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Shingles Adventure
The night before I was set to go skiing, my arm was sore enough to question whether I could properly use my ski poles. The next morning, my wife immediately diagnosed the rash on my right arm as Shingles. Surprisingly, I was able to see my doctor who confirmed it was Shingles. Within an hour, we had the Famciclovir medication immediately thereafter. The week’s worth of pills, taken 3 times daily, seemed to keep the rash under control, and I never had much scabbing. I used Lidocaine for topical pain relief (this was critical) and ibuprofen offered the best overall pain relief. After about 3 weeks, I felt like the Shingles was receding so that I could return to hiking, but that has turned out to be an entirely different recovery journey.
If you have followed my Adventures, you know that I am going through a major life change which placed me in Indiana for about 18 months, and now my new wife and I are adapting to our final destination of Grand Junction, CO. Backpacking has become a memory stretching back to February of 2022 on the Lost Coast Trail. I did hike many of the Indiana State Parks and I had been aggressively hiking the best of the day hikes around the Grand Valley. I desperately want to get back to backpacking and I do have plans for building up to a bucket list trek of the Four Pass Loop Trail in the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness next to us. I felt like I was on track for restoring my almost 70 year old body to backpacking shape, but then came this Shingles setback. No I did not get the vaccination, Shingles was not on my radar, plus I probably believed I was invincible. I will get the vaccination soon.
The visible aspects of Shingles was fading away so I began walking in the neighborhood, quickly realizing how out of shape I felt. But it was more then being out of shape, my body was obviously affected by the Shingles (Herpes Zoster) virus which was totally zapping my energy. I could barely walk a mile and if I pushed it further I paid the price with renewed arm pain.
This struggle continued for weeks as the winter ski season was coming to a close, and I had 3 lift passes that I needed to use. By March I was hiking the trails in our new subdivision where our house is being built and the ill effects were acceptable. Plus golf season was beginning and I wanted to join a Senior’s Golf League,so it was time to push the body. I went skiing doing about 7 runs with a few days of recovery. I walked 9 holes of golf a couple of times, barely able to finish. But now at the end of March, I had to get back in the saddle. I used up my lift passes and was satisfied enough to buy a season pass for next year.
I played 18 holes with the Seniors by using a riding cart. I did some aggressive 2+ mile hikes and returned to my Oculus SuperNatural workouts. On most of these outings I would come home and crash, but recovery was acceptable. Of course I made the mistake of believing I could walk 18 holes on my second Senior’s outing. I barely was able to finish, so maybe I better ride for a while longer.
This was not an Adventure I wanted, but one that taught me a lot about aging. I am not invincible and the body is wearing down. My priorities are adjusting, but I’m still gonna push for many more Adventures as I finish up the 4th Quarter of my life. Life is good and The Adventure Continues.
Grand Junction, CO
I plan on riding out my remaining years in Grand Junction, CO, so I thought it would be handy to explain why this place captured my heart. I have gone through a major life change over the last 2 years. Divorce, reconnecting and marrying my high school sweetheart, Pam, and relocating to Grand Junction, CO. We are building our dream home overlooking the Grand Valley which will be my 30th move. So why Grand Junction? There are some logistical reasons such as being half way between our families in the US. Plus I have lived here before working at Union Oil’s Parachute Creek Oil Shale Project and I had lived in Colorado 76-87 so I knew of Grand Junction.
My life started settling down after the chaos of divorce, I then focused on where to land. I loved my previous home in Oregon; the Pacific Northwest was an awesome place to live, especially with the outdoor activities that I was always pursuing. But Colorado is also an awesome place to live, but where could I find that perfect combination of affordability and adventure? Divorce does deal you a significant financial hit, so affordability was a challenge. Cost of housing in Colorado immediately eliminated relocating to a beautiful mountain resort, or the Denver front range. I did want some city amenities but did not want to live in a crowded city. Grand Junction was on my radar, so I did my research and determined the Grand Valley could be an option. Homes starting at $400K are good values. Then I needed to get buy-in from my new wife, who had very little experience with the west, not to mention her family is mostly in Ohio. So I took her on a 5-week trip around the west to show her my life’s path and to expose her to Grand Junction the beautiful low humidity weather of western Colorado. Life Transition Post
It worked, we decided Grand Junction would be a great place to live. A big part of our story is the opportunity we came across to build our own house with an awesome view of the Grand Valley, but initially we were just searching for an affordable house ideally with a view of Mt Garfield (right). I’ll leave the house story (which is incredible) to another post, this story will be about Grand Junction.
