Murray – Team Radish

Hijinks: the Quest for the Plaid Shirt

You may have noticed that the Rads like to dress alike. Here’s the backstory:

Technical and rugged gear/clothing is EXPENSIVE. It also tends to be UGLY. To avoid paying an arm and a leg supporting our hobbies, we keep our eyes out for swaps, trading-post message boards, clearance sales and discount gear websites, like Steep and Cheap or Backcountry. These websites are able to sell gear on sale because they act as a clearing house for last year’s models, out-of-season items, and unpopular colors or sizes (xs and xxl).

A few years ago, Steep and Cheap featured The Plaid Shirt, made by *Secret Brand. Unbeknowst to each other, four members of Team Radish bought the shirt because it was a great deal and actually attractive. The first time Rads wore the shirt to the same event, it was a cute ha-ha moment that gradually snowballed into the best kind of spoof – a gag that doesn’t hurt anybody, is generally making fun of ourselves instead of other people, gives us endless giggles, and echoes the innocent silliness of youth but with less dick jokes.

* I told my husband I was posting about The Plaid Shirt and he asked me not to reveal the real brand name. What a dork.

Secret Brand no longer makes The Plaid Shirt, so other Rads have taken to stalking Ebay and Craigslist for it. Our eventual goal is for everyone to own it.

have you ever seen such adorable nerdiness? Photo credit: BJRN

So imagine our UNBRIDLED JOY when Rad member Bread spotted The Plaid Shirt at a bar the other night. He sent this pic to the group; we tried to convince him to do anything and everything necessary to obtain the shirt from the poor dude on the spot, but alas … I wasn’t there so I can’t be sure that the dude took Bread’s offer seriously.

plaid pic — blurred to protect the innocent. if you could see his eyes, you would understand that his entire being is silently screaming “I don’t understand what is happening right now.”

Then, in an unbelievable TWIST, The Plaid Shirt was spotted the very next day on a different dude in the park. Luckily, BJRN happened to be WEARING The Plaid Shirt at the time so he was utilized as a prop. I was nominated to confront the hapless fellow (with his two young children in tow) because I enjoy being weird to strangers. I’m not nearly as good at it as Danny, but I’m close.

Here’s how it went down:

Me: uh, hey, sir. I know this is going to sound weird but I swear I’m not a creeper. Is that by chance a Secret Brand plaid shirt?

Him: It totally is! I’ve had this for years and it’s held up so great. They don’t make ’em like this anymore!

Me: yeah, I know … that’s why I’m offering to buy your shirt. Right now.

Him: you want my dirty shirt?

Me: yes. I’ll give you $40 cash right now.

(his children are watching this conversation with interest)

Him: WHY would you want my shirt?

Me, gesturing wildly at BJRN across the park: well, see, I’m in this informal bike gang and we like dressing up in matching outfits? And only half of us have The Plaid Shirt and, like you said, they don’t make them anymore so we’re resorting to aggressive street tactics like this, and eBay.

Him: …

(he is NOT finding this to be amusing, so I continue to talk because that’s my fear response)

Me: think about what a great story this would be, how a bunch of weirdos accosted you in a park and bought your dirty shirt?

Him: …

(If I were to interpret his body language, I would guess it would be “offended”?)

Me: I mean, I AM offering you $40 cash for an old and dirty shirt. You could buy a new shirt!

Him: uh, no, thanks? This shirt means a lot to me.

Me: okay! Well, have a good day!

(as I walk away, I hear his kids say “Dad! That lady was being weird, right?” to which he responded “yes. Yes, she was very weird.”)

Moral of the story: I am not deterred, but I will refine my approach.

