Pictures from Big Sky

Here are a few ...

Savannah

When: 2/24-26/06
Who: Arlo, Stacy, Wade, Ingrid
What: Kayaking
Where: Somewhere near Savannah

For months, Stacy, Wade and I have talked about doing a weekend kayak trip. Our last trip together was to Lake Jocassee in the fall, and we were thinking that next we'd head down to the Florida panhandle, check on our land, and do a river or a coastal paddle.

A bit about our boats ... Wade and I have Chesapeake 17s that he mostly built himself (I helped some). Above is a picture of my boat about a year ago, near Tybee Island, GA. Stacy has a lovely green 19-ft. Seaward, and a 17-ft yellow Cascade named Cake. Arlo, while he loves camping, has expressed very little interest in kayaking, and has rebuffed several invitations on past trips. However, as we were talking about this trip, he told us that he wanted to come along and that he's been telling us for a year that he wanted to go kayaking with us. Somehow we all missed his new-found enthusiasm for paddling.

Prep

We got together Thursday night to plan the trip, and at that point weather.com was showing thunderstorms in the Panhandle all day on Saturday. After some deliberation, we decided to head to Savannah. Wade and I have paddled there quite a bit before, and it was only looking like light rain on Saturday. Accumulation of .25-in. over the whole day - perfect paddling weather.

As with all trips, the first step was to ... invent the universe. With four boats, we could either take two cars, or figure something out. Stacy's car has been in the shop, so taking two cars would have involved outfitting Arlo's BMW with racks. Wade suggesting using the trailer that we bought for the sailboat. That meant installing a tow hitch on my car, and building a rack on which to secure the boats. Thursday night Wade spent under the Subaru, installing the tow hitch, which the directions assured him would take a half hour. Being the smart guy that he is, Wade budgeted two hours. Four hours later, we had a functioning tow hitch.

We agreed to get together Friday morning at 8 a.m., for a 9:30 departure. At 8:30, Wade started building the rack to carry the kayaks. While he did that, Stacy and I got out boats and gear and packed the car. At 1 p.m., we were on the road. The drive down started easily enough, but just past Macon, we stopped for gas and realized that part of the trailer structure had broken. Of course, Wade didn't tell me until we got back that it was not a structural member, so I spent much of the rest of the trip anxiously awaiting the loud crash as four kayaks spilled into the expressway.

On the way down, it seemed clear enough, so we decided to camp at Skidaway State Park and leave the next morning for a paddle to Wassaw Island, an uninhabited wildlife refuge with a long white beach and miles of trails. http://www.fws.gov/Wassaw/ Wade and I had done this paddle before. It takes you out of the mouth of the Wilmington River, so you get to experience river and ocean paddling, but no real surf. The paddle also takes you over the site where a nuclear bomb was lost in 1958. http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/13/lost.bomb/

The Trip

We got to Skidaway at about 7 p.m. after stops for lunch, a Wal-Mart run, and picking up a spray skirt. I love State Park camping. I love wilderness camping, but there is something about State Park camping that reminds me of camping with my family as a kid and teenager. And there's something really nice about camping when you can walk to an actual bathroom when nature calls. And when you have a nice big utility sink to clean your dishes, instead of a stream.

We cooked steaks over the campfire, had a nice bottle of wine, and hung around the fire (which Wade started with a magnesium stick and some A-plastics) before going to bed. Wade, Stacy and I slept in the three-person Sierra Designs tent, while Arlo slept outside on the ground, because he forgot tent poles. We could have all squeezed in, but it was a nice, clear night, and he wanted to sleep under the stars.

Throughout the night we heard two owls talking back and forth. One seemed to be right over our tent, and I dreamt that Arlo was carried off by one of them. As morning light filtered through the tent, we heard a cacophony of birds and squirrels, making it pretty much impossible to sleep late. As we finished packing up after breakfast, it began to rain lightly. We briefly considered leaving our camp set up, but decided that we would probably prefer a hotel after a day of paddling in the rain.

Speaking of rain, it was at about this point that Wade asks, "Hey, where's my rain jacket?"

Ingrid: I thought you had it on when we left.

Wade: No, I had it on from about 8 to 8:15, and then I stacked it on all the stuff you had in the living room ready to pack.

Ingrid: *silence*

Wade: So there's no rain jacket.

