Graham Hill, Passionately Curious

Colorado

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:13:00 +0000

I'm living in Denver, CO now. I attend the University of Denver, am the Tennis Director at Lakeshore Athletic Club, and am an Energy Analyst intern at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO

Milford Track

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 06:39:00 +0000

Well I just recently finished hiking the famous Milford Track. It takes 4 days, and you cover between 54 and 60 kilometers, depending on how many side trips you decide to take. It is quite volatile up in the Fiords at any time of the year. The weather forecast said it would be nice for our trip, but that changed for day 3. Day 3 is where you have to go up and over Mackinnon pass, which is an 1100 meter climb. Our ranger the night before told us to expect heavy rains, strong winds, and some hail. He was right! I bought a poncho from an outdoor shop and the guy said it was very durable, that the army used it, and that it would cover my pack. So, i decided to just leave my waterproof cover for of my marmot jacket in the car and use the poncho to cover my fleece on the track it I needed. When I pulled it out on day 3 to get ready for the day's hike, the piece of shit ripped. Not only that, but there was no way it would come close to covering my pack. I duct taped it up and that only lasted halfway up the past. I got to the top in full exposure of ice chunks blowing at up to 50 mph, and it ripped open. I made it to the hut on the pass, thankfully, and used that time to put on the few remaining items i had that were still dry. The hike down was just as bad, fording waterfalls up close to my waist, getting drenched with no waterproof gear, and by that night I'd developed two huge blisters. All in all though, upon finishing the hike, it was a lot of fun. It was really enjoyable battling the elements a little bit, knowing that you are up against antarctic winds and rain. The coolest thing about Milford is that every stream, lake and waterfall is drinkable. It is one of the few places in the world where you can just put your waterbottle under a fall and drink the water. Breathing that air for 4 days was incredible. I already want to hike it again. I also saw Kea (large alpine parrots), owls, and wea (large turkey looking things) along the way, plus glowworms and hundreds of prehistoric plants. The people in my group of 40 were good. Some weren't. There was a group of 12 aussie friends who were a bit annoying, they all snored in the bunkhouses. But, I met an Israeli guy that I hiked the majority of the trip with. He has done many tramps, inluding 2 10+ day hikes in Nepal (one of which was over 200 kilometers). He also used to be in the army and had to train by tramping along some 20 kilometers a day for weeks at a time, all while carrying his bedding, weapon, etc. Also played cards with some other Aussies I met, and had a good chat with some Irish folk who have been traveling the world for the last 6 months. (They started in India, then Tibet, China, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, then they are going to States, Mexico, Central America, and home.) Great experience, loads of fun, but going to need a few days to rest this one off. Enjoy the pictures

baby seals

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:45:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:30:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:15:00 +0000

so here are some more picture for you guys..I've got a couple more from my abel tasman walk, and then I have the impressive Aoraki backdrop, which includes 6,000 feet of these glacier/steppes of snow and ice. While I was there actually, a big chunk of the face you're looking at came crashing down. It made what sounded like a dynamite blast echo down the valley. It reminds me alot of Lord Of The Rings around here, and sure enough, they filmed most of the natural scenery down in this region, and a little bit further to the south in Otago. I think the major battles, like Isengaard, were mostly filmed where I am, around Twizel, where it is rolling plains and big mountains in the background. I've got one more of a River Eel which I encountered while hiking around. I guess there are a lot of these guys living around the streams in New Zealand. This particular one was close to 3 feet, but very thick. (insert absurd joke here). Oh yeah, and don't forget about me looking cool as usual in my tramping hat...I've fallen in love with this hat and I'm sure I won't lay it to rest until it is a light turquoise color and has rips and tears all over it.....ok enjoy!

beatnick

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 11:45:00 +0000

Im out here in New Zealand....somewhere....I've been up around the tasman N.P. on a two day hike, Arthur's Pass N.P. on a summit of an 8,000 foot mountain, but the start was at sea level so it was a pretty grueling hike. Most of it required climbing with hands and feet and negotiating some sketchy scree, or loose rock avalanche areas. I was also up at Mt. Cook. N.P. (pictured) on a some hikes....I was able to get to within like 3 feet of these seals at a small seal colony (pictured is a barking baby who kept following me around) on my hike along the tasman coast. other than that, biked once so far, doin a 26 km loop tomorrow. Pretty much been living out of a tent for the last 10 days or so, with an occasional pitstop at a bunk house or cabin. The country only gets prettier the further south you go (well, only cuz i've been living by the beach so long that the mountains are what is truly grabbing me now). enjoy the pictures, take care and leave a message!!!

