Hike #12 Little North Santiam Trail

This was a fun hike along the little north fork. If you have Sullivan's green hiking book, 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades from 05-06, it's #4 in that book. http://www.amazon.com/100-Hikes-Central-Oregon-Cascades/dp/0967783062/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335302099&sr=1-1

We parked at the Elkhorn Drive parking lot and were surprised to find no fee was asked of us.  To get there from Salem take hwy 22 east and turn onto Little North Fork Rd at the Swiss Villiage. Pass Gates Hill Rd and Turn right on Elkhorn Dr. which is a gravel road. You'll see the parking lot on your left across from a sign about Opal Creek Scenic Area. This is not a loop trail so you have to come back the way you came or park a second car at the other end of the trail. If you hike to the end and back it's about 9 miles with 900 ft. elevation gain. The water was still fairly high and we could see evidence of earlier flooding on the hike but the trail was was in good condition if a bit muddy in places. Superpup was ecstatic about being in his element again and really soaked up the woodsy atmosphere. There is something about old trees that I really love. It's hard to describe but it's as if they have absorbed time itself into their woody tissue and you can feel it emanate from the bark all around you demanding respect. I am in awe in these forests, as if it is a rare privilege to be there and I should be silent and let the forest speak. Lots of stories in those woods, if you look for them. 
http://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gBoxId=195799

Gearing up

November quickly approaches and I'm getting nervous and wondering what I've got myself into. Let me give you a sample of what I'm facing. I am currently in week 3 of a 10 week, 6 credit course, one of my last online courses to get my Bachelors in Science (Information Technology - Project Management) of which I will graduate with next Spring. I am also blessed to have a full time job. In addition there are all of life's normal distractions, house and yard work, socializing, parties etc. and I've got some crafting projects I'm committed to with deadlines as well. I am not as busy as some, even though I have activities planned for every weekend in Nov already. I don't have kids but I have 4 cats and a dog. Though caring for them takes time each day, it's time I need for myself to recoup and relax at the end of the day anyway. However, I believe one of the intentions behind NaNoWriMo is to just sit down and write. Life will always be busy and why would November be any worse than any other month?

So pushing on and gearing up! I am preparing the storyline and characters and mostly have it figured out now. There was a story I wrote ages ago for which I lost the text for and I've been meaning to re-write it for some time. As I understand the rules, this is ok. I only have a hard copy of a very early version of that story and if I do end up using any of those words it won't count toward my 50,000. At this time however, I want a completely fresh start because I have a different idea of where to take it. I'm not even reading that old text because I don't want to taint my ideas and confuse myself. If I were to give this story a genre I think it's a fantasy romance with some action. I do want to include a disclaimer and an agreement here before the whole process begins.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to withhold text from my manuscript at my discretion. I may choose not to include certain portions if I am not comfortable doing so. I say this so I don't feel pressure on myself to write what I think people will want to read. I write faster and better when I write for myself and not other people. Each post will update my word count total, but it may or may not match the word count of text I post. I would also like to make it clear that while I agree any artist puts a little something of themselves into their work I do not model characters after myself or anyone I know. If you happen to know me (and chances are if you are reading this you do,) and you think you recognize me or even yourself  in a character it is completely coincidental and unintentional.

Agreement request: If you choose to read this blog, again, you do so at your own risk (eye bleach not provided). Remember this will be a draft, unedited, and a rare opportunity to see my naked mind (gaa! my eyes!) ha ha. I am not looking for critiques of my work, good or bad. If I want or need critiques I have my ways of getting them, and it wouldn't be here. If you choose to comment, you are welcome to, and I would appreciate it, but please be kind both to me and anyone else who might be reading or commenting. I can imagine it wouldn't be easy for any writer or non-writer to do what I'm about to do, which is actually why I'm doing this little experiment of sorts. If nothing else it will prove to me why no one will ever do it again.

As for copyright stuff, maybe someone out there is wondering why I'm not worried about this? I have two answers. Firstly, way back in the day a poor man's copyright was to mail himself a manuscript and never open the envelope when it returned to him. I see publishing this on a blog about as safe as a poor mans copyright.  Secondly, I'm just an average girl who likes to write, not a career writer, so I'm just not concerned about stuff like that.

