Listening to Music

I’ve been home bound lately. Real life stuff  been keepin’ me in, so not much adventure to report.  But that’s okay, at least for me. I’ve been super productive and checking off a bunch of items on my to do list. I’ve also been listening to lots of music… music for the road, of course. I’ve got more adventure to far away places planned and up and coming, so those traveling tunes need to be selected and put into playlist form soon.

The music of Iron and Wine is featured on my music for the road blog. Check it out, and stay tuned for more adventure coming up.

Iron and Wine

Voile Hardwire 3-Pin Telemark Binding:

The name of this thing says it all. It’s bomber. And it’s got some great touring features – especially for the long venture deep into the back country. For the uphill, the 3-pin hardwire heel assembly can be secured away for no heel resistance. That’s huge. And that makes it redundant. The binding will perform its duty even if a heel or toe assembly fails. Certainly fine enough to get you back home. That’s pretty huge too. It’s the tool I’m choosing. It’s got the strength to go the distance and the power to handle beefy boots and big turns. I’ll post the link to this awesome binding at the bottom of this post, and put a link to Voile in the sidebar for your researching pleasure. I can’t wait for the snow to start dumping.

Voile Hardwire 3-Pin Telemark Binding: Voile Official Site – backcountry splitboards, skis, telemark bindings, and avalanche rescue shovels.

Tossing the Stick

I tossed a stick for Chewy and Malco late this afternoon. We stepped out into a cold late afternoon. It was winter like. The sun was dipping behind the horizon, dark gray November clouds hung low overhead, and snow frosted the ridge that rose up in the  East, a looming fortress of mountain range standing quiet and impressively powerful. It’s quite a sight.

Out we went, into the cold, me and my two large and very amped up German Shepherd house mates. It’s stick toss time, which happens to be the singly most exciting game they love to play.

And the truth is, I needed to get out and have some time to clear my head. I’ve got stuff going on. Things to deal with. Crap that distracts me.  Going out to play stick with these two is a blast. And It certainly helps gets my mind off things.

But enough about that. Winter is coming. It’s so close. Soon snow will be falling hard, and I’m so ready to start making back country tele turns again. That’s the kind of thing I want to be fully focused on. And right now I have gear issues I need to figure out. A significant investment in back country gear will be a necessary prerequisite to my upcoming winter adventures. Essential stuff. The list is long, from an ice axe and crampons, to tele bindings and avalanche gear.

I’m dong my research now, and as I gather information on back country gear, make comparisons, and come up with some conclusions, I’ll be sure to post my findings. First on the list, my back country binding of choice. The Voile hardwire 3-pin CRB telemark binding. Stay tuned. I’ll be letting you know why shortly.

Stick Season and Hiking

Mount Adams, New Hampshire.

Today is the first day of Stick Season. It’s official. And the season of sticks in my part of Vermont is kicking off with classic New England fury – high gusty winds, rain and cold, gray and bleak. It’s just nasty outside right now. But things are suppose to clear up for tomorrow. I hope so,  considering my plan for tomorrow is to meet up with a few friends early in the morning, shoot over to the Whites, and bag the summit of Mount Adams in the Northern Presidential Range. I’m amped; this will be my first ascent of Mount Adams, the second highest mountain in New Hampshire, and word is that the hike is classic White Mountain spectacular. I’ll be sure to fill you in on this adventure as soon as I get back. I hope to include some photographs as well. Stay tuned.

Music, and Slacker part II

I meant to opt out of my Slacker music service before my seven day free trail ended and my obligation to pay began. I wanted to get an iphone, a device I pan to have, before I subscribed. Slacker integrates so well with the iphone’s functionality, much better than it does on my PC, so I planned to wait. Oh well, I missed a time sensitive step in the opting out procedure, so I own a piece of Slacker now. I suppose I can live with that, and really begin to dig deep down into the music scene for new stuff. I already imagine my travels and adventures being all the sweeter now. And I’ll continue to keep you posted on what I’m finding.

Right now I’m listening to the Demolition Doll Rods. They’re for sure going into my on the road repertoire of selections. They rip down and dirty this trio of sisters. Out front, with classic garage band power vocals and guitar, is Margaret Doll Rod. They got their start out of Detroit in the early 90’s, and then went on to open for Igggy Pop, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and the Cramps, among others. They’re worth a listen. Now, I’m going to go check out the Cramps. I might need to start a blog dedicated to music at this rate. Stay tuned.

If it wasn’t for something, there’d be nothing.

In the flow and ebb of life there’s always something, isn’t there. But, as my friend Rob points out, “if it wasn’t for something, there’d be nothing.” And really, who want’s nothing? So for the something’s that exist in my life, even if it’s a really big life altering something, I’ll find a way to deal with it.