Big Lick

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:24:00 +0000

So I recently got a little (big) package from back home in the form of Mr. Lick. he came out for a week and we went pretty hard. We did the city scene a couple of nights, and got out to the Coromandel Peninsula to hike around and hit up some beaches. Went to a couple really cool beaches. One beach you have to hike about 1 km. through a dead old forest to get to the beach. Its an impressive hike in. The other cool beach of note was Hot Water Beach, which I was at before with Jake. The thermal water flows down from these rocks and under the sand so if you go at low tide, you can dig out a little hot tub and camp out right on the beach in a personal jacuzzi. We went at high tide, however, and bodyboarded til Lick spotted a good sized stingray just camped out right off shore where we had been bodyboarding. It was good rediscovering the Coromandel, a place I had only been to once when it was a shitty day. While we were there it was about 80 and sunny everyday, and the water was perfect. I am currently in my last week of work until I take off to the South Island for about a month and a half. Pierce's brother just bought my car, so I have some good traveling money to use while down there. I plan to do a few long hikes and stay in Dept. of Conserv. bunkers for 6 dollars a night, plus some camping as well. I'm sure I'll be needing sleep and be in hostels quite a bit, so email me if you want to chat and I can call from a hostel. One more thing, Bears suck but will rock it next year, Bulls in the Finals, and Soriano takes the Cubbies to the Series....haha....enjoy guys...

pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:05:00 +0000

Here are some pictures for you guys....Bula!!!

Bula!

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 23:46:00 +0000

Merry Christmas and Happy New year. Well we just got back to Auckland from Fiji and Napier. We spent Christmas down in Napier, which is in Hawke's bay. The region is well renowned for its wine. It is also world renowned for Cape Kidnapper's, and absolutely ridiculous golf course barely clinging on to the cliffs above the pacific ocean. The drive into the course alone is an experience....You enter through a private secluded gate and drive 10 kilometers of winding dirt road until you get to the clubhouse. The fairways look like fingers reaching out to the ocean, with big drops on either side of them and the huge drop at the end of them. Fiji was amazing. we stayed 5 days in RakiRaki, which is the north tip of Viti Levu, a 3 hour drive from Nadi Int'l Airport. Driving was an adventure, especially in our diesel stickshift truck. The house was so secluded, we only saw a couple people in our area the whole 5 days, but it was situated around the corner from a nice resort whose facilities we were allowed to use. We celebrated New Years there. I was busy drinking kava, or basically dirt water that numbs your mouth, but it is the national drink, and playing in the band with the natives. It was a good time, but i was strugglin to keep up. We got pretty loaded and did Fijian dances til 3 in the morning or so. I also got a chance to go out to one of the outer islands, which were visible from our pool at our house. They were only a 10 minute boat ride, and the snorkeling was great. Lots of needlefish, blowfish, zebra fish, and about 20 other species I couldn't tell you what they were. The coral was so clean too. The market in town was an adventure. You walk through and get an incredible 3rd world feeling. Natives selling all their own yields on little blankets. It was fun comparing prices and talking. The Indians and the Native Fijians don't get along so well, at least from our perspective. katherine started an argument between two ladies, each of different nationality over some potatoes. The Indians were definetely more of the swindlers and businessment, while the Natives were always just chillin! The problem with them, apparently, is that they own 90% if the Fijian land, so they don't have to do much. They band one night just didn't show up and getting roads or anything else modern put in takes forever. The Indians, as a result, get shafted in Government because they are 35% of the Population while natives are about 60%. Anyway, a beautiful place and an amazing experience...Enjoy the pictures and happy holidays

