Maintenance Month

On Saturday I rode my bike up Mount Sentinel via the Crazy Canyon singletrack. In all it was 15 miles with 2000 feet of elevaion gain, all from the beauty of my back door. The ride is about 2% street, 70% fire road, and 28% singletrack.

Otherwise it was all about maintenance. Clean the moto and auto, organize garage, mount an attack on the spider mites colonizing my rubber plant, etc... The weather has been perfect and it's only gettin' better.

Back from Butte

Just got back from a spur of the moment week in Butte, where I trained to be a wildland fire information officer. Butte is a fascinating town, full of history and interesting relics. Apparently, Butte boasts the largest St Patrick's Day celebration in the country, and at one point had more Irish people than any other city in the union. I personally find it pretty unsightly, but you can't help and wonder in awe at the open pit mines surrounding the town, the crater 1800 feet deep and over a mile across filled with acid, and large white statue of a religious icon looking down at it from a nearby mountain.

Got back to Missoula today and went climbing after work with my friend Sean, and was surprised at being in fairly reasonable shape given how little I've been getting out lately... On my way to meet Sean I came across a critical mass bicycle ride with over a hundred kids rallying to the cause of cyclist rights. It definitely makes car drivers mad. The cyclists say they are not getting reasonable accomodation on the streets and cyclists get killed often here. Whether or not they are right, there's no question that our society is more represented by overweight people driving huge cars much more than is necessary, and cities like Missoula do hardly anything to promote safe bicycle infrastructure.

Another weekend on the West Fork

Another fun weekend hanging out with Max on the West Fork of the Bitterroot. Rode the moto down for some target shooting to get sharp for hunting season. I'm looking forward to bringing home my own steak, especially the organic, free range, venison kind.

April Showers

Been swept away in the spring rush of work, great weather, and more work. Finally, I have found a great niche where I LOVE the work I'm doing, not just in concept, but in the day to day nitty gritty aspects as well. The Lolo is a superb place to be, and the issues are sooooo interesting. In the course of a single day I deal with everything from the internal budget situation, to the local newspaper wanting to do a story on our contractors that hire seasonal migrant workers, to a big contentious ski resort proposal in town and so much more. My job is all about people, their opinions, values, and how it all fits into managing forest ecosystems. Thus is the life of a public affairs officer...

Turned 31 on April 12, and Max helped me celebrate over good food and drink. After that I went canoe camping with a bunch of coworkers in the Gates of the Mountains. 7 of us met up for a weekend of canoeing up to Meriweather Gulch, about 20 miles N of Helena. This area was 1st discovered by westerners when Lewis & Clark paddled upriver on the Missouri. After a long trip through the plains of E Montana, they remarked on how entering the canyons here was like going through the gates of the Mountains. Later, in the 50's, 13 smokejumpers died on Mann Gulch, a truely tragic event.

Been getting out a decent amount since April started. Mary visited for a few days from Seattle, and we went climbing, dipping in the hotsprings, and feasting with Brett, Merica, and Mike (and Tyler and Seamus, the dogs). At the same time I started a new job on the Lolo, and that's been busy and exciting. Check out Mary's climbing photos from her sweet camera here: http://picasaweb.google.com/merrymaryk/RockClimbingInMontanaYeeHaw

Quick March in Missoula

"Outrageous! Totally ridiculous! Completely absurd!!!" Thus are the best descriptions of how fast time is flying right now. March came and went in an instant, and the excitement is only beginning. Spring time in these parts means the field season is starting at work coupled with long days and beckoning mountains once work is over. Migrating birds are starting to come through, green grass is peeking up through the dried remains from last year, and the warmth is getting everyone jazzed to be outside.

Mary came out for a visit and we had a brilliant time hanging out with friends, hiking, skiing, and soaking in hot springs. Before that I went climbing with Brett at Kootenai Creek and took my first lead fall, which was very scary and reminded me to warm up to climbing before launching into it too fast and hard. In better news, I finally discovered Mt Sentinel, which is the perfect after-work workout mountain, and finally pulled my moto out of winter storage, which brings me much joy and fuel efficiency. Next week I transfer to the Lolo National Forest and will begin working with the public around here in earnest. I can't wait...

March Madness

March has come in fast and strong! On March 1st, I met up with Diane and her sister for a philosopy lecture on campus about how the concepts of conservative and liberal have been hijacked in our contemporary vernacular by the pundits. On the 2nd, I zoomed to Seatac airport and caught a flight to Park City, where the boys meet up to play every spring at Jon and Aimee's house. We all had an amazing weekend of Utah powder, sunshine, and downright nitty gritty good times.

On Monday, the 5th, I flew back to Seattle in the AM, picked up my coworker who flew in from Alaska, and we drove down to the Mt. St. Helens area (Randle, WA) for a week-long training on the banks of the Cispus River. Met a bunch of great folks, learned a lot, and got to hang out with some friends from DC. When training was over, on the 9th, I drove back up to Sea-town just in time for happy hour with Stephen and his colleagues in capitol hill.

So, it was a wonderful weekend in Seattle. A bunch of us got together at the Rendez-vous lounge and celebrated Mary's birthday on Friday, went shopping with Suzie downtown on Saturday (good men's clothes are hard to come by in Missoula), and enjoyed some of my favorite thai food, in the U district with Stephen on Sunday, before driving back to Missoula...

Ahhhh.... It's been a whirlwind, and more is on the way, with changing jobs and duty stations (I'm only going across town). Seattle is so much fun, and I dearly miss all my good friends there, but Missoula deserves some serious attention for a while, because it's just that awesome.