Yessi in the USA ~~~ 在美國yessi

No matter how big the sea may be, sometimes two ships meet.
不管有多大，他海浪，有時兩艘船滿足。
  Chinese Proverb

Yessi came to live with me this summer for 4 months.  Time went fast, too fast, and has now returned to China.  Our plan was that I would return home to China with her, but this dream was contingent on us both getting jobs for Tutwo which didn't happen unfortunately.

Christ Church Earthquake
Damage from Demolition, first at the hand of God, then at that of an excavator operator.

We had a wonderful summer hiking, camping, traveling, spending time in our little cabin in the woods, visiting with family and friends, seeing the sights, and just being together.

Yessi Ye and dbBrad in Hong Kong.
As of this point, we'd spend less than a week actually together, but almost a year since we'd met.

We met in the spring of 1012 in New Zealand, just before I was finishing the Te Araroa trail.  She followed me on my adventures on the PCT as I hiked from Mexico to Canada and then when I was done, I decided to go visit her.  This was prompted by the need for a root canal.  Such circumstance that we met in NZ at McDonald's of all places, spent one week together hitching to the other side of NZ, one day walking Crist Church and then said good by, only to meet again over a tooth ache.

Hong Kong from the water.  A magnificent city.

Somehow I have a knack for adventure and Yessi seems to like this.  She is caught between two cultures, the traditional stereotypical Chinese patriarchal family she was raised in, and one of travel, democracy, equal rights and opportunity she has glimpsed in her extensive traveling.  Adventure is within her grasp and she's ready and willing for anything.

Yessi (Chan Ye) and her family under the covered porch
that serves as entrance and outdoor living on the top floor of their building.

So we turned our quick trip to China into a quick trip to Nepal where we headed into the Himalayas and hiked the Annapurna Circuit (December 2012).  This was wonderful, with ups and downs, but we are a good pair.  Since I was to be hiking all summer for Green Trails, I suggested she come and hike with me.   A good deal, to be together, to travel hike ad adventure, and to get paid for it!  And so we spent the summer of 2013 together in the U.S.

Chan Ye, Yessi or Lil'Sherpa at 3000m elevation along the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal.

My relationship with someone from another country on the other side of the planet has taught me to make the most out of the time you have.  We don't know our future, but we had 4 months together and we wanted to make the most of it.

Freestyle and Lil'Sherpa spinning prayer wheels.
At this point, she was 4 days into her first backpack trip ever and I was at 4850 miles into my year of hiking.

I think a person would be hard pressed to get more adventure, more sight seeing, more experiences and more love into 4 months. Here's a quick synopsis of our summer together ~~~

Yessi and Freestyle at PCT kickoff 2013.

Yessi and I did a lot of traveling this summer.  We also did a lot of hiking.  We hiked near the Mexican border in the desert; along the Pacific Ocean in California at Big Sur; in the Olympic mountains; in the Cascades;  and at Mt. Rainier.

Yessi in Glacier Peak Wilderness

We went up and down the pacific coast from Mexico to Canada and were able to intersect the PCT in many places.  Yessi has now hiked on the PCT many miles and is interested in doing the whole trail, inspired by my hiking the trial in 2012, and our visits to some of it's most beautiful places along the trail.

Yessi along the PCT at Lake Campo, about 25 miles from the Mexican Border.  This photo was used in the
 TuTwo Magazine that  is seen all over China.

All totaled we hiked over 650  miles this summer.  She says she still loves it and wants to do more in fact she keeps talking about hiking the PCT.  Perhaps I'll be on that trail 4 years in a row!

Yessi on the PCT at Chinook Pass, about 2200 miles from Mexico

Besides hiking, Yessi seemed very interested in a variety of activities.  She took well to glacier travel and desires to climb mountains and to learn rock climbing.  She was an outstanding cycle passenger, our mode of transportation from one end of the West Coast to the other.

Brad & Yessi in the faithful BMW.  We put 3000 miles on loaded with backpacks and camping gear on our road trip to PCT Kick off and then all around the Ventana wilderness up and down Hwy 101 and the surrounding roads between Big Sur and King City then back up the coast to Washington.

Yessi at REI, Seattle

She has my fascination for tractors, cars, motorcycles and all things that go.  Yessi wanted to drive everything from tractors to lawnmowers.

Yessi driving a tractor at North Bend at my dad's home

Yessi mowing the lawn at our cabin on Whidbey Island

Family time included a camping trip at Hamma Hamma Campground in the Olympics together with the celebration of my birthday. 

Ed, Benton, Brad & Yessi

A very, very happy birthday spent with Yessi

Somehow, we were also able to squeeze in a TuTwo tour of Langley, Seattle and many outdoor shops, including Wander on Whidbey on Whidbey Island
.  

