Click here to see the latest journal entries, spanning Aug 2nd–24th. They begin on journal page 79, or around frame 43.
Author Archive
Latest Journal Entries: August 2-24
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Latest Journal Entries–7/19 to 8/1
Friday, August 7th, 2009
Click here to see the updated pictures, starts around journal pg 54.
Weather Remarks
Sunday, July 12th, 2009On July 8th I made a scout of the trail conditions south of Highway 58. My aims were to ascertain the frequency of snow its and depth along the trail, to compare said measurements with reports I had received from hikers 7 days prior, to thereby judge the rate of snow melt and improvement of trail conditions per week, and to ultimately judge it’s navigability by stock in the week to follow. Also of great interest to me was the amount of grass and forage available to my mule.
Expedition Embarking Tomorrow
Friday, June 19th, 2009My stay in Oregon has been productive and most pleasant, allowing sufficient time to complete my remaining tasks, develop a solid resupply strategy, and enjoy the hospitality and warmth of family and friends. Tomorrow at dawn I will depart for the PCT trailhead just east of Hoodoo Mountain along Highway 20. Heading south, I will begin at a conservative pace, aiming for merely 2 or 3 miles to start. A successful day and night on the trail will be considered a great victory, on which I can build to 2 nights, then a week. Should I prosecute a successful 2 weeks of travel, without major mishap or calamity, I will have done much to bring the ultimate goal of reaching Big Bear Lake out of the realm of mind and paper and into a feasible reality.
From this point forward expedition updates will no longer be posted in the Sutler’s Journal. Photos, videos, and journal pages, will be posted in the Expedition Log at roughly two week intervals. Please check back at that time–I hope to relate tales of triumph and success over these first two uncertain weeks on the trail! Thank you for your interest, your support, and your well-wishes. See you in November!
RSS Test Post
Friday, June 19th, 2009I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to “glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
–Thoreau
Final California Dispatch
Monday, June 8th, 2009My affairs are sufficiently in order–5 months of bills, insurance payments, assorted registrations and fees have been attended to. My supplies are neatly stowed in my Jeep, for departure at first light. My mule awaits in Oregon, no doubt enjoying the rich grasses of the Willamette Valley, and the freedom to jog about and frolic that she could not enjoy in her small corral in Los Angeles. I have a month’s quantity of food and supplies awaiting whomever will resupply me during the southern portion of the expedition. It appears that all is in order.
At present I feel neither excitement, nor a particular sense of trepidation at the coming journey, but rather a sense of inevitability which likely is the product of so many hours spent in preparation and contemplation. The expedition, at this point, being merely the logical extension of my labors heretofore. I hope to be able to muster such equanimity in the face of hardships to come!
I will take the coastal route north, stopping for a day in Half Moon Bay, where I will drop another month’s worth of supplies for my Central Californian section. From there I will continue up the coast to Oregon, hopefully to arrive in Corvallis no later than Friday. Further journal entries will resume at that time, as I make my final preparations in Oregon.
Phase One
Monday, June 1st, 2009At the time of this penning Bootsie is en route to Oregon. Traveling along with her is several days worth of hay, my riding saddle, pack saddle, panniers, assorted ropes and halters, and the accouterments of her care such as brushes, hoof picks, fly spray etc… I hope to be reunited with her by June 15. (more…)
Quietude
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009I have but a week left until my last day of work. I find that my to-do list is much reduced, to the point that I often find myself racking my brain for some form of industry or preparation to set upon. Surely there must be some small task or activity that, one month into the expedition, I will curse myself for not having had the foresight to complete. It is an unsettling feeling to have spent the last 15 months in near constant preparation only to now find myself with a surfeit of leisure time.
Video Test
Monday, May 18th, 2009Campfire Journal Test from Bronze on Vimeo.
One Month Left
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009I now have a mere 30 days until I take leave of my vocation and head up to Oregon to complete the final stages of provisioning. At present I am feeling quite comfortable with the level of preparation to date, there being but few necessities left to acquire or craft. Indeed, my typically lengthy to-do list has dwindled to a few small tasks per day, and is easily completed.