But it's clogged with trees, sediment, and years of the neighbors' trash, so when it rains heavily our driveway washes out.
The previous tenants told us that the county worked the road for them, but in our moment of need it was pronounced a private road. All my "but the water is coming from your county road" reasoning did not prevail.
This was the other problem. A storm had washed some debris and huge dead trees to rest against some very large culverts. It did not enter our minds that industrious beavers would see this as a gift, and make the situation even worse.
But they did, and the neighbor's property began to flood. (It was putting some of my favorite wildflowers underwater too!)
Ahh.
Ahhhhhh. I feel better now.
When backhoe work starts at $70 an hour, it's easy to believe that time is money.
"He's been here $140 and it seems like he's just started," I fretted.
I was gone running errands for $210.
"My husband will be home in about $175," I realized at one point.
Actually we feel lucky to have had both problems fixed in just under ten hours. It could have been a lot worse.
The Crazy Mountains (also called the Crazies) are an isolated “Island Range” sitting between Big Timber and Livingston in south-central Montana and are the dominate landmark in the area. The highest peak is Crazy Peak, which stands at 11,214 feet and rises over 7,000 feet above the Great Plains to the east.
These photos were taken on July 17, .. near the exit ramp of Interstate 90 a mile east of Big Timber. I couldn't decide which one I liked the most... the clouds kept changing, as did the colors, which were absolutely amazing. Mother Nature put on another fantastic display. Enjoy...
Doubts. Terrible things, they are. The longer I stood and looked at that peak, the more dubious I became. Finally, I gave in and turned around. I couldn't do it. Then a feeling of relief passed over me. It's okay. At least I had gotten this far.
The descent back down that first little peak was challenging. Going up you didn't really notice the height or steepness of the path. But coming down, that is all you could see. You had to look down in order to see where you were going. In several spots I sat down on my rear end and scooted over and down the rock. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done! I didn't feel quite so bad when I saw other people doing the same thing!
Once safely down on the other side, I found a place to sit and eat my lunch, along with several other folks. We chatted. They too were the ones who couldn't go on. They were waiting for their spouse to return from the top of Angels Landing. They weren't ashamed, perhaps a little embarrassed though. Four out of the five people waiting were men. Waiting for their wives to finish the climb.
Other people came and went. Some only went a little ways then came back. Watching the people was fascinating. All shapes and sizes. All degrees of physical fitness. You couldn't tell by looking at someone whether they could do it or not. And you were amazed by some of those that did make it. The more I watched, the more I thought “I could do this.”
But I sat there and listened to the people talking. The excitement in the voices of those who had gone all the way. A bit of disappointment in those who hadn't, but acceptance of that fact also.
There was a group of five women who came up from Scout's Lookout. They sat down and rested for a few minutes and joined in our conversation. One lady, in her mid-30s, was back for a second climb. She had come with her daughters last year and they had all made the climb successfully. The daughters were 8, 11, and 16 years of age.
Another group of four women – two teenagers, a middle aged woman, and an older lady – came up the trail. When the older woman saw the trail over that peak she said “Oh, my!” One of the teenage girls giggled and said “Granny, we love you. You don't really have to go.” And Granny stomped her feet like a little child and exclaimed “Oh no, I'm going!” and without another word, they were on their way.
After an hour or so, I made my way down the trail and back to the campground. I talked with my neighbors, Maryann and Rob, who had done the climb to Angels Landing the previous day. The more I talked with them, the more convinced I became that I could actually do it. Maryann said she had second thoughts about the climb when she saw the trail, but then she looked at the people returning and figured if they could do it, so could she.
The next day was an “off” day for me. My legs were hurting a little so I took it easy. But the thought of Angels Landing kept running through my mind all day long.
Wow, big news here at the Old Station in Paradise. We now have a computerized weather display running 24hrs and Waffle Weekdays will be starting this week!
The computerized weather display is located inside the Old Station in the windows to the left of the inner door.
You read that right. If you can't get enough of the Mountain during the weekend and can make it up on Friday you can join the ranger(s) in the Old Station for hot drinks and waffles. Start your weekend early between 11 and 3 this Friday, February 10.
Please bring your own cup or mug, donations of hot drinks, waffle makings and fixings will be gratefully accepted (new and unopened) to keep Waffle Weekdays happening.
