A tip of the shovel to the tooth

Friday night the 20th I was back in the woods for Winterfest at Gold Lake sno park. A bunch of REI employees and I skiied in to the Westview shelter to camp for the night and enjoy the pristine Oregon forests. My buddy Wayne and I set to build the world's tightest snow shelter with my my tarp from Barret designs. We dug a huge snow pit and anchor the tarp tie outs with skis in all directions. We had dug a snow palace that comfortably fit 11 people underneath when we all gathered for dinner and alcoholic refreshments. After hanging out for awhile the party dissipated to go to their own shelters and me and Wayne set out to improve the shelter by building bigger snow wall around the outside of the tarp. We were just putting on the finishing touches on a stairway leading down into the shelter when Wayne's shovel smacked me square in the tooth. My mouth was bleeding profusely and we covered my face in snow until I was able to pass out.

I spent the next day cross country skiing with a chipped tooth which really added to my hockey player appearance because I had just gotten a black eye the past weekend from downhill skiing.

anyways I hoped I can find a good dentist

Today I do three

My next outdoor adventure related goal is to do the pole pedal paddle solo this spring in Bend, OR. It consists of alpine and nordic skiing, road biking, running, and kayaking. I have begun training for the event with a steady dies of jogging which has really felt great on my body and I have already noticed the extra energy benefits. Today though I linked up three different types of exercises in hopes of better enhancing my training. I went for a five mile run then biked over to the local climbing gym in Eugene, climbed for a bit and I had to take off on my back to be at school. I feel great right now and love the endorphine rush of excercise.

cheers josh

Snow Camping around Todd Lake

My buddy Daniel and I went back into the woods for some snow camping and sking in the beautiful forests surrounding Mt. Bachelor. We drove up to the mountain in the middle of a snowstorm, got to the parking lot to unload gear and was welcomed by the icy chill of the mountain wind whipping through the parking lot. We skiied through the Mt. Bachelor nordic area and finally made camp in the middle of the night close to the trail. The snow was so soft and it was nearly impossible to make much headway off trail. The snow kept pelting us in the middle of the night and I awoke with a couple of inches of snow at the foot of my sleeping bag, Daniel and I bravely ventured outside the tarp to shake off the snow and returned to the warmth of the bags.
The next day the weath was still afoul yet we ventured on towards Todd Lake in hopes of setting up a more permanent snow shelter for the next few days. The weather kept us moving quickly because of the cold, we found a spot just above Todd Lake, where we we stomped out a spot for the tarp and set to work building. We made giant snow blocks to use as walls along the tarp and then started digging we dug so much we could stand up inside our shelter. We had a foyer, shelves, a sleeping platform, it was cozy and one of the best parts about snow camping.
The next three days were filled with blue skies and lots of awesome sking, we headed out each day through the webs of trails around the area. Each night we skied around Todd Lake with nothing but the light of the moon to guide us. We drank hot tea at the side of the lake as we would watch the fiery crimson glow of the sun set behind Broken Top the giant volcano that blew its top off thousands of years ago.
We came home after the trip hungry and starved ready for the warmth of my parents house, and when we arrived my family went out to celebrate at Deschutes Brewery. Cheers!