The Adventures of Lt. Suckdown, Toad, and Bro'k'nee

Certainly did not go as expected to say the least. We met the night before to make sure we had working camp stoves, pre-pack our bags, and agreed to leave for the trail around 7:30-8AM. Things started to go off the rails by the time we reached Lt. Suckdown's house as Toad was running behind schedule. By the time we arrived at Bro'k'nee's place we were ~15 min. later than expected. Things snowballed from there. Toad forgot that he had the only set of car keys that his family needed so he had to call in reinforcements to ensure those were picked up. Then we had to go shopping for some last minute supplies to ensure we wouldn't starve, taking us to about 8:45. Just as we thought we were on our way, Toad remembered he forgot his hiking boots so we had to fly back to Bro'k'nee's house to retrieve those while realizing that we never grabbed utensils. You could say things started off on the wrong foot. Finally, by about 9:45 we were officially underway for a two hour drive, keeping in mind that we were expecting to be on the trail already.

Within a mile of the parking lot of the trail head, we start to see a line of cars building. We all exchanged looks and reached a silent agreement that we had to send for the parking lot. We were going to be leaving the car for 3 days and the road was just not going to cut it. We pull in, circle the lot 3 or 4 times... Nothing is open. We pull over mull our options. By a stroke of good fortune, we see a couple wander off the trail head walking a little funny. We knew it meant one thing - they had just completed the Pemi Loop and we had a shot at a parking spot. We literally stalked them to the car. But, the effort paid off. By 12 PM we were ready to start moving, running just a little behind schedule.

As we entered the couple mile stretch before we officially began the Bondcliff trail, the skies began to darken ominously. We debated the merits of waterproofing our bags as the rain began to sprinkle down, but we had our eyes on the forecast all the way up and they had said only passing showers and a 30% chance of rain so we decided there was no need. That was a mistake. About 30 minutes in, the skies opened up. Miserably, we pulled off to the side of the trail threw a tarp over the three of us and tried to waterproof our bags under the mild shelter the tarp provided. This marked the end of the only period of enjoyment attained by the Lieutenant for the duration of the trip (as he constantly reminded us). At that point, we were good and soaked and we were debating the merits of our decision of hiking the loop. After 30 minutes of rain, the sun once again began to peek through but morale was about as low as it could be. We persevered and began to hike in earnest by about 1:15. Can't say this enough, we were hoping to be on the trail by 9:30 and here we were at 1:15 just starting our hike. I think it was going through all our heads that we had no idea what we were getting into.

Once we started climbing, we began to appreciate the beauty of the Pemi Loop. Day 1 was a massive climb day as we went from parking lot to over 4,000 feet, summiting 3 peaks in the process - Bondcliff, Bond, and West Bond. I think we all gained a greater appreciation for how large the Whites are. The summits of each offered panoramic views of mountain ridge after mountain ridge falling off into the horizon. Toad and Bro'k'nee went to go catch the sunset on West Bond, which offered some great views (see photos), while Lt. Suckdown took the chance to grab a breather and begin setting up camp. Together, we managed to cook a serviceable dinner and set up a camp in the dark though I can't say I've ever cooked rice in the way we did. Whisperlite stoves only know how to boil and nothing else so cooking is a work in progress. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life to be sitting in a tent on the side of the mountain while hearing the wind whistle through the treetops and Lt. Suckdown snoring, though I suppose I could have gone without the snoring.

Day 2 commenced with Toad waking up the entire campsite at 6 AM as he disassembled his tent with no regard for other sleeping human beings around him, including another two campers less than 15 feet away . We managed to get up and rolling at about 8, only to discover the tent site that we thought we were staying at was about .1 miles further than where we actually stayed (certain points definitely showed our inexperience, this being one of them). After a trek down for water, we began to hike in earnest, bagging Guyot and South Twin. At the summit of South Twin we stopped for a quick brekky of oatmeal... Nothing like a breakfast at 4800 feet looking out at everything you had already accomplished (rewarding) but also being intimidated as all heck by what still needed to be tackled. This was also our first encounter with our soon to be hiking buddies, a group of six that we constantly leapfrogged for the next two days. The rest of the day was full of rocky scrambles and tough descents with a touch of rain mixed in to make it interesting. A trail runner from the previous day (psychopaths I must say... who chooses to run 30 miles with 10K feet of elevation gain) told as the Garfield ridge was like, and I quote, "a fucking jungle gym" and he was definitely not lying. Another trail runner described Garfield as the middle finger of the Pemi because no matter where you are in the loop, you can see it taunting you. Again, not wrong. We had a couple near disasters with slips from the rain but we made it through alright and the views at the top were breath-taking. The forecast for the evening involved a chance of scattered thunderstorms so we were definitely a bit on edge to see how our tents performed in weather. Right on cue at about 11:30, we awoke to booming thunder and a flash of lighting about 4 seconds apart. It was at that point we knew that we were in for an interesting night. In a sudden burst, rain came thundering down drowning out all noise. It subsided by about midnight and by some miracle and good tent-making, we ended up relatively dry.

Day 3 had us tackling Franconia Ridge then sliding over to Liberty and Flume. This was the part of the trail I think we were most worried about because we had done it before and knew there was little to no water for this section unless we wanted to lose A LOT of elevation. Mt. Lafayette should be known as False Peak Mountain because we must have hit 3-4 of them and each time Lt. Suckdown sounded ready to kill Toad and Bro'k'nee for saying that we were, "Almost there". But upon making it to the top, I think we all agreed that it was worth it as we had another summit brekky from the tallest point on the Pemi Loop. We then skedaddled through the rest of Franconia Ridge before making it over to Liberty. Lt. Suckdown, living up to his trail name, had run out of water at that point so Toad and Bro'k'nee had to suffer some pain to refill the reserves by hiking down and up to the water source at Liberty Springs Campground. The two of them were not so happy with Lt. Suckdown in the moment, but it was probably the right call in the long run. After finishing up the 11th peak of the trip we closed with what I think we would all agree was the least exciting part of the loop, a 4 mile descent which begins relatively steeply which is fun but tails off to a 5% grade for about 3 miles which is both boring and you can feel every bit of blister and pain in your feet because there's nothing else to distract you. Upon reaching the bottom, rolling thunder once again came through and as we reached the parking lot the rain returned but the three of us had conquered the Pemi Loop.

