In Berkeley...

Got down to Berkeley last night after 12 hours in an '86 VW bus (oh my god...) and staying with David. He's got a real nice apartment near Cal, and within walking distance to some good bars. Needless to say, we drank too many beers while catching up last night.

Off to the higher elevations on Monday at some point.

Happy holidays....

Goodbye OSU!

Well, it's been a fun-filled 2 years here in Corvallis, OR.
It finally hit me that I was leaving OSU when I turned in my building keys today.

I gained a lot of work experience here, especially in risk communication, toxicology, information acquisition, communication, and education.

I also learned how to make biodiesel, convert vehicles to run on vegetable oil, how to surf, how to climb mountains without dying, how to recover from injury, and how to dance Cuban salsa.

From now on, I'll be engaged in my first mini-retirement, save for working as the lead writer for http://gas2.org.

Here's to new beginnings like solar power facts.

Surfing Guide to Costa Rica

So, you want to hit up Costa Rica for some good surf?
Here´s what I learned in 3 weeks in November-December of 2007:

1. You have to buy a board.
While renting seems like an option to those not packing a board, you will pay more in the long run.
Best option is to buy a board ($100-$300) as soon as you get to Costa Rica and then sell it before you leave.
Taking your board home is an option too, but if you have more than one flight (like I did), you will pay $80-100 each time you have to check the board. Bastards.

2. Buy a board bag.
You have to have one for the buses and you really have to mandate how they pack things. Also, don´t be surprised when you get charged an extra 1000 colones ($2) for the board. They say it´s because the boards are fragile and take up to much space, so they can´t pack more bags in those compartments. Bullshit, but they´re in charge.
But really, traveling with a board is not that bad. And the perks are enormous: surf whenever you want, anytime, as soon as you get there.

3. Buy SunCure.
I didn´t know what this was until this trip, but SunCure is an epoxy resin that dries in the sun in 5 minutes. This is essential for patching those dings that would otherwise end your day´s surf sessions. It´s really easy to do this work. Buy the big tube with the sandpaper and popcicle sticks ($15), it´s worth it and you´ll use it.

4. Buy a rash guard.
Trust me. I surfed the first day without one, and had an open sore on my chest for the next 13 days. It wouldn´t heal, even under my rash guard.

5. Buy the ¨Surfer´s Guide to Costa Rica¨ on Amazon or wherever. It´s worth it for surf break information, but not for lodging. Use the Lonely Planet guide for lodging.

6. Take band-aids, antibiotic ointment, oil or Vaseline, and liquid bandaid.
I´m sure you can figure out what all of these are for. You will end up with lots of cuts, scratches, and rashes from surfing so much.

7. Avoid Jaco and Tamarindo if at all possible.
These places are to Costa Rica what Tijuana is to Mexico. That being said, I found a good surfboard in Jaco for $85 from a guy staying in my hostel. Shops charge a lot more. Anyway, you´ve been warned.

8. Bring a bedsheet and save money by ´camping´.
A lot of the hostels have tents already set up with pads for around $4 per night. ´Camping´ will save you money over the long run, but it just depends on how long your staying whether it pays off or not. Nice rooms are only $10, and most hostels have dorms for $7. These rooms have fans, which is a big bonus for temp, insects, and drying out your stuff. Follow the Lonely Planet´s guide for the ´editor´s´choice for accommodation. They are always kick ass hostels.

9. Do your homework.
Make sure to read the surf reports before you go. Check out www.crsurf.com for weekly national forecasts. Of course, you can also use Surfline and MagicSeaweed. You also might want to base when you leave on the time of year. You can always find waves, but the difference between ´fair´ surf and ´epic´surf is vast.

10. Best places to surf.
Here´s what I learned from experience and the grapevine:
Playa Hermosa is awesome. If your primary goal is to surf and you want big, juicy waves, go here. No question. Stay at Cabinas Rancho Grande.
Dominical is also great, especially at dusk. Lots more to do there. Stay at Antorches Camping (they have sweet rooms for $10 per night).
The Caribbean is inconsistent at best, but a nice change of pace. Even when the surf reports say it´s good or big, it might not be. But it´s still a good party and different vibe.
Oh yeah, and when you arrive in San Jose, stay at Tranquilo Backpackers. It´s nice, cheap, secure, and has free internet and pancake breakfast.

