Scenes from the roadside 3

Of course there’s a zombie foot on our travels.  This was on the sidewalk in Florence OR

Curious moss covered listing ship in rogue river bay

Ummm did someone contact the marketing dept before putting a spout on the company van grill?  

The head shed?  Ok

One Week Til V Day

A week from today our good friend Valerie from CT is flying to CA to join us on the road for a week.  In her words she wants to experience what our life is like out here and not just walking a mile or a day.  Yep pack, tent, she’ll be carrying her on weight.  I’ve invited her to guest blog here so we can discuss last minute preparations and she can share her side of the adventure.
V – 
I shed my base layers, tops and bottoms in Brookings & I’ve regretted it since.  Temps in Northern California, or at least this stretch of it ave low 60s in the day and 50s at night.  Sweltering heat from the rogue valley pulls high afternoon winds and fog banks and unless I’m in my tent snuggled up with the boys I’m chilled by the damp air.  
But as I’ve found along the coastline from Newport OR to here there are different microclimates distinct to each of the areas.
The redwood forests are right around the bend and I can’t speak to the climate there yet.  My suggestion is pack lightweight base layers – silk, which I prefer, or wicking synthetic.  Fleece just adds more pack weight & don’t think you’ll need the heavier fabric.
Shoes – hope you have that worked out by now. Don’t know why the vasques cause toe cramping – I love mine – but each foot has different demands.  But that has to be resolved ASAP.  Like fletcher wrote – footwear is the foundation – get that wrong and you won’t make it a week.
Don’t worry about packing first aid sundries – I keep sufficient supply.  Also I pack a multi tool, extra carabiners, zip ties etc.  
I’m worldly enough to know NOT to tell a woman what grooming/cosmetics to pack but since you’ll be carrying your own food and water the pounds add up.  I have nail clippers (since I have to keep toes ultra short) razor & cream (travel size) and axe spray for when I’m in public and haven’t had a chance to shower or do laundry.
You’ll probably want to bring soap since most campgrounds have showers but I wouldn’t expect that luxury more than once during the week.  
Other essentials in your pack – a cpl of ziplock bags to keep your electronics dry, poncho (even though I’ve only used mine twice in the 3 months on the road), a chamois or microfiber towel, sunblock (I don’t carry any), a pkg of wipes or rinse free hand soap, bug spray (though I haven’t had much of a problem thus far and I recommend skin so soft rather than a deet based product).  
Pillow – if your body contour requires it but I don’t afford the space for one and instead use my clothes sack plus my pack for a head rest but it’s not terribly comfortable but comfort is a notion you’ll have to divorce yourself of quickly.  
Once you arrive next Saturday and pick us up from the road we’ll have the balance of the day to do a gear check and purchase any last minute provisions.  But these are mostly small coastal communities out here – no walmarts, best buys or REIs.
Hope your training is going well but don’t push yourself after Thursday. Stick to stretching exercises.  As cell service is questionable up in the forests, post your questions or last minute concerns here….

Orygun

It’s never the moving forward that’s the hardest thing on a long journey.  It’s the leaving behind. 

Tuesday August 5th at 12:30 The fearless fuzzybutts and their kilted mate crossed the stateline into California alongside a dozen or so lovely companions.  The folks of Brookings OR really rallied together and gave us the perfect send off (or they were anxious to kick our fuzzybutts into the next state).

We were greeted by this sign at the Blue Coast Hotel and Zoe, the concierge was most gracious to us during our stay.  The warm welcome and generosity of the folks from Brookings couldn’t have exemplified our Oregon experience better.  



From L to R: jan (dog less), Tracey & Greg (with canyon, willy & red) Marlene, & carol with Oso.  Not present in the photo are Donna, the mastermind behind team Brookings, Arliss the chamber of commerce head who helped out a ton, and Suzy Q. Can’t thank team Brookings enough for making our last stretch in Oregon so special.  


