Tuffee & Me

This is me and my dog, Tuffee taking a break in our very slow, windy walk along the first 100 yards or so of the trail down from Sandia Crest.

California Newt Up Close

Cascade Creature, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

This little guy was basking in the sun next to a wonderful mossy waterfall in Las Trampas. Newts are so cool, and seeing them move about means that spring can't be far away...

Native Birds

I have been able to get some photos of the birds that come in to the water containers I keep for them. The first is a male redheaded house finch, then 3 photos of black capped chickadees, another male finch (the female looks like a sparrow, no red on her) and one of some black birds on the power line over our backyard.

Skiggy

This is Skiggy trying to be a scarey Halloween cat. Skiggy is 15 years old and my favorite cat. I raised him and his brothers on a bottle after their mom died when they were a week old. Skiggy is the last one.

The Power Nap..a cautionary tale

A couple of years ago in early winter we walked into a local peak, climbed it and walked back out. With the nap I took walking out Iwas just over 24 hrs c2c. My partner a few hrs less.







Nothing exceptional for time. A bit of the climbing was spectacular. The walk? It was long enough. Longer than I wanted it to be. Shorter than it can be.



But this story has nothing to do with climbing or walks. It is all about the Power Nap.



I love a good nap when I amtired or better yet when I am tired and warm. Preferably with the sun shining on me in a protected, comfortable and safe place.



The power nap I spoke about above has a few of the elements. I was tired. Protected? Not so much I just laid down on my pack off to the side of the trail and let the cold wake me up.



Here is the rest of that story and the end result.



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//11/immersion-foot.html



Seems reasonable. Wet and cold feet pounded in a few hrs of hard walking in, on and out.



So then I decided to take another power nap. This time at 12K feet in the sun and it was AWESOME! It felt amazingly great. I was warm and cozy and comfortable out of the wind and soaking in the last bit of sunshine I knew would be the last I would see for awhile. My feet weren't wet or cold this time. Dry and warm as matter of fact. The one thing that both naps did have in common was tightly laced single boots that I couldn't be bothered to unlace for a nap. Dumb! Really dumb in retrospect.







A great place for a power nap!





So?? The result of my second power nap? Pretty much the same result as from my 1st power nap with wet and cold feet a couple of years previous...fooked up feet.









After both of these "power naps" I ended up walking for another hr or so each time after I woke up. My feet felt a little weird but never thought they had been damaged. More like they had fallen asleep a bit, not fully numb,but woke up with the additional milage. Both times the resulting nerve damage came as a surprise a few days later.



Now before you pass me off as a nut case...,OK, may be that already has happened. But in my defense I have spent a few nights out up high in the middleof the Canadian/Cascade winter and early spring in Alaska at much colder tempswith little or no gear and not fooked up my feet. The difference you ask? Well I generally spent the majority of time on those trips bouncing around trying to keep warm. I didn't lay down and take a power nap. I was more worried about getting back to some place warm enough so I could take good nap and be sure to wake up again.



The lesson? It might be obvious by nowfor any rational person ;-). If you are prone to taking power naps, mid trip, take the time to unlace your boots early on. You'll likely be happy you did.

Picacho Peak State Park

Located forty miles north of Tucson, just off of Interstate 10, Picacho Peak State Park is where I spent the night after my brief visit to Saguaro National Park. It is a lovely place but I was most delighted to find that it had showers! With hot water! Heavenly.

The peak for which the park is named, Picacho. The description of the trail to the top was listed as strenuous. Having driven most of the day and arriving just an hour before sunset, I didn't quite feel up to a strenuous hike. I did take a little walk around the campground though.


Photographs taken on March 15, ...

Callistemon

The flower of Callistemon somewhat resembles a fiber optic lamp.

Jemez Mountains

Another photo from our day in the Jemez Mountains in the Ponderosa area.

Trail Running Challenges

On the way to the trailhead... Ehhhh

On the way home... Ahhhhh

Recently running has felt different. It seems summer has finally hit the Laurel Highlands. It's been really warm and humid, with storms plentiful especially this past week. I managed to get rained or stormed on several times. The weather was in the lower 90's with the humidity similar or higher. My body has been holding up well to the quick increase of mileage. I've been pushing a little harder, but trying not to overdo things. Being able to run again feels so good and I don't want ruin it. I've been rebuilding my ski injured body with the dreams of pulling off a LHHT double as early as fall (or spring '14). During this rehab and training I've been reading more on Challenges and FKT's (fastest known time's). I'll try to explain the way I understand them. Competing for aFKT's is simply trying to achieve the fastest time over a predetermined course/trail, alone or in a group, but not an organized race on a designated day. They can be short 5K runs or long trails like the Appalachian or Continental Divide. They can be completed any time you choose. No set date, even worse yet, weekend. Only success or failure awaits with only one person holding the FKT. The honor system applies, although for major or serious FKT records tracking devices are utilized for proof. Challenges are different because they're a personal goal to complete, not a race. Did you accomplish the course set out and if you have already, could you do it quicker? Challenges are more about personal accomplishment, although most have a FKT as well.



