Cleverly Relevant Title

            I woke up sore and cold. However, knowing that the worst was behind me, waking up came a little easier. After that grueling, yet satisfying hike the day before, the only thing I wanted to do was hang out in a hammock all day.

            We had planned to have a down day at Yosemite, and it was much needed. Everyone was pretty tired, and none of us complained when it took us until after lunch to actually leave the campsite. Breakfast was an amalgam of breakfast foods held together with a glue of egg. You may call it an omelet if you prefer. This was probably the best breakfast we have had so far. And man, was it good.

            After eating breakfast, we just hung out around the campsite for a while. While some of us waited for the water to heat up to wash the dishes, we threw around the Frisbee. Thankfully the
campsite was empty, or our pride would have been gravely damaged. Also, it was so QUIET! I loved it. It almost made me sad to pack up the camp this morning after having such a relaxing morning yesterday.

Wish Granted

            Once the dishes were done, and after one unfortunate skillet had its finish almost rubbed off, more lounging ensued. I got to play some Pokémon for the first time since halfway through the semester, which was nice. Yeah, some of us will never grow up. Eventually, however, that pesky wonderlust perked up again.

            Yesterday’s hike was a luxury, short and sweet. We started out our adventure at Climbing Camp 4, which happens to be the birthplace of modern rock-climbing. Many famous climbers have passed through that campsite. Sadly, either through our ignorant eyes or from it not being climbing season, we didn’t see anyone famous. That didn’t dampen our spirits, because this day was the day that Keegan and I could finally don our Vibram FiveFingers and give the Upper Yosemite Falls trail a good run for its money. I mean run in the most literal sense of the word. After hiking up a few switchbacks (OH JOY!), I got a little bored, and took off at a jog. Once Keegan joined up, we kicked it into high gear. There is nothing cooler than sprinting past people who are wheezing and sucking air on their way up a mountain. There is only one compound word to describe how we felt… Bad-Ash!

            And then… it happened. Lower atmospheric pressure and a decreasing oxygen content took its toll, and we were both reduced to those heaving, wheezing masses that we had previously scorned. Brain signals were sent to no avail. I can’t remember another time in my life that my body has been so non-responsive. Just flexing my calf, even a day later, still sends a pain shooting up my leg. But, alas, we had made it to the overlook. Thankfully, the two of us had put a decent gap between us and the other three guys, so we could rest. And man, what a view.

            Once the crew was reunited, pictures were taken, water was ingested, and spirits were renewed. We set off again to the next highest point of the trail. Along the way, we received quite a few comments and question about our curious foot attire. One lady even told us that she had seen someone coming down the trail barefoot. Challenge Accepted random elderly lady.

            After reaching the top of the trail, with random spurts of running in between longer walks along the way, we laid eyes on the Yosemite falls from the closest vantage point yet. It was glorious. The mist blowing off the falls was a blessing from God, cooling us off from a strenuous hike. Stephen even overcame his fear of heights, though I think he didn’t realize it at the time, to take an amazing picture from the cliffs. My heart began to beat faster when I saw how precarious his chosen perch was. But well done, Stephen!

            Soon, we began to get a bit chilly, and the time to descend the trail had arrived. I mentioned earlier a challenge inadvertently set forth by the elderly woman. My feet began to feel a bit too enclosed, so I removed them and continued down the trail. I loved knowing that as soon as I passed people, they began to comment to each other in different languages about “that barefoot guy.” Also, as a side note: Keegan eats… all… the… time! Dan surprised him with a bag of chips that he had brought up with him on the highly predictable chance that Keegan would be hungry. They proceeded to chow down, while Stephen and I continued our trek down the trail. The descent seemed to go by much faster than the ascent, even though I had been running for the latter. I think this came from having to concentrate so much on where I set my feet down. Stephen and I made quick progress down the mountain without much happening. When we arrived at the bottom, we waited for the other three, and then set off back to camp.

Like a Champ. A very special champ.

            After a meal of chicken fajitas, we realized we had cooked way too much rice. Here’s a lesson kids: Always follow the instructions on the bag. ALWAYS! We all ate way more than we wanted to, because when you’re in a camp you can’t just leave stuff out, or put it in the refrigerator for later. We were amply rewarded though, by a much better batch of cookies. I fell asleep early the day before, so this was actually my first batch of cookies. Then we all gathered around our surprisingly well-built fire. I say surprisingly because we did so with nothing but a few branches of pine and pine needles. Credit for that goes to Stephen and Keegan, with a little lighter fluid from Dan.

