Home is the place where...

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in.  - Robert Frost


Except sometimes they just miss you!


I had a great visit in Vermont and no place else is like it.  I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to see, but sleeping in at home that one day in a "I'm allergic to my cat, Huggins, and took benedryl" coma was kind of nice.  I have all these license plates in my room and I was just thinking about how I finally got to see some of those places.  However, there is nothing like the feeling of going home, and knowing this is home.  Vermont- I will return. 


Thank you all my friends and family for Family Night on Monday. Did anyone take pictures????   I didn't see my whole family, but I was blessed to be there after my Grandma had her pacemaker put in, and I got to hear my Dad sing Christmas songs with choir since I'm missing Christmas at home.


Thanks to the ORS Crew and Amanda, James, and Miles for shuffling me around in my Montpelier visit and taking me skiing (thanks Kip and Jen for the skis, and Phlip for picking my ass up).  I will improve and impress next time we ski. I have to!  Glad I got to go to 3 Penny and have beer with ORS people and Kathryn W!  Cheryl and Sarah I will see you sometime. Kudos for last minute visiting at Barnes and Noble with Heather and Chris (you guys are adorable) and Amanda and Ava for taking me to the plane- can you believe we've known each other since 5th grade? 


Thanks to Shannon M, Katherine M, and Michelle  J for Girl's Night! Sorry we were missing a few people. At least I got to see the VT Bachelor- the one and only Shane Meaney!


In the midst Sarah and Tristan moved to a new home in Plainfield where I got to stay! It's beautiful! Congratulations. 


I also now have 5 women (cousins and friends) who are due to have babies between July and September. Whoa! Congratulations!!!


Glad I at least emailed and talked to people on the phone I couldn't see in person.


I have to checkout of Circus Circus in 10 minutes so I better go.  And I just checked. My Grafton smoked cheddar still tastes good. 

Kip, Phlip and I skinned up MRG

View from Worcester early AM

My Oma's house (now Bob's!!!)

But Last Sunday was a good day

Must listen it this song while viewing photos. Thanks Sarah for enjoying Ice Cube and our adventures this summer! 

Mammoth bluebird day. November 28th, 2010. 

 

off of Chair 14. Santiago Bowl.

ORS-sick... it happens(the dictionary definition and then some)

Word: ORS-sick
Pronunciation: /O-R-S sik/
Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition: nostalgic for Onion River Sports; missing former lifestyle, community, and way of life; pining for home, friends, family and familiar mountains; in a nostalgic condition
Synonyms: homesick, hankering, pining, heartsick, lonely, longing for home, missing, wistful, yearning
Antonyms: California,West Coast
Usage Examples:
-The girl from Vermont was so ORS-sick that she couldn't sleep at Circus Circus due to sheer excitement of her homecoming.
-She was ORS-sick because close-knit friends and communities are hard to come by.
-She was ORS-sick before she even packed her car for California.
-Inevitably everyone one gets ORS-sick from time to time.
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Birthday Stove

So I had some of the greastest friends ever teach me how to make an alcohol beer can stove back in Montpelier (thanks T and Sarah- good times and good food).

We have a friend here in Mammoth who is a beer can stove expert! Greg! So Greg offered as a parting treat to Allison and maybe a birthday treat to me to do a clinic for all us seasonals in Mammoth. And it was fun. Surprise cake and all. I couldn't blow out the third candle though.

But most of our stoves turned out well.

Thanks all!

oh and I forgot to say

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Last week.
Hopefully this photo works! Our Mammoth Halloween Pub Crawl!

Bicycle Commuter Act

I should be memorizing AT and Tele gear for my new job...
But I've been thinking a lot about the Bicycle Commuter Act, and how the League of American Cyclists doesn't promote it enough (my opinion) or have a handout for employees to give employers about it. I think ALL bike shops and local/government organizations should do this. Why don't they? Because its hard to understand and there's no Toolkit to understand it.

I had asked about getting it going more in Montpelier, but it just seems like the organizations in Montpelier had a lot more they needed to focus on, but imagine if all bicycle commuters in that very freethinking state capitol of mine, we applauded nationwide for being the first capitol to reward its bicycle commuters town-wide. I think it's something Montpelier can do. I have a few ideas whirling on how I can help with that... when I move back that is... (I have no set date yet, but fear not).

The benefits of this Act (which is a Law and has been for a few years) are that bicycle commuters get money toward their expenses. There is one organization that helps companies enact this, or smaller businesses have to read up on Fringe Benefits on the IRS page, which is kind of a pain in the ass, and I can see why more small businsses haven't taken advantage of this act to up moral, or show they value their employees ethics and choices. In bigger cities there are fees cyclists have and this helps cover part of that. Everywhere cyclists have wear and tear expenses. It's not fair to just reward commuters of mass transit or carpooling. So this is bringing the fairness there, but why don't any people know about this? GOSH!

