WANDERINGTHRULIFE

So after the PCT, I decided to try van-life. I’ve lived and traveled in or on hum-vees, naval ships, motorcycles, 18 wheelers, small cars, pickup trucks, and as you know on foot so why not a comfortable house on wheels with my dog. I bought a 1992 E- 150 and after extensive renovations I set out to start my new life by celebrating my 40th birthday in Big Bend National park and from there visit every national park I could drive to. Well things did not go as planned but we did see Vicksburg and spend a few days living on a beach in Louisiana. ( Where an insane environmental group tried to build a fence right in front of the van doors to fence off the ocean) and we rode ferries and blew out a tire in Texas and we made it to Big Bend for my birthday (after spending a grand on a new fuel pump) and it was amazing! Then we saw Carlsbad caverns and Guadalupe Mountains and looked for aliens in Roswell. We also blew a whole in the radiator and patched it with jb weld and lost the engine trying to make it back for repairs as we limped to Arkansas trailing huge clouds of smoke down I-40 before being towed back to Tennessee by my Dad.
The van (Vancine) was toast and we were broke, homeless, in debt from repairs (the most expensive trip to Big Bend National Park in History) and licking our wounds but the dream was alive.

And I couldn’t kill it. Everyone said at 40 the wanderlust will die, you’ll settle down. I bought land, I tried to be still. Got a job, and yet I dreamed of everywhere, anywhere else. If I could just stay still I could have what everyone else wanted, a huge tv, the newest phone, a fancy car, a climate controlled life. But It wasn’t me I bought a bus.
Besides, My dog had caught my wanderlust. He had climbed mountains, hiked canyons, slightly illegally swam the Rio Grande. How could he be content running circles in the same old yard?

So we labored and we planned. And I had other plans as well. I was to hike the El Camino in Spain in the fall. A lifelong dream. I worked on our bus. I bought a ticket on a plane. This was not the perfect architect designed dream bus with whitewashed walls and perfectly straight lines that look like brand new 5 star New York City Apartments that you see on Instagram. This was a shoe string budget redneck know-how 20 plus year old rattle trap bus built with pallet boards and discarded cabinets, recycled lumber and old batteries, every reusable part we could scrounge from the van, it was hundreds of hours of I don’t know what I’m doing, a front yard paint job with rustoleum, it was running wire and randomly ordering stuff from the internet hoping it would work cause there was no one to ask, it’s a flea market door, and cabinets designed by dad , a bus seat cut down and reupholstered for a dog, a half a whiskey barrel shower and it’s an off the grid miracle that it works and a dream and it’s home.
Summer faded into fall ,work progressed, as I could afford the parts, the water pump came. We wired in the heater, added more solar panels and installed the water tank. I studied maps and read books about the El Camino. Checked out all my old gear preparing to hike.

November arrived and a week before I was to leave they canceled my plane ticket. I had bought it for less than 500 bucks months before but now since it was so close; a replacement would cost thousands. I couldn’t postpone for it was too close to winter. My trip to Europe was no more.

Reeling, I eyed my bus. I knew I needed to go somewhere anywhere. I christened her Fernweh, which is basically German for farsickness the absolute need to travel, to move, to go far away: and I call her Fern for short.

There were only a few National Parks I hadn’t been to, east of the Mississippi so we roughly aimed for those. They were not close together. We got distracted and climbed to the tops of Alabama and West Virginia. We drove to the Atlantic Ocean so Bilbo could chase seagulls. We fought hordes of mosquitos at Santee Coastal Reserve. And we made it to New River Gorge and Congaree National Parks. We visited Gettysburg and Shenandoah drove all of the Blue ridge parkway that was open camped in every national forest we got close too, hiked random trails and played in the snow.
We spent Christmas at Hot Springs National park in Arkansas and climbed its highest peak Mount Magazine. We reached the roof of Mississippi on New Years of 2023 and It was time to prepare to head out west.

I always try to take the sign pic. They’re not the most glamorous or scenic. But they’re a trigger when you see them you think “oh yeah I remember that” and then a roll of scenic views from mountain tops, or splashing through swamps, or hugging huge trees, or roasting in the desert or of whatever they drag out scrolls through your mind.

Oh and yes Bilbo has an Instagram it’s bilbos_tale

Hey I don’t know who is still on the email list. I was honestly going to delete everyone but I figured y’all have the right to choose so please feel free, hit unsubscribe send this to junk it’s all good. I got burned out on writing so I stopped and I’m sorry. Maybe one day I’ll finish the PCT story. For those wondering yes I finished I am a Triple Crowner and well that’s not why I am here. This sight is still up as it’s fee automatically deducts so I’m going to try using it again. Nothing exciting I’m afraid just a scrapbook of sorts. For the moment I am seeing America in a small school bus with my dog so hopefully I’ll post some pics maybe a paragraph or two. My dogs is always in front of me so lots of dog pics. His name is Bilbo. Anyway just wandering thru life….