Now for why you really read this, the snow pack profile update. No failures were observed in either the compression test or extended column test. All layers were fairly dense and well settled.
This is a post from Feb of '10 . But as the season is just getting started for the winter of '11/'12, thought it worth reposting with a few updates from what I have learned over the last two winters.
Winter layers?
(or in this case lack of layers)
If you have seen this all before skip down to "layer ONE".
I get to spendtimeice climbing around Banff and on the Icefield's Parkway in Alberta Canada. Places I have climbed and skied in most winters for years. Last winter I was lucky enough to spend a few months in Chamonix.
Besides the obvious high quality ice climbing I alwayslook forward to field testing some new (for me anyway) pieces of clothing and ideas on cold weather use.
But before I get to what I have learned in the last two years, let me back up a bit and tell you what I have used in years previously and have been happy with generally.
The coldest temps we would actually climb in hover around -25/-30C (-22F). Anything colder and I retreat to a shelter, hot springs and good food. Not uncommon to see
+10C (50F) on calm days in the sun on sheltered ice climbs.
Base layers?
Generally Merino wool or Capilene, two piece set ups. Some times even these will get layered.
Mid layer/insulation ?
Pile. Pick your weight and material but generally some sort of pile gear. Pile pants and pile shirts or sweaters.
Outer layer/ protection?
Early on it was nylon shells, then Goretex and then Shoeller style soft shells of wool/spandex (25 years ago) and more recently synthetics (Shoeller and Polartec fabrics) with real 4 way stretch.
Boots were singles and dbls. Often times with Supergators on the singles and even the dbls when required.
Gloves/Mitts?
Old stand-bys were boiled wool Dachsteins with/without over mitts. My favorite were Dachsteins and HellyHansen over mitts and when required a foam pad between the layers to keep your hands from getting too beat up with straight shafted tools. Dachstein gloves had their place as well...but generally considered a luxury. Goretex shelled gauntlet gloves with thick pile liner came next and have remained a standard with leashed tools.
Leashed tools? Leashless tools? Here is where much of the info I am relating changes drastically. Tools te newest BD Cobra and Fusion or the PetzlNomic and Quarks have in many ways redefined what we use for clothing on ice/mixed climbs. Gear that easily works leashless will NOT be warm enough, in my experience, for leashed climbing.
OK..back to the clothing systems.
An old saying I heard as a kid was, "Eskimos never sweat." The thought behind that? It was just too cold in an Arctic environment to ever risk getting wet, soaking your insulation and then having that insulation freeze. Makes sense, but how do you ever get anything done and not sweat if you are working hard and trying to climb fast?
(I'm about to repeat info now that can be better understood by reading Mark Twight's and Will Gadd's ice climbing/technique books)
Obviously you'll sweat on the approach unless you really back off the pace. I don't do approaches longer than just a few minutes in my climbing upper layer. I dress really lightly on the top layer for the walk in and then dry off (while not getting chilled) at the base of the climbing. That generally means I bring an extra top layer if the approach is long.
To stay dry on the climbI use a belay sweater/jacket (depending on insulation required by the temps) to let my body heat dry me off and keep me warm while drying out at the belay if I have broken a sweat climbing.
The trick here is to make sure your clothing system will dry out with body heat alone. One wrong layer and the system may not work efficiently. Better yet climb with a light enough and breathable enough set of clothing that you don't wet your body or gear on anything but the hardest leads. It is a tough balancing act.
Light enough...breathable enough?
Four words that are saying a lot! You need to push the definition of both imo.
I switched a few years ago to all Shoeller style clothing. Which if you look at much of what is available today for cutting edge fabrics here in the US is actually a Polartec product. But early on unbelieving on just how far I really needed to go I bought all the gear in a insulated form.I have worn out a set of both over time. And I still love both of them for climbing. For everything but the very coldest weather (below -10C) I find the insulatedsoft shellsto be too much insulation and not breathable enough.
That was then () ...and it may still be true. But last winter at the OR show in Salt Lake City, there were several new fabrics that were getting a buzz. I was lucky enough to get a Neoshell Westcomb Apoc jacket to try out. PreviousI had spentyears in hard shell Goretex garmentsand finally abandoned them itforwinter climbing. Neoshell was the first of the "modern shells" I have been able to use.
And by most accounts Neoshellis what all the rest of the new fabricsare being judged by if the early reports are accurate.