Ingrid: Guess not.

Crap. A day of paddling in the rain is one thing. A day paddling in the rain with no rain jacket is something else altogether. We decided to forgo the the trip to Wal-Mart for a poncho in the interest of speed, but by the time we got to the launch, it was drizzling but good.

The Launch

We launched from Priest's Landing at the site of the UGA Marine Extension Center. There is a dock, but it is private and usually locked, so we launched through the marsh alongside the dock. We were scrambling to make it out before the tide ebbed, and we were forced to paddle against water rushing into the river. We dragged the boats to the launch point, and in the time it took for Wade to park the car, the water had receded another 20 feet leaving a vast, muddy expanse mined with oyster shells.

And then there were the gnats. We were swarmed by hundreds of biting gnats, which bit every inch of exposed flesh. Everyone began coughing as we inhaled them. Stacy was launched first, and at this point, the gnats had made everyone crazy and careless, so we slogged through the mud, losing shoes, getting stuck, and probably scraping the crap out of the bottoms of our boats.

Wade launched last, and he looked terrible. His feet were hanging out of his boat, and they looked more like shapeless blobs of mud than feet. His arms were caked in blackness, and his face was streaked.

The Paddle

We paddled away from the gnats, rinsed off as best we could, and set off. We saw several dolphins playing right after the launch, and I thought, "Ahhhh, this is why we're here." We had left in a hurry and hadn't done stuff like put together the emergency radio, get our paddle floats and other self-rescue stuff in the cockpit, etc. So there were a few stops while we got situated. Arlo paddled way ahead, which was making me seriously uncomfortable, especially given that we're paddling in a major shipping channel.

Wade is very safety conscious. It is not like him to paddle off half cocked without making sure his charges are properly trained and equipped. Arlo is ... spiky when it comes to taking direction, especially from Wade. So we let him paddle along ahead of us without a clue about how to paddle, what to do when he gets turned over, etc. At one point, Stacy asks Arlo whether he knows what to do if he gets dumped. She tells him what to do (pull the cord at the front of your spray skirt and somersault out), and he says, "You're not supposed to roll back over?" Crap, I think. Crap and double crap.

We paddle on, with Arlo way in the lead. As Wassaw island comes into view, a boat that we had seen launch from the UGA Marine Extension pulls up alongside Arlo and asks if we want a ride back because of the storm. Storm? What storm? It's only supposed to be light rain! We politely refuse the ride and paddle on. As we approach the island and prepare to land, the bottom opens up, and we are drenched. Wade is wearing only an synthetic shirt and a ball cap. We land on the island, wander around for about two minutes, and then hop in our boats to start high-taling it back.

The wind has picked up significantly, and what was a light chop has become medium swells, which thankfully are pushing us in the general direction of Priest's Landing. On the way back, we stick close together. The heavy rain has made visibility poor, and we struggle to see the day markers leading us back to our destination. Fortunately, we were never far from shore, should anything bad happen. I kept the Coast Guard radio close and tuned to channel 16.

We arrived at the UGA dock cold and wet, and lift ourselves and our boats out. No one but Wade had been cold paddling, but as we got out of the warmth of our boats, we all started shivering. Wade's lips are blue, and he is shivering like he is majorly hypothermic, but refuses to get into the car until the boats are all tied up. Fortunately, this only takes about 15 minutes. We all try to change into dryer clothes before piling into the car.

This is the new Subaru's first road trip. It took the old Subaru about a year before it consistently smelled like wet dog. This one already smells like dirty wet socks, and I think wet dog smell is not far away.

Savannah

After stopping for lunch (and $1.75 beers) we headed toward Savannah. None of us were in much of a mood to do anything but curl up in a ball, but we needed to find a place to stay. We settled on the Best Western in the Historic District, where Wade and I had stayed a few times before. It's scangy, but really not too bad. As we checked in, we noticed a bunch of kids in tuxedos and ball gowns, and Wade wondered aloud if it were prom. We were told it was a fraternity function, and I got a bad feeling.

We brought most of our wet stuff in, showered and crashed until about 7 p.m. The rain had let up, so we got up and headed to dinner. After a beer at Moon Brothers Brewery, which we got to go (so strange), we headed to the Riverfront, and to Tubby's for seafood. We were in bed before midnight.

