Adventure 2011 Argentina / Chile

28 11 2011

I am a decidedly hooked overseas traveler and could not wait to get my fix any longer! I’ve had some tough times these last couple of years, so I’d put off venturing, but nothing would stop me from exploring in 2011! I had over 100,000 frequent flier miles with United Airlines, which were set to expire. Last time I went overseas was in 2008 to Laos / Cambodia, and that was fantastic. I’m in love with SE Asia and the Himalayan region. I was tempted to return, but I’ve been there seven times – and I’ve never been to South America. So this time, I decided to head directly SOUTH. Time to save my soul and escape my world…to Argentina and Chile – to Patagonia!

Because  for me, getting outside my neighborhood, city, state – my country – seeing life from outside, from another perspective – only that refreshes my spirit!

Honestly, I didn’t have a lot of information, but I knew I’d like to experience the Andes, and probably Tierra del Fuego. Timing was important. In 2011, I worked as a sales consultant and guide/instructor at Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe, and their busy season is summer, winding down with the Lumpy Waters Symposium in October. I inquired with Suzi Elle, one of the owners, about taking vacation and her reply was “anytime after Lumpy!’ So with that in mind, I targeted late October/November for a start time!

It looked like this would be a good time for Argentina and Chile. But it would also be a good time in the Himalayas – prime time is right after monsoon season. Also in the southern hemisphere, I could head to South Africa, or New Zealand. But it seemed the right time for me to see the “other America.” It would be late spring down there. Without a lot of time for research, and wanting to see a lot, I wanted to do an organized trip, so I looked at two companies I’ve worked with, Djoser, out of Amsterdam, and Mountain Travel Sobek, based in San Francisco. I had gone to Thailand with Djoser in 2004 and had a great experience. In 2007 I did an unforgettable 110-mile Himalayan Trek in Bhutan with Sobek. Sobek had a 3-week hiking trip focused on Torres del Paine National Park. I looked into this and really was interested, but I couldn’t get frequent flier flights to match up. So, I looked at Djoser again, and began to realize their agenda might be more an experience I preferred. That is because their three week trip covers much more of Patagonia. They do time in the Fitz Roy Range, and Tierra del Fuego, and even have some days up in the Lakes District, as well as seeing marine life on Peninsula Valdes. It would be more “road time,” but one would get a better overview. Sobek’s trip would be much more in touch with the outback areas of Torres del Paine, away from the throngs of backpackers.

So I inquired at the Djoser USA office in Pennsylvania. They cautioned me that the trip I was looking at was an international group, so I might be the only American. I’d have to be OK with that. I was not worried one bit. Djoser’s groups mostly cater to Dutch, and some other Europeans too. I knew from my experiences with Dutch citizens that they are gregarious, considerate, polite and nearly everybody speaks English. I didn’t worry about any issues. I signed up, and went about calling the frequent flier desk at United. I tried. And tried. “No seats for those dates” was the response for several tries. I began to despair. But one customer service agent took me under her wing, telling me that, “Seats open up, so don’t get discouraged! Keep calling every day!” So I did.

And then it happened. One day I reeled off the same inquiry, dates, times, and the response was, “OK, we have seats on these flights…” I just about hit the ceiling! Hardly containing my delight that I got a FREE flight to South America on the dates matching my itinerary, I booked them on the spot!

I was going! I was going on a trip to Patagonia! We would be seeing penguins, southern right whales, elephant seals, carakaras, guanacos, condors, hike in Torres del Paine, watch tango dancers, bask in the view of the spires of Cerro Fitz Roy, walk on the Viedma Glacier, cruise the Lakes in the Lakes District near Bariloche, and reach the end of the world at Tierra del Fuego!

Here’s a great photo of my comrades on this trip! We were American, Dutch, Belgian and Turkish. A wonderful group…of varied ages and professions!

I was in! So what follows is a story of the trip to the highlights of Patagonia! Stay tuned!