Adventure
Grand Junction does not need a post from me to bring it publicity. It is already known as a fabulous place to live in the West. I will just give my review to help validate what is already known, and my followers will better understand what brought me here. For me, the adventure needed to continue, and I knew it had to offer access to wilderness. I guess I equate the exploration of new things, especially in the wilderness, as adventure. Making my final home in Grand Junction is an incredible adventure, and having all that western Colorado offers allows the adventure to continue. The nearby adventure attributes include the Rocky Mountains, Colorado River, Grand Mesa, Colorado National Monument, Uncompahgre Wilderness, and the 5 National Parks near Moab UT. Those adventure opportunities typically take the form of hiking and backpacking for me, but I never knew how much I would appreciate these opportunities year-round. My post “My Goto Hikes Around the Grand Valley” says it all.
Weather
The weather in the Grand Valley area is fabulous which makes all of those adventure opportunities a year-long reality. It really is an awesome climate, definitely a desert semi-arid mix. I would equate it to living in Phoenix, except 20 degrees cooler and far less crowded. It does get hot, maybe 30 days at or slightly above 100, but with 15% humidity, all you need to do is chill in the shade. Winter temperatures can get cold at night but generally get into the 30s & 40s during the day. Those temperatures again are enhanced by the lack of humidity; you can be very comfortable in the sun if the temperature is above freezing. I wouldn’t mind a bit more snow; the average snowfall is only 15″, but it sure is better not having to worry about snow. But of course, if you want to drive through the mountains to Denver, you will have to deal with serious snow.
Winter Recreation
I will be 70 in a few more months, but I still enjoy recreation other then just hiking. Skiing has always been important to me, but I only need to ski a few times every winter to recharge that battery. Powderhorn Mountain Resort with 1650′ vertical is all that I need. I have skied most of the other big ski mountains, but my body can’t justify those prices anymore. Powderhorn has some great Blue Runs that totally satisfy my needs.
Nordic Skiing has not been in my blood since I was telemark skiing long ago around Steamboat Springs. But I took those 40 year old skis and had a wonderful time cross country skiing up on the Mesa thanks to the Grand Mesa Nordic Council.
The go-to winter recreation options for the Grand Valley typically means going up to the Grand Mesa which is less than an hour drive. However, options such as Aspen, Crested Butte, or Telluride are easily accessible. I’m actually looking forward to taking my grandchildren up to the Mesa for some serious sledding.
Summer Recreation
You can include all forms of warm weather recreation in the Grand Valley, but the most popular options, other than hiking, focus on water sports or the numerous biking trails, especially around the Colorado National Monument. I am looking forward to exploring options like Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUPing) on the Colorado River or trying out some of the easier mountain biking trails. There are 28 miles of paved trails, mostly highlighted by the Riverfront Trail, which we have taken advantage of numerous times already.
Another activity that I am looking forward to returning to is Fishing, and oh boy, those 300 lakes up on the Mesa along with the rivers sure do encourage that.
Community
What kind of community is Grand Junction? It is a regional hub for commerce, serving a very large region of western Colorado and eastern Utah. This means having most of the big box stores and restaurant chains easily accessible. We can confirm the availability of quality health care with a couple of strong hospital systems. Quaint downtown commerce environments are found in downtown Grand Junction, Fruita & Palisade. Traffic is not really apparent, there is a saying that you can get anywhere in 11 minutes, and I tend to agree. Excellent seasonal events are highlighted by the awesome fruit grown in the valley, most known for Peaches. Other telling features are happy people working at the DMV or Post Office. Yes, Grand Junction is a friendly place, but the locals do not want to see their secret discovered. I guess this post doesn’t help with that, but reality does kick in, which means of course Grand Junction is going to grow, but there is plenty of room still available.
This is a short personal review of our Grand Valley that may help others find their perfect home. In the coming years, I am hopeful that I will be putting out more backpacking posts from the surrounding wilderness. However, age is catching up with me, but that may be the greatest value of this area for me. There are so many amazing easy hikes that should allow me to live out my years with nature.
