My friend Marshall and I landed in San Juan on a hot Thursday afternoon. He managed to get me upgraded to first class for the short flight from Austin to Houston, but I was relegated to coach from there. At least it was a window seat, and I had some good views of the ocean and occasional islands and reefs. Once in San Juan, we caught a cab to the Conrad Condado Plaza, located right on the ocean. After a walk to a drug store for some forgotten items and sundries not allowed on airplanes anymore, we caught a cab into Old San Juan, instructing the driver to take us to a hot spot for happy hour.
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All posts in category Travels
San Juan and Vieques
Posted by Jeff on August 24, 2010
https://thesouthrim.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/san-juan-and-vieques/
Back From Puerto Rico
Just got back tonight from a weeklong trip to Puerto Rico. The opportunity arose when my pal Marshall lost his original travel companion(s), and so I joined him and his colleague Blake for the first few days, including two rock star nights on the island of Vieques. My friend Lisa joined me for the remainder after they retreated to their conference. The weather was beautiful on Vieques and stormy on the main island. Lots of good food and drink, some beautiful beaches, two massive Spanish-era fortresses, a couple of soggy hikes, numerous claps of thunder, several close calls on the crazy roadways, a bioluminescent bay, and many good times were had by all.
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Posted by Jeff on August 12, 2010
https://thesouthrim.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/back-from-puerto-rico/
Idaho Trip Campsites
It is my custom to take a picture of each night’s camping site. This post includes one photo from each of the 17 campsites during last August’s trip to Idaho. Readers will notice an obvious equipment difference between the car camping nights during the early and late dates and the backpacking nights in between. My car camping tent was an REI Half Dome 2. My backpacking shelter was a Hennessey hammock with a MacCat tarp. Only once did I stay in the same spot for two consecutive nights (North Rim No. 40). In order, aside from the photo above, my campsites were:
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Posted by Jeff on February 13, 2010
https://thesouthrim.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/idaho-trip-campsites/
Cramer Divide to Alpine Lake
At the end of this, my 8th day on the trail and its 10 hot miles, I began writing in my notebook with a simple assessment of my condition: “Backpacking fatigue has set in.”
The previous night was a practically sleepless one. The narrow spit of level land I occupied beside Hidden Lake combined with an uneasiness as I felt all evening and the awful unseen but definitely heard terrors the mind pictured causing several loud, unexplained and nearby noises. I had tied my Ursack close by, instead of hiking up the steep hillside, and now surely a bear was trying to get into it, ripping into the log. I was raised by a sudden, loud rushing sound, occasionally repeated. In the darkness, it sounded as though it were right behind my head, where, less than 30 feet away, the Ursack was wedged between logs and lashed to the smaller one. Then there was a loud splash. Was the bear gone, swimming across the lake? Was it something else?
I hardly slept from there, as each noise, real or imagined, became another bear.
At first hint of light, I got up and surveyed the situation. Expecting to find my bag of food dangling by its cord, I instead discovered the Ursack was completely undisturbed. It wasn’t a bear ripping into anything. In fact, it wasn’t a bear at all. It was a rockslide, across the lake. The mountains lining this narrow valley echoed their sounds, and my mind transformed them into a fearsome bear. Wearily, I chuckled, and quickly broke camp, eager to leave. I was on the trail by 8 o’clock.
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Posted by Jeff on January 31, 2010
https://thesouthrim.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/cramer-divide-to-alpine-lake/
Imogene Lake to Hidden Lake
August 18, 2009, was my seventh day on the trail in the Sawtooth Wilderness. It was a balmy 34 degrees at sunrise along the shore of Imogene Lake. I would need to hike about nine miles today to reach my goal of Hidden Lake. In between was a pair (or three, depending on one’s perspective) of mountain passes and a high canyon between them. Part of me still wanted to tackle Mount Cramer, but practicality squelched that pretty quickly. Besides, the sunrise was too beautiful to ignore.
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Posted by Jeff on January 24, 2010
https://thesouthrim.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/imogene-lake-to-hidden-lake/
Missing That Old Truck
10 years ago today, I traded in a weary Saturn for a brand new gold Mazda B3000 4WD truck with an extended cab. That truck carried me on many adventures across many western states. Days after I got her, I drove out to the Guadalupe Mountains and took the Williams Ranch Road. I intentionally drove her into an agave to put a scratch down one side, getting the inevitable over with.
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Posted by Jeff on January 23, 2010
https://thesouthrim.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/missing-that-old-truck/
Hellroaring to Imogene Lake
August 17 was my sixth day on the trail, the first following a successful resupply. I was eager to return to the Sawtooth Wilderness and the high country. The previous day’s long slog along forest roads and badly designed trails would be redeemed by the trail ahead, I believed, and the miserable evening at the Hellroaring trailhead would be quickly forgotten, I kept telling myself. This day totally redeemed the decision and death march to get here.
When I woke up, the thermometer fob I’d attached to my hammock said it was 24 degrees, the coldest morning on the trail. As the sun was already up, I assume it was even colder in the dead of night. Fortunately, my hammock set-up and insulation kept me warm enough. Warm enough in fact that I got back into my hammock and slept another couple of hours. I knew it would be a relatively short day hiking-wise. Turns out the extra sleep was very restorative, and a great decision.
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Posted by Jeff on December 28, 2009
https://thesouthrim.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/hellroaring-to-imogene-lake/
Pettit Lake to Hellroaring Trailhead
My fifth day on the trail was the longest, beginning with a hike to a waiting resupply and ending with a long slog along a lonely forest road, 15.2 miles total. “Everything hurts,” I wrote that evening.
I awoke beside Alice Lake to a clear, crisp morning. It was 26 degrees, and a thin layer of frost covered the ground. The air was still, and so was the water. It reflected the surrounding mountains as the sunrise provided quite a show.
The campers nearby were just beginning to stir as I packed up my campsite and started down the trail. It was 8 o’clock in the morning.
The first order of business was to hike down from Alice Lake (8,596 feet) to Pettit Lake (6.996 feet), where a bear canister holding food, fuel, and other supplies (hopefully) waited. The trail is mostly open for the first two miles, providing excellent views of the jagged peaks, particularly the prominent El Capitan.
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Posted by Jeff on December 22, 2009
https://thesouthrim.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/pettit-lake-to-hellroaring-trailhead/