Yellow's Story

I didn't always travel alone. At work Cameron Lucas and I schemed up an ambitious plan for our time off: road trip Red Rocks, Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Pheonix, and Joshua Tree in 11 days. It was a surly itinerary including much rock climbing, backpacking, and skydiving. Our vehicle for the journey was Cameron's trusty VW Wesfalia Van named Yellow, and a good time was had by all.


The Red Rocks Rendezvous rock climbing convention was happening at Red Rocks, our first stop.


Cameron placing gear on a sweet diheadral at Red Rocks.


The Team Name that says it all.


Backpacking the Grand Canyon: 3 days and 2 nights of a dream come true.


Wear Sunscrean.


Definately a rush; woah.


Arizona Desert and endless highways.


Multi Pitching at Joshua Tree, soo beautiful.

So I Went West

Eventually higher mountains and bigger wildernesses got the better of me, and I had to see the Great West. It was a simple plan: live in my car, travel the West, take pictures, and work Wilderness Therapy half the time. It was sweet; when I wasn't working I drove around and camped out and visited national parks and saw old friends. I drove many miles and crashed many couches until eventually, 6 months later, I unpacked my car and moved into a house in Bend, OR.



Me old AustraLearn Maties!! Our Reunion in Portland for New Years.


A Waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge sillouhettes Alex on a hike.


The Southern Oregon Coast from my Secret Pulloff Campsite on Highway 1.


Sea Anenome. Cooool.


The kind Northern California Coastline.


A bon fire in Arcata, CA with Old Friends and Firefighters Angela and Sika.


I got a thrill riding my trusty Bianchi over the Golden Gate; Hell Yeah wouldn't you!?


Katie Morton shows me how Grad Students at Berkeley party and sinks the winning beer pong shot.


This just about sums up Santa Cruz.


Home Sweet Home, you know it!

Ultimate is Life

While in Asheville I played as much and as well as I could The Greatest Game on Earth with a community of spirited, devoted, and party loving Ultimate players. Everytime I'm back in town there is great Ultimate to be played before we retire to the Brew & View for a pizza and beer. More than just team mates, these are dear friends. No one does Ultimate like Asheville!


The above mentioned Party Lovers in Hilton Head, SC for the anual December hat tournament Sammy Clause.


Seven very tired individuals after finishing second at the Seven Little Idiots Savage tournament at Tom's Ant Farm, GA.


The dead sexy Strassasaurus.


Cathy Jones looking very serious indeed.


Evan throws a picturesque hammer. Why not?


I swear I'm playing defense.


Brady's look of intense concentration. Go Brady Go!

Belize Break Out!

In February 2006 I milked my wilderness therapy schedule for a sweet 5 weeks off. The price was 3 weeks of work, and the pay off was Belize! The idea was a backpacking photo expedition to central America, an adventure, and to learn better how to travel on my own. It was a brilliant success and I had an amazing experience. Traveling alone I made friends easily, and the pictures I took on this trip feuled my increasingly out of hand photography addiction, still out of control. Here are the high lights.


Sunset from Caye Caulker, paradise.


Scuba diving was a big draw for me in Belize. This is me on a dive... the Blue Hole perhaps?


This is Tabacco Caye, off the cost of Dangriga, southern Belize.


Scotty Booth from my Furman Daze joined me for a little while; this picture just about sums his visit up.


An Osprey flies back to her babies on Tobacco Caye.


A juvenile Basillisk, or Jesus Christ Lizard, gets ready to run.


Sweet.


Angela points to the pin on Belize's only Frisbee Golf Course at the Trekstop Hostel near the Guatamalen border.


Travel companions Angela and Sika on Xunantunich ruin.


One of the many tall steep and massive temples at Tikal in Guatamala.


Monkey, make your move... Tikal.


Robby, Brian, and "woman from Amsterdam" in front of 1000 foot falls. Thanks to Robby for driving us all there from San Ignacio.


The park in front of Robbie's house in the very healthy town of San Ignacio.


A vine snake spied hiking in the jungle near Achtun Tunich Muchnal.


Real skull from a real Mayan sacrice in Achtun Tunich Muchnal cave. Spooky stuff.

North Carolina's Appalachain Mountains

North Carolina is my Mountain Momma. These are ancient mountains with wisdom; they are not the abrupt, craggy peaks of ambition calling me west, but they are deep calm and peace; they comfort me like home. Here are some photographic tidbits of good ole NC.

Mountain haze make colorful sunsets. This is from Mt. Pisgah.


Tiger Swallowtails dance on rocky river banks in sand. This one is in Mom's garden.


Magnolia trees are one of my favorites. The leaves are waxy, soft, and strong, and make for premium backcountry TP.


Eastern Rattlers are cute and cuddly, but through a telephoto.


The Blue Ridge Parkway winds its way through Craggy Gardens in this view of snow dusted Appalachians.


Sunrise on the Mountain to Sea trail along the way to Mt. Mitchell.


Late Fall shows Looking Glass Mountain. A fairly easy hike, Looking Glass has some tough Trad and Aid routes to be climbed.


Beautiful Appalachain People doing some Contra Dancing at the Old Farmers Ball, Warren Wilson College. Good times guarenteed!


Sometimes these mountains are beautiful beyond reason... my camera couldn't capture what my spirit felt this day sitting on Looking Glass Mountain in Brevard.


The Bad Ass Men and Women of SUWS Carolina's Fall Prehire, 2005. SUWS operates in the Pisgah Mountains; through the 30 weeks I worked at SUWS I became intimately close with region's forests by experiencing the changes in season first hand.

To Talisman with Love

Within 5 minutes of emailing my application to Camp Talisman, I got a phone call and a job offer. I accepted. I had no idea what I was in for. The job I was given was Trek Staff. And from what I knew I would be leading backpacking trips. Sounds good. But this was a camp for kids with Aspergers, high functioning Autism, severe ADHD, OCD, and ODD. Talisman is NOT a normal summer camp, and leading a 2 week backpacking trip with Talisman kids is CRAZY.
OK, so I had crazy kids and did crazy trips. It was a crazy intense summer with (crazy) pretty much ZERO time off. "Nazi Hippy Robot" was one name one kid called me hourly. Another flipped out any time people were laughing or if he heard the Happy Birthday song. The entire summer is one endless story of wierd things these kids did. It was probably the hardest job I ever had. But great things came out of that summer. For one, I liked what the challenge brought out in me, and this is the job that introduced me to SUWS of the Carolinas and wilderness therapy. I met my friend Sam working at Talisman— long live that mountain biking maniac. I also became acquainted with the lovely and talented Becky that summer, and it's my fondest love story. It's a story filled with coincidences and, well, cliché. We were sappy sweet camp lovers. It brings back strong emotions just to write about her; my relationship with her brought me so much joy. The picture to the right is of Sam and Becky, the two people Talisman brought me closest to.