Other places I would have checked out with more time:
Pavones. I´d love to ride America´s longest left. Difficult to access but worth it with a good S Swell.
Avellanas. Near Tamarindo but I heard it has great waves.
Mal Pais and Santa Teresa. I´m bummed I didn´t make it here as I heard it´s great. Montezuma is next door too.

Non-surf destinations I would have liked to see:
Montezuma, Arenal the volcano at night, Monte Verde, and would like to have climbed Mt. Chirripo (2nd highest peak in Central America at over 13,000 or 3800 meters). I also heard Bocas del Torro in Panama is incredible.

11. Oh, yeah, and don't trust the locals. They are full of shit when it comes to surfing information. Two obvious explanations: 1) They don't want you to know where the good spots are or 2) they're just full of shit.

Well, that´s about it. With more time I still would have missed something. Be happy for what you get, safe travels, and Pura Vida.

San Jose, Costa Rica

Solo trips begin lonely, and so end... Usually sitting in some noisy, dirty city, waiting to get on the plane.

A big group of us left Puerto Viejo yesterday morning, and many goodbyes were made at the bus station. Certainly one of the worst parts about traveling. Achilles went on to the Pacific coast with his friends, where they will head south to Pavones (longest left hand break in America) and then Panama. We also spent several days hanging out with 2 germans who were off to Dominical.

But, to put some sweet in the bitter, I now have friends and a place to stay in Rome and in Berlin. I promised them I´d visit some time in the next 2 years, so a Euro trek needs to happen by then.


Some interesting background I forgot to mention. When I arrived in Costa Rica I was reading the Iliad, which seems coincidental after meeting a man named Achilles on the 3rd day. He´s a damn good guy and it´s too bad he lives on the side of the known world. His story is he grew up in Rome and was a professional soccer player in Italy´s notorious 2nd division. While the pay was great, he said wanted more out of life than just soccer, so he quit, moved to Australia, surfed every day for 1.5 years, and now he travels seasonally for surf. He manages food and beverage at a 4 star hotel during the summer.

Since my digital camara failed on this trip, I´m going to rely on my contacts to send me pictures. Eventually I´ll post some here.

Here´s to Costa Rica. I´ll be on a plane in 8 hours.

Best trip quotes:

"I think I've improved--I've gone from injured seal to shark bait."
-Guy who sold me the surfboard on his progress.

"Jaws is not a wave, jaws is a disaster."
-Achille, in the bar, watching a surf video about Jaws.

Mar Caribe > Cahuita, Puerto Viejo

One last post is I'll I may have time for. Internet is really expensive in Puerto Viejo.
The surf isn't great, but the Caribbean has a totally different feel to it. Sort of a little Jamiaca.

Sadly, I decided to sell my surfboard yesterday for $100. The decision was based on exorbinent airline fees to the tune of $200 to get the board home. So I let it go to a very eager ozzie, and so ends my Costa Rican surfing career. I had a pretty good run though, 14 days of surfing...

Today I'm hiking 8km though Caihuita's National park on the coast. I'll be in San Jose tomorrow and hopefully will have a little more time to write.


Update on 12-06:
The national park was incredible. In about 2 hours of hiking I saw 2 sloths, a yellow tree snake, lizards, and howler monkeys all over the place! All kinds of wildlife and well worth the walk.

Still in Domincal

Day 11

I don´t remember the last time I pursued an activity every day for 10 straight days (except that trans-Sierra Nevada ski trip). But it´s the truth - we´ve surfed every day for 10 days now.

Which means I´ve made up for a lot of surfing. Let me explain: if I´m lucky, I only get to surf 1 day a week in Oregon. Here I´ve been surfing twice per day, which means every 2 days I make up for one month of shitty weather at home. So far, I´ve made up for October through February.

That´s a lot of surfing, but I´m definitely feeling it. The rash I got from day one will not heal, which means I have a nasty-looking open sore on the right side of my stomach. Besides that, my shoulders are totally worked, my left knee keeps rubbing across the top of my board, I´ve had to get out of the water twice for bleeding, I´ve bruised my ribs a few times and hit the bottom, I have a sinus infection from seawater continuously going through my nose, and in Playa Hermosa my board was actively trying to kill me (I went head over heals and the fins hit my right hand, which basically tried to cut my middle finger off. This also looks pretty gruesome).

