Backpacking the Knobstone Trail

This past weekend we took a handful of our young adults from the church backpacking on The Knobstone Trail in southern Indiana. It was a blast, and for many, it was their first experience backpacking. There were 6 of us [me being the only girl], and of the 6 of us, only 4 made it to the end. We had one guy, Nick, who's foot swelled up, and he pulled off at mile 25. The other guy, Rich, we got separated from around mile 6. It was a crazy few days, but luckily, we were all at the end of the trail so we didn't have to go home without someone, or call someone's parents and tell them we lost their son :). Overall, I think everyone had a blast and even learned some things about themselves. Backpacking will do that to you, and if you're not careful, you just might catch 'the bug' and periodically get drawn back out into the woods or mountains for undefined periods of time. Beware - it's contagious! :)

At Deam Lake Trailhead...packing up and getting ready to shuttle the cars and make water cashes. One of our only pictures of Rich, the guy in the army gear with his arms crossed [read on to find out why].

The beginning of the trail, viewed from the parking lot. Step one toward mile 45.

This is what most of our breaks looked like; Mike, on the right, demonstrates how we all felt :).

At a water cash. We hid water off of road crossings near the trail b/c most of the streams had dried up and it was 80+ degrees outside.

Hiking along the trail.

Hiking some more. We had this constant fear of poison ivy. We usually hike this trail in April, so it's all still dead. This time it was extremely overgrown. Don't touch anything with three leaves!

The view up one of the rediculously steep knobs. Who built this trail anyway? Ever heard of switchbacks?

Our last morning on the trail, we discovered this nasty thing on Mark's backpack. Before this moment, the only spiders we'd seen were daddy long-legs. Glad it was on Mark's pack and not mine!

Here we are at mile marker 45 - the end of the trail! Yay! We made it after a few days of bustin up and down steep knobs in 80 degree weather. The tree canapy was definitely welcomed.

Mike "mohawk" Hartlett at the end of his first backpacking trip.

The beautiful lake that marks the end of the trail.

Brandon "Boots" Engleking. He wore army-issue boots that started to fall apart on day 2. They were nicely held together with black electrical tape.

Rich "Footprints" Hendricks in what ended up being his 'home' for a couple days. We also began calling him "invisible rich" for awhile, since we got separated from him around mile 6, and didn't see him again until the end of the trail. He accidentally took a side trail that took him out to a road that he followed toward the hills. Luckily he reconnected with the trail once, ahead of us, and we were able to follow his footprints for a few miles before they disappeared again. Later we realized that when he ran out of water, he found someone to give him a ride to the state park where the trail ends to wait for us. He had quite the adventure, and we were so pumped to see him when we walked up to our car!

Fun with People I Love

This past week I got to spend four days in Spring Lake, MI with Emily Stokes, Julie Collins, and Amber Abel, three of my best friends from college [and still today!]. We had a blast...just hanging out, walking around the little touristy downtown, helping Julie paint her new office, and painting pottery as well! It was so relaxing and refreshing to "just be" with people who simply know me and have known me. I tried to post more pictures, but blogger says no, so these will have to do for now :).

Em and her masterpiece.

Amber's sushi bowl.

Julie's intense concentration.

At the Ceramic Cafe!

This is my "pre-kiln" bowl.

Em and I both dyed our hair brown. Mine just got darker...hers went from blond to dark brown. I hear Josh likes it!

Right before I left for MI my good friend Jill Gay got married...now Jill Stoxen! My camera died, so I only got 2 pictures the whole time...congratulations Jill and Josh!

18 Rules of Contemporary Writing

By Dr. Dennis Hensley

A few months ago I attended a writer's conference here in the Quad Cities. This was one of my favorite sessions I sat in on, and although the notes may not show how interesting the session was, they are practical and useful for anyone interested in growing as a writer. Dr. Dennis Hensley is a great communicator, and his passion for writing comes through as he speaks. Maybe these simple points will help you as much as they've helped me!

1. Prefer the plain words to the fancy.
*Use language people can understand.

2. Prefer familiar words to the unfamiliar.
*People will stop, reread and lose momentum.
*You want people to feel comfortable with your writing.

