Keeping up... 83 year old makes summit bid

The climbing season is rolling along nicely. Today, an 83 year old started a summit attempt via the Kautz Glacier and he's no stranger to Mount Rainier. Bill Painter of Richland, WA holds the record as the oldest person to summit the mountain (both in 2004 and 2005). Last year, he smoothly ascended the Emmons Glacier... More on his attempt early next week.

It's been 3 weeks since I've been in the park... Thankfully, some of the climbing rangers have been helping w/ route and condition updates. That said, we still love your climbing reports. Over the next day or two, I'll upload many of the great reports climbers have been sending. Of significant news was an ascent of Willis Wall, Mowich Face and new information on Kautz and Success Cleavers. Photo by Loren while on the Willis Wall. YIKES!!!

Chinatown Lights

Night Lights, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

While exploring the shops in Chinatown, San Francisco, this one stood out due to its huge collection of lights and lanterns.

Sunrise on Mormon Row

Another beautiful morning... and another crowd of photographers! This is certainly not something that I am used to... usually when I am out shooting back home its just me out there, by myself. Its kind of nice, though, on occasion, to shoot in places where other photographers gather. It certainly makes for interesting conversation and sometimes new friends are made.



Odds are, if you've seen images from Grand Teton National Park before, then you've probably seen pictures of this barn before. Its sort of a rite of passage for photographers visiting the Tetons... if you're in the area, even if you don't normally shoot old barns or buildings, you feel compelled to shoot this one. It definitely is a photogenic location, without a doubt.



This barn is located in an area of the park known as "Mormon Row", so named because the barns and cabins represent some historic Mormon settlements.

Mind the Moderating Rules

I have a fairly hands-off moderating policy on this blog. At the same time, it is important to me that readers are comfortable participating in discussions without feeling intimidated by others. The policy so far has been to "approve all comments other than spam, unsubstantiated slander, inflammatory remarks, or blatant rudeness," and this will not change. However, I would like to elaborate on some of these terms.



Spam has become harder to deal with, as increasingly I find businesses using the comments inappropriately. Industry members are always welcome to participate in discussions. What is not welcome, is for a business to comment incognito in order to endorse themselves or criticise a competitor. I will remove those comments and will not deal with any company that uses such tactics.Comments promoting your business in response toa thematically unrelatedpost are likewise inappropriate.



Slander refers to posting malicious allegations against industry members and other individuals. (Example: "I heard Company X uses child labor to make their products." Another example:"Hey, I saw that guy beating his wifeafter the Podunk Brevet.") I cannothost random slander aimed at companies or persons; please take it elsewhere.



Rudeness seems like an obvious enough concept, but it can be a slippery slope. Criticism in itself is not rude. There are also comments meant to be humourous or tongue-in-cheek that can get misread by those who don't get the joke. I consider comments rude when they outright insult others or address them in a bullying tone.



Inflammatory comments are those designed to taunt a specific individual or to provoke a so-called "flame war." I do not always read comments thoroughly, and may not notice these until a full-blown hostile exchange is in progress. In cases like these, I may go back and remove the entire thread, no matter whose started it.



The way I see it, the less moderating I do the better. I hate being in a position of "allowing" versus "not allowing" stuff. Plus I simply have no time to carefully consider the wording of every comment. Long time readers get the benefit of the doubt more so than unknown ones.I use my judgment. Please use yours and mind the moderating rules.

La pâtisserie...

Maybe just one..., originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Anybody want some?

These pastries, ranging from profiteroles, or cream-filled pastries, to tartes aux fruits, filled a glass case at a bakery in the French town of Morestel.

Profiteroles seem to be difficult to make, from what I've heard. Anyone have some stories to share?

Blue Ridge Parkway :: Reflections

The air was crisp on Sunday morning. Frost still covered the grass in the shady areas.

What it is, I don't know, but there is “something” about reflections in calm, clear water. An image within an image. Real. Yet not real. Seeing what is or isn't there.

Sunday morning, November 15th.
Julian Price Memorial Park. Blue Ridge Parkway.