We then stopped at a sports bar and I don't think I've ever had a better burger and a beer. After subsisting off of not nearly enough calories for a couple of days, the three of us had ourselves a meal to celebrate the success of our trial run and the hopes for many more experiences like we had this weekend. I think I speak for all three of us when I say that while it wasn't all fun and games it was definitely worth the blood, sweat, and pain that went into it. The rush after completing a difficult hike like the Pemi that involves so much preparation and logistical planning is hard to compare to unless you do it again or plan on doing more of the same. Next time, we'll be on our way for real and probably won't have such a long post, I just get excited sometimes. Be sure to check out the pictures section to catch some of our favorite moments from the trip!

-Toad

After considerable amounts of driving, there was spirited debate around when the three of us crossed the border from Minnesota into South Dakota. A lady at the rest stop stopped all arguments when the three of us stretched our legs at the pump, all masked. She marches right up to Toad and Bro'k'nee and says, "You boys are in South Dakota now, you need to kick the habit of wearing those masks" and proceeds to touch both of them on the arm. The two of us looked at each other, more than a little overwhelmed. At that point there was no doubt about it... We were in South Dakota.

After having quite the laugh at the lady's expense, the three of us zipped on over to Badlands. Due to weather concerns (apparently nothing can go right the first time), we had to change our itinerary from what was a pretty extensive, multi-night backpacking trip to a boondocking (car-camping in the Midwest) adventure. However, the weather cooperated long enough for us to be able to partake in a 12 mile hike along the Castle Trail until we reached the fossil exhibit on the other side. With a couple of detours to skirt the limestone formations for panoramic views of the Badlands, we successfully completed the hike with only minor cuts and bruises for Toad (I've been a little bit of a train-wreck so far if I do say so myself). We then journeyed over to the nearby town of Wall, SD where we heard there was some of the best boondocking in the Midwest. Lt. Suckdown was adamant that we take the Badlands Loop highway to Wall because he was convinced that it had the prairie dogs that he had been yearning to see. Not only was he right about the prairie dogs, his refusal to budge allowed us to catch the best the Badlands had to offer in terms of both wildlife and natural beauty. Each bend offered up fresh angles as the fading sun caught the rock formations in ways that the three of us had never seen before. We saw bison, mountain goats, prairie dogs, and bighorn sheep... Some as close as 15-20 feet from our car! In Wall, we drove to the boondocking area on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Buffalo National Grasslands and cooked up a quick dinner.

The following morning, Toad convinced his travel companions to get up and catch the sunrise with him. While the sun may not have cooperated (wasn't quite a clear sunrise), the sky/clouds caught the light in ways that accentuated the swirling insignias above us. After a quick breakfast, we then proceeded to Wind Caves National Park. Unfortunately, due to COVID, the park wasn't offering tours into the caves (I suppose the NPS still follows federal guidelines while the rest of SD is left to engage in the ultimate battle of survival of the fittest). However, we did see the natural entrance to the Wind Caves... All 10 inches of it (Bro'k'nee is convinced he can fit through it after another 4 weeks of backpacking). From there, we scooted over to Custer State Park on advice from some local knowledge (shoutout Mrs. Lockhart for putting us into contact with her cousin) to check out the granite spires. Despite the miserable conditions, we had a great time galavanting over the rock features, admiring rock climbers as they fought the elements, and checking out the surrounding lake. At one point, Toad sent Bro'k'nee's water bottle careening down 30 ft of rocks, but it held strong. Next up was Mt. Rushmore despite the fact that we fully knew we were walking into a fog bank and had a slim to no chance of seeing anything. Our fears proved correct. At best, we were able to see one face at a time but hey, we can say we went there. We then tried to check out a local place in Rapid City (Murphy's) but found it closed so we salvaged our cold, wet day with some pub food from Thirsty's. We all agreed it's not the best place we'd ever been but we were happy for a warm meal in our belly's before making a dent in our trek to Yellowstone.

We probably should have done a little more research into exactly where we were going to spend the night but with our bellies full we thought we were in the home stretch so we just decided to send it. After a couple hours of driving through a miserable combination of rain and sleet, we began to climb. And climb. And climb. We hadn't quite checked our route thoroughly beforehand so here we were going through a mountain pass in the dark in near whiteout conditions because, you know, it gets colder as you climb. At its worst, Toad was white-knuckling in the backset because he couldn't see but couldn't decide if he wanted to put on his glasses to see. Bro'k'nee showed his MVP colors making his way through the pass, all the while talking about the new song he wanted to learn on the ukulele and explaining how he learned how to drive in the MA blizzard of '15 and this was nothing. On the way down the pass, we realized the boondocking place we were supposed to stay at was probably snowed in/covered in mud so we had to adapt on the fly. Toad pirated into his data to find an RV campground for the three of us to stay at. Upon exiting the car, bitter cold wind greeted us. We promptly set up camp but Bro'k'nee's tent failed him so he had to decamp and retreat to the car at 1AM. It was there where Toad found him in the morning, sleeping bag pulled up over his head looking like a giant slug.

We then sent off to Big Horn National Recreation area to check out a little piece of Montana before driving down to Yellowstone. The red cliffs overlooking the lake were stunning though one of our party had a little trouble discerning the difference (tough to be colorblind, eh). A little further into Montana revealed a true treasure. Snow-capped mountains formed a picturesque background while in the foreground the Shoshone river cut through a canyon with 1,000 foot drops on both sides. The three of us were awestruck at the size and scale of the scene. It is hard to believe that the docile river (heavily damed today) once had the power to carve such massive cliffs into the Montana countryside. After many pictures, continued on our way to Yellowstone!

-Toad

Before I get started on this post, I want to address the fact that we have finally completed our photo uploads for both South Dakota and Yellowstone. Sorry for the wait, but RELIABLE WiFi is hard to come across in these parts. Comment your favorite pics, we love the feedback.

We sped off from Yellowstone backcountry ready to take the Tetons by storm. We didn’t speed off too fast however, as we drove past at least three fellow travelers who got pulled over by Teton park rangers (can they give people tickets?). With Toad behind the wheel, we didn’t want to take any chances… We had booked a stay at the Jackson KOA for the first two nights which included much needed showers and laundry. It was also situated right on the edge of the mighty Snake River.

Our first full day in the Jackson saw us tackle the aforementioned Mighty Snake via a rafting adventure with our fearless leader Billy. With frigid water temperatures and nothing but cotton t-shirts to keep us warm, Toad and Bro’k’nee occupied the front and most crucial seats on the eight person raft. Toad even went as far as to hop in the river to get a free bracelet which he promptly forgot to ask for when we returned. After a successful journey and several serious rapids later, we found ourselves entrenched in the Celtics game at the local bar. It was here that we ran in to Bro’k’nee’s college friend, Natalie, who showed him around the ‘city’ and recommend several great hikes!