To bed, but not to sleep. There was much shouting, loud laughing and fighting just outside our door ... until the police showed up at about 3:30 a.m. But from 3:30-8:30 I got some great sleep! No kidding.

We awoke to a beautiful, chilly, sunny day, and I felt my excitement build ... until the weather report predicted 20-25 mph winds. That's just NO fun for paddling. We toyed with the idea of driving inland and finding a river, but then Arlo reminded us of a previously undisclosed nerve disorder in his arm that was causing him pain, and could cause him to be unable to paddle. I think Arlo would rather paddle around in circles forever than have Wade tow him if his arm did indeed give out.

So, we opted for a walking tour of Savannah instead. During the many trips Wade and I have made to Savannah, we've never done an actual tour. We bought two $3.95 walking tour books and spent the day walking around Savannah, stopping at pubs along the way to get beers to carry with us. We had lunch at a gas station. I'm not joking. There was a BP station with a spectacular Greek deli, where we had grape leaves, quiche, bread, cheese, sandwiches and baklava.

I think we took two pictures during the whole trip. One of the Subaru with the kayaks loaded, and one of Wade looking hypothermic.

We're back!

Coming back from vacation is always a bummer. Especially one that was a combination of work, learning and barrelling down a mountain.

Surviving in the wilderness? Try surviving at a doctor's conference!

So far, the presentations have been quite interesting. In Wilderness Ophthalmology I learned that if you loose a lens from your sunglasses, tape duct tape over it and poke a bunch of holes. In HAPE (that would be high altitude pulmonary edema), I learned that ginkgo actually does work to prevent altitude sickness. In Travel Medicine, I have learned what antibiotics to pack with you for traveler’s diarrhea. In hanging around all these doctors, I have learned that MDs in groups are almost unbearable.

Example one: I'm at the continental breakfast, which includes (I'm not kidding) five different types of butter. I'm watching someone putting two tablespoons of butter (that would be about 200 empty calories FULL of saturated fat!) on her bagel. I am thinking "these people are doctors?" when another bagel-eater says to me, "Must be a cardiologist. They figure they can eat whatever they want, because when their arteries get clogged, they'll just fix it." I laugh. He says, "I'm a general surgeon, what about yourself?" "Well," I say, "I'm a layperson. I'm somewhat of an amateur nutritionist, though." I don't even get the sentence out, before he says, "Oh," gives a little nasal laugh, and walks away.

They all seem really fond of talking in doctor code when there are lay people around, just to make us feel dumb. Like at the opening reception. At our table, half were doctors and half spouses and other lay people. So one says to another, "This one time, my patient had extravasation of fluid from the pulmonary vasculature into the interstitium and alveoli, which OF COURSE was caused major pathophysiologic mechanisms ..." the other doctor answers in kind. Our eyes glaze over. Wouldn't it have been just as easy to say, "His lungs filled up with blood"???

I am having some serious fun, though. We are learning quite a bit about altitude. Did I mention that I got mild altitude sickness the day we got here? We arrived in Big Sky (7500 ft) at noon and skied (11,000 ft) for the afternoon. I felt a little funny all day, but by the end of the day I felt sick, dizzy and lightheaded. Fortunately, we had noticed an oxygen bar just at the bottom of the lifts. We had joked that we didn't think those were real! Well, what we thought was pure silliness ended up saving the day. After $5 and 10 minutes of oxygen, I felt fine. I haven't had any other problems since!

Who knew it could be so cold

It's another beautiful day here in Montana! Unfortunately, Wade and I have had to work for several hours every day. EW! I guess that's what happens when you have your own business. The conference started last night. I saw a presentation on poisonous insects and arthropods that was interesting, but not very useful. It was more geared towards physicians in a hospital or emergency situation. This morning there was a very interesting presentation entitled "Surviving the Unexpected Night Out." The most interesting thing we learned was how to build a trap if you've broken both your legs.

Dig a narrow two-foot deep hole and hollow it out in the bottom. Wait for things like snakes and mice to crawl in. After a day, shove the stick in the hole really hard over and over again to kill everything and bon appetit!

