Honestly, I don’t even know where to start? This #day was nothing short of amazing! Just when I thought it was over, I stumbled upon more challenges that really pushed the limits… Definitely the best day out in the #wilderness yet, so this post is a must read!

Let’s start with the #packing… I learn from my mistakes #folks and decided to become over prepared this time and I did just that… I brought a lighter, tuna, my book, a #machete, a #thermos full of water, my Pot Pocket if I feel the need to smoke, insect repellant, sunscreen, a jacket and a towel… I put this all in my back pack and headed out at 12:30pm… I know it’s a little late but you have to remember I have to write in my blog every morning, so that takes up about 2 hours…

Here’s a picture of a #spider, amongst many, who are really attracted to this #campfire for some reason… Maybe they like the lingering heat or the ash is perfect for them to breed in… Just thought they were really neat looking, with their huge bellies…

So I set off to be awed… I wanted to see something spectacular today and I was willing to hike miles to get just that… Here are the #rapids that flow in my #backyard… I started following a #trail to the right of them… As you can see the #storms really took a toll on these trees… A lot of the trail was non-existent from trees tearing it down by #uprooting and falling into the #river below…

I had fun crossing these almost impossible #paths but I would soon hate them later on when I was exhausted trying to make my way back…

After about a mile and a half I approached this fairly new man made #bridge… It wasn’t real #wood, it was those compressed, plastic panels all the way across… But no matter how strong and mighty they made this bridge, as you can see to your left, #MotherNature always has her say…

The trail had these great blue markers so you know you are on the right course… This sign got me really excited! I would love to see some artifacts or something out here…

Then I suddenly thought I was back at the #PinkSandDunes in Utah… This was a huge #mountain of saw dust, I believe… it was like walking on a pillow… I was cautious with my steps fearing there was a pocket where i could fall in…

They had this trail very well posted and I understood why, while I was #hiking… I actually passed a few people on my #travels and they all seemed to be hiking across these #mountains for a #vacation… The first couple I crossed #paths with told me they were on a two week #excursion, just making their way from one point to the other… I am so impressed with this and definitely want to park #TheMillenniumFalcon somewhere and take one of these excursions… I have to keep that quiet because the #Falcon will get jealous and she will make my life difficult through the process… She is very sensitive and wants to be apart of the #trip, always…

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this little #creature trying to make his way across my path… Soon he will be a beautiful #butterfly… Good luck with that my man…

More signs and look at the second picture… I had already hiked about 3 miles but how can you resist something called #BakerPeak? They have signs for it 3.5 miles away for Christ’s sake! So it has to be amazing… Without much contemplation I chose to follow this path…

As I was hiking my mind wandered from here to there… You won’t believe how much you think when you are all alone in this clean, #FreshAir at a #HighAltitude… It almost feels like you think more clearly and I love to think… I’m definitely a thinker… When I wake up, I always lie in bed for about an hour thinking about this and that… It’s actually my favorite time of day because my mind is so fresh… That’s why I choose to write my #blog then because my mind is so fresh, positive and #creative.

I wanted to check out these #shelters but I had to stay on track… I start making all these #detours I will never get to that #peak, which I think will blow away anything I can see here…

I find one of the most difficult things being a #writer is feeling that what I am writing is significant… In the real world, as I like to call it when in all actuality this is the real world out here… I am going to call it the #ManMade world from now on… In the man made world there’s always something else going on that makes my writing feel like it should be put on the back burner but yet, when I don’t write I am a miserable, aggravated prick… So essentially my mind and body are being honest with me and I need to learn to block those doubts…

Well, being out here with very little responsibility has put that #creativity at the forefront, where it should always be… I look forward to writing my #travels every #morning and when that doubt sets in, I scream at it and tell it to go away… All that doubt is… is my conditioning in the man made world… Making sure my #iPhone is up to date becomes more important than my own self well being.. This is a problem that I think a lot of us are having… Especially if you grew up in the 80’s and 90’s…

Like myself and a lot of friends I grew up with, we grew up without the #internet or #CellPhones but right when we were hitting our mid twenties this #technology exploded… Now we are reliant on these technological devices… I admire the ones who don’t jump on board and refuse the technology but I also realize we are in a #culture that relies on it more everyday… So when you set out to do something a little complicated, you learn that you need these devices and rely on them… Which is o.k. if we did just that but as #humans, of course we take it to the next level and become obsessed with this new technology…