At this point, I’m sure you are wondering where this post’s title comes from. Up until we arrived in the Teton’s, we had made few other travel buddies despite our best efforts. We were unexpectedly rewarded for our meager attempts when a new comer to the KOA sought us out while we waited for our rafting trip to depart. Her introduction included the slurred words of “Hey! You guys want any beer?” For us, this was the equivalent of a guy in a white van asking if we wanted any candy. Figuring we could hold our own, we said “uhh, sure.” Several beers and a shot later, we were on a first name basis with Sam and Chris from the Bay Area.

This was just the beginning of our new friends we would make in the Tetons. After a beautiful day of hiking in the park (we highly recommend hiking Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes if you are in the area, see photos), we found ourselves scrambling for a decent spot at the free camping site we found overlooking the mountains (much to the car’s dismay). Assured a spot among the many RV’s we settled down on the hill for dinner and a sunset along with three other younger folk and a friendly dog named Waffle. Several sausage bits later (for the dog) and s’mores (for the others) we found conversing amongst the young cohort much easier as we exchanged advice for various destinations yet to come.

With our plans for a backcountry trip foiled due to a late lottery call, we decided to rent kayaks and go adventuring on Jackson Lake on our final day in the park. When we arose, the sun was but a bright blur amongst the now invisible mountains due to the smoke that was settling in the valley from the fires further west. Despite this eerie site, we had a great time exploring the pristine waters. Perhaps the most memorable bit was when we witnessed an eagle swoop out of the tree line not 100 yards from us to successfully capture a fish that found itself too close to the surface of the lake. While the Lieutenant mulled about broken rules and consulted the given map, Toad and Bro’k’nee took off on their tandem kayak far beyond the limits that the park allowed, arriving at Dollar Island (feel free to look this up if you like).

After returning to the Snake River Brewery in Jackson for dinner and drinks, we found ourselves once again scrambling for a solid camping spot on Shadow Mountain in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. With no avail of finding a real camp spot, we settled down in a secluded parking lot and awoke the next morning well rested and prepared to head off into the smoky horizon to the North. Despite what you might think, the gang had it better off than the couple with NJ plates that got stuck on the dirt road after night fall (karma for those Jersey Folks, am I right?). We are now looking forward to a warm welcome in Missoula.

-Bro'k'nee

In his well known publication Walden, Henry David Thoreau wrote "I went to the woods ... to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." My experience has been the opposite. I learned about these so-called woods in the classroom, before going out to truly discover what all the fuss was about. Whether you think Thoreau was a genius, a fraud or an elitist (or all three), you have to admit he was an awe inspiring writer and champion for the early environmental movement. What I had not totally grasped from the works of Thoreau, Muir, Abbey or Leopold until recently was 'why bother?' Well, sometimes, there's just no other way to express your thoughts, feelings or experiences than to write. With that said, here is my attempt to encompass the various emotions I've confronted on the trip thus far.

While being able to enjoy the great outdoors is hard to beat no matter where you are, our first stop in Wyoming at Bighorn Canyon was the first place that truly garnered my emotional attention. As Toad and the Lt. strode back to the car, I stayed behind, engulfed in the awe that accompanied standing on the rim of the massive canyon. Hundreds of feet below the sheer drop meandered the seemingly lazy Bighorn River. You could practically see the years it took the river to carve the canyon plastered on the vertical walls that loomed as far as you could see in any direction. The sight was truly breathtaking. So here I stood, utterly insignificant in juxtaposition to the incredible forces of nature at work all around me, wondering how such a peaceful, slow moving river could contain the power to gouge a canyon of such proportion into the Earth.

The answer (or answers, rather) lay several miles upriver and several miles downriver. On both sides of the canyon there is a dam that holds back the power of the river, impeding its steady process towards the ocean and turning the river into a peaceful lake. So the conclusion to my wonderings is that, simply put, this peaceful, slow moving river doesn't contain the power to continue carving out the canyon. In the span a few months, humanity took control of the Bighorn River. For me, it is almost incomprehensible that we can do this without a second thought, that after thousands of years at work, the Bighorn River will never again continue to paint the Wyoming landscape with the awesome canyon, that for rest of our time on Earth, the Bighorn Canyon will cease to grow any grander simply because we decided it should be so. The scene had me thinking of the documentary Damnation and the book Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner. I highly recommend both to anybody interested in these concepts.

I did not have to wait very long for the second time on our trip that I was rendered speechless and contemplating by the landscape around us. It was later that day and we were towards the end of a driving tour around Yellowstone National Park. As we came up on one of the many grassland plains that are scattered throughout the park, we noticed a host of cars pulled off to the side; a sign we had come to know meant that there was wildlife afoot. As the rolling hills made way before us we were met with the incredible sight of hundreds of wild buffalo grazing in the field, under the watchful eye of the mountains in the background. Never before had I come across so many wild animals and I was quick to imagine that this was the picture of pristine wilderness I had so often read about in class. However, it is impossible to see a sight like this without reminding oneself of the fact that these animals were all but wiped to extinction in the late 1800's as American pioneers moved westward. An estimated 500,000 buffalo are in the wild today, up from the several hundred that remained at the end of the slaughtering. Even this number pales in comparison to the tens of millions that used to roam these plains. What, then, would this scene at Yellowstone have looked like 200 years ago?

The picture becomes even more grim when you discover the reasons for bringing the peaceful animals to the brink of extinction. Chief among them is the fact that Native Americans relied on wild buffalo as a source of food, clothing and tools. So, it went to reason that with the buffalo gone, the Native Americans would also begin to disappear. Two genocides for the price of one was obviously too tempting for us Americans to pass up. As we drove through the crowd, I couldn't help but wonder if the people clamoring to take photos of the animals while standing in front of their Trump (who is continuing the work of alienating Native Americans) 2020 bumper stickers would still be so eager to do so if they knew of the buffalo's twisted past. While this sight will continue to imprint itself in my head as the defining image of pristine wilderness, I'm sure that only those who had the luck to witness this scene a couple centuries ago truly understand what it was like to walk among these herds.

As we continued our journey westward, we were constantly hearing about the fires devastating the West Coast from family, friends and various other news sources. Coming from the East Coast, we have had minimal dealings with Smokey the Bear but as the smoke rolled in and blocked all but the jagged outline of the Teton Range it became obvious that this was a serious issue. The smoke followed us as we travelled North to Missoula and eventually to Glacier before a light rain storm allowed us to the see the blue skies once again. During the thick of it, even back home in Massachusetts, there was evidence of the fires via the smoke that carried on the Jet Stream. That's thousands of miles; truly insane how far the smoke travelled. There was also plenty of evidence of past fires throughout all our park visits and forest drives. I can't recall a single hike where there weren't burnt tree remains. The truly sad part, however, is how long it takes these ecosystems to recover. One fire patch in Yellowstone from 1980 is just now starting to grow saplings that are about six feet tall. That fire was forty years ago and the forest still has a long way to go to recovery.