            Thankfully, we had that fire to warm us up for part of the night, because for the rest of the night, it was freezing! In my opinion, it was the coldest night we had at Yosemite. And also, the last, because this morning we packed up the camp and headed out for Redwood. I’m excited because the camp we’re staying at is a privately owned campsite, which means showers and laundry. =D

-Davey J

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
- Hebrews 12:1-3

About a mile, About a hour, About this |--| far on a map.

Today was the day of our longest hike yet, we arose early(ish), ate our breakfast of oatmeal, and packed lunch. We drove about 30 minutes away to Hetch Hetchy, a man made lake that serves as the reservoir for San Francisco. During the drive we listened to a sermon by Pastor Tyler from Vintage 21, in which he spoke on the most important commandment, "Love your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength". It was a awesome way to start the day and I didn't really realize how much I missed getting teachings from someone way wiser than me. It was a breath of fresh air and really rejuvenating for me.

I was really hungry.

Once we got there we all put on sunscreen (see moms, we are responsible) and got ready to walk our legs off. The beginning of this 13(ish) mile hike started on the O'Shaughnessy Dam, which was quite cool to the 4 engineer's on the trip (the scenery was cool to Stephen). Now before we go any further I
have to give you some back story. I (Keegan) weigh around 150 lbs and stand at 5'10" and am the fattest guy on trip. If any of you have seen 101 Dalmatians, I am the one in the corner of the frame always saying "Mama, I'm hungry". That being said, as soon as we got out of the van to start our hike I was getting hungry and starting to regret only packing 2 sandwiches. As we continued up the hike, my stomach began complaining to me about being malnourished and underfed even though we had ate 1 and a half hours ago. About a mile later it started. It began as a quiet and half-hearted comment about eating lunch in a beautiful place we were passing. Slowly, it became more and more of a hurricane of remarks about food, lunch, and a certain person being hungry. All this being said, most of the group just ignored me and we kept trekking over rock and under stone.

Getting back to more important matters, this hike was my favorite. It might have been really long and a
good portion of it was uphill, but there were rocks, streams, and waterfalls everywhere. We jumped, skipped, hopped, and slipped our way up the peaks and valleys, finally getting to our destination of a bigger, closer waterfall and LUNCH. Oh glorious, glorious lunch! I had a PB&J, Ham and cheese sandwiches, … and lots of other food. Needless to say, it was quite satisfying.

After eating lunch (yum), we went exploring up part of the rock, but there was only one problem. We all went, so no pictures of that part. I then did a little exploring by myself, as most everyone else took a nap. For the sake of all parents reading this, during our whole time exploring we were completely safe and danger free the whole time **cough cough**.

See that little tiny dam over there? That's where we started.

After napping and exploring we headed back down with the longest and most extensive game of the name game yet. We spent the next 2 hours down spewing out names and thinking hard about names of famous people that started with 'Y' and 'W', as those seemed to be the hardest. We finished and drove back, all very much tired but feeling satisfied and accomplished. We got back and started up dinner, and sat around for a while waiting for dinner to be ready. After eating we got out books and started making cookies which just so happened to take FOREVER. So after about a hour and a half, the cookies were finally done (and by done, I mean we were too tired of waiting and just ate them, all doughy and uncooked). After talking with a ranger for a little bit, we all headed to bed, ending another eventful and interesting day.


Inspired Author: Keegan

Location: Yosemite Park.

The Onset of the Yosemite Traffic Jam Insanity Calamity (5/21/11)

We all knew the risks. We knew in the wide world we would be faced with dangers we had never even dreamed of in our days at home in North Carolina. Some of you, in your superior experience, warned us of such things. But we left your remarks unheeded, choosing to continue our journey…and I never knew it could be so terrifying. I am speaking, of course, of the Yosemite Traffic Jam Insanity Calamity, a mental disease which sets in when 5 male specimens have experienced each other (and few others) for 8 days, have been tired out by a hike that was longer than expected, and have experienced a traffic jam leaving the parking lot in Yosemite Valley. The effects are compounded by at least 75 miles of driving on very windy roads with a driver (me) who may or may not have much sympathy for the unintended consequences of veritably flying around curves in the road. If the victims happen to be females, this syndrome might take on the simple, yet fearsome title of “The Giggles.” However, in males the ailment manifests itself with symptoms including, but not limited to: unnecessarily loud speech, extraneous laughter, terrible jokes (such as puns), slightly impulsive behavior (we didn’t really need 3 hot dogs each along with 3 boxes of macaroni and cheese…), and a tendency to annoy the other campers in the campground. As this disease has yet to be researched with any depth, I am still uncertain as to the permanence of this condition, though I hope for all our sakes that the duration is little more than the course of an evening. 