The wind was big and gusty up here in the mountains yesterday afternoon. The trees were swaying, leaves were flying through the air, and the forest was getting stripped of its foliage. It’s the next morning now, and it’s cold and gray, and low clouds just touch the highest peaks. The ridge line is dusted with a frosting of snow, and the forest is stark and gray and mostly bared. Only the hardiest leaves are still holding against winter’s fast approach. But the season for them is over, and soon they will all be gone as well. That’s nature’s way.

So anyway, I’m gonna fill you in on something. I have an ex wife out there somewhere. We were together for six or seven years, and they were good years, too.  Today, I don’t know her at all. We have no contact with each other, and that’s how its  been for well over a year. Not even an exchange of Christmas cards. Well, I was  recently given a reminder of her. A buddy I was with the other day let me know that he’d seen my ex wife out and about and hanging with her new man, my former friend, and their dog. Oh, Great to hear that. Yeah, I’ll admit it, this info did bum me out a bit. But not for long. Not with winter coming. It’ll be snowing soon, and I’m so ready to start making tele turns. So is my buddy.

We continued talking, he and I, about  the upcoming winter and about snow and mountains, the local stashes we know, and the new routes we plan to explore, and we talked a lot about gear. Specifically, about the gear we need and want for serious, even multi day, back country  pursuit’s. (check out the links in sidebar) For the lighter weight, yet highly versatile, perfect for the long rolling forest skiing of Vermont, I’m going with the Karhu Guide.  I took out a pair last year and did just that kind of tour, and I fell for the Guides. The omnitrack base made the uphills easy, they danced and floated through the tightest and steepest of lines, and held their own on the burly stuff exceptionally well. I’m going to mount the Guide with the tried and true Voile Hardwire three pin binding – and exceptional binding for the long tour. To round out this set up, I’ll be using my three year old Scarpa T3’s, a plastic boot light enough to tour, but with the power and burliness to deal with the spectrum of New England conditions.

Yeah, why dwell? I’m embracing the life I have now. And life is good. Oh yeah, before I forget to mention it, I finally broke down – after seven months of traveling only by motorbike – and got myself a car. It’s so convenient, and wow, the things we car drivers take for granted. I’ll post a separate blog entry about the experience I’m having with the transition over to a new mode of transport. It’s something, and I’m liking it. It’s also good to know that I can jump on the KLR any time I want. Stay tuned.

Off to Mac’s

My vehicle is my KLR. It’s all I’ve been driving since March, 16th, my birthday. On that day I was so amped to ski I got up early, broke up the ice on the driveway with a pick and a shovel, strapped my tele boards and gear to the back of the bike, and then took off to meet some of my buddies at North for an awesome day of Spring time resort skiing. Since that day I’ve put well over ten thousand mile on the odometer and I’m still going strong. It’s cold out these days, but that’s okay; I’ve got the cold weather gear thing completely figured out, and with that done, I’m ready and able to ride right through the frigid late fall Vermont temps without a problem. I took off around 5PM this afternoon for a trip to the store. Sounds boring, uh? Not with a KLR, and not living where I do. Out the drive I go straight to dirt, take a quick right, and then off and into the woods for the adventurous route to Macs convenience store way down in the valley. Traveling the back roads along the western flank of the valley, on the roads I was riding now, offers these expansive views to the north and west,  and when the sunset sky goes crazy with shades of red and pink and blue, like it was doing now, and wow – the sight is impossible to describe. It truly is awe inspiring. It’s a cool thing I’ve got going, to be able to make even a short trip to the store an adventure. And now, with the cold keeping most riders at home or traveling by car, my presence on the KLR gets noticed in a big way. And just about everyone who approaches me for a chat, like the woman tonight, starts off with a “… it’s pretty cold for that, isn’t it?” kind of comment. It’s great, and I’m getting to meet all sorts of people in the process. I love it. Stay tuned.