Maybe they do in Oregon, since they had a big play in this Act becoming law. Wouldn't it be fun (Montpelier people...) to have a town-wide Commuter Bike Challenge? Or even State-Wide competition? I know there is the Bike to Work week and things like that, but honestly, who really fully does that? In Mammoth this summer there was a Commuter Bike Challenge. You would get a little business card and go to the 5 or 6 participating businesses and get a stamp. At the last business you went to you'd get a prize, and entered into a contest to win a Trek Glob, I mean Globe. Nice motivation and fun? And gets people exploring town. You had to be on a biek to do it. I know I need some nice, friendly competition to motivate. So lets do this people! The coupons for discounts on lights, etc are great incentives too, but we need more.

I just REALLY think this Bicycle Commuter Act is not getting the attention it deserves.

And oh my God, how fun with this type of Be Seen, Be Safe event be?

And check out Kidical Mass!
Maybe I should move to Oregon... and I'll someday be this mom.
This dude is serious. He wants your employer to sign up for the Bicycle Commuter Act benefits!

Bikes on the Mind

Daydreams of bikes:
Signal Cycles
Pedal Pushers
Bike Hugger

In the meantime... I should do a nightride, then buy some SKIS !!!

Bike Touring Travelers

This couple from Germany came in to the ranger station and were doing a bike tour. They started in Alaska and are ending in LA. Their Blog. You can translate it from German by copying and pasting the link into various tools online.

Someday I want to do a big bike tour. I have no interest in biking across America, even if it is for charity. Ever since I worked at Rose Bicycle in Maine, and thanks to Jim, I've wanted to do Cape Bretton or the main part of Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island. The Beal Family and I did a quick car tour of Nova Scotia. I'd rather tour the Western side I think, then tie in a canoe trip somehow in their Kemjimkujik Seaside Adjunct National Park. Or another canoe trip in Algonquin Provincial Park deeper into the park would be amazing... or the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (right Jen?).



Last summer at Onion River Sports we had Furtemba Sherpa, stop in our shop before we closed for a quick repair. I think Dean-o was there too to help. Furtemba speaks little English, from my encounter, but he is a man from Nepal who has been sponsored by his country since 2003 to cycle to every country promoting world peace and environmental protection. Mayor Blumberg even wrote him a letter. whoa.

Time Lapse Yosemite

So it's pretty boring sometimes at work, and after I finish entering visitor statistics (I think today we had 109- counting me playing with the counter).

I found this time lapse of Yosemite. Watch for the people climbing.

People in Yosemite: A TimeLapse Study from Steven M. Bumgardner on Vimeo.

Skis are Beautiful

Design Inspiration – Brianna’s Skis

There's a lot of handmade ski companies like the more low-key 333 Skis out of wherever they disperse camp or Herwiggy out of Carson City... to some bigger ones like Moment or Folsom out of Reno.

But I think these skis on the Poppy Gall (founder of Isis for Women- yeah VT) are pretty sweet. I love the graphics.

It's Fall! It's Snowing-Oct.7th

So it snowed on October 7th or so. Last night I had some pumpkin ale and it was delicious. The only thing is that the leaves here are, well, not in town really. It'd rained and flurried all day in Mammoth today. Tioga Pass closed (it is now open until next time it closes). That causes problems with foreign tourists, retired peoples, and those LA people traveling now. Only the LA people melt in the rain.

Kyle and I went to Bishop in hopes of scoring some perfect cider and pumpkins. We found NO pumpkins anywhere. We went apple picking south of Bishop. Strangest place to pick apples. Desert, pond, and mountains?

Hiking Mono Pass - 09/30/10

Steven, Paula and I hiked Mono Pass out of Little Lakes Valley a few weeks ago. It is also known as Rock Creek, Toms Place, etc. You start at the trailhead "Mosquito Flats", which is also the end of the road and the backpackers camp.

We had the goal of doing over 2000' total of elevation to get to 4th Recess Lake. This is what we wanted to see, but did not:

To Big Sur or Bust!

Sarah, Laura, and I went to Monterey in the beginning of August. One of my best friend's from college has a brother working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He gave us a grand tour, behind the scenes and all. We saw the room where they raise seahorses, went behind the jellyfish display. Saw the kelp forest from the top. Saw a sea otter in rehabilitation that won't go into the wild (otherwise we would've had to wear strange clothing).