We found this garden of Eden, smallish white flowered meadow just large enough to accommodate our tent above the cape Sebastian beach.  One of the most magical places we’ve tented out here and it’s significant in that it’s the closest we’ve camped to the water for a few reasons.  High water mark isn’t easy to discern and even if I could the tides are semi-diurnal meaning 2 high and low tides per day.  Plus with the mountains most of the coast has been either too far down or outland.
There’s a saying that’s taken me awhile to learn, ‘Don’t turn your back on the pacific.’  
Mountain mists and fog banks are a daily occurrence here. High temps from the valley east of the coastal mountains pull cooling air off the Pacific Ocean.  Though they consume the coastline and make visibility limited on the coastal highway, they keep the mornings and late afternoons cool. 




Previous three photos were taken at cape Sebastian beach.  We’ve seen so much native beauty in Oregon but this place will always hold a special place in our hearts.


Indiana provides quite the comic relief.  His quirky sometimes quixotic character cracks me up.  


Port Orford – the battle rock.  What a stunning vista in one of the smallest coastal towns we’ve been in.  

So many more photos and videos from the Oregon coast but one common problem had plagued us throughout – cell phone service.  It’s so bad I had to get a verizon go phone in case of emergencies.  I hear it’s better in northern CA but around the bend is miles and miles or redwood forest and we take it one mile at a time.

But before we move on I want to thank the people who made Oregon so memorable and historic (in no specific order other than on the top of YBD’s head):  Cathy the Pyrenees queen, Cathy from Portland who took us to the rose garden; Maria & Chris who helped me rescue the damn dove; Rob & Cindy – never got to use your card rob even tho I hoped to pull it out & say something cool like, ‘call this man’; sandy & Anna – thnx for the spacious fenced in lot for us to plop at night and your kind and generous spirits, Vince & Diane – the little green man hopes to see you again on our trek; Candy & the grandkids from the ‘Boo’; Kim, Red & Carlie from Florence; heather from the Florence animal shelter, Laura from FOCCAS in coos bay, the animal shelter in gold beach; Maryanne & Greg who looked after Hudson in gold beach;  Jenny who took us to breakfast at a Toyota dealership – that was strange but good; & grandma carol who cried when she had to return Hudson to the road.  

Though the list not complete and for that I apologize our lives are richer and fuller having crossed paths with you in Oregon.  And though we must move on, you’ll always be in our thoughts. 

——–

YBDs notes: orygun (sic)

Oregon Ho

A Gathering of Pyrs Is?
We call a group of geese a gaggle.  Of turkeys a rafter.  Quite appropriately enough, vultures are a committee.  And beavers are a lodge.  These things I thought of during Walk 1.  
So when Hudson Indy and I were met on border crossing day by a gathering of Pyrenees from the local club, I wondered what to call them.* 
Thanks to the Columbia Cascade club for coming out last Saturday and cheering us across into our second state.  
The ‘Interstate’ or I-5 bridge into Portland looked intimidating at first since it’s a vertical lift draw bridge and the two that were impassable on our first walk were of similar construct.  The steel grating of those in Baltimore and Philadelphia scared the hell outta the boys but this footbridge was all concrete so we crossed over the Columbia River into Oregon and it was a good day.  
——-
The Garden of 10,000 Roses
The following day one of our supporters in the area took us to one of the most stunning and spectacular places I’ve ever been.  Portland’s International Rose Test Garden.  
It’s a testing ground for new varieties and part of the much larger more expansive Washington Park that spans over 400 acres.  What’s noteworthy here, aside from the sheer beauty of this place and that it should be a destination point for all, is that my father has had a lifelong passion for roses and on Father’s Day I would find myself here.  
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Washington in The Rearview
Our first full day of walking in Oregon, from the Delta East Park to south of the Ross Island Bridge, we had two complete strangers came up to us and asked what we were walking for and if the dogs needed any food or water.  And that was two more than the entire state of Washington.  
I must admit I’m bumfuzzled at that reality especially since, well, that’s never happened to the fuzzybutts in any state ever.  Granted, the Evergreen State has countless homeless and our best guess is that, unfortunately, we were just being bunched up in the fungible forsaken even though I carried a banner that said, ‘#PuppyUp’.  
In an area that’s home to such tech giants as Microsoft and Amazon, the sign would be clear that it’s a cause. So in Tacoma we decided to amend the sign nearby.  But the folks got the dimensions wrong and I had to use my sports tape to make it fit in my backpack.**
Surprisingly, still bupkis.
——–
We Walk On 
Washington is a state of inestimable beauty and memorable but in our short time in Oregon we’ve made so many new friends and thus far it’s been a great experience.  
At present, we’ve made it to Salem and about 37 miles from Corvallis at which point, we’ll pickup Highway 20 and head over the Coast Mountains to the PCH for the remaining 4.5 months of the walk.  
——–
*YBD’s Notes:  A Gathering of Pyrenees should be called a Preponderance I think.  

