I had the pleasure of joining Blue Sky Fund’s spring break program for a couple days this week. Rainy and cold weather on Tuesday made for a change of plans from climbing outside to indoors at Peak Experiences. On Wednesday (my birthday!) we went canoeing and fishing. It was really cool to see a lot of the kids a bit shaky in the canoes at first but by the end they were racing! It was such a lovely day! On Friday we did some wilderness skills and crafts and took a little hike at Forest Hill Park. The rain and cold did not stop any of the kids from having a good time!
Spring Break with Blue Sky Fund
Sharing the Magic of Film w/ Blue Sky Fund
There’s this wonderful organization that I volunteer with in Richmond called Blue Sky Fund. They are “a youth development non-profit that provides transformational experiences for urban youth through outdoor education.” My time outdoors has deeply impacted my life, so it’s really special to work with these kids as they experience the outdoors in such a pivotal time of their lives. I truly believe in the power of education and Blue Sky Fund provides amazing programs and opportunities to students that may not otherwise be available through their schools and home lives. It’s more important than ever to teach our young people to understand, appreciate and respect our planet. Also, I can’t say enough about how awesome everyone is at this organization. So many kind, genuine and passionate people working/participating at Blue Sky Fund.
I had this idea way back in October 2018 to do a photo program where we could teach basic photo principles focusing on composition, light, etc. to a group of students. We then would go out and shoot film using point-and-shoot cameras and later develop and print the photos. After months of planning with Brittany from BSF and rounding up a bunch of old point-and-shoot film cameras (thanks to some friends and Richmond Camera) we started our program a couple of weeks ago. I taught a “Basics of Photography” class to about 10 or so middle school girls. We focused on taking better photos by paying attention to the composition, light, angles, framing, color, moments, etc. rather than going into the technical aspects like shutter, aperture, ISO etc. This is why we chose point-and-shoot cameras versus manual SLRs. For a lot of them, this was going to be their first time shooting film. We met a couple weeks later and shot along the flood wall and Manchester Bridge. We didn’t even make it out of the parking lot before they already started taking photos. The excitement was immense and you can see it in the photos I took of them (below).
The cool thing here is 1. I can help them create some sick photos for their Instagram and 2. hopefully spark an interest in photo and maybe video as a potential career path. I told them in my little class about the different career paths within photography.
Classy Boulder Problem
New (but actually old) Film Photos
It is so exciting to get film back! I’ve had a roll of film in my camera since the end of August that I hadn’t finished until a week or so ago. This roll includes Mount Rainier, Portland, OR, Richmond, VA and Seneca Rocks, WV! All over the place!
Quick Climbing Trip to the New
I took a quick two day climbing trip to the New River Gorge this past week… it was awesome! Here are a few photos from the trip. I also made a short video, where I tested out some of my new video equipment (lots of practice/learning to be had). https://youtu.be/9pkGFDMeFas
26 Days on the Colorado Trail
Some Info
When I decided to do the Appalachian Trail, I did a lot of research and planning but I quickly learned thru-hiking rarely goes as planned and you learn as you hike. This is exactly why I did absolutely no planning for this next thru-hike of the Colorado Trail. Unlike the AT (and one of my few regrets), I journaled everyday on the CT this time. The next few blog posts are from my journal, accompanied by photos I took on my Nikon 35mm film camera.
Day 1
Erin (a friend that I hiked much of the AT with) and I arrived in Denver the night before we planned to hike. That night, we went to an Unknown Mortal Orchestra concert… because why not!?! We were pretty slow to get going the next day and spent most of it getting some gear at REI and resupplying at Whole Foods (we figured we’d never come across one of those again). We finally hopped on a train to Littleton, on which we were offered a ride to Waterton Canyon by the lady sitting across from us. (This is what I love about the trail - the community and the generosity of random people on and off trail). We started hiking around 6pm and did the amazing 7 mile, flat section in 2 hours. We camped at a rather rocky site and that’s when I realized my pad had a hole in it, a hole too small to find and patch-up. Erin also lost one of the locking clips on her trekking pole, so she was sporting the duck-taped, barely staying together trekking pole look. But if everything went right, it would have kind of been boring, right?!