Forest fires are a natural part of these ecosystems, and can even be healthy for a forest in some aspects. In fact, Native Americans used to have controlled burns all the time to encourage new plant growth and reduce wildfire risk. As was the trend, when us westerners arrived we assumed we knew better and abandoned the practice. Knowing that there is a solution that could greatly reduce the risk of wildfires that has gone largely ignored has left me frustrated, especially when I see Smokey pointing his finger at me and claiming that only I can prevent forest fires. While it is often the case that the spark for a fire is from an ignorant camper (or gender reveal, apparently), there are just as many that come from largely unpreventable causes such as lightning or power lines. So, I have begun to ask, who can prevent forest fires if not me? I'm inclined to say those who write the rules and manage our forests. The fires this year are also being fueled by an ever warming and drying climate. While individual action is important in this fight, it is once again those who hold power who can see to achieving large amounts of positive change. So, I'll ask the question again and hopefully the answer is clear; who can really prevent forest fires?

The last place I want to write about for the moment was during our backpacking trip in Glacier National Park. As Toad and Lt. Suckdown set themselves to an enjoyable afternoon hiking pace, I forged ahead to the campsite to quickly deposit my pack. From here I trekked up, and up, and up to Sperry Glacier. This out and back detour about double the mileage of hiking for day, but I was confident my efforts would be rewarded. As I ascended switchback after switchback and walked along trails carved out of sheer cliffs, the beauty of the place encompassed me. There were about a dozen waterfalls all connecting the alpine ponds that resembled a staircase set above each new cliff I hiked over. Just when I was reaching the top of the last cliff, I could no longer see how in the world I was supposed to get over it, when a staircase carved through the cliff appeared around a corner. Quickly taking the uneven stairs, I emerged onto a glacial wonderland. I wasted no time exploring the glacier, filling up my camelback straight from the melting snow and climbing towards the top. Utterly alone at the top, I was once again filled with the insane size and power of nature and how my presence there was such a small thing.

While this experience was one of the coolest of my life, there was an overhanging sense of melancholy to the whole thing. While Sperry Glacier is still quite the sight, it was obvious to me how much larger it once was. The rate at which the glaciers in the park are shrinking is quite alarming. Only 26 of the parks glaciers are still categorized as active glaciers, while dozens of others that existed at the founding of the park have been reduced to little more than season snow fields. While the cause of the retreating glaciers is Climate Change, standing amongst them reminded me how permanent the change is. It is too late now to save the glaciers in the park, regardless of the action humanity takes in the next decade. So as I stood and walked around in this landscape, I was watching and experiencing Sperry Glacier on its deathbed. Additionally, what will happen to the vegetation that relies on the meltwater as its only source of water once the glacier has disappeared? Despite all of natures power and resilience, it can be reduced to a fragile existence when neglected, never to return to the way we found it.

I know this is a longer post, so if you're still reading I hope that you either found it interested or that you were super bored with nothing else to do. I don't write these thoughts to add my voice to those complaining about the state of the world. While all is not perfect, it never has been. Not all dams are bad, many offer a great alternative to fossil fuels; forest fires are, at their surface level, natural, and these forests will recover in their own time; buffalo populations have now been stable or increasing for a long time and there are still plenty of other glaciers elsewhere in the world that we do have time to save. So, rather than writing this from a sense of doom, I've found myself gathering hope, resolve and, above all else, appreciation as I've been writing. We are among the last generations that can appreciate the nature of old that inspired so many and that is an incredible thing. I have hope that the situation we find ourselves in today will be ameliorated and I have the resolve that I will be a part of this solution, no matter what role I play. Be well and stay healthy!

-Bro'k'nee

After two weeks on the road, the group was ecstatic to get a chance to spend some time in Lt. Suckdown’s aunt and uncle’s lake house in Sagle, Idaho. Lt. Suckdown had been talking about taking a shower for the past four days and everyone in the group immediately took advantage of both the showers and the laundry room. After a slow afternoon of catching up with families, we cooked up some pizza and took the beer out of the fridge to watch the Patriots take a tough loss to the Seahawks. After the game, everybody was able to retreat to their own bedroom. It was a group decision to put Toad in the bedroom downstairs by himself so that his early morning shenanigans wouldn’t disturb the other two for the first time on the trip. At this point in the trip, both Toad and Lt. Suckdown were just glad to have a morning where they didn’t have to listen to Bro”k”nee whine about Toad’s zipper being too loud. Toad woke up early to take advantage of the kayak for a sunrise paddle on the lake. The rest of the morning was spent lazily waiting around for Webster and his Bagu to join the group at the lake. Once Webster was settled in, everyone decided to head out on to the lake. Webster and Bro”k”nee both grabbed paddle boards while Toad and Lt. Suckdown got a little wet and rode behind in some tubes. We were quite the caravan as we went for a short trip along the edge of the lake with the two paddle boarders towing the other two on the tubes. Some of the group ran to take a shower before bringing out the beer for an afternoon of drinking games. Bro”k”nee did the unthinkable by splashing Webster’s cup on two consecutive tosses in beer die. After the games, Toad manned the grill to cook endless amounts of pork chops. After dinner, Lt. Suckdown decided to retreat to bed as the other three made sure there were no leftover pork chops or beer. The following day, Toad and Webster took the paddle boards out again before the group said goodbye to Webster. The rest of the day was spent catching up on getting time apart from each other before cooking way too much spaghetti and meatballs to possibly eat. It was questioned whether or not Toad was going to be able to make it back to his bedroom after eating until he couldn’t eat another bite. Everyone enjoyed one more night with their own bedroom before heading out early the next morning to head to North Cascades national park.

-Lt. Suckdown

We pulled away from our night in the Cascades happily dry after our picnic area slumber. We were greeted by Bro’k’nee’s aunt, uncle and cousins who adopted us into their home for the next three nights. After unpacking the car, getting a lay of the land and being introduced to their very energetic dogs, Toad took off on a jog around the nearby lake while Lt. Suckdown, Bro’k’nee and cousin Sage went down to the park to get some touches in. We all arrived back home to an incredible meal of burgers, mac n cheese, and veggies. We were shocked by the amount of food on the table, until we realized that Bro’k’nee’s growing cousins Solomon and Satchel ate just as much as the three of us. Full on a home cooked meal, we went to bed very satisfied.

