My voting expirence

I never thought voting could be so difficult. I went to my polling place this morning, stood in line for a really long time (45 minutes) only to be told that I was not able to vote. The reason why, I have not been a Minnesota resident for more than twenty days before the election. The lady was really nice though so I really can't say anything bad. She let me use my bank statement as proof that I live in Robbinsdale. But according to my yellow slip of paper that is currently my MN drivers license, I have only been a resident for 16 days. Rejected...

I was feeling a little bummed because I also missed the deadline for the absentee in South Dakota. But I got over it, and thought you know it really doesn't matter if I vote because I know nothing about the candidates (except for the presidential ones) in MN, and they are the ones that I really should vote for. I haven't lived in this state for about ten years; I know very little about politics and don't understand half the stuff I do know about. The only things I know about the people running for Senate and Congress is from all of the negative ads on TV that I usually mute. I know its bad of me, but seriously should I really be voting for people that I know nothing about?

I did go back to the polling place tonight with Tonya to try again, and I got registered. The guy that made me fill out the paper work just looked at my address on my yellow paper and confirmed my name with my SD license. Good thing I was wearing a red shirt...wait that only works in SD. Anyway I did my part and voted...for all the independents cuz they need votes too.

I heart Amy Ray

My first night here and I get to see Amy Ray. How do you top that? Tonya and I saw her last night and all I can say is AMAZING. Every time I see her perform I am taken away. I love the Indigo Girls and I've always had a thing for Amy Ray and loved all the songs she has written (except for Faye Tucker, I really don't get that song.) So seeing her solo and live is like a dream come true.
We had great seats at the Fine Line and the food was awesome. The service wasn't the best. It took forever to get our drinks and then the waitress took them away before we were even done. It was really odd. Maybe she thought that two beers and a water was too much alcohol for us...who knows. I really didn't care, I was there to see and listen to Amy.
All in all it was a great way to spend my first night being in the cities and that I passed my MN drivers license exam.

I heart Amy Ray!

Adventures in unpacking...

Why do I have so many clothes? Where did they all come from? These are the question that I kept asking myself as I was unpacking this past weekend. Seriously, I had five totes and at least five boxes that were filled with clothes. If you know me you would know that I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. I don't buy clothes very often unless it's in the form of a jersey or scrubs. So why do I have all these clothes? The only answer I can come up with is that somewhere deep inside my brain I think I am going to wear them again some day. I know logically that I'll never wear these clothes again, but yet I keep holding on to them. All I know is that it will be a happy day for Goodwill...and me! :)



On a happier note, the darkside has regained it's strength with Darth out of storage. Not only is my boyfriend out of storage; he is at the last home he'll ever be in. He's gotten a little beat up from being moved around since 1999. He is happy to be back with me and I am happy that I get to see him every day. I missed him a lot! I was also able to unpack all of my other Darth Vader collectibles; didn't realize I had so many...but it does answer some questions...



Overall I'm very happy that all my stuff is out of storage and in the house. I just have to remember that I can spread out and I don't have to live in my room and that I can actually UNPACK since I won't be moving anywhere for at least a couple of years.

Adventures in the homeland

I've been home, i.e. living with my parents, for almost two months now and I still haven't started working yet. I have gone to interviews and orientations, got med certified, have had two background checks (I passed!!) and peed in a cup. Now you would think I should be earning a paycheck. Nope not here in MN, or should I say Willmar. I guess after you get hired
employers can make you wait until they need you to work and then they will call you and try to set up times so you can get trained and all of that fun stuff. In the meantime, I have been helping out my parents, providing cheap babysitting services for my sister and helping a friend of mine do some maintenance to his deck.

Here's what I've learned these past two months:
1. How to make and can tomato juice (45 qts so far)
2. How to replace rotten boards on a deck (not very hard, but there were some issues)
3. How to get drill bits and screw drivers out from under a deck
4. How to apply wood prep to a deck
5. How to walk on a deck after wood prep as been applied (again some issues)
6. How to pluck a goose
7. How to clean a goose
8. How to pack a van so less trips could be made from storage

I'm still hoping that I'll be working soon, but part of me thinks I should just start applying and follow up on some jobs in the cities. I have a feeling that once I start working in Willmar I will be turning in my two week notice.

On the bright side, I have a house in Robbinsdale and all my stuff was moved from storage to the house this past weekend. I also realized that that I have moved in every season and in rain, in snow, and in temps over 100. I just have to move with temps below 0 and all will be balanced in my life.

So even though I haven't been earning a paycheck I have been learning skills that will help me in the future.