**YBD’s Notes:  This was no small feat but we’ve since had the sign cut down and re-grommetted (is that even a word?).  Going forward, this is OUR sign.  

Men In Skirts

The second most asked question aside from what’s under the kilt is why the skirt?

Only a few shall know the answer to that but before we started walking, I made a west coast wish list that includes a tee time at Pebble Beach and a tattoo of Murphy in LA and also on that list was a UtiliKilt  since they’re both in Seattle and the gold standard of kilts.

Our dear friend and fellow pupper Valerie sent them an email and without hesitation, they donated a kilt to the cause. And not just any kilt.  It’s the Survivor model and it’s their top of the line replete with pockets and pockets within pockets to satisfy the needs of any wayfaring adventurer.
Thanks to Stephan (that’s him in the pic to the right) and Darius, and while it’s a great honor to wear a UtiliKilt, the week since I was outfitted, the only downside is I don’t want to get it dirty which is kinda ironic. And unscotsman of me…

Reflections on Week 1

Friday we made it to Edison WA wrapping up week 1 of 25 of our journey. By my estimates we logged about 55-60 and given the week we had, I’m pleased with our progress.  
The Launch

Our sendoff Saturday the 10th at the Peace Arch Park was great. Folks from five states were there including two of our PUPS (Chris & Hope & Lori & thanks to Valerie for helping plan and coordinate), Erick with TAGG, and Sarah Charney the veterinarian oncologist from Boundary Bay Specialty Hospital in Vancouver.  
Iliopsoas 
Unless you’re an extreme backpacker you’re prob unfamiliar with this anatomical reference. It puts the G in grind and the work in twerk.  It’s a subset of pelvic muscles that are quite possibly impossibly capable of being trained.  But after a few days with a fifty plus pound pack they hurt.  
But for me, the term is also a metaphor for what the onset of a massive undertaking is like. There are things that just can’t be planned for or anticipated. Like Hudson throwing up in our tent.

Yep, just two nights into it, I had drifted off into the good sleep only to be abruptly awakened to the sound of retching.  Hudson had vomited earlier that Mother’s Day morning and I didn’t give it much thought since he occasionally has a heave and a hurl and seemed fine from then on.  But after five more times in the tent Sunday night, I made the decision to pull him from the road for a few days rest.  

Google v Reality

Planning our route from Memphis is a whole lot different than getting up here and scouting out the terrain.  I had planned on a more direct path but road conditions sometimes dictate otherwise.  
To be sure, the options are kinda limited since I-5 is the only direct highway from border to border so I anticipated zigging and zagging until we got to Southern Oregon at which point we’ll pick up 1/101 the rest of the way.  But I’ve made the decision to stick the shoreline as much as possible because they be mountains up here.  Speaking of….
Chuckanut
Only in my world would our first great technical challenge be a mountain named Chuckanut.  
And though it did try to toss us a few times, its native name means long beach and even on the occasionally treacherous stretches, we bore witness to some of the most stunning bay side vistas.  As well, the mountainside is lined with cascading waterfalls pictured nearby.  

