https://stonebeartracks.blogspot.com/2011/
Monday, May 9, 2011
Crossing the Continent Only the strong survived
ITW final post October 2010
Tracks of the StoneBear Copyright - MMX ALL Rights reserved
ITW = Into The West Journey
The cowards never started.
The weak died along the way.
Only the strong survived.
That is the synopsis I've heard that sticks... that holds true.
Crossing the continent was not the primary objective of this journey; it turned out that was what happened.
I stand in awe of the pioneers that supplied up - loaded up... "don't worry about the mules Son, just load the wagon"... loaded up everything/ possessions they had,... and left St Louis heading west in a wagon train. My God I love those people; they are my kinda folks!
Public school allowed the basics of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery, and little of the westward pioneers. Upon this journey, coming to the realization of what it actually took to cross this North American continent... these are my heroes. Traveling across in a modern vehicle, with supply depots, with gas stations for fuel, with modern bridges across rivers.... I do not see how the pioneers did it! These were some rugged hearts in people with a ton of courage and guts.
Women especially. It takes a certain kinda cat to sign on to a plan to go into the unknown and make due with all the hardships. Women did this while raising kids and holding everything together on the frontier.
I waded in and fished many rivers and streams and know the strength of the current. Think of your family and children in a wagon foraging these rivers, a major undertaking; I don't see how they did it.
Going up the river to Independence / St Charles, MO... The final post going on into the west... last chance for supplies, then heading west, going into the unknown.
An axe was the primary tool. it would be needed to cut lodge-pole timber for a homestead in the promised land... when we got there. A knife, personal weapon to thwart threats if need be or skin hides. A gun, a long rifle to hunt for meat,... or preferred for protection if need be.
Tracks on the prairie meant; meat,... or war.
Oxen were the team of draft animals to make this journey. Horses were good for short 15 to 20 mile day rides, but wouldn't hold up pulling a wagon on a long haul.
The trail, mostly virgin prairie at first, then mountains-- then the Rockies-- was littered with the abandon wagons with skeletons of horses where they frothed at the mouth and dropped in place.
If you were lucky, another sympathetic wagon would take you in,... or take the children... usually to the next town / outpost. Then , you were on your own to survive.
You never drink twice from the same stream.
Copyright MMXV ALL StoneBearTracks blog posts and photographs ALL Rights reserved
******ITW 98
Tracks of the StoneBear Copyright - MMX ALL Rights reserved
ITW = Into The West Journey
You never drink twice from the same stream.
Copyright MMXV ALL StoneBearTracks blog posts and photographs ALL Rights reserved
Monday August 2, 2010
Biggs, Oregon / Maryhill, Washington
It's been months on this journey. A lifetime by some measurements.
This started back in Birmingham / Leeds, Alabama back in the Spring. The dimension of time has expanded and contracted at times.... depending on the day and place. Hiking into the canyon near Thermopolis Wyoming and seeing hundreds of Petroglyphs -- Ancestral Native art etched into the rock face walls-- .... Time went back 11,000 years.
At the start the goal was to head West to Arizona, then turn north up through the Rockies ....make it to Montana... to see the Northwest Crown of the Continent. ... Glacier nat park.This was a Journey; an expedition. Most days were a see saw / wandering route and not a beeline. The purpose was to see it.
... to breath it.
... to seek it.
.... to walk it and hike it.
to leave the rat race to the rats.
.... to revel in it. ....and know that you did it.
Just because you Wander doesn't mean you're Lost.
After months of traveling the back roads of the west, criss-crossing the same exact routes and trails the pioneers used.
The Oregon Trail.
The Santa Fe Trail.
The California Trail.
The Morman Trail.
The Bozeman Trail.
... there's a greater respect for the Pioneer families; Those were some hearty folk. I worry about the country sometimes, .... then think of the stock we come from; we'll endure the hard parts. Think Covered Wagon and team of Oxen.
I've dodged tornadoes in Oklahoma. Camped on the high arid plains of the Southpark of Colorado. .... Hiked into the the Abyss of time at Mesa Verde, Chimney Rock... of the Choco culture. Walked across Lava fields in Idaho and went down into the ice caves the Shoshone used. Hiked down into the canyon and talked w/ the Navajos... --men of the same blood of Manuelito-- at Canyon de Chelly
Later traveling North in Utah and Wyoming Trout fished in snow-pack rivers and Glacier Lakes.
Been in thermal Hot springs in Arkansas, Wyoming, and Montana.
