Sunday, June 29, 2008

"Strength in Unity"

Not exactly sure who this guy is.

His mates say his name is Jimmy. But there seemed to be someuncertainty.

They reckon he is about 20. Again, not sure.

They say he remembers to bring his guitar to the crag but forgets his harness and shoes. It all sounds pretty vague.

Style:Jimmyscreams socialistchic and solidarity inlast seasons "Enterprise Bargain Agreement" T-Shirt in black with yellow ".Your Pay - Your Call" print by the always hip Aussie label, Australian Workers Union.

Did you get a good look at me Jimmy? Spooky huh?



The movethat started it all.Nine routes fan out from thisbeginning.



Jimmy put down the guitar long enough to switch on and send Spoonman.



Then back to guitar for songs of workers struggles and sendage celebrations.





It never hurts to have a stab at something hard at the end of the day.











Thursday, June 26, 2008

Foxton - Gumley - Saddington - Laughton - Foxton



Led by me, with Barry and Gordon. Weather dry but grey - some mud underfoot. Views a bit hazy. 8.7 miles.



We parked at Foxton Locks long-stay car park, and began our walk by following the path to the Locks, this time visiting the inclined plane on the way down.




The grey shape is a heron making its getaway.




Info about the boat lift


"An effective means of transport from all centres to the sea" Richard Baldwin

Grid reference SP 896693

Height above sea-level 125m/410ft

Figures below place names indicate number of locks

on route and travelling time by boat.





The inclined plane






CAUTION - do not climb on this boat.





"I can remember the big wheels with wires around them, and the big chimney with smoke coming out of the top. I thought that when we went down the tank would tip and the water splash out. I think mother was afraid too, but we went gently down, the other tank passing us halfway; it took just over five minutes."




Mrs Daisy Dainty talking about when she went on the Inclined Plane Boat Lift in 1909.





From the bottom lock we crossed over Bridge 62, and walked along the tow-path as far as the footbridge. We turned east towards Gumley and followed the same route as here, all the way to Saddington.







There were wide, though hazy views today - hence no landscape photos. When we reached Saddington, we turned left along Main Street past the pub, and turned left into the Riding School, just before the church.



We joined a track/driveway and followed this as far as the Mowsley Road. We crossed and took the footpath opposite. The hedgerow was well-supplied with blackberries. Our path headed south and took us into the valley where we crossed Saddington Brook via a footbridge, and then walked with Mowsley Brook on our right.

A couple of hundred yards or so along, we took a clearly marked footpath uphill to our left, and used a redundant stile as a seat for our snack break, before walking the few extra yards to the Mowsley Road which goes along the top of the ridge. A right turn and a short distance took us to a bridleway on the left of the road.

The path turned almost due south and was clearly way-marked most of the way, though we strayed slightly joining a track which took us up hill to the village of Laughton (pronounced Lawton).




The view from the bench






Time to move, guys!

We continued a short distance along the road, and found the turning on the left. Our path veered off to the left from the track, through a stile in a hedge, and past a pond near the Mill Mound. We had no problem following the route as it took us to the highest point of the walk, at 168 m (562 ft) just by a T junction. We crossed the road and took a footpath which heads north east, quite steeply downhill before swinging a little more to the east andquite steeply downhill towards Gumley Lodge. Just past the house we turned right, hugging the hedgerow, then up gently to meet a small road towards Theddingworth. We turned left for a few yards, then took a footpath which cuts off the corner and took us to the Foxton Road. We turned right and followed this for another half mile or so back to the car park.






Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Good Morning



My morning glory flowers are now doing great. The tiny spots aren't camera problems but are pollen.


















Georgia On My Mind...

Among the gems found last week while going through this box was a birthday card that was made by my niece Carrie when she was 9 or 10 years old (about 25 years ago).

Notice that she wouldn't give me all of her gold, just 3/4 of it. LOL.

No, it's not my birthday. So why am I posting this now and what does it have to do with Georgia, you ask?

Well, it just so happens that Carrie has lived in Georgia for nearly 21 years now. And in a few hours I'll be heading south along with my mother, Carrie's sister Tami, and Tami's son Zach for a few days. It's been a little more than five years since we last saw Carrie and her three daughters. The youngest was 2 ½ years old at the time and wouldn't have anything to do with me. The only time I got a decent picture of her smiling was when she was sitting on Mom's lap! Well, it should be a fun and interesting trip, if we survive the traffic, and each other ;-)

The classic Georgia On My Mind as performed by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles. The song was written in 1930 (or 1931) by Native Hoosiers Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell (lyrics).

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Reel Rock Tour

Don't miss this.The Aussie opening was in Brisbane last night, so many climbers, so much fun.Climbers, I'll make it simple for you, here's what to do:A: click on the poster below for dates in your neighbourhood.B: Get a ticket and get inside.



Or maybe get a ticket at the door.Catch up with the cream of Brizzies climbing crew.



Get yourself some Pizza.



