I Fought the Mud and the Mud Won

69 Degrees! Let me say that again. 69 DEGREES! Today was the 29th Day of January 2013, ano domini. "Today, January 29th, in Alexandria, the highs will reach around the high 60's." Sound familiar? No? Thats because that is insane and will not likely ever happen again anytime soon! Let me be clear. I am not complaining, rather celebrating the opportunity today's weather afforded me to get out and test out some new photography and mountain biking hardware. Naturally the closest place I had in mind was Burke Lake. Returning to this lake stirred some very personal and perhaps defensively repressed, yet positive memories for me and it was great to make a new one. I would have liked to include some of the GoPro footage that I shot today while riding on the trails but it didn't quite reach my "impossible standards" (ahem)...technical difficulties. 

More to the point...the trail had varying stretches of flat to relatively low-grade inclines with plenty of mud! The total loop around the lake comes out to be upwards of 4 miles and change. I provided a map of the lake and its accompanying trails as well as some post-mud war photographs.

P.S. I'm not sure but I think if you click on one of the images you can cycle through larger versions of them...if you'd like.

 

 

 

Mischief Managed!

In front of you is a roadmap of the expected route for the Walkabout. Obviously it is not exact but its a rough outline. In fact, the course setting will remain this open-ended for the entirety of the journey. I am a firm believer in preparation for the sake of safety but also as a means of not ignorantly missing an opportunity that was at my finger tips because I neglected to do my homework. HOWEVER, while the destinations of this journey are fairly well-marked, the scar which the "Kokiak" will carve through this bold country will be, by in large, cut without any predetermination. Stops at historical sites, natural wonders or simplicities, diners, or just anywhere that catches my eyes will be constantly considered.

While on the road, I will of course, have my road GPS in tow but it will be used ONLY in dire situations or when I get a craving for some type of food along the way (aka....Shrimp Scampi at the Cheesecake Factory...my guilty food requirement...but only on very special occasions $$). Instead my bearings will be aided by other, more traditional means...road signs (shocking), paper road maps, and if for no other reason than just to talk to someone....the locals. Since I just finished watching a re-run of Frasier, I must now fight the urge to pontificate presumptuously using heightened vernacular and silence the verbal beast that is my rambling babble.

Feast your eyes and ears...behold the Walkabout Route "Outline"....sorry its kinda long again...but who doesn't want to listen to Free Bird? Am I right?

...Ok so remember that time I promised Free Bird? Turns out Youtube is determined to make a liar out of me. So please now enjoy this long, boring video with some Copyright free audio accompaniment! 

Impossible Shoes to Fill...but at Least the Genes Fit

Frank Edward Senftle, the man, the myth, the legend. Cliches aside, Frank, or as he is more well known to my family, Grandpa, was one of the last of a dying breed. On the afternoon of 12 January 2013 ano domini, the year of Our Lord, Grandpa Senftle passed away while surrounded by his family and loved ones. Although never equipped with a sword, but rather his cane "George," Grandpa was a modern-day holy Knight. A devoutly religious family man with a sense of humor to match it. No more than a few minutes after he passed away, the power in our house went out without any reason or cause. Regardless of your belief, our family and anyone who knew Grandpa knows that that was just him tripping over a powerline on his way straight to Heaven.

Any member of the growing legacy that Frank Senftle left behind can tell you what an extraordinary man he was...on any and every level...father, grandfather, uncle, friend, scientist, parishioner, pioneer, etc. Here is a link to a website dedicated to the life and legacy of my grandpa, Frank Senftle. In my family's words and his.

Frank E. Senftle 

I wanted to post this in this forum simply because I want to show off what an amazing man and role model this guy was. He left behind impossible shoes to fill. But everyone in our family has been blessed with the passing on of his genes. His adventurous spirit, fervor for life and family, devotion to God, unmatched sense of humor, and infallible character. A wondering adventurer in his own right, it will be his demonstration of how to live a full and rich life that will inspire me on the Walkabout and the paths I land on upon my return. Out there I hope to discover how to be a fraction of the man that he was.

While your grandparents and parents may give you shoes that seem impossible to fill, you better wear the hell out of your genes trying to make them fit...

Love you, Grandpa

On Belay!

So yeah, yesterday I signed up for a membership with Sport Rock, a local climbing facility near my apartment...great routes, great facility, good people, nice strangers. Spent the day there with a good buddy of mine, Lord Dominic. We conquered some pretty nefarious routes and were defeated by others. It was both of our first times going climbing in a while...Dom schooled me but I held my own for a while.

Luckily for me, Dom works at a ropes course and is a master of the twine. He went over the basic climbing knots (which I forgot about 4 years ago) with me before we arrived and we were able to SMOKE the belay test with flying colors.

 My hands are sufficiently shredded today and came to the quick and harsh realization that my grip strength needs improving.