The following morning, we decided to make the most of our stay despite the still unrelenting rain. While Lt. Suckdown slept in, Toad and Bro’k’nee pulled on the rain gear and went for a long bike ride around Lake Union, taking us close to the city. Decidedly drenched upon return, we quickly showered, woke up the Lieutenant and went down the street to meet Liz and Lydia (some Macalester friends) for lunch. After a fun time catching up with them we enjoyed a quiet afternoon talking with friends, reading, writing and planning our next couple weeks we settled in for what promised to be another awesome family dinner; we were not disappointed. We then watched the Celtics extend what was already a doomed series before hitting the hay on the earlier side.

We awoke the next morning with the sun and got ready for a day hike of Mt. Rainier. It proved to be easier than we thought to find parking on Saturday, probably due to the fact that it was still miserable out. Donning the raingear for the third day in a row we headed out for a nice hike in the Paradise Meadows area of Mt. Rainier. As we kept hiking, the rain kept coming. However, our patience was eventually rewarded with a quick view of the summit thousands of feet above us and some of the lush meadows laid out below us. Determined by what appeared some improving weather, we decided to take an optional spur to check out a glacier and were not disappointed by the valley that the rapidly receding Paradise Glacier had left us to explore. On the way back down from the mountain to the parking lot, we were greeted by a mom and two cubs as we rounded a bend in the trail. The black bears were no more than fifty feet from us, but only gave curious glances our way as they foraged for berries. Overall a fun day on the mountain, but with a lot left to explore; just another excuse to head back to the PNW at some point in the future.

We arrived back at the Bell’s for yet another fantastic dinner. After dinner, the Lt. and Toad watched the Godfather with the cousins while Bro’k’nee brushed the dust off his golf game at the local driving range with Liz. Nothing quite like ripping the driver off the second floor of a driving range to help regain that false confidence in your golf game. Another bonus to the second floor of the range was that it provided a fantastic view of the city at night (because inexplicably, the clouds had finally cleared up). After sticking around to watch a one sided Patriots game in the morning, we said our goodbyes and went to board our ferry to the Olympic Peninsula.

-Bro’k’nee

Our first stop in California was the Redwoods National and State parks. Just driving through the giant trees was a jaw dropping experience. Nearly every tree in the forest is bigger than any tree on the East coast. After driving through redwoods for almost two hours, we arrived at the ranger station that marked the start of our backpacking trip. Once we arrived, we started planning how we would not be spotted by a park ranger while we prepared our backpacking gear. The backcountry campsite that we were planning to stay at only allowed two people at a time because of COVID but we were pretty confident that we could get away with a group of three. Lt. Suckdown and Toad decided to drop off Bro”k”nee at the trailhead before parking in the designated spot right next to the ranger station. Confident that we were not going to get caught by a ranger, we started on the trail. The first thing that we did once on the trail was to find the biggest tree and take a picture of Bro”k”nee giving it a hug. With that out of the way, we continued on our trail to the beach. While walking through the woods, we discussed if Bro”k”nee could live inside of one of the trees like the elves from Eragon and constantly stopped to evaluate some of the hollowed out trees to see how much space there was. Bro”k”nee was convinced but Toad and Lt. Suckdown were still questioning if it would work. After a few hours of hiking, we came upon a split in the trail for the last mile to the beach. Toad decided on the trail that went down to the creek. Lt. Suckdown made a negative comment about having to possibly walk through the water because the seasonal bridges were taken out but quickly ate his words as the canyon started to come into view. Both sides of the creek were nearly 100 feet tall and completely covered in ferns making this part of the hike well worth the slightly wet shoes. Emerging from the canyon, Lt. Suckdown and Bro”k”nee couldn’t wait to get a view of the ocean but quickly learned that Toad had forgotten to mention a thing called sea fog. Even from twenty feet away from the water, it was difficult to see the waves crashing in. The rest of the trail to the campsite was along the beach which was a nice change to the hiking that we have been doing to this point. As we approached the campsite, we again had to start planning how to get away with having to many people in our group. This time, Lt. Suckdown and Bro”k”nee went to scope out the campsite and left Toad out of sight on the beach. Once the coast was clear, Bro”k”nee went back to get Toad and show him that the backcountry campsite had room for over twenty people even though only two were allowed. After cooking dinner, Lt. Suckdown and Bro”k”nee began to get a fire going when they heard someone call out “Hey guys”. Toad quickly jumped off of the rock that he was peeing off of in fear that it was a ranger checking in on us. Luckily for us it was not a ranger but two people from one of the car campsites next to us. We were very confused why they were heading our way but our confusion was replaced by ecstasy when they explained that they had cooked too much spaghetti and wanted to share it with us. We of course accepted the pasta and started to dig in. Just a few moments later, two other people from the campsite started running to us yelling “Wait!” Our initial thought was that they gave away the spaghetti before everyone at their campsite had eaten and that they were going to take it back. This was not the case though. They just did not want us to eat it without the chance for Toad to smother the pasta in Parmesan cheese. We were very grateful of their generosity as well as very relieved that no rangers decide to check on the backcountry campsite. The next morning, it was a much shorter hike back to the car where we again staggered our exit so that it wouldn’t look like a group of three backpackers coming off of the trail. We quickly packed the car to continue our trip to Navarro.