The fact that a good majority of us spend hours upon hours learning the new technology, maintaining it and cleaning up the mess it leaves behind for us instead of going on with the important things in our lives goes to show how complicated this is all becoming… Pretty soon we won’t be able to keep up with it all and will rely on big companies to keep it in line for us, which is practically happening as we speak… Now they have special agents you can hire to deal with all of your technology so you don’t waste your time doing such time consuming things.. Doesn’t anyone see the problem with this? We are giving them all the control and pretty soon we won’t be able to fend for ourselves in a society that has become to complicated for the average man… Pretty soon we won’t be able to do simple things because our culture is developing a huge dependency on these devices… Not a world I want to live in…

Also it is enslaving us by eating up all of our time when we should be taking that time to think, #reminisce and be creative in anyway we can… Without that down time #life feels like a constant chore… How many times have you been ready to tackle your day and have it completely ruined because your device decides to act up for some reason or the other… Maybe I am an exception to the rule and have become very obsessed but I have had so many days like these, I can’t even count them… So many that it lead me to not even wanting to get out of bed in the morning fearing what problems will arise… That’s not living!

But yet again nature steps in and with its simplicity and basic rules it teaches us what the important things are and what are not… Folks, I would love to just retreat to a #cabin somewhere and forget all of this crap we have immersed ourselves in but for some reason, something in my mind says I have a more important #journey…

I’m not having delusions of grandeur here but I can’t help to realize my huge dissatisfaction with our #culture and way of life today… I remember life being a lot more simpler twenty years ago… I love the progress we have made when it comes to social issues and human rights in this #America but I hate the average way of life today… I don’t mean to depress anyone here but I feel this needs to be stated… I cannot co-exist with this #technology alone… I have to find some sort of balance with nature and I hope I inspire others to do the same… The worse thing we can do is lie to ourselves and I think a lot of people, including myself, do this to get through everyday life and I believe a lot of that misery comes from trying to adapt to this rapidly changing world, that changes so quickly from month to month… so not even the genius of all geniuses could possibly keep up and keep a sound mind at the same time…

This is the type of crap I think about while hiking… I think the book I am reading has an influence on my thoughts but I think about this all of the time… Be it crazy or noble… I don’t know and I really don’t care to judge it…

As you can see above, I started hitting some really #rocky paths… They seemed to be leading me somewhere when I came upon this sign… When the sign doesn’t state the mileage, I ‘m guessing I am close…

And I guessed right… Let me see an #app do this! Holy shit!

Absolutely memorizing… After hiking non-stop for 6 miles I was sweaty and exhausted… Most of this #hike was #uphill and very challenging but the reward I can’t even think of words to describe… Finally, a hike with #nature’s jackpot at the end…

 

I screamed my #NaturesCall out into the open as I breathed in all the delightful #FreshAir… I was clearly over exerted but all this fresh free oxygen was like nature’s drug…. I had so much #energy I could have moved on without a thought…

But I decided to enjoy the surroundings and have my #lunch… It was a fantastic protein packed lunch with a view the rich would pay dearly to get in a #restaurant and here I was getting it for free… The #cuisine was nothing spectacular but with this #invigorating air, it seemed like a steak dinner and the water tasted like a good vintage wine…

But I was still curious to see what was hidden on the other side of this peak… And how can you not be looking at this path?

If you look in the distance you will see a body of water over there… I’m not very good with distances but this was close enough for me to #explore…

The invigorating air was making me so strong and the view inspiring me so much, I punched this rock and split in half… My true super hero powers were showing themselves, using nature to fuel them… lol… I wonder what did split that rock though… I don’t know many things with such power… Maybe #lightning?

So I followed the steep #RockyMountain path to whatever lays below not even thinking about making my way back to #camp…

That #lake seemed a little closer to me as I started to descend down the #slope and what a slope it was… I definitely was dreading this part of the hike back but yet again, I will be rewarded by this view so it’s well worth it…

Well lookey, lookey here… 1.8 miles to #GriffithLake… I didn’t even think about it… I was sweating, energized and was definitely rewarding myself with a #SkinnyDip in the lake!

So I continued my travels to the lake, my mind wandering once again… Now the markers have changed to a white paint… I would have thought the lake would have been blue and the peak white… But what do I know…

I started thinking about our cultures’ obsession with #money… I have a huge problem with this… It seems like there is more cheating and stealing than there ever was and it’s accepted as a norm as long as you have the money to get yourself out of it… Now I understand that this has always existed since man became somewhat #civilized, if you want to call it that, but it seems like our culture uses money as an excuse for all the bad they do and they just pass it off as #business being business…

If I hear another asshole defend his #greed by calling it business, I swear I will have to hold myself back form slapping the asshole… I live by one main rule folks, “Behind every dollar there is a man and without that man, the dollar can’t exist… So why not focus on the man, instead of focusing on something that is created to symbolize that man’s trade and his effort which brought him to this trade…” Money doesn’t exist folks… Without man, it is completely useless, yet this culture treats it like a #God! Like it is some sort of an entity we should #worship!