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Coastal Kayak Coaching: Alder Creek Lumpy Waters Symposium

29 10 2011

Catching a nice one!

The highlight of the Oregon sea kayak season has become the Lumpy Waters Symposium. This three-day festival of everything Ocean Kayaking is a hoot!

Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe’s sold-out 3rd Annual Lumpy Waters Symposium took place October 14-16 2011 in Pacific City, Oregon. For the third year in a row, the weather cooperated. Six foot swells and northwest winds topping out at ten knots led to great learning conditions! Not to mention fun even for the coaches! We had 90 students with 30 coaches involved. Classes take place in Pacific City plus up and down the coast depending on the class subject.

This year I was not a student but a coach! I worked all summer at Alder Creek, but my coaching was limited to beginner classes, so I was flattered to be selected to teach at Lumpy Waters, but also a bit nervous, as I hadn’t had much time in 2011 down at the coast. When I got the roster for the weekend I was more than stoked to be a coach!

I had recently completed the British Canoe UnionLevel1 coach curriculum – so as far as the basics are concerned and for teaching skills, I was good to go. I just hadn’t had much time to practice in waves! I knew from past experience all it takes (for me) is time on the water.

A beautiful setting!

I was scheduled to help teach the Saturday morning Current and Waves class. Cindy Sherrer was lead coach. The class starts out in calm waters of the Nestucca River behind Pacific City, Oregon, and then culminates with taking the students out into the currents and waves out by where the Nestucca meets the Pacific Ocean. We had five students. The challenge here was more the conditions being calmer than needed to teach the syllabus. We struggled to find a good spot for a clean eddy line to practice getting into and out of eddies. Finally, out toward where the river meets the ocean, we found a reasonable eddy line. Out there, there was also some wavelets that came into the bay to practice on.

Sunday, I was scheduled to assist coach the coastal surf zone class called “Fun and Feedback.” This class was a follow up to “Fear to Fun in the Surf.” Since I hadn’t been at the coast in a while, I wanted to “warm up.” So, I observed the Saturday afternoon version of Fun and Feedback.” I had an absolute blast. We did launching, landing, backing up over waves, some surfing, and some back surfing. The conditions were ideal for learning! It was not long before I was able to land without capsizing, time and time again.

Sunday I wound up on the beach a bit nervous about the level I might be expected to coach. Lucky for me, I was to assist in teaching bracing! That I definitely could teach. We taught bracing, and depending on the group, taught side surfing along with bracing. It was me and Cate Hawthorne of Liquid Fusion Kayaking. We got along great, and I have to say I got very enthusiastic teaching students how to hold their brace in the waves. It’s so exciting to show them how rock solid they can be when bracing into an on coming foam pile! Watching them “get it” brings me tons of positive energy! The water was not all that cold – of course I had my Kokatat dry suit on. But the energy of helping people learn these skills just drove me on!

Once class was over I got my chance to enjoy the wonderful surf on my own. I was able to surf some of the waves, actually controlling my kayak on the wave using stern rudders on either the port or starboard side…then, when the wave broke, either side surfing the foam pile, or managing to ride back over the back of the wave to find another!


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Kayak Surfing in the Columbia Gorge – Plus Salmon Spawning

10 10 2011

I have been working at Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe during 2011, and the irony is that I’ve been teaching beginners so I have not had much time to play in rougher conditions! Even on the days I tried we got skunked – calm weather prevailed.

But this past Friday I was able to get out with Neil Schulman on the Columbia River Gorge for what we locals call a “wind run.” The Columbia Gorge often gets winds in excess of 18 mph, sometimes even upwards of 40 mph. On these days, wind waves form, turning the river into a continuous set of wind-driven waves.

These waves are different from those at the ocean beaches because they have no rising depths beneath them – they don’t have big breaking faces. These waves generally are continuous rollers. On Friday, the biggest reached three feet, so it was a great day to learn. I’d never done this before!