Heh, does it get any better than this! No way!
The surf in Dominical has been good, at least in the evenings. The night before last we surfed after sunset in a total downpour - really wild! Dominical is a laid back little town, with a few good bars. The locals are friendly, and answer everything with ´Pura Vida!´. Each night we´ve had a group of 12 going out from the hostel, the usual mix of 6 different nationalities all united by a common tradition: drinking too much. But alcohol and surfing at 7 am doesn´t really mix, so I´ve tried to avoid it as much as possible. The rum and coke in a can is tempting, however...


Achilles and I are thinking of heading to the Caribbean coast now, since the surf looks better there. I´ve heard the Afro-Cuban sensibility there is great, and it would be fun to see the other side of the country.

The daily routine here is pretty rough, and consists of the following:

0630 Get up, have a quick snack, and get out to the water.
0700 Surf
0900 Breakfast and reading.
1100 Internet
1200 Lunch
1330 Read/Naptime
1500 Get ready to surf again.
1530 Surf until it´s totally dark.
1800 Eat again.
1900 Have a few drinks
2100 Bedtime

Off to lunch now.
Pura Vida,

Clayton

And on the 6th Day, Clayton Was Still Surfing

Day 6
Let me quickly sum up the last few days. Achilles and I left to go to Esterillos Este, which is about 20 km down the coast. Unfortunately, the bus driver didnt let us know when we passed it. So we decided to ditch the bus and had our first adventure. We stood on the side of the road for a while, realizing we were in the middle of nowhere, until a 'nice' guy in a truck pulled over and said he'd give us a ride. We backtracked and decided to go all the way back to Playa Hermosa, since Achilles saw some good waves from his side of the bus.

We found a sweet spot in Playa Hermosa, called Cabinas Rancho Grande. Hermosa kicks ass. A really long black sand beach with breaks all along. But you definitely have to have your game face on. Mistakes are not advisable - you pay for them. I got tubed for the first time before eating sand for lunch. I was recirculated and dragged up and down the beach, but it was worth every minute. We´ve been out every day early and at sunset, with lots of napping and reading in between.

Might head to Dominical next. To be continued....

Interesting Experiences and Surfboard Repair - Day 4

I've had some interesting experiences in Costa Rica so far:

1) Meeting a surf instructor from Nicaragua, who was cool as shit and told me repeatedly to buy the surfboard from my roommate: "Buen precio. $85 es un buen precio. Comprala! Si no comprala, voy a comprarla." It was hilarious.

2) Acquiring a 3rd generation hostel surfboard (it's been handed down from roommate to roommate).

3) Meeting an Italian named Achilles, who is also cool as shit and who thought it was hilarious that Americans drink drip coffee. I've also been hanging out with people from Vancouver, Washington, Oregon (Portland), and California - so almost the whole west coast is covered. We just need the Yukon and Alaska.

I've spent the last 3 days surfing all day. Today I went out 3 times and it was the best so far - decent sized waves that held their shape well (a lack of witch is a most consistent problem). After paddling today until my arms felt like they were going to fall off, I'm absolutely wrecked, bruised, beat up and tired, but having fun.

The whole summer I've been surfing on a longboard (9'2"), so getting to know a 6'6" is fun but difficult. It took me all of 10 minutes to figure out how to duck dive under waves, but I'm having a hell of a time surfing them. I had some good rides today, but nothing spectacular.

I did learn to patch surfboards after noticing several dings in the tail and a few elsewhere. Based on past experience, I was worried my board would have to sit in a repair shop for several days. Turns out there's this stuff called 'Sun Resin' or something like that - epoxy that dries in 5 minutes. So I just plugged the holes and got back in the water.

It's Friday in Jaco, so things are getting busy. There's a surf competition tomorrow. I'm getting the hell out of here. Time to go South.

Happy Thanksgiving - Day 3 in Costa Rica

Well, here I am.

Today was a big day. Got up and went on a long run down the beach while the sun was out (it's been cloudy here so far). Skipped breakfast except for a powerbar so I could get in the water quickly. The surf was ok, but not spectacular.

Good news is, one of my roomates has a surfboard for sale ($85). Perfect size, decent condition, and it shreds pretty well. I was surprised by how well it surfs.

Unfortunately, the surf doesn't look so hot for the next few days. That's too bad, but I might go climb Mt. Chirripo (2nd highest peak in Central America, 13,000+), since I've got nothing better to do. I don't feel like sitting around in Jaco waiting for the surf to pickup. I'm going to try a bit further south tomorrow (Playa Hermosa).

