Friday, September 23, 2016

AZT Day 17: No more AZT, these tires were made for riding

You know what they say about plans? The best of mice and men come to ruin. "They" being Robert Burns, and the saying being a modern paraphrase. Plans are to my mind the tiny assistants to dreams. The trick is to let them assist, but not to let them run those dreams, for they are wretched at spontaneity and tend to scream DESTINATIONS when one should be slowing their roll, stopping to sit for a while, to strum a banjo, to chat with a new and temporary friend, to watch the clouds roll over and spy ships a'sailing in a marshmallow sea populated with dragons.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

AZT Day 10: Out of the Canyon and Off-Trail

Made it up the, up the, up the … hold one moment please. Okay, finally made it up to the top of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, but not before consuming a gallon of water, a liquid breakfast of oats and nonsense, one snickers bar; nor before sweating that gallon of water back out in a perspiratory bath of proportions epic enough to suit the surrounding landscape; nor even before fielding 4,647 comments and queries on the open umbrella sidled along my backpack keeping this wilting human structure more or less in the shade despite the sun's eagerly inspecting eye searching out where flesh might be found within this baking pan of earth creased into the ground here in the desert.


...

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

AZT Day 8: Grand Canyon, North Rim

In seven days he did toil over the land, and the length of his toil was lo some 80 odd miles. And on the eighth day he rested, and did not a cotton - pickin’ thing.

Monday, September 5, 2016

AZT -1: Gone Alaska, Welcome Wilderness


One day remains before I step out on the trail and test my mettle. It's still not quite reality, despite this airplane bound for Phoenix I'm now strapped within. All the requisite conditions have been fulfilled. Time to wander? Check. Gear and something to tote it in? Check. Nutrition and hydration provided for? Check. Navigation aids? Check. Desire and ability to wander? Check and time will tell.



Thursday, September 1, 2016

The Gypsy Wanders: Arizona Trail

Kind readers (yes, that is plural, as it is addressed to both my mother and my father):

Your author, ever eager to wander will soon be fortunate enough to do just that. My employment came to a merciful close this past week. All of my worldly goods will be tucked away into the wee automobile and stored at a friend's house, except for those few items I need to support my bag of bones while thru-hiking the Arizona Trail. The nearly two years I've spent in Kodiak will conclude and I will be set loose upon the unsuspecting firmament.  

What is this magical trail I speak of? How is it magical? You've asked the right questions! I knew you, my readers, were intelligent, the moment you clicked into this website. Let me spin you some truth.


Monday, August 22, 2016

Yukon Episode Four: Mists of Meandering

Mary and I hitch from Fairbanks to Eagle, float a canoe to Circle, then hitch back to Fairbanks. 
This is episode four. Read the first, second, and third episodes.
August 2013 - Yukon River
---
Thirty-five miles today. Though we were in no hurry, the allure of paddling kept our vessel steaming along the rivers pulse. The time too had an undercurrent, a thing already in motion on whose back we were riding, and slid away with each pull of the paddle and twist of the wrist. We lay on the float making up songs or remembering those others have made, reading aloud, imagining a history of this landscape being formed by mythical creatures, and wordlessly breathing in our surroundings.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Bellingham or Bust Episode Five: Further into the Future

The fifth episode recounting a summer skin-on-frame kayak build and solo 130 mile kayak journey. 
From the start - read the firstsecond, third, and fourth episodes.

it is a short journey
a brief race
we each one take
upon the planet's spinning face

though viewing each day
as blessing
or curse

the rain as dreary
or poetry
in liquid verse

the sun as wilting
or warming
glow

failures
as devastating end
or new routing
on which to begin:

a boat flipped
may yet be righted
and paddled again.

26 - 30 of June 2014 | Meadowdale State Park -to- Burrows Island

Early rise from my blue tarp tent and scurry through breakfast before slipping boat back into the waterway. Covered about 4 miles in the first hour, then pulled off the side of the watered highway. Sat on a sandbar for an hour watching waves build with the incoming flood tide, churned up by a waxing southwest wind. Spent the next hour portaging 1 to 2 miles up the beach, wandering through the waves and tidepools dragging boat behind like a toy trailer full of dreams.


Thursday, April 14, 2016

Bellingham or Bust Episode Four: The First Two Days of Paddling

The fourth episode recounting a summer skin-on-frame kayak build and solo 130 mile kayak journey. 
From the start - read the firstsecond, and third episode.

wraiths ghosted in the mist
then burst forth into the light
shattered, laden with moisture
heavy and bright

the horizons widen
and the sun begins to glow

off in the distance,
some rain falling,
falling into the ocean below

the land is here
and time is here
and all is well

24 - 25 of June 2014 | Bainbridge Island -to- Meadowdale State Park, Washington

Set out upon the water early the morning of June 24, vessel loaded-to-capacity. Eight miles north, changed route to due west, and skidded up on the shore of Eagle Harbor. Boat tied fore and aft to a pier to prevent its meandering about as the tide rose, then a squishy-footed trot into town after slipping the drysuit skin to stow inside the boat. Picked up my passport at the post office, general delivery, had a snack and called a friend, then sloshed back to re-enter the boat and continue north.



Saturday, March 5, 2016

Monday, February 15, 2016

Bellingham or Bust Episode Three: Construction and Capitulation

[The third episode recounting a summer skin-on-frame kayak build and solo 130 mile kayak journey. From the start - read the first and second episode.]

We cajole our craft,
my fellow builders and I,
In sight of our tents
pitched beneath steely skies,
to the tune of a minstrel
modulating ukulele highs.

11 - 23.June.2014 | Portland/Manzanita, Oregon; Bainbridge Island, Washington

South I flew, to Portland, Oregon, to join up with the eldest brother and shop for the remaining necessaries - food for the next week of construction in addition to the following three weeks of paddling; and some flares, just in case.


Wandered about town with brother and his girlfriend, spent some time with a friend from school; smiled at their queries and tried to reassure their worries, despite an absence of answers. Told them of all the preparations, of the fail-safes, communications equipment, and survival gear that should support me if I have need of them. 

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Personal Fiscal Delights: One Ramblin' Man's PFD Usage

You may have heard of Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) before. Maybe someone described it to you as an "avalanche of free money" or you heard a rumor along the lines of "Alaska will pay you to move here!", or perhaps you were told you could "move to Alaska for free!". 

Gunnar Knapp, Institute of Social and Economic Research


The truth is somewhat simpler and less exciting: you may be eligible to receive an annual payout, if you establish residency in Alaska, and have lived here for at least one year (subject to a myriad of exceptions).