Blank Canvas

For many of my cycling friends, winter is the time for making big plans. Like the vast snowscape outside, the seasons ahead spread out, blank canvas-like, glittering with possibilities. We are increasingly spoiled for choice here: Beautiful unpaved rides, formal and informal brevets, invitational weekend getaways - it's enough to make one's head spin. And it all requires budgeting, scheduling, prioritising, oftentimes with advanced planning and registration. And so in the coldest days of February, over cups of scalding coffee, cyclists speak in agonised whispers of events to come in the summer months.




I used to listen with curiosity and detached amusement. As someone who generally resists planning, I could not imagine scheduling a summer's worth of weekends around cycling events. But this time around I am getting swept up in it all.




Staring at the pile of snow outside my window, I find myself considering ahill climb race. I don't expect to do well at all, but I think I might enjoy it. Feeling that is a surprise to me; wanting to do it is a surprise. But when I imagine the climbing and the festive atmosphere, I want to be there - pedaling and feeling the strain, delirious as I strive for a summit I might not have the stamina to reach. Weird, isn't it, the things we can enjoy.




Plodding along the riverside trail, I contemplate this year's brevet series. I love the idea of randonneuring. But truthfully, I don't think I am serious about it - or ready for it, depending on how you look at it. On long rides that pass through beautiful places, what I really want to do is explore, carry a big camera, stop any time I like and constantly take photos - which is at odds with being on the clock. It might make more sense to finally put aside some time for a light multi-day tour.




Cleaning the salt and crud off my bike after a slushy outing, I remember long dreamy rides on unpaved roads. It seems almost fictional now: Going from the "baby" D2R2 route to the hair-raising loose descents of the Kearsarge Klassic in a matter of weeks, riding borrowed bikes with unfamiliar components,rental cars at 5:00 in the morning... Absurd. But oh how I long to do it again (minus the borrowed bikes, I hope), andhow I long to find more rides in the same vein. I am even willing to plan in advance and make commitments.




This winter is turning out to be brutal. But the months ahead are a blank canvas, and putting down the initial sketch is keeping me sane.

Along the Oregon Coast...

The air was cool, the sun was warm, a stiff breeze was blowing, the waves were churning.



Strange formations (natural or man-made?) beneath a cliff below the highway.



Intense blues.



Taking advantage of the sunshine... sadly, it didn't last long.

All photos taken between Newport and Florence on U.S. 101September 29, ..

Caldera Wildlife

It is the wild animals that everyone always wants to see and photograph or at least I do. On this trip I got some good photos of a chipmunk that was eating grass at one of the places we pulled over to take some scenic photos.



At another place a pair of these birds were catching bugs on the ground. So far I haven't been able to identify them yet. They had a lot of yellow/green on them and were just larger than a sparrow.







These prairie dogs were in a large village of them on the drive from the paved road to the Visitors Center at the Caldera. We did see a badger run across the road in front of us but I couldn't get the camera up in time. The Center people said there were lots of badgers in the prairie dog villagetrying to catch them. The badgers help keep therodents down. The 'dogs' are cute but leave lots of deep holes in the ground for deer, elk, horses, cows, and even people to step in and get hurt.




From the paved road we saw a herd of about 30 elk but they didn't want to come close to us. We could barely see some smaller ones, probably this years calves running and playing.







There were elk in the trees here.



We also saw some deer but again couldn't get a photo before they were gone.

Grand Canyon :: OMG, Look at the Bright Angel Trail...

The morning after our return from Indian Gardens (Wednesday, April 15th) we took a walking “tour” of some of the lodges and other historical buildings on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. There is a trail that goes most of the length of the South Rim and we walked a short ways along it to the Trail View Overlook, which gives a very nice (putting it mildly) look at the Bright Angel Trail.

The Trail from the rim. At the top, just a little left of center you can see several lodges. The one at the rim is the Bright Angel Lodge and the trailhead is to it's right as you are looking at the picture.

You'll have to trust me on this... The 1.5-mile rest-house is a short distance to the left of that longest pointy shadow. The 3-mile rest-house is at the far end of the trail on the lower left.