While browsing around, I stumbled upon this challenge here in my back yard. Its called theOhiopyle 50K (Gate-to-8 X 2) posted on the North East Ohio Trail Club (NEO Trail Club) website. I'm not a member of the club, but found the posted challenge. Whether you have to be a club member to be listed after completion I don't know. Either way, it gives me a goal to accomplish that I haven't done. I know I'm not in super woodz ninja shape right now, so I figured it was time to incorporate the Gate to 8 section of the Laurel Highlands Hiking trail into my week of running as well as some other quicker tempo runs.



Recent runs

The Barn at Bear Run Nature Reserve

Tuesday 7/2 Laura's Tiny Tulip Traverse, 5 miles - This is a run that Laura put together after my Bear Run Trail Run challenge. What a great 5 mile (apprx.) loop in Bear Run Nature Reserve. It follows Tree, Rhododendron, Tulip Tree, Snowbunny, Rhododendron and Tree Trails in a counter clockwise lollipop. The route climbs 718' and is on some pretty amazing trails (especially Tulip Tree) It was my first time running this route and I wanted to apply a reasonable effort. I ran the wonderful course enjoying the steepening climb from the car up to Tulip Tree... Tulip Tree is freakin' fun. What else can I say. This is the best .8 mile trail I've ever run. It is so fast and dabalicious. Quick footwork on slightly downhill single track, runners high for sure! It had to be built by runners. I wish it was way longer. Snowbunny leads back across the hill and down to the early trails you started on, then finishes at the sign-in. Warm and humid as described above. Ran the course in 45:41, with one routing mishap.



Wednesday 7/3 LHHT Gate to 8, 15.75 miles - I was planning on running to MP 10 and back for 20 miles, but... Everything was going well. I ran an "easy" pace NOBO, hiking most of the hills. I was hearing some distant thunder while climbing up "heart attack hill" towards MP7. By the time I had MP 8 in sight, the sky was quite black and the thunder was persistent. Retreat was my thought. I barely took 20 strides SOBO and the skies opened up and the rains came... and came... and came. I bombed heart attack hill in a muddy running creek with extremely limited visibility. My visor helped, but I found its limitations. It was similar to winter white-outs I've experienced. My nonchalant pace quickened on the return trip with rains stopping and skies clearing briefly for about a mile. Despite the heat, slippery trail and slug like pace I managed a 3:23:44 overall. X2 laps would put me under 7hrs for the 50K Challenge. Seems like a good start. Elevation +4081, -4064.



Thursday 7/4 Bear Rocks Loop, 4 miles - It was the Fourth of July. I squeezed in a short, slow, road run in the sun. Ran the loop in 29:03. Elevation +416, -406. Not much to say.



Thursday 7/5 Yough River Trail, 2 miles - Ran with Laura and her sore knee. Rest day, spent most of it lounging by the river at the Oasis...AHHHHH! Then went running. 22:08.

River art = Rart at "The Oasis"

Friday 7/3 LHHT Gate to 8, 15.75 miles- It was 91° which seemed perfect for another training lap of Gate to 8 ;) I figured that If I practice in conditions like that, surely a more comfortable day will feel slightly easier? The cooler months have been when other (wiser) people have done it. I'll try in August and then hopefully improve on that later in the year under favorable conditions. I went out intentionally slow trying to adjust to the heat. Humidity was really high and in no time I was sweating buckets. The overall trip was very hot with a flash storm popping up and tagging along with me for about 45 min. Compared to the dumping on Wednesday this was nothing. I did pass another trail runner around mile 4. We were both moving quickly and gave a wave without stopping. I ran out of water coming up the last hill before MP 3. I should've stopped at the stream to at least fill a handheld. Finished the run in 3:31:03, incredibly hot and thirsty.
Weekly rundown5 runs8hrs31min.42 milesElevation +9,405', -9,306'

Banana Background

An Abyssinian banana (Ensete ventricosum) leaf.

Quiet Contemplation

The other night while my friend Roger was visiting we headed down to the Spirit Tree to enjoy the quiet evening and the incredible view of the star-filled sky. It was in this location where roughly a year ago I asked Jessica to be my bride, so it was nice to visit the spot again and think about the memories from a year ago, as well as the memories made since then. The beauty of the night was perfect: not a cloud in the sky, barely a whisper of a wind and the temperature was ideal. We sat down at the tree for a couple of hours and gazed at the sky. Every now and then a Perseid meteor would streak through the sky, remnants from a meteor shower that peaked a few days before. I was setting my camera up for a long star-trail exposure when Jessica climbed up and sat down on this rock for a better view of the tree. It just so happened that where she sat was a great spot for a shot of her gazing up at the tree. I asked her to hold still for 30 seconds while I recorded this exposure. It is my favorite shot of the night, even better than the 45 minute star-trail exposure that I made (which also turned out quite nice, but not as nice as this!).

Mtn Hardware Minus One Glove

This is a retread from last month that got buried so Ithoughtit worth an update after I got more climbing use out of the glove.









I like a couple of glove manufacturers products. But I have to say I have been really impressed with the most recent OutDry products from Mtn Hardware. (and now the same technology is in the Scarpa boots) The newest glove I have been using is the Minus One..which is a thin, technical glove intended for leashless climbing and dry tooling in moderate temps.



