The Spice of Life

The last few weeks added thousands of miles to the odometer and a vast range of experiences to our trip log. After our last post, we doubled back and headed west into Yellowstone National Park and then on to the Tetons. These jagged teeth of rock have been a perennial favorite for us and this visit delivered on our high expectations once again. We spent three days and two nights backpacking a 22-mile loop that took us into the high country. Part of our route wound along the menacingly named Death Canyon Shelf, which yielded eye-popping views in all directions. Sorry Glacier, but we have a new favorite backpacking route this trip.























Our next stop took us further west, as we curled around the foot of the Tetons to Grand Targhee Ski Area. While skiing the powder there this winter, we heard about their annual Bluegrass Festival and decided to see if we could shoehorn it into our busy schedules. The Fest delivered on the promise, mixing the unbeatable elixir of foot-stomping music, mountain views, and cold beer. Carolyn even found time to give the hippies a hula hoop lesson as the night wore on. That night in Southern Idaho, we were treated to a moonless night, which delivered a blizzard of stars sprayed across the sky.








Soon it was time to bid the mountains farewell and initiate the long slog through the Great Plains on our way to the Midwest. This is “lower your head and plow through” country and we did just that. We made a one-night stop in Theodore Roosevelt National Park and admired the badlands and buffalo, but the rest of the journey was essentially a necessary evil. The highlight was a lunch stop in Bismark, ND, which delivered us the elusive Delaware license plate! We were starting to theorize that either the DE driving test must be near impossible or that most DE residents are luddites and fear fancy technology like cars….

Our roadtrip officially finished, we relished a bit of relaxation and pampering at the hands of our parents in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Team Opps Sr. (including the hound, Gordy) took us backpacking in the Porcupine Mountains of Northern Michigan, where we stayed in a rustic cabin for a few nights. The Bruners graciously beat us at tennis and allowed us to engage in the age-old battle between running and bottomless chocolate chip cookies. According to the scale, the cookies are winning this round.

The past week gave us a bit of time apart, so we can truly appreciate each other in the months to come. Carolyn was in Chicago, where she threw an immense weight from her shoulders by successfully defending her Master’s thesis. Many thanks to fulltime sister-in-law and part-time thesis advisor Leah, whose guidance and support through the whole ordeal were priceless. She was also able to catch up with great friends, and paid a much needed visit to her old hair dresser. Ben spent the time in the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado on his annual “boys” backpacking trip. Ben and the fun boys had another epic trip, with numerous campfires, a night in the sand dunes sleeping under the stars, and ample laughter.

This evening we take 9/11 back for the good team. We are flying to Istanbul to begin the international portion of our trip in earnest. We don’t know what to expect in terms of internet access, so our blog cadence will likely be sporadic. However, we still look forward to sharing our adventures with you and appreciate your readership and comments.

Godspeed,
Team Opps

P.S. We are hard to please and don’t praise companies often, but wanted to share a great customer service story that needs repeating. In December, we bought a Panasonic digital camera for our trip. It has served us well thus far, but had a mechanical issue while Ben was backpacking this week. This put us in a very precarious position, with only 2.5 days to address the issue before going overseas. A quick call to Panasonic set in motion a Herculean effort on their part to overnight ship us a brand new camera to take on our trip. There was no charge for this and they called us at least six times during the process to let us know the status along the way. Ben, having worked for a large company and seen how challenging it is to get customer service right, was blown away by. Thanks Panasonic – we’ve gone from enjoying your product to truly trusting you as a company.

Where Have You Been?

Hello faithful readers! We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Thanks for coming back for the next installment.

After our last post, we dove headlong into the rugged terrain of Glacier National Park in Northern Montana. We took a number of moderate day hikes, exposing us to numerous mountain goats, bighorn sheep, glacier-fed alpine lakes, and endless marches of jagged peaks.



















One of these hikes, through carpets of wildflowers, led us to Grinnell Glacier. Besides the stunning beauty, Ben finally had success when asking his incessant question of fellow hikers with snacks…”Do you need a hand with that?” For the first time ever, this yielded two delectable peanut butter cookies. It is not always easy to be selfless, but we enjoyed extending a helping hand (or mouth, in this case) to peers whose packs needed a bit of lightening. We munched our cookies at the edge of the milky glacial lake and felt happy to be alive and in paradise.























