Trail Marriage

13 Aug

I’m pretty lucky to have married someone who has equal appreciation for camping. Jen is one of those women that can dress up for a business meeting one minute and doesn’t mind lugging 45 pounds through backcountry wilderness the next.

Okay, I got that out of the way.

Considering all the advantages of camping with your mate, there are some real challenges as well. For one, it took me a while to get over the notion that I had to be over-protective at every log crossing & rock climb. Yes, I should be generally concerned with the wellbeing of fellow hikers, but not to the extent that s/he feels I’m questioning their ability. On the JMT, it was very difficult to watch Jen cross a fast river and not imagine my best friend and the mother of my daughter being washed away.

Then there’s the challenge of harmless exchanges being misconstrued by others as spousal arguments.” During one climb over a pass, I was a couple hundred feet above Jen. She’d seen an image she knew I needed and was calling out to ask if I wanted her to get the shot. Knowing I’m a little hard of hearing (and far away) she was screaming to get my attention. Durand, who was in between us, misinterpreted the exchange as a marital spat.

Then there are the real spats. When you say things that would be stupid even in the comfort of your own home, but are amplified that much more after long miles, steep climbs through slushy snow and calorie depleted diets.

During our descent of Muir Pass, there was a 200-yard stretch that split and could take you one of two ways. One followed a well-beaten track in the snow that started with a drop in elevation and finished with a sizable climb. The second route got the climb out of the way early, but required more trail blazing in the snow cups. I opted to follow Jason & Kelly along the first route; but Jen opted to follow Durand & Dave (both of whom are tall and fast)… her rationale being she’d rather get the climb out of the way.

Fast-forward forty-five minutes: I’d been waiting for Jen where the two routes rejoined. Dave & Durand had already passed long ago, and this was one of the rare instances where Jen was pulling up the rear. As she closed in within speaking distance, I called out, “Can I make a suggestion?”

(mistake # 1)

“Sure, Ric. Please. Please make a suggestion,” she answered.

Okay, at this point I could see/hear she how exhausted and frustrated she was with her decision. This would’ve been a good time to shut up and not continue, but I thought, “Well, the damage is already done.”

(mistake #2)

“How about next time you choose to follow someone else in your height category?

I knew this wasn’t the right thing to say. But rather than being proud of her for sticking with her decision even though it was exhausting to take twice the number of steps (she’s 5’ even) through deepening sun cups in the snow, I let myself get frustrated by the decision she made. And even worse, I verbalized it with a stupid & mean “suggestion.” Needless to say, an hour of hiking/arguing followed. It wasn’t fun. But like all good arguments, it opens up the opportunity to clear the air on a host of issues you’re both bottling up.

Was it the smartest way to achieve that goal? Absolutely not.

Was Jen innocent of similar judgment lapses? Absolutely not.

But anyone in a relationship can relate to those moments, on or off the trail. And when you’re able to work through them under the added stress of hiking long miles & having not bathed in days, it becomes very apparent you’ve made a good decision in choosing your life/trail mate.

What is an epic adventure?

5 Aug

For that matter, what is epic? Seeing as I have been known to describe myself as “excelling in hyperbole”, I feel particularly well suited to address this question.

As I sit here in the sweltering heat of my non-air conditioned home studio in Los Angeles reviewing the footage from the trail, I feel that I can say with one hundred percent certainty that hiking the John Muir Trail qualifies as an epic adventure. Now that I am home, I find, that in a wholly different way, hiking the trail was just the beginning of the journey for all of us. I’m currently tasked with the entirely different, however no less intimidating, mission of adding an aural landscape to our movie which will help our audience to become immersed in each moment along the trail as we were.

I’m incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to join this group of merry miscreants as the “sound guy”. The recordings that I managed to gather along the trail, may not be as obviously thrilling to most folks as the scenic beauty, but they are nonetheless, an essential element of the story. Without these sonic memories our audience literally could not share the journey that we experienced firsthand one year ago.

In a documentary, the soundscape of the film may not be something that you overtly perceive. This is not to say that you will not hear anything. I enjoy nothing more than the “experience of listening”. That sounds weird, right? Haha. This is why you will enjoy the sound that accompanies this film. I would actually imagine that most folks who have managed to find this blog entry would not find my thoughts to be so strange. What avid backpacker/hiker/etc, doesn’t remember moments such as walking through a grove of impossibly tall pine trees, footsteps they just now realize have been, for the last half hour, slightly muffled from the thick bed of pine needles carpeting the trail, and suddenly discover that they have unconsciously stopped to listen to the subtle wind passing through the branches above…or maybe it’s just me. My adventure now, is to bring those moments on the trail to you.