It was another beautiful drive through redwoods the entire way to Navarro. Along the way, Lt. Suckdown was waken up by Toad asking him to look up the nearest gas station when he got cell service. Looking around, Bro”k”nee and Lt. Suckdown realized that they were in the middle of the forest and asked toad how many miles were left on the tank. Toad told them that there was forty miles left and that the last time he had seen a gas station was nearly fifty miles back. We realized that we had to continue forward and just hope that we would come upon a gas station in the next forty miles. After another twenty miles of driving, Bro”k”nee got cell service and found out that the next gas station was thirty miles away. From this point on, Toad put the car into neutral anytime we were going even slightly downhill. The car stops displaying the miles left on the tank on anything under ten so we were just guessing how many miles were left. We finally drove into a small town but Bro”k”nee said that there were no gas stations in the town. Just as we started to plan pull out a triple A card, Toad spotted a single gas pump in front of a small convenience store and immediately pulled over. At first glance, the pump looked like it was significantly older than any that we had ever seen and we did not know if it was operational. Toad went into the store to find out and ended up learning how to pump gas the old fashioned way. After filling up we continued on our way to meet Toad’s friend Ollie at the Navarro beach campsite. Upon arrival, we quickly realized that the campsite was full and that we were going to have to find another place to spend the night. After a few hours of checking out closed campsites, we found one that met our requirements. Open, enough space for three tents, and a picnic table for beer die. We played a few games with many odd looks from neighboring campsites as well as a few questions about how the game works. This ended up being one of our later nights on the trip because we sat around the picnic table for hours debating whether or not people are inherently good. After a slow start the next morning, we said goodbyes Ollie and continued on our way to San Francisco to meet up with Bro”k”nee’s friends Brahm and Fong. The first thing that we did when we got to Brahm’s place was to shower before preparing to go surfing. Toad had some experience surfing but both Lt. Suckdown and Bro”k”nee had never tried before. On the way there, Bro”k”nee said that his goal was to stand up on the board because some people told him that he wouldn’t be able to do it with only one day of practicing. When we got to the surf shop, we met up with another of Bro”k”nee’s friends Jack. After struggling to find a parking spot, we headed into the surf shop to find out that they had stopped renting surfboards and wetsuits an hour earlier. With surfing not being an option, Brahm suggested that we take a walk around Sutra Baths. The walk was supposed to have a beautiful view of the ocean and even of Golden Gate Bridge. When we got there however, the sea fog was very thick and again we could barely see fifty feet of water in the ocean. After seeing the sights at Sutra Falls, Brahm took us to the Mission District to get burritos for dinner.

The next morning, Brahm and his family surprised us with a wonderful home cooked breakfast of pancakes sausage and breakfast tea. After breakfast, we got ready to give it another try at the surf shop. This time, they were still renting wetsuits and surfboards so Lt. Suckdown and Bro”k”nee were going to be able test their luck with surfing. After a few quick instructions from Brahm and Jack, we headed into the water to give it a try. Toad showed off and got up on the first wave that he saw while Lt. Suckdown and Bro”k”nee struggled to figure out any kind of timing. After many failed attempts, Bro”k”nee was able to stand up on the board for the first time even though he was told he wouldn’t be able to do it. (@Molly). After swimming back out to find Brahm and Jack, we all saw a wave that looked like it would be perfect timing. Without thinking, all five of us turned and started paddling. Bro”k”nee was the first to catch the wave but quickly noticed that Lt., Brahm and Toad were all in front of him and that he was going to have to bail. In a desperate attempt not to run into anyone, Bro”k”nee jumped off of his board while calling “look out” to everyone else. When he jumped off, his board went the other way and ended up drilling Toad in the arm. Toad took the opportunity to show off his grit and powered through the pain to stand up and ride the wave all the way to the beach. Although we all wanted to stay in the water, we realized that we had to get moving so that we could get to Lake Tahoe by dinner time. We retreated back to Brahm’s place for a quick shower before hitting the road again.

-Lt. Suckdown

First things first, none of us have seen a more clear state boundary in our lives. We were coming from the California side and the second we crossed into Nevada there were three different casinos lining the highway. It was borderline ridiculous but it was clear Nevada is catering to its California counterparts. Our first night in Tahoe consisted of lots of conversation as Toad and his cousin caught up over the many developments in their lives (maybe more of a laundry list of complaints but that’s besides the point). The three of us sat around talking with Sophia and her roommates long into the night as we did some prep work for future trips and planned out our backcountry trip into Yosemite. They offered some recommendations for the exploration of Tahoe the next morning and Toad reached out to his uncle regarding mountain biking for the afternoon. With a plan in place, we headed off to bed.

The next morning commenced with Toad wandering off to explore the neighborhood, as he is prone to do. While he was off exploring, Lt. Suckdown caught up on sleep and went to check out a local sports equipment store to see if they had the missing piece to his Osprey hydration pack. Alas, he was out of luck. Add it to the list of failed destinations for Osprey material. Meanwhile, Bro’k’nee set off for the post office to mail his numerous postcards. The three of us coordinated to meet at the bottom of Monkey Rock, a trailhead that gave us a panoramic view of the lake. Timing was a bit off however as Toad commenced his hike before Bro’k’nee and Lt. Suckdown were able to contact each other. However, everything worked out in the end as we met up on the overlook and gazed out over Tahoe. Unfortunately, the smoke dulled the view quite a bit, preventing us from seeing the opposite end of the lake. What we could see was quite incredible however so we made the most of it. We quickly descended back to the car to meet up with another Mac friend, Nuria, for a brunch affair at a local eatery.

We all noticed that there’s no escaping the gambling in Nevada. This place was seemingly a casual restaurant but in reality it was another gambling den. There were little 10 inch screens littering the bar encouraging patrons to gamble their money away with online poker, blackjack, and a whole host of different card games. In a sense, it was still the Wild West. After brunch, we met up with Toad’s uncle, Miguel, who took them on a mountain bike ride for the ages. He led us up to the cross country skiing hills of the Tahoe Donnor resort while providing brief instruction on mountain biking technique and providing stories of when he took his girlfriend out there for the first time and the many expletives she called him afterwards. I’m not sure any of us necessarily took him seriously but when confronted with the downhill I think we all felt a little of what his girlfriend felt. It was a legit mountain biking experience. Bro’k’nee had done a little bit of biking in the foothills of Idaho and that experience paid off but Toad and Lt. Suckdown were definitely taking it slow and throwing out their respective feet every once in a while to prevent themselves from taking nasty tumbles or going careening down the mountainside. It certainly got the blood pumping to say the least.

Once we made it through the harrowing experience, I think all of us were ready to do it again because it truly was a thrill like no other but time constraints limited us to only an hour and a half. After thanking Miguel profusely for his generosity, the three of us returned to Tahoe to make dinner for Sophia and her roommates as a tax for allowing us to stay with her for a couple nights. We decided on tacos so a quick grocery trip was in order to grab the requisite supplies. We returned to their apartment and set about making the meal. Before the meal commenced we did a quick weigh-in to see if we had lost any weight over the course of the trip. It was determined that weight hadn’t fluctuated too much from when we took off, but that was about to change. Five tacos later, Bro’k’nee and Toad weight themselves again and discovered they had gained close to 3 pounds over the course of the meal. It was quite impressive and all in the name of science. From there we settled in for the night, ripped the no wifi dinosaur game on Google and watched a movie.

The next day the fellas worked on their golf game a bit as they drove to nearby Truckee to play on a local (i.e. cheaper) course. Ended up with more golf balls than we came in with so in one sense it was a success but the golf itself left plenty to be desired. The afternoon was spent recuperating around the apartment because we knew we had an early departure time the next morning for Yosemite. We did takeout for dinner from a local burger and fried chicken place that hit the spot and hit the hay in preparation for a 4:30AM wake-up call.