I’m not #religious at all but I do love the story of #Jesus and I do know this… The biggest problem Jesus had with man was his coveting of possessions… Now I am not saying no one should not have nice things or have a company that makes money to buy such things… We need some sort of a monetary system to put a value on what we make, work for and possess… But people are screwing each other to get to this high status of complete greed… I just don’t understand why someone would knowingly ruin another’s life and just pass it off as business… Well then fuck business! If that is what is takes to make it in this world then I want no part of it!

Getting close to the lake and I am dying for a dip now!

A great example of our culture’s obsession with money is the movie “The Wolf of Wall street.” By all means, a great film… it really shows what our culture has created in these money markets where someone can go in and basically rip off the system with no resistance what so ever… It’s not the government or any of its agencies who bring these assholes down, it’s always their greed that leads them to the inevitable… because if these jerks were as smart as they like to portray themselves to be, then they would have quit while they were ahead… It’s great that we catch them but it also sucks all the lives they ruin until we do… And they keep on doing it until they are eventually caught…

Greed is a disease folks and we should have therapy for this disease just like we do for alcoholism but our culture accepts it because money talks… If an alcoholic could become rich off of his alcoholism, we would condone it without even questioning the effects… I know this because we tolerate greed for the same exact reason…

I used to work at a restaurant where I kind of adopted this young busboy because he was from #Boston… He was way out there and reminded me of how I was when I was a kid… I felt the need to give him advice and help him along, which I did to some extent… He came in one day all hyped up because he saw the movie #TheWolfofWallStreet. He couldn’t believe how great the film was and went on to state how he would love to follow in the hero of this movie’s footsteps…

I was so taken back by this… I quickly interjected and said “You really want to be that man? A man who screwed people for his own personal gain? A man who raped our system by finding loopholes so he could knowingly make money off of useless investments? Why would you want to be this guy?” This kid didn’t see this side and this is a perfect example of what direction our culture is going… All he saw was a multi-millionaire who had all of this stuff and had a shit load of fun. He didn’t see the suffering this asshole caused and the manipulation of our system to feed his greed… I will admit he did make a lot of people lives better who worked for him but at the same time those people he trained to screw more people… So he was more of a virus than anything, spreading his disease throughout our financial system…

After passionatlely explaining this to this young man, he still didn’t see the problem and that’s one of the main problems we face today… People are willing to ruin others’ lives just to get ahead themselves and for their friends and families… Just because you don’t know someone it doesn’t give you the #freedom to destroy them… These people are most probably just as good as your friends and families yet just because you don’t know them, they are free game to screw? What are we thinking folks? We should be concerned with every #HumanBeing when it comes to such business, knowing that they could be just like us! That’s how we should think! Or at least see the other person’s side… This is the crap Jesus was preaching over and over again but yet the most religious of them all, continue to hide behind their holy book as they continue to ignore it’s teachings and take from others blindly without claiming any responsibility… Wow!

Sorry to go off here folks but this is what I think about on #hikes… This is what I think about all of the time… I love Scorcesee and his films but he should have somewhat of a disclaimer or himself being interviewed, telling the youth and people of this world he is not trying to glorify such things… Because he is not! He is just showing how absurd our culture and greed really is… The problem is people are actually worshiping such practices after viewing the film, especially the youth… I know because when I was young I wanted to be Tommy from “Good Fellas…” Really! I wanted to be a psychopathic killer who’s main agenda is power and greed! How sick is that? Henry Hill was a fucking scumbag! You ever hear him interviewed? I wouldn’t piss on the asshole if he was on fire! How we glorify such people… Don’t censor your art but you need to have some sort of a disclaimer when your movies have such an influence Martin… I’m just saying… It is apart of the problem…

I was almost at the lake when I saw this slithering creature cross my path… If you look really hard at the right picture, you will see a #GardenSnake… A sure sign you are near #water…

And look was eagerly peering through the trees! Finally a body of water that has fish in it! I was way too far to go back and get my #FishingRod but I could take advantage of this prize in other ways… First I needed to find an opening to enter…

These wooden planks slowly lead me to a wash pit and a little campsite… They have toilets out here also… Very nice, accommodating spot…

Look at this beachfront! I wasn’t going to chicken out like I did at that little haven in Granville,VT… I still regret not jumping into that pool even though it was freezing… I checked the water at this lake and it was quite warm to my surprise… That may had to do with the fact I was so hot at this point…

So I jumped in folks… Well, actually cautiously walked in… I was scared, I admit… I also went in with my underwear on… I know, what a coward but I did see two kids on my hike out here and I didn’t want to scare them for life… There’s enough snakes in these #woods… lol!