It’s become increasingly difficult for most people to take even a weekend off and escape from the overwhelming noise and commotion that modern cities have become. Epic adventures are not solely the trips that are accomplished by sponsored professionals. Weekend warriors are the adventurers who go out and hike simply because this is what they enjoy doing. The group I hiked the trail with is an inspired band of weekend warriors. We had a pretty goddamn epic adventure, and we hope to inspire you through this film to go out and have your own as well.

Sierra Cup Diet

31 Jul

My birthday is mid-September, and to celebrate I’m going to be running in Ragnar- a 200 mile relay race ending in Las Vegas. My team will have 12 people on it- a few more than five we started with on the JMT, and instead of sharing the miles, we’ll be splitting them. I’m decidedly not a runner, so I’m in training, building up my stamina. Even so, I’m in terrible shape… namely round-ish, I need to lose a little weight so that my knees don’t explode under me in the middle of the desert.

To help with that I’m turning to an idea our resident one-man-think-tank, Durand, came up with on the trail. (It was one of those lightbulb moments you have on the trail that usually stays on the trail.)

His idea-

THE SIERRA CUP DIET.

It’s a portion control diet, mimicking the conditions you find yourself in on a long trek. To save space and weight, you limit yourself to one dish, and food is heavy, too; so you don’t carry too many servings.
The plan-
You can eat anything you want. But it has to fit in the Sierra Cup.

Breakfast – 1 cup, no refills

Lunch – 1 Cup, one refill

Dinner – 1 Cup, one refill

Snack – 1 Cup, No refills. (Can substitute a granola/protein bar)

The plan assumes you’re getting moderate exercise, like climbing 2000 feet over 10 miles on the JMT, or maybe jogging a Mile… Mile and a half. (Don’t blame me, Durand’s joke.) I’ll be building my current run of 2-4 miles to over 10 at the peak.

In honor of our Kickstarter campaign, I’ll start the Sierra Cup Diet on July 30th, and I’ll continue until we reach funding or the campaign ends.

In addition to my before/after pictures, I’ll be posting pictures of the more interesting things I try to cram into my cup. I’m expecting a bunch of funny looks when I go out to eat and pull out my cup. I’ll post pictures of those, too.

You’re welcome to join me, and send pictures of your favourite cups.

Please note: IN NO WAY SHOULD THE MUIR PROJECT BE CONSIDERED AS OFFERING MEDICAL ADVICE! THE CONTENT ON THE SITE IS PRESENTED FOR INFORMATIONAL/ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. NEVER DISREGARD MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON THE SITE!

Muir Trail Ranch

23 Jul

One of the luxuries that “the normals” (as Durand would lovingly call all the people not on the trail) often take for granted is just being able to wash their hair.

Sure, I had biodegradable wipes to keep me clean, and some of the crew would take icy dips in the water, but we didn’t carry shampoo… so the hair, well let’s just say a hat or a Buff was a welcome accessory many a day.

I must admit that my primary goal upon reaching The Muir Trail Ranch was just to wash my hair. Yes, we did laundry, and restocked, had an AMAZING meal and a clean bed, but my greatest thrill was washing my hair three times in the natural Japanese baths.

We can’t say enough about the wonderful accommodations and fantastic staff. The food is incredible and plentiful. The grounds are well-kept and spacious. The staff is gracious, friendly and kind. In fact, we often recommend The Muir Trail Ranch to friends that would enjoy a hike and a night in the woods, but might be skittish about “the camping thing.”

Our hope is to return to this amazing location again next summer – and screen the finished film. But this time, we’ll bring the booze with us.

-Jen

Stupid Leap Year

16 Jul

Here I am at Devil’s Postpile in July again, after a weekend trip in John Muir wilderness.

As I go through the math in my head, I realize that it is exactly a year from the day that we hiked in from the JMT last year, tired from Donohue Pass and the hard days before, with no idea of Muir and Mather passes, the golden staircase, Evolution Valley or any of the challenges and incredible places we would see in the weeks to come. How perfect, what a great opportunity to reflect on the amazing journey that we completed, and all of the hard work we’ve put into the movie, blogs and photos since we’ve been back. I remembered our friends Bobby, Pam and Adrian who drove up from LA to help us out and celebrate Jen’s Birthday. It sure was a nice break.

As I’m hiking to the top of the Postpile, I make the mistake of going over the dates in my head again, and I realized that it was July 16th when we reached Postpile. I’m a day early!

Actually, it is 365 days, but stupid leap year shifted the day back so officially it’s the day before. Thanks Julius Ceasar! Nice job on the calendar! No wonder you got stabbed 23 times (too soon?)

Oh well, it’s always great to be back in this amazing place, and sadly I have to go back to LA tonight to get back to work, so I’ll miss the technical anniversary. No worries, it’s been a truly wonderful year, and it looks like things are only going to better with the progress we’ve made.