MK's on a Glacier

                                                                  

Jumping a small stream (courtesy of Courtney Banko) 

 MK Shorts with R1 pants                    Photo credit: Ken Baughman

Enjoying my last week in Mongolia, in Chacos, MK's, and roped in with my friends!

40 Days into Mongolia...

A wild Ibex keeping watch over the canyon

Well, I'm just about 40 days into my travels in Mongolia. My Granite Creek shorts are my most valued piece of gear (other than a water filter) and have been worn every day this trip. In addition to my Chaco tan, I now have a MK tan from wearing my shorts! I have even received some compliments from Mongolians on my shorts- keep up the great work, team MK! 

Mongolia has some amazing rock climbing- I really believe a lot of it is undiscovered. Some of the rock is rotten, but there's so many available places to climb. Here I'm beginning a neat pitch in Yolyn Am canyon in the Gobi Desert, where temps are cool enough to preserve ice year round

Banding young Black Kites at a nature preserve. Measuring the body and wingspan are followed by weighing and banding. Recognize the outfit? I'm wearing my MK's and this shirt pretty much every day... 

Trekking through Mongolia

Here's some highlights from this past week in Mongolia:

Riding camels in the Gobi Desert

Staying with a local herder family in a mountain river valley

Mountain Khakis find Dinosaurs in Gobi Desert

Recently I've been taking some Geology classes here in Mongolia, for college credit in the U.S. The past few days, we have been assisting some resident Geologists in their field studies, excavating dinosaurs. Pretty cool stuff! Enjoy some photos:

Finding Agates in an old riverbed

Dinosaur footprints! 

A better preserved track (you can see three toes pointing left)

Large piece of bone next to the MK logo!

Mountain Khakis Meet Outer Space!

Today we explored the mountain steppe of Hustai National Park. There's some areas in Mongolia with NO PEOPLE! It's awesome! Our driver new of a spot where part of a satellite fell from space and crashed into the plains. We checked it out, and it was CRAZY! It was made from a hi-tech asbestos and kevlar-looking material. Awesome!

Golden Eagle

                 Today I checked 'Hold a Golden Eagle' off my bucket list... it was AWESOME!

Mongolia!

Happy 50th Birthday to my awesome Uncle! Sending my love from Mongolia! 

MK's Scale the Great Wall of China!

Photo courtesy of Ken Baughman    

What a great day to hike along the Great Wall! Today we flew from LAX to Beijing, boarded a bus, drove to the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, and Pearl Market. I found some knock-off North Face shorts, but nothing here comes close to the quality and durability of my MK's! 

New House in Seattle!

MK Granite Creek technical shorts

My family has moved from St. Louis to Seattle! Still going to finish next year at Principia College, but now I have some REAL terrain for mountain biking, sea kayaking, and some great fly fishing! I've missed the Northwest... Stay tuned for my updates for the next adventures in the PNW, China, and Mongolia!

Bouldering in the Snake River Shorts

The Snake River shorts (newly re-named to Granite Creek) have been my constant companion since things warmed up for the Spring. I have enjoyed their comfort, flexibility, durability, and the special pockets that allow me to keep my phone separate from my change, and also have quick access to my Leatherman Skeletool CX. They're great! They also take the abuse that comes with bouldering- which I tend to do a lot of when I see a good spot when I'm driving. Yesterday I grabbed my shoes at the North end of Yellowstone National Park and played around on this giant boulder up the hill from the road. Good times!

Westward... Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park

Driving into Kelly, WY early in the morning

Wildlife was abundant, including this young Moose calf!

I love having the grand on my butt... MK's rock!

Sporting my Granite Creek shorts in front of Riverside geyser

BEAR! a little close for comfort...

Mountain Khakis hosts Buck House Pig Roast!

This week I co-hosted our Buck House Pig Roast... and you guessed it- Mountain Khakis were represented the whole day- pants, fire, and good food! 

AJ cleans out the "Pig Pit"

Watching the pig sizzle in my MK OMP's

Carving the pig into smaller pieces

The men of Buck House gather to acknowledge the Seniors of the house

My MK's like dirt...

My first attempt at movie-making: An afternoon mountain biking adventure- I strapped my camera to my backpack chest strap, and a bumpy ride later and a few hours of editing, here's what I came up with! Hope the sound works!

MK gear: M's Snake River Shorts from Snake River Collection

UPDATE: Snake River Collection is now Granite Creek! New name, same great short!

Day 100: A normal day

Wore my MK's to school, had a cookie-dough and coffee shake to celebrate! Sorry, no photos!

Day 98: Spring Bird Count

Today was the annual Illinois Spring Bird Count. I helped out in Jersey County, leading a group around and counting birds!  The results haven't been compiled yet, but my group saw about 65 species throughout the day. Nothing too unusual, just the regular spring migrants. It was a great day for the Original Mountain Pants. It's almost too warm for pants, but tromping around in the woods is best done in MK's... (and Chacos)

Day 96: Gunpowder and Lead

This afternoon my Mountain Khakis got their first taste of gunpowder at the handgun range. I'm pretty sure I was the only person there not in denim jeans, but heads did turn as I walked to my shooing lane wearing my MK's and carrying a 9mm. I think a picture or video would have been cool to post, but we were having so much fun shooting that it kind of slipped my mind... Here's a shot we did get during the "cease fire".