-Toad

Leaving Yosemite, we decided to get lunch on the way and because Lt. Suckdown had never tried In-N-Out before, we went there. After waiting in a rather long line, we finally got our food giving me the chance to try this famous burger for the first time. It was definitely the best fast food burger that I’ve had but it was still a fast food burger. After lunch, we drove the rest of the way into Sequoia national park to find a campground based off of the recommendation from a friend of Bro'k'nee. We found a campsite that was a small area of trees and dirt for our tents followed by a huge area of exposed rock. Immediately after parking the car, we took some time to explore around the campsite and ended up finding a fire pit underneath a small rock overhang about one hundred yards from the road. Sadly, we did not have any firewood to have a fire that night but we would keep it in mind for future reference. After a little more exploring, Toad cheffed up some steak and cheese subs before bringing out the poker chips and some cards. With Vegas as the next stop, Bro'k'nee thought it would be a good idea for him to learn how to play Texas Hold’em and blackjack. Toad ended up winning poker but both Toad and Bro'k'nee lost money in blackjack with Lt. Suckdown dealing. After a few more hands of blackjack, we retreated to our tents for the night.

The next day, we went to King’s Canyon. We started by going to the visitor center and, for the first time, asked the ranger on duty what they recommended for a day in the park. After talking to the ranger, the first thing that we did was go to see the second largest tree in the world called the General Grant tree. A fun fact about the massive tree is that it is almost 1500 years younger than many of the other sequoias around it but is still significantly bigger. After the tree, we began driving into King’s Canyon which took us down over 5000 feet to the river. Toad had been hoping to do a cave tour this whole trip and this was an option in the canyon. However, the price of the tour did not seem worth it so we instead continued down the canyon to see two waterfalls that were considered to be trickles at this point in the season. Both of the waterfalls were not too impressive but at the same time, they were both more impressive than what we saw of Yosemite falls. Satisfied with what we saw in the canyon, we drove back out of the canyon to do a small hike to Panorama point. This gave us a view of some 15,000 foot mountains but the one peak that we were looking for, Mt. Whitney, was still out of sight. At this point it was time to head back to the campsite to make dinner which was some quinoa and chicken. After dinner, we brought our chairs, the poker chips and the s’mores stuff to the fire pit. We all had a few s’mores and played a few card games. Toad would never make it as a dealer at a casino. Once we got bored of cards, we ended up staying their to watch the stars and talked for a couple of hours. The stars were unbelievable with the new moon and we lost track of time until Toad announced that he was going to bed after he saw one more shooting star.

The following day, we went the opposite direction into Sequoia. Again, the first thing that we did was to go look at a big tree. The General Sherman tree is a sequoia that is the largest tree in the world. Upon reading every sign around the tree, we found out that it wasn’t the widest or the tallest but the most voluminous and that the General Grant tree was in fact the widest tree in the world. The next stop on the day was Moro Rock. This was a short hike up onto a thin piece of rock overlooking Sequoia National Park. The view was a bit obstructed by all of the smoke in the park but impressive nevertheless. The rest of the day was consumed by short hikes to places like Thorp’s log, Chimney tree and the Big Tree loop. After seeing everything there was to see in this part of Sequoia, we headed back to our campsite for dinner and another fire. It was not as late of a night this time because we wanted to get an early start heading to Vegas so that we could shower after being on the road or in a national park for the last week.

-Lt. Suckdown

Vegas did a bit of damage on your three travelers, both physically and in the old wallet but we soldiered on to Zion looking forward to getting back to exploring national parks (with a touch of apprehensiveness as we knew this would be the longest stretch without a shower... 8 full days of stank). Colizzo decided to join us as well and we were all very excited to add another member to our crew. Our first night was spent surveying BLM land for a campground. Colizzo knew of one, but we arrived too late to secure a spot at some of the lower lying campsites. Our only options were to navigate our way up one of the rockiest, ruttiest roads we had seen the entire trip (and we've seen plenty let me tell you) or begin the search anew. Colizzo forged ahead in his high-clearance 4 wheel drive Jeep Wrangler while Toad and Lt. Suckdown looked at the Infinity JX35 and decided it wasn't worth tempting fate. The poor car had been through enough already so we called Bro'k'nee and said we would go hunting for an alternative spot. After 30 frustrating minutes, we were able to secure a new campsite and passed the message to Bro'k'nee. After the frustrations of the evening, we were all ready to call it a night and try again in the morning.

We decided that the best way for us to experience Zion was to rent bikes rather than try to fight for shuttle tickets for the four of us so our first order of business was to go about securing the bike rentals. Colizzo knew of a place from when he last ventured to Zion so we piled into our respective cars and drove off. Unfortunately, due to our later start, all rentals were out for the day by the time we arrived but Colizzo struck up a conversation with the man working the front desk and he asked what kind of car Colizzo had. When Colizzo replied a Jeep Wrangler, the man's eyes lit up. There was renewed vigor in his tone as he described a series of off-roading loops and hikes off of these loops that were suddenly in the cards. Since we had no plan B, we seized on the advice eagerly moving everything from Colizzo's Jeep so that the four of us could fit (relatively) comfortably. With that, we careened off down the road excited to see what Zion's hype was all about. It is no exaggeration, Zion is beautiful. We popped the top off the Jeep and were able to look around unencumbered, drinking in the different landscape. When we arrived at the dirt road, Colizzo really let loose. We were flying around corners and bouncing up and down. The Lt. was crammed in the backseat and his body movements were even more exaggerated as he drifted in and out of sleep. It was quite an impressive rag doll feature he had going. Soon after, we arrived at the trailhead for Observation Point and trekked out. The point was worth the hike as we were treated to panoramic views of Zion's canyon floor. From our perch atop the point, we could make out some of Zion's most famous features - Angel's landing (it's most well-known trail), the scenic byway that meandered its way 1,000 feet below us, and the rust-colored cliff faces rising up to meet us. Of course, we had to have some scenic beers as well. Never knew a PBR could taste so good (and I don't even like PBR all that much). We snapped some photos and returned back to the car. We debated the merits of taking the Jeep down one last off-roading loop but decided against it. Instead, we returned to the campground we tried to secure the first night (this time managing to get a campsite on the lower levels) and set up our tents. Since we had time we piled into Colizzo's Jeep once more and set out to explore what lay about past the impassable road and to collect some firewood for the ripping blaze we wanted for the night. We returned successful after about an hour; in the process covering Colizzo's Jeep with debris from the firewood and nearly scratching up his windows. No harm no foul though and with that, we settled in for the night.

