This post sponsored by the Apple Iphone 3G.

Life is definitely more fun with a little adventure.  Had one today/tonight.

Decided to explore some trails up on Bogus Basin.  It is the local ski hill and the trails sounded great because you ride through the trees.  I had a map and my phone with an app that does breadcrumbs of where you have traveled so I was set. 

The adventure began when I had ridden for a while and I came to a place where three trails came together.   It just didn’t jive with the map.   I studied it.  I looked at the gps.  I studied it.  I looked at the gps.  Yes there was a lot of head scratching at this point.  So I finally set off taking a guess of where I was at.  I rode and hit a dead end, private property and no trespassing.  Obviously this wasnt the correct trail.   So there was more studying of the map.  I had passed a side trail with no sign and thought maybe that is where I needed to go.  Yet again a dead end. I at least felt good that I was correct in knowing that I was lost.  

So I headed back to my newly named confusion junction.  So I set out the other direction and came across some riders.  Found out that I was headed back to the main road.  I thought about doing this and riding up the paved road to the car.  Yet, I still didn’t know exactly where I was.  So I headed back.  And I was being stubborn and wanted to ride the trail I set out to do….

I finally came across another guy and he had ridden it before.   He pointed out where I was at.  Which wasn’t where I thought I was at but at this point I really don’t know anything at all.  I came to the conclusion that some of the trails that I had come across weren’t on the map.  And obviously I had messed up somewhere before because I was in the wrong area.   So I rode back and sure enough I had interpreted the sign wrong at a junction.  That is a nice way of saying I was a dumbass!

So I was finally on the trail and feeling good about it again.  It was a beautiful trail.  Stream flowing and trees surrounding you.  It was a little bit of paradise.  Then my legs took on amazing strength because as I pedaled there was no resistance.  I looked down and the chain was gone.  I found it and my guess is that it hit on a log.  I tried getting it on but couldn’t get the metal moved.  I pulled out a page from the stone age and tried using some rocks, but that didn’t seem to work with the steel.  

This happened after 12.5 miles of riding.  So then began my walk through the paradise.  I also knew that as I had descended a lot I had a lot of climbing ahead of me.  So i took off.  Would get on my bike for the downhill parts and coast along.   Well the downhill kept going and once again I knew that I was going to be confused very shortly. Something wasn’t jiving again.  So I pulled out the phone and I was slowly moving away from where I wanted to eventually end up at. And according to the map it wasn’t going to make a loop around.  I had made another poor choice.  No sign at a junture so I took the one that wasn’t overgrown with brush.  The brush was the secret hidden path to my car unfortunately and was the correct “trail”. It needs some improvement. I just didn’t want to stick around at this point and do some work on it.

So the bike trip turned into a hike.  I did at least five miles of hiking that I can see via gps. And there was extra that wasn’t even recorded.  The naure hike began at the last blue dot. I then got the straight line becuase I had shut off the phone and then turned it back on. The stream wasn’t that straight:). I ended up moving to the east until I hit back into the original trail.   So there are some uncharted miles there that only my legs know.

It was definitely a day.  And without the Iphone gps and my little app I probably would still be wandering around out in the woods. Instead I’m able to drink a nice cold beer!

Eastside sinker at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: Share GPS Tracks

I felt like writing that title for some reason.  I guess the more fitting title would be “Where are you?” if this post heads to where I think it may go. 

Summer….  I’ve been busy, but it hasn’t seemed too remarkable.  Maybe within all the unremarkable there is something and I just don’t grasp it.  It has been filled with things.  I think instead of pulling within I have been good about doing things with people.  I’ve just come to a point in my life where I enjoy being around people.  Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t have the depression drawing me within myself.  As far as the Summer nothing jumps out at me though…. 

I took a group rafting on Saturday.  I had met the one guy a couple of times last summer through my friend.  It was a whole new group of people.  In the past I wouldn’t have contacted them about going rafting.  Well I guess it’s because I didn’t have access to a raft:)  I guess it’s the fact that I have lots of activities that I can do and it is possible to invite people to do things.   Probably more likely it’s the fact that I am more outgoing.  Getting over the idea that people wouldn’t want to hang out with me.  We ended up flipping the raft for the first time.  Well I flipped it.  Tried to get to a better part of the rapid and didn’t get there.  It was a good group to practice flipping the boat back over.  Even though it wasn’t practice:)

I have a question.  Unfortunately I don’t have access to the answer.  There are others that do hold the answer.  For each of them they more than likely have different answers….. 

I went hiking tonight with the girl that I gave the card to at Starbucks.  Even though nothing more than a friendship came out of it I would have to say it has been one of the most positive experiences for me this year.   At least I think it’s a friendship.  We do stuff from time to time so I think that means were friends. 

Why so positive.   It’s the opposite of some not so great experiences with people.  It’s the fact that I made a friend not through other friends and not through some place like work.  A complete stranger.   A big thing for me.  She seems like a really nice person. 

So that has been a glimps at the summer so far.  Head to Texas in a few days. 

Lost steam.  Didn’t get to the question.  Well a couple of questions now.  For another day….

Well I finally got to ride again.  It had been a few days.  I am loving the biking!  Great workout and then you get the thrill of the downhill.  The foothills next to Boise are filled with trails.  Funny how it was only last summer that I did my first ride.  Two summers ago I had never mtn biked….

It was the summer before I began teaching some of the kids that I had this year.  I was making the class video this year.  I like to put music to certain parts.  And music definitely hits the emotions.  There was a part with pictures and some music that I like from the movie “Life as a House”.   It was then that it really struck me that some of the kids and I were coming to the end of two years of learning with each other.  I’ve never taught kids two years in a row. 

Two years is a long time.  So many changes.  The conversion of me having no interest in mtn biking to a crack addict is only one change.  So many changes.  Quite an honor to spend two years teaching those kids.  Lot’s of responsibility.  Lots of memories. 

Oh and entering Summer 09 drama free.  Two summers in a row!!!!