Once out in the midst of the river you turn your kayak downwind and start paddling. We went from Stevenson, WA to the Wind River – it’s only about 5 miles. It’s incredibly forgiving. If you don’t catch a wave, it just passes beneath. If you get tired and want to paddle lazily, you just let these rollers roll along underneath you. If you want to surf, you have to keep up a good pace and then when a wave comes you sprint to catch it! It is a lot like interval training. Sometimes, you can surf from one roller onto the next and catch it, then another and then another! Fun, but exhausting!

We caught our breath by paddling up the Wind River to see if we could see salmon spawning. Sure enough! We got up to some riffles and dozens of Chinook and Coho were spawning! Always a breathtaking sight!

Here is a short video of the Chinook action on the Wind River…


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Head to Timothy Lake when Website Says “Closed 4 Season”!!

30 09 2011

Yes, my friends! There is gold to be had at the end of September at one of Mt Hood’s most trodden camping spots – Timothy Lake. THE time to go is after Labor Day, when the campgrounds start to close, the weather remains summer like, and it’s nice. This lake is to be avoided in mid-summer as K-Mart campers and RVs with noisy generators are everywhere.

This week I had a couple days off mid-week, and the weather forecast called for 80-degrees and summer up there. I checked the websites and they all reported “closed for the season” for the campgrounds.

I knew one can still camp in the closed campgrounds, but you have to walk your gear in past the gate. Still, I remembered one year I went at precisely when they were supposed to be “closed,” yet one remained open. That turned out to be the case this time! One, only one, campground, called Oak Fork, remained opened. And it only had one other camper!

I foraged for wood left behind by other campers and the effort paid off big time. That, plus setting up my hammock, and the wonderful weather made for a nice time. This treasure trove of wood made for a blazing inferno!

I also tried out my newly purchased Kokatat drysuit. Way freaking cool! It was 100% dry. Soooo much better than the NRS drysuit it replaced. I was really dry when I took it off.

The weather was superb, the stars bright, and what a night it was.

The picnic table, hammock and all the kitchen gear made for a sumtuous chicken sandwich cooked on the grill, plus a nice side salad!

The camp set up. Everything needed!


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2011 Clackamas River Cleanup presented by We Love Clean Rivers!

20 09 2011

All photos by Mark Gamba.

On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the 9th annual Down the River Cleanup on the Clackamas River took place. Organized by We Love Clean Rivers, the event mobilizes an array of groups in a collaborative effort to clean 15 miles of the Clackamas River. I’m on the board of directors.

With a Staj Pace as our new event coordinator, new branding initiative completed including logo, new website, stationery, etc., we hit the ball out of the park this year! Participation was up over 60% with a record 421 registered volunteers. We also removed record amounts of trash from the river – 3.4 tons!

We had LOTS of FUN! Folks met up at Barton Park before 9:00 a.m. for coffee and bagels, registered, then organized into 15 pods (each cleaning one river mile), and after safety briefings, set off to clean the river.

Pod pre-launch briefing

Pods are made up of kayaks, drift boats, rafts, and some divers. It was a HOT day, over 90 degrees. I saw more red neck flotillas of inflatable mattresses and beer coolers going on the river than ever.

Cleaning in the river means collaboration amongst different recreational groups. Divers go below. Snorkelers are utilized. And bank-based cleaning is performed, too!

The emphasis is all about fun. Participants set off in a festive mood. Kids are definitely part of the collective cleanup muscle!

Youngsters taking ownership

Each pod rides the river to its assigned section and begins to clean.

Some rafts or drift boats are designated “garbage scows,” and folks bring trash to them. Some become quite laden with tires or metal objects.

By far the most numerous items are beverage cans. There is no question that cans are being dumped by river runners into the river.

Just look at this dumpster!

Holy Garbage!

The garbage is sorted by kids and recyclers. Further, it is picked over by artists, who will convert some into art or jewelry. This stuff will be sold at the RiPPLe PDX event on October 6th!