I am currently testing some of the newestvariations on that idea from Polartec. And it would seem that we might actually have more breathable and more water repellant soft shell options available soon. But I'll report what I do find if there is a significant change.
So why too much? Too heavy physically, too warm and not breathable enough.
OK, you ask, "WTF, Dane?" "That is a $400 piece of kit (Gamma MXHoody) you encouraged me to buy last year and now you are telling me it is rubbish?...too warm?...too heavy?"
This year Arcteryx has changed the material on the Gamma MX Hoody and is offering an alternative to that technology in the Venta MX Hoody. Both are suppose to be more breathable. Patagonia is there as well using Polartec fabrics. Mountain Hardware, Eddie Bauer and Outdoor Reasearch and even Cabella's have joined the game as well.
All with one idea, to stay warm you must stay dry.
Last year I thought the Gamma MXhoody would be the one piece of clothing I would always take on alpine/ice routes. Last winter I didn't use the Gamma MX at all climbing, but did for one day of skiing in the Alps. So, yes it is a big change for me as well. Now I am saying it is too much? Yes....but don't throw it away just yet :)
You need to go back to the idea that "cool muscles work more efficiently".
Mind you it might take you a bit of effort to find out just how "cool" you are willing to work at to make this all work. That might include a trip where you dress too light and freeze your ass off to find out just how "cool" you'll want to be :) I'd suggest you make that trip, a low risk, high energy event. If you blow it bad on the clothing combos at least movement will generally keep you warm. You need to iron out your system in a fairly controlled environment.
The rewards are worth the risk imo. But to be sure, blow these combinations in a big way and cold injury is almost certain or even death will be the end result. I have used the system at a fine edge half a dozen times now and I had significant performance and recovery break through each time. I also look back and thank my lucky stars that there was no "incident" on those climbs that could have easily precipitated a disaster. An unplanned night out in bad weather while cutting it close on gear can be more than just uncomfortable.
The results of 24 unplanned hrs out in 10F temps? And a full year of recovery.
Here are my current thoughts on winter clothing systems.Limit the layers. Yes, limit the layers! The first picture in this post is me climbing early in my career in mostly wool, with temps rapidly going to -40 as the sun went down. It was pretty miserable at the time and to be honest a little scary. I had never been in such temps and that exposed before.
But a couple of things made a big difference. I was mobile, light layers made that possible. I was dry internally because the clothing breathed well and so I stayed warm if I kept moving. Funny now because I realised as I typed this morning that the clothing pictured there (circa 1973) would be a perfect set up for leashless climbing now in very cold temps...say -20C but not at -40C :)
So limit the layers and stay mobile. Easy to do now with modern clothing.
Layer ONE:
I am using a R1 Hoody inner layer. MEC makes R1 tops and bottoms for something like $60 retail. Or you can buy Patagonia's for $150. Same exact material and in several ways the MEC clothing is better designed imo. Now there is a easy decision for price point. Buy I do like the detailing offered by the R1. I want to be comfortable and the R1s details like a long cut, easily tucked in and off the face zipper make a difference to me. Not a $100 difference mind you as I'll find the R1 on sale before paying retail.
Yes, just the R1 and nothing between it and my skin. Although my lowers are actually Costco longs...almost expedition weight but some brand name called "Paradox". The R1 seems to be just a bit much on my legs and I lose some mobility compared to the Paradox lowers which seem to slide in the outer shell pants I am using easier. Last winter in the Alps on the-20C days I would use two layers of the Paradox longs and lwt soft shell pant. So the system isn't perfect. I'd also add a Merino wool hoody from Sherpa Adventure Gear under my R1 on the really cold days. But even when adding layers for more warmth in the Alps I know the material I was using would breath.
This newtechnology (again a Polartec concept) Cabela's E.C.W.C.S Thermal Zone® Polartec® Power Dry® might be much better yet than simply dbl layering as I have done in the past to gain warmth.
This technology with a hood would be hard to beat.
Generation III Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (GEN III ECWCS) from PEO Soldier on Vimeo.
It shouldn't be a huge surprise that Mark Twight has his design fingers in the US Military'scurrent cold weather systems,
Layer TWO:
That depends on the outside temps and the level of aerobic action I expect.