As others before me have informed you, in the past days since the last time I blogged we have had the privilege of exploring 4 different parks, all of which were awesome in their own unique ways. Now, when I use the word “awesome,” I am refer not to the overused adjective “awesome” which is used to say such things as, “This kumquat pudding is awesome!” No, when I say “awesome” I really mean it – there was some real awe involved. Standing at the bottom of a canyon looking up walls that are two or three thousand feet high inspires some awe. Standing at the bottom of the largest tree on earth – which happens to be more than 100 times my age – that brings some awe. As others have said already, there is no way for anyone to do these things and not first experience a feeling of smallness, and rightly so! I stood in a place and felt the hugeness of it, and yet was not that huge canyon part of a huge mountain range, which was but a section of a huge country, which was honestly a small area of a huger world and an infinitely more massive solar system…galaxy…universe! And I spend most of my time pretending I’m the center of it all?! The concept of self absorption suddenly seems laughable.

El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. It'll make anyone feel small.

Today’s journey into Yosemite did nothing but reinforce my feeling of smallness and hold me in awe yet again. I have been to this park before, but it has been several years since my last visit and I think I can better appreciate and enjoy this amazing place than I did before. Our journey to Yosemite began with packing up our snowy marsh of a campsite and descending several thousand feet back to the floor of California’s central valley. We stopped off for a quick grocery search in Fresno in order to add to our still very significant traveling pantry. Not that most of the food lasted long – of the four loaves of French bread that we bought, three and a half we gone by the end of the afternoon. Anyway, after Fresno we headed north, found a rare gas station with gas less than $4 per gallon, and made our way to the entrance of Yosemite National Park…only to be stopped by a line of cars waiting to get in – our first encounter with the throngs of people who apparently like Yosemite enough to come on a Saturday in late May.

The famous "Tunnel View" of Yosemite Valley

From there we drove many more windy miles all the way to the heart of the park – Yosemite Valley. (Unfortunately, Glacier Point Road was still closed because of snow, depriving us of some magnificent views and hiking trails – but there was still plenty to see and do). Once on the valley floor, we were again faced with the crowds which flock to this popular park, taking up most of the parking spots and picnic areas. Fortunately, we were still able to squeeze into a picnic area called Cathedral Beach and eat lunch. From there, we embarked on what was meant to be a short and leisurely stroll down the valley floor to Bridalveil Falls. As it turned out, however, it was actually about 4 mile hike round trip, not including the mischief we got into along the way. This involved attempting to climb several boulders and a very slippery mound of snowpack at the bottom of the valley’s cliff walls (our “adventurous” detour for the day). The falls themselves were spectacular, as all of the waterfalls are fed this time of year by ample snowmelt. As the holder of the expensive camera at the time, I couldn’t even get close to the viewpoint at the bottom of the falls because of the heavy spray, and everyone else returned looking as if they’d weathered a particularly fierce summer downpour. 

After the hike we drove further west to go to the Valley Visitor Center, where we learned more about the park and got some help in planning our next two days here. We didn’t realize, though, how ill-advised the timing of this trip to the other side of the valley was until we attempted to leave the parking lot and had to wait about 45 minutes in order to do so. After light crowds in the other parks (including basically no one in Kings Canyon or Sequoia), this was like suddenly being back in civilized places. It was rather akin to trying to leave Carter-Finley Stadium after an NC State home football game. It made me realize that although I think most people in this country should appreciate our incredibly beautiful surroundings much more than they do, it’s really kind of nice – at least for us – that everyone does not. Because if they did, it would be impossible to preserve these areas and keep them in the condition they’re in, not to mention that it would be a real hassle for everyone trying to enjoy these parks. These parts of creation are beautiful, and I think everyone should experience and appreciate them, but maybe it’s a good thing that some people get much more out of doing other things.