It’s also home to Larrabee State Park, a destination point for anyone travelling in this area.  We took a days rest there and the beach on Sammish Bay was so totally alluring.

The whole area, including our time in Bellingham WA, now known to me as the City of Backpacks, reminded me of the Sirens of Shenandoah in the shadow of the Blue Ridge mountain back on our first walk.  I didn’t want to leave.

The people I met here are all so beautiful eclipsed only by the presence of their surroundings.  From the Bellwether Hotel to Boulevard Park to the Interurban Trail we picked up for a bit, this is a special place in the universe and I’m surprised I’ve been tempted so early on in the walk.  Indeed, Erick my walking companion for a few days remarked many times that this is a place he’d like to relocate to.  But the journey must continue…

Testing the Mettle

The first week is always unkinking – adjusting weight load, routes, and all sorts of last minute adjustments physically and spiritually.  It’s a curious truism one which I can only suspect because god’s just making sure you’re serious.

We were picked up Friday and transported to Seattle for the Petapalooza and it was great to spend time with Buddy and Ja-Cee, our PUPS up here in the area and their kiddos – Fonto & Sabrina.

In a few hours, we’ll be back on the road…. Until next time here are a couple of other pics to tide you over…

TAGG

 I wrote sometime ago about still being haunted by Highway 40 out of Baltimore on the first walk. For some it’s like the naked nightmare when you’re in public completely unclothed and exposed or others the one about missing the final exam and failing the semester even years past graduation.

Mine is losing my boys. 
It almost happened on that highway.  I’d been given collars to test out for a potential sponsor. Slim sleek with a few bells and whistles I outfitted Hudson and Murphy with them and hoped they’d work but at that critical point – they failed and slipped off within 50 feet of 4 lanes of traffic traveling 60 mph.  
I had like four heart attacks in the time it took me to secure them.
That wasn’t the first time nor the last they got loose and during the 2,300 mile walk and I always imagined, no I hoped for a better solution than microchips which is basically, ‘you lost you’re dog,well maybe he’ll turn up when someone finds him.’
TAGG offers that kind of hope to pet parents and that’s why we’re partnering with them on this walk.  
Not only does TAGG have GPS tracking if your dog gets lost but you can also monitor their daily activity and they’re the only company that does that.  And while we’re on the road, TAGG plans on having contests for the pups with the most points though expect some stiff competition from the fuzzybutts.  We’re averaging around 500 per day!
Also the folks there have a promo called TAGG it forward and if you purchase a pet tracker you’ll get 10% off and they’ll donate $25 towards our cause.  Sweet.  Just enter 2dogs in the promo code.
Now that the sites are live, you can track the fuzzybutts as they walk the west coast on the awesome micro site TAGG has built for us at www.2dogsagainstcancer.com.  This is my first time using an iPad and I haven’t figured out yet how to hyperlink.  
Thanks to the folks at TAGG & for loaning us one of their teammates Erick who flew up for our launch to walk with us for a few days.  More on that later…  

The Journey Begins

“There is no greater glory than a good piece of wood in hand, the path underfoot, your companions at your side and the call of the wild leading you on…”

