broken Top.
3 Finger Jack/PCT; See the B&B Fire rejuvenate itself and get excellent views in every direction as you climb the ridge to the base of 3FJ.

Summer:
Lava Camp Lake to Scott Pass; Hike a steep trail through massive old growth western hemlock and emerge amidst two alpine lakes nestled in the craters of several geologically recent lava flows. Overlooks EVERYTHING! (Mary's Peak to the Ochocos, Mt Jefferson to Mt. Thielsen)
Tam Macarthur Rim; Start at a large alpine lake and gradually hike up a rim trail that puts you atop a thousand feet wall directly above where you started. Continue on to the base of Broken Top's jagged peaks to add another 2 miles.
Green Lakes to Soda Creek Trail; If you can survive the crowds on Green Lakes trail, continue on 1/3 of the way around the base of Broken Top through alpine meadows and drop back down to the parking lot on Soda Creek Trail. This trail is unique for its flower diversity and longevity because numerous springs emerge along the trail allowing wildflowers which arent usually found in the area to grow in giant colorful fields. One of my absolute favorites!

Mountain Biking:
Deschutes River Trail: Offers easy riding in a gorgeous setting.
Mt. Bachelor to Lava Lake: Winding trails allow a lot of fast riding.
Mrazic Trail: The "best" according to the locals. 3,000ft + elev. loss
Bachelor To Bend: Some of the most varied riding I have ever done. 3,000ft elev. loss

Oh, and if you are cooped up in a big city, or weather has got you down, or are drunk want to get a workout, try "Table Traversing!" This was introduced to me by Logan and some friends of his. What you do is lay on top of the table and traverse over under and back over the long ways of the table without touching the ground. It is Intense! I highly recommend trying it at home.