chad

December 10, 2025

I was browsing my lookout list the other day and found an opening on Tuesday December 9th for Clear Lake Cabin lookout. I pulled the trigger without much thought. I’m pretty glad I did.

Clear Lake Lookout is a pretty sought after rental so I’m stoked I was able to snag it. The journals are filled with wonderful stories from folks who have stayed there. I won’t be sharing them. If you want to enjoy these journals you have to hike up there. Deal with it. The journal entries in this specific lookout are pretty amazing.

The trip up there was in quite a bit of rain. I was mildly drenched by the time I got to the lookout. A quick fire took care of the moist situation. This storm is so warm that I was never cold on the way up, despite being in shorts. It only took me 45 minutes to get up there. Most of that was 33 minutes of pushing my bike up a hill.

I spent most of my time reading the journals, doing chores, and relaxing. There wasn’t much of a view to enjoy but the wind made up for that. The lookout was moving in the wind quite a bit. According to other journal entries the wind usually keeps people from sleeping. It put me right to sleep. I woke up every few hours to put a log on the fire and pee, but otherwise I slept so well.

The chores I did were a little more than I usually have to do. The previous folks left the sink clogged so I took care of that. There is a leak over the cartography table so I put down a plastic bag and then found a bunch of pots to catch the drips. I also swept, cleaned the wood/stove area, and cleaned the counters. Then the woodshed got swept. I made a bunch of kindling and hauled up a bunch of wood. The next folks should be all set. I also left an apple in the fridge. Someone else left lactaid milk in the fridge.

On the way out I ran into Ranger Steven(Stephen?). He asked me about the leak and the monoxide detector. I let him know I put the plastic and pots out. He agreed they can’t really fix the leak until spring. So folks will just have to deal.

I’m splitting the media up for this one into photos and videos. There are quite a few of each. The last video is 8 minutes long, so you’ve been warned.

This post has a song called Northsiders by Christian Lee Hutson and Ur Name On a Grain of Rice by Runnner

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Photos

Videos

Change is in the water

December 8, 2025

I’d rather be the dumbest person in a room full of geniuses than the smartest person in a room full of idiots.

Today’s funemployment run was a lesson in seasonal change and our place. I love running in wild weather conditions. It teaches me that I am nothing. It teaches me that the world around me could swallow me up without hesitation; it would make no difference. I find a lot of comfort in this. It allows me to experience the world in a more honest way. I’m not looking at the world thinking, “How can I benefit from this?” I’m looking at the world and thinking, “This moment is a gift. Nothing could improve upon it.” I am a part of nature. I am thankful. I am grateful. My ego isn’t influencing my experience, and therefore, my experience is more because it isn’t centered on me.

I did the same ‘ole Elk loop today but the weather was an absolute blast. I love this loop because it is never the same. The winds were aboot 15mph, with gusts over 50mph, if I had to guess. I was having trouble holding my phone for some of my videos. The best part? It was warm. I could have done this one shirtless if not for the intense winds up top. The river water temps were 50F/10C. Unfortunately, the river flows were a bit too wild for me to do a dip. A couple years ago I got slammed by a log in a river. I’d rather not repeat that, so I played it safe today. Ya never know if a log is going to hit ya hotdog or hamburger direction. I’d really prefer not having to explain that one to an ER doctor.

I took a lot of videos because it was just such a fun time. I also wanted to profile how much of a surge the rivers are experiencing. We’re close to flooding already and there are a few more days of this.

I got to say hey to a nice looking lil buck. Peep the video below for that. He looked healthy. His coat looked great, in my opinion. I hope he can survive hunting season. Cross your hooves we can see him again in the spring.

After the run I popped over to Alberta for a quick vegan collab between Norah and Mis Tacones. I ordered the Thai Chimi without looking at the ingredients. I took a huge first bite with no idea what I was about to taste. It was amazing. A chimichanga with peanut sauce? You bet your ass it was delicious. I also got some satay nachos to go. The nachos also had peanut sauce. Peanut sauce is delicious. I’d describe the Thai Chimi as a “break food” dish. What I mean by this is it feels like something a good line cook would make for their own break meal. It is delicious but it’s not something you’d ever really see on a menu, ya know? It had all the components I might expect to find on the line in the kitchen of Norah and Mis Tacones. When I worked in kitchens I used to make ridiculous break meals. It always made me happy when customers would ask what I was eating and if they could order it. That’s the Thai Chimi.

Thank you so much Norah and Mis Tacones. I greatly appreciated that.

One of the videos is like 8 minutes long. I don’t know if anyone will watch it or care, but hey, not everyone gets to see Elk summit with 40-50mph winds. I have to share that.

Tomorrow’s funemployment is a quick overnight at a lookout tower. I snagged the Clear Lake Cabin Lookout on short notice. The gate is closed so that means a 3.5 mile hike in. I’ll bring rain gear. I called the local ranger station to try bribing them with chocolate chip cookies so they’d open the gate. No luck.

Today’s song is Rabbit Will Run by Iron & Wine.

Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
02:39:30 hours	8.14 mi.	16:15 min/mile	5:12 min/mile	3,523.62 ft.	1,890 kcal