In the past I have used the Eddie Bauer Front Point jacket..it is a combo hard shell and soft shell . Very water resistant (my top was dry in a soaking waterfall that went straight through my pants and filled my boots to the brim) and very breathable. I am highly impressed with the details of this garment and the combo of materials used. A surprising and almost immediate favorite for cold technical climbing. And now discontinued.
But here is where the newest fabricsget interesting. There are now several offerings from Polartec that are soft shell and "hard" shells that might well replace what I thought was a good use of the fabric technology in the EB Front Point.
Patagonia is offering a newPower Shield Pro product, Marmot is offering a Power Shield '02. That is just touching the surface as Mountain Hardware is in the game as is Outdoor Reasearch and Arc'teryx.
We can thank our tax dollarsand the US miitary for testing much of this gear and the budgets that enabled Polartec and others to do the research and development.
-OR-
Arcteryx Atom Lt Hoody....lightly insulated shell with stretch vented sides and under the arms. Again a surprise, water resistant as well but not tested to any extreme yet. Very warm for its weight and thickness but useful in the right temps (cold) for hard climbing because the stretch side panels and insulated body breath so well.
Worth noting that I have now cut one full layer from the previous suggestions from even last year's system. Insulation is used as required in the base layer and in the outer layer. And most manufactures are now making something similar.
Patagonia's Nano series is another example. I use a Nano puff to layer over my Atom light in many cold weather instances. Mtn Hardware has one as well with the stretch side panels . But there is no separate insulation layer short of the belay sweater (like how I am using the Nano Puff) and a actual belay jacket. The real insulation is in layer THREE where the insulation can EASILY be added or just as likely removed to keep you dry and mobile.
For my pants I have been using the Arcteryx Gamma Lt. for three winters now. I did add a set of grommets to use them as a pant gaiter. And no one more surprised than me that a set of generic long johns and a Gamma Lt. would be good enough to keep me warm and toasty from -10C to well above freezing and still breath enough on the "death marches" while toiling and dripping in in sweat. Only disadvantages I see are they aren't very durable and the lower left leg could be more tapered if my crampon "wear" is any indication.
Layer THREE:
A Belay jacket chosen for the degree of warmth required and how much drying will be required.
Listed in amount of warmth is required. Warm temps to cold and how much moisture I expect:
Mountain Hardware Compressor Hoody (Primaloft 1)
*shown here in combo with the Atom Lt @ -20C in the shade* (lots of other high qulaity jackets in this catagory now)
I use this combo now with a Arcteryx Atom SV and have been happy with it to -20C as well.
Any of these trhee will offer even more warmth if required
Narrona Hooded Down
Arcteryx Duelly
Eddie Bauer XV
As a system that is it...THREE... layers total. And one generally will be in the pack or going in and out of the pack. Only times I have found myself climbing continuously in all three layerson my upper body last winter I was either very tired or more likely it was dark and I was tired.
Staying hydrated and your food intake up as required has not been mentioned. But the fastest way to get frost bite is get dehydrated. Fastest way to get tired and stat moving slowly is not eat enough. You need to manage your clothing systemand what you east and drink.
Gloves and boots?
Maintaining your mobility, cutting down on weight by doing so allows you to move faster. You can then use lighter weight boots and gloves and still stay equally as warm or warmer while moving faster with less effort! Add the advantages of leashless tools and the differences of what you can get away with for a glove system while still being comfortable is simply...amazing.
You have to remember it is a SYSTEM. If required I could carry and use both layer TWO pieces together for extra warmth. I'll do another post and describe the boot and glove systems I am using with this clothing combo. Scarpa and La Sportiva for boots and Outdoor Research and Mtn Hardware for gloves cover the brand names here for me currently.
But there are new players here as well, Salewa, Mammut andArcteryx again. But it is hard to find bad gear these days. Much easier to use the right gear in the wrong place though. I think the newest materials and designs will sort themselves out in the next winter or two and much of this will become common knowledge. Right now it is hard to keep track as there is so much new gear and new applications it is hard to keep track.....I can't.
Bottom line to all this and thefield testing? I'm climbingharder and faster with less effort and less clothes and in more comfort than ever before. Huge success for me.
I think you find a similar result.
An after thought..
A long time climbing buddy who on rare occasion reads the blog busted on me for listing all the brand names I use. I search out the best gear for my own use and buy it at retail. No one giving this stuff to me. But that doesn't make it the best gear for your use. I list the manufacturers simply so you can make direct comparison for your own benefit.