settled

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 09:48:00 +0000

so whats up guys...know its been a little while, but been settled into a nice regular schedule now...Workouts and errands in the morning, work in the afternoon followed by a good dinner with some drinks and the occasional hookah or tobacco pipe on the balcony (that is about to stop though)....I've played two matches so far, and I'm 1-1, but only one match on the pro team. I play again, however, this saturday on the 1st grade team, which is one level down, but just as competitive...Some teams rotate players between the teams. We had Guy Fawkes day on November 4th. Apparently he tried to blow up parliament in England so we celebrate it with fireworks to commemorate his near success. We bought a big box and lit them off, in very sketchy fashion, from our balcony one drunk evening. My 43 year old boss came over after a match and threw down with us until 3 in the morning. He is such a great guy...a true kiwi. Our next door neighbors were over one night as well. One of them is in the circus. He is a professional juggler who moved into our apartments for the high ceilings....he can do 6 objects, or 5 objects on fire at a time. They practice down below in the park on Tuesday nights, so we watched...its great. I am now in charge of putting together a DVD for our club/tennis program. Troy (boss) has given me full priveleges of putting it together, as well as full compensation. I did some preliminary filming today, but its hard. The 10 year old kids wouldnt stop yelling "vagina" or "tits and cock"....They are far different over here, but you can't help amidst your anger to crack a smile and sometimes lose it all together. I will try to post links of some of the kids on the blog..For now, here are some drunken pics, as well as a couple from playing...later guys

Labour Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:43:00 +0000

So we had our NZ labour weekend this past weekend. Checked the map for warm weather, but it said cold and rainy on both islands everywhere except for Gisborne. It was a 6 hour drive from Auckland. When we got there on saturday about 6 pm, it was 75 degrees, sunny, and the beaches looked incredible. I was very excited to spend the whole next day learning how to surf and snorkeling in pristine waters. We camped out and a gail came over the mountains in the middle of the night, keeping us up with like 50 mph winds hitting our tent. We woke up to a gray, cool, dreary day. we snorkeled anyway though, and actuallly snorkeled with a decent sized stingray. We were just about to get out, our intentions being to see if we could fiund crabs, lobsters, and possibly some good sized fish. Standing on the shores, we noticed this guy, bout 3 foot in diameter, cruise right around us a couple of times, within 3 feet. It was pretty cool, definitely the first wildlife we have seen. There are also some cool waterfalls and a huge 60 meter rockslide we were hoping to hit up, but the weather stunk. Anyways, here is a picture from Gisborne, and one from our apartment, and maybe some other shit...okay take care
G

(gulp, gasp, choke, scream) bears win

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 10:38:00 +0000

WOWOW...I'm beginning to think that I'm being punished for leaving...Thats just not fair. I want to party after a win like that. I don't remember the Bears ever doing anything like that on Monday night, or being 6-0, or having a football player play like michael jordan (urlacher), or having a quarterback, or having a great punt returner....AH! Well, anyway, this is beginning to turn into the Bears blog, cuz i still cant get pictures on yet as using internet in Auckland is still such a bitch. This computers at the local cafe (Asian Tobacco shop) are all in chinese, I can't breathe, and I just randomly press buttons and hope that stuff gets sent...Plus I have the background noises of what sounds like Anime porn, and the occasional argument, in japanese, over some weird online game that people play ALL DAY here...Anyways, bought a real nice bike for riding, i am biking to work now at the racket club, but its still fridgid. Alright guys take care and if anyone has a penny to spend, give me a call...I'd love it. I don't know the country code, but its (09) 377-6766...k bye

