Butt Kickers Articles

Building Bridges

I collapsed into the camp chair, every inch of my body caked in salty sweat. Sweating was almost useless in the humidity.  I had drunk at least three liters of water that day, but my mouth was still parched, unlike my clothes, hair, hat.  Clay’s hand were on his hips...

Les, In Remembrance

The Olympics always make me think of Les. I wrote this a few years ago and wanted to share it on the Life Bus. The fascinating--and frustrating--aspect of inspiration is that you never know when to expect it. Sometimes, when you most need it, when you're digging the...

Rock Climbing Italian Style

The biggest challenge with the whole language barrier is, when someone says something that doesn't entirely make sense, deciding if one should laugh, ask for clarification, or offer up a withering glare. For example, when I asked the bus driver which stop was for my...

The Marabana

Somehow, I never really connected that Cuba is a third world country.  That changed before I ever left Miami. Which was about twelve hours late. I'm not sure what time we were supposed to leave originally--some say the flight was originally scheduled for 11am, which...
A Crusty Butt Weekend

A Crusty Butt Weekend

"Don't worry, I'll make solid steps." It wasn't exactly the solidity of the steps that worried me. It was the fact that the width of the snow onto which we were stepping was more narrow than my feet. The fact that I have pretty big feet didn't help my feelings. The...

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Zion Not Zion

Zion Not Zion

“I’m just here to see what it takes,” he says, the look of disbelief spilling into the tone of his voice. I’ve completed four one hundred mile races and I'm still not sure how to answer that statement.  What does it take? It takes friends. That I have learned.  I have...

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High Lonesome Trail, Day Four (Aug 8)

Wes and I scratched our heads in puzzlement.  Nothing made sense.  We had to call a mulligan on the GPS and get our exact point, but it still didn’t make the maps mesh with what we saw around us.  We pointed this way and that, wandered over one edge of the ridge and...

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Road Trippin’ Colorado a la France

One of my favorite aspects about living in Colorado is the ability to share it with others. Sometimes, the fun of the Life Bus is waiting at the stop for someone else. When I first moved to Colorado, my friends lovingly (I think) referred to trips here as "Lynda's...

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The Long Lonesome Trail – Day 2

It took us over a month to let the memory dull of the steep descent that would become our first ascent.  But a cool morning in June found us back on Highway 6 at the random trail sign that marked the end of Day One, heading back up.  As seems to be usual, the...

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