Summer 2020

I’ve never been one to enjoy cities or big groups of people, so adjusting to life with COVID-19 has been surprisingly pleasant. It’s given me the opportunity to live on wheels worry-free and mosey around, enjoying the mountains with just one or two others at a time. Summer started out by prepping the Moonshadow CBD hemp farm for a fall harvest: we put several thousand plants in the ground and have been tending to them with tender loving care all season. If all goes well, you just might see Moonshadow products in stores soon! I then made a drive up north to Washington to help my buddy Grapenut build his live-in box truck, hunt for agates on Mt. Baker, ski the closed resort at Stevens Pass and hike with old pals in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Not long after, my good friend Sierra introduced me to “The Bug Farm”, a dirtbag commune set up in the mountains near Truckee, CA to avoid pandemic exposure and kill time by swimming and playing music. I also managed to summit Mt. Shasta and Boundary Peak, two high points that had been on my list for some time now. I even squeezed in a week on the PCT near Rae Lakes with my pal Flower!

All summer long I was anxiously waiting until it was time to set out on the Grand Sierra Traverse, a 400 mile long series of bushwhacks and high routes I put together from the north shore of Lake Tahoe to Cottonwood Meadows, about 20 miles south of Mt. Whitney. The vast majority would be off trail, hitting seldom visited high passes and peaks along the Sierra Nevada including a summit of Mt. Whitney up the mountaineers route. As best I can tell, nobody has ever attempted this particular route. My dear friend Lebowski began the trek with me, but realized on day three that this hike was not in line with his style of travel, and we parted ways the next afternoon. It was a mental shift to say the least, but I had to push onward. Rarely would I dip below 9,000’ on the typical 22-28 mile day, usually crossing around five ~12,000’ passes via loose rock scrambles, anywhere from Class 2 to 4. It was enormously rewarding seeing my body accomplish such a nonsensical physical feat, but being alone for the majority of the hike definitely took its toll. Luckily, the mountains worked their charm and kept my priorities straight, even when I came within a hairs width of quitting. After three weeks away from civilization, I triumphantly dropped into Lone Pine, CA for a hearty breakfast and celebratory brewskis.

Summer 2020 Tunes

Buddy and I have become quite chummy this summer. He lives with the Herings, who very kindly allow me to park in their driveway and use the facilities whenever I'm in Tahoe. | 6/1/20 Tahoe City, CA

Lucas and Max hunt for blue agates along a glacial river below Mt. Baker. | 6/18/20 Mt. Baker, WA

Normally I'm opposed to grafiti on public land, but this one rules ok. | 6/29/20 Tahoe Vista, CA

Afternoon thunderstorms roll through the Sierra Nevada every couple of days as the hot air coming up from the valley condenses, usually they're pretty localized but intense for just a few minutes. This one forced me to hunker down for almost an hour. | 6/29/20 Tahoe City, CA

The view east into California from Boundary Peak, the highest in Nevada at 13,146’. The Sierra is visible in the background across Owens Valley. | 7/9/20 Esmeralda County, NV

Morgan skips a stone between sips of wine and bites of cheese on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. | 7/19/20 Dollar Point, CA

I managed to get good pals Abe and Justin to come out and climb Mt. Shasta with me. With no real trail up the 7,000 feet of scree to the 14,179' summit, it was rough going. Extra kudos awarded to these fellas as it was their first 14er, what a climb! | 8/2/20 Weed, CA

Due to COVID-19, as well as the remote nature of the Grand Sierra Traverse, hitchhiking into town wasn't an option for resupply. Lebowski and I ended up buying a months worth of food ahead of time and orchestrated food drops in trailhead bear boxes along the route. Big thanks to Mark and Jay for running supplies! | 8/15/20 Tahoe City, CA

Lebowski grabs a quick snack on the shore of Round Lake before parting ways. The smoke had been building for days and made for quite difficult breathing. | 8/19/20 Big Meadow, CA

Camp below Minaret Peak, roughly halfway through my attempt of the Grand Sierra Traverse. | 8/28/20 Mammoth, CA

One of the final climbs of the Grand Sierra Traverse was up the Mt. Whitney mountaineers route, the highest peak in the lower 48 at 14,504'. A big perk of getting moving early is seeing the ridges painted in that vivid morning light. Unfortuantely, I tend to be lazy and sleep in so these views often slip away from me. | 9/5/20 Mt. Whitney, CA

Upon getting down to Lone Pine after completing the Grand Sierra Traverse, the smoke became some of the thickest I'd ever seen. I made it out just in time, a couple of days later Forest Service land across California was closed to all users due to fire danger. | 9/6/20 Bishop, CA

Piñata score from Heidi's birthday weekend with the cousins at their grandparents farm. Arjay Ranch is home to Moonshadow CBD, the hemp farm I've been helping run for the summer. | 6/9/20 Oroville, CA

Gandalf pauses while heading to camp at a lake in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. | 6/20/20 Yakima, WA

Camp on the summit of Mt. Watson, one my favorite spots accessible by the intricate web of 4x4 roads along the north shore of Lake Tahoe. | 6/29/20 Tahoe City, CA

A momma cat and litter of kittens moved into the barn, but this little girl is the only one that made it through the spring. Her name is Elsa and has quickly become part of the family! | 7/7/20 Oroville, CA

Flower hikes down from Kearsarge Pass to join the Pacific Crest Trail. | 7/10/20 Independence, CA

"The Bug Farm", a vehicle dwelling dirtbag commune that escaped the wrath of COVID-19 by creating a largely self-sustaining community in the mountains. | 7/26/20 Undisclosed Location, CA

Lane people-watches from the comfort of his Toyota Dolphin at the Bug Farm. | 8/10/20 Undisclosed Location, CA

Lebowski on the way up the east ridge of Job's Sister Peak on our attempt of the Grand Sierra Traverse, a bushwhacking high route of my own design. I don't know who Jobs or his sister is, but if she's anything like this mountain I'd very much like to meet her. | 8/18/20 South Lake Tahoe, CA

I stumbled across a stunning meadow complete with grazing sheep below Kirkwood Pass on the Grand Sierra Traverse. I would arrive at my first resupply box pickup location just a few hours after this photo was taken, the views would only get bigger and better from here. | 8/23/20 Inyo National Forest, CA

Due to a navigational error on my part, I camped on the wrong side of this ridge and had to climb it the next morning to get back on route. Luckily it didn't cost too much time or energy, but the views up top were beyond worth it. Regardless, I'm in the market for a new navigation director. | 8/30/20 (near) Shout-of-Relief Pass, CA

A rare self portrait of the Cous. | 9/5/20 Cottonwood Lakes, CA

Moonshadow CBD's field of CBG producing hemp amidst the smoke from multiple nearby fires. The smoke got as bad as 540 on the Air Quality Index. | 9/12/20 Oroville, CA