DA BEARS

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 23:59:00 +0000

WOW!!! 40-7 is laughable. Can't wait for the playoffs so I can actually watch these games. Anyways, I'm still in Auckland, and its goin pretty well. My apartment is nice, with a view of the Sky Tower. We can watch people jump off the top of it from our balcony. We are in a little neighborhood with some nice asian food right around the corner, a couple cool little bars, as well as a post office, bike shop.....it works out real well. Also, Mt. Eden is right behind us. Its this old volcano that you can walk to the top of and see both coasts and all the bays, as well as a great view of the city. You can't tell from the bottom, but when you get up there, there is a huge crater in the middle of it left behind from the volcano. I ran up to the top of it the other day (nearly killing myself). I have a job interview with the head pro at Remuera Racket Club. It has the largest junior program in Auckland, and it is within biking distance, or a short bus ride from my apartment. The Club is huge, with grass and hard courts outdoors. They also have a very competitive men's team that competes against all the other tennis clubs in the Auckland area. After I get the job, I think I'm going to buy some body boards and a bike, because the warm weather is coming. Alright guys, take care, and Go Bears!!! Leave your comments, and I'm working on pictures still, so i'm sorry for all the descriptions of everything.

some pics.

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 09:22:00 +0000

Heres a couple pictures I've taken recently. There are a couple on here from that private secluded beach, then some from yesterday. The beach we hit yesterday is only half hour from us, and there are mammoth waves there. Piha is also half an hour, and they hold international surf competitions there because of the size of the waves. Getting warmer, but still only in the 60s...

Back in Auckland

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 22:09:00 +0000

Well, we are back in Auckland. We had a beautiful house lined up in Wellington. It had 180 degree view of the entire town and valley, as well as the bay. It was fully furnished at awesome, but he wouldnt do a short term lease. There is really nothing else to rent there, so we headed back up here to let a place, as there are tons of places in Auckland. We did enjoy our stay in Wellington, although everything got pretty expensive. $4 an hour for internet got ridiculous, parking was also $4 an hour in town, and its not even a major city. Food, beer, everything got pricey. Auckland, although it is like 3 times larger, is a lot cheaper. Its all about shipping over here. Since most stuff comes in through Auckland, most of that stuff is cheaper. Plus, the competition is greater, so that drives the rent down. However, Auckland is not nearly as visually stunning. It is much more similar to like Toronto, whereas Wellington was a lot like San Francisco or Vancouver. Toronto is pretty, but its no Vancouver. Anyway, I also had a couple job prospects that I was forced to leave behind in Wellington, one at the Wellington academy for tennis, and another at the Renouf tennis centre, which is where the women's ITF chamionships are played. This is a large int'l tournament. We did a drive the other day before we left, out of Wellington. We headed up to Featherston, then headed east to Martinborough. We were about 35 km away from the coast still when the road turned into a dirt rally course. The drive was amazing, dotted with sheep and cows around every turn. The mountains were awesome. It just suddenly opened up to this. The river flowing in the valley met the ocean, and we were treated to a completely untouched stretch of beach. The weather was pretty cool, but the views were the best we've seen yet. Alright guys, lets get those Seahawks this weekend. I hope I get to watch some of it. It will be on monday morning at like 9 or something, so I could possibly get to watch it, and that excites me. Alright, hit me up! And check out my link, I got a video clip with more to come. later.....ARGH, it takes SO long to upload pictures. I'll put some on later, goin to the beach, later

More Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 06:20:00 +0000

Here are 2 pictures of the beaches at Whangerei...We were so amazed when we walked out because the drive in is all on the bay side. You literally take a turn and there is the open ocean. This is located about 2.5 hours to the north of Auckland, one of our first stops....The next 2 pictures are from Mountain Biking in Rotorua. We had to climb to the top of this hill and bike down. It was a gravel road and we had to carry our bikes...We later learned there were shuttles to the top, but we are dumb. More coming from wellington....GO BEARS

Wellington!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 06:14:00 +0000

Ok, so this place is sick...After driving through snow covered mountains, then through cow and sheep covered rolling pastures, you come to the abel tasman sea on your right, then you dive through a valley and you are here. The roads are crazy, all single lane and fast. I am at the X backpackers. we have a four bedroom dorm we are sharing with one other tonight, haven't met him yet. we are going out for happy hour. A good night to get drunk. Tornados in Illinois? cheers.