There are really only a few things to do in Jaco:
1) Surf.
2) Get really drunk.
3) Eat.
4) Sleep.

So if the surf was any good, I would just do 1, 3, and 4. But since it isn't, I might end up doing 2 and 4. I'll keep you posted on how this story develops.

Thank You for Surfing

Thank god I finally got in the water.

I'm currently in Jaco, in the central cost of Costa Rica. It took me about 2 days to get from my house to the beach, and I was understandably anxious, especially after spending the night in the Orlando airport (pretty nice airport though). I spent the first night in San Jose, which made me even more anxious since I had a standard case of first-day travel jitters.

"What the hell am I doing here?"

It seems like most good travel adventures begin in places like San Jose. Actually, it wasn't that bad. Kind of reminded me of Chile - really upscale for Central America.

I stayed at the Hostel Galileo. Good place, really friendly staff, near the bus stops, but not prime location for doing anything else. They told me not to go out after dark, which was advice I headed only because I'm too cheap to get mugged.

So I made it to Jaco today and got in the water by 12:30. I found a good place by the beach, $10/night, with surfboard rentals that don't seem particularly cheap (15$ for 24 hours). But they let me switch the board as many times as I want.

After getting my ass kicked for about 2 hours I decided I was going to have to buy a rash guard. 5 mil wetsuits in Oregon protect you pretty well from the surfboard, and after about 10 minutes of surfing without a shirt I had red welts on my chest and arms.

But I was stoked. No question about it. This kicks ass.

All the guidebooks and everyone I talked to said Jaco is a sh*thole, but it reminds me of Roatan (which is a very tolerable sh*thole). Plus, I spent 3 hours on surfline in the hostel in San Jose trying to figure out where the surf was best and it looked like Jaco or Hermosa (actually, the Caribbean side looked better for a day or so).

There were some shredders out there: guys pulling aireals and all sorts of crazy stuff. I felt like an idiot, but was having too much fun.

In case you ever want to go to Jaco, it's a dirty town with a black, pebbly beach. There are some good eats and good bars (I'll tell you more about that when I go out to one). There are also some good surf shops where you got talk to people who actually know what they're doing. Like I said, it reminds me of Roatan - a lot - just replace the Scuba Diving with sufing.

Pura Vida!
Clayton

Out of the Office: Gone Surfing

I'll be surfing in Costa Rica for the next 3 weeks. I should have email sporadically, and maybe even a phone connection, and I'll try to post some travel stories here.

Pura Vida!

Climbing at Smith Rock

Finally got to go climbing at Smith Rock. Actually, it was the first time I've climbed in 2.5 years after blowing out my shoulder in Jan. of '06. Not only that, but it was the first time I cleaned a sport climb as well (don't worry, I had a long time to think about it).

You couldn't hope for a better weekend - shorts, t-shirts, and sandals in November. We (Robin, David, Emily) camped out at the free campground, made a big fire, and met some local climbing bums, to whom I confided I would be joining their ranks shortly.

Check out more of the pictures here.

Clayton Finally Gets Published

Well, it only took about a year, but I finally published something at work. I won't mention too many specifics (for fear of ending up in legitimate search results), but I finished a sort of bulleted literature-review on a very popular chemical, used in termite treatments and flea and tick sprays. Up to this point, there hasn't been a real comprehensive source of information on it, so I've added one little piece to the big picture. If you care to take a look, check it out here.

Oregon Surfing Pics Finally Posted

I finally scanned in the pictures we took earlier this year with a waterproof camera. The shots are from Otter Rock, about 5 miles north of Newport, OR. The break there is somewhat shielded from the wind, and on calm days is fantastic. Last time I went out it was dead calm, with 6-9 foot waves at 11 seconds...

This particular day I was out with David Elwood, who was demonstrating superb kayaking skills while trying to take some photos. Fun fact: David works on wave energy research and just got a wave energy buoy in the water about a week ago - and just a few miles down the coast.

Anyway, check out the pictures here.

Costa Rica 2007

I'm going to Costa Rica to go Surfing.

Since most people I know have already been there, I don't feel particularly bad about taking this trip. I've got to get out of the Oregon rain or I'm going to go crazy.