Crossed the plains where the great herds of millions of Bison used to roam. ... through numerous Native American Indian lands / hunting grounds. ...and felt the wind on my face sweeping across the vastness of those plains.I've felt the chill of hiking through snow-pack,... up to 10,000 ' elev.... feeling the crispness of the thin air while dancing around the sacred circle at Medicine Wheel Wyoming. I've seen Deer, Elk, Antelope, Moose, pronghorns, fox, Bison,... many birds,Bald and Golden Eagles- ... Osprey, many Hawks... Listened to Coyotes and Wolves howl in the night.... and a glimpse of a Grizzly Bear.
Stood at the headwaters of the Missouri river, where Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery camped.
Awakened to 34* mornings in August. Awakened to 24* mornings in July up high in the Big Horn Mountains. ... and actually seen Bighorn Sheep.
After months.... on the expedition foraging ahead, not knowing what is going to be around the next river bend, or over the next mountain pass. .... not knowing where you'd lay your head that day.... that night until 6 or 7pm.
After a time... you lose any sense of "Home". At times you've lost the memory of just exactly what IS home. At times,... there is No Direction Home.
And when you begin driving down that amazing Columbia River. ... & the rolling high plains foothills turn into the brown Basalt stair-steps of an eroded canyon river gorge....
You've been wind burned since leaving Arkansas; the skin on your face and neck and arms are weathered. and burned bronze. You see the strength of that wind blowing 40+ up the Columbia pushing modern day wind farm turbines.
And you get to Biggs Oregon, Maryhill Washington on the Columbia .... and you stop .... and at that moment, .... you can see Mount Hood ahead,... & sniff the air. You smell the salt in the air.
You wade into the river and you can taste the salt in the brackish water of the Columbia River...
You wade into the river and you can taste the salt in the brackish water of the Columbia River...
We have crossed the North American Continent and lived to tell it. Closing w/ the Pacific.
.... The Columbia moving toward the ocean.
I was excited. Exhausted after months of Journey.
Lord, imagine the excitement of Lewis & Clark after crossing the continent,... knowing they were closing w/ the
Lord, imagine the excitement of Lewis & Clark after crossing the continent,... knowing they were closing w/ the
Pacific.
I imagine they had a big bonfire at what would become Biggs, Oregon / Maryhill, Washington... and feasted that night on a celebration supper of Elk and Salmon.
This was an Odyssey into the Abyss of Time and Life.
You never drink twice from the same stream.
Thank you for the Abundant Blessings.
You never drink twice from the same stream.
Copyright MMXV ALL StoneBearTracks blog posts and photographs ALL Rights reserved
Back Safe
ITW Back
Back Safe October 2010
T - O, Back safe. Thanks for checking on me. 1st couple weeks jet lag/ humidity/ & wrung out from being up on the line knocked me down hard. Getting re-started & back on feet now.
This was NOT a vacation... but a journey... I called it into the abyss of time & life. Went 12,000 miles, all on back roads -- many dirt roads-- NONE of it planned... well, west to Canyon de Chelly, AZ, then north through the rockies to Glacier npk was planned, but everything else day to day was a wandering, stumbling onto some amazing places in our really great country. Interstate was only the last week heading home.
When I say stumbling... it was -- well today let's see what this/ or what that's about... & it was usually things right there in front of everybody(not in the chamber of commerce brochures)... like climbing "round top" in Thermopolis, WY(behind the T-28 plane)... right there overlooking the town & hot springs... took about 2 hours... & there was nobody there. just out there alone looking at some really great views / places / canyons/ buttes/ mesas/ rivers/ sunsets/ ect...
I wondered at times why there was no one else-- very few-- at these places. Most places were off the beaten path / the road less traveled. Saw people in the big RV bus thing sitting inside watching CNN & thought WTF! ; saw a lot of people in a hurry going nowhere. Each to his own... but I really enjoyed seeing all this; it was a journey in a lifetime.
