GreenSpaced

Day One 5.7.10

2010-05-09T23:58:00.005-05:00

Friday under a threatening sky, I took advantage of Little Rock's backyard, of course I mean Pinnacle Mountain State Park. Just barely outside Little Rock and a 25 minute trip from my house, it features stunning views of the Arkansas river valley to the east and to the west the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains ascend.
There are two options for climbing this 1000 foot rock, and both trails hold the distinction of the #1 & #2 steepest trails in Arkansas. I won't get into the debate about whether the East is steeper than the West, they are both the same length, .75 miles, with have the same difference in mean elevation, 717 feet. In years past it has been possible to take both trails and use the Pinnacle Base Trail to return to your point of departure, to make a loop. This would give you a hike of aprox. 3 miles. But a new addition to the park is a new Western Base trail that completely encircles the mountain, for a distance of 3.5 miles.

This new trail was a total surprise for me, and so I decided that I should explore. This trail features a nice rolling course, nothing too steep, and no heavy huffing and puffing, but definitely a good leg work-out. Since it follow a course around the base of the mountain it switches back and forth across the contours of the mountain. An adventuresome soul might like a post thunderstorm hike during the summer to see the gullies and washouts at work. At about mile 1.5 it meets up with the Ouachta National Trail and piggie backs until you intersect with the East Summit Trail about a half mile later. At that point you have an option, you can take the East Summit Trail to the top, or continue on the Base Trail for a mile and a half back to the western side of the mountain. I decided since I came to climb Pinnacle I better climb it.

Sorry if that turned into a travel guide there but I figured I better paint the picture of the Park for the Out of Towners.

I packed my Camel Back to a weight of 10 pounds, I was amazed when I first wore it while climbing last summer at how much it was wanting to throw me off balance, but that seems to have gone away. I intend to use it for the next little while, it is a fairly large little backpack and it is very well fitted for me.
Friday was overcast with a 30% chance of rain, and while the hike around the base of the mountain was comfortably humid. Once the climb began it another story, the humidity started to become very uncomfortable. About halfway up the rocky east side the heavens opened for not nearly enough rain, sometimes sprinkles are a big tease. I soldiered on to the top and was greeted by a strong breeze, and absolutely no people, no one. I had the Summit all to my self. This never happens, after about 5 minutes solitude was over and I chatted with a couple of new transplants from Oregon. Then it was time to leave and so I decided to just take the West Summit trail back to my Jeep. As I made my leisurely descent (actually it was all at a leisurely pace) I was greeted with a nice breeze the entire way down, the humidity just blew away while I rested at the top. When I reached the treeline on the western I decided to do something I rarely do, and called a friend on the phone. Ever since I first got a cordless phone back in 1993 I can't go back to being tethered to a wall, to me walking and talking just make sense. So I walked down the rest of the mountain and did my cool down lap of the parking lot while happily chattering away with a good friend.

So the details of this little afternoon are as follows;
Western Base Trail 2.0 miles
Up East Summit Trail .75 miles, 700 ft ascent
Down West Summit Trail .75 miles, 700 ft descent
Total Distance 3.5 Miles
Pack Weight Start 10 lbs, End 9 lbs

Departed Jeep 4:45, Returned 7:00 for a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Stay Frosty,
James

"I'm just an' ole lump of coal,"

2010-05-08T13:30:00.005-05:00

"but I'll be a diamond someday."

All I need is a little heat and pressure, so for the past few years I've been making refinements. Twenty seven months ago I sat down to learn how to play the guitar, 13 months ago I decided I would quit smoking. So now I find my self in need of a new challenge to undertake, something new to shake up a life that has become comfortable and routine(not really I've been stressed out, and run ragged for the past month). So here is my new announcement.

When I was twelve I went backpacking overnight with my Boy Scout Troop on this trail called the Ouachita Trail. Over the course of the ride in, and the hike in to our camping spot I learned that the trail we were on went all the way to, Pinnacle Mountain State Park, that was a long way, we'd been in the car for an hour and a half... Well after setting up camp, the guys split off into little groups and the Scoutmaster who was in charge that weekend came over to help me put up the hammock I'd brought, and in our conversation I told him how amazed I was that the trail went all the way to Pinnacle Mountain. At this he laughed and asked who I'd heard that from and I told him, to which he responded, "Tell Tony next time to tell everybody where the trail starts too, this trail ends at Pinnacle Mountain, it starts in Oklahoma, its a 200 mile trail." My jaw dropped, and after getting back home I told my dad this and so that got him to do some research for me so I could learn more about the trail, and so about 19 years ago a 12 year old decided that one day he's gonna walk the whole thing.