TuTwo visitors at Langley's Second Street Market

And with the spirit and freedom only afforded in America, she wanted to go shooting.  So during our last visit to my dad's, we got out some guns and went shooting.  She did amazing well, never flinching, unafraid, confident and she hit the target every time.

Yessi giving target practice a whirl

We managed to squeeze in lots of other fun activities, like lily fighting, a game of wit and strategy with a face eating flower!

Yessi's face lost the battle

Swimming in the lake and catching crawdads in a home made trap which I can't take credit for but wish I could.  Pretty ingenuous and made by a guy that didn't finish middle school.

A tour of Boeing's Museum of History and Flight and how they make the airplanes that got her from China to Seattle, and took her away again.

.

Brad & Yessi at Boeing in front of GE's largest turbine which utilizes carbon fibre blades.  Hard to believe plastic can be used in a jet engine, but this is some of the finest most reliable and efficient engineering in the world.

Meeting the man behind Hong Kong's number one coffee chain, Pacific Coffee.  Gary's home and business are located right here on Whidbey Island.  There are about 1200 Pacific Coffees, almost 400 just in Hong Kong alone.  Several 40' containers a month get filled with coffee roasted and packed right here and sent oversees. 

Brad, Yessi & Gary at Mukilteo Coffee

We visited one of the tallest falls in Washington, 270 feet in Snoqualmie, a town I grew up in.  She didn't believe the Salmon can jump that high!

Yessi at Snoqualmie Falls

We took  ferry rides where we could see Puget Sound, the Cascade Mountians including Glacier Peak, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker, two volcanoes, and the Olympic Mountiains where we spent several weeks hiking.  On the evening of the 4th of July we took the Edmonds Ferry to Kingston and on the way were rewarded with spectacular fireworks displays from Seattle to Edmonds, to Everett, to Kingston.

Yessi, Ed and Fran on the Mukilteo ferry.

Yessi & Brad arriving in Clinton on the Mukilteo Ferry

We went to Ibex at University Village in Seattle to shop for the best outdoor clothing you can get, made from Merino Wool, right here in the USA.  Yessi  returned to China with some fashionable new clothing, made in America!!

Yessi at the Ibex Store

We had a picnic with lots of Whidbey Island locals at the Maxwelton Beach, and enjoyed beautiful views watching the sun set as a variety of local musicians filled the air with their music.  Our feelings were warm and magical as one can only get at a gathering of friends and family.

Maxwelton Beach picnic

She even got to see 'the bear'!!  Quite a coincidence to see a brown black bear with a view of Mt. Rainier, wildflowers and beautiful Yessi all together!

Mt. Rainier in all its glory

All in all, we had an amazing summer.  I sure do miss her, but we will be together soon, either here or there, but we are committed to finding a way to make it happen.