After our hike, we stumbled up the weekly Hootenanny at the historic Many Glacier lodge. Go ahead and look up the word “hootenanny” – we’re not making this up. Every Sunday night through the summer, the lodge staff puts on a live music show for the guests. We had a great time shucking and jiving to the wide array of tunes pouring out of the barmaid’s piano, the bellhop’s guitar, and the potential serial killer’s violin.







While in Glacier, we did an overnight backpacking trip to Gunsight Lake. Ben had hiked past the lake on a backcountry trip with his buddies in 2000 and wanted to recapture and share some of the awe that he felt on that trip. After pitching camp, we hiked to Gunsight Pass (the notch in the mountains in the pic below) to stretch our legs and see the other side. Mountain passes have become addictive on this trip and our heads dance with wild visions of what beckons on the other side as we climb. We have not been disappointed yet and this was no exception. We had a snack with a mother mountain goat and her kid and soaked up the crisp air and exceptional views.






One bonus of camping in grizzly country is that you share a common cooking area with fellow backpackers. Here we met lots of interesting characters, swapped hilarity, and received a gift equivalent to a bar of gold in the backcountry – a Hershey Bar with almonds (thanks Jesssica and Brian!). We also had a close encounter with a gargantuan bull moose at this site. We are definitely not in Texas anymore.

















From Glacier, we sped south to the friendly confines of Bozeman to spend time with Carolyn’s brother Steve and his family. While there, we got a crash course in parenthood by babysitting our niece (18 months) and nephew (3 years) for four days while their parents were out of town. The wee ones reminded us how to appreciate lots of the little things in life that we take for granted, like how fun mud puddles and hugs are. They are well-behaved kids and we’re liberal with our ice cream as babysitters, but it’s fair to say that all parties were happy when their parents returned from afar. We relish our roles as aunt and uncle and continue to be amazed by all of you who are parents.





















While in Montana, we also celebrated our two year wedding anniversary, returning to Chico Hot Springs where we were married. We soaked in the hot water, walked the grounds, and shared that wedding day giddiness all over again. It probably goes without saying, but as with any worthwhile celebration, there was plenty of bacon consumption too.
















Our next destination brought a reprise of the aunt and uncle roles, with a long weekend in Powell, WY, where Ben’s brother Zac lives. We enjoyed delicious meals, spirited card games, and loads of wrestling with three little Oppslings. Ben and Zac broke away for a morning to hike up Heart Mountain, which is the high point in the valley and a prominent local landmark. Many thanks to niece Gretel, who donated her bedroom during our visit.


















Next stop: the Tetons!

A Case of the Mondays

At our last writing, we were headed to Olympic National Park in the farthest northwest corner of the Lower 48. This sprawling park is renowned for the fact that it spans three unique ecosystems – lush rain forest, high alpine peaks, and rugged Pacific coast. Our focus on this visit was the craggy coast and we lined up an overnight backpacking excursion. There are few places in the temperate world where you can walk along miles and miles of undeveloped coastline, so we wanted to make the most of it. We made our hike much more interesting than it needed to be by disregarding our tide schedule and trudging out near high tide. This injected lots of exciting opportunities to duck under gigantic driftwood logs and scramble over slippery rocks in alternating time with the lapping waves. It seems the rangers really do know what they are talking about.




















Besides its rocky, unspoiled beauty, this shoreline is also famous for its smothering fog. We got to experience plenty of both. In one of our sunny interludes, as we sat by our campfire on the beach and stared out at the crashing surf, Carolyn announced that she was ready to see something swimming in the ocean. As if on cue, a sea otter munching on clams leisurely paddled past. That evening as the tide went out, we mucked around in the abundant tide pools, prodding anemones, starfish, and crabs at will. At dinner that night, Carolyn sealed her position as Ben’s favorite camping accomplice with four delectable words, “You can finish it.” The sun gave us a spectacular send-off, with an orange sky tickling the sea stacks to the endless sound of pounding breakers.