Danny was always the guy on the other end of the phone.Danny I need200M ofrope. Danny I need 50 harnesses. Danny I need 100 carabiners.Danny works at K2, I manage a school camp. So it was a delight to meet him and find out he's a really sweet guy and a motivated climber.
Now when I say sweet guy, it turns out he's got a creepy side.
Like you,I browse the net for comforting stories about kittens and sunshine.
Danny's guilty pleasure is immersing himself online in the ugly world of gruesome crime.
I know, what a sicko! But it turns out he is a trained Forensic Scientist. OK, forgiven.
I feel sick, let's see some climbing.
Danny set off in , climbingthe modest grade of 21, to Turkey, Kaly and Ton Sai, picking up four grades along the way.
Then more Thailand, Castle Hill and Bluies. And before youcan say deoxyribonucleic acidhe is ticking "Spoonman" 28
Danny says his goal is to tick 8a by the end of his Euro Tour this year.
His friends say he is stronger than he thinks.
Senior climbing analysts here at jjobrienclimbing have reviewed the available data and can confidently predict he will better it by .
I don't want to make this sound like a dating profile but here's the twist:
He's a sweety, no doubt. He has a jones for Gummy Bears, butdon't expect him to sit through a Rom Com with you. He likes his films Noir, and his music on the dark side.
Danny is off to the Grampians tomorrow, presumably to leave his fingerprints all over Taipan Wall.
Led by Mel, with Norma, Brenda, Kate, Shirley, Maureen, Marion, Chris, Barry, Gordon, Terry, Jill and me. Weather fine and warm. Looked as though it would rain as we reached the cars. 8.5 miles approx. 488 ft of climbing.
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we set off from the middle of Harringworth - the steps of the cross make a comfortable seat for girding ones feet. Our first choice of route is rapidly aborted since nettles and shorts make a poor combination.
We take the second path on the Gretton Road out of Harringworth, turning right across the Welland valley, heading northwest over fields, with the viaduct to our right. We cross the river the river - higher than it has been after recent rain. We make for the big farmhouse, take the path round this and to the road. Over the roadwe go up the steps to the dismantled railwayand head uphill to Seaton.
Here we turn right and walk to the crossroads, heading east. We take the road ahead, which follows the ridge, and gives great views over the valley and viaduct.
Just after the road starts to go downhill, and at a right hand bend we take the path to the left, - marked Rutland Round. It takes us downhill and under the dismantled railway.
The merry throng - about to turn on to the path
under the old railway
Coming up towards the A47
After a few more fields we climb up to the A47 and cross over before taking a footpath which crosses a field diagonally (northeast). When we reach Morcott High Street we turn right. We cross the Stamford Road near the White Horse, and head southeast towards Barrowden.
Beware though. in the wooded section there be wasps, and two were stung. I think they had the bad luck to be at the back after the rest of us had disturbed the insects.
We have to cross the A47 again here, and it's an awkward spot. Once over we walk along the road due east into Barrowden.
This plaque catches our eyes. Mr Google helps answer our questions with info from Maurice Kellner's Genuki page about Barrowden:
In 1829, a Thomas Cook met Marianne Mason, a farmer's daughter living at West Farm, Barrowden. He was an itinerant Baptist missionary, but due to a lack of funds, he became a wood turner and cabinet-maker. They married in 1833 and moved to Market Harborough. On 5th July 1841, they hired a special train to take some Leicester Temperance supporters to a rally at Loughborough. This was the foundation of the Thomas Cook travel agency.
The community shop makes an excellent coffee stop, with outdoor tables.
First aid for wasp stings
Time to relax
From here it's a gentle downhill walk, once we've retraced our path back out of Barrowden. At the junction we take the (left-hand) Seaton road not the one to Morcott, and at the next farm road turn left and then right along the Jurassic Way - over a stile and across fields - all pretty dry with clear paths. We go diagonally over the fields, then follow the hedge south west. We reach a track and cross over so that the hedge is now on our right. After another four fields or so we meet another track and turn left, downhill to the Welland and Turtle Bridge.
What the stylish walker is wearing this year
and more stylish walkers
leaving Rutland for Northamptonshire
We turn right alongside the river and follow its course for a while
The other side of the viaduct
We cross the fields belonging to the riding school, and reach the road into Harringworth. A change of footwear, and into the recently re-opened White Swan for a very good sandwich lunch. A few drops of rain threaten, but we've had a fine dry walk.