Four more "official" days! This weekend is going to be a big "birding" weekend- I am participating in the Illinois Spring Bird Count, where we cover as much ground in the county as possible and count- literally, every bird we see and hear. Hopefully we'll push 120+ species for the day! Look for that post later this weekend!

Cheers!

Day 93: Chalk on the Shorts

This afternoon lived up to the weather forecast (surprise!) so with thunderstorms moving in I decided it wasn't a day to go on the river, or on the trails. (My bike has a flat, anyways) Looks like a good week to be outside!

So, I hit the gym with my climbing buddy and we worked on some new routes and had a good time. 

                                        

92: A Quick Climb

Today I spent most of the day doing homework. Using arcMAP and other GIS software isn't as easy as I thought! However, I took a quick break in the afternoon to climb at the gym. Here's a quick post-action photo of the SR shorts. This is going to be a good week!

Days 89-91: Bluffs, Barges, and Birds

Life has been full here recently in Southern Illinois. That's a good thing I guess. These past few days have been especially busy, as midterms only come once a quarter! These past few days have been pretty heavy academically, but I've been able to lighten the load by getting outside when the weather has cleared up. 

I have been working on my Senior Capstone research with the Peregrine Falcon, and spent many hours Friday hanging out "literally" on the bluffs, trying to confirm nesting success. Unfortunately, repelling over the top of the 100 foot+ high cliff isn't doable with how degraded the limestone is, so I've had to get creative. I was able to gather some good data and witness the male exchanging food with the female, which confirms nesting behavior! Exciting...

Saturday I spent birding in St. Louis with a professor friend, we hit Tower Grove Park at just the right time, as many of the neotropical migrants were moving through... We saw just over 50 birds for the day, and I was rewarded with a bird I've never seen before: a Blue-headed Vireo, land right above me! 

Needless to say, my Mountain Khakis have been treating me well. I have been enjoying the OMP's as the weather has stayed cooler this past week, and they have provided the protection from the brush as I've been bushwacking in the mornings, and then look sharp for class. My Snake River shorts are back in the game after being in the laundry for a few days after my latest exploits through poison ivy. All clean now, for the beautiful weather next week!

Enjoy some recent photos from the past few days! This next week will be a good one! 

Cheers.

A Great Blue Heron

Peregrines and Rattlesnakes

                 Photo Credit: Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

I managed to avoid all rattlesnakes today, which was definitely good! They're usually shy, but surprise them and they get feisty! I used a photo from the KDWP to show what we're searching for.

This morning I accompanied the Ornithology class on a bird walk at 6 am. It was quite the windy morning, and after a beautiful sunrise we were able to locate about 25 birds by song or sight, including some first of the year birds for me in Illinois. Neotropical migrants such as the Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak were moving through. I heard a Hooded Warbler, which made my morning!  

The rest of the day included classes, lunch, and meetings. This afternoon I ventured out to find the pair of Peregrine Falcons that I had located and studied last year. They moved to a different site to nest this year, and I am doing my capstone research on Peregrine Falcons, so this was a good research opportunity for me. Sure enough, I found the male on the bluffs, avoiding the wind.

Then I accompanied another student who is researching snakes on campus for his capstone research, so we visited a few hibernaculas, and marked them with a handheld arcGIS. Fortunately, we avoided the endangered Timber Rattlesnake, which inhabits the woods. 

What another beautiful day in southern Illinois! It's these bluebird days that remind me to enjoy wherever you live- whether or not you choose to be there or not! Wore my boots and MK's on this fine 80 degree day, mostly for protection from snakes! (And my appropriately-named Snake River shorts are in the wash today, because of my exploits in poison ivy)

Between Storms, Mountain Khakis Go Kayaking!

Today was incredible! My morning began at 6 am with a nice bike ride through some beautiful mature forests. I took my binoculars and saw and heard a few new birds for this year, including a Wood Thrush. The air was just dripping with humidity, and I knew it was going to be rainy day! At 7 I had my SLIAC Conference team championships, in which we lost in the first round. Maybe next year... Now that tennis is done I'll be able to spend more afternoons outside!

Later in the afternoon, a tornado watch was issued, and then upgraded to a tornado alert when a funnel cloud was spotted over the river. I took a short nap until the skies and cleared up, and when I awoke, the clouds had parted and there was a little blue sky! As I looked over the chapel green out at the Mississippi, I decided a quick paddle might do me some good!

I grabbed my gear, threw on the MK's, and bombed down the hill on my mountain bike through the puddles and over the channels that had formed in the trail from the day's deluge. I think I arrived at the river wetter and muddier than I was when I returned! After a quick eval of the how the river was flowing, what the wind looked like, I waited for a barge to pass by and then set my course for Elsah Bar, a small island directly across from the historic town of Elsah, IL. I pushed off under a patch of blue sky before the storm on the horizon blew in.

Looking downriver, the sun illuminated the clouds, and a small rainbow appeared (look hard in the center of the frame) Principia College is up on top of the bluffs on the left

The paddle was great... the wind gave me an interesting time navigating out there and back, but I had some great views of the passing storm, and the next front moved in very quickly as the last rays of sunshine dropped behind the oncoming storm. I watched a lot of birds flying around before the next front moved in- herons, ducks, cormorants, shorebirds, and pelicans!

I caught a clear glimpse of the moon before the clouds rolled in:

Overall, it was a wonderful day and an exciting adventure on the river in my MK's!