Flying home

July 27/28, 2008

10p: I'm back at the airport. I should have planned my trip better so I could have spent more time out here with my relatives. But when I booked my flight back in March I was thinking I would have a house and be starting a job Aug. 1. I did have some call backs on a couple of jobs and I have a couple of interviews set up. Right now all I want to do is see my dog...and I wonder why I'm still single. I am also looking forward to playing with my nieces and nephew. I'll spend a couple of days with them, than hopefully it will be back to the cities and working.

1:30a: I'm on the plane! I'm once again on the aisle and towards the back of the plane (row 18 instead of 22.) I'm just waiting until we are airborne and I can turn on my music and fall asleep. I'm already annoyed with the people in my row. They started bitching about the flight before the doors were even closed. The first ten to 15 minutes were about the flight being 15 minutes late, now they are comparing why American is so much better then Sun Country. All I can say if you don't like flying Sun Country then why are you? It's not like it's the only carrier that goes to San Francisco. I guess if I didn't like a certain carrier I wouldn't fly it. All I care about is that it gets me from point A to point B and that it's the cheapest. I sleep anyway so it's not like I need to be entertained or fed. I just hope my row buddies are not the type that need to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes or get up and walk around. That could cause me to put on the fake smile and in my head be cursing them out for waking me up.

Driving back

July 26, 2008

We are off to Modesto to visit my Aunt and cousins. I feel like a kid again traveling with my parents. It's been 14 years since I've been to the west coast with them. Wow I've been out of high school for almost that long! It's nice to be driving with them. It feels like old times. It seems weird that we are headed through Yosemite and places Mugs and I were hiking through during the first week. Hard to believe it will only take us about 5 hours of driving to go through what I did in three weeks of hiking. It is fun to see other backpackers and knowing what they will be seeing in the up coming days. I'm still in shock of what I did. Never thought last year at this time I would be here now. I guess it just shows life is short. Other then my "just keeping swimming" motto, my new one is taken from my life is good shirt "Do what you like, Like what you do" That's it for now. Back on the plane tomorrow night and back in the homeland on Monday morning playing with my doggie.

I should be on Mt Whitney

July 25, 2008

I should be summitting Mt. Whitney; instead I'm sitting in the motel room watching TV and reading. What an exciting life I lead! I so want to be out on the trail. It's painful just to walk around the room, there is no way I would have made it to Whitney. Mom and Pops will be here at some point today. I hope they find me or at least have gotten a hold of L or Kate. They know where I am. My cell is completely dead. I never thought I would need to use it. Guess I was wrong. Of course I did call my sisters, my aunt and a bunch of my friends. I also spent time texting. I guess my phone was right, I do only have about 3 hours of battery life when in use. I could have waited with some things, but it gets really boring here when there is no one to talk to and my walking is limited. I would never do well on bed rest. L and Kate have been great with calling me a couple times a day. I've also been able to talk to some friends. I think I talked to Tonya tonight for about 3 hours. SO that's a glimpse into my life in the motel.

9p: My parents found me!!! Then about 15 minutes after they arrived in my room, Mugs called and said she was at Whitney portal. I was happy to see her and Bob and Andy. I was also heartbroken and sad knowing that I wasn't able to join them at the top. I wanted to be there eating a burger and having a beer with them. Too many thoughts going through my head now. Some day I'll finish the trip.

Here are some pictures that Mugs took since the parting. Enjoy

mileage: 1 block...had to go to the grocery store

JMT Day 20: Charlotte Lake to Onion Valley

July 23, 2008--My last day

1:30p: I left Charlotte lake at 7:30 this morning and made it to Onion Valley around 1:15p. Now I'm just waiting for a ride to Independence and then hopefully into Lone Pine. I have to hitch a ride, but so far no one has entered or left the campgrounds. So I'll just sit here. I did meet some guys last night that were going to be hiking out today and offered me a ride into Independence. So If I don't get a ride before I see them, then I'll just see if then can still give me a lift. If all else fails, I can camp here. On the bright side, I don't have to wear my boots anymore!!! YAY!!!

6:30p: I made it into Lone Pine. I am very thankful for being able to hitch rides without an problems. Dave gave me a ride form OV to Independence and as I was sitting at the bus stop, Ranger George and his wife stopped and gave me a ride into Lone Pine. George was the ranger that told me I have two choices; Hike out to OV or continue on the trail and I would be leaving by Medi-vac. I'm glad I choose to walk out.