I don’t know where we’re going but as always all are welcome to come along.

Our first day in Washington was a beautiful one. We were nearing the 500 miles to the border mark and feeling like we were getting somewhere but knew we still had a long way to go. Uphill was enjoying his new shoes and my ankle was feeling better: at least I wasn’t limping too badly. It was a long climb up from the river and we had actuallYplanned to do a short day and only climb part way up the mountain due to how late we had gotten out of town. It was a long 12 miles to the top of Table mountain and there was barely any water and none on top. We filled up at the last creek of the day around 7 miles in and continued on. The terrain was steep but it was wooded with big beautiful trees all along the way. We carried enough water for camping the last few mile to a campsite about ten miles out of town where we had planned to stop but the sites were really slanted and it was still early so we took a break and talked to a couple of southbounders, that had already taken over 2 months just to cross Washington, and then decided to climb on another 2 miles to the top with our heavy loads and hope for flatter ground. It was a beautiful day and we were still energized from town calories so the miles went quickly and we were soon on top and set up to camp. While making dinner Uphill discovered that the big can of fuel he had purchased at the store in town wouldn’t screw onto his stove. This was a problem. He was contemplating walking all the way back down the mountain to  town to find a different fuel can but I told him to try my small can and it screwed on so I tried his can on my jet boil and it worked so we just swapped and all was well. 
Early the 21st we were up and on our way. We only planned to hike 23ish miles which started off down Table mountain. It was a beautiful sunrise and a great hike through the woods on soft trails. I listened to birds singing and buzzing bees. Flowers were in bloom and creeks babbled along many with bridges making dry feet a guarantee. It was a great day in the woods and a quick one. I hiked down Table mountain crossed the saddle and Rock Creek and climbed over Sedum Point in no time at all. From there it was down across Panther Creek rd and on to just shy of Panther Creek itself where I found Uphill setting up camp amongst some colossal, venerable old trees. It was still early afternoon but we’d made our miles, plus we had time to kill since Uphills family planned to meet us after we finished to give us a ride; there was no reason to finish early and it was a beautiful spot. We relaxed and walked over and checked out the official Panther Creek campground that was nearby. I filled up my bottles at the potable water well since I was still without a filter and we returned to camp for a lazy evening in the woods. Mile 2182.7 a 23.7 mile day.

August the 18th I slept in. I was at the luxurious Timberline lodge sleeping. On a Cloud of feathers or at least a mattress stuffed with them. I was warmly snuggled under the feather duvet with a cool mountain breeze coming down from Mount Hood that stood outside the open window next to my bed. It was not a morning to be in any particular hurry but my nature also doesn’t allow me to lie in after sunrise. Still my being in bed past 6 am was wonderful as I forced myself up and began to organize my resupply from my box. Uphill was having issues with his foot and had figured out it was from his shoes so he was trying to find a way to get new ones. We made our way downstairs where we hoped for the free coffee that had been rumored but saw no sign of it so we headed across the parking lot to the day use building and found the small cafe ( or at least they called it a cafe) Two brothers that we had last seen back in Bend (Dundee and Riddler for names) were there and we managed to get coffee and microwaved breakfast sandwiches. We all sat and ate and visited for a while. Then Uphill went to find his box while I returned to the room and finished packing. We were getting ready to make the last push out of Oregon into Washington. As I packed Uphill returned to the room and packed then set about looking for shoe it took a while and several phone calls but he eventually manage to get a pair of Altra Olympuses ordered to Cascade Lockes Oregon with one day shipping. It was the last town in Oregon and the trail would take us straight into town in another 50 miles or so. With a plan in store and a great desire to make into a new state we left theLodge behind a little after 11am and resumed our hike around the magnificent Mount Hood.

August the 15th I awoke at 2033.2 in my tent sandwiched in between a log and some bushes. I crawled out of my tent packed my gear and hiked out to see what the day would bring. And soon after it brought blue skies and sunshine. It was a gorgeous day and warming quickly I was enjoying the hike even with the frequent burned zones I was having to walk through. We climbed up and passed by Rockpile mountain. As the burns grew worse, the deadfalls multiplied. Fallen trees were everywhere every few feet it seemed like I was crawling over a log. The day had grown hot and there was no shade. I was growing weary as I reached the final climb of the afternoon I was feeling worn out and ready to camp. I could see Mount Jefferson looming in the distance and I reached White water creek where the water flowed straight from its glaciers. The water was milky white but tasted great after I filtered it to get the sediment out. I set up camp in the large camping area next to the creek and relaxed. Several dayhikers rolled in and set up on the other side of some trees and Uphill came in and camped near me. Around 9 that night more hikers came in and for some reason 1 lady set up not 3 feet away from my tent where I was trying to sleep it wasn’t even a flat camping spot and there was plenty of room but she squeezed in between me and the trees on the slope and made camp. After she finally settled in I got to sleep knowing she was going to hate it when I got up at 4 the next morning. 