3. Use action verbs and picture nouns.
*House [boring!] --> mansion, shack, etc. .
*Hit [boring!] --> tapped, slapped, etc.

*not more words, but better words!

4. Avoid clichés or worn-out expressions.
*The “eternal squelch” --> people tune it out b/c they hear it too much.
*i.e. “works like clockwork” or “clean as a whistle” --> Eliminate and replace!!
*i.e. Instead of “roaring thunder” use “the universe cleared it’s throat.”

5. Never use a long word when a short word will work just as well.
*Using shorter words takes more sophistication as a writer when they’re used correctly.

6. Master the simple declarative sentence.
*Clear, direct.
*What do you want me to know?

7. Vary the lengths of your sentences.
*Keep them awake and surprised.

8. Keep paragraphs short.
* It's psychological
*Dialogue is good!
*We like to see white space on the pages!
*It’s a cheap trick and it works everytime!

9. Put the key words you want to emphasize at the beginning or end of sentences.
*Force the reader to pay attention to what you want them to.

10. Use active voice whenever possible.
*Draws you into the action
*Shorter! Crisper, tighter.
*i.e The book was given to Tom by Bill [8 words].
Bill gave Tom the book [5 words].

11. Cut needless words, sentences, paragraphs.
*Hensley Law: if it doesn’t move the action forward or provide vital info, CUT IT!

12. Write like you talk.
*Don’t use plastic, artificial, fakey language.
*If you would never say it, don’t write it!

13. Avoid Imitation.
*You don’t want to be a 2nd best, watered-down someone else. You want to be a 1st best
you.

14. Think clearly and you will write clearly.
*If you don’t understand something, don’t pretend like you do.
*Make sure it’s so clear in your mind that your readers can’t get confused.
*Give them something they can relate to [parables] --> dumb it down if you need to.

15. Avoid jargon, Christianese, “garble-de-gook.”
*Use language the average person will understand.

16. Write to be understood, not to impress.
*If you are understood, you will impress.

17. Beware the temptation to overuse any one point of punctuation.
*It’s like seasoning: sprinkle a little here and there to give it flavor.

18. Revise with time.
*Whenever possible, let your writing sit and “get cold.”
*When you get a little distance from it, you can look at it with a little more of a critical eye.

Inspiring

Mark and I were strolling through the little tourist town of Mt. Hood, Oregon. We had just finished trekking through the Mt. Adams wilderness and rewarding our tired bodies with pizza. As we headed back toward our car, a storefront caught our eye. There was nothing special about it - it was actually rather plain - except for one hand-written sign that said boldly what is now posted on our office door:

“Must we always teach our children with books? Let them look at the stars and the mountains above. Let them look at the waters and the trees and flowers on Earth. Then they will begin to think, and to think is the beginning of a real education.”
~David Polis~

Race for the Cure

This past weekend my friends Kate, Heather and I ran the Quad Cities Race for the Cure, a 5K, or 1 mile run/walk [respectively] that supports breast cancer research. It was my first "race" to run in, even though I love to run and have been doing it for years. Needless to say, I'm not really a "racer," but it was fun to do and for a good cause. You had the opportunity to run "in memory of" or "in celebration of" someone you know that has died due to breast cancer or that has survived, which makes the race all the more special for many who have lost loved ones. I don't know anyone personally that has died from breast cancer, but I will give a little shout out to my friend and co-worker Kathy Brothers, who has won that battle in the past couple years. So, even though I couldn't find a sign to wear during the run, know that I was thinking of you!

Jess, Kate, and Heather with our racing numbers.

They were handing out these pink scarves for free at the finish line. I might also mention it was like 50 degrees and rainy out...brrr!

Only in the midwest would race banners be held up with John Deer tractors.

this pic got put in the mix b/c I need a url to put my pic in my profile. :)

Memorial Day Weekend

My parents came to visit for memorial day weekend and to celebrate our anniversaries together. Ours was May 27th, and theirs was the 31st.