The next day we headed back towards civilization, camping in the shadow of Hurricane Ridge. Then it was back across the Puget Sound and north to Vancouver. After nearly two months on the road, we were finally going a tiny bit international, eh. All of Ben’s business trips to romantic destinations like Oklahoma City paid themselves off when we cashed in the accumulated hotel points for a few Hilton nights in the city. We enjoyed a lavish two room suite with impossibly white linens and one giant TV per guest. We spent our time walking the bustling streets and riding public transportation, usually overwhelmed by the cacophony around us. We feasted on lots of seafood and produce, including the frugal triumph of an all-you-can-eat sushi lunch for $12. We have come to love Mondays for things like that – all the part-time tourists get back to work and us full-time tourists get back to solitude and lower prices. This summer, having a “case of the Mondays” has gone from being the dreaded illness that rears its ugly head on Sunday afternoons to something to celebrate.

The Pacific Northwest is experiencing record heat this summer. We felt this firsthand on our visit to Whistler, which was baking in 35 degree Celsius heat. We couldn’t remember the conversion formula either, but trust us, it’s hot. The entire area is preparing to host the 2010 Winter Olympics and the crowds have descended early to see the venues. With no more free hotel nights, it didn’t take long for the heat and hordes to chase us back to the States.

Our next stop was North Cascades National Park in Northern Washington where we hiked and camped. Our loop trail was cut short by a fast-approaching thunderstorm that spooked us from the exposed ridgeline and soaked us to the bone before we could retreat to the car. Our campsite didn’t offer much relief. We either camped right under a waterfall with an amazing pyrotechnic accompaniment or we were treated to one incredible thunderstorm. We’re leaning towards the latter, as we found out the next morning that the road we came in was buried by a mudslide in the night. Luckily, we’re now eastbound and tore through the scorched plains of Eastern Washington yesterday. It was mind-numbing driving, so we took out the atlas and played a rousing game of “What would be worse than living in Lake Charles, LA?” Sorry to the 12,500 residents of Williston, ND, but your town is the only place in the Lower 48 deemed worse this time around.

Today we blew through the Idaho panhandle and into Montana, our home for the next week…

P.S. If any of you fine readers see a car with a Delaware license plate, please send them our way. This has been our only remaining plate for a few weeks now and it’s becoming quite vexing.

Of Mountains and Metros

Hello vicarious vacationers and welcome to the Pacific Northwest. After a few days on the Oregon coast, we turned inland to Crater Lake National Park. The aptly named lake sits in the gigantic crater of an extinct volcano and is the deepest in the US. We hiked to the top of Mt. Scott, the highest point in the park, for a bird’s eye view of the stunning blue water. Besides the view, we were rewarded with butterfly flurries along the way with a continual stream of the paper winged rascals fluttering by us in the wind. Sadly, mosquito flurries followed at our campsite later that night.
































From Crater Lake, we made for Portland, with a quick stop for a locals’ favorite day hike in the shadow of Mt. Hood (great tip, Doc!). The trail’s first destination was the shores of the glassy expanse fittingly known as Mirror Lake, which afforded us a great view of the actual and an inverted Hood. Further up the trail, we crested at a knob called Tom, Dick, & Harry. Delightedly, we found ourselves surrounded by snow-shrouded sentinels, including the volcanic peaks of Mount St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Jefferson, and of course, Mt. Hood. We even got a sneak preview of Mt. Rainier’s icy crown, which our close friend the atlas tells us is at least 75 miles away as the crow flies.






Portland rolled out the red carpet that afternoon, bathing itself in sun, offering up cold beer to thirsty throats, and providing an endless array of endearing streets to entice the carefree pedestrian. We did not last long in this pressure cooker of urban relaxation, hastily declaring a “city day” and enjoying everything the town has to offer. This included an expertly Pricelined hotel and the gluttony of two pillows apiece and hot showers that did not run on quarters!





Our next leg was a few days in Mt. Rainier National Park, which quickly snagged the honor of dark horse destination thus far on our trip. We had minimal expectations of the park, assuming that it was merely a tall mountain and a visitors’ center. Instead we found miles and miles of hiking trails, verdant mountains on all sides, and a landscape smothered in vibrant wildflowers. All of this was in addition to the glaciated specter of Rainier lurking around every turn and over every pass. In the evenings, after long days of summer sun, we could hear the thunderous rumblings of the glaciers shifting and groaning on the mountain. We loved our time here and added it to the ever-growing list of places that deserve another trip and further exploration.