Keep eating Damien, almost show time.

Thanks Brad and TimGet your look happening.

Get in line.

Get inside.

And be amazed. Easy.

jj

Friday, June 20, 2008

Past its Prime

Saw this Old School at the intersection of U.S. 160 and 1300 Road, in western Montgomery County, Kansas as I was zipping by at 70 mph. Just had to turn around and go back to take some pictures. There were large rolled "bales" of straw along the fenceline near the road, fencing all around, and a locked gate so I couldn't get too close. Love that 15x zoom on the new camera for "close up" shots! © .. Rebeckah R. Wiseman. Photos taken November 26th.





Ingalls Lake

If you are looking for some awesome scenery close to home, Ingalls Lake is the place to go. Dave, Dani, Wendy, Mark (and Doug) taking a break on the way up to Ingalls Pass.

We saw a lot of mountain goats on this trip.It was a warm day and people were cooling off in the lake.Mt. Stuart and Ingalls Lake. What a view!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Hyak Skiing ..

Went up to Snoqualmie Pass with Steve to see what looked like we wanted to ski it. After wallowing around in waist deep snow the previous day I thought skiing would be a better option than chasing ice. We drove around scouting slopes for a bit before settling on Hyak with its easy access, and well covered slopes. Of course, it had been pretty well skied out during the weekend, and probably by dawn patrollers from earlier in the day.

My backside run (photo by Steve Machuga)

We skinned up a well worn track and passed a few guys on the way up. At the top we opted to ski a little to skier's right of the main slope between some trees where there weren't as many tracks. Steve tested a rollover for avalanche danger and then we were off rejoining the main slope about half way down. There were two other skiers coming down and they informed us the backside was less tracked out, so after our first run we opted to head down the back side.

Steve on the backside

There was lots of snow cat activity at Hyak as workers are busy getting the two new lifts ready to open this season. We arrived at the top and had a much nicer run down the less traveled backside in the newly cut run down to the base of the back side chair. We skinned back up the cat track to the top and had a final run down a steeper section further skier's right on the front side before heading back to town.

Hotshot
It was nice to be out skiing, but the skiing was not of great quality. The snow was skied frequently to the point where some sections developed moguls. The back side run was much nicer though. Like I said, I can't complain I was out, but the quality of skiing lacked.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Lions, Lambs, and White Flowers

Between cool snaps and dark windy days, there are a few warm, sunny, glorious hours. Spring is sneaking in.

We've seen a few swallows, a bat, and lots of mosquitoes and gnats. (I've had two itchy bites already.)

It's not really planting time yet though. At the gardening conference, I tried tying my hands behind my back to keep me from buying any plants so early.

But they had Sun Golds. Last year after reading a book about a New York couple's adventures in market gardening, I looked everywhere for Sun Golds, the cherry tomato that they had praised to the heavens. No joy. I could find the seeds, but they need to be started indoors and there's just no room.

So when a vendor at the conference had Sun Golds, I had to get them. And then I figured I might as well get a few other things as well.

While the tomatoes are in an aggravating "outside during the day - make sure they're out of doggie reach - remember to bring them in at night" arrangement, the lettuce and broccoli could go in the ground right away.

Which of course was a powerful signal to mother nature, to unleash a hail storm and days upon days of rain.

I took these pictures last weekend, before all the bad weather came to town. If sound were an option, in the background you'd hear a husband and a dog begging me to hurry up and quit taking so long.


Bloodroot. One of my favorite spring wildflowers. Even the latin name has blood in it: Sanguinaria canadensis. It looks dainty, but it must be tough if it has the name "Canada" in it and can live in Alabama too.


Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides or Anemonella thalictroides). A magnified bloom. In real life it's less than an inch (2.5 cm) across.


Toothwort. The genus used to be called dentaria, alluding to the roots that look like teeth, but was changed to cardamine. (If you know why, clue me in.) There are lots of species of toothwort. I think this one is Cardamine concatenata. I've read that you can eat the peppery roots, but I haven't tried it.


Toothwort close up.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Solstice!


Soon the longest day of the year will be upon us. For climbers this is significant not only because there are a lot of festivals, parties and music happenings throughout the area, but also because this is the time of the year when the long daylight hours allow us to climb headlamp free for many, many hours.



This year the actual Solstice is on June 20 at 23:09, however its effects will be noticed for a much longer period of time and are in fact currently being observed. Since the 20th is a weekday you can actually make it to the Fremont Fair and the associated parties going on this weekend, get down, recover and STILL get out in the wilderness or wherever else you enjoy being for the actual day of Solstice. (Just assuming wilderness is your thing since this is a blog about climbing Mount Rainier.)



The forecast for the upcoming week looks like a mixed bag with some sun and clouds, but no major storm events are on the horizon. Hopefully we are done with those for a while. Climbers have recently been summitting via all the standard routes, so check out the updates for the DC, Emmons, and Liberty Ridge among others. Don't forget your sunblock and stay hydrated out there!