Trails and Trials

Category: Travels

Washington and Oregon
I made it to Washington and to my friends, John and Courtney, it was such a relief to rest from all the driving and the constant pressure I put myself under. I really enjoyed spending a week with them.

I got to meet, Morgan, who is almost two and loves trucks, we watched several YouTube videos of garbage trucks collecting garbage. I spent a bit of time just relaxing and recharging. But I also wanted to spend a lot of time with everyone, so we did some yard work and some walks. I did some solo excursions when everyone was working. I was there for memorial day and Courtney’s birthday, so we did a stroll through Ikea and I babysat Morgan while John and Courtney went to a nice dinner.
Patricia is a friend we made at Electric Forest, she’s been living in Washington so we met up, had some lunch then walked through the Washington Park Arboretum. We talked for a good 4 hours. She has plans to move to Nashville and possibly back to New Jersey, so I am hoping to meet up with her again.

Pat was at EDC in Vegas and a side trip to Denver for most of my visit, but we had a day of overlap. We went to a Tsukemen Ramen place (thick noodles on the side and dipped in the broth) after which we went back to John and Courtney’s and all hung out for a bit. Pat is always an uplifting presence.

The next day I repacked, including my jackery and powered cooler, which John and Courtney were holding for me, and headed to Portland to visit some family.

I drove down to the Portland area to meet with my dad, my stepmom, Terri, and my step-sisters, Holly and Adina. Almost as soon as I arrived we went to the Happy Valley Station which is a large eating area surrounded by 15 or 20 food trucks and a 30 tap bar. We came back here again later and it was great both times. We then went back and watched Hail Mary, which I really enjoyed. The first couple days was just about catching up and spending time with the family. Here are some random images from the trails around town that I did.

The weather was great and there was a ton of stuff going on in the Portland area. At this point it was May 30th, Adina and I went on a hike from the Portland arboretum up to Pittock Mansion. We came across a wedding ceremony on a trail overlook and did a quick look around the mansion. I didn’t feel like paying to go inside, but it had a great view of Portland. We stopped at Deschutes Brewery for lunch and on our way back she wanted to show me the Saturday market and the park along the river. We were sidetracked by the 100th birthday of the Burnside Bridge. It was closed to traffic and had a bunch of artist stalls, food trucks, and a stage with several bands. We then walked down the river, but the park was taken up by the rose festival, which had used the park to set up a bunch of carnival rides.

The other standout thing we did was the Hopscotch immersive art installation. This was a really cool place that mixed light and sound in a several different ways and most of the exhibits were interactive or surrounded you. It was really great just to experience the effect of each exhibit and then, later, try to figure out how it was accomplished.
This room was synced up to music and the lights ran through a bunch of different sequences
The room was hidden, but also there is a phone booth where you can record a secret. Then in the main room there are several isolation domes that play people’s recorded secrets.
Very comfortable to just collapse into the balls.
On my last day I did a guided awakened breath session with Holly. This was a really intense and powerful experience that put me into an altered state, with some hallucinations but more importantly it allowed me to connect better with my physical experience and my feelings, it felt very much like a therapy session. I’m not ready to share my experience online, but I would definitely recommend trying it. If you have any interest, you can get in contact with Holly through her website.

I wanted to give myself some time after that to process it some, before heading out, as I was on my way to see my brother, before leaving Portland. I wasn’t sure about doing this because we haven’t talked in years and the last few times were not pleasant. It ended up being fine, I only spent an hour or so with him and we talked about what we had going on in our lives. I am thinking of returning to meet my niece Ava.

My next stop was a campground 20 miles east of Tillamook, I had free choice of the campground as one of two people there. It was a great spot, but this was also the start of several days of rain. I spent the next day going up the coast to Astoria. I went to the column and inadvertently went on a hike. I wanted to see the Cathedral tree, which was supposed to be like a quarter mile. It turned out that the boardwalk was out and there was a detour on a bike trail, which ended up being almost two miles. It was on and off sprinkling, but nothing too bad, the under brush was soaking wet. Coming back I saw the boardwalk sign again and decided to see what was wrong with it. I couldn’t find anything, except the handrail, but it also turned out to be a different boardwalk. I ended up about a mile an a half away from were I started. It was almost completely uphill and it was POURING down rain. I got back to my car and made my way to the top of the column and then headed back. It rained all night long. I want to start adding some videos, but I need to learn how to edit them first.

