I left the Rawlins McDonalds at 3:45pm under a gray sky, my stomach so full of Carmel Frappe, ice cream & a panini from a little coffee shop, & a filled maple bar from the Discount Grocery that I could barely walk. Not to mention I was carrying an excessive food load because I just couldn’t leave the “reduced for quick sale” whoopie pie and 6 homemade carrot pineapple muffins on the shelf- I mean, what if they had to be thrown away?
Sloshing at the top of my pack I had 3.5 liters of water- way too much again, but the desert that lay ahead was intimidating and I ventured out into it the only way I know how- overprepared and smooshed under the load of caution. When I reached the first spring 12 miles out into the desert I had calmed down and logic had begun to creep back in, even though the weather had picked up to a roaring wind and impending rain. This was day 65 of my Continental Divide Trail thru-hike and I was used to being in weather, I had managed to make it through the New Mexican desert without mishap, so why was I carrying 5lbs too much food and 4lbs too much water?
The rain began and the scent of sagebrush filled my nose. It hit me- It had been a month since I had been in a desert, a desert that would smell like creosote instead of sage on that rainy afternoon. A desert filled with arroyos, mesas, and bajadas rather than this Great Basin of flats, rims, and washes (pronounced warshes). The high mountains of Colorado had provided their own magic and hardship, and now I had returned to the lowlands as suddenly as I had arrived in the winter bound South San Juans back in early June. The sponge had been wrung, dust was underfoot- no more squishing Sawtooths- on to dry leather and sweaty toes.
I am on foot. I go slow relative to everything else out there, but it is amazing how the land can change from snowy arnica covered mountainsides to dry gravely washes within 20 miles. The land doesn’t look back, it just is what it is, and me- the hiker who travels over it has to be flexible enough to adjust. At least my only real consequence to desert reintroduction shock is that I had to eat muffins and drink a lot of water.
Now I am taking a zero day here in Lander, preparing for the Wind River Range and Yellowstone. It is nice to come inside every now and then, but I can’t wait to get back to the trail tomorrow to see what happens next. I’m off to the Cirque de Towers with way too many Cinnamon rolls to give my Sawtooths a workout.
Happy Trails!
Sage
Postcard from Sage
Dear Oboz Crew-
As I hiked under Mount Massive east of Leadville on the CDT the other day, I kept thinking about how many footfalls that trail has felt. The trail is home to the Leadville 100, is part of the Colorado Trail & the CDT, not to mention billions of day hikers & Outward Bound students heading back home after a good hike. What adventures & feats of endurance that trail has held witness to only the pine duff knows! I feel fortunate to add my own steps to the mix & leave some super cool OBOZ tred marks in the mud & snow. Thank you endlessly for providing my “tires” for this trip. So far, these Contours have hugged the mountains of CO well & I look forward to wearing down another pair of these slippers that let me hike the trails of my dreams up in WY soon.
Be wild!
-Sage
Bridgers in Kauai, Hawaii
Here are a few photos of Oboz Bridger shoes on the Na Pali Coast in Kauai, Hawaii. These shoes made their debut in our first season and could now maybe be considered collectors items! Wish I could be along for all these fantastic trips.
Credit: Jeff L. Fox
Valhallas kickin’ it
We just received some more field reports on the Valhalla. Here’s proof that these things can take you to the top of ancient theaters in Greece, 14ers in Colorado (Crestone Needle pictured here), and everywhere in between. Thanks to Bob & John for the photos. 
Connecting the Gems Launches July 7th
Gregg and Deia’s Connecting the Gems trek starts July 7th from just outside Yellowstone National Park near Cody, Wyoming! To follow their progress, check the Updates tab on www.connectingthegems.org — you’ll find their current location, audio updates, photos and more. Oboz is supporting Gregg and Deia’s effort with shoes (of course!), communications help, and on-the-trail support, including their first resupply. The 400-mile Connecting the Gems walk aims to uncover and document the on-the-ground challenges wildlife face as them move through and between the wilderness gems in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. They’ll end their trek near Elk City, Idaho in late August.
Deia writes: “We’re excited to be doing a project wherein the walking has a specific purpose. I’m hopeful that by doing this we can provide data that will lead to a much more complete picture of animal movement patterns and problems between Yellowstone and the Frank Church. After all, we cannot appreciate that which we cannot understand.”