The day is book ended at the conclusion by a party/picnic celebration! Participants enjoyed music, a catered, organic picnic, three bands, Sierra Nevada beer, and the chance to win outdoor gear at the silent auction!

Nice job everyone! THANK YOU!

We enjoyed some really upbeat music!!!

60 feet of deliecious catered food!


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Categories : Green Planet, Outdoor Industry, Paddling

Crater Lake, Oregon

29 08 2011

I awoke refreshed and looking forward to exploring something new! The sun shone brightly upon Mount Bailey across Diamond Lake. It’s home to Mount Bailey Snowcats. They take skiers up via snowcat for some incredible powder sans crowds. Looks like some of the slopes offer sweet challenging terrain!

After a couple cups of coffee I fixed some oats, berries and banana and took a lakeside walk with my breakfast. I happened upon a sun-splashed spot where a tiny creek entered the lake. It was full of wildflowers. In fact, the campground had wildflowers everywhere! But this spot was abuzz with bugs, hummingbirds, bees, crickets, bumble bees, honey bees and birds. I just sat quietly and watched as a performance took place. Hummingbirds with electric green feathers and a few with fiery red splashes darted about…some catching a rest in tiny spots in between branches.

I found this butterfly who hadn’t warmed up to the day yet, clinging to some growth.

Along my walk, I discovered something else. Something I typically disdain at campgrounds…SHOWERS.

But this being a “destination” campground for Crater-Lake bound camper-tourists, I gave it a pass, and in fact, I participated…so prior to my drive up to Crater Lake, I took a hot shower! Well, that was a nice way to start the day. Heck, it was included in the fee.

Back at camp I admired my newly festooned kayak – I’d just re-rigged the deck lines/bungees and like the new yellow color. Much better than the original black!

OK. Time to head over to Crater Lake National Park. The road was right behind my camping spot. The drive up to the rim passes evidence of its violent past. There’s a desert where pyroclastic flows landed, plus random boulders strewn about. The pyroclastic flows careered down the mountain at a hundred mph, and since they were boiling hot, killed everything. But these left behind such hard earth that almost no plant life can take hold. The boulders were hurled out of the mountain still molten, and cooled where they landed. Today, only a few trees grow.

Up and up the road climbs, and Mts. Thielsen, Bailey, and further north, Diamond Peak dominate. Snow appears, eight-foot deep in places. And then I catch a glimpse of the rim!

It’s many miles across. It’s 1,000 ft down. The water, indigo blue. Impossibly wide, yet still, it doesn’t seem nearly as big as it really is.

Wizard Island in view.

It’s over 20 miles around. Yet, something about the 1,000 ft elevation above the lake makes it seem smaller. There’s an island down there, which seems teensy, it’s called Ship Island. It is in fact 16 stories tall. And I see what looks like a little speedboat. Yet, when seen through my binoculars, I see about 50 people on board! It’s no small speedboat. It is me, looking down from an impossibly high view!

The rim road, which circles the lake, is dotted with cars from all 50 states and Canada. On the southern end lie Crater Lake Lodge and Visitor Center. A great spot for refreshment is the patio overlooking the lake, with its wonderful rocking chairs. The interior walls of the lodge’s great room are covered with bark.

Outside, the pathways are teeming with tourists of all stripes and nationalities. It’s truly a national park!

 

It’s a beautiful day. I can see all the way to Mt. Shasta, at over 14,000 ft, in northern California. Also in view to the south is Oregon’s Mt. McLoughlin, at 9,500 ft. I’d heard of it, but didn’t know where it is!

Just looking around, you cannot but be awed at the fact that everything in view is a result of the convergence of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. And, so young, as most of these volcanoes are less than 500,000 yrs old!

I see an interesting viewing area built into the side of the rim…right down below me…I cannot help but think about some old James Bond movie…some evil guy’s hideaway or something.

Well, it was time to head back. Other than the rim drive and short hikes, not much to do at Crater Lake. I guess that’s why it took me so long to go there!

 

 


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Categories : Alpine Skiing, Life Outside

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