I still had quite the limp from my bike accident, but we walked to some of the beaches near Big Sur State Park. Don't ever let the campground attendants pick a site for you. What they give you is a site next to lights, not in the actually redwoods, and that is infested with squirrels which may or may not carry the plague. One ballsy squirrel so much as had the gumption to pull my tent stuff sack away from next to where I was setting up my tent. I didn't see it happen, but saw the orange back hanging half out from under a log at our tent site. So I stole it back.

Backpacking the High Trail

Here are some photos from my backpacking trip in July with Matt and Kyle. They are two SCA's (the lady who started the Student Conservation Association is from Shaftsbury, VT - or resides there) who are Interpretation interns. I love them.

We did the High Trail with aspirations of going over 5 passes in 2 nights and 3 days. Kyle ended up twisting his knee and we exited the Rush Creek trail out of June Lake instead. BUT it was still SO much fun.

And we hiked in farther than we thought the first night and were rewarded with amazing views when we rose. There were definitely people camping closer than 100' off the trail too. I give people the wilderness permits at work and do they listen? No. Who listens to LNT rules? Bigfoot does. That's who.

backpacking trip to Waterwheel Falls

Earlier this summer I went backpacking with my friend Jesse to Waterwheel Falls in Yosemite. It was my first backpack trip in the Sierras. I got some photos, but my laptop has been less than stellar, so most of the summer I haven't documented (aside from whomever tagged me on fb).

Our campspot was above Waterwheel Falls, and it was amazing. Jesse's friends were setting up a route on one of the rocks. They couldn't find when the last documented climb was. .. if it ever was. Rock climbing is something I'll try to do more of, but I really don't have money to pick up a new sport.

Either way, it was an amazing time, and I thank Jesse for the use of the sweet Bearicade bear canister and of his water filter. My steripen was down (it's hard to find camera batteries in Mammoth). Jesse is out of Yosemite and he and Emily road-tripped it to New Mexico and got to see Melissa on the way. I'll miss them. Met them in VT. Most people you meet in VT become pretty great friends.

Bear Sighting/Skiing with Jane/Hiking McGee

well I still don't have the patience to format this. So the photos are in reverse order.
McGee Creek Hike.
Skiing in Yosemite.
Then the photo with the skis in it is Rock Creek and the trailhead we tried to ski, but ended up turning back, and after the photos is a narrative.

Observations Thus Far

Silvia’s Observations from California (7800’):

- Extra Sharp Cheddar is apparently appealing in yellow (I thought that was only in the South) and they mark the label saying it doesn’t have the bad dyes in it. Idea: don’t dye it! And it does not taste extra sharp at all!
-Mammoth Lakes has its very own Ben and Jerry’s. So if I want to feel at home I just have walk by it and it’ll have that same yummy aroma
-People out here really like white trucks
-Out here it is also called “snowmobiling” not “snow-machining”. Thus concluding that Central VT is perhaps the only area that calls it “’chining”: SHEEN-IN : (pronunciation guide)
-Buy things you really need in Bishop. Bike tubes in Mammoth Lakes are $7.99, and they aren’t even the thorn-proof kind. I also forgot to get GU, CO2 cartridges and a pump, amongst other things. So when I go 30 miles South to Bishop, gas, oil changes, and bike shops are more reasonable. Unfortunately, they don’t sell neon green Onion River Sports Frisbees (which I also forgot).
-It is possible to go less than 30 mph when descending more than 1000’ by road bike
-Bear-proof dumpsters are VTer-proof as well. There is a caribiner and then a latch you have to reach under to unhook in a separate spot, thus, needing two hands
-Although the tufas are a nifty feature of a salty lake, and have a boardwalk leading out toward them, I like the Orono Bog Boardwalk better (more living things)
-I thought people in California were environmentally conscious... but I can’t even find Simple Green in the store. What is the deal? They do pay you to recycle aluminum and plastic, but it's by weight.
-Apparently you can go for a wine tasting and a hummer tour all in one. What a business plan! Who would have thought? Sign me up…
-Goodbye to composting. We shall meet again! But we do have a food grinder thingy in the sink. That’s always fun.

Cold Toes and Lakes

June 8th
So I've been online for over an hour and finally got to put up a post. I am going to start using the library computer and throw mine in at the earthquake fault.

I went hiking to Sherwin Lakes with Barrett and his friend from Alaska today. It's the only trail in town really open. The snow is melting fast though. We biked to the trailhead, hiked, then biked back. Luckily I checked my mail today and my Dad (love you and thanks Dad!) sent me some Vermont cheese. So after the hike the sharp cheddar was sharper than any here. So delicious.



