Life’s Short

Oklahoma Trail, Maumelle Arkansas, Summer 2010

Beautiful sunset view of Lake Maumelle. It’s even more beautiful during a full moon. I’ve only spent one full day on this trail every time I’ve hiked it. Certainly not the best, scenery-wise, but with a central location, I can’t really complain. 

Albert Pike, Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas. Summer 2009

This was a remarkable site. I had ventured off of the trail in this area two months prior to this photo, and there was absolutely no foliage on the ground. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but these plants were around six feet- as high as our heads. 

Albert Pike, Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas. Summer 2009

Ty in his greasy-hipster-phase.

We cooked dinner out on a rocky surface just a few inches under the stream before wading and hiking out for the night. The most memorable moment of this trip was the surreal feeling of walking along cliff edges in total darkness. I served as the eyes of our voyage since Tyler could no longer see. He held on to my pack, striving to keep the same pace as I felt my way through the dark using only my feet. We were a bit delusional upon arrival at the trail head and it took at least five minutes to register the fact that the tiny lights we were trying to touch beneath us were actually campfires burning far down the edge of the mountain.

36”x48”

Men Say They Know Many Things

Albert Pike, Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas. Spring 2009.

This will remain in my top 10 experiences when I part ways with the sensory. It would be incredibly difficult to surpass this entirely liberating moment.

15 miles into the Eagle Rock Loop, it had been a pleasant night. 1 hour into the morning hike, it started raining. The rain continued… sideways. Essentially, Adam, Steve and myself were more than a day’s hike from civilization when severe storms struck the Ouachita National Forest. This was the most exhilarating camping experience of my life, as depicted by the expression on my face. Granted, I had no knowledge of the turmoil that nightfall would bring to our campsite. 

I could barely open my eyes due to the deluge of soaking absurdity. Everything transitioned into the absolute longest night spent sleeping outdoors. Chilling cold, pitch black, soaking wet, constant shaking and a consistent drop of water crashing onto my forehead through it all. I boiled water and filled our freeze-dried food containers to serve as a means of staying warm.

Albert Pike, Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas. Summer 2009

An eerie shot. I couldn’t get the ladies to cooperate all night, it was freezing cold, and my spot-lighter was ready to part ways. Finally, this happened.

Colorado, January 2011

Tyler and I discovered a frozen pond- nothing short of another seemingly suspicious adventure for us to embark on. We did that thing where you slowly inch forward for a good 20 minutes before all-out total confidence in the solid sheet of ice. This pond became the direct source for not being able to get out of bed without significant pain the following morning.