It is a perfect fit for those uses.



It is not climbing but the temps dropped here to -10C over night and I had a bunch of outdoor household chores to take care of as we got several inches at snow and the temps continued to drop. This glove was good enough to use hand tools with and get everything done outside before our pipes could freeze up.



Last weekend I used the same glove on water ice with a good bit of free running water. I intentionally stuck my hands in the fire hydrant size spout of ice water on one climb to see just how water proof the OutDry system was. ( I had dry gloves in my pack and it was an easy day out) These guysreally are water proof. Although depending on the glove it may take some time to actually dry the leather out on the exposed side of the glove. I have since water proofed the leather as well on my Minus Ones. You'll still stay warm and dry either way. But no question the wet leather would freeze if it was cold enough.



Newest ones don't have a palm reinforcement that is pictures in the stock photo below but the thinner palm is awesome on a tight Nomic or Ergohandle. I wouldn't want to do a lot of rappelling in them though as it would get expensive quickly I suspect.



I've since used the Minus one in -20C temps on dry ice and a couple of rappels over a weekend and been satisfied. Then out with them again as my only glove (forgot my spares and approach gloves)in temps from 0C to -15C with everything from running water to a full onwet snow storm while wallowing in crotch deep trail breaking. The kind of day every thing gets wet.



Ten full days of climbing, rapping and belaying on these. I am impressed so far.

Best to save these guys for climbing. Knee deep wallowing will get anything wet, the Minus One being no exception.They will handle your sweaty hands and generally stay dry inside but they can be easily over loaded if you allow snow in from the outside. But they did dry over night internally. Theleather palm soaks up water pretty quickly even after being treated but itgenerally dried fully over night. I have 10 days of climbing on this pare and am happy they are holding up much better than expected so far. They have kept my hands warm even on the chilly days -10C.Much warmer that expected for their weight.



Down side besides price? The rubber strap and velcro closure at the wrist. I find it annoying as it could have been done in nylon just as easy and get in the way less. But minor flaw and I suspect Mtn H was trying to give some added wrist support by using the rubber strap.



Buy them on sale for around $80 is the best I have seen or retail at $100. Great glove for the intended use. I am impressed as a light weight, highly technical, cold weather leashless glove and it is a lot warmer than expected.

Big Bend :: Cerro Castellan

After four nights at Rio Grande Village, I drove to the Castolon area and the Cottonwood Campground, at the south end of Big Bend National Park, on March 1st.

It is a very scenic drive of about 60 miles from Rio Grande Village to Castolon. You nearly circle the Chisos Mountains coming up from the east, passing by on the north, then following them along their western side. To say that the Chisos Mountains dominate the central landscape of the park would be an understatement.

The Chisos Mountains. From the northeast side, 15 miles or so from Rio Grande Village.

The high peak on the left is the South rim. This was taken at on overlook a few miles south of Castolon, using the 7x magnification of the zoom lens. The informational sign at the overlook stated that the South Rim was 16 miles away!

However, Cerro Castellan (also called Castolon Peak) is “the landmark” of the Castolon area, which was a small community whose name is believed to be a corruption of the spelling of Castellan.

The view from about seven miles south of Castolon. The Chisos mountains in the background, Cerro Castellan on the right, and the Rio Grande winding its way through the area.

Cerro Castellan, highlighted by the last rays of the sun at the end of another beautiful day. I stood out in the chilly wind for over an hour waiting and hoping for this moment! It was magnificent and lasted only a few seconds. It was also well worth the time and the cold hands!

Photographs taken on March 1, ...

Unhappy Cat

I was trying to take some photos of the cats and dogs with a Christmas hat on so I could add to Christmas cards this year. Murphy did not like the idea and kept insisting he was a Halloween Cat rather than a Christmas cat.

Mt Rainier Storm & Flood Damage Photos - Carbon/Ipsut

The NW corner of the park usually has its own share of flood related damage each year. And though it's not unusual for there to be Carbon River inspired washouts, this rainstorm brought substantially more destruction to the area. For example, here is the idyllic Ipsut Creek Cabin. It suffered heavily during the flood. Is it me, or does this place remind you of Yoda's house on Dagoba?

This creek diversion gives literal meaning to the name, Ipsut Creek Cabin. If Yoda did live here, he'd have to use quite a bit of "the force" to fix things.

As for the Carbon River Road, more than two miles of it washed away in at least four separate spots. In some places, the river flowed down the middle of the road (like here). For climbers, this could spell delay in early season attempts of Liberty Ridge.

AND another washout closer to Ipsut Creek Campground.

As for the Wonderland and other park trails, here's a brief run down on the storm damage. Keep in mind, the full extent may not be known till next spring, as these assessments were made from the air. For now, backpackers should probably expect things (bridges) to open up later than normal next summer. There are at least 10 bridges out around the Wonderland Trail. New trail needs to constructed in four other places. That includes a half mile reroute between Lake James and Cataract Creek and another 750 foot section in Stevens Canyon. NPS Photos