We made it to Mongolia

Sain baina uu (hello). First post from Asia - we made it! We are enjoying the capital of Mongolia, an easy city to be in, and preparing to travel to the field site.

Off to Mongolia

Well, we spent some time visiting with our friends Claire and Ikon in Oakland...

...tested out our layering techniques...

...and in the morning we fly to northern Mongolia. We will be approximately at the location of the red "X" below until mid October.

For more information about the giant trout conservation project that we will be working on check out these links:

where we will be

a bit about the project

It may be a couple of weeks before we see another computer, so we may have to update you from China. Bye for now.

Idaho

After the backpacking trip we were faced with the challenging task of fitting all of Jon's stuff into the 5x10 space that already was home to Char's stuff. Take a look, and let us know if you still want to come visit...

It was great getting out to Idaho afterwards, and catching up with some other Stead's. We stayed at Jamie's, did a family rafting trip (expect to get heckled if you guide a raft full of family)...

...and rode in the

It's a crazy bike parade. Everyone dresses silly...



...and, well, you get the idea. Some went to burning man...

...we went to Idaho. Did I mention that towards the end of our trip Jamie sent us rafting in a class IV river...

...that had seen casualties earlier this year? That's Char and I in the front, the guide in the back, and the other 3 people in our boat are underwater! Maybe he was tired of seeing our tent in his front yard...


...although he honestly seemed to be enjoying himself. He was a great host.

Click here for more pictures of the Boise Bollyhoo.

High Sierra Backpack Trip

After a night of recovery and a morning of re-packing on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, we headed back up to the high country from Bishop, California for a nine day backpacking trip. We set off from the North Lake trailhead for Paiute Pass and beyond. It was slow going for the first few days with 9 days worth of food and still getting used to the altitude, but we did make it over the pass to Humphrey's basin...

...where we camped at Tomahawk Lake.

About a third of the way through the trip we rendezvoused with our friends Pete and Becky in Hutchinson Meadow. Pete and Becky had just gotten engaged the day before...

...at the top of Mount Humphreys!

It was great meeting up with these two cats and hanging out with them around the campfire (OK, we were only below 10,000 ft. where campfires were permitted 1 night, but you know what we mean).

Now that we had newlyweds and a recently engaged couple along we felt comfortable doing cheesy things like leaving each other heart signs to point which way to go.

We hiked into Kings Canyon National Park, through Evolution Valley, to Darwin Canyon. All cheesiness aside we went to some really spectacular places...

...worked hard to get there...

...and felt quite accomplished when we arrived at Lamarck Col.

It was a really great trip.

For more backpacking photos click here.

Dana Peak

After the honeymoon we had to move Char out of her apartment in Oakland to our new "permanent address"...

...our lovely 5x10 at...

...but don't worry. We should be comfortable as they've got...

More on storage later...

Next we headed off to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in southern California for some more fun. We got a 6 am start from Davis, drove all the way through Yosemite to Tioga Pass, and headed up Mount Dana. This ambitious climb took us from sea level to 13,053 feet above in just a handful of hours. Jon's idea of getting a jump start on high altitude acclimation.

This marmot may have been happier at the summit than Char was.

Nevertheless, as we began down the mountain and our headaches subsided the experience was appreciated by all.

Click here for more Dana Peak photos.

Nor Cal Honeymoon

It was tough getting away from the wedding, our family and friends, but we left the next day for a romantic getaway in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. We were very impressed with ourselves for finally having gotten hitched, and took some photos to commemorate our feelings.

This part of our adventure had been much anticipated, commonly referred to as the "romantic honeymoon." For several days we were truly spoiled, staying in very nice places...

...and eating and drinking extremely well.

We also did some canoing...

...and saw some critters (this one's a river otter). All in all a truly fantastic trip, although of a comfort level that would have been dangerous to get used to, given our future destinations...








...right Char?

FYI - We got married!

July 21, 2007
Whitewolf
Alpine Valley, California

There were 48 guests. The weather was perfect, the music sublime, and the company divine.




We had a fantastic time - highly recommend it!

Click here for more wedding photos.