Thus a wonderful weekend began. Much fun was had as we explored the Eugene saturday market, poked through tide pools, baked sweet potato pie, and generally luxuriated with minds far away from everyday stress and concern. Allow me to point out the photo link to some of the weekend’s activities. Rumor has it that the last set of photos were not immediately noticed as I failed to write a jacket blurb post such as this one. My most sincere apologies for neglecting my blog duties!

Finally at about midnight I decided it was time. Though the durian put up a good fight, it was no match for my razor sharp buck knife. I cut through it and scooped out the still chilled custardy goodness inside each of its 5 nodes. At about this time, the aroma was quite intense and I’m sure my neighbors were wondering what had died next door. With great anticipation, I dived into the bowl of custard and was happy to find the flavor to be as I remembered when I sampled a bit months ago. Unfortunately the experience didn’t end up nearly as positive. I’m not exactly sure what the problem was, but after a few bites I just couldn’t eat anymore without the gag reflex kicking in. The flavor was good, but perhaps it was the overwhelming smell that had filled the room? Also my mouth didn’t seem to like the membranous ‘pudding skin’ texture that covered the creamy part of the fruit. I tried to eat more, but I failed! The durian did not fail me, for it was good. I had failed the durian! Sheepishly, I wrapped up all the stinking remains and hauled it out to the dumpster. Perhaps another time, and another place I will be ready for its royalty.

Anyway, as I lay beneath my homemade quilt I was very attuned to the subtle noises in the dark as usual. I laughed at myself as I kept myself needlessly awake like I always do the first night or two in the wilderness. My imagination turns the tiniest little sound into the most fearsome and hungry-for-hiker fanged beast. Of course these beasts live only in my mind… usually. You see there was this one instance last fall while I hiked The Long Trail…

I’ve noticed that usually nocturnal insects and wildlife really start doing their thing an hour or two after sunset. Chirping and scurrying noises abound to keep a would-be sleeping hiker very occupied indeed. Then, as if the company whistle was blown, almost everything seems to stop at about 2am: dead silence until the pre-dawn early birds get started. On just such a night in southern Vermont is where this story picks up.

It was about 2am when I woke up after maybe 1 hour of sleep. Unfortunately the large bottle of water I thirstily drank before calling it a night decided to call upon me. So up I rose and gingerly crept out into the dead still night with my teeny tiny yellow LED flashlight. The air was so silent that even my ever so careful steps upon leaves sounded as if I were walking on obnoxious cellophane bags of potato chips. Stepping up to the base of a large tree, I proceeded with the task while a sleepy yawn overtook my face. Suddenly, I heard for a split second a shuffling in the branches above me and before I could really tune in, something about the size of a football dropped out of the tree, bounced off my left shoulder, hit the ground, and went scurrying away! In an instant I was completely wide awake and the entire woods seemed to have a million glowing eyes all focused on me. I scanned all around with my pitiful little light, but could see nothing of all the creatures my imagination was conjuring! With heart pounding, I quickly finished my business and sprinted back across the bags of potato chips into the safety of my own sleeping bag. Nothing else happened that night, including any sleep for my assaulted mind!

The Highlights

• The mint fields about 15 miles northeast of Corvallis. Yum! (that would be a “blech” had there been any ice cream fields nearby)
• Riding the Buena Vista Ferry across the Willamette River in almost the middle of nowhere.
• Marveling at the fields of 6+ foot green-planty-things just east of the ferry. They looked like weeds, but the dense organized rows suggested otherwise. Oh, and the amazing fragrance… though actually a bit too powerful as it sent me into a sneezing frenzy.
• The tranquility of biking through the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge. Its so great to hear BIRDS rather than CARS for a change.
• And speaking of birds, I saw a few amusing killdeer who I deeply miss from my hometown in LaGrange Indiana. Just thinking about mama killdeer running around in a panic trying to spoof me with a broken wing act brings a grin to my face!
• Cherry orchards – lots of them! North of Salem, it was very difficult to obey the “No Trespassing or I’ll Turn You Into Dogfood” signs.
• Actually reaching Champoeg park in one piece after 65 miles and 6.5 hours. (mission objective 1 accomplished)
• Trying out Champoeg’s 15 hole disc golf course. Though I didn’t think it were possible, I think my disc flinging skills actually notched in a few ticks LOWER than they were a few weeks ago. I’m very thankful there was no one else around to bear witness to my embarassment!
• After much effort, finally evoking the fire gods with my bow drill kit. Good thing too, as I wasn’t in the mood for uncooked pasta. There was no way I was going to accept a disgraceful defeat and borrow a match from someone. Thankfully my skill hadn’t completely diminished over the last 7 months. (mission objective 2 accomplished)
• Popping up some nostalgic Jiffy-Pop popcorn over my fire. Though I didn’t even come close to my 1-in-a-million perfect pop 5 years ago on the Appalachian Trail, I did manage to pop about half the kernels with only a couple of scorchies. I did my best to ignore the ingredient list. (mission objective 3 accomplished)
• Surviving (barely!) the 70 mile ride back the following day. Unfortunately my “shortcut” to avoid a few big hills ended up finding me not only more miles, but also BIGGER hills. (mission objective 4 accomplished)

The Things I’d Rather Forget
Though there are several things that had me swearing on occasion (#$%! WIND), I’ll just mention one that may be entertaining – at least to others.

• Mega sunburn – but only on the left half of my exposed body. (sun shined only Saturday morning as I traveled south). My face looks like a raging IU fan with half painted cream, and the other painted crimson. I think mine will have me shouting with pain rather than with school spirit, however. Why do I always forget the sunscreen?!

All in all this was a good trip, but I think it will be awhile (like maybe 130 years) before I’m ready for Race Across America!

Update
I guess a picture just wasn’t good enough on its own. Check out the comments for a few answers.

Long Trail hike: For about 3 weeks in late September and early October I spent some very peaceful time hiking Vermont’s Long Trail. It was a very challenging 270 mile hike that put me back into shape physically and recharged me mentally. Check out some photos in the gallery or click on this link.

The next leg of adventures are starting today after I finish typing this. First its onto Colorado to do a little bit of visiting and then its onto Arizona for an outdoor class with renowned adventurer Ray Jardine. I will be attending the last of his Connection Camp Classes. From there it will be more visiting in L.A. (Hi Bob! Hi Katie!) and exploring of the west coast. Where I land, nobody including me knows yet! But then thats part of the fun now isn’t it? Look for more pictures and hopefully stories in a few weeks!