Town Run Trail Talking Tree Loop
I found a new trail to hike today on the Northeast side of Indianapolis. The Town Run Trail is an excellent bike trail but it served me well for hiking on this beautiful Autumn day. Located between 96th and I465 along the White River, this trail has been optimized for off road bikers (so no headphones while hiking). The full trail is 6.6 miles but I cut it down to 4.4 miles by turning back at the Talking Tree. Remember this is a primarily a bike trail which is a one way trail out and back, which also means don’t jump the trail because you really don’t know which way it might be going. I captured my hike with my latest Beta Test version of the Natural Atlas App. My hike is named the Talking Tree Loop.
The Trailhead is just south of 96th on the westside of the White River. There is a nice parking lot at the trailhead.
The trail is a very typical Indiana river corridor meandering along the White River near housing and industrial activity. I liked doing it after the leaves have fallen partly for awareness of bikers and partly to have a sense of where I was at.
The trail is designed for bikers so there are many alert signs announcing upcoming trail conditions for the bikers. There are also a few built up trail enhancements.
I do love the trees in Autumn.
Since I am planning on moving to Grand Junction next year I appreciated this sign alerting me to how far it is to the finest bike trails in America,
I did see many squirrels and had a cool eye to eye contact with a large mule deer about 20 feet away from me. And of course the Talking Tree.
What Retirement Means to Me
I retire on June 30th, but the term “retire” doesn’t really fit. I’ve tried to label this end of my one year contract to serve as the Interim CIO at Western Washington University as my official retirement. But what is retirement? I think I’m OK with just transitioning into my next job which happens to be the more serious pursuit of or the return to nature. And backpacking is my enabler for doing that.
The common question of what will I be doing next is answered with “I’m going backpacking”, but few have any clue what that really means. And of course going backpacking could be equated to varying definitions. Many ask if that means I will backpack the PCT or the Appalachian Trails. So I try to explain that I just want to be more serious and deliberate about backpacking to wherever opportunities it takes me to. If the conversation progresses it typically ends with some dismay that I actually will be doing this alone with my dog. And I have to admit that I’m not sure how to explain why I want to do this. However, I just read a blog post by Cam Honan, author of “The Hiking Life” entitled “A Natural Progression“ which is the best description I have ever read about why I am drawn to the wilderness. He breaks it down to “From Stanger to Guest to Family Member”. This paragraph from his post sums up why retirement will allow me to return to my “Family”.
From an intangible perspective, feelings of separation have disappeared, replaced instead by a sense of union with your surroundings. You have come home, and in so doing realised that your spirit never really left. Our connection with the natural world is innate, so while it may seem like Mother Nature is teaching, I’ve long suspected she is simply reminding. Providing the key so that we ourselves can unlock a part of us that has always been there. And I can’t think of too many gifts that are greater than that.
I thank Cam for putting into to words what I feel. The opportunity to be a part of this wilderness family is as good as it gets. Tomorrow I will reclimb Goat Mountain to get my own gauge on the snowpack in the North Cascades. The Adventure Continues
Oregon Central Coast
Proposal Rock in Neskowin, OR
I have been off the trail for 2 weeks and it seems like an eternity. I’m not sure if I just miss the wilderness or I am just overly pumped for the upcoming longer commitment. It was insightful to go through the planning steps for coordinating a month on the trail and sending off resupply boxes. I have an even greater respect for the PCT through hikers who figure this out for many months. But I am ready to go. The Spider Gap Buck Creek Loop with friends will be fabulous and then on to Canada on the PCT. Thankfully it appears the forest fires are under control.
North Neskowin Beach
In preparation for this next backpacking commitment I have been fortunate to spend about a week down at our townhouse in Neskowin. We have a 1/12 fractional share which is priceless (there may be a share for sale) The weather has been fabulous and the hiking opportunities around Neskowin are as good as it gets for the Oregon Coast. Let me give you a glimpse of my hiking preparation over the last 3 or 4 days.
View South from Cascade Head
Hiking the beach is always great exercise by way of distance and solitude. Rarely are there any other humans once you get a mile or so north of Neskowin. Hiking on Cascade Head should always be done either from above or below.