ie... like Devils Tower , WY...(near the end of the journey) This was a very powerful place. The close encounters film got it right. You get a glimpse of this from 10- 20 miles away & it begins to pull you. ... & the closer you get.... it draws you right in. & you see the defined rock spines that looked like this was combed... those are hex collumns -- six sided rock crystals that formed as the volcano flow came up through the shaft & cooled in place. The closer you get you are just paralyzed at what you're seeing... at the phenomenon of the spectacle. This was a sacred / mysterious place for the indians & pioneers
There were so many places that drew you in & paralyzed you at the sublime beauty/ the history/ the sureal starkness of it.... like Mesa Verde. or Canyonlands / Arches np at Moab... Flaming Gorge, UT trout fishing the Green river, then a day later a desert sunset / sunrise at firehole. & it's hard to explain Wyoming & Montana... I could talk to you for a couple years about it... hiking through snowpack to get to walk/ dance around Medicine Wheel , going to a rodeo in Livingston , MT on july 4th-- can't get more American than that! Columbia river gorge, Crater Lake -- so sureal that I had to hike down to the lake, get in it, drink a handfull of it. ... so paralyzing ... still can't describe the blue. Bighorn canyon/ river, Shell falls, Canyon de Chelly, the Tetons, Glacier np, Santa Fe trail, Oregon trail, Bozeman trail, Petroglyphs at Thermopolis, Moab, ect... Too many places to mention...
One of my friends said it will take a few months to sort this out & put it in perspective; back now & realizing the enormity of it... it will take years... if not the rest of my life tosort this out. It was a journey. Since back , checked out Homers "Odyssey" from the library & really understand & appreciate Homer much better. My head & heart are still out there on the edge of the universe. I was my own man before... & am pretty well ruined after this; don't know that I can come back to the rat race. We'll see. ...watched about 30 minutes tv & wanted to go outside & throw up.
Will probably put some of this on a website where some of the pics can be viewed; I just don't know where to start... I kept / wrote a daily journal... will piece together some of the highlights... most days were pretty unique; not much dull... will figure out how to a web page / story.
It was an amazing journey, & am very thankful for the abundant blessings that allowed this. ...said many prayers for friends & family while standing at some pretty good views. & thank you for all your prayers for me; I could not have made it w/out you! You may have saved my life keeping me alert & focused & got me back home safe; thank you dearly! Whit
T - O, Back safe. Thanks for checking on me. 1st couple weeks jet lag/ humidity/ & wrung out from being up on the line knocked me down hard. Getting re-started & back on feet now.
This was NOT a vacation... but a journey... I called it into the abyss of time & life. Went 12,000 miles, all on back roads -- many dirt roads-- NONE of it planned... well, west to Canyon de Chelly, AZ, then north through the rockies to Glacier npk was planned, but everything else day to day was a wandering, stumbling onto some amazing places in our really great country. Interstate was only the last week heading home.
When I say stumbling... it was -- well today let's see what this/ or what that's about... & it was usually things right there in front of everybody(not in the chamber of commerce brochures)... like climbing "round top" in Thermopolis, WY(behind the T-28 plane)... right there overlooking the town & hot springs... took about 2 hours... & there was nobody there. just out there alone looking at some really great views / places / canyons/ buttes/ mesas/ rivers/ sunsets/ ect...
I wondered at times why there was no one else-- very few-- at these places. Most places were off the beaten path / the road less traveled. Saw people in the big RV bus thing sitting inside watching CNN & thought WTF! ; saw a lot of people in a hurry going nowhere. Each to his own... but I really enjoyed seeing all this; it was a journey in a lifetime.
ie... like Devils Tower , WY...(near the end of the journey) This was a very powerful place. The close encounters film got it right. You get a glimpse of this from 10- 20 miles away & it begins to pull you. ... & the closer you get.... it draws you right in. & you see the defined rock spines that looked like this was combed... those are hex collumns -- six sided rock crystals that formed as the volcano flow came up through the shaft & cooled in place. The closer you get you are just paralyzed at what you're seeing... at the phenomenon of the spectacle. This was a sacred / mysterious place for the indians & pioneers
There were so many places that drew you in & paralyzed you at the sublime beauty/ the history/ the sureal starkness of it.... like Mesa Verde. or Canyonlands / Arches np at Moab... Flaming Gorge, UT trout fishing the Green river, then a day later a desert sunset / sunrise at firehole. & it's hard to explain Wyoming & Montana... I could talk to you for a couple years about it... hiking through snowpack to get to walk/ dance around Medicine Wheel , going to a rodeo in Livingston , MT on july 4th-- can't get more American than that! Columbia river gorge, Crater Lake -- so sureal that I had to hike down to the lake, get in it, drink a handfull of it. ... so paralyzing ... still can't describe the blue. Bighorn canyon/ river, Shell falls, Canyon de Chelly, the Tetons, Glacier np, Santa Fe trail, Oregon trail, Bozeman trail, Petroglyphs at Thermopolis, Moab, ect... Too many places to mention...