Things that I have noticed about Big Sky:

1. Helmets. Compared to other places I've skied, many more people are wearing helmets. Especially compared to Canada. It's probably 70-percent helmets.
2. It's cold. The sun is shining, and it doesn't seem to make any difference.
3. There is nothing on the mountain. No restaurant. No place to stop and get warm. Barely any bathrooms.
4. The runs are really, really wide.
5. There is no one here. Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday in the high season, and it wasn't crowded at all.

Big Sky, Montana

It is February 11th, and Wade and I are in Big Sky, Montana for a wilderness medicine conference.

I knew nothing about Big Sky before we got here, other than it's a ski town and, as such, stupidly expensive. We're here with Wade's sister Samantha and her husband Ray, as well as Wade's sister Laurel and her boyfriend Mike. Wade and I arrived in Bozeman late the night of the 8th. The airport is tiny, and our flight was the only flight arriving that night it seemed. The crowd milling around the baggage carousels was an odd mixture of the Aspen ski crowd, hippies, snow boarders and cowboys.

I've never been to Montana. Having just seen Brokeback Mountain last week, I was really looking forward to seeing a bit of the "real" Montana, before heading to the ski resort. I enjoy skiing, but there's something about it that seems sickly artificial. My main outdoor passions are backpacking (especially orienteering), and expedition kayaking. So it seems almost sacrilegious to be sailing over the treetops of a beautiful mountain in a mechanical chair. Strange, too to fly by on two sticks, never taking the time to take a breath and look around. Then there's the people. I see two types of people skiing. Those who love it, and those who like to be seen. Many more of the latter, it seems.

Montana is a Red state. I guess I knew that – and even though the people are very friendly, there are signs. Literally. Like the giant “Choose Life” billboard. And the Church of Christ signs everywhere. It’s a bit scary.

We stayed one night just outside of Bozeman near the airport at a scary Super8 that just happened to have such amenities as free wireless. Interesting. After doing some shopping at the Bozeman Target, Wade and I headed out to Big Sky. The drive was a bit scary – it was snowy for about half – but blessedly short. We were skiing by just after noon on Thursday.

I have never been so cold in my life as I was Thursday afternoon. It was in the teens, cloudy and WINDY.

The resort town is smaller than others. There are no high-rises except the short one we’re staying in. There's not a big "village" or town. It's just skiing. The one-bedroom condo we're staying in is high-end, but old. It's been updated, but the age of the appliances gives it away. The whole resort has the same good-but-old feeling. From the buildings to the ski lifts.

Thursday night the four of us stayed up until 2 a.m., despite being so tired we were almost incoherent. Wade was up and working at 7 a.m., and the rest of us slowly followed him up, bleary eyed, but still on East Coast time. We met Samantha and Ray on the hill and skied with them for the rest of the day. Laurel joined us for a couple of runs, while Mike took a snowboard lesson.

I haven't skied that much, so I don't have a lot to compare it with, but so far I am really enjoying the skiing here at Big Sky. I am recovering from a broken ankle, and the doctor told me no bumps and no blacks. Groomed greens and blues only. There are many wide, beautiful, groomed blue runs here, and the snow is kind of heavy. There aren't many people either, so by the end of the day, the groomed runs are still nice.

Yesterday we accidentally ended up on a very bumpy black run, which I handled pretty well. I just traversed very slowly, and sort of skidded my way down. I would have liked to actually ski it, but the doctor was pretty darned clear about his instructions. No bumps, no deep powder, no blacks.

Samantha and Ray both commented on our skiing skills. They both seemed really surprised about how much we have improved. Of course, they both look like pros. That just makes the complement really mean something.

It was still cold yesterday, but we were better prepared. I wore an extra fleece, and put hand warmers in my gloves (thanks Mom!).

Last night we stopped by the pub in the hotel and saw an act called Two Crazy Austrians. It was, in fact, two crazy Austrian brothers playing mostly Polkas and some Waltzes on a squeeze box and a guitar. It was actually a blast. And quite strange. We were by far the youngest people in the place. Our waitress told us she is in school for massage, and she is coming by tonight to practice on us! She is behind in her practice hours. What luck for us!

The conference starts tonight. What conference? The wilderness medicine conference we're actually here for. The sessions I plan on attending tonight includes "101 Uses for Duct Tape and Safety Pins."

Right now, Wade and Ray are off skiing together, and I'm waiting for the girls to get ready, so we can head out and rip it up!