After finally getting out of Yosemite Valley and driving once again on many miles of curving roads, we arrived at our campground, where we happened to have reserved the one campsite which is on the side of a hill, sloping down everywhere so that there was no good location for setting up a tent. This may have been the last straw which pushed everyone over into the Insanity Calamity, as giddy laughter soon began to reverberate off of the nearby trees. As crazy as it was, though, we made do, and are now settled fairly comfortably in. Tomorrow we will embark on our longest hike yet, visiting the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and hiking to Rancheria Falls – a total of 13 miles. We’ll get to see a part of Yosemite that the crowds rarely think to visit, one which will again be different from anywhere we have yet experienced. It will be awesome – really awesome – I’m sure. Just pray the Insanity does not creep up again!

Feeling accurately miniscule,

Dan

God is not far from any one of us: for in Him we live, and move, and have our being. Acts 17:27-28

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:7-10

Shower the people

                SEQUOIA, it was a frozen, hostile wasteland, and there was much work to be done to survive the elements.  After boring a hole through the ice to set up our tent… If you know what that reference is to, then I salute you.  But seriously, I have been camping for as long as I know, ever since I was just a wee lad, but last night was the first time I have ever had to shovel a foot of snow out of the way just to pitch a tent.  It was the first time I’ve had to break a trail through the snow to get to the bathroom as well, and in my socks and sandals no less.  Let’s just leave it at this; setting up camp wasn’t very easy. Once done we all felt pretty accomplished though, and after a quick dinner of fried spam and ritz, we hit the sack tuckered out from our polar toils. 

                I woke this morning with Dan already having heated water so all I had to do was gather some instant oatmeal packets and I had a quick, awesome breakfast.  Having seen the sequoias the day before we all piled into the van and hit up the Grant Grove Visitor Center to try and put together a plan for the day’s activities in Kings Canyon.  On the recommendation of a friendly park employee we decided to make a 9 mile loop out of the Hotel Creek Trail and the Lewis Creek Trail.

                We made our way to the trailhead near the Cedar Grove Market and parked close to the showers that awaited us at the end of our hike.  Seeing as most of us haven’t showered for a solid seven days now we didn’t want any obstacles between us and the steaming torrent of hot water that would wash away the grime of a week of adventuring.  Before showers, however, we had a mountain to climb.

          This was no simple walk in the woods either.  I would be tempted to say that this mountain didn’t even want to be climbed.  We have probably climbed more switchbacks in the past seven days than I have climbed in the whole rest of my life put together.  We agreed that it feels like each hike seems to get harder and harder.  For obvious reasons we are hoping that this trend does not continue for the entire duration of our trip.  Despite this hardship I’d be willing to say, now that I am comfortably reclining in my sleeping bag, that the view we enjoyed at the Cedar Grove Overlook was worth the trouble of climbing a few thousand feet.  Just when I thought that I couldn’t climb any more, I didn’t have to and I was greeted with a sprawling vista of Kings Canyon and the surrounding snow-capped peaks.

                Kings Canyon is a park that often escapes people’s notice.  We were discussing this today and we came to the conclusion that it is probably because it simply doesn’t have anything really unique about it.  It’s surrounded by parks that all offer something different and I think guests often skip Kings Canyon in favor of Sequoia and Yosemite.  Regardless of this, though, Kings Canyon is stunningly beautiful.  The canyon is full of cedars and alpine meadows, and is ringed by tall granite mountains.  A beautiful blue green mountain stream rushes right through the middle of it and all of these parts come together to create a landscape that reminded all of us of something out of Lord Of The Rings.  The hike to see it all was difficult, but I think worth it.  With this in mind I hope these words will help remedy Kings Canyon’s previous anonymity.

                After our hike it was time to treat ourselves to ice-cream and a much anticipated shower.  Suffice it to say, it was glorious.  We soon made our way back to camp enjoying the sultry tunes of a Mr. James Taylor and cooked up a mean spaghetti dinner.  Now we’re all laying in the tent hiding from the cold and enjoying a plethora of good books.  Tomorrow it’s on to Yosemite and for the description of that adventure I’ll have to leave you in the capable hands of the talented Dan Snyder.  Have a wonderful day!

Josh

A Dream Fulfilled

Alrighty, long post today. There's a lot for me to speak on. So hang in there.

