Things are getting interesting.
So this weekend, Is Trail Days, in Damascus Virginia, I’m in the process of packing up for the weekend hiker festival, I can’t wait to reconnect with trail friends, and see all the new gear that will be out. Best of all i’ll get to see all the new thruhikers, and celebrate with the 2010 alumni, two of them will be traveling with brandi and I to Trail Days. So even if i am unable to see some of my hiker friends, i’m sure there will be plenty of trail stories to go around, and maybe i will even see Jay Bird again….. If that guy is hiking again this year, well i might just have to buy him a few bags of m&ms.
In even more interesting news, Next week i will spend packing up and preparing for my Americorp job with the North West Service Academy. I will spend just over 5 months working on a trail crew in the Mt. Hood National forest. So far I have received e-mails from a few of my soon to be co-workers and house mates, and they really seem to be an interesting group. Which really i would expect a rag tag group of interesting people, it’s not just anyone who signs up to live in the woods and work HARD 10 hr days for popcorn & peanuts.
As excited as i am about going to to live in the woods and meet new people, it’s also a bit sad as i will be leaving my girlfriend, friends, and family for the duration of the experience. it’s so much fun to be a rambler, but it’s the connections to loved ones at home that makes it a hard life to lead.
Hopefully i will get some fantastic photographs, I have already started probing my Flickr photostream for locations, and think i got a good lead from one of my favorite northwest photographers. check out Matt Abinante’s photostream and also Ben Canales’ Photostream.
Not much else to say right now, but i’m sure i will have some photos up soon, and more stories to come from Trail Days as well as my time in the west.
