Top 50 Places to Live + Play
August 28th, 2008
As Ranked by National Geographic Adventurer…
Hood River ranks in at #5. The little town that could! Read the whole article here and save a few trees.
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Nike Golf Brainstormin’
August 13th, 2008
The Summit team spent some time last night playing 9 holes at the local links. We’re preparing for a full Nike Golf (.com) redesign and figured it would be great to get the team out to “play around”.
Click here to see a little video of “Team Dipshit” doing our best impression of a TJ Hooker burnout!
Baby Shaq and I get loose with the cart. Photo courtesy of Amos Lanka
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The Brown Corporation
August 12th, 2008
This might be the best website ever made…then again it might not. Definitely check out the “Us” page for a great story on how The Brown Corporation came to be. Do you smell that? Check it out!
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Backpacking Opal Creek
August 11th, 2008
It’s been a LONG time since I updated this stupid blog and LOTS has happened. Instead of trying to catch up, which I will, I’ll pick up with the most recent of events…this past weekend’s trip to Opal Creek!
I’ve always been a fan of tight canyon type creeks, especially when they’re filled with the clearest, cleanest water you could imagine. To make things even better, add a pinch of great weather, a dash of good friends, a slice of the best campsite known to man and viola! You have the ingredients for great outdoor fun.
Let’s start with the basics of backpacking. For anyone who has strapped 40-50 pounds on their back and walked for great distances, you already know that EVERY ounce counts. This is why it’s important to pack as few clothes as possible and instead stock up on food, beer, whiskey, tequila and other camp favorites. One might ask, “Tom, why pack so much liquor and ‘extras’ instead of clothes and other important things?” Well, the answer is simple. When you get done “hiking” (or death march as I like to call it) you’ll be much happier with the only medicine that will ease your pain. In fact, you might actually drink so much that you’ll forget that you even hiked that day…what bliss! Take that extra underwear!
Opal Creek is south of Hood River by about 130 miles, dead center in the Cascade Range. It’s a small, crystal clear creek that empties into the North Fork of the Santiam River, another Oregon gem. Gary, Abe, Nicole, April and I set out on a 5 mile trek to find a campsite some where in the vicinity of Cedar Flats. Lucky for us, we struck campsite gold before ever getting there. The ultimate in campsites made this trip truly amazing! Enough with words, lets get to some pictures and videos.
April, Abe, Nicole and Gary chillin’ at our kick-ass camp site!
Our private waterfalls and swimming pool…water doesn’t get clearer than this.
Abe trying his hand at some fly fishing just upstream a few steps…another fun waterfall and a place to jump!
Click the image above to see a video of me jumping off the little rock.
April after a few drinks!
Gary and April attempting to polish off the bottle of Bushmills.
Cooper is cold and wet but always up for an adventure.
Click the image above to see April sliding down the falls.
Click the above image to view 4 jack-asses.
During the hike out we passed through an old mining camp called Jaw Bone Flats. Lots of old trucks and machinery are laying around. Very weird and very cool.
Ice cold Rainiers were waiting for us when we hiked back out to our cars. A worn out crew ready for another adventure…just a week away! From right to left: Gary, Lahina, April, Nicole, Abe
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Say hello to Cooper!
June 9th, 2008
We picked up our new best buddy this past Friday from the breeder in Scapoose, Oregon. Cooper is a Parsons Terrier and should grow to approximately 15″ tall. Parsons were bred for fox hunting where chasing the fox down holes was necessary. Needless to say they need to be extremely brave and able to run great distances. He’s 9 weeks old and full of energy, poop, pee, courage and love. He’s made lots of friends and continues to impress us with how quickly he learns. Already house broken, he’s been on one mountain bike trip, and can obey simple commands!
Real small but getting bigger!
Long live Cooper!
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Uncle Dirty
February 29th, 2008
Click the image to view the photo essay
Come get to know Uncle Dirty. I found this link on Fecal Face, a wonderful site with lots of great interviews with interesting people and artists. This is photo essay by Mike Belleme about his great uncle.
Beautiful pictures, beautiful people.
