Hi. My name is Wagner. I'm a Waste Alleviation and Gelling bag. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this, I was created along with thousands of others to keep some highly trafficked national forest lands clean by requiring backpackers to carry out all of their waste... and I do mean all of it. Anyhow, this is my story. Like my fellow wag bag brothers and sisters, I came off of an assembly line. We all then get shipped out to various locales. I must've done something pretty good in my previous life because I ended up at Mount Whitney [View Full Entry]

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After almost 2 years since I first started lindy hop, I have finally gone to an exchange. For those who don't know what I'm talking about... cities with swing dance scenes will hold lindy hop exchanges where dancers from around the country will attend and dance over 15 hours in a single weekend. Anyhow, I went this year with a similar crew as last year's backpacking trip to Sykes. I arrived on Friday to meet Hugo, Steve, and Preeti who were already eating in Seattle. After filling up, we headed to the night's dance where I got my first tatoo ever(fake [View Full Entry]

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This was a much needed trip to the woods for me - a chance to take my mind away from daily life, commune with nature, and even be pensive about my life's direction ... awww who am I kidding... I heard a bunch of chicks were going to some hot springs, so I thought I'd go see if I could get some recruits for my harem. Just to make a long story short, the harem part didn't quite work out. It seems the fact that I can barely support myself financially coupled with a lack of plush harem pillows might have [View Full Entry]

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The trip back to Cusco was pretty uneventful - just some tired bodies that were too tired to take any more pictures. The ride back was really bumpy and dusty, and I even thought I might lose it, but I held on for everyone's sakes. The only thing to note was after these 2 weeks, for some reason we decided to have dinner at a chinese restaurant. Big mistake for me. Well, not that big. My food just wasn't any good - that's all. So, the next day, I got up early (5AM) to catch a taxi to the airport and [View Full Entry]

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So today, we got up early for our first foray into the jungle. The morning began with a huge rain storm that we waited out before going. After the rain lightened up a bit, we climbed up and up to this small peak where there is an observation tower. I was a little hesitant to climb up this metal death trap while it was raining for fear of a lightning strike, but there seemed to be a lot of concrete between the metal stairs and the earth. Anyhow, once we got to the top of this 150 foot behemoth, we were [View Full Entry]

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What a wonderful way to wake-up - to the sound of a roaring river surrounded with natural light. There are probably on 2 better ways to wake up, but that's a different kind of blog. (Angelina Jolie, if you're reading this, call me!) Breakfast was simple, yet elegant and delicious, consisting of granola, an egg omelet and bread. Ok, my definition of elegant has really gone down hill on this trip. There was also cinnamon-laced hot chocolate that was awesome. Anyhow, with Stinky Buns not feeling too well, the guide, Silly Buns, and I took off on our morning walking tour [View Full Entry]

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Today, we set off to the Manu Biosphere in the Amazon rainforest. This sounds so exciting, but first we have to spend the entire day in an SUV to get there. The roads are poor in this country making the ride very bumpy and uncomfortable, but hey I can rough it! :) Anyhow the ride is mostly uneventful, but our guide, Ingrid, is very nice and points out a lot of flora/fauna along the way to keep us interested. Eventually, we make it into the preserve where we hop onto mountain bikes made in the late 80s and sold at Walmart. [View Full Entry]

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Not all days can be perfect. Your travel destination can't always shine. Sooner or later, the bad comes out with the good. But, you can't let it get you down. We started by having our B&B hire a driver for us to Pisac where they have a famed arts and crafts market on Sundays. Once we got there, the driver informed us that the fee only include a 1-hour wait even though we told the B&B that we wanted to stay until the late afternoon. Of course, if we paid more, then we could stay longer ... Anyhow, I guess the [View Full Entry]

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Oh how I love you, walking stick Whose loyalty shall never sway Together always through tink and thick Hail my feet savior, each day With three soles it began, Beautiful cover, colors galore Riding my pack out of hand Soon amigo, I'll need you ever more Your time came and without fail Selfless, restless, guardian angel Pounding, jarring, each step on the trail Stitches stretched, worries quelled Broken, duty done faithfully Return my friend, reincaranate My gift, cosmetic surgery Forever my finger puppet ************************** So obviously, I had too much free t [View Full Entry]

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Well, the early morning wake-up to beat the rush was well worth it. We hiked in the dark for about an hour to reach the Sun Gate where we had our bird's eye view onto fog. I don't think I've ever woken up this early before to see fog, but yes fog exists at 6AM. Sarcasm aside, it really was worth it because as the sun rose, the fog dissipated and this stone fortress appeared out of nowhere. That's a great way to see Machu Picchu for the first time. It's the reason to do the 4 day trek and not [View Full Entry]

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