My first cycling dreams were vague and atmospheric. When I rode along the Danube in the Austrian countryside, I would re-experience these rides in my sleep constantly. It was mostly the scenery and the light I would dream of. That backlit look as the day fades into evening, the shimmering water, the aspens and the wild flowers swaying in the breeze. The rides themselves resembled dream states, with their improbably long sunsets and no clear end or beginning to the winding Danube trail. Fading peals of laughter from party boats, the clanking of dishes in the back yards of houses I would cycle past. The sounds trailed off, almost ghostly. It would slowly grow dark as I pedaled and pedaled and pedaled. When I remember one of these rides now, I cannot be sure whether it is the actual ride or the dream I am remembering.
Riding for transportation in Boston, cycling disappeared from my dreams for some time. The few I remember are short, anxiety-filled re-enactments of close calls - I'd wake up with a sinking feeling in my stomach from a car having cut me off or passed too closely. In waking life I experienced no fear or nervousness when riding in traffic, but it must have been there on some level - what I would not acknowledge in my conscious state surfacing in dreams.
Later it was roadcycling that populated my dreamworld. Like an animal moving its paws in its sleep, I would pedal with my legs and shift gears with my fingers. The novel sensations of ergo levers played a starring role for some time. My fingers just wanted to keep using them even after the ride was over and I was fast asleep. Tap-tap-tap... spin-spin-spin... thumb press, thumb press!... spin-spin-spin! It was mostly just the motions and the speed I remember dreaming about, the anticipation of downhills. There was also a magical effortlessness to it that did not exist in real life. In my dreams, my legs never hurt and I cornered elegantly. Tap-tap-tap, spin-spin-spin! It could go on forever, just like that.
A late winter ride to Lost Lake led to a bicycling dream of cinematic proportions. In a small group we had ridden through the snow covered landscape of central Massachusetts, a route that culminated in a dramatic course of rolling hills. The combination of the stunning winter scenery and the sensation of the ride itself must have overwhelmed my impressionable mind. That night I dreamt of Pamela Blalock standing atop an icy mountain, her long platinum braid fluttering in the brutal wind. She pointed at something in the distance, and when I looked in that direction suddenly it was I who was there, along with Dina, Emily and Pamela herself. We were riding what I first thought were horses but turned out to be huge bicycles made of a rusty, coppery material. Later I recognised them to be life-sized versions of some of the wire sculptures I'd seen at Pamela's house, but in the dream this was not apparent. Weightlessly we pedaled up a steep, narrow road in a blizzard, and just as we crested the hill we saw that the pavement ahead had turned to ice. No longer in a procession, we were now side by side and our bicycles tied together with rope. With incredible speed, we slid down the endless winding hill like some giant 8-wheeled chariot. I let out an excited scream, but it was so cold that I made no sound.
Other dreams of cycling followed - rehashing the day's events, playing out fantastical narratives, expressing anxieties. Before embarking on an overnight ride to Maine, I dreamt that my dynamo light was not working and that I couldn't shift gears uphill. After the ride, I dreamt of cycling endlessly along the coastal saltwater marshes in the dark. I had a handlebar bag full of tiny fresh bagels. I took out a notepad and wrote a letter to a friend on the side of the road, then dropped it in a mailbox and kept riding. I do not remember what I wrote or to whom. The night was warm and dark, only the outlines of trees discernible in the distance. Morning never came. When I reached the Canadian border, the guard was expecting me and gave me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I kept pedaling. That was the last bicycling dream I remember.
8:37 pm
8:46 pm
8:53 pm
8:56 pm
8:59 pm
9:09 pm
Once safely down on the other side, I found a place to sit and eat my lunch, along with several other folks. We chatted. They too were the ones who couldn't go on. They were waiting for their spouse to return from the top of Angels Landing. They weren't ashamed, perhaps a little embarrassed though. Four out of the five people waiting were men. Waiting for their wives to finish the climb.
I don't want to make this sound like a dating profile but here's the twist: 
Padre Island National Seashore
Shriner's Parade of Lights. Three Rivers Festival, Fort Wayne, Indiana.July 1985. Digitized ...Copyright © 1985/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman