FLASK

FLASK: Florida to Alaska                                    

Training at the outdoor gym!

I've been doing some bike touring for a few years and have become enchanted. It's such a great way to travel - just the right pace to see the subtleness of the terrain, meet people, and enjoy a long day outdoors. Though when I first started touring back in 2006 I didn't think touring was so great ... I remember calling my wife at the end of the 2nd day of my 1st tour down the Pacific Coast. It was another hard 100+ miler through Washington state and I was sitting exhausted in a diner in Astoria, OR, asking her to reserve a seat on the next bus for me. She sagely suggested that I ride to the next town with a bus stop in the morning but at a slower pace and then decide if I really wanted to be off the bike. Well, that slower morning ride immediately changed my perspective and 11 days later I pulled into San Francisco with a huge smile on my face.

I've always wanted to see Alaska - Mt. Denali, in particular - so when we realized that this was the right summer for me to ride there and that I hadn't seen my wonderful sister, Judi, and my favorite niece, Michelle (Squirrel), since they moved to Florida, well ... FLASK was hatched. Why not start the ride there and get full enjoyment?

Generally speaking, I'll try to cover about 70 miles a day and that should allow me to more or less stick to this schedule while giving me time to play and otherwise seek out diversions along the way:

April 8: I'll catch a train from Flagstaff to New Orleans where Judi will pick me up and take me to their place in Panama Beach City just east of Pensacola. Then around ...

April 18: embark on the bike tour with Squirrel along for the first day or two of the ride (YAHOO!). I hope to catch up with some old friends in Sherman, TX, on the 1500 mile ride to La Junta, CO, where ...

May 10: I'll catch a train to Phoenix so I can watch Rae's graduation from the ASU Executive MBA program and celebrate with family and friends before ...

May 17: I return by train to La Junta and get back on the bike, heading north to Estes Park where I'll meet up with Wes and Quinn for either a climb up one of the Fifty Classic climbs on the Diamond of Long's Peak or, depending on the snow conditions, some other wonderful outdoor adventures.

June 3: Arrive in Tetons National Park (NP) and - hopefully with my beautiful wife, Rae - go up the uber-classic 5.6 Owens-Spaulding route of the grand Teton. If she's still with her sister on an RV trip up the Pacific Coast, then I'll solo the route. From there, ...

June 7: I'll bike into Yellowstone NP and do a few days of backcountry camping and exploring - again, hopefully with Rae but, if not, then - in the words of our 3-year-old grandson, Phin - "I'll do it by my own self."

June 19: After some steep, glorious riding in the Rockies, I'll arrive in Glacier NP for some more backcountry fun, most certainly with Rae by now (yea!). Then I'll bike across the border on ...

July 3: Into Banff, Alberta, for some climbing at Lake Louise and then into the Jasper NP ice fields for some Canadian Rockies goodness. Mmmmm, tasty ... On the map, the next part of the trip looks vast but I'll be stoked that on ...

July 17: I arrive at Watson Lake in the Northwest Territories just below the Arctic Circle to meet up with Wes, Quinn, and [a fourth companion that's still needed for this part of the adventure] for final preparations for the Cirque! On ...

July 19: We take a chartered float plane into Glacier Lake, then haul heavy packs 7-10 hours across scree fields and through alder thickets into Fairy Meadows, where we'll set up base camp for the Fifty Classic's Lotus Fower Tower (5.10) and whatever other alpine adventures we can find. After 18 days of adventure, we catch the float plane out on ...

August 3: From there, I'll bike the 1000 or so miles to Anchorage - hoping to arrive around ...

August 16: I may bike into Denali NP but it's just as likely that I'll catch the train to the park instead. Then there's a shuttle bus inside the park that will pick you up and leave you anywhere on the park road, so I hope to have some long solo backpacking adventures; though I've had a few friends threaten to meet me in Denali for flyfishing (which'll be fun to learn) and camping. I'm not sure but I suspect that the cold, wet weather'll force me from the park by ...

mid-September: If the weather's good enough for a ferry/backpacking trip down the Aleutian Chain, that will be a fun week or two excursion.

I had thought about paddling down the coast but I've been convinced that it would be deadly so I'll make my way back to the contiguous US via the Alaska Ferry, probably along the Inner Passage into Vancouver, BC, but maybe on the cross-channel route into Bellingham, WA. I'll visit good friends in Lions Bay, BC, and then finish my trip home. Since Rae may have moved us from Phoenix by then all I know is that I'll make my way to her again in the most expedient and cheapest way possible.

It's not the route I necessarily intend to stay on but here's what the ride looks like on Google Maps:


View Larger Map

Over 5000 miles and 70 days of riding. Nearly 6 weeks of climbing and/or backpacking. Backcountry in some of the world's most beautiful spaces with my wife. All outdoors. Doesn't it sound AWESOME?!

Sedona Spires

Quinn heading up P5

A small hitch was put into the planned two-day training on Sedona's beautiful sandstone spires when Wesley came down with the same horrible bug Craig had a few days previous.  He piled into the mystery machine for the adventure anyway but resigned to lay - in the comfy bed but no less miserable - all day Thursday while Quinn and Craig sent Coyote Tower (5.10) on Courthouse Butte. Without Wes, there was a little trouble getting to the base of the route but they soon found wild, wonderful steep hands and soft crumbly rock. Yummy! Rappeling the route was an adventure with only one 60m rope but the 15 feet of chimney downclimb in the middle was less eventful then the last dificult rope pull.  To finish, we befriended a local hiker to tell us where the parking lot was since we were convinced we'd "not hiked this far to get in." Haha! Check out our appeal to Marmot for new backpacks and Wes laying in the van's bed ...

We gathered beer, soup, and fruit juice from the store, had a a kooky but fun prospector-camper dude for company while we made dinner, were harassed all evening by a campground skunk, and then teetered into bed for a cold night's sleep.

Wes and Cathedral Spires

Wes awoke and not only managed to get himself upright as we made breakfast in a church parking lot but also rallied to lead us to and then up the first pitch of Vortex In A Can (5.10+) on the South Mesa in the Cathedral Rock Area. We each lead a pitch of yummy goodness - thin corners, steep pulls, scary loose rock - and then there was one double-rope rappel to the ground.  A fantastic excursion!  Since Wes and Quinn will be borrowing the van for the summer, they got introduced to some of its idiosyncracies driving home to Phoenix, meanwhile Craig drank beer in the passenger seat.  We hit the Yardhouse just before happy hour shut down then plopped in front of the TV at home to watch FSU-VCU and Kentucky-OSU battle for Elite Eight spots. Go Wildcats of Kentucky and Arizona!

Grand plans with a view!

photo copyright Kobus Barnard

Long before the "Lemon Scheming" incident, Craig has had a hankering to climb the 2,000 foot Lotus Flower Tower (pictured left).  It is a fabulous piece of granite just below the arctic circle, & listed in the top 50 Classic North American Climbs.  For those who don't rock climb, this peak demands efficient, delicate, & athletic movement and some of the most gorgeous vistas in the world (if you like sparkling jagged mountains and electric green meadows with the compliment of an azure lake or two).

One main challenge presented by the Lotus Flower Tower, and many other barely touched granite spires in the Cirque of the Unclimbables, is the remote location.
When you google a direction search from Estes Park, Colorado to Finlayson Lake (the closest driving point to the actual Cirque), the results "Suggested Route" takes you 1 day & 20 hours, is 2,370 miles, and the little blip lands you in a lone section of the Northwest Territories of Canada.  From there, if weather conditions allow, a privately chartered float plane lands you on a glacier lake near the Cirque.  The completion of the journey requires a 7-10 hour jaunt up a loose scree filled slope.  Sounds exciting, eh eh?  Don't forget we need to carry all necessary gear and food for the next 3 weeks on our back!!!  A helicopter drop off option directly into the Cirque is a known possibility, but at twice the amount of money of an already expensive adventure, we have decided to grunt and hoof it.  For more details and awe inspiring photos of the Cirque, please visit this well put together website; George Bell and the Cirque!

Once you meet Craig, you will understand his enthusiasm and vigilance, hence a trip like this coming together.  The numbers listed above pale in comparison to the amount of miles he will cover on his bicycle just getting to the Cirque and beyond.
Yes, bicycle.
Beginning in early April, Craig will begin the roughly 5,000 mile journey from Florida to Alaska, arriving in Denali National Park sometime in August, hoping to get a few hikes and adventures in.  This is not Craig's first bicycle ride, a few years back he got a hankering to pedal the 887 miles and 14, 500 foot of elevation gain from Death Valley, California to Mt. Evans, Colorado.

In Watson Lake, Canada, Wes and I will meet up with Craig, gather the rest of our supplies, strap the bike on the VW van that Wes and I will have driven up from Colorado, and head out on the long gravel road to Finlayson Lake.

Once in the Cirque, aside from climbing the Lotus Flower Tower, we will attempt to free existing aid lines and ultimately, establish a route never done before.

As of now, the trio is headed to Sedona, Arizona later this week to train for the Cirque by scaling sandstone spires and devouring mint chocolate s'mores!!!

Lemons scheming

Wes and Craig going bonkers for lemon zest!

Welcome to the Circus....for the moment. anyway!!!  We have started this blog to keep you updated on our current and upcoming adventures. Meanwhile, we discuss future foolery over the excessive baking and eating of lemon delicacies. (Craig and Rae have a lemon tree in their backyard, and we couldn't bare letting the fruit go to waste!)

Items made

-lemon/blueberry marmalade (not awesome)

-lemon scones (awesome)

-lemon ice cream (the best ice cream EVER).

-lemon sorbet

-lemon meringue

-lemonade

-lemon margaritas

-lemon pie

-lemon bars

-lemon chicken
-lemon tart
-lemon tea
-lemon suger cookies


If you care for any recipes, I am sure I can scrounge them up!