Enlarged view of the previous photo, showing the 1.5 mile rest-house in the upper center of the photo. Actually, those are the restrooms, the rest-house is tucked away in the side of the Canyon, next to that shadow.

The 3-mile rest-house is near the center of the picture, where the trail makes a sharp turn back, just above the “black spot” which is a steep cliff. Indian Gardens is barely visible on the far left (that clump of green trees).

Enlarged view of the previous photo, showing the 3-mile rest-house (the small clump of trees where the trail splits to go out to the overlook and the restrooms).

And finally, the trail into Indian Gardens and on out to Plateau Point. Of course, the Bright Angel trail continues on down to the River and the Phantom Ranch area. Where the Plateau Point trail veers to the left, the Bright Angel trail goes to the right.

I must say that when I saw these views I was amazed and in awe of the fact that I had actually hiked that trail. I told Sue and Fred that if I had seen this before Tuesday morning, it is highly likely that I would not have made the trek. It was scary looking at the depth and the switchbacks and I wasn't sure of my abilities. I really don't know whether I would have done it or not. I'm very glad that we hiked it and it is something that I'll remember for a long time to come. And I now have greater confidence in my abilities to hike somewhat more difficult trails than I have been doing!


Other posts in this series:

• Grand Canyon :: Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens (part 1)
• Grand Canyon :: Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens (part 2)
• Grand Canyon :: Indian Gardens to Plateau Point (part 3)
• Grand Canyon :: From Indian Gardens to The Rim (part 4)

Esmerelda ..

I got to go out with Steve for what seemed like the first time this year. (I wanted to say Summer, but it is no longer, and I doubt I have been in the mountains with Steve since Spring.)

Due to my long hard day the previous day, and Steve bringing his wife's cousin along, we opted for a fairly mellow scramble of Esmerelda Peak in the Teanaway.

To avoid traffic we started a touch late, and arrived at the De Roux camp trail head after 9:30am. We hiked up the trail and took frequent breaks. After consulting the map we ignored the turn off point thinking it was just a cut off a switch back. We went too far and arrived at Gallagher Head Lake. We hung out a bit on some wooden benches taking in the scenery and getting cold. We altered our approach and headed cross country to the ridge to climb.

With some light bushwhacking we were on rocky slopes picking our way up the mostly solid terrain. With a few sections of third class rock, we were on the summit, taking in the views. We hung out for a while and then headed to the next "summit" on the ridge to the east. We continued to the next and then developed our plan to hike down a different way. A few loose third class bits got us down the ridge where we followed game trails down most of the way back to the trail. The slope was steep and loose and only got easier as we descended. I saw a fat garter snake on the way down and then we hit the trail and hiked out.

Scrambling the second summit (photo by Steve Machuga)

This was a fun trip and a good trip to do after the bruiser I had the previous day. It was fun to be out with Steve, and the summit of Esmerelda offers pretty nice views in all directions. It took almost as long to do the round trip drive as it did to climb the peak. Steve and I discussed how the book listed it as a T3, but we found it to be fairly easy with only a few steps of 3rd class. However, I am beginning to think that the technical scramble rating used also increases for navigational difficulty. But who knows. Yet another nice day out in the mountains.

My pics are here.

"Low Pressing" Systems

Late last week and early this week (with some respite on Sunday) low pressure systems are moving through the Northwest. The mountain typically has some "Jun-uary" weather roll through in the early part of the summer season. The last low pressure system came through with a high freezing level and lots of moisture. There was rain up to 11,000 feet. Whew. The cloud deck has lowered to around 9000 feet the last couple days restoring the typical upper-mountain snow pack. Guide companies, independent parties, and climbing rangers have all been out making snow pack assessments. Be sure to get familiar with the conditions yourself - don't get sucked into the "herd" mentality.



On another note, the solstice is coming up! There is lots of daylight
for climbers to complete their ascents. Lower freezing levels also make
later ascents more practical. New snow pasted on the mountain has made it quite the spectacular sight. Don't forget your cameras! See you up here soon.