So here's to all the WriMo's out there gearing up for a month of creative abandon. My November blogs are dedicated to you. Good luck to all!

 Cheers!

NANOWRIMO

There hasn't been much in the letterboxing world for me to blog about, and I've been lazy anyway, so I'm interrupting this letterboxing theme to participate in NANOWRIMO, which I think many letterboxers would cheer to anyway.

What is NANOWRIMO? Why, National Novel Writing Month of course. Every year since about 2000 from November 1-30 writers across the globe have put their pen to the paper or their fingers to the keyboard and written like mad with a goal of creating a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I tried it myself for the first time last year and realized just how hard it was. I had to fight against laziness, procrastination, sleepy eyes, and my own OCD tendencies to push out those 50,000 words. I made it, though, barely, and I learned a lot in the process. This year I've decided on a new way to motivate myself. I won't be blogging here about my struggles in writing. Rather, I will be posting every unedited gurgitation of my brain. If you choose to read, you do so at your own risk. You will see a novel born and, hopefully, a child writer finding bliss once again.

www.nanowrimo.org

Displaying unedited words could be embarrassing. One of the ways I made it through last year was to ignore spelling, grammar, and focus on the story, just keep writing. December was my month to clean up the scattered mess I'd made. If I decided I wanted to change something in the story I did it from that point forward and didn't worry about going back to change everything prior. Writing for me is a form of expression I cannot seem to master in body language. Expressions, speaking, even displaying emotion at all has always been a challenge for me. Writing for me is like releasing the floodgates of expression and emotion that get stuck somewhere between my brain and my lips, but seem to flow more freely out my fingertips. This is not to say I regard myself as a great writer. I do my best and I try to get better, but I don't consider that in itself the point. It's not about greatness, but about what writing does for me mentally, emotionally, even spiritually. This year, I would like to share that journey here. So after November 1st, start looking for my first words, and enjoy. :)

There should be a patch for that...

Every letterboxer has that story. You know, the one they love to tell. I love hearing them all. Us letterboxers have a way of getting ourselves into sticky and funny situations. There are many typical caught-in-the-act stories when a letterboxer is approached and asked what they are doing. Then they have to quickly think of a reason they are pushing the bushes around off trail. If you have a dog with you, like I often do, it's easier. "My dog lost his ball." For example. Once I found a box in a park after dark when the park was closed. I parked as close as I could. The box was so close I just brought it back to my car to log in, then left the engine running when I re-planted it. On my way back to my car a creepy looking man was walking toward me asking what I thought I was doing. I jumped in my car, calling out "I lost my glove, no worries, I found it!" and took off. You can even get patches for some stories to sew onto your pack. Badges worn with pride to show what you will go through for a letterbox. Then there are THOSE stories. The ones of letterboxers inadvertently stumbling over a couple having a roll in the hay in the woods. I thought this might only happen after dark, or at least so rarely that I didn't have to worry about it. But alas, it must not be that rare. While boxing in a park near Puyallup Washington just with Superpup I was so focused on clues and trails I didn't notice most the parking lots were empty. Aside from the men playing with their toy RC cars in the children's play area there was no one in the whole park except for this white SUV in a lot further down. The path I was on was above the lot and it curled around the lot going downhill till after about 180 degrees it was below the lot. So I had a lot of time to watch this SUV, which I didn't much notice at first. It was Superpup who noticed first, actually. He heard a scream and we both looked over the SUV to the woods further below thinking there must be a group of kids further up the trail. We listened longer till we heard the scream again and realized it was coming from the SUV... windows fogged... rocking back and forth a lone socked foot sticking out the back window. Yup, there should be a patch for that.

It's No Fun If It's Not Hard

As if I needed to make it harder, I often find myself boxing in the dark, or in the rain, or both, or when certain places are closed or when an event nearby makes retreating and re-planting near impossible. But these are the times when stories are made. There is no great letterboxing story when it was easy. So when it's hard, that's when it's fun. Planting boxes is also not as easy as you might think. You put a lot of time and thought into creating the box and you want to find a pace it won't get "muggled."

