Scruffy Gray One Year Later

It was on a cold March 9th evening one year ago, that a scruffy gray cat came out of nowhere to win over our hearts and sensibilities. Giuseppe and I were enjoying lunch the following day when this scraggly, heavily-matted cat came from under our deck and plopped himself down to soak up the warming rays of the afternoon sun. We went out to meet him and saw that beneath all of that scruff was a loving cat. We fed him and allowed him to sleep in our garage to escape the 20 degree nighttime temp. After three days we took him to the Skagit Valley Humane Society. And after much debate we decided to adopt him as we knew that this older somewhat special needs kitty was probably not going to be adopted by anyone else. We questioned our sanity as we took this abandoned cat in and slowly nursed him back to life giving him supplements and administering eye drops to his malnourished eyes. We had him shaved removing the heavily matted and dirty fur that covered him. And then we quarantined him in Heather's office until his fear slowly subsided and he was able to get along with Giuseppe. Now one year later and after spending a few hundred dollars on him, we have an incredibly loving cat that we can't understand why anyone would have abandoned in the first place. Every morning Scruffers sits on my lap and we read the paper together. He takes the news a lot better than me! Every evening he gets back on my lap and helps me enjoy my nightly glass of red wine. He appreciates his food, never complains, loves to nap all over the house and enjoys chasing Giuseppe around from time to time. And when I'm on the road, he misses me. He's a great little guy and we hope that he hangs around our home for years to come. There are lots of abandoned cats and dogs out there that need a loving home. And despite the expense and sometimes inconvenience of caring for one of these furballs, they pay you back with unconditional (yes-even cats are capable of this) love and definitely help you get through this crazy world and times. Thanks Scruffers for picking us-you did well for yourself!

(photos -left Scruffy Gray March 2009, right Scruffy Gray March 2010)

Happy 100th anniversary Boy Scouts

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Happy Birthday. If there was ever an organization that helped bond me to the outdoors, it was the scouts. My family moved to a small town in New Hampshire (population 3,000) when I was 8. It was there that I became a scout-Troop 266, Daniel Webster Council-Algonquin (now Nutfield) District. Did my first backpacking trip with the scouts-first mountain climb too-and boy did I ever look forward to camping jamborees and week long summer camp at Hidden Valley in New Hampshire's gorgeous lake district. I learned camping skills, survival skills, how to shoot a gun, how to use a bow and arrow, paddle, backcountry cook and a myriad of other great survival and life skills. I find it sad now that many boys and girls are shunning scouting. Yet another reason along with our urbanized society and plugged-in lifestyles that our next generations may never know the great outdoors. What a shame-long live the Boy Scouts and hopefully in its second 100 years more boys will discover and embrace it.

Just an aside-I guess having a district called Nutfield doesn't help recruitment! LOL- Seriously-it is the original name of the area that I grew up in-Oh, so that explains it!

June 6

D-Day 1944

and De-day I moved to Washington in 1989

Wow, I can hardly believe it! It was 65 years ago today that our boys stormed Normandy to kick once and for all some Nazi butt! It is a day that will live in infamy-one that we paid a huge price for in human life-and one that showed that we Americans stand for truth, justice and freedom. I sure hope our president today didn't have any apologetic words for this great American historical moment. I am so thankful and proud to live in this great nation and to live a lifestyle that I have created thanks to this nation.

It was 20 years ago today that I arrived in Washington state with my VW golf packed (which I still own) without a clue what I was going to do. I figured I work for the summer-get some hiking in-and then head back east. That never happened (the move back east part). While I miss my dear New Hampshire-things fell in place here in my adopted state of Washington. I went back to college -went to grad school (all which I did while waiting tables to support myself-Horatio Alger would be proud)-taught a little- wrote a little-and then made the big plunge as full time writer and author. It has been a great journey- two decades worth of wonderful tales. I'll never forget when I bought my first Manning and Spring Book-100 Hikes in the Alpine Lakes-devoured it-bought another Manning-Spring guide- hiked it out-bought another and another-and now I have been handed the torch to carry on this great Northwest Hiking legacy. I am proud to represent the Mountaineers Books- to have you trust me as a guide-to have you as a reader and supporter helping me to become a successful writer. I'm looking forward to another 20 years in the Northwest hiking and writing. I thank God that I live in a country where I have the freedom of the hills (to you Harvey) and the freedom to live a life of my choosing (here's to you Vets-for your service and commitment to this country). God Bless America and her open and wild spaces. Now get out there and enjoy this great wonderful land!
(Wow-that has got to be the most patriotic blog entry I have ever written-these reflective pieces do it to me!)

Here's a vintage photo-from a Feb 1990 bike ride on San Juan Island-I first came to the Northwest by bicycle back in 1980-so I figured the bike theme would be nice- dig the flat top!

Happy Anniversary

This past weekend Heather and I headed up to Surprise Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to celebrate a special anniversary. It was 12 years ago that Heather and I took our first hike together (our second date) and was here at Surprise. Back in June of 1996 we started out in pouring rain and had the sun coming out. This year we started in light rain and had pouring rain at the lake! And it was cold too!

Back then we just went to Surprise and back and those 9 miles were enough for Heather. This year we kept hiking- to Glacier Lake, then up and over Trap Pass to Trap Lake-onward to Hope and Mig Lake and out the Tunnel Creek Trail. It was then a run down Forest Service road number 6095 and a run down US 2 until trail (or rather highway) angel Steve Leary (a fellow hiker who took pity on us) stopped and gave us a ride back to our truck at the Surprise Lake Trailhead. It was a 17 mile hike at that point and another great memory created in our 12 wonderful years together.