Excursion: Whitetail Woods

In April, the Rads took a trip out to Whitetail Woods and stayed in the park’s sweeeeeeeet camper cabins.

mid-century modern glamping, anyone? Photo credit: BJRN

We rented all three cabins for Friday & Saturday night. Each cabin sleeps six (although we actually discovered they sleep seven – see ProTip below) and 19 of us were able to go with 15 spending the night. A third of us were able to bike there & back; here is our route:

It was approximately 45 miles from our start in Uptown. My FAVORITE section was through the University’s UMore Park. So weird! So great! I kept guessing how many dead bodies were buried in there!

spaceship! not really. Photo credit: BJRN

old munitions factory in UMore. Photo credit: BJRN

Once at the cabins, we got down to business Rad-Style. Every meal was taco-inspired. We brought our own portable wood-fired hot-tub. We had a gender-inclusive coloring contest. We played a long-form secret word game (inspired by PeeWee’s Playhouse). We played the ancient Swedish lawn pastime of KUBB in which you throw sticks at other sticks. Oh, and we had THE COOLEST guest dog with us, Tonks.

26531738222_451968f0f6_k — V-Body knows his gradients. Photo credit: BJRN

26624772915_192ea7af0f_k — Rads and their babes! Photo credit: BJRN

Tonks be like, “this is chill. Chill chill chill.” Photo credit: BJRN

26624781205_8cea958b3c_k — Tonks is uninspired by the portable hot-tub. BUT IT’S A PORTABLE HOT-TUB, TONKS!! Photo credit: BJRN

26351485670_a867a9b8ac_k — Kubb is getting SERIOUS. Photo credit: BJRN

26624868305_4c696686ea_k — Hot-tub. Must be wearing matching shirts for entry. Photo credit: BJRN

Interested in getting together with your own gang for a weekend in the woods? Here are the details:

Cabins are available year-round (aka heated)
Cost: $60 per cabin per night
Bike route difficulty level: medium! UMore is mostly gravel and St Paul is the worst for climbs (RAMSEY HILL CAN SUCK AN EGG) but anyone that has done a 50 mile ride before could totally do this. There are also shorter route options. Scheduling a pit-stop at the House of Coates for some food and refreshments is a nice addition.
However, WARNING! Renters have to check-in at the Lebanon Hills Visitor Center, which is about 12 miles from the cabins themselves. If you’re traveling entirely by bike, be aware! Rox & Tom were kind enough to swing through the center in their car to get the keys and parking passes for the group.
Stuff to do there: hang with your buds, drink (alcohol is allowed), hike, explore the super creepy Blair Witch-esque murder teepee hidden back in the woods.
Stuff to know: the cabins supply you with a roof, mattresses and table/chairs … but otherwise, you’re still park-camping. There aren’t fridges or stoves; you’ll be relying on coolers and campfires for your cooking needs.
ProTip: check out the cleaning-supplies bucket … there’s a hammock in there that attaches to the chain hooks on the back porch – and then you can sleep outside! Greta did and loved it (until Crow Town happened at 6 am).
Would we go again? Probably! We REALLY want to check it out in winter (I LOVE WINTER CAMPING). However, for summer rentals: the cabins are pretty close to each other, and all the fire rings are in a sort of “clearing” so you’re, like, RIGHT NEXT to the other cabins. Which worked out fine for us since we had all three, but I’m not sure I’d feel super comfortable renting just one when you’re planning on spending most of your time relaxing out front by the campfires and picnic tables – what if you’re next to a bunch of weirdos? And when I pointed that out (thinking about being stuck next to a family that’s in bed at 9 pm), I was reminded that WE WOULD BE THE WORST CAMP-NEIGHBOR for the vast majority of people (“can you believe they brought their own hot-tub!”) So, yeah. Try to be conscientious of your other people!
More Whitetail Woods basic info here

Excursion: Trans-Catalina Trail

In February, Rad husband-and-wife team Justin and Murray flew out to California and hiked the Trans-Catalina Trail!

first night camping along the beach. Photo credit: murray — first night camping along the beach.