I'm interrupting this blog for a quick vocabulary check. Muggle is a stolen term letterboxers use to describe anyone who is not a letterboxer. When a box is muggled, that means it's stolen. Another stolen term I am working hard to make famous is squib, a non-letterboxer who goes letterboxing with letterboxers.

The first time I letterboxed in the dark I was still a fledgling letterboxer. It was near Detroit in November, at a campground that was closed for the season. I was with my letterboxing mentor and my boyfriend, who was a squib at the time, now he is Jetman. We had to park by the side of the road because the gate was closed. We had flashlights but didn't use them because we weren't sure the place wasn't being guarded. There was a light on by the shack next to the message board. We sneaked back until we were far enough we could turn on our flashlights. It started raining by the time we found the box and we had to stamp in the rain. That wasn't our last box that night though, the next one we went to led us up a dark forest hiking trail and the box itself was up a steep hill by the trail. It was raining harder and very muddy by the time we got there. I managed to scramble up to the tree and found the box, which we were very proud to have spotted in the dark with only a couple flashlights. I threw the box down and they stamped in for me then threw the box back up to me, because I was not about to come down and go back up there again, it was a miracle I didn't twist my ankle since I'm so good at doing that. We got back to the car wet, cold, and very happy.

Yes, many stories from the Wilamette Valley in Oregon will include rainy boxing conditions, but boxers around here are impervious to that, and good planters will collect desiccants from vitamin or aspirin bottles, shoe boxes, etc, and put them in letterboxes they plant outdoors. This is a trick I was ignorant to till I met another letterboxing friend from Eugene who is a master at boxing first aid.

December is one of the wetter months here in the Willamette Valley, but some of us consider it the best time to box. Yes, the weather's worse, but there are less muggles about so stealth becomes less of a concern.
Happy Winter boxing!
Mrs. Mumble

It's a Madness You Catch Like the Flu

Greetings!
So what is letterboxing and why do I want to blog about it? I will say first I am not the first or the only one to blog about letterboxing. Many letterboxers out there with a much higher profile than I, have been blogging about it for longer than I've been boxing myself. In short, it's a hobby, a madness you catch like the flu. Once you have the bug you always have it. Sometimes it'll lay dormant for a while, then sneak up on you and all the symptoms come back like an itch. It's a kid friendly hobby, great for family bonding, great for making friends especially if you just moved to a new state, and a great way to get you out and exploring your home town and surrounding areas. It'll also get you to beautiful lesser known spots you never would have known were there if someone hadn't hung a carrot there for you to find. So now that I've got you all confused by saying what it is to me, I'm going to quote the best website for the hobby (best in my opinion anyway) to give you a better description.

Letterboxing is an intriguing pastime combining artistic ability with "treasure-hunts" in parks, forests, and cities around the world. Participants seek out hidden letterboxes by cracking codes and following clues. The prize: an image from a miniature piece of art known as a rubber stamp—usually a unique, hand-carved creation. Letterboxers stamp their discoveries in a personal journal, then use their own rubber stamp, called a signature stamp, by stamping it into the logbook found with the letterbox, perhaps writing a note about the weather or their adventures in finding the letterbox.

- (www.atlasquest.com, 10/18/10)

There is another website I'm aware of that provides service for clues to letterboxers, www.letterboxing.org but I rarely go directly to this site as I find it difficult to navigate. Plus I have enjoyed the sense of social community provided by Atlas Quest (AQ). Never the less many boxers DO use both and it is still a good resource for clues that are not posted on AQ.

Letterboxers use trail names instead of their real names, especially at boxing events. If you become friends with another letterboxer they may tell you their real name, and then it becomes a challenge what you should call them when! My trail name is Mrs. Mumble and here is an image from my hand carved signature stamp.

I started boxing in November of 2008. To this day I have logged 194 letterboxes (I've found more but not all could be logged), which may sound impressive, but all the big wig letterboxers have thousands under their belts, so I'm still pretty small potatoes and I'm still learning new things. What you'll find in this blog are accounts of my adventures on the trail, lessons learned from sometimes humorous mistakes, the wonderful people I meet, and I may even share some of the art I create as I learn to carve better.

If you follow this blog I hope you will catch the madness yourself if you don't already have it.
Live, Laugh, Love
Mrs. Mumble