Everyone says Costa Rica is fantastic, and some even say it's their favorite destination. So I'm armed with more information than I probably want. I've got the Lonely Planet guide and the Surfer's Guide to Costa Rica (highly recommended).

Trip Plan:
Where: Costa Rica
When: Nov. 20 - Dec. 6th
Why: Surfing
How to get in touch with me: I imagine I'll have a chance to check my email between sets :), so you can catch me there. You can also find my profile on Travel Buddy.

After that I'll be working for another 2 weeks and then visiting family in Columbia, CA.

Extreme Salsa Weekend

Last weekend, the demographic in Corn-Valley shifted slightly for about 24 hours. Rumbanana hosted a weekend of salsa music, workshops, and partying, that brought in people from all over the west coast, including L.A., Portland, and Vancouver B.C. The band was hot (Afincando from Portland) and the dancing was as per usual... check out Mike and Simona performing after midnight here.

Casino de Rueda - Cuban Salsa

2007 has been a big year for many things, including a ridiculous amount of Cuban salsa dancing. I started taking lessons with the local group here, Rumbanana, run by Mike (white shirt) and Simona (far left), back in February. It's been one hell of a party ever since, since I've been taking classes or dancing as much as 3-4 nights a week.

This crew throws the best parties in town. Most amazing part is, Mike and Simona built the group from the ground up, starting classes within the last year, and now they have a huge group of followers. Their group, Rumbanana, even won first place at the 2007 Cuba Baila in Vancouver B.C. See video at their website.

If you want to see video of my silly self trying to dance (from one of our practices), go here.
If you want to see what Cuban salsa is supposed to look like, go here.

I BOUGHT A 1987 TOYOTA DIESEL!

Check this out: I may have found the only diesel Toyota pickup truck in the U.S.! As if it couldn't get any better, it's already been converted to run on Straight Vegetable Oil!

Robin and I flew out to Bozeman, MT for the weekend to take a look. The whole thing was a risky proposition, but the trip turned out to be a total success. Todd (the seller) was extremely helpful and hospitable, and it became evident that just about everyone in Montana had the same disposition. The local grease coop filled us up with 50 gallons of filtered, dewatered veg. oil, and we drove the more than 1,000 miles home all on SVO.

The truck was worth ever dollar of the asking price: a recently rebuilt engine, 4-wheel drive, bed with shell/storage/and sleep space, mp3 player + speakers, new tires, etc. I plan on writing more about the SVO stuff on vegtruck.blogspot.com.

We had a few notable stops, including a bluegrass festival in Missoula, MT, and an incredible hot springs in the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho (must return to that forest sometime).

Made it home safely and now just have to work out a few kinks and sell the old truck.
I may have finally found the perfect machine...

Check out Robin being baptized into the SVO club:

Burning Man 2007 Report on Greenoptions

For more information on the 'green' aspects of this year's Burning Man festival, take a look at my series of posts on the GreenOptions website:

Burning Man's Green Aspirations - Part I
Burning Man's Green Aspirations - Part II

If you want to here more about my experiences at the festival, it's going to have to be over a beer.

Burning Man 2007 - AfterBurn Report

This is an incredible picture (not mine) of a sculpture called Crude Awakenings. I'll tell you what, getting back to work after burning man is a crude awakening. See this thing blow up via youtube:



That tower is 100 feet tall.

Photo Credit: Lane Hartwell

Can't Wait 'Til Sundance 2008

Just sent in my 2008 Sundance Film Festival application. As usual, the dates are January 17-27, though I'll probably be there by the 13th.

I've been going to the festival now since I was 19! This will be my 6th year, and I finally got a sweet position last year as an assistant manager/coordinator for press screenings.

It's a good deal, and the stipend will pay for my ticket to Chile.

Quick Trip Breakdown: January 2008
Where: Park City, UT
When: Jan. 13-28
Why: Sundance Film Fest
How to get in touch with me: Email of course, maybe I'll have a cell by then, and I'll be posting on this blog whenever I get a chance. I'll also most likely be writing for the GreenOptions blog, so stay tuned.