Day 2
The Colorado Trail is broken into 28 segments and unlike the AT it can be done on foot, on wheels, or even on hooves (hike, bike, horseback). So it’s graded a lot easier than the AT with switchbacks and longer distances to go up in elevation. We were planning on taking it easy the first few days but we quickly finished Segment 1 and did about 10 miles before noon in less than 4 hours. We were still at “low” elevation (around 6 or 7,000 ft) so it was very hot. There was no tree cover and very little water so we were kind of dying. We took a 2 hour lunch break and then another hour break because of the heat. The terrain was bizarre, an old quartz mine and a burn area from many years ago that was still revegetating. It was completely exposed and so dry and arid. Where am I?! Not only was I suffering from heat exhaustion, but the weight of my pack was causing some hip and shoulder pain as well. Our campsite that night was truly amazing. We cowboy camped under the stars atop a wide outcropping cliff.
Day 3
I awoke to a brilliant sunrise and got an early start to avoid hiking through the heat of the day. We did over 18 miles and my body felt great despite the heat and lack of water. Mid-day siestas, where we take a couple hours off in heat of the day, were becoming our go-to hiking strategy. The first 5 miles of the day were through another burn zone with no shade and no water. We refilled our water at a fire station .2 off trail and took another hour break (we loved long breaks). On Facebook, there’s a group for Colorado Trail 2018 thru-hikers/section hikers. It is the most hysterical feed I’ve ever seen. It’s really just a bunch of dads posting terrible selfies and jokes about ultralight backpacking. We had the pleasure (?) to come across several “dad” groups already.
Day 4
We crushed a 20 mile day. We got up at 5:30 AM and were hiking by 6 AM. There was a bit of uphill in the morning that opened into this crazy large meadow that we hiked through for over 5 miles. It was hot with all the exposure to the sun. (We’re not in the east coast green tunnel anymore Toto!) At least it was rather flat for those miles. This is where the elevation really started to get to us. By lunch, we were at around 11,000 ft and I had a slight headache and felt a bit nauseous. We took a long break before it started to rain and we ran down that mountain to avoid being hailed on. Because of the higher elevation, we gained better views and chillier nights. It was difficult to sleep because not only was it cold but my dang sleeping pad kept deflating, ugh.
Utah in B/W
Utah looks good in black and white.
Upon completing the Colorado Trail, we (Thomas, Erin and I) headed over to Moab, Utah and checked out a couple of the national parks. First, we visited Arches and saw the infamous Delicate Arch, Balanced Rock, and others. These formations/landscape are bizarre and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Right across the road is another mega national park, Canyonlands. All I can say is if Canyonlands is this vast and awe-inspiring, I cannot even imagine what the Grand Canyon must be like.
Visiting Rad Relatives in Colorado
Before my thru-hike of the CT, I got to hangout with my uncle and aunt in Colorado Springs. We did a bit of hiking, visited Garden of the Gods, and did that horrible Manitou Incline (not pictured). We even went to a Unknown Mortal Orchestra concert the night before Erin and I hit the trail.
WWOOFing in Canon City, CO
Here are some photos from my 35mm film camera out in Canon City, CO where I “WWOOFed” for a month. I wrote a whole blog post about it earlier this summer (“WWOOFing This Past Month” from Jul 15) but for now enjoy these photos of these cute kids, lakes/rivers, and pups.
Trail Maintenance on the AT
In preparation for all the rain from hurricane Florence, my dad and I made last minute efforts to work on some water bars to help redirect water on the trail. My dad helps maintain a 1.8 mile section of the Appalachian Trail as a member of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC). The section runs through the southern end of Shenandoah National Park from Beagle Gap to McCormick Gap. It was nice to finally give back in a small way to this trail that I love so much… even if it was just digging several trenches in the dirt. Inspired by my brother’s and I’s thru-hike last year, my dad joined the PATC and rekindled his love for the outdoors. It’s pretty cool how much time he’s put into keeping up the trail and also all the trail magic he’s done for hikers. I definitely appreciate trail maintainers and while thru-hiking often thought about how I could give back. I hope to get out there and do some more work on the trail!