After Rainier, civilization beckoned once again and we pointed our two-door mobile home towards Seattle. Here we were lucky enough to stay with a friend and her charming family near the University of Washington (thanks again, Sarah and Michael!). A few of the many luxuries at our B&B included a washing machine, home cooking, and free Pokeman lessons from 6 year old Nigel. By day, we donned the white Reeboks and fanny packs and did a stint as tourists, walking through the Pike Place Market, checking out the Fremont Troll, and gorging ourselves on blackberries at Gas Works Park. On our way out of town we were thrilled to intersect more Austin friends, who rose to the mighty challenge of finding a non-chain restaurant in Bellevue (thanks Eric and Cynthia!).







Last night, we left Seattle in our rear view mirrors, hopping a ferry to the Olympic Peninsula and to our next exploit…









P.S. As always, thanks for your positive feedback. The traveling part is easy for us, but the documentation can feel like work. We’re glad that we can provide you a weekly break from reality to trek with us!

The Generosity of Strangers and a Hard Right Turn

The Opps Odyssey rolled back into motion with a trip to Yosemite National Park in Central California. As expected, the park was crawling with visitors, so we made it brief and memorable. We spent our one full day in the park hiking up the iconic Half Dome in Yosemite Valley. The bulk of the ~16 mile hike was easy going, with reasonable climbs and gorgeous waterfalls. The dicey part comes when you make the last stab at the summit and ascend a “ladder” made of steel cables, rickety 2x4s, and metal rods drilled into the huge slab of rock. Heaving yourself up and down would not be too onerous by itself, but because of the intimidating nature of this portion of the climb it tends to get congested. On both our ascent and descent, we spent a lot of time just clinging to the cables and waiting for the tangle of bodies to clear. At least we were treated to some stunning views while we waited. (It appears that video is not pulling through for FaceBook users, so go to www.oppsodyssey.blogspot.com to see the video).











The next morning, we took a hike through the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. These behemoths are the planet’s largest living things, which was easy to believe as we stared up at them slack jawed. This grove was the first parcel of land in the U.S. set aside as a national park. The fact that President Lincoln saw the value in protecting these trees made them all the more impressive.






From Yosemite, we headed to Lake Tahoe, where we found beauty and lots of hospitality. Tahoe was merely a curiosity to us, since we hadn’t been there before. The lake itself was a startling blue and wreathed by mountains on all sides. We took a great hike on Mt. Tallac in the Desolation Wilderness (thanks for the recommendation Charlie and Stephanie!) to stretch out our tired legs. This was all well and good, but the real gems of Tahoe were our neighbors. Over the course of our two nights there, we met three great families who entertained us and plied us with luxuries like steak and corn on the cob from the grill, salad with fresh veggies, and campfire s’mores. Thanks to Mike, Don, Brian, Heather and your families for the generosity – Ben can’t remember ever being full two nights in a row while camping!



















































Our next destination was the little visited Lassen Volcanic National Park. The park is an active volcanic area, which is evident in the numerous steaming fumaroles and gurgling mudpots heated by underground magma. We also had our first opportunity to climb an active volcano, hiking to the highest point in the park, Lassen Peak. This delivered stunning views of the surrounding wilderness, including Mt. Shasta in the distance.































After Lassen, we bolted for the coast and turned a literal and figurative corner. We cheered when we reached the Pacific. At that point, we took a hard right turn and the overriding direction of our trip changed from westbound to northbound. We camped near the beach for the next three nights and were treated to the West Coast’s renowned picture-perfect sunsets and notorious morning fog. With sand in every crevasse, we strayed from the coast long enough for a hike through the towering trees in Redwoods National Park. Walking under the tallest living things on the planet challenges any conception that you have perspective, as it takes three different neck cranes to take in the full height of the mature trees. This must be what trekking on the forest moon of Endor is like, though we didn’t see any ewoks.






















Yesterday, we reached Oregon and jumped up and down on its celebrated craggy coastline. Carolyn has never been here before and lots of adventures beckon!