Quick Trip Breakdown: February 2008
Where: Santiago, Chile
When: by Feb. 1st.
Why: to hike across the Andes with my dad, JM, maybe Andris and my good friend David (from Corvallis). Besides high-altitude hiking, we may do some general mountaineering stuff, glacier travel etc. too.
How Long: TBA. I have to figure out when the next Grand Canyon WFR course is going to be (Usually 3rd week of March). I'd really like to explore more of Chile, see my old host family, and maybe visit Argentina.
How to get in touch with me: Email of course, and I'll be posting on this blog whenever I get a chance.

Photo Credit: Sundance Film Festival

Burning Man, And the Lull Amidst the Storm

Going to Burning Man next week. Yep, you heard that right: crazy-hippy-techno-fest in the desert. It should be an interesting anthropological study, to say the least. I'll be driving down toward Gerlach, NV next Monday, to return after the Burn the next Monday.

This could be my truck's last voyage, as I'm in the process of trying to sell it to get something newer (more on that later). But it should get me there and back on 100% vegetable oil, so the pocket book won't take a hit and I can feel like I'm contributing to this year's theme "the Green man"... a rather auspicious theme - also strange that I received a post-card announcing the theme without ever submitting my address to them.... hmmm

Also strange that my African drum class played outside for the first time ever on Monday, and it just so happened we had fire dancers there, which made quite a scene. That's never happened before.

I also have 500 things going on at home and work - stuff still in boxes, trying to buy and sell a vehicle over the internet, planning trips, finishing projects at work, and so on.

I'll I can say is, please let there be more surfing.

But I do feel like I made it into the eye of the storm... that means I eventually have to find a way out, but until then I can just tread water.....

Photo Credit: www.burningman.com

Moving Sucks Part II: The Silver Lining

Ok, so moving sucks, but it does have its pluses. For one, a change of scenery can be refreshing, and it's nice to move into a bigger room (as in this case). The best part about moving is the way it forces you to evaluate your possessions. Move that extra pair of skis you never use for the 5th time and see you easy you can finally part with them.

Finally, after 2 years of dedicated work, I've got all my things down to an organized series of rubbermaid bins, and it all fits into a 10' x 10' room. That's a long way from where I was at 18, with my shit strewn between mom's house in Southern Utah and my dorm at the University of Utah.

If you don't use it, get rid of it. I've always been attracted to the notion that all my possessions could be as refined and essential as a well-oiled backpacking kit. I'm still working on both, but then again, you always do.

Oregon Coast: Camping on the Beach

I don't want this blog to sound redundant, but Oregon is hard to beat. Last night, David and I met at Otter Rock for a sunset surf and camped on the beach. There was

a) nobody there,
b) no wind,
c) excellent surf if small (3 ft. swell),
d) it was completely clear,
e) I was wearing a t-shirt until almost 11 pm.

This is all contrary to popular opinion of the Oregon coast, and rightly so, because it isn't always that nice. But we've been lucky this year.

In any case, I think I've found my sport. Surfing it requires relatively little gear, can be accomplished in less than half a day, is low impact, elegant, profound, can be intense, rewarding, and puts a wider grin on my face than (almost:) any other activity.

Let me put in a plug here for Xcel wetsuits, and let me thank everyone that recommended the Xcel 5/4/3 hooded suit. I've come to the conclusion that it's the best piece of gear I've ever owned: no matter what the water temp, wind velocity, or weather pattern, it feels like you're in the tropics, and I'm often sweating in it.

We finished off the evening by having a bonfire and drinking beer. From the looks of this picture it could have been a wild night.

A few more pictures here.

Partying Down in Portland

Made it up to the Portland brewfest this year. It wasn't what I expected: thousands of people standing in line under tents in a generally grungy atmosphere getting absolutely pissed. The beer was good, but expensive, and nothing I couldn't get from the orange beer store in Corvallis.

Afterwards we went and partied down with Robin's friends Erica and Adam. Made me want to move to Portland - that is one fun town...

Moving Sucks

Yep. I'm moving again. This time it's not a big move, only a few blocks to a new house, and most of my stuff is relatively organized at this point (which means less of a sorting nightmare).

What: Clayton Moving
When: Right now.
Timeframe: For the next 5 months.

I won't get into why, since I don't intend to use this blog as a platform for rants, so let's focus on the coolness of my new house: It's owned (or parents own) by Adam, who's in a band that practices in his room, which is a sound-proofed garage/recording studio. There's a huge backyard, deck, enormous garden, bees, continuous-flow water fountain. The best part is the community aspect - I lot of friendly people around the house and a lot of social events take place like making mead, beer, wine, cider, jam, food, and music.