– Yer Big Dog


T Minus 4

Murphy’s Rain
Back when Murphy was undergoing his second round of radiation at CSU, I witnessed a rainbow from a sunshower and wrote about the Japanese expression ‘Mono no aware’ in a blog in 2010.  Down south we call that phenomenon the Devil’s Rain a phrase I renamed as to describe the hopefulness I felt beneath my tears.    
As Hudson, Indiana and I drove through the Cascades Tuesday morning and approached the Snoqualmie Pass on I-90 to Seattle, I was welcomed once again by Murphy’s Rain (top left photo).  That’s all I needed.  
The Drive 
After a tiresome 2,800 mile 40 hour drive, the Fuzzybutts and I made it from Memphis yesterday to make final preparations and get a lil R&R&Romping prior to our launch from the Canadian Border.  That’s a pic of lil’ Nana committing the cardinal sin of trespassing on Hudzer’s Altar.  Yeh, you can tell how well that went by his expression.  
Peace Arch Park
One of the first tasks on my list once we got there was scoping out the park where we’re having our launch this Saturday, high noon.  Never been this far north and west before and the only border crossing I’ve ever made on land was from Brownsville TX to Matamoros Mexico.  
There it’s all chaos with rows and rows of sputtering cars, a smoggy haze, and the incessant rapping on the window by Chiclet peddlers.  
Here it’s, well, peaceful and I found the inscriptions on both sides inspiring. Facing Canada, it reads, ‘Children of a Common Mother’, and facing the US, ‘Brethren Dwelling in Unity’.  
Recon
Task 2 began at 5:30 AM as I went to scout our route on the first stretch of our trek:  The Border to Everett WA.  Driving up Interstate 5 yesterday I became a bit concerned about the road conditions we’d be confronted with but after reconning this morning, most of my fears have been allayed.  There are some tough spots sure; shoulderless backroads lined with water-filled trenches as well as long spanning narrow bridges but all doable and we’ve seen this many times before on our first 2 Dogs adventure.
However, there’s a 10 mile track on Route 11 that presents considerable risk to our safety. Pic nearby.  High reaching cliffs on the left and a 50-80 foot drop off on the right with little to no room for negotiation.
This has me slightly worried but two things are in our favor.  First, sunrise is 4:30 AM on the west coast this time of year and when driving this stretch this morning, it was relatively desolate so we’ll have a few hours to get through it before morning school and commute traffic gets underway.  Second, it is not only perilous to pedestrians but cars as well so if there we do encounter traffic, it will be slow moving.  
But there’s a saying on the road, as in life I suppose.  Don’t walk 10 miles until you walk the first.  Or maybe that’s my saying.  I recall meeting a Marine on the trail and I always liked his perspective as we shared our many challenges on our travels.  ‘Impossible is just a degree of difficulty.’  
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Yer Big Dog’s Notes 1:  For the next six months, this blog is my journal of our journey from Canada to Mexico and this is where it’ll be posted first and from the road.  I’ll have limited time and energy to proof, re-read, edit, or even re-think its content. 

YBD’s Notes 2:  In 2010, Seattle was our last stopping point on the lecture circuit after the Austin to Boston walk and it was right before Murphy was due for his second CT scan back at CSU where we would ultimately learn that not only did his first radiation fail but a new sarcoma had developed on his nasopharynx.  

It’s bittersweet to be back here again and I couldn’t help but find a subtle irony in that to return here, we had to cross through the Bitterroot Mountains and the flowers that they’re named for.  Nearby is a photo, not mine, as they were not in bloom yet. 

What I love about the Bitterroot is it’s stubbornness to survive even in the harshest of all conditions.  It can live up to a year without water…

T Minus Ten

Ten days from now we’ll set off from Vancouver on our second mission; a six month, 1,700 mile trek to San Diego.  Since my first such – Austin to Boston, I’ve come to learn that there are three points to every journey: to, from, and for. 

And those points you can’t find on a map as they are neither finite nor geographical in nature.   

——–

Recently I was going through the archives from our first walk that are housed in a storage facility in Memphis to recycle gear and supplies that were donated back then and I came across a box of 2012 calendars.  The one of me carrying Murphy’s lifeless body the final few steps.  The one most didn’t want.  


They were water stained and moldy and my first thought was toss em. But I couldn’t stand the thought of them being in some landfill, dumped and disregarded so I took them out with us camping out last week at Shelby Forest to recycle them as kindling.  

It was a metaphorical moment for me as I watched the calendar burn and I couldn’t help but wonder if that’s one of the points of this walk.  

——–

I miss my Murphy and maybe that’s my to, from and for.  
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