View from Cape Foulweather
My daughter motivated me to go for a longer hike so we opted for the trails behind Cape Pepetua scenic coastline. On the drive down we needed to stop at Cape Foulweather because the view is awesome. The Cape Perpetua coastline is considered the most beautiful in America and the hiking trails in the Siuslaw National Forest offer exposure to impressive old growth forests.
The Thumb
The unexpected hiking delight turned out to be the Thumb Trail which is a little known trail that starts at the end of Roads End in Lincoln City. A short hike with some serious technical climb to the Thumb but the view is second to none on the coast.
Cascade Head from Thumb
This discovery was extra special since it gave me a view of Cascade Head from the South.
Lincoln City from Thumb
This area is not really setup for serious traffic so please take care of this gem. The top of the Thumb is a bit dangerous especially with strong winds, it drops off on 3 sides.
Is this too good to be true?
No Pain No Gain
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| Looking West at “The Husband” peak |
First I would like to thank the Oregon Hikers Organization for providing me with valuable information that helped me and friend Bob put together a great 5 day trip around/through the 3 Sisters peaks. Also this is a trip report from a couple of old guys who were mostly concerned about survival but ended up anxious for more such multi-day trips.
South Mattieu Lake
This trip starting and ending at the Lava Lake Trailhead, Sept. 14-18, 2011. We decided to modify the traditional 50 mile loop around the 3 Sisters with a 35 mile version that cuts through the Middle and South Sister via Camp and Chambers Lakes. The choice to go from the East over to the West was determined by believing that finding the trail would be easier once leaving Camp Lake heading west. We found that it probably did not matter, the trail was well defined all the way. 
Day one on Sept. 14 (fairly warm day) nearly did me in going 12 miles to Soap Creek. Problem, I was consuming more water than planned and we had been warned that Alder Creek was dry. I did thank God for a strong flowing Alder Creek due to the warm afternoon snow melt. But we did push our old bodies a bit. I’m a 57 year old office guy with 2 artificial hips and Bob is 64. Our packs were about 38 lbs which worked out pretty well, we did end up taking more food then was needed.
First night at Soap Creek junction of the trail to Green Lakes and Camp Lake we met backpacker Jeff, a Medical School Intern at Emory. He also started at Lava Lake and was on his last night. His friends had scared him into believing that bears were a problem so he never cooked anything at night in fear of become a victim of a bear attack. He did say he was heading to Bronco Billy’s for all the ribs he could eat and we to ended up there at the end of our trip.
After re-hydrating and a good night’s sleep day 2 took us to Camp Lake which turned out to be the easiest hiking day. Luckily we got there before a front came in which brought wind, cold and low clouds. But Camp Lake is a treat especially when it is all yours. This was our critical decision point. 
Would we be able to climb over the steep wall to get out of the Camp Lake basin. The trail led us to a fairly steep ice/snow covered incline we had to climb with just hiking poles and normal boots. I am so glad we decided to do it because the reward of going down the West side along Separation Creek was exceptionally beautiful.
Husband Peak coming down Separation Creek
We ended up camping at Reese Lake just North of the trail junction with the PCT. 
A very scenic location looking up at the South Sister and the lake was warm enough to entice us into a swim. However, that 3rd night was the coldest. We woke up to plenty of frost causing our departure to be a bit delayed.
South Sister with a Scarf
Our goal for day 4 was to get beyond the Obsidian area hopefully to beyond Opie Dilldock Pass.
Obsidian Falls
With a late start and late afternoon high cold winds we stopped at Sawyer Bar. The winds were strong and the outlook for comfort bleak, but all this changed by morning to give us balmy temperatures to get an early start.
Actually climbing over Opie Dilldock was more work then we expected, but we saved some energy for a climb to the top of Yapoah Crater.
Overall this 5 day 35 mile loop turned out to be a fabulous trip. No rain, plenty of water, awesome mountain scenery and wild flowers at their finest. I highly recommend this Sisters cut through but realize that the window of opportunity is fairly short when snow does not clear until late summer.
Trail back to Lava Lake Trailhead through Lava Field
My words of wisdom are to set your goal, be persistent with commitment. Be flexible when trying to include others who may not have the same commitment. Do diligence in preparation will pay off. And don’t underestimate what the human body can accomplish especially when survival depends upon it. Or maybe just “No Pain, No Gain“. And be confident that your next adventure will be that much better but no less difficult. Live long and be healthy.
The Adventure Continues 