 So second to having re-learned a valuable skill, yesterday provided a perfect opportunity to test out some of the new equipment. To be brief...it all worked GREAT. In the very near future (tomorrow?) I will start posting individual reviews of each piece of gear but for now, enjoy a slide show displaying most of the climbing gear that will be brought along the Walkabout.

Thrice Exposed

BEHOLD! Below are, what I think, some pretty gnarly first attempts at High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography. What IS HDR photography? Well I had no idea until a few days ago. Actually ever since I stumbled upon the photo/travel blog of this guy named Trey Ratcliff (http://www.stuckincustoms.com), I have been semi-obsessed with this image style. Ok, so again, what is HDR? Well as I understand it, it is essentially the merging of the same image taken at various different levels of exposure (typically 3-5 photos taken at 1-2 exposure values apart per picture). I hear some people don't like HDR photos but who cares. Some of these images turned out awesome, I think! I tried to adjust the images in Lightroom 4 and Photomatix Pro (two highly recommended software programs) in as subtle a way as possible, but still getting that HDR effect. This is my first attempt at HDR, so hopefully future iterations will be even gnarlierest.

Since I'm starting to become more accustomed to using this dSLR (Nikon d5100) hopefully this week I can start doing gear reviews. The photos below are more or less random things I either saw while walking around the Old Town, Alexandria waterfront, standing on my porch, or hanging out with my loyal steeds (Kodiak and Iron Horse).

*Metadata included in caption

Staring into the face of the Beast - KODIAK (ISO 500; 20mm; f/5.6; 1/160)

Scoot! - Bike I saw on way back from shooting sunrise timelapse (ISO 320; 20mm; f/3.8; 1/80)

"One if by land, two if by sea" - Lantern on my porch (ISO 320; 20mm; f/3.8; 1/80)

We'll call the dog Indiana - Iron Horse (ISO 500; 18mm; f/5.6; 1/160)

Who wants a handlebar ride?! (ISO 500; 18mm; f/3.5; 1/320)

The Steeds (ISO 500; 38mm; f/5; 1/80)

"Because it's there..."

It was the Golden Age of Adventure in the 1920's and the people of this world were just starting to uncover the great challenges that the Earth had lay out for us to conquer. Superlative descriptions such as "widest," "longest," and "furthest" were words that drove insatiably adventurous men and women into a crazed pursuit of titles awarded to those who conquered such likely described Earthly monuments. One man became obsessed with one word in particular..."Tallest."  Before George Mallory set out on his final attempt to climb the world's tallest mountain, he was asked "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?" To which he replied, "Because its there."  - What a badass!

Since he never returned from his final ascent up the mountain, it is still debated today whether George Mallory was the first person to successfully reach the summit of Mount Everest. I don't even partially claim that this Walkabout is anything even remotely near the level of achievement sought out by Mallory but it is his pursuit of his adventurous vocation that draws me close to him.

While there are countless reasons why I am setting out on this expedition, if someone asked my "Why do you want to visit all the National Parks?," one answer I could give is, "Because they're there." With the declining value people put on the wilderness and the natural transformations our land is going through in general, Our National Parks may not exist the way they do today, forever.

Mallory was said to have taken a photograph of his wife with him to place at the summit when he reached the top. I've been thinking about it and I would also like to somehow leave my mark at each park. It doesn't even have to be a physical thing. It could be just doing or saying something at a significant landmark at each park. All ideas...crazy and tame alike will be entertained!

George Mallory

Learning to Juggle

So I haven't posted anything in a while due to the holidays, however, let that not be an indication that preparation is not ongoing behind the scenes. Here is a list of steps that I still need to take in up coming months. So are much more broad than others. I think I will make this a living post.

Things I Still Need to DO:
-Rock Climbing Course(s)
    -Join Sport Rock
-Photography Course
    -Online Tutorials
    -Self Practice (LOTS OF PRACTICE)
-Editing Software (See Below) - Recommendations appreciated
-Map out route/timeframe more specifically (Especially Alaska...Brooks Range?)
-Get this approved...or not (either way, doesn't change anything about my Walkabout)
-Create File for Each Park of things I want to do - room for discovery/spontaneity
-Photograph and assess gear
-Set up Go Pro Mounts on Bike Helmet and Climbing Helmet
-Get on the water with the Pack Raft
-Winter Camping Test Run
-Winter Backpacking Test Run
-


Editing Software
Photo management: Lightroom 4
Photo Editing: Lightroom 4
HDR Editing: Photomatix
Video Editing: iMovie - good enough


Things I still need:
-Food
-Beacon
-Another Go Pro Camera (for multiple angles...especially while on the water/slopes)
-Multiple Go Pro Batteries
-Timelapse Dolly: Stage Zero Bundle; IKEA Egg Timer
-Multiple Camera Lenses - Macro,  Nikon 14-24, Nikon 16mm Fisheye, Nikon 28-300,  Nikon 50mm, and a supertelephoting lens (ugh...$$$)
-Mountain Bike/Pump/Helmet
-More carabiners