I felt like a million bucks after… I stayed in for at least 20 minutes until I noticed all these tiny fish swimming around me… It kind of freaked me out and I started thinking about #leeches for some reason… That damn movie #StandByMe still has me petrified of such things, if you remember the scene when he discovers a leech has latched onto a not so exposed spot… That will make any man stop #swimming in water all together…

So, I got out, dried off and felt inspired to read a couple of chapters… I was really feeling the rewards today and was happy I got some #bathing time considering it was not #shower night…

After about another 20 minutes, I headed back to the trail… I had been hiking for more than 4 hours now and needed to make my way back before dark… I had a long mostly #downhill hike back and was feeling tired already… I really pushed myself to the limit today and it wasn’t any easier on the way back…

I passed this girl on the way back to Baker Peak… I was really rushing and felt she was in mourning for some reason… I explained to her I was sorry to pass her but I had a lot of distance to make up… She smiled, understanding… there was something about her that was very solemn… I couldn’t stop thinking about her all the way back to the peak…

Now, getting back up this bitch was exhausting… So exhausting I had to sit for like 15 minutes and rest…

I would have sat even longer but I heard the girl coming up the peak and didn’t want another awkward encounter… I could feel she wanted to be left alone… Why else would she be hiking all alone in these #mountains… Maybe it’s my own need for #solitude that gives me such #intuitions… Who knows…

I hardly took any #pictures on my way back and it was a lot longer than I imagined… So throw that whole theory of the way back being shorter and easier… My mind wandered the whole trip there but didn’t do much wandering on the way back… I was exhausted and scared I got off the trail at some points… So my eagerness to know I was on the right #path was completely consuming all of my thoughts…

Here’s a couple of trees I jokingly labeled as the #Oracles from #TheNeverEndingStory… That’s what they reminded me of… Well, my heart was true enough to pass onto the #lake, so I was proud of that…

I was so happy to see this site on the way back… I kept on telling myself, once you hit the #bridge, you are almost home… Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong…

I still had a ways to go and I hadn’t had a drink since the lake… I only brought one water bottle and used it all up on the way there… I was actually enjoying the #thirst, knowing the #pleasure I would get when that first drop of water hit my tongue… I thought about the ecstasy of it all and how quenching a nagging thirst is so pleasurable!

By the time I hit the path that had been destroyed by the #storm, I found myself extremely aggravated… I kept on slamming #Mylene on the ground, screaming “Where is the end to it all!” But I loved that aggravation because it was an example of how far I can be pushed and that anger gave me the #fuel to make the last few miles of my #journey home…

I finally made it to the campsite, exhausted and somewhat delirious… I look like I lost weight on this journey alone… I ran up and kissed #TheMillenniumFalcon knowing she is my #savior out in this relentless, unforgiving #wild…

I rushed inside and collapsed on my couch, drinking from the gallon of water I bought a few days ago… That thirst quenching pleasure had passed a long time ago and I found the drinking was not pleasurable at all… My body was somewhat trying to reject it with feelings of nasciousness and utter #exhaustion… I sat on the couch for a half hour before I got up and heated up that #chili I made a couple of nights ago… I had bought some ground beef to give it that added flavor it needed and boy did it complete the #recipe…

I know I said I wouldn’t buy any #meat but I need some meat and couldn’t resist fresh ground beef at the price the store had it… I’m glad I broke that rule when I consumed this delicious yet spicy chili…

I took a quick rinse off in the shower which was quite nice and I didn’t use hardly any water… I may just do this rinse off every night a shower is not permitted… I at least got to clean the vital areas and felt clean going to bed instead of a sweaty, exhausted mess… I cracked open my last #GingerBeer, which is the best brand I have ever tasted and it had no carbonation what so ever… It was awesome…

I ate a bowl of chili and some Salt & Vinegar chips then I called it a night… I popped on #The Budapest Hotel which I can’t seem to finish only to fall asleep right away… What a great day of thought, fresh air, nature and pushing myself to the utter limit… Best day I have had out in nature on this trip… I will be dreading uploading this post later though… I hope I can find a decent internet connection to ease my aggravation while posting… but until then good night folks…