Well I've decided it's time to make good on that promise I have with a 12 year old, so at some point in October, I'm gonna hitch a ride to Talimena State Park in Oklahoma, and then I'm gonna walk home. In the mean time I'm gonna take the summer and train for this, starting off slow and hiking with my camelback, and increasing the weight and distance, and then by August start Hiking mornings with a Backpackers Pack, and then by September hiking sections of the Ouachita Trail with a full pack to gauge my pace, and camping with my gear to ensure that basic needs are able to be met. Nothing is firm about my Time of departing on this adventure, if I'm not ready physically or mentally I'm not going, but the challenge for me will be the preparation, the reward will be the going.

I've been looking for something to blog about for the past month, and now this blog has something for me to babble on and on about. So come back for my postings on gear and training updates, and cool places I've found in getting out there training.

P.S. I've already started the training, and for Day One I already have a trail review For ya'll just stay tuned and I'll post it up real soon.

Stay frosty,
James

Zombie Avoidance Tip #42

2010-04-04T13:44:00.003-05:00

Just because all the sirens are are heading west doesn't mean that east is necessarily a safe direction. You should not alter your prearranged routes for this fact alone.

In the early stages of outbreak before the fall of first response services, remember that socio-economic trends will still apply. The middle class are more likely to call the police or ambulance services. Remember that in the dangerous early hours.

By avoiding that area in lieu of a less familiar route can cause confusion and panic when realizing the outbreak is more widespread than first thought. Adapting your plans are an essential component to you and your loved ones survival, but the adaptation should based on actual first hand knowledge of the situation. Intel is then your most valuable asset.

By the time you reach this point you should immediately raise your alert level to red, and consider no part of your area as safe. Children should immediately be retrieved from school, regardless of any lock down procedures, and loved ones should be alerted to any previous arranged rendezvous points.

Stay Frosty Out There,
James

Nada

2008-03-14T15:33:00.003-05:00

I see the lightning from the storm down in Mexico
And I see my speedometer doesn't work
I cross the desert and disappear into the tumbleweeds
I tip the bottle and bite the lime

I hear the thunder from the storm down in Mexico
And I leave the border far behind
I feel the dust coat my teeth and turn my sweat to mud
I tip the bottle and bite the lime

There ain't no moral to this story at all
Anything I tell you very well could be a lie
I've been away from the living, I don't need to be forgiven
I'm just waiting for that cold black soul of mine
to come alive

I feel the wind blow from the storm down in Mexico
Gasoline for another hundred miles
I cross the river and leave my shoes up on the other side
I tip the bottle and bite the lime

There ain't no moral to this story at all
Anything I tell you very well could be a lie
Been away from the living, I don't need to be forgiven
I'm just waiting for that cold black sun-cracked soul of mine
to come alive

Come alive, yeah

Well, I feel the rain drops from the storm down in Mexico
Truck will go no further, out of gas
I walk through the desert past the lizard and rattlesnake
I tip the bottle and bite the lime

There ain't no moral to this story at all
Anything I tell you very well could be a lie
There ain't no morals to these stories at all
And everything I tell you, you can bet will be a lie
I been away from the living, I don't need to be forgiven
I'm just waiting for that cold black sun-cracked numb-inside soul of mine
to come alive

Come alive, come alive
Come alive.

Thats from Nada by The Refreshments, a great band that was from the mid nineties.

I'm not sure if I feel exactly like that right now because it's one of my absolute favorite songs and it has become a permanent part of my psyche, or because I actually do feel exactly like those beautiful words express. The only thing missing for me is a broken odometer, a pocket full of limes, bottle of Tequila, and vast Arizona desert. I'm half way considering going to get two of those as we speak.