I am very grateful for the people I have met and the kindness they have shown to pick up and give a complete stranger a ride. People have talked about "trail magic" but I never had any...unless you count the two rolls of tape mugs and I found. But I believe that meeting these people is also part of the trail magic.

I am so glad I was able to do this trip. I am happy to be off my feet and to take a shower (the very first thing I did when I got to the motel.) I still wish I was hiking but I went as far as I could. I didn't give up mentally and I had to quit due to medical reasons. I'll be back someday, hopefully next summer, to finish the last 40 miles and to summit Mt. Whitney.

I didn't take any pictures from here on out. Mugs took my camera with here so I really don't know what they are of. I'll do my best at labeling them.

Picture:

4. My favorite type of trail. I was just happy that I didn't wreck a knee or an ankle. We usually encountered these trails on the passes, or on steep portions of the trial.

6. View from Forester Pass

Mileage 9.9/191.5

JMT Day 19: Rae Lakes to Charlotte Lake

July 22, 2008

5:30p: I got up on time today. Mugs didn't have to wait for me. I was actually packed up before she was. I didn't sleep very well last night. I was really hot and tossed and turned all night. I know I had a fever and it broke, which leads to the next conclusion...I have an infection. As I started to doctor them up I noticed that my sores are draining green pus and I have about a 2 inch long blister on the bottom of my left foot which is also infected (I had to drain that one also, not a pretty site.) Mugs headed up to the Ranger station to see if anyone was there. No one was but on her way back to camp she ran into Bob and Andy. They came to check out the situation and gave me some neosporen (ours was stolen by the bear.)

Knowing that I now have infections has but a damper on my spirits. I have to hike out tomorrow before they get any worse. I don't want to. I am so close to the end and I really want to finish the trip but I know I can't. Mugs told me to stop acting like a nurse and hike out. It's either damaging my pride or losing my feet. I can always come back and finish. This is seriously one of the toughest decisions I've had to make. I can't even describe how much I want to finish, not just for my self, but for the people who told me I won't make it. It's a hard decision. I think I spent at least two hours crying about it this morning and then off and on along the trail knowing that this would be my last day out here.

Mugs and I decided this morning that we were only going to go to Charlotte lake and I would hike out to Onion Valley from there. We made it to Charlotte lake about 4:30 and talked to Ranger George. I was also able to get a big basin to soak my feet in. I'm just glad that I made it this far. Even after today my feet are looking worse then they did this morning and I only had to hike 6 miles. I think it's a good thing I'm hiking out tomorrow.

Pictures:

1. Me taping up my feet. My feet are really swollen and didn't fit in my boots. Fun Times!

2. & 3. Middle Rae lake with the painted Lady in the background. Pix 2. you can see the frost on the ground. 32 degrees when we woke up

4. Fin Dome

5. Me standing next to South Rae Lake

6. South Rae Lake

7. Mugs on Glenn Pass (11,978 ft)

8. View of the lakes (north). We just came from there

9. View to the south of Glenn Pass. Whats to come

10. Me soaking my feet at Charlotte Lake

mileage: 6.5/ 182

JMT Day 18: Pinchot Pass to Middle Rae Lake

July 21, 2008

9a: 4 more days left! Where has the time gone? So far we've hiked about 2.5 miles from camp. Mugs is not feeling well. Very nauseated and crampy. I think she has a little dehydration. She didn't drink much yesterday. I just glad that I drink about 5 liters a day. My biggest fear is dehydration and then the chance kidney stones increases and I really don't want to deal with that. I actually feel pretty good so far, but then again I've only been hiking for about an hour. We need to make it to Rae lakes tonight. It should be a nice 11 mile hike. I'll be dead by 5p, but no passes to go over today. We'll make it. We always make make our deadline. I also don't want to start hiking over 11 miles a day. It gets long, especially the last 2 -3 miles.

My blisters are starting to turn in to pressure sores. They really started to bother me last night and I really don't notice them unless I'm going downhill. My goal is just to keep them from getting larger and infected. By Friday night i won't have to wear my boots anymore. My feet can be free in sandals.

I still can't believe that we'll be done on Friday. I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bed and seeing my doggie on Monday, I really miss her. I just hope she doesn't yell at me too much or that she holds a grudge against me. She's probably enjoying life with Nana and Papa and getting fat. Well Mugs is ready to hike again, so off we go.

8p: My feet look horrible. I think I'm getting infections. I cleaned them really well tonight and soaked them again in salt water. I guess I'll just have to wait until morning to see how they are.

We have a beautiful campsite tonight by middle Rae lake. WE can see the Painted Lady from our tent. I can't wait to see what it looks like at sunrise.