Valhallas up in AK
This spring, Oboz sponsored Kling Mountain Guides ran a guided trip on Mt. Bona in southeastern Alaska. This is the 10th tallest peak in North America at 16,421 ft. It is in the Wrangell – St. Elias Natianal Park which is the largest of America’s national park. It’s roughly the size of Costa Rica! John, the other guide, and myself decided that prior to 10 days of high altitude guiding we wanted to get out and do some personal skiing. We had limited time before our Bona trip and wanted the maximum bang for our buck. We decided to minimize drive time and maximize ski time by heading to Girdwood, AK. This is a small sleepy tourist town of about 2000 year round residents. In Girdwood there is an outfit called Alpine Air Alaska. These guys rock! A big thanks to Debbie who gave us a ton of beta on good ski spots! Alpine Air Alaska is a small company that primarily does helicopter pilot training, flight seeing tours, and charter work. We chartered one of their helicopters to fly us onto the Eagle glacier, only a few miles away but thousands of feet above Girdwood. Since we were flying in, we brought a lot of great food!
We had 4 days of epic skiing and delicious desserts, and I’m not sure what was more of an adventure, the skiing or the hike out! We were only several miles from Girdwood and it was all down hill. How tricky could it be? The hike out proved to be, well, full “Alaskan style” in magnitude. We toured on the skis over to the Eagle nordic track and Goat Ridge. Once we finally made it to terra firma we toss our skis and boots on our backs and slipped into our Oboz! I love my ski boots, but these approach shoes are pretty good too! The hike out ended up taking roughly 9 hours. It would not have been nearly as bad if we had just gotten up in the morning, packed camp and left, but that just didn’t seem fun. A full day without skiing? What fun is that? Anyways, the gas station in Girdwood was still open and happy to sell us beer when we got down. We’ll definitely be back to Girdwood next year!
We definitely put our Oboz through the ringer on the hike out. It was nothing a little soap and water couldn’t take care of though!
-Josh Kling
Nepalese Trek
Here are some photos from a recent trek to Everest Base Camp. Katie and Andy were in matching Wind Rivers.
CDTTrek Update
Here’s an update from Dave & Oriana, Oboz athletes:
“On March 31st we began out Trek, heading towards the Canadian Border in Glacier NP, along America’s Continental Divide. We walked north out of Lordsburg, NM after forwarding our “drifter package” to ourselves in Silver City from the town post office. We chose not to start at the exact border for a number of reasons: border patrol/ drug smuggler country, the need to cache water, the expenses of hiring a driver to the border along the 4WD roads through the high desert.
We have been told a number of times by veteran thru-hikers to “hike your own hike.” We have taken this to heart, so that our trip will be one of positive memories, and not one with unnecessary hardships. So our trip has truly been a trek along the Continental Divide more so than a Thru-Hike on the Continental Divide Trail. There have been times when we have trekked the actual divide itself by following the terrain and ridge line, and times when we have strayed from the trail to opt for a more scenic route; sometimes more challenging and sometimes more direct.
Everywhere we went in New Mexico folks we met told us “you are the first of the year”. Indeed, we did a get an early start. As a result we experienced the wilderness entirely to ourselves, with the exception of some wildlife, and hunters on ATVs or in Trucks on Forest Service Roads. We also experience swollen rivers from a 200% snow pack year, snow at high elevations, and 80 degree days and 15 degree nights. After many river crossings, lots of bushwhacking, and days of “post-holing” in soft snow, we learned that “having fun isn’t always fun.”
We used an arsenal of Oboz footwear to make our lives a lot easier. We each have been carrying a pair of Wind River boots and a pair of the Sawtooth Trail Shoes. When one pair inevitably gets wet from a river crossing, we tie them to the exterior of our pack the following day to be dried out by the sun, and wear the other pair – which will also inevitably be wet by the end of the day.
The Wind Rivers have been particular favorites. We have worn them in dry desert, for river crossing, and in the deep snow at high altitudes. We have used them with snow shoes as well as with crampons. There was not break in period, and they have held up very well. We are very grateful to Oboz for making such a fine boot that has done such a good job at preserving our feet after many hours and many days of pounding the trail.
- Dave and Oriana
Connecting the Gems Radio Show
In case you missed it, here’s a recording of the Xplor the Outdoors Radio Show with Gregg and Deia from the Connecting the Gems project.
Connecting the Gems Trailer
Here’s a new trailer that Gregg & Deia from the Connecting the Gems project created. Check it out!