Oh zero days how I love them at least in theory, it’s a day to just exist, to be, to not put miles on my swollen ankles and creaky knees. But in reality it’s usually a day of chores. I had managed to fit in a lot the day before when I hiked 20 plus miles thru mountainous forest and wobbled, crawled, semi dexterously leapt through the blowdown obstacle course (losing half my pants in the process) before hiking off the trail getting a ride to town, buying new clothes going to the doctor (all managed by walking all over the city on foot) figuring out how to fill a prescription and how to get Taco Bell delivered and eating like 5 times from different places so yea it had been a busy day but now on the 12th I awoke in my beautiful bed at the rainbow motel and I laid there. yup I awoke and I just laid there it was phenomenal I gotta do this more often I thought to myself what a concept to not wake up, pee, deflate matress, stuff everything I own in a bag throw it on my back and start climbing a mountain “is this how the other half live?” I wondered aloud: from the bed next to mine I heard “are you talking to yourself, Wallace?” “Yup” I cheerfully replied. “Ok” Uphill was getting used to my weird. 

The Morning of the 7th of August I woke in my tent in the hiker campground in Crater Lake National Park and it was cold. My tent was covered in frost. Still I had miles to do so I pulled on my puffy coat and found my beanie which I hadn’t used in weeks and even dug out my gloves. It was still dark as I packed up dreaming of the warm sunlight I hoped was coming. Uphill was up as well and freezing cold. He refuses to hike in his puffy ,trying to keep it pristine for town and camp, and he had put all his cold weather gear in a box and mailed it forward to lighten his load back in California and the post office had lost it so he didn’t have any cold weather gear other than his puffy. So he was cold. We set out around 5 and headed back towards the trail. Uphill told me his hands were freezing so I told him to put his extra pair of socks on them and he did. After that he was doing better and we hiked from the alternate back to he PCT and followed it for a bit to where we had to take a side trail yet again. The new official trail goes through a burned area and misses basically the whole park and never gets near the lake but the side trail climbs up and joins the Crater Lake Rim trail and follows the edge of the lake for miles before dropping back down and rejoining the PCT. I wasn’t going to Crater Lake National Park and not seeing the Lake so I was taking the alternate. Uphill decided he would as well. Up we climbed over 2000 feet in a couple of miles, where we hit the rim trail on a sidewalk in the village and got our first view. The lake was a deep deep blue, and in a volcanic crater with cliffs on every side. A small volcano and island floated to one side. As the sun rose and lit the cliffs the lake glimmered in its beams. A beautiful sight. It used to be a 12000 plus foot tall volcano that exploded and left a huge crater now the lake is one of the 5 deepest in the world. 1,949 feet deep in fact.

The 31st of July I slept in for a change and wasn’t out of my tent till 6 o’clock in the morning. It was a beautiful chilly sunrise in Seiad Valley. I made sure the laundry was dry and sat on the nearby swing and worked on my blog for a while. The cafe opened at 8 so we went over and ordered breakfast. I was brave and ordered a sausage and biscuit but as I continue to discover no one out here actually knows how to make biscuits and it was hard as a rock and inedible. But the lady was really nice so I pretended to eat it and threw it away when she wasn’t looking. We were sitting out in the parking lot at picnic tables, drinking coffee and enjoying the day. We still had to wait till noon So we could get Uphill’s package when the post office opened. I went back to the rv park and hung out for a bit then I had to go walk the half mile of the road walk I had missed the day before when the lady picked me up so I could keep my continuous footpath intact. I walked the half mile down the road and turned around and walked the half mile back. Around 1145 I went back to the Cafe and got a patty melt for lunch. The post office opened and Uphill went to find out about his package. He was told it was there but it would be another half hour before he could get it. I finished eating and hiked on out of town knowing he would catch up. The first half mile was on the road and I walked past Wild Woods the infamous hiker resort that was at war with the rest of the town. There were tents set up nearby and it looked like several hikers were hanging out on the porch but I didn’t stop in. I made it back to the trail and the huge 4500 foot climb in about 8 miles. It was an excessively hot afternoon and I noticed a couple of hikers sitting under a tree in the shade. They told me it was way too hot to climb the mountain and they were waiting till it cooled off. I hiked on. The trail was largely exposed and I was soon sweating profusely as I made my way up the trail. I passed by piped fern spring which was coming out of a pipe into a concrete small reservoir about the size of a large suitcase . I still had plenty of water from town so I ignored it and pressed on, Uphill caught up with me shortly after and walked into the early evening hours. We finally reached the top and walked on to Kangaroo spring. We were unable to locate the spring but there was a couple of pools of water there and campsites so we made camp and filtered enough water for the night. After we ate, an older hiker called Rev came in and set up camp nearby. I went to bed early excited to finally be hiking out of California into Oregon the following day. Another two hikers walked in after 9 and woke everybody up looking for a camp spot and getting set up but soon quieted down and peace was restored. A 10.1 mile day to 1666