The next morning I packed up and visited the Devil’s Punchbowl on my way to the next campsite which was an RV Park in Waldport. I had a break in the weather and the punchbowl was really cool to see. Because I hit it a little after low tide, I was able to go down into it as well.
I got to the RV park in Waldport and got my tent set up just in time, it started raining and it was only going to get worse. I didn’t realize I’d be setting up in an open field and it would become a problem later. I relaxed and spent most of the rest of the day in the tent. The next morning I went down to Heceta Lighthouse and walked along “Hobbit Trail”, it was readily apparent why it was called that.

I stopped for some lunch and grocery shopping, I was delaying a bit because I wanted to get to Thor’s Well closer to high tide, but that wasn’t until 6pm and I had a bit of a drive back to camp so I hit it around 3pm. I love the tide pools and the well was as impressive as I’d heard. I made it back to camp and got to meet Franklin! The storm was getting worse and the next day would be the most intense.

I was staying at camp as a rest day, but also I wasn’t sure how bad the storm would be. It started as mostly rain and was just fine, but in the afternoon the wind was picking up. At around 3pm the rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was 25-30mph with gusts of 45mph. By about 4 the rain was done and it was just the wind, I figured the worst was over, but at almost 5pm, this happened to my tent.

I packed up everything immediately and drove two hours to the nearest REI in Eugene, they did a full refund. I thought about picking up another tent, but since my roof top tent should be in with in a few days, I decided I’d stay in a hotel that night and then in my truck. I showered up, did all my laundry, charged all my devices and took off for my next campground, I already had reservations.

I got to Sunny Valley Campground and was amazed at the amenities. They had a store, hot showers, a cleaning station, a volley ball net, and a pool. I asked if they minded that I was going to sleep in my truck and they gave me a spare tent to use! It was a bit noisy being so close to the highway, but the hotel in Eugene was much worse. The storm and rain was gone too, the weather showed nothing by bright and sunny for as far as it would show. I ended up extending for the rest of the week. I went on a hike, explored the area, but mostly just enjoyed being outdoors
June 22, 2026
ALCAN Highway
The first night gave me a reality check for what I was doing and forced me to recognize that I need to plan a little better. I intended to get to Tok around 3pm and find a place to camp, ideally for free. I hadn’t eaten enough because I was trying to get on the road, was late leaving and didn’t get in until around 730. I decided to stay at a campground, because it was too late and I was too tired to spend time looking for something free. But it was also very isolating because I was the only one camping there. I got setup but it was going to take too much time and be too difficult to cook a meal, so I ate a protein bar and went to sleep.
Just as I’m leaving Anchorage
Watson gives me someone to talk to
Morning shot of my camp site in Tok
My on the road coffee setup
I woke up refreshed, made some coffee, packed up and got on the road. Part of my issue is that I am limited on what I can have easy access to and most of my cooking gear was secondary. I wanted to take the drive through Canada slower and enjoy it, but it’s an environment that I just don’t enjoy camping in. Gas was also $9 a gallon through much of Canada! All that said, I decided to drive straight through most of it.

I made it to Whitehorse the second day. It was a lot nicer than I remember when I drove up, I think it was the difference of showing up in spring instead of winter. I was able to pick up some things I forgot and some fresh vegetables. Though, my cooler was waiting for me in Washington, so I couldn’t grab much in the way of fresh foods.

On the third day I had planned to go to Watson lake and see the sign post forest. I have an app that claimed there was free camping near by and I was going to stay there. I got there and was able to explore the forest, but when I got out it was pouring down rain and there were a bunch of no camping signs. I decided to continue on to Liard Hot Springs, 20 minutes down the road and it was a beautiful evening of sunshine. I was planning on staying here the following night, but I’m glad I showed up a day early. It gave me all of day four as a rest day.