Bummer

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 09:11:00 +0000

So we are in Rotorua...This place is pretty sick. There is a huge lake with a little island in the middle, basically an old caldera. The surrounding terrain is dominated by little geysers and thermal areas. Every lodge and hostel in town boasts about mineral pools and springs...Its a lot like Yellowstone. There is also a Redwood forest just to the east of town. There are 70 km of single track biking trails, which are sick!! (i will get pics on here). Jake and I rode a trail called "Hot Cross Buns". It required about a 4 km walk straight up this mountain side, with our bikes...We were ready to ditch out when the rains hit, but we figured fuck it, we'd come this far, lets see this damn thing. The trail starts at the very top of this plateau with a view to both sides. Its the hardest trail I've ever ridden. I was getting like 4-6 feet of air on jumps, there were burms that dropped off 3 feet, extremely technical sections where you were winding at like 90 degrees, through trees! I almost took a nasty fall, but all in all just came out sore, thirsty, hungry, and extreeeeeemly pissed...why you ask? Well, at the trail's bottom, a New Zealand fellow was asking people if "anyone was with an american lad, shes hysterical at the bottom of the hill over a theft". I asked what the hell had happened and he said "basically, everythings been stolen". This meant 80% of my clothes, some toiletries, a Mountain Hardwear winter jacket, books, dvds...Awesome. I am drinking wine right now to drown my sorrows, but it stings...The car window is fixed and still runs fine, but I want to strangle a Maori. The cop said that they had it narrowed down to about 100-200 possible people in town, so there is a chance that the clothes could turn up. I guess the locals always do this in Rotorua, cruising tourist hot spots, looking for valuables and making quick heists. Anyway, we push on to Taupo tomorrow, and leave behind the number one crime center in New Zealand...Later guys

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:32:00 +0000

hey again, im trying to get pictures on here but this blog site is a real jerk....anyone can leave comments now though...ciao

First Day in New Zealand

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 11:12:00 +0000

Hey guys. We are safely in Auckland. Today, we bought a car. Its a 1996 Subaru Legacy, a pretty nice car. It went of about 4,000 NZD, or 2600? Its perfect for what we need, 4wd, lots of space. As soon as we bought it, we drove up to Whangerei, a 2 hour drive from Auckland. The entire drive was amazing. The tree combinations are incredible. It looks like a mix between the rainforest in South America, the Serengeti in Africa, and the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. When we got to the ocean, this was what we saw. A completely pristine beach, nobody around. The weather is still a little chilly, so swimming was not an option, but hiking around and drinking some wine was good enough. Well thats it for today, we just got back and need some sleep, because tomorrow we are heading to Rotorua, the Volcanic Area, which is 2 or 3 hours to the south east. After that, we are going to hopefully push on all the way down to the South Island and possibly Snowboard before the season is over.

Travels in Brazil

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hill) — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 21:53:00 +0000

One of the best trips I have taken outside of the U.S. was my spring break the last year I was in college. My friend Shea was teaching some english down in Brazil, and had invited me down there just before he left. I spent a little more than a week visiting him down there, starting in Rio. We did the city, saw the famous beaches and landscapes, but the trip really took off when we got to Sana. A small town in the middle of no where, we had to navigate 20 miles of almost undrivable roads to get to this hidden jewel. Lush green, waterfalls, and light rain several times a day put us in a trance as we relaxed for a couple days in the mountainous jungle. We got to stay in these little huts, which backed up to the river flowing down from one of the mountain sides. For about 10 bucks a night in American Dollars, we situated ourselves right in the little downtown.
We were the only tourists there, and finding a phone to use was almost impossible. We ate dinner one night at a little restaurant. Surprisingly, they had a lasagna dish, so I ordered it up. I was in need of a hearty meal. However, in Brazil. there is no real marinara. The sauce they use is much more thin, much more like ketchup. I hadn't enjoyed it yet, but the lasagna was actually quite good.