Searching for adventure, partners, and experience

Hello all. I have been dreaming of this trip for about three years now and it is close to finally becoming a reality.

I have lived the majority of my life on the east coast. Having been out of college with no money and student loans since 2006, I have not been able to stray far from my state of CT to climb. Since we have no mountains and only hills, the bulk of my experience is single pitch climbing. I have been able to get to NH several times and have done a few multi-pitch climbs.

I have never been out west before and my time is finally coming. I am planning on leaving in January and flying into San Francisco because that is where my sisters are. Planning on staying with them for a week or so , getting set plans together, and then starting my journey.

I will not have a car but will have my bicycle and a small trailer. Taking greyhoung buses for very long distances between major cities and biking the rest of the way.

In my past travels I have realized that the better I plan the less money I end up spending. However, leaving room for flexibility and change of plans is a must.

So I know that this post is a tad early but I figure the more info I can gather before I leave the better off I am.

If you have any good advice to offer on destinations, camping, travel options, partners, gear, mistakes you made that I can avoid, please let me know. I am doing a lot of research but the best sources are people that have done things like this.

The main thing im going to need is partners and I will have enough funds to pay for more than my fair share of the expenses. I wish I hit the lottery. However, the money I have will have come from a year and a half of working like a dog, living at home, and saving every penny I made. So im not looking to blow it all very quickly. If you want extra info on my ability, experience, and the gear I will have let me know. I am honest and will not lie to you about what I have and have not done.

my e-mail is franciscodipoi@hotmail.com

I will be down for anything all the time--bouldering, single pitch, multi-pitch, ice climbing, mountaineering, skiing, hiking, kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, soccer games....ANYTHING involving physical activity and the outdoors.

I am obviously better and more experienced at certain things than others.

My return trip to the East Coast is hopefully never. But obviously that will depend on when my funds get low and how easily I can find a job and somewhere to live.

Thanks again for any info you are willing to share and I hope to climb with some of you very soon.

Yeah man...if you get out to Boulder hit me up. I'm a CT boy too...Manchester / Vernon.

Come out out!

Hey, congrats on taking the leap, should be an awesome tour. I'll pipe up after doing a great year-long loop (car-assisted) recently, with some similar objectives in mind. Weather is probably the primary deciding factor, and it worked out pretty ideally for me as follows. I also began in central Cal around Jan 01, and headed down the coast. Would be a good (slightly scary) ride down hwy 1 above the ocean, weather could be perfect for a long stretch or occasional rain storms. Significant climbing around San Luis O and Santa Barbara, and in fact I'd recommend setting up camp around SB/Ventura for a little while. Nicest place to be a hobo in SoCal I'd say. And if interested, you can explore loads of work-trade type visits with farms and organizations in the area (and beyond), try organicvolunteers.org or wwoof. I spent 3 months at a place called The Ojai Foundation, which wound up being a profoundly awesome experience. And from that region, you can easily connect with LA'ers headed out to other climbing destinations. Anyways, as Spring came on, I took off through southern AZ (loads of climbing, little heavy on the desert aesthetics if that's not your thing, but definitely check out Chiricahua mtns. way east) and landed in the Gila of S. NM mid-April. Interesting wild area, plus hot springs & ruins, with some climbing options. But from there up north through Jemez to Taos and Crestone, there's tons of options and great adventure travel. If it's still to cool/snowy in the Rockies, swerve back west into southern Utah canyonlands, hell do that anyways no matter what the conditions! Moab is a safe base for loads of spring fun and easy contacts. I shot up into Montana by end of June, Bozeman and Missoula both great centers, and on to BC Canada. Try and make it if you can, but I was pushing kind of hard on four wheels by that time...anyways, the trek west across southern BC is fantastic, with loads of (mostly alpine) options uphill, then the Okanagan 'desert' with a different flavor and finally the coast aka Squamish. Poke and paddle around till the rains hit and head south...Leavenworth, Smith, maybe even late season Yosemite, and your all set to start over again! For what it's worth, a budget of $2500 would cover all that pretty well, maybe even $1500 depending on how you eat. Staying for free should be the norm, just be creative and respectful, and expect a few rough nights where things just don't work out. Oh, bring bullets and food stamps to give the new natives if there's trouble!

Francisco Di Poi wrote: I will not have a car but will have my bicycle and a small trailer. Taking greyhoung buses for very long distances between major cities

Sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck with it.

Sounds like a blast. I came to sf from Michigan on vacation 3 years ago found a good job and never left. I love it here and never want to leave. Tohoe will be epic in January so hit me up for some snowboarding. I could be in to some climbing to if it stops raining long enough. Either way you'll have fun and probably stay a while.

benjamin brownell wrote: Oh, bring bullets and food stamps to give the new natives if there's trouble!

I'm going to go with "yes". It's a joke.

it sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck!! Vibram Five Fingers