#Dave Sobo

[duffsmckagan]

The real Skid Row

[pcttrailsidereader]

Top Ten Posts of 2019 (continued)

On January 3rd we posted the first installment of our review of 2019 . . . some of the most important trends and interesting posts of the year.

By Rees Hughes

5. David Odell’s 1972 Journal.  The PCT was a very different experience in 1972.  It was interesting to live through Odell’s journal and photos that formed the basis for several September posts.

Bill Goddard, Wayne Martin, Butch Farrand, front, David Odell and Toby Heaton

4. New Writers like Dave ‘Chief’ Baugher and Kathleen Neves (www.kathleenlovesyoda.com).  Each year we are privileged to feature the writing of several hiker/writers practicing their craft.  Both Dave and Kathleen shared a number of stories that we posted this year.  The photo below is from one of Dave’s stories. The primary emphasis of this website has always been to encourage and publish writing about all aspects of the PCT experience . . . so Dave and Kathleen’s contributions are what this website is really all about!

3. New Books and Movies.  We reviewed several notable PCT books and movies that came out this year including Anish’s Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, the movie “Snow to Sand” about Justin ‘Trauma’ Lichter and Shawn ‘Pepper’ Forey’s Winter, 2014 SOBO hike, Tim Voors’ book Alone, and the movie “Elevation Change”.  My PCT literary and film library continues to grow significantly with each passing year.  My pick of the year would be “Elevation Change” about Sam Fox’s unsuccessful effort in 2011 to break the PCT speed record (see review via link below).

https://pcttrailsidereader.com/post/188067828450/elevation-change-a-review

Justin Lichter and Shawn Pepper in “Snow to Sand”

2. Minimal Fire Year.  After a string of years where FIRE was one of the dominating themes, it was nice to have a year where smoke, re-routes, and fire returned to historic normal levels. Regretably, the new normal seems to be a much longer and more intense fire season so we should enjoy seasons like this one.

1. Let It Snow and the experiences of early hikers like Steve and Noelle McGarvey, Kelly McFall, Margot and Pierre, and Perry Gabbard.  2019 was a robust snow year with some May snowfall that prolonged the season.  Hikers like Kelly McFall flipped, Perry Gabbard blasted on through the High Sierra, Margot and Pierre were overwhelmed and left the trail. Noelle left the Transverse Range early in her thru-hike due to injury.  She and her husband, Steve, left the trail and purchased an RV that Noelle used to support Steve as he continued north.

The Sierra taken in mid-May, 2019

[pedrodynomite]

Pausing for lunch at Thomas Knob Shelter (off camera to right) with New Dave, Mom, Orbit, some dude I dunno and some other dude I didn’t know. I didn’t catch the name of these southbound horses either. This was one of perhaps 4 or 5 sunny days in all of Virginia for me.

[grandmasbeerco]

Grandma likes to save on the heat bill by packing the house with warm bodies, and the comics that @spurgfin has lined up again this month for the show tomorrow night will certainly fit the bill. Headlining is another former Cleveland native @aljacksonig!

Al Jackson is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, writer, and TV/radio personality best known for his 30-minute special "Comedy Central Presents: Al Jackson" and for his role as host of the BAFTA-nominated BBC series, "Officially Amazing" which is currently filming its 3rd season. Al has also be seen on Comedy Underground with Dave Attell, multiple episodes of FXX's "Legit", GSN's "Mind of a Man", on the NickMOM series, "Parental Discretion". He also appeared on all 16 episodes of season 1 of TruTV's "How To Be A Grown Up". Al is currently filming the 2nd season.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Al began his comedy career while working as a middle school teacher in Miami. After two appearances on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and winning several comedy competitions, Al further built his resume with a series of credits including: TBS' "Comedy Cuts", Showtime's "Louie Anderson Presents", hosting FOX's nationally syndicated travel show "Awesome Adventures", and writing for and appearing on TruTV's "Upload with Shaquille O'Neal". He has also appeared on Comedy Central's "John Oliver NY Stand-Up Special", "50 Super Epic TV Moments" and "50 Most Insane Celebrity Oops" (both on the E! Network), and serving as a coach on an Emmy-winning season of MTV's "MADE". Al can also be heard on the radio via the nationally syndicated "Bob & Tom Show" and on the "Opie & Anthony" show.

In addition to his work in television and radio, Al performs regularly at colleges, comedy clubs and prestigious comedy festivals including the Montreal Comedy Festival, the HBO Comedy Festival and the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival where, in 2011, he was voted one of the Best of the Fest.

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#denvercomedy #comedy #comedian #standupcomedy #denverstandup #grandmashouse #grandmasbeerco #worldsgreatestgrandma #grandmalovesyou #denver #denveractivities #denverbeer #denvercraftbeer #denverbrewery #craftbeer #coloradobeer #coloradocraftbeer #cobeer #coloradobrewery #cocraft #southbroadway #sobo #plattpark #overland #beer #beers #beergeek #drinklocal #drinklocalbeer #supportyourlocal

[pcttrailsidereader]

  Marie Garrett hiked Section F this past October with fellow section hiker, ‘Monkeybars’.  Marie started section hiking the PCT in 2015 and  has generally hike portions of the PCT in all three states each year.  They decided to go SOBO from Walker Pass because the transportation options to and from the trailheads worked better that way for us.  This section seemed like a good one to do in the fall, they concluded, with the goal of avoiding 100-degree daytime temperatures.