Today we embarked on the long drive to the Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks. Leaving our beautiful campsite at Zion, we drove under cover of cloud through the mountainous terrain and out onto the plains and valleys that encompasses the rest of Utah.
Onward we rolled, into Nevada, where there are two things of note: long stretches of desert terrain, and Vegas. The former was nothing entirely new to us, but it is still strange to think that I was in the lush landscape of Zion national park only a few hours ago.
Vegas. That colorful city where people lose fortunes. And I guess they supposedly make them there too. At least the Casino owners make fortunes. As the buildings crested out of the desert, suddenly rearing their multi-hued windows, palm trees, and billboards from what is otherwise a landscape no sensible person would settle, I was struck with something. The city is tiny. Now perhaps this is only because we drove through it on the highway, rather than the famous strip, or perhaps it is because we arrived there in the day, but I attribute it to where we had previously been. We had just climbed towering cliffs over a hundred stories high, and stood in the wind which whipped over the precipice. And still, standing there on top of that peak, there were rocky climbs that stood above us. And even before that, we had stood beneath imposing hoodoos, who's stacked orange sides dwarfed us. You could even attribute Vegas' tiny nature to where we were headed, to some of the largest trees in the world, the Sequoias. Whatever way you turn it, Vegas was underwhelming. The wonder work of man in the desert, the bustling metropolis, pictured so full of energy and good times, the golden tower of the ever wealthy Trump, all seemed so temporary, fleeting, miniscule. Dust in the wind. Or it could just be part of my disdain for Vegas. Never liked the place.
Now, on to the rest of my tale for the day. We didn't spend much time in Nevada, or at least much that I remember, other than what I have already mentioned above. We soon entered the west coast state of California. Close after the border change, there was a terrain change. Orange and lemon orchards began to crop up, alongside vineyard after vineyard of grapes. I'll spare you details on the farmlands that we passed through, and the California traffic that swarmed the towns and cities.
Therefore we skip the rest of the drive until just a few miles before the park. It was my turn to drive, but focusing on the road wasn't easy with the rolling hills of grass that rose slowly all around us, driving between two of these hills, we came upon a emerald green lake. Lake Kawean. Just a tiny spot of blue on our atlas, it spread out before us, shimmering amongst the grassy tan rises that surrounded it. Boats were moored at a dock on one end, specks of color in the landscape. Clusters of rock pierced the sand colored hills, their covering rippling softly in the slow wind. Here I was struck again. With a sense of perfect. It was quiet, It was beautiful, it was lush. And it wasn't within the bounds of the Park… I would gladly move there, build a house on top of one of those hills, and live there for a good long time.
Alright then, we've made it to the park. I'll let you in on something. When I was but a lad, I had just taken up the pencil as one of my favorite forms of entertainment, alongside romping, eating, and legos. But I had a problem. I couldn't draw trees. Watching Bob Ross paint his happy trees filled me with envy and determination. I scraped together what little I could earn, and alongside the monetary contributions of my ever patient parents, I purchased a book on how to draw the floral giants. As I was ever over confident in my abilities, I immediately flipped to the back of the book, where I was sure the coolest and hardest things resided. There I found instructions on how to draw the mighty Sequoia. I became fascinated with them, their width, their height, everything. It became a dream of mine to see the big trees.

Which leads us to me, standing beneath the largest living tree on the planet. General Sherman, the greatest Sequoia in the park. The sign beneath him describes the difference in height as comparable to an ant looking up at a six foot human. It reached up from the snow and mist, its spongey red bark climbing into obscurity. The tree is over 2000 years old. The fact that the tree was old before Christ was born was just about as awe inspiring as its height and girth. We continued walking, taking pictures and having a good time in the snow, sliding in and out of holes cut in the big trees by fire and time. Mist blanketed the floor of the forest, adding a blue-white to the greens and dark reds of the sequoia forest.
Now our time with the sequoias was done, and we piled back into the van, and started the drive over to the campsite. At an elevation of around 6000 feet, the fog mixed with the sharp dropoffs and slanting sun of the evening to create flashing pictures of incredible beauty. Threads of sun woven and laced between trees, black against the brightness of the light. Blue on white on black on red, the forest spun by as we climbed the mountain. We of course tried to snap pictures, but the conditions were elusive, and I doubt we could have captured them with a camera. The mountain rose on, and we rose with it.