Incongruous as this seems -- sweet Yessi with a fierce weapon.
Probably very few Chinese not in the military have ever even seen a gun, let alone held one and fired it.
If this doesn't assist her visa approval, I don't know what will!!

~~~

It is by chance that we met, by choice that we became friends.

它是由我們見面的機會，通過選擇，我們成了朋友。

 Author unknown

dbBrad poses with another Heart drawn this summer hiking for Green Trails.
Heart On The Trail has a whole new meaning now, thanks to Yessi!

In the Cascade mountains mapping for GreenTrails

This posting is still being written and edited, but I've posted it early so that Yessi and Fran, and any others interested parties, can see the magnificent views surrounding Glacier Peak that I've been witnessing the last 2 weeks as I've hiked several hundred miles.

BMW and an Osprey Pack, everything I need, except Yessi!

 I have been charged with hiking all the trails on GT map #111 and #112, which include Glacier National Park as well as the trails immediately surrounding Glacier Peak, and many of the smaller trails to the west.

The Cascades.
Let this picture speak for itself, but it's just awesome up here.

I gave up  many of the shorter trails that were assigned.  They can easily be done as day hikers which seems to be the preference of most of the other mappers.  I've chosen to focus on the long trails and areas hard to reach, utilizing my thru hiking skills well developed during my 5000 miles of hiking last year.

Glacier Peak and it's surrounding area designated as National Park, is an outstanding portion of the Cascades.  In my opinion, it easily rivals the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and holds it's own against the trails around Mt. Rainier.

Suiattle river only a mile or two from the Chocolate glacier, it's head waters.
Even crossing this little stream was tough.  The trail was pretty much non existent and will be marked not as a trail but as an old route on the new Green Trails maps.  This particular spot is about 35 miles from where you park.

Though Glacier Peak is a mere 10,541 feet tall as compared to Mt. Rainier at 14,411, what it lacks in shear magnitude, it makes up for in it's remoteness.

Not only is Glacier Peak far from any parking lot, requiring much longer hikes to approach the mountain, but it's as if it's hidden by the peaks and ridges surrounding it.

Yessi has a thing for old VW vans.  We had many dreams of working for TuTwo traveling China and promoting wilderness activities and skills out of our little mobile adventure center just like this.

It is elusive to say the least and even when hiking the PCT, there are only a few short glimpse of the mountain and one stretch about 2 miles long following Red Pass where the mountain can be viewed.

It is hard to get to, hidden by surrounding topography, and just a stunning mountain with rock bands and ridges escaping the grasp of glaciers hanging on to their hold on the mountain.

The rivers around it are a raging stormy gray, full of silt as the water washes away anything in it's path.   One walks along long river valleys to approach the mountain.

In and around Glacier Peak Wilderness, somewhere above the White Chuck river.

The Suiattle river, for instance, included 12 miles of road walk as the road is closed at mile 12 and the Suiattle trail head is at mile 24.  Once I reached the trail head, I hiked 10 miles to get to the PCT.  The
lands surrounding it are steep

Freestyle along the PCT, three years in a row.

dbBrad is Freestyle is HeartOnTheTrail.com is on the PCT again, 3 years in a row.

Two new trails will be added to the GreenTrails map #112, a nice little loop of both the climbing routes for Glacier starting at the Foam Creek trail, midpoint at the White Chuck Glacier and down the valley and back up to Red Pass.  It's part trail, part route, but not to be missed.  Stunning views of that hard to see Glacier Peak.

My head in the clouds again!

Yessi, wish you were here.  Love Brad

A quick hike around Naches Peak at Mt. Rainier

Almost two years ago, I was on the PCT hiking Sobo (SouthBound)  at Chinook Pass.  I was looking at the meticulously reconstructed pedestrian log bridge over the highway when a woman came running down the trail needing assistance.

If Yessi and I have kids, I can only hope they will be as wonderful as the Lipinski Twins.

This woman later turned out to be Debbie, mother of two fabulous twins and two boys and friends with Davit S.  But at the time she was a hiker looking for help for an elderly man who stumbled off the trail at a very steep section and was trapped below and injured.

Yessi and Brad with the magnificent Mt. Rainier in the background.  It was not a clear day and lot's of haize, but somehow David was able to take this great photo.

I followed her and assisted her in helping the man up to the trail until emergency help arrived. We had a chance to talk and became instant friends.

A boo boo on her little toe.  Just goes to show that even a short hike warrants carrying the 10 essentials which should include a first aid kit with a little toe protector!  I had my knife and suggested amputation, but she opted for treatment from David.

This was an exciting first encounter and we have remained in touch. Debbie is one of my biggest hiking fans following my adventures on my blog.

The twins freestyle with Freestyle!

So last year when I was hiking the PCT in it's entirety, I again met Debbie at Chinook pass.  This time I was the one looking for help.

David, Debbie and the Twins along the Naches loop trail.

After hiking over 2000 miles from Mexico to get there, I was hungry and tired and she took me home to her fabulous family and offered me a shower, clean comfy bed and lots of food.

Yessi Ye on the PCT again, southbound this time.

We made an agreement to climb Naches Loop the following year.   The climb ended up not being as important as the outing, and instead, we opted for a larger hiking party including Yessi and I, Debbie and her two twins, and David.  We hiked the 5 miles around the peak rather than climbing the peak but had a truly wonderful day.

Yessi and David with Rainier in the background.

After the loop, we took a drive up to Sunrise, where David bought the entire crew Ice Cream and where we wondered around the old log lodges, read about glaciers, volcanoes and plants and animals in the ranger station.

Naches Loop Trail, compliments of Google maps 50 hikes around Mt. Rainier.

The reality is, one can't have a much better day than a hike with friends and family.  Even a short hike can provide opportunity for exercise, some adventure and climbing, plenty of time in the car to talk and build relationships, and views of wonders like Mr. Rainier that can inspire one for months to come.

It takes two photographers to capture those twins!

Naches Loop may be short and might not have a lot of verticle, but it is one of those short hikes that is so sweet.  Right off the highway, it has easy access, but within minutes you leave the road behind and feel as if you're miles from anything.

Doing some bouldering with the twins. 

Besides views of Rainier, there is a small lake along the way, steep forested hills, rocks, snow fields melting into streams, wildflowers, outstanding views of Mr. Rainier, and some meadows with ponds full of poly wogs.  A bit of everything in one wonderful little hike.

 David and Brad.  I feel very fortunate to have been introduced to David, who has been incredibly generous and supportive to me.  

One picture with the 5 of us, only possible with an iPhone!

`

Debbie, Yessi, Brad with Erica and Meagan up front.  Photo by David.