“We had an, um, interesting Uber ride from Bakersfield to Walker Pass,” recounted Marie.  “Our driver, Dave, told us about his alcoholism, his panic attacks, and his efforts to lose some of his 317 pounds.  Driving up the Kern River Canyon, he also mentioned that winding roads make him carsick.  And he really hoped there'd be a convenience store on the way so he could pick up a candy bar.  It's the middle of nowhere.  No convenience stores.  We crawled along the highway at about 40 mph but eventually reached Walker Pass campground in one piece.  We gave Dave a generous tip.”

“Reaching Walker Pass campground in late afternoon, we had a bite to eat, and looking around noticed how dilapidated and disconcertingly close the the highway the campground is.  So we hunted around and found a sweet little stealth campsite a few hundred yards south of and out of sight of the campground and highway.  We started hiking the next morning - Halloween - shortly before dawn.”

“For the first three days of the hike, the weather was fine - warm in the day, chilly at night, a little wind now and then.  One of the things I've come to appreciate about the trail in southern California is that though grand vistas are few and far between, there are many small scenic moments.   The blooming rabbitbrush and, a little higher, sycamore leaves wafting down onto the trail were really lovely.  We saw only two other hikers on a leisurely finish of their SOBO thru hike.  Otherwise we had the place to ourselves.”

“On the fourth day about mid-morning we see a worrisome, low-lying cloud in the distance.  Smoke?  Are we walking into a wildfire?  Ah, no.  It was just the first indication that we were walking into a wall of wind as we drew closer to Tehachapi Pass.  The wind grew stronger and stronger throughout the afternoon, but in the evening we found what seemed to be a somewhat sheltered campsite at around Mile 571.  I set up my tent behind a Joshua tree, got in it, and stayed in it.”

“The next morning I wake to find Monkeybars more or less cowboy camped inside her tent.  Concerned that a pole might break, she'd dismantled her tent in the middle of the night when the wind shifted.  With the wind now howling, we packed up in the dark.  Naturally my headlamp batteries chose that moment to die, so I started switchbacking down the hill with a keychain LED clamped between my teeth.  What an experience! The wind was blowing around 45 - 50 mph, and since neither of us is a very large person, we were unable to stand upright when we reached the western end of each switchback, for fear of getting blown over into the canyon.  So we literally crawled on hands and knees.  At one point I found myself clutching a dessicated shrub, wondering how I was going to move forward.  That went on for 45 minutes? - a lifetime? - until we reached Mile 570, the sun came up, and the wind dropped enough that we could walk instead of crawl.  Regrouping there, all we could do was utter slightly hysterical laughs.  In my climbing days (a thousand years ago) I encountered some more serious situations, but for plain old hiking, that's about as out there as I want to get.”

Seeing that I had cell reception, I called Kern Transit and talked with the Mojave dispatcher, who was so friendly and helpful.  Since we were unsure whether we'd be able to make the next bus, she promised to direct the drivers of the next two buses to stop at Cameron Road.  As it turned out, we reached the Cameron Road overpass in plenty of time for the first bus.  I was grateful to pay $2.50 to board a clean, quiet vehicle that efficiently transported us out of the wind and back to Bakersfield. Five stars for Kern Transit!”

Fierce winds are almost a right-of-passage on the PCT.  Generally somewhere through the desert south, you will be buffeted by overwhelming winds . . . the same winds that have made wind farms a common presence in a number of SoCal passes.  For those of you who own The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: California, consider reading Linda ‘Blue Butterfly’ Bakkar’s “Climbing a Ridge in Wind.”

[grandmasbeerco]

Some egghead scientists claim that 15 minutes of laughter can burn 10-40 calories. Forget trying to lose weight, we just need to thaw out a little. @spurgfin has lined up another excellent comedy show for us tonight, headlined by @bigalgoodwin!

Allan Goodwin is one of the funniest and respected comics on the circuit today, who brings the laughter to any room, anywhere, anytime. He connects with his audiences with relevant material describing his own observations and experiences. Al works in almost every area of the country—performing for large corporate events and galas, large military events, private parties, clubs, colleges and bar mitzvahs.

Al has performed nationally on the comedy show LAUGHS on FOX, he was a finalist in the 2014 World Series of Comedy, and he represented the East Coast in Las Vegas in HBO's Lucky 21 Comedy Contest. You can also catch Al in the 4th season of House of Cards.

Al was a winner on America's Funniest People, he has been interviewed on The Billy Bush Show, and he has been seen in numerous PBS commercials. Having played almost every club and college in the country, Al has progressed to larger venues and theaters opening for Jim Gaffigan, Kathleen Madigan, Dave Chappelle, and Steven Wright.

If you haven't experienced an Al Goodwin performance…you owe it to yourself to put this on your must do list and bring some friends. Why? Because laughter at an Al Goodwin show is always guaranteed!

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#denvercomedy #comedy #comedian #standupcomedy #denverstandup #grandmashouse #grandmasbeerco #worldsgreatestgrandma #grandmalovesyou #denver #denveractivities #denverbeer #denvercraftbeer #denverbrewery #craftbeer #coloradobeer #coloradocraftbeer #cobeer #coloradobrewery #cocraft #southbroadway #sobo #plattpark #overland #beer #beers #beergeek #drinklocal #drinklocalbeer #supportyourlocal