Riding the KLR 650 – what a blast

I really enjoy having this machine of mine, it’s a sweet ride and so perfectly suited to the kind of roads that I have all around me in this part of New England. Another reason why I love living in the the Mad River Valley. Everywhere around me, leading off in every direction, are dirt back ways and forest service roads and winding ribbons of tar. Dream conditions for a dual sport rider like me.  And so, with fun and adventure in mind, I suited up tight for some cold weather late Autumn riding, jumped on the KLR, and headed south. It was a perfect afternoon for a ride through the Gulf, a phenomenally fun, twisting, and highly scenic stretch of route 100, and then onto Forest Road 55 which leads deep into a rugged part of the Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF). The sky was a light gray, with just a thin wisp of cloud, creating this magical diffuse light that so complimented the pastel colors of late Autumn. The gulf, as expected, was in full splendor with canopies of color contrasting sharply against the bare coldness of trees and forest stripped of their foliage. And Forest Road 55 is one of my favorite access points into the GMNF. It follows the White River, a stream at this point, up to nearly its source, passes the Clark Brook trail head, and then cuts back and skirts the Breadloaf Wilderness Area as well as some of the most rugged mountains in Vermont. It’s an out and back, about a sixteen mile round trip, but oh my god – is it ever a blast riding it on the KLR. It’s a narrow get you into the back country forest service road with bumps and rocks, twists and swerves, a few hairpin tuns, and plenty of challenge. A strip of grass grows down the middle of 55’s upper reaches. It’s that kind of road. And right now, everything is just stunningly beautiful. Leaves, newly fallen and still holding their color, line the narrow road I’m on and cover the forest floor, Autumn shades still blaze away, and the highest peaks and ridges are white with fresh snow and frost. I’m just in awe of my surrounding as I motor the KLR along at a brisk 35 to 40 miles per hour, constantly working the gears, brakes, and engine as I decelerate into one turn and then accelerate out of another. I’m looking around and sucking in as much as I can, but at the same time I need to be fully focused on the task at hand. The KLR 650 is a powerful dual sport motor bike, and when combined with the aggressive tire I’ve got on it, the new higher torque gearing I gave it with a 14T front sprocket, and the kind of dirt like I’m on now and it’s like riding a mountain bike with a rocket for an engine. It chews this stuff up. What a blast.

On the way back out of the GMNF I decided to take a short detour onto another forest service road and check out my favorite primitive camping spot. That’s were I met Jim and his dog, Amigo. Turns out they’ve been living out of Jim’s ’83 VW pop up camper van and doing the nomadic life style for a bit over 4 years now. Fascinating guy with a fascinating story. I’ll be meeting up with him for a night of camping next week. Stay tuned, I’ll be posting more about them soon. Life is good here in Vermont.

Beautiful Day In Vermont

I was up and out early today, around 7AM, and believe me it was a frosty morning up here in the mountains. Easily in the 2o’s and in many spots, the valley nooks and crannies that don’t get morning sun, it must have been in the teens. I had an early morning date to meet up with a group of volunteers and work on a section of the Mad River Path that starts behind the Warren school. It’s a gorgeous stretch of trail that, at this time, comes to a dead end at the half mile marker. That may change one day. I’m hopeful that it will. What lays beyond has such amazing potential. But todays work was related to what is here now, and it needed some attention, so there we were we Path volunteers and Board members getting it done. It was a rewarding effort; we repaired water bars and drainages, and got all the culverts that run under the path repaired and covered solidly with rock and soil.

I rode down to the trail work site on my mountain bike this morning and man o man did I need to bundle up for that 4 or 5 miles of brisk riding. But by the time we finished our work, which was around noon, the sky was clear and the temps had come up into the high 40’s or low 50’s. Essentially a heat wave.  A Beautiful day was shaping up. So I said my goodbyes and went to the Warren Store for a cup of hot coffee and a delicious blueberry muffin. I needed some energy for the big ride up and back home I needed to do. Life is good here in Vermont.

Well, I think it’s time to get back outside and do something adventurous. So many options, and lots of daylight left.

Slacker

I was just introduced to Slacker, this Pandora on steroids like music service. I’m liking it a lot. Slacker is  giving me a lot of control over what I can listen to and when. It  did take me some getting use to the functions as they’re not as intuitive as they could be, and I also made the choice to sign up and pay a modest fee for the Slacker Plus features. That charge to be billed to me at the end of the free seven day trial of  the service. So far the effort and cost seems worth it. I just type in the name of a tune or an artist, hit the search button, and there it is, the stuff I want to listen to.  And, like Pandora, I can create a station and make a playlist –  as many as I want – but Slacker Plus has additional features that gives me more ability to customize and to do deeper searches. It’s a great way to listen to your favorites and then go dig deep for new stuff. Sure, it has it’s limitations. With Slacker I can’t listen to what I want over and over again and, in fact,  it doesn’t let me skip back at all. But hell, that’s all okay with me. With Slacker everything is forward, and that’s where all of the new and cool stuff is anyway.

Well, on that note, within thirty minutes of playing around with Slacker I created a station I call Blue Orchid and I discovered some awesome new music, like The Soledad Brothers doing Break em Down to a live audience, John Spencer Blues Explosion belting out an “…I wish I was fucking alright…” self assessment, and the Little Killers laying the sadness out in a rocking and uplifting “ah, some of these days” kind of way. I got the feeling.

Well, between the False 4th record club event at the Black Door and now Slacker,  I’ve been exposed to a lot of new music in just a few days. That must be a sign. Stay tuned.  I’ll keep you posted about my latest and most noteworthy discoveries.

P.S. – Slacker works great on an iphone.