Here’s some background info:

Catalina Island is off the coast of Los Angeles, CA. It’s 75 sq miles, has only one actual town (Avalon, population 4K), one “outpost” (Two Harbors) and is owned by the Wrigley family (as in, chewing gum & Wrigley Field).
The Trans-Catalina Trail (TCT from this point on) is 37 miles from the start to the terminal … HOWEVER, there’s no viable way to “leave” the trail when you’re finished – you have to backtrack 12 miles to the Two Harbors outpost so REALLY the trail is like 50 miles! Also: it’s actually pretty hard! I wouldn’t call it a technical hike, but you should be in okay shape and have done at least a 3-day hike previously.
I know this looks photoshopped but it is a completely LEGIT PIC – THIS IS HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS
Ferries run from various near-LA locations to both Avalon & Two Harbors multiple times a day. We left from San Pedro but returned to Long Beach.
Super simplified map below, details on permits etc here

There are a million websites out there with GREAT info on the TCT, so we won’t regurgitate that. Instead, we’ll give you our ProTips. First, let me say:

THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE BEST VACATION WE’VE EVER TAKEN

Possibly it was better than our honeymoon (although our time in Bocas del Toro, Panama, was AMAZING … but we could’ve skipped Panama City).

We chose to hike the TCT “backwards”. MAJOR PROTIP THERE!!
1. Day One: arrived via ferry in Two Harbors, stocked up at the grocery/liquor store. Hiked to Parson’s Landing, camped there. 6 miles (a small start is a GREAT WAY to introduce your body to hiking – it always takes me a few days to get my trail legs)
  Beach campsite for nights 1 & 2 – we were in a private cove surrounded by cliffs, so we weren’t visible to any other campers. It was AWESOME but also meant we were in a nature-built wind tunnel.
2. Day Two: hiked out to the actual terminus at Starlight Beach, ate lunch, then hiked back to Parson’s. Camped there a second night. 9 miles.
  That Lime-A-Rita was $4 but it was effing DELISH
3. Day Three: hiked from Parson’s back to Two Harbors, ate lunch & bought more supplies, then continued on to Little Harbor. Camped there. 12 miles.
  our tent for night 3 is about 50 yards behind me
4. Day Four: hiked to Airport in the Sky for lunch, then continued on to Blackjack Campgound, aka BISON TOWN. Camped there. 7 miles.
  I am not joking about Bison Town. This was our campsite. Bison were LITERALLY 10 yards from our tent the ENTIRE NIGHT. IT WAS TERRIFYING.
5. Day Five: the big finish hike to Avalon. Got a fancy hotel room there (what an AWESOME way to finish a hike) and had a fancy dinner. 15 miles, which sounds long, but it was probably the easiest hiking leg of the trip.
  Trail Livin’ requires lots of calories
The TCT has a TON OF ELEVATION and one section in particular is sort of scary. We were the only people hiking west-to-east and the people we ran across agreed that they would rather have gone “up” the steepest part rather than “down”. Secondary hint: BRING HIKING POLES.

aye ... that's 10,000 ft of ups and downs. — aye … that’s 10,000 ft of ups and downs.

February is the PERFECT time to go. Temps were upper 50s at night and soared to 80 during the day – doing such a strenuous activity, had it been any hotter we would have died. Also we were stunned by how few people we encountered – I guess Californians still consider 70 degrees to be “winter”. Here’s proof:

nearly 70 degrees and the bar has their outdoor heaters on ... — nearly 70 degrees and the bar has their outdoor heaters on …