So I got that going for me, which is nice...

Send me an email if you want my new mailing address.

Summit to Surf: Part II

The Summit to Surf Challenge has three requirements:

1. You summit a mountain.

2. You go surfing.

3. All this happens in 24 hours.

The debatable part is what qualifies as a mountain, but I would say it requires at least an ice-axe and crampons and a reasonable possibility that you won't make it to the top.

Anyway, since our decent took longer than anticipated (total climbing time = 12 hours) we decided to bag surfing for the evening and hit the bar instead (our usual backup plan). All we had to do was make it into the water before 10:30 the next day (the time we summited Mt. Hood). We rallied home after oversized meals at Calamity Jane's, a restaurant boasting 25 different types of burgers. I think the beer I had there was one of the top 10 I've ever had (it was a Full Sale Amber, right up there with the Coors Light I had in the parking-lot after climbing out of Evolution Valley in 2005).

08:00 came early but we made it to the coast on time (surf spot = Otter Rock). Paddling into the surf always feels good to me, but doing so after spending 12 hours on a lifeless glacial rock was fantastic. The swell was about 2 feet - not much to speak of but we didn't have much energy anyway.

V For Vendetta

I watched V for Vendetta for the third time last night, a film that continues to retain its relevancy (will that ever change?).

In case you're interested (or are a pseudo-film geek like me), here is the V monologue from one of the opening scenes:

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, so let me simply add that it's my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.

Translation:

Behold! Before you is a humble performer, cast, against his will, by fate, to the roles of both victim and villain. The face you see now is not just some mere facade of pointless theatrics. It is a remnant of the people's voice, which has since gone and disappeared. However, this past annoyance stands courageously reborn and has sworn to conquer the evil and corrupt, who promote greed and the violent suppression of free will. The only way to do this is with a war of retribution. It will not be a fruitless revenge, for the importance and self-evidence of this quest shall exonerate the open-minded and righteous. But in truth, this thick soup of words is becoming too excessive. So, let me simply finish by saying that it's my very good honour to meet you, and you may call me V.

Climbing Update

So it's been 1.6 years since I could climb due to an A/C separation back in January of '06. I won't go into the excruciating details of my last 9 months of personally-directed physical therapy - let's just say it involved a lot of humbling work with 2 lb. dumbells. But I think they got the job done.

On Thursday I hucked two double-dyno's in OSU's climbing gym, which probably should have torn my shoulder back apart, but everything seems to have held together so far. Anyone who's suffered a major injury knows what it feels like to finally get back to it - what a relief!

If all goes well I'd like to take a few climbing trips to Smith Rock this fall. I'll be in the climbing gym twice per week until then.

Summit to Surf in 24 Hours - Part I

You have to hand it to Oregon - where else can you climb a mountain and surf in the same day?

On July 13, David, Jeff and his friend Todd and I climbed the Sunshine Route on Mt. Hood's North side. This is the most technical climb I've done to date: roped glacier travel, technical routefinding, level 1 ice climbing, down-climbing sketched-out loose glacial debris (you won't see pictures of this), quick belays - all in all a good 12 hours of fun. We all had Jeff to thank for taking us up a route we wouldn't normally be on, but it was good to get out of the comfort zone and gain some serious experience points.

Dave and I hiked in Thursday night over a nasty icy crevasse mess in the dark, set up camp and got to sleep at 11:00 p.m. Morning came early, 04:00, but spirits were high and it was a beautiful morning. Before we could get out of bed, a guide from another party (who said they started out at 1 a.m.!) gratuitously informed us that they would be turning back due to thunderstorms on the horizon. Poor choice for them - one storm blew by us and the rest of the day was crystal clear and hot!

We separated into 2 rope teams, and I took the sharp end of the rope for the first half of the day. It was great fun, a little nerve-racking, especially for the section of ice, but a considerable experience-builder. We hit the summit by 10:30 - nothing but clear skies as far as the eye could see - only time I've seen Mt. Hood that way.

Lesson of the Day: Go back down the way you came up. We decided to take the ridgeline down, which if you opened a dictionary to the word 'sketchy' you might find a picture. Lot's of rockfall and general unpleasantness. We didn't make it down until 4 pm, and by that point I was starting to invoke various Dieties to get me the hell home.

Anyway, for the complete album, go here.