Ever since I started living in the US, I have felt overwhelmed by the amount of people that occupy it. Driving to LA around midnight on a Thursday night, the highways are packed headlight to tail light, campgrounds in obscure places require bookings months in advance and permits for popular hikes are pretty much a…

I had one of my best sleeps of my trip, I think I slept solid through the whole night. I was still a bit groggy when I woke with the sun, but I was excited for another day of riding. When I discovered that my fridge had turned off overnight because of the stupid cigarette…

I woke up after no issues during the night and well in time to leave before the car show started drawing too much attention. At some point I remember another van parking next to me, but they left early morning, so I only had a groggy glance at them and remember their voices. I used…

The trains that had run all night did not disturb my sleep. On the contrary, they made a beautiful sound as the crossed the country in their dozens, with seemingly only minutes between them. I woke at first light again (this is becoming a habit), another beautiful sunrise against a backdrop of desert mountains. I…

Second day on the rock, me and the Sprinter vanners were up around the same time and ready to go climbing at 9am. During breakfast, we watched a pair of climbers ascend a 5.7 that was right behind our campsite. Michael was later to emerge, so like yesterday, we told him where we were headed…

I woke up at first light, which is not too early, just after 6am. I lay there for a bit, then decided that this was a good opportunity to see a good sunrise, so I got dressed, hit the bathroom, then head over to one of the cliffs behind the campground. I’d seen people scrambling…

Did I mention it was cold? Up this morning, first on the agenda was a shower. I felt dirty. I got some water boiling and did some rearrangement in the van until it was ready. I proceeded to spill most of the water on the ground attempting to get it into the solar shower bag…

I had my first scare of the trip last night. After I had finished dinner and was winding down for the night, another car pulled up to where I was, stopped beside me, then turned around and stayed there. Eventually they turned the engine off and I waited. I was spooked because the area I…

I was up at 6am, we had to leave by 6:30am to get to the Lake and set up the Kona stand. I met the boys in their hotel room and used their bathroom, then we went for breakfast. No questions were asked about me, I walked in like I owned the place and helped…

It was pretty cold this morning, still shorts weather, but enough to make my fingers cold during morning duties. I decided not to have a shower and settled for washing my face, still figuring out the morning routine. Cereal for breakfast, I was out of camp by 8:30am. I continued driving south through farmland and…