We brought a few of the expensive freeze-dried pre-packaged meals with us (first time ever using them – they tasted pleasantly okay and I’m watching amazon for deals to stock up) because we were a) flying to LA and b) were REALLY conscientious of our pack weight. But otherwise, we were able to have a food-purchasing pitstop every day!
1. Two Harbors has a grocery store, a restaurant, AND THEY SELL BEER. It’s $4+ for a can, BUT IT’S BEER.
2. Airport In The Sky was a GREAT picturesque, beautiful stop for us. Our food was fantastic, the beers were good, and we sat there playing Magic: The Gathering for a few hours (to the amusement of bus tourists). Meanwhile we were in stitches over the tourists’ argument about whether they should feed the skinny foxes because they were “so malnourished” despite the numerous “DO NOT FEED THE FOXES” signs. (um hello – they are so thin because they’ve learned to be dependent on you for their food. Stop feeding them and they’ll figure it out!)
3. Avalon has dozens of restaurants, but the BEST was The Lobster Trap. SO GOOD.
I mailed myself a box with sandals and a clean outfit for each of us to Avalon via general delivery. I can’t believe I’ve never done this before – it was soooooo good to put on truly CLEAN clothes after taking a shower.
lookin’ GOOD and feelin’ CLEAN! Plus: jewelry! Such a luxury when hiking!

Some other random things:

I realized during this hike that my pack wasn’t … quite RIGHT. Afterwards I had a professional pack fitting and discovered that my pack was TOO BIG for my body, so I doubled-down and bought the Osprey Ariel. We had such a good time on this trip and we’re so motivated to do another one, so the hefty price tag should be worth it.

turns out that pack is too long for my torso - despite being tall, I should buy a pack size small — turns out that pack is too long for my torso – despite being tall, I should buy a pack size small

I convinced Justin to tack on three extra days in LA (one day prior to the hike and two days post-TCT) because I had never been. LA is weird! I LOVED Venice Beach. Such EXCELLENT people watching!

fearless skaters. This kid was probably 14.

If you go, you MUST eat at Poke-Poke. I shouldn’t even say “eat at” because it’s not a restaurant – it’s like a pick-up window. This was the BEST meal of the trip, and one of the cheapest to boot.

I've had dreams about this meal — I’ve had dreams about this meal

Another lesson learned: LA and Catalina are EXPENSIVE. We cut costs by only taking public transportation or bike-renting, staying in a hostel, and oh yeah CAMPING for four days but we still went 30% over our planned budget.

Venice's bike share program is slicker than ours back in Minneapolis — Venice’s bike share program is slicker than ours back in Minneapolis

I don’t think we ordered a beer in a restaurant cheaper than $9, which I hadn’t anticipated. The Catalina restaurants and grocery stores can charge a bunch because where else are you gonna go on an island?! Our lunch at Airport in the Sky was about $70.

I’m someone that likes knowing ALL THE DETAILS, so I’ll just give you the numbers: our trip was about $2200 total for 8 days, 7 nights, one couple.

Airfare was free thanks to my credit card miles
Ferry rides were $150 total
Hotels were about $450 ($75 for San Pedro, we splurged on a $165 hotel in Avalon, and the hostel for two nights was $210. Yes, for a HOSTEL)
Camp fees and firewood was $220 (a little beef I have with the Catalina Conservancy – you pay per PERSON to camp, instead of paying a set fee for the whole site. It’s different in Minnesota)
$90 for the museum and aquarium
$30 TOTAL for transportation (buses, bikes)
All the rest was food and drink. We bought a six-pack at the Two Harbors general store (let’s be honest: we would have bought more but remember we had to CARRY IT 6 miles) that was $30 because we drink craft beer, not Miller Lite. (I acknowledge Lime-A-Ritas are not craft beer but they ARE like Gatorade because of their saltiness so that practically makes them a vitamin). That’s an average of $150/day!! But we ate WELL because we were on VACATION. I wouldn’t do it differently; I would just plan ahead better.

So what WOULD we do different? For the hike – I’d maybe pick a different campsite for the first two nights because it was really hard to get the campfire going in our wind-tunnel cove, but that’s about it. Otherwise it was PERFECT. For LA, I could’ve cut a day off and I’d skip the Museum of Natural History (it was conveniently right on our bus line) because it was really shabby and just made me feel … bad? I wish we had gone to the Museum of Jurassic Technology instead but it’s hours just weren’t compatible with our free time.