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The Direct Line
February 14th, 2008
Serb came out for a visit from Feb 5th - 10th to enjoy this seasons epic winter conditions. Regardless of delayed flights, he landed right as a large storm cycle was coming to a close, but not before it dropped another two feet of the fluffy white stuff onto the mountain.
Click the image above to view a movie of our skiing at Mount Hood Meadows! (40mb)
We rose early everyday to get on the mountain as early as possible. Wednesday morning brought approximately 1 foot of new snow, however only the first few inches were powder, everything underneath was a bit heavier. Can you tell I’m spoiled or what? Regardless of me bitching about a foot of new snow, we still caught the first wave of chairs and had a great time.
Two assholes ready for action!
The forecast for Wednesday night looked amazing, 18-24 inches! It rained like hell in town so we knew it was dumping on the mountain. We hit the sack early and were driving before the sun came up. The drive to the mountain was fun with lots of untracked snow on the road surface and 10-15 foot snow banks on the sides of the road. No worries about crashing in conditions like these! We geared up and headed to the lift, only us and about 16″ of light fluffy POW!
First guys in line = first chair!
Friday night we met up with a bunch of friends and headed to Portland to see our local Winterhawks, WHL hockey team get beat. They’re horrible but like to fight, so I guess that makes them cool. Add to that Richard Zednik of the Florida Panthers used to play for them. It’s always fun watching someone get their throat cut! Anyway, it’s February so it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month so the ice was dyed pink.
Pink ice and another loss for the Portland Winterhawks
Serb getting pissed when the beer window closed early
The next day April, Serb and I went for a hike over in Washington along the Columbia River. The entire hike was along a cliff band that dropped hundreds of feet down to the river’s edge. We were very surprised to spot sea lions in the river gorging themselves on the winter steelhead as they spawned up the river from the ocean. Keep in mind we’re at least 120 miles from the ocean!
Mount Hood standing proud over Hood River and the mighty Columbia!
April hiking up one of the many switchbacks…yes, it really is this green here in the winter!
Serb walking behind one of the many waterfalls on the trail.
Serb’s trip came and went too quickly. I still owe him a camera bag that tumbled down a steep section of the mountain while stopped to film him crash (again). Since his departure the local supply of Rainier Beer is finally starting to equalize, everyone can breath (and drink) easier now.
Cya this summer!
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Care Package?
January 30th, 2008
I received a care package today from some asshole named Serb.
A very caring package containing everything you could need for an Oregon visit.
- Meat Spin T-shirt
- Easy Squeeze Enema
- Brown Shoelaces (no idea what these are for)
- Durex ‘Play’ Sensations Condoms
Serb’s visit next week should be very interesting. I’m guessing I should watch my cornhole while he’s around.
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Winter Wonderland
January 27th, 2008
La Nina once again has landed a snow filled punch. This time delivering big at the lower elevations as we’ve been enduring cold Canadian air. Not only is this storm slated to deliver snow for the next few days, the temperature is also supposed to stay cold meaning all the snow will be the light, fluffy powder kind!
In the middle of the storm last night, we decided to pull my kayak out for some ‘true’ white-water kayaking!
White-water kayking…in the snow. Click the image to view the movie (6,270k)
Deep POW at 500 feet above sea-level!
Truck-truck waiting his turn.
A few friends braved the winter weather to come over and join in the fun. Beer, rice & beans, dog fights and other festivities were had by all. We hit the sack early to get the first wave of chairs at Mount Hood Meadows.
Jim, Erin, Smaltzie, Abe & Chewy…enjoying the freshies!
The snow keeps getting deeper. Here’s a nice shot of the base depth at the lowest elevation of the ski area!
Jim and I charged hard and fast today. Very little time to pause and take pictures as there was so much good snow that needed attention. We lapped Yoda Bowl / Private Reserve constantly. Waist deep turns were everywhere.
Here I am busting a move on Yoda Bowl. Click the picture to view a short video of Jim and I riding. (13,748k)
Loads of new snow in the forecast. Looks like it could be every day for the next few weeks! More pics to come! 
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