View of Tucson and the Santa Rita Mountains in the distance. — Images by kenne
The SCVN fall hiking schedule began last Friday (October 5th) at the lower Butterfly trailhead, with our destination, Barnum Rock. As you will see from the photos, it was a beautiful day to be hiking in the Santa Catalina Mountains. There will be two more hikes at the higher elevations (Bug Springs on the 12th and Guthrie Peak on the 19th) with the remaining fall hikes taking place at Sabino Canyon and other desert locations.
Tristan, from Whitehorse, Yukon
Before beginning our hike at the trailhead, we met a young man, Tristan, from Whitehorse, Yukon. Working only with his name, where he was from, where he had been and where he was going, I began an Internet search. I found a blogger, Gypsy by Trade — Ridin’ Bikes and Travelin’ Light, that sounds a lot like Tristan. He writes: “In Whitehorse, I met Tristan at the Icycle Sports bicycle shop. Nearly a small warehouse, the shop is well stocked and rents space to a coffee roaster that operates a small coffee bar. Bikes and espresso– just about perfect. Tristan will be in Banff around August 1 to ride the Divide, and beyond. He shared a sampling of local Whitehorse singletrack with me, including the famed Yukon River Trail on a sandy embankment above the river.”
Next, I was able to find a reference to a Tristan Geisel in Explore Mag.com — “During the summer we can go out for two rides after work, because it barely gets dark,” says bike mechanic Tristan Geisel.” With a full name, I went to Facebook — every young person has a Facebook account, right? Of course! Tristan is on Facebook, so I sent him a message. I would love to get a message back at some point in the future, but we will see.
All of us have a Tristan in us, so you can’t help but admire this young man. I can’t help but think about his travels everyday — wonder where he is today?
Ride on Tristan, ride on!
kenne
Post Note: I left out one important detail — Tristan started his six month venture in July, traveling from Whitehorse and was on the return leg following the Arizona Trail, hitting all the states north to the Canadian border. Sorry about that! Now you know why I have impressed!
(Click on any of the gallery photos for a larger view.)