One of my friends said it will take a few months to sort this out & put it in perspective; back now & realizing the enormity of it... it will take years... if not the rest of my life tosort this out. It was a journey. Since back , checked out Homers "Odyssey" from the library & really understand & appreciate Homer much better. My head & heart are still out there on the edge of the universe. I was my own man before... & am pretty well ruined after this; don't know that I can come back to the rat race. We'll see. ...watched about 30 minutes tv & wanted to go outside & throw up.
Will probably put some of this on a website where some of the pics can be viewed; I just don't know where to start... I kept / wrote a daily journal... will piece together some of the highlights... most days were pretty unique; not much dull .... will figure out how to a web page / story.
It was an amazing journey, & am very thankful for the abundant blessings that allowed this. ...said many prayers for friends & family while standing at some pretty good views. & thank you for all your prayers for me; I could not have made it w/out you! You may have saved my life keeping me alert & focused & got me back home safe; thank you dearly! Whit
Keep,... & Travelin' South Chiloquin, Oregon
ITW 106
Mon, Aug 9, 2010
Chiloquin, ORegon Mon Aug 9, 2010
Geeez it's 34*s this am & it's almost the middle of August
Chiloquin library
Geeez it's 34*s this am & it's almost the middle of August
Chiloquin library
Crater Lake OR / Chiloquin , Oregon is the swing point of this journey... stayed on station as long I could & now time to turn back.
--- will do a journal on crater lake when I can form some type of
description.-- or figure out how to describe a Blue.
When I started this journey wondered how it would unfold... a little anxiety out of a comfort zone. Stepped back & assesed the reality; ... wait a minute.
anxiety hahahahaha! I've lived my whole life on straight commission; Nothing was ever guaranteed. The only steady paycheck ever was in the Marines & that allowed people to shoot at me... I was made for this journey; this is the trip of a lifetime & I can't wait on this. Go now; don't wait any longer. Don't put this off anymore.
Dad said I was born under a wanderin' star. So it was cowboy up & head out.
Keep those prayers for safe travel going. Not back yet but am reminded of seeing
Albert Collins singin' "Travelin' South, makin' my way back home" ... one of my
favorites. There will be a whole lot of travelin East before turning due south or Southeast.
But it's time to make a hard tack into the winds and comeabout to right this
journey back to what was home. I say home... but at times had lost any direction of home & felt like a bedouin. a few times thought of home & just
what actualy means anything. It's a place like no other. ... the illusion of peace. & in some ways not sure what I'm going home to.
I've been many other places... different , interesting places.. I understand Homer better now &
appreciate the life journey better. Before leaving I knew what was important...
This trip honed that edge sharper. & also know what is not important.
I have not missed tv one iota... or about Tiger Woods. Or the stock market.
My best friend told me a long time ago "If I ever was stranded on a dessert
island, I'd want you there 'cause you'd figure out a way to get us off the
island & get back home". Not sure of the exact route but will find the wayback. Devils tower WY & Badlands/ deadwood SD are on the radar coming back; &
somewhere after turn due south. Feels good now to have a westerly wind trimming
a full sail. ...like competed a mission after putting to sea & now going home.
made the observation earlier that I saw a lot of people in a hurry to go
nowhere. ???what makes me any different? Don't know about them but I wanted to
see & smell nowhere. There is a peace about the most remote canyon or mesa
butte & being able to soak it in... & say a prayer w/o noise ... or someone
talking. .... or hearing people talking about endless nothing on their cell phone..To smell the mustiness of the bldg where the vigilantees hung robbers &
claim jumpers... the desert ... western skyBillion stars,... to smell the ocean
salt/ brackish air at Hood river on the Columbia River and taste the salt in thewater -- 100 miles from the Pacific ocean.(this was the best conclusion of the
journey-- central OR & Crater Lake was extra bonus on a road trip to see all
before turning back) I was excited. Lord, imagine the excitement of Lewis &
Clark after crossing the continent,... knowing they were closing w/ the
Pacific. I wish I'd been w/ them; that would have been the only thing better
than doing this journey now.
Will see you soon... some at a dance & look forward to that. All the way across
the continent... 8,500+ miles & now turn back. Tired, / exhausted... but a good
tired. No exact route back but would like to have a close encounter at Devils
tower, WY & then Badlands SD .... will navigate a journey back. In pilot terms
... just took off , gear up & checking compass heading , & looking for a tailwind.
Will see & talk w/ you when back asap. ....Get things back ship shape once home & get re-started.
Everything was shut down & have to get new internet server, phone ect... & get
to some things put off too long. Thank you for your prayers that got me this far
; KEEP saying a prayer for safe travel 'til I'm back safe. Whit