They brought us our wedding cake top. My mom did a fantastic job of preserving it, so it actually tastes really good! It may not look as nice as it did a year ago, but it sure is worth eating!

Getting ready to dig in.

Reminiscent of our wedding day.

On Monday, Mark and I had the privelege of joining our good friend Keith Drury as he crossed from Illinois into Missouri a few hours south of us. He is currently walking the Trail of Death - the route that was taken during the removal of the Potowatami Indians [from Indiana to Kansas]. To read more of his research and journey, click here.

Jess and Coach sharing their love of rootbeer.

Oregon::Washington Recap

Our view of Mt. Hood from the airplane. Sweet huh? Our biggest goal in heading out to Oregon [besides celebrating our anniversary] was to climb Hood. Our intended route is on the side you can't see from this picture :).

View of Mt. Hood from Timberline Lodge, where the route begins.

Mt. Hood has year-round skiiing and snowboarding...it was wet snow, but so fun...and I thought my snowboarding season was over!

Mark at the top of the Palmer Glacier with our climbing route in the background.

Yep, that's me on a snowboard!

Mark headed up toward Illumination Rock and the Hogsback.

Our crampons that kept us firmly planted in the crunchy early-morning snow.

Jess headed up Mt. Hood.
Mark at the summit! We made it to the summit around 10am...we only stuck around for a few minutes to take some pictures b/c the snow was getting really soft. We didn't want to get pegged with any falling rock or ice on the way down!

Jess' summit pic. You can kind of see Adams and Ranier off in the distance.

Jess by the bergschrund on the way back down. A snowboarder had fallen through a few weeks back...luckily he only fell about 15 ft. It is now a gaping hole due to overly warm temps, forcing climbers to go around, instead of over.

On the Hogsback, the ridge that you ascend toward the summit. You can see the bergschrund behind us.

Looking down the Hogsback.

Mark glissading [sliding down on your butt] down Hood. We got to glissade a good chunk of our way down, which saved a ton of energy, let alone was tons of fun!

Timberline Lodge...at about 6,000 ft. on Mt. Hood. We stayed here our first night in OR...it was built during the depression to create jobs for people...all the furniture was hand-made, and even the clothe was hand woven! It is also the starting place for the southside climb route up Mt. Hood.

The Columbia River Gorge is the border between most of Washington and Oregon. It is extremely beautiful, and a haven for windsurfing!

As we were driving on the road toward Mt. Adams, we saw a sign that said simply, "Big Tree" with an arrow pointing us in the right direction. We decided to check it out, and found this, well, big tree.

Jess on Mt. Adams looking off at Mt. St. Helens in the distance. We wanted to climb MSH, but due to some volcanic activity, it's been closed for climbing in the past few years.

Mark nearing "The Lunch Counter" on Mt. Adams, a flatter spot at about 9,200 ft. on the mountain that is below the false summit...a great place to camp! Adams is a great climb, but long. We were able to snowshoe the whole way, but it took us a good 10 hours! It's not as steep as it looks in this picture.

Our home sweet home at the lunch counter on Mt. Adams. It was a bit windy, but those that have come before us built up some rock walls to protect you from the gusts. We never made it to the summit of Adams b/c we woke up in a cloud that turned into snow as we waited in hopes that it would clear. Instead of risk getting caught in what could have turned into thunderstorm clouds, we decided to head back down the mountain.

We carried this 4-season tent [read: heavy] on our climb...the coziness and shelter from the wind made it worth it.

We hadn't planned on white water rafting, but we were driving down from the Mt. Adams wilderness and kept passing rafting places. We stopped to ask, and squeezed in a run for the following afternoon. It was a fun run with class 3 and 4 rapids.

On our way back to the Portland airport, our last stop was at Multnomah Falls. It was so beautiful and has this sweet bridge over it!

We had a fantastic time, and miss the mountains already!

Oregon or Bust!

It's finally here! Tuesday we head to Oregon to celebrate our one year anniversary! We are pumped to have vacation, and especially to be able to have it in the mountains. I'll make sure to post an update and some pics when we return!