On the Road Again

I have five weeks of being a bum. For me, this is what summer's about – being on the road, traveling around, camping out, being off the clock. Seeing how the night sky changes over the course of days and weeks, the moon waxing and waning and waxing. Falling into the natural rhythms of the world. Relearning to tell how much day is left based off of the position of the sun.

This is summer.

As in past summers, I begin with something mellow. The first stops tend to be light and easy going to reintroduce me nicely to playing in the outdoors. That way I won't be scared off for what's ahead.

My first taste of adventure is a simple overnight backpacking trip to a creek in the old growth redwoods. A somewhat steep hike in, but nothing too strenuous. My pack is relatively light.

Redwoods reside in the coastal temperate rainforests of the Northwest. Without fog, they would cease to exist. We soak in their climate – literally. The forest envelopes us in various degrees of mist our whole visit. It's magical. The forest throbs with energy. Or, perhaps, it's just the high concentration of oxygen taking me to another plane.

Old growth redwoods are giant.

As typically happens at the beginning of a long journey, this next adventure is the big plunge. Now is time for boot camp. Time to get my butt back into shape for what the rest of the summer has to offer. It is now when I most regret having not trained harder in the last few weeks leading up to my trip.

The next stop of the trip is Smith Rock.

View from my tent.

My training begins as I head off on a trail with the name that was so suiting – Misery Ridge. With a somewhat heavy pack of gear, I head down in the canyon, back up the other side, and then over the ridge. The trail is steep and the sun is shining hard at high noon. I'm cranky and tired. As I finally reach the base of my climb, my toenail jams into a rock and splits down the middle. I'm ready to climb.

Smith Rock is the birthplace of sport climbing. It's kind of out in the middle of nowhere in Oregon, Bend being the closest somewhere. While I am here, I climb next to two legends. Chris Sharma, arguably the best climber in the world attempts to onsight a 5.14 (look this dude up if you don't know who he is). It's the first 5.14 that was ever put up. It happened back in the '80s. I watch him climb like a spider. I'm amazed at the positioning of his legs – so contorted, yet so natural.

Don't be fooled - Smith Rock is more than climbing. Landscape-wise, this place is heavenly. Our tent is perched near the edge of the canyon wall. The drop off is dramatic, as are the views. Across the way, I not only have beautiful walls of red and orange rock, but a tall tree from the canyon floor houses a pair of bald eagles. I sit in front of my tent watching the eagles, like someone on their porch watching the activity in the street. To my left is a range of snow capped mountains, filling out the reds and oranges and greens of the landscape with their distant mountain purples and blues.

Bald eagle nesting across from my campsite.

I can't believe that this has all been experienced in less than my first week on the road. So much more adventure to come.