This was the first place where there were other people, I got one of the last few spots in the campground. I ended up talking to a few different people, most of them locals just up for the weekend. I took my bike out and got some up close pictures of some Bison, before turning around. I didn’t realize it at the time since I was focused on the one glaring at me, but further back there was a new born. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to get a picture of the hot springs themselves.. I was too focused on relaxing!
I spent some time reorganizing my packing situation. I was trying to reduce how many things I needed to pull out for any specific task and created a quick access bin for my most used things; coffee and snacks mostly. I packed everything up this night because I had a long way to go tomorrow and wanted to get an early start.

Day five was mostly uneventful, but I got some amazing views of the landscape. I made it all the way down to Dawson Creek, where I got a hotel room for a much needed shower.

Day six, I made it to Cache Creek, I pulled in around 7pm and really wanted to keep going. I had six more hours to drive to get to my friend, John’s house, but everything I read about the rest of the way was a winding cliffside road, so I overnighted here.

Day seven, my last day driving! I got started and was immediately glad that I had waited til the daylight to make the drive. The view was absolutely stunning. It’s a lot of rolling hill farm land, but in the mountains. The road was along a cliff, following the Fraser river. The border crossing, wasn’t too bad, maybe a 20 minute delay. From there it was another few hours to John’s. I’m spending a bit of time here, visiting friends, repacking (I have a powered cooler and a jackery to add), and planning the next stage.
May 22, 2026
Adventure
Over the past several months I’ve been planning and preparing to go on an extended road trip. I have spent time getting my vehicle and gear ready, I left my job last week and I’m set to leave this week on Wednesday the 13th.

I had my brakes replaced, a deck installed, and bought a roof rack. I’m considering a roof top tent, but wanted to test out my enjoyment of the plan before I committed to that. I am also considering a kayak or cargo. Currently, I have some traction boards in case I get stuck. I also badly needed some touch up of the paint so I had that taken care of as well. Here’s the before and after.
I have all the regular camping/backpacking gear, as well as clothes for all seasons and types of weather, tools for any basic vehicle work. As far as fun an entertainment goes, I am bringing my bike, a fishing rod, both of my guitars (electric and acoustic), books, and all of my electronics. For the driving I have hundreds of audiobooks, podcasts, and music. Here are some pictures from my final test pack.

I’m going to stay flexible and open to exploring, but my tentative plan is to head towards Banff via, Tok, Haines Junction, Watson Lake, Laird Hot Springs, Pink Mountain, and Grand cache. After that, I need to plan my route to the Seattle area!
May 11, 2026
Australia – Day 2

Today was another day of exploring, I went to a highly rated bakery new the circular quay. It was decent, but clearly an on-the-go situation for all the people heading to office work. After that I went and checked out the Observatory Hill before walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. As far as I could tell, there was one level for cars, four lanes in each direction. I couldn’t see the west side, as it was for bikes only, but the east side (pedestrians only) was a walking path for both directions. The wind kept it comfortable there were some cool views, though there was a high anti-climbing fence, so it wasn’t great for photos.

On the opposite side I went to see Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden. It was pretty well hidden behind what looked like natural foliage, there were a couple small cutouts that I would have missed without a marble post draw my attention. I don’t know if it was the time of year, but walking early in the morning was pretty creepy. It had a bunch of switch-back trails that led down to some train tracks. There was an open air shed that was falling apart, some dirty and mangled chairs and table, most of the flowers were decaying and wilted. On the ground and high up in the trees were Bush Turkeys, which give an unsettling vibe when they are just sitting there watching you. As I walked through I ran through some cobwebs and remembered about the eight-legged dangers I couldn’t see. I left shortly after that.

At that point I walked to Mosman, which was not that interesting. Lots of small shops, I found my way into a residential area that was upscale. I sat at a park for a bit and watched some people practicing cricket batting, did some reading and just enjoyed the outdoors. At this point it was late in the afternoon and it was 97 degrees. My feet were starting to blister and I had hiking to do the next two days, so I took a bus back to the hostel. I cleaned up and went to the roof top bar to eat, drink, and read. There weren’t many people to talk to and they looked busy. I watched as in the span of 20 minutes, the temperature dropped 15 degrees. A thunderstorm had rolled in and dumped buckets. It wouldn’t have been the worst thing be stuck out in it but I was comfortable with a beer and enjoyed the change in atmosphere.

