Not often I get to write a post from inside a sleeping bag at the top of a mountain. But lupabitch convinced me to hit the trail one last time before heading home. (I did not need a lot of convincing, mind.) We drove out along the Columbia River Gorge and up into the hills, where we picked up my old friend, the Pacific Crest Trail, for a brief but ( Read more... )

While going back through my journal to add tags to my most memorable posts, I ran across a tidbit that made me realize something.

I walked 916 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail during my hike last year.

Bestselling author Bill Bryson, whose aborted Appalachian Trail hike led to a wildly successful book, walked a mere 890 milesThis means that, ( Read more... )

This post is mostly a note to self, though I figured I'd share it in case anyone's interested ( Read more... )

Here in America, today was Independence Day. Tonight's the night with the boom and the flash and the smoke and the wtf music. I went to an early July 4 party over the weekend at childe_dirk's, and I got my US RDA of fireworks then; as such, I'm skipping tonight's festivities in favor of getting home from work and resting ( Read more... )

The scene: Sunday morning, 4-1-2007. Early sunlight shines on an ungainly pile of blankets in a second-story bedroom.
The sounds: Traffic noises, and the moaning of someone trying to block them out with a pillow over the ears.
The cat: Steering well clear of the tipped bottle at the foot of the bed. A patch of dark-stained carpet reeks of wine ( Read more... )

While I've been spending most of the last few weeks updating the TTU Wiki, I've occasionally taken side trips out to the amazing land of Internets for my amusement and edification:

• Never let it be said that webcomics can't teach you important American history. I'm just young enough that I had never heard of the incident in question until XKCD ( Read more... )

One thing I'm remembering about face-to-face customer service jobs -- after not having worked one for a decade -- is the learning experiences that come from interacting with hundreds of strangers at a stretch ( Read more... )

One of my biggest initial concerns when I was planning for my Pacific Crest Trail hike had nothing to do with the walking. It was purely a logistical issue: Assuming a six-month hike, I would have to quit my job rather than take a leave of absence. I'd be burning through savings while out on the trail. So what was I going to do to earn money when ( Read more... )

When I returned home last week, with a painful knee forcing me from the trail, I slunk away from my hike with frustration and a little fear. My previous three-week layover at home had been quite enough delay; I wanted to get back into the rhythm of the trail and keep eating up the miles, and the only thing standing in my way was an aggravating ( Read more... )

I've been avoiding posting about my hiking since I got back ... the bottom line is that trying to summarize everything that's happened would just remind me again of the fact I'm off the trail and sitting at home. Adding to that frustration is the uncertainty of the nebulous knee injury -- it'll be later today before I get a full diagnosis on it ( ( Read more... )