I just had a strange job interview about any hour ago, and I come home to find one of my best friends actually had put a dagger in my back, I had felt the tingling back there for the past few days, my spider sense was going off. I'm almost twenty nine years old and my whole life I've always done my best to be the friend that I needed to everyone else to be for me. That policy has rarely steered me wrong before.

This is my new year, for the past year I've been pining over a five year relationship that ended horribly. A year ago at this time I should have picked my face up out of the shit and marched onward, instead I drank my way though the summer, and withered away for the winter. No more, I'm a little behind now, but I know how to keep moving, but I'm not gonna try to catch up. I'm just going to move forward from here on out. I'm gonna land that job, doing what I loved to do in Oklahoma, and I'm gonna love it here too. This is my new year, because pointless mistakes were so last year.

Not that I'm not going to learn from those pointless mistakes. I'll learn from those and I'll learn from others. God knows I haven't been the easiest person to get through to lately I know, but the hands of friends that reached out were acknowledged. It's not like I didn't take some of those hands, and let them do what they could to help, and it's not like I didn't make my appreciation as plan as the nose on my face. I'll learn from the mistakes and the virtue of others, especially the ones that can show me the kind of friend that I need to be for others, and the kind of friend that nobody needs.

And thats all I have to say about that,
James

In case of Zombie Apocylspe...

2008-03-13T03:47:00.003-05:00

This tip should be filed under Lesson 1.

Organize before they rise!

May I suggest the investment of six or more Guinea Pigs all from different breeds, half male, half female. I know it may sound horrible, but these cute little pets are packable, sturdy, hardy, and nutritious. This little tidbit of advice is more along the lines of a long term investment, as opposed to anything that will pay dividends with-in the first few months of a full scale Zombie outbreak. Keeping your last redoubt as small as possible is one of your best strategy's, thus using a small mammal as source of livestock would work best. You might also consider rabbits, but they are a little more fragile, and need a more specialized diet. But on the other side of the coin, they do produce a fine quality hide.

Just food for thought,
James

I'm ready to wear shorts...

2008-03-11T00:35:00.003-05:00

I guess I don't know how to deal with winter time. I've always been able to identify with trees, might as well give up for a few months and wait for the new life of spring. Richard Adams hit the nail on the head in Watership Down, when he talked of the anxiety of the rabbits as winter approached, and of humans who enjoy the winter, it isn't the season we enjoy, it is the proof against it. Here are things I enjoy about winter; wool, wood smoke, turkey and yams, the way snow looks, and warm beverages. Just about everything I like about winter are things we as people have developed to survive the cold months better. Even "the way snow looks" says something, we can see it and be separate from it, we can observe it, and not subjected to it the way that Mr.Adams rabbits were (unless you were unfortunate enough have a mishap in our last batch of snow). Even when winter overcomes the infrastructure that gives us proof against it, we often regard it today as a happy time, but if the lights had not come back on would we still? I guess because it brings people together, which was one of the earliest defenses we as a species used to come to grips with winter. Hard winters can be surreal, a changed landscape, a changed psychology in those we meet, I've had conversations with strangers in blowing snow and twenty degrees that were more friendly and pleasant than almost any other time. If I had to guess it would be because we all have the same thing in common, reality currently sucks.
In the winter the sun is further to the southern horizon, and so much of the quality of light we receive is eaten by traveling through that extra bit of atmosphere. I really am a creature of the sun, a being of the light, and not spiritually. I would assume I am a prime candidate for S.A.D. seasonal affective disorder. I would not trade one Arkansas July day, for a week of sunny December days.

Reminds me of that old traditional song,
"Going where the climate suits my clothes
I'm going where the climate suits my clothes
Going where the climate suits my clothes
Don't wanna be treated this a way"

Maybe one winter I'll be able to do that, but as for this winter, I'm ready to chuck it in a shallow grave.

Bring me my shorts,
James

Problog

2008-03-10T03:29:00.003-05:00

I guess the first post should probably be an introduction with a mission statement, so here goes.

Basically I'd like this to be a public notebook of sorts to portray odd thoughts and ideas, a mental sketchbook if you will. I guess you could expect odd bits of philosophy, travel experiences, short works or drafts of fiction, odd bits of poetry or song lyrics, biographical profiles, or even strange out of date practices or rituals.

So I guess you could say it's a generic blog...
But it's my generic blog,
James