I was still in awe when we reached our campsite. From the disappointing Vegas to the fulfilled dream of the Sequoias to the incredible mountain drive just to get to our campsite, it had been a full day. I was ready to eat and sleep. Right then folks, that's what I'm going to do.

~Stephen Minervino

Those Fireside Chats

   So apparently this trip doesn't follow any law of diminishing returns. Today was our lazy day. We didn't do anything because of the rain. Sure we could've been depressed and sad, but NO! We're productive sons of God. Throughout this trip we've taken way too many photos. You've only seen a small portion of them, because it takes forever to format these photos on a post, especially when using a phone's 3G connection as a vessel to the annals of the internet. I'm reminded of a tour guide when I utter the words "If you'll look to your right, you'll see a slideshow of many of the photos taken so far." But it must be said. That is just a small portion of what we've taken so far, as everyone seems to have a trigger happy finger. That's all well and good though, as it gives us something to do on these days plagued with rain and cold.

    Today started with a dreary beginning, with the aforementioned rain. We knew it was coming and were prepared with rainy day activities to pass the time. With no hikes planned, it was time to restock. After a decently long and time-consuming trip to Walmart for provisions, and Radioshack and O'Reilly's Auto Shop to buy fuses for Rastro the Astro, we hunkered down for a bit of light reading. I say light reading because I read about 2 pages. ;) The season finale to our unanimously favorite show "Chuck" had premiered earlier in the week, and no amount of low reception and dirt could stop us from seeing the wonderful conclusion to a great season. So that was a lovely diversion for a bit of time while the worst of the rain passed.

    After finishing up with "Chuck" we decided to hunker down to going through the photos we'd taken so far. About an hour later… seriously… we had trimmed the fat from about 1000 photos, to about 500 photos. I'll reiterate that bit about the trigger happy fingers. Most were pictures of the same landscape from different angles, and it was quite hard to pick between them. I also discovered the magical "Enhance" button in iPhoto and how it makes most every picture look exactly as it did in real life. This was a blessing, as many of our pictures were taken through a car window. Now don't get down on us for being cheaters. Enhancing is a vital aspect of making our photos enjoyable for the masses.

Our Mecca

    Here is where I'm going to overlap with Keegan's post a little bit, but just roll with it. After the wonderful dinner that he mentioned in the previous post, if you could follow the run-on sentence, we headed out to find some free WiFi. Rumor had it that Zion Lodge had some of the good stuff for free. We boarded the shuttle bus alone. Everyone had had enough of Zion for the day, it seemed. After sitting in the rear car of the shuttle for a bit (Yeah, those driver's are legit. They navigate mountain roads with two-car train buses like pros.), the driver came back to the rear to ask us where we were headed. I guess he didn't want to make any unnecessary stops if he didn't have to. When we informed him of our plans, he enlightened us of greener pastures in the form of an internet café in town. For that, I am eternally grateful. Whoever you are mystery bus driver, you are a gentleman and a scholar!

    We disembarked the bus, striding triumphantly through the rain back to Rastro, with dreams of multi-megabyte speeds running through our heads. After arriving back to camp we made headway towards the little town of Springdale. Finally, we arrived at Pioneer Lodge, the best little café I've ever entered. As Keegan pulled into the first available parking spot, the van beside us must have been trying to back out as well. Through no fault of our own, the driver was inconvenienced. As such, I was made to witness the most terrifying glare from the lady driver that man has ever had to endure. That look will frequent my nightmares for the next fourteen days. Seriously, my soul began to weep. And it wasn't even my fault!

The best little cafe in Utah.

    From here on out is the real meat of the post, so don't worry too much about reading that first bit… oh, you already read it… Well as previously mentioned, this is the best little café ever visited by yours truly. Not so much from the fact that the coffee was pretty bangin' good, but from the experience of the entire stay there. This singular 2 hour experience has me so excited for the rest of the trip that I couldn't go to sleep without writing about it tonight. We noticed that they offered free WiFi with a $2.99 purchase, which was not a
huge commitment for Keegan and I, being fledgling baristas ourselves. I never miss a chance to see how differently a drink can taste when made by a different person. This is where we met Jaymes Whitmann. (Name Change for Privacy. I got your back Jaymes) This individual made our stay more than pleasant. He was so ready to make us feel welcome and at home, that I had to reassure him that I was indeed quite comfortable. If every business was run this way, I'd be broke for spending all I had in coffee shops. Seriously, man, you really made us feel at home. If any of you ever find yourselves in Springdale, Utah, be sure to stop by Pioneer Lodge and order a mocha latte. He'll set you up right.