June 7, 2010
I went biking today and it was mostly uphill. The snow was melting and the river coming down from the Lakes Basin was roaring. I had to slowly bike through some big areas where water was crossing the road. As I got off my bike to get onto the bike path on the side of the road, two cars went by, without really slowing down and got my back pretty soaked. I then realized, that I used to work at a bike shop, and why didn’t I get such fancy things as toe covers (my feet got soaked). I also realized going down Tioga and the Lake Mary Road the importance of my next road bike needing to maybe be a women’s bike. I’ve always had trouble reaching the brake levers from the drop position. I also have a really mediocre brake set. The front brakes are so hard to adjust properly. The left pad is dangerously close to my tire, and I have to check and recheck it every ride. Frank confirmed it for me before I left. “You have a cheap brake set”. That’s that.
Last year I got a flat because I wore a hole in my tire. So now I pay attention. But this road bike will be many many years from now. If I ever have money for another bike again, it is going to be a cross bike or a hardtail. We all have our dreams. However, I think right now my priorities involve traveling, a bike or two, and then maybe my own place. Somewhat in that order too. I think. Oh and maybe getting married… that may be in there too. But that’s a bit more complicated than the aforementioned.

First Hike of the Year (in CA)

Tufas/Mono Lake in these 3 pics.

There's way to much snow in the backcountry, so I decided to explore the June Lake Loop trails, which still have snow cover, but not all. This involved me wanting to hike Walker Lake, but to hike

Walker Lake one needs to drive 2.5 miles up (and it turns to an up) a VT Class 3 road. So it was lots of big rocks/gravel, and I was so close but got annoyed and turned around. I miss my Subie.

So I forfeited and hiked Parker Lake, which is a much easier road. And this is what I saw.

Then I went to the South Tufas. They are interesting to see once I feel. Then it just makes you want a real ocean somewhere (Maine perhaps?). I do need to get to the coast here sometime. Maybe after busy season.

Biking at Elevation

So it's been a pain to get online. Anyone in my family wondering what I want for an early birthday present... money toward a laptop that isn't 6 years old, or money toward a crown for my tooth...exciting.

Last week on my day off I attempted biking Tioga Pass, which leads into Yosemite. The road was closed to traffic and the park is still closed from this entrance. I made it to just about 9000', and saw a pre-existing rock slide and being the wuss I am decided I'd gone far enough. I rounded out the mileage by biking toward the gas station at the beginning of the road.

So I was in biking mode

but I went xc skiing yesterday.

The road to Lake Mary is being cleared of snow, but not allowing traffic, so I parked near the Tamarack Lodge and skied up the road and tucked into their trails at the Pack Station.

Came across a guy from Hunter, NY whom I had take my photo.

I was able to breathe. The snow was pretty heavy and hard to really turn in with rental Rossi skis ($6 for USFS employee!). It was a pretty great day.

Miss you all!

I do love Vermont, but for the next 6 months I'm in California- this is about that

So here I am. It's snowing in Mammoth Lakes. I started work yesterday for the Forest Service at the Inyo National Forest Visitor Center. They gave me my ugly ugly uniform. I shortly thereafter went running. The only cool part of the uniform is that I get to not wear it after work, and I get to wear my Darn Tough VT socks with hiking boots of my choice. Other than that, I have a lot to learn.

I still need to go explore more of town, but it's great. First night here I got to have dinner with an old UMaine Parks, Rec. and Tourism buddy, Barrett, and his girlfriend (from VT!) Jill, and Barrett's best friend who used to work at East Burke Sports, Tyler, and his wife, Laura. Then I got to meet K-Wrig's friend, who was visiting town, and who is Jill's sister. If you are confused now, you should be. But basically it's like 6 degrees of separation Vermont/ Maine style- and right here in Mammoth Lakes, CA.

So my move here was purely because I already turned down an offer with the Forest Service before, and I just was feeling like I wasn't being an overly adventurous person. I think after this I will surely know what I want in life. I am pretty positive I want a more permanent job, maybe not with the government. Maybe more non-profit. Maybe with trails, maybe with kids. All I know is I left an amazing job at Onion River Sports (love you guys more than you know) and a supportive, outdoor family who I am so glad to have. I will keep in touch!

I also left all my best friends and family since like 4th grade, highschool, and college. But it's an adventure.

If it's one thing I've learned- it's that I have the most supportive friends anyone could ever ask for. Thank you to you all who have listened to me debate things numerous times and decide what is good for me. I love you all. I am so blessed. You all mean so much to me, and you all know who you are.

Well- this blog isn't as graceful and thought out as Tristan and Sarah's, but I'm going on hour 3 in this cafe, Looney Bean, in Mammoth Lakes, and I've had a lot of coffee. Time to sign out.

I'll come up with something better later.

Hear's to the best friends and outdoor adventurers a girl could ever have!