Pictures:

1. Clouds rolling in over the Mountains

2. Where we stopped so Mugs would rest and rehydrate

3. Me crossing the "golden gate bridge" of the sierra

4. The castle mountains

5. Flowers

6. More flowers

7. And more flowers

8. Giant mushroom

mileage: 13/175.8

JMT Day 17: Upper Palisades lake to Pinchot Pass

July 20, 2008


Today we hiked about 12 miles. We made it over Mather Pass and Pinchot Pass. Nice accomplishment. I was very tired by the time I got into camp at 7:30p, but I don't have to go over Pinchot. My feet are really bothering me tonight. All I want to do is sleep.













Pictures: (out of order)
1. Half way up Mather Pass looking north. Can barely see Palisade lake
2. Pinchot Pass looking north (12,130 ft)
3. Pinchot pass looking south
4. Pinchot pass again
5. Sunset over the mountians
6. Me on the south side Mather Pass (12,100 ft)
7. Mugs on the north side of Mather Pass
8. Mugs on the trail heading south after Mather Pass
9. Sunset on the mountians south of Pinchot

mileage: 11.9/162.8

JMT Day 16: Middle Fork Junction to Upper Palisades Lake

July 19, 2008

We were up at 7 and on the trail by 8:45...not to shabby! The first couple of miles sucked when I had to hurdle downed trees. Not an easy task when you have a 40lb pack and short legs. It took some creative maneuvering. I also managed to get lost during this time. Well not really, just off the trail. I was just happy that I have a good since of direction and can remember odd things. I knew that as long as I stayed to the east of the river I would be ok. After about 15-20 minutes of trying to find the trail rather then blazing my own (I'm all about leaving the wilderness as is and not disrupting it too much) I thought it might be a wise idea to actually find the trail. So I climbed up on a rock to get a better view and found what looked like the trail about 50 yards to the east. Once again I had to climb over more downed trees and headed towards the trail. My sense of direction was right and I was once again on the right path. Not a detour I would advise or would ever want to do again. It was my most adventurous morning by far (other then looking for the lost bear keg.)

This afternoon we hiked up the Golden Staircase, which as the last section of the JMT to be built. Not a bad hike if you consider it was 1500 ft of elevation over 1.5 miles of switchbacks. Little did I know this part of the trail was full of trickery. There is nothing like hiking up the side of a mountain and think you are getting close to the top because the sky getting closer and you are running out of rock, only to get to the top and realize that what you thought was the top wasn't the top at all and now you are hiking up switchbacks again but now you are heading west instead of east. At this point all I could do was utter a few bad words, curse the trail builders and continue upwards. I tried my very best to stay pleasant, but you can only sing "just keep swimming" so many times before the bad words begin to fill your brain again. This positive side of the Golden Staircase is that I enjoy hiking uphill rather then down hill...and the views are breath-taking.

Mugs and I decided to camp at Upper Palisades lake rather then try to summit Mather Pass tonight. We could have summitted, but we weren't sure how far we would have to hike past Mather to get to set up camp and more then likely we would have been doing this in the dark.

We found a nice little area that was sheltered by trees and a stream not to far. Almost like it was calling our names from the tail to stop for the night. I just wanted to get out of my boots and eat. My feet really don't hurt to bad tonight. Two more toe nails fell off and I noticed that I have two red and tender areas below my great toes on the side of my feet. I think they are the cause of yesterdays 11 mile down hill hike. More mole skin and tape for me!

Mugs just pointed out to me that we are on our last week out here. Only five more days to go! This past week had just flown by. It seemed like it took forever to hit the 100 mile mark and today we are close to completing 150. Still seems unreal to me that I have come this far and the trip is almost done. By the end of the week I'll be sleeping in a bed. That's what I'm looking forward to the most...well actually what I'm looking forward to the most is indoor plumbing.

Pictures:

1. Where I'm headed...Deer meadow

2. Trees left after the Palisades fire...this is the part of the trail where I got lost and had to climb over a number of trees

3. Hiking the Golden Staircase looking back at where I just was

4. At the top of the Golden Staircase looking east. Palisades Mts in the background. First peaks over 14,000 ft

5. Bruce striking a pose

6. about one mile to go to Upper palisades lake. Lower palisades lake in forground

7. Mugs at camp

Mileage: 8.4/ 150.9

elevation: 8070 ft to over 10,000. I lost the page with the rest of my elevations for the trip. However for the rest of the trip we don't drop much below 10,000 ft