Our next day commenced with us once again traveling to the bike shop, this time with a reservation in hand. After receiving our bikes we cycled down the scenic byway with Bro'k'nee stopping at every sign along the way and Toad pulling off for random photos of flowers and cliff faces. After a couple of miles, we reached our destination - Angel's Landing. We arrived at 9:15AM feeling pretty good about ourselves for an early start... Place was already packed. I mean it was absurd. There was barely any room for us to lock our bikes but we chose to just go for it despite the numerous crowds that we knew would be littering the trail. It was at this point where Colizzo mentioned that he was a little unsure of his feelings toward heights. We all looked at him incredulously because Angel's Landing is a trail that in some areas you can only go single file with cliff faces dropping off to the ground hundreds of feet below on both sides. Only now, as we were making our way up it, was he going to confess that he was unsure of how he was going to react. It was a zoo going over the single file section of the hike. People were in such a hurry to get to the top they were endangering others and we did our best to police some sort of order out of the chaos but it very often broke down into a free-for-all. Colizzo did his best to stand directly in the center of the path and keep his eyes straight ahead but the rest of us admired our 360 degree view of the entire canyon floor. It was pretty incredible. After eating our lunches we began the descent back down to the car. We expected it to be just as bad as the way up but for some reason the trail had cleared and we made our way down relatively painlessly. Once his feet his flat ground again, Colizzo stated, "Now that we're back down that honestly wasn't so bad and the views were amazing." All we could do was just laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the statement because we all saw the way he was while on Angel's Landing. Colizzo and Lt. Suckdown decided to make their way back to the car while Toad and Bro'k'nee continued onwards to the very end of the scenic byway to check out The Narrows, another one of Zion's most revered hikes. Due to the late hour, we were unable to go very far down the canyon but it left us something to do on a return trip to the park. When Toad and Bro'k'nee returned, Colizzo had begun his return trip to Vegas and the Lt. had reorganized the car so we were able to quickly leave the rental shop. We drove through the park one last time and used FreeRoam to find a place for us to spend the night. We located a place right along the river and we were excited to spend the night on beachy sand rather than the sediment-ridden crap in Zion, cooked ourselves some chili, and went to bed. That sand was a double-edged sword however. In the morning, we tried to be off towards Bryce but our car refused to budge. We looked at each other and knew what we had to do. Toad and Lt. Suckdown hopped out and pushed with all their might while Bro'k'nee kept that pedal to the metal and slowly, ever so slowly, the car began to move. When we were finally on hard-packed ground, the other two hopped in the vehicle and we drove off to the next of Utah's famed parks.

-Toad

Currently waiting for Lt. Suckdown to complete his writing of this stop, but you can find the photos in the pictures section.

We arrived in Cedaredge, CO defeated from our plight the previous night and excited for the prospect of a roof over our heads as well as having a bed for a couple of nights. Our gracious hosts were Toad's Uncle Joe and Aunt Debbie and we can't thank them enough for their hospitality over the three days we were there. Not only that, having a home base offered a fantastic opportunity to reset and reevaluate our JX35 mobile home which we took tackled as soon as we walked through the door. When Deb and Joe returned from work, we set about having a delicious dinner of enchiladas and planning out our stay. Joe plied us with questions about our plans and offered up plenty of suggestions himself - from mountain biking and camping out in Moab to golfing locally and checking out the local national park, the Black Canyon. After our adventures through Utah and Arizona, camping had lost a bit of its appeal so we decided to split the difference and day trip out to Moab to explore Arches National Park one day and then check out the Black Canyon the following day.

In the morning, Toad ripped a Peloton workout at Joe's insistence (low-key very fun) while the other two caught up on sleep. Joe very kindly offered to chef up a breakfast burrito apiece for the three of us and who were we to say no to an offer like that. After eating our breakfast we headed out to Arches for a little day trip. Since this will be addressed in another blog post I will just say that it was worth the trip out there and we were all quite happy with the trip. We were even happier when we returned back to the house though and found out that we were getting steaks fresh off the cow from the cattle they owned at their orchard. It had been months since our last good steaks so we were all looking forward to dinner that night. Joe lived up to his boasts of his talents on the grill and we all feasted until we could eat no more. Again conversation flowed long into the night about family, what we've experienced on our trip, how our day out in Moab was, and so much more. We ran the conversational gamut to say the least.

We awoke on the earlier side the next morning to see what Colorado's very own Black Canyon National Park had to offer. At this point we had seen plenty of canyons over the previous 2 weeks (Grand Canyon, Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon) so I can speak for all of us that we may have had a bit lower expectations for the Black Canyon. We couldn't have been more wrong. The snowy countryside fell off in a sheer cliff that dropped 2700 feet to the bottom. It essentially looked like a giant fissure had opened up in the middle of nowhere of its own volition. While not having the size and scope of the Grand Canyon or the red rocks of Bryce and Zion, the Black Canyon's sheer grade and impressive cliff faces left an impression on all of us. That, and the fact that there was little to no protective measures in place on the canyon's north rim. At some points you could walk right up to the drop-off and stare at the might Gunnison River hundreds of feet below you. It was quite humbling. Once we had our fill of the scenic road we decided to meander our way to a hike that Deb and Joe recommended known as Exclamation Point. Despite the melted snow causing the trail to turn into a muddy track that caused all sorts of slipping and sliding along it, we quite enjoyed the hike. Exclamation Point was also aptly named as it offered incredible panoramic views of the canyon as well as allowing the viewer to peer into it's depths. After a quick sandwich we turned back due to the treacherous trail conditions (despite many close calls, no one took a spill but Toad was very much flirting with danger). The snow and cold temperatures also ruined any chances at the fellas sneaking a quick round in at elevation to pump up their driver distance which was quite unfortunate. Instead, Bro'k'nee and Toad walked the apple orchard and checked out the property. It was a decent alternative but I think we were bumming a bit. Lucky for us, Deb knew how to cheer us up with a heaping plate of hamburgers and some apple pie (fresh picked from the orchard for dessert). Joe did his part by joining us in the time-honored drinking game Caps and we played long into the night. Joe showed off his all-pro form from his fraternity days at St. Lawrence while going undefeated (a little embarrassing for us young guys). We hit the hay on the later side because we knew there was no rush to head to Denver the following day. We took our time in the morning, making the most of the comfort of the house and departed around 1PM to see what else Colorado had to offer.

-Toad