7,800 Miles Across the Andes: An Interview With the First Two People to Trek the Entire Andes
I recently got to interview two of my adventurers, Gregg Treinish and Deia Schlosberg. Early last year they returned from a two year trek where they hiked the entire length of the Andes. Impressive. Plus they’re both fabulous people.
Here’s part of the interview, you can check the rest out at Matador Life.
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AB: You decide to take off from your regular lives and trek the Andes. What goes through your head and heart before embarking on such an adventure?
Gregg: To me, the unknown has always been incredibly exciting. Not having any clue what lay around the next corner captures this special place inside my head that is very deeply attached to a visceral feeling of being alive, of doing something worthwhile.
Oftentimes, I find myself saying that had I known what was in store I might not have gone; this is certainly the case with the Andes as the challenges were far greater than either of us anticipated. Before the journey, there was a lot of fear, which my mind somehow translates to excitement.
I think that it would only be fair to say that there was a high level of disillusionment as well. While I obviously thought about what it was going to be like, I somehow let myself believe that it was going to be fun day in and day out, this despite a cognitive recognition that it wasn’t going to be fun in many cases.
I think that in order to follow through with something that you know could very well be your demise requires a certain level of denial.
Check out the rest of the interview here. And you can listen to a podcast with Gregg and Deia reading the first installment of their story in Wend Magazine here.
Friday Photo: Le Cafe, C’est Ma Vie
“La vie est belle, et le cafe, c’est ma vie.”
This stamp from the Fresh Pot on the back of the bags of Stumptown Coffee that the coffee shop sells is so great: Life is beautiful, and coffee, it’s my life.
Design is Important
Seen in the window of Portland Design Within Reach. I would even go so far to add that “sustainable design is important because environmental chaos is hard.” Just take the recent ecotopia proposal in Gothenburg as an example.
Swedish Design + Destination: Urnatur
Urnatur, which basically translates to “out of nature,” is a Swedish forest getaway, where visitors can stay in cabins and spend time re-connecting with nature. But it’s also a design firm that believes in the beauty and simplicity of nature and crafts incredible pieces that capture the pure essence of the natural world.
Why I Choose to Ride a Bike
This has been making its way around the internet for quite some time now, but after an overwhelming amount of news this week about the real threats of climate change, I’m even happier about my choice of bicycle over car.
Friday Photo: Nature Untitled
Back in January I submitted this photo collage to the END No Restrictions contest. It won an honorable mention and I scored a pair of END Stumptown 10 oz. (love them!), which isn’t bad for just putting a few of my favorite photos together. If you haven’t checked out END, it’s a responsible shoe company based in Portland, definitely pushing the envelope when it comes to business philosophy as well as sustainable design.
I named the piece “Nature Untitled,” as I felt the pictures spoke for themselves and gave a general appreciation of the simple beauty that can be found all around us, be we in a city or in the middle of a National Park.
A Weekend of Iceshoeing… Oh Wait, Snowshoeing
Went snowshoeing a couple of weekends ago, and although it hadn’t snowed in ages and the physical activity probably should have been deemed “iceshoeing,” it was a great adventure all the same.
An excerpt from my trip dispatch over at Wend:
Packs filled with apples and granola bars (because we left in too much of a hurry to actually plan a real lunch), we set out on a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, headed for Trillium Lake. To say the snow was well packed would be an understatement. “Having fun on the ice today?” I remarked when we passed a group of cross country skiiers.
“Yeah, you’re probably having a much easier time,” replied one of them, pointing to my snowshoes.
“True, although I think it would be easier just to walk.”
But if you’ve come to snowshoe, you’re going to snowshoe dammit! No matter how much easier taking them off might be…
Read the whole thing here along with a great slideshow of pics.
Yoga Is My Bailout
Found out about the blog Yogadork via Twitter. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds: a blog for the yoga obsessed. But in the current economic chaos, the t-shirt that they’ve decided to market is genius.
Sure, the world economy may be in shambolic disarray, but personally we’ve been in trouble before and yoga has always provided us with the tools to work through it, on the mat, or in the world. Budgets are tight, wallets thin, cutbacks the mantra de rigueur. What’s the one thing we don’t ever have to give up? Yoga.
And the shirts are even made from organic bamboo. You think I would give a t-shirt a mention if it was made from conventional cotton? Doubtful.
Friday Photo: Colorful Stairs
These stairs into a flower shop in downtown Portland were covered in rose petals to celebrate Valentine’s Day. But I loved the color contrast of the reds and lime green that I couldn’t resist capturing it on film.
Organic Designs From Danish Ferm LIVING
Danish based design group Ferm LIVING just released their spring 09 catalog and there are some intriguing organic designs.
Printed on 100% organic cotton, these tea towels scream nature. And bicycles. Both things that I love.
blog.annabrones.com 