Out of the Frying Pan….and into the Sky

Sorry for the slow pace of updates over the last two weeks. We just took a vacation from our vacation, consisting of ten days in God’s Country (you know…Wisconsin) with family and friends. We had the pleasure of spending time with the extended Bruner and Opps clans, as well as our immediate families. All those hours spent tossing nieces and nephews around, gorging on unhealthy food, and throttling our families in various competitive pursuits left little time for blogging. Now we’re back on the road and aiming to return to our previous posting cadence.



Our last update came as we fled the scorching deserts of Southern Utah. Perhaps counter intuitively, we found refuge in the arid state of Nevada. We spent a few days cooling off in a wonderful oasis of mountains floating in a sea of desert called Great Basin National Park. This park is so named because none of the precipitation falling in a massive area between the Sierras and the Rockies ever makes it to an ocean. The water in this giant bowl collects in ~200 different low places and eventually evaporates. The park’s snow-capped peaks and cool weather were a welcome change. We hiked to a bristlecone pine forest and marveled at these gnarled beings, some of whom live past 4000 years old. Staring at these ancient organisms, some of whom predate the mighty Pyramids of Giza, was a humbling experience and another reminder of our place in the universe’s pecking order. Our hike took us through high alpine areas where spring is just arriving, with snowpack still melting away and the aspens beginning to bud.























The next leg of our journey took us across the barren width of the Silver State. This is the Nevada that you picture, with scrub and low mountains as far as the eye can see in every direction. It often felt like living a Wiley Coyote cartoon, where the backdrop just keeps repeating itself. We crested many passes, looked out at the moonscape before us, and asked each other “Didn’t we just drive through this?” The monotony set us up to appreciate the Sierra Range all the more when we reached California. Our first night in CA was spent next to a roaring river a short hike from an amazing igneous rock formation called the Devil’s Postpile.
















Our last big hurdle before the promise of heading to Wisco to sleep in a bed was our Mt. Whitney summit attempt. We spent a few nights camping near the trailhead, with the highest point in the Lower 48 ceaselessly lurking in our sights and our thoughts. While we acclimated to the altitude, we gathered intelligence on the state of the mountain. When we applied for our permit in February, we hoped the peak would be clear of snow by the end of June, granting us relatively simple passage. Unfortunately, the various reports we cobbled together held that snow and ice were still ubiquitous on the trail and that crampons and ice axes were necessary. Since these items were not in the budget (not to mention our lack of experience with them), we resigned ourselves to advancing as far as the mountain would let safely proceed and quelled our hopes of reaching the apex.

Our secondary goal for the day was to have a safe and fun hike. Our primary goal was to avoid carrying a bag of excrement. Because Mt. Whitney concentrates all of its visitors on a narrow band of trails, regulations require hikers to pack out all human waste. Upon permit pick-up, we were given portable toilet bags and a gut-wrenching explanation on how to use them. Time to get good at holding it....










We left camp at 3am on summit day, after six hours of tossing, turning, and feigning sleep. As we hiked through the dark with our headlamps, we were treated to a gorgeous sunrise over a thunderstorm in the valley below. The first rays of sun hitting Whitney’s jagged fangs were spectacular and we felt that even without reaching the top, the hike itself would justify the trip. We encountered our first significant snow and ice fields at 12000’, five miles from the top. To our delight, we found that with hiking poles and Yak Tracks on our boots, we were able to navigate the slick slopes safely. We powered on to the summit, our heads feeling cloudier with every step over the last three miles. The excitement of cresting the peak was short-lived, as the thin air at 14500’ gave Ben a wicked headache. After a few pics, we beat a hasty retreat to lower elevations and the oxygen-rich air that beckoned. We completed the 22-mile roundtrip hike in 15 hours, gaining (and then losing) 6000’ of elevation along the way. Most importantly, we didn't have to carry a backpack full of poop! The mountain was a fun mental and physical challenge and we felt justified in going out for greasy cheeseburgers in celebration.


































After our time of luxury surrounded by family, friends, beds, and plumbing, we are excited to return to the road and the simplicity of life it brings. Tomorrow we drive through the orchards and vineyards of Central CA and on to our next adventure! As always, thanks for reading, for your supportive comments, and your suggestions on destinations to add to the list.