Look how awesome that looks! And it was toasty warm in there.

    As we drank our drinks, Keegan began writing his post, and the rest of us messed around with the photos and got them up online so that lovely slideshow on the right could be made. As I was going through them all, and picking out the best of the best, a man came up and asked about our travels. We chatted a bit about Bryce Canyon, Zion, and our future endeavors, and also a bit about HDR photography. He seemed to know his stuff, but sadly, I didn't get his name. Another gentleman, who stuck around a bit longer came up and inquired about which was my favorite photograph from the trip. I showed him a few that I was especially proud of and we chatted for a bit longer. He specialized in photographing hummingbirds. So I showed him a photo of Azul, our friendly bird companion, and he handed me his card. Greg Schrodinger was his name (or half of it. Again changed for privacy). His website was on the card. We talked for another half hour or so, and eventually parted ways as the café was closing up. We said our farewells, and headed back to camp.

    This trip has been amazing so far with just the scenery and the landscapes that we've had the pleasure to view. However, I think we can all agree on the singular point that the people we have met so far have made this trip into what it is. We have made friends from all around the country. It amazes me how when you leave your hometown, where striking up a conversation with a stranger would seem strange or intimidating, and heading out into the wilds of the US countryside, can make you feel so open to a human connection. I feel that God has made us to be social creatures. In the garden, Adam became lonely. That was the first sign of man's need for human companionship. God provided for Adam in his time of need, and he has provided for us abundantly with great friendships forged over photographs and a cup of coffee. I honestly believe that the people you meet on the road become a sort of family. Sure, we don't share a last name, but we share that adventurous spirit. We have experiences that make us unique, yet bring us together. Each person on the road can positively add to the experience of another, and doing so makes up a web of mutual benefit for all those involved. I hope these encounters develop into lasting friendships, and I hope we have left these people with as great  an impression as they have left with us. If you folks are reading this, you guys rock!

-David "Cutthroat" Johnson

"Seachnaidh duiné a bhràthair, ach cha sheachain e choimh-earsnach."

A man may do without a brother, but not without a neighbor

The unfortunate search for showers...

Hey Everyone!

So today I will start with talking about yesterday. So last night as we were winding down the day and had just finished eating, and being tired we all started to read around the fire pit (which did not have a fire in it) and generally be lazy. After about an hour Luis, one of the guys we had met earlier that day on the climb, came by and hung out with us. Luis is from Puerto Rico, and is currently living in Charleston, SC as a ballroom dance instructor. He was traveling with one of his students whose name I can't quite figure out how to spell so I am going to go for Lud (sorry Lud for messing up your name) who is currently getting her PhD in micro-biology (I am pretty sure). We sat and talked for a while with Luis who was awesome and fulfilled Stephen's wish for a fire by bringing us some wood. It was really cool to be able to have these long talks with people who just a few hours ago we didn't know from Adam.
Now on to what we did today. Today was somewhat of a boring rest and relaxation day, we woke up around 8ish and ate pancakes and bacon for breakfast. After cleaning up and putting away all of our dishes we then went into town in search of showers, because at this point we all smelled like roses and our breath was like mint **cough cough**. We found a place that only offered $5 showers and we decided that we all smelled quite nice and declined. After going to Walmart and re-supplying we headed back to camp to eat lunch. Seeing as this is all so fascinating I am going to summarize the rest of the day in a really long run-on sentence with bad grammar and little to no way to follow :). Ate lunch read books watched the end of a TV show chuck sorted pictures prepared a dinner of steak onions mushrooms green beans and bread ate our fill cleaned up drove to a internet cafe and blam here we are.
Considering all that we have done and how far we have gone it is nice to be able to sit and collect my thoughts about it all. Yesterday as I stood on top of Angels Landing with everyone, taking in the scene around me and just being blown away, I thought, "wow! This is what my God has made." Every river, every valley, every tree, and every breathtaking peak - the God whom I serve made it all. Every now and then I just need to be reminded about the big picture and seeing all of his creation is reminding me how small I am in the scope of things. I love being a part of something so much bigger than me and being able to step back and see it from a distance every now and then. Well everyone, I know my thoughts have been scattered and it has not been that eventful but thanks for reading and God bless.

Keegan