One of the burliest picnics yet!! Pioneered by mutants Jason Hardrath and Ryan Tetz.
Continue reading “The Yosemite Picnic”The Double Double Hoodnic
Finished on July 19, 2022, the Double Double Hoodnic is the biggest gulp of the Mt Hood landscape you can take in one go.
Start in Hood River, OR. Swim back and forth across the Columbia. Bike to, and climb, Mt. Hood. Return to Hood River the same way. Swim the Columbia both ways, again.
It took me 30 hours. You could probably do it faster!
The Winds Picnic – Short Film
This film is included in the ‘Picnic Presentation – A History of Picnicking’ post, but I thought I’d also post it here as a standalone video.
In short, the Winds Picnic, pioneered in 2021, involves biking around the northern end of Wyoming’s Wind River Range, then swimming five lakes, traversing Gannett Peak (WY’s highest), swimming another five lakes, then returning to your starting point. Huge, epic, unforgettable.
Someday I’ll do it again.
Picnic Presentation – The History of Picnicking
In this presentation at the Pink Garter Theater in Jackson, Wyo. on March 2, 2022, I premiered a film about the Winds Picnic, which I completed in the Wind River Range in 2021, and delivered a history of picnicking with the help of these illustrious athletes: Ryan Burke, Kelly Halpin, Julia Heemstra, Adam Wirth, Stefani Wells, Jason Hardrath, Neil Moore, and David Gordon, all of whom shared tales, pictures and/or videos from their picnics.
It was a memorable, adventurous night. Thanks to Wade McKoy, David Stubbs, Tim Meier, KGB Productions, Scott Wood, and all the athletes, photographers and filmmakers who contributed stories, photos, art, and videos to this presentation.
Hoodnicked Again
The moment of truth comes about 10 minutes and a third of a mile into the first crossing of the Columbia River, which is .9 miles wide where I like to swim, between Hood River, OR and White Salmon, WA. After plunging in and crawling across the placid bay just east of the old steel bridge spanning the river, the current announces itself. You’re just swimming along, then you’re bodily tugged sideways and you’re in it.
Continue reading “Hoodnicked Again”The Otter Body Experience
Call me biased, but I still think this is the best film out there about skiing the Grand Teton, because it conveys all the difficult decision making that goes into such a descent.
Continue reading “The Otter Body Experience”GT Picnic Tips and Tricks
The picnic is your own challenge, the experience is yours, you can do it however you want. But here are a few tips and tricks that have been valuable to me, in the style I most enjoy, which is to do it totally unsupported, without using caches.
Continue reading “GT Picnic Tips and Tricks”The Hoodnic
There was no good reason to do this, but it was one of the best things I’ve done.
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The #MtHood Picnic, or the #Hoodnic: Start at Hood River, Oregon. Swim .9 miles across the Columbia River, then swim back. Bike 35 miles with ski gear to Mt. Hood and hike 6 miles to the 11,250 foot summit. Ski, walk, and bike back to the Columbia.
The Moronic
“Step up and go.”
This is famed JH route-setter @gregorflee’s go-to directive when a climbing partner wavers on lead. Though he says it with love, as climbing motivation ‘step up and go’ works well because it’s both a subtle denunciation of your cowardice and the only step-by-step plan that’s going to work.
Continue reading “The Moronic”The Second Swim
You stand on the lakeshore, depleted. You’ve already biked from town, swam the lake, climbed the mountain and returned to the lake. To finish the deal you have to swim back then pedal home. There are hours more to go, and you’ve already been on the move for 20, maybe more. You’re pretty much completely over it, and won’t be doing this again.
Continue reading “The Second Swim”