I realize now that I didn’t take many pictures this day. This is something I know that I need to work on, for myself and this blog. I also need to get better about posting and improving the site! 😅

April 15, 2026
Australia

Travel

I left on Valentine’s Day, my sister drove me to the airport and picked up her friend Miles in the same trip, so that was convenient. I said my goodbyes and got on the 1am to LA. I landed at around 7am and my flight to Sydney wasn’t until 530pm. None of my travel options were particularly good. This one was the least travel time and put me in Sydney at 730am.

I thought about leaving the airport, but I wasn’t interested in seeing or doing anything in LA, so I spent the layover reading and listening to music and podcasts, walking around and people watching. The flight from LA to Sydney was 15 hours, I think. I was served dinner, did some reading, then slept, when I woke up I had some breakfast and talked to my neighbor. She was the manager in the Hot wheels department at Mattel. She gave me some recommendations for things to do in Sydney (most of which I had planned) and some restaurants to check out; The Grounds of Alexandria, Ms. G’s, Bar Totti’s, Mr. Wong’s.

Day 1

Once landed, I switched over to my Australian eSim for mobile data and tested it out, everything worked, though slowly through the next couple days, my contact name and pictures became just numbers. I could figure out who it was based on the conversation, but it meant I spent less time updating people with my trip. I collected my luggage and used public transportation to get to my hostel, which I was staying in for the first two nights. I took a train to circular quay and then walked the half-mile to YHA Sydney Harbour. It was in a section of the city called The Rocks which is a historic district and holds some of the oldest streets and pubs in Sydney. I wasn’t able to check in until the afternoon, so I took a bird bath, changed, and stored my luggage while I went and explored.

Common area of the YHA Sydney Harbour Hostel

Half of the kitchen there are two more cooking stations to the left

My first stop was to get some coffee and an early lunch. I decided to go to Alexandria on the Grounds and I choose to walk because I wanted to get a sense of the area. Maps said it’d would be an hour and a half, but I was ok with it. The temperature was in the low 80s and I was just taking in the city. After 30 minutes of 75 degrees at 85% humidity, I checked to make sure I was heading the right direction and I noticed that one street over was The Grounds in the City, same restaurant, different location. This one had a higher rating on google and I discovered that had I kept walking I would have arrived at the one in Alexandria 20 minutes too late. It was delicious; zucchini, tomato, chickpeas, eggplant ratatouille, kale pesto, herbed labneh, and sourdough toast.

Before I had arrived there were at least 3 people that had mentioned the coffee being a lot better than in America. This was my first experience of it and I came to realize, they were just going to the wrong places in America. At this place you could choose your type of espresso and the bean (just like any reasonably nice coffee shop in America), most the time you just choose your espresso drink and it is exactly as you would expect, many places also did pour over.

I happened to be right next to the Queen Victoria Building (QVB). This is a building constructed in the late 1800s, inside is a long narrow mall. I ended up going through here a couple times because there is a train stop in the basement and a light rail just outside.

I spent an hour or two just wandering the streets in this area. I stumbled across some cool shops and a bookstore that I would later learn were recommended points of interest on reddit. Because of how little space I had I ended up just buying a single thing to bring back and it wasn’t until the day I was leaving, but it was nice to just explore the area.

I decided to head back towards Barangaroo, Dawes Point, and The Rocks. All through out this area there are plaques and signs explaining the history of the area. One particularly interesting section was the Nurses Walk. It’s a short walk through some alleys passing by some cafes and galleries and explains that it was the site of the first hospital, setup in the late 1700s and the walk commemorates the nurses who worked in the area.

In the late afternoon, I realized I have been outside in the sun all day and completely forgot about sunscreen. I picked some up on my way back to the hostel, took a quick tour around. There was a small museum displaying the things found on the dig site in the center of the hostel, mostly plates and pottery. The most depressing part was that they put a piece from 1994. Museums are for old things!

After 40-something hours, I was finally able to properly clean up and it felt amazing. I did a little bit of reading and just as I was drifting off to sleep we had a fire alarm. I don’t know what caused it, but it gave me 20 minutes or so to chat with some other guests while we waited for the fire department to give us the all clear. At that point, I went straight back to bed and passed out.

April 5, 2026