Boy Meets Elk

While doing research for this area, I saw that they had elk here. We haven't seen elk since we were out west, so I was really excited at the thought of seeing them again. And we have Elijah with us, so I thought it would be especially cool if he could see them.



We asked at the resort office where the best place was to see them, and then headed out. We drive to this place and get out and off in the woods we see two huge elk. And because we are so easy, we were freaking out at how cool it was and stood there for the longest time looking at them from a distance.

I'm not embarrassed in the least that we were so geeky excited over it, because it is cool. Really, really cool to be this close to elk. We're asking Elijah what he thinks and making a big deal about it. He's not real impressed. Then we realize that he can't see from way down there. He was a little more excited when I put him on my shoulders.

Then Ashleigh and I noticed that way on the other end of this place there appeared to be a group of people doing something with a group of animals. We say that maybe the elk are closer to the fence down there and people are getting to feed them or something. Because Nathan can be a know it all, he says nah...those are deer. We squint and look again and say...uh...I don't think those are deer. If they are, those are some monster deer or something because they are big. And the guy at the office said we could feed them crackers sometimes and we can't do that from here. But we might be able to do it from there. Because I can be pushy, I say...let's go!



So we headed out, with a pit stop at K-Mart for crackers, and went to find the spot where maybe we could feed the elk.

I'm so glad we did because this is what happened there.

In all of about 5 seconds flat Elijah transformed from boy to warrior/man-child/great and mighty hunter. Or something like that. I half expected him to start making Tim Allen noises or something. It was awesome!



Nathan was trying to help him and he did the teen hand wave that means Pfffttt...I got this one. I am boy, hear me roar! Were the elk large you might ask?

Yeah, you could say that! Dude rocks is all I have to say!



More tomorrow because there are more pictures that I want to share and I'm not used to daily blogging now so my hand is tired already.



Living the life in Michigan!

Hyak ..

What a difference a week makes. Although not in temperatures. (Telemetry shows the temp at Hyak today never exceeded 8°F during the time we were there.)

Julie and I headed to Hyak for a skin/ski trip. Snoqualmie has not yet opened Hyak or Alpental, due to "lack of snow." While it was adequate for skiing, it was probably not suitable for commercial skiing. A few more feet should hide the remaining conifer tops and all the alder. We decided on this location due to the 'short' drive, and moderate to high avalanche danger. Also, there was a "deadly" storm scheduled to hit later in the day, and we wanted to be home before that.

There were quite a few people out with the same idea. But, not as many as I saw last week at the Silver Basin. There was about a dozen or so "backcountry" skiers there. Probably a half dozen Nordic skiers and a few snowshoers. (Or is that slowshoers?)

The idea was to skin under the Keechelus Chair and then figure out what made sense for the descent. Under the chair was somewhat skied out, but it was the obvious line. There was a nice skin track on the way up, and we had no issues arriving at the top. At least that is what I thought. Julie lagged behind a bit, but I believed it to be because this was her first skin since the spring. When she arrived at the top, she explained that her back was bothering her and she was unsure about how the descent would affect it.

After some mulling about, we decided to descend under the chair. (The way we came up.) Julie was interested in attempting some powder as she did not have great success last season with deep powder. I too was interested, as my ski day last Sunday was less than ideal. We took our time on the way down with a couple of stops for Julie to reattach her ski. Near the bottom, we took the cat track as it didn't have as many alder branches sticking through it. (It didn't have any actually.) It was an alright run.

It was now 10:45am. Due to her back, Julie did not feel up to another run. I negotiated with her that I would head up and be back to the car by noon. To my surprise, I was able to skin all the way to the top and have a nice run back down in time to leave the parking lot at 11:55am. The second run was really nice for me. I was able to link turns and build some speed. I crashed once and arrived back at the car with snow pouring out of my clothes. I skied well.

(Photo by Julie Labrecque)
My photos are here.

Afternoon Sun

Afternoon Sun, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The wildflower bloom is nearly over here in Southern California. I took this photo back in April on a remote road near Cayucos. The lupines were much thicker than this in some places - we found one patch of the flowers the length of a football field.

Do Women Want Custom Bicycles?

Not surprisingly, my beautiful mixte by Royal H. Cycles has been making quite a splash. People ask about the bicycle, and when I say that it was custom built the reactions are interesting. Several men (including framebuilders) have asked whether it was a gift from my husband or boyfriend - meaning, whether he was the one who ordered the frame for me, interacted with the builder, etc. Others have asked whether the framebuilder is my boyfriend. And others still have noted the amazing amount of detail for a women's frame and asked whether it was built as aNAHBS bike (show bike) - which is mostly where one would see such a mixte. When I explain that I was the one who ordered the frame, thought up the criteria for it, specified the design features, etc., all without a male intermediary, this is met with amazement. And having thought about it, I doubt this has anything to do with sexism. Rather, I think it is about statistics: According to the framebuilders I have talked with, women do not typically take the initiative to order custom hand-built bicycle frames. The more common scenario, is that a male framebuilder builds the bicycle for his female significant other, or a male bicycle lover orders it for his spouse.

[image via mapcycles]

Thinking about that has made me wonder how women feel about handbuilt bicycles. Do they want them? Or do they perceive the process as either too daunting, or not worth the money or time it takes?

[image via JP Weigle]

At NAHBS and other handmade bicycle shows, mixtes and step throughs have become increasingly popular over the past several years. One might even say that it is now almostde rigueur for classic framebuilders to include a mixte in their portfolio. Does this not mean that there has been an increase in demand for ladies' bikes?

[image via Boedie Cycles]

To an extent, I am sure there has been some increase in demand (and here again we must differentiate between women ordering the bicycles versus their spouses ordering for them). But for the most part, I believe the appearance of women's bicycles at handbuilt shows is mainly symbolic - reflecting the increasing number of women cycling for transportation in American cities.

[image via YiPsan Bicycles]

Additionally, a mixte frame is more challenging to build than a diamond frame. It involves more elaborate brazing and lugwork - giving the framebuilder the opportunity to truly show off the extent of their skills. When done right, a mixte can embody elegant design at its most stunning.

[image via antbike]

So what about the ladies? Do they ever call up a framebuilder and order a bike for themselves? I am not saying that it never happens, and a few builders in particular (ANT, for example) seem to attract female customers. There is also the "lady framebuilder"Sweetpea, which caters specifically to women.But overall, it isn't typical. If you browse framebuilders' websites and flickr accounts that include narratives about recently made bicycles, you are more likely to find descriptions such as "this mixte was commissioned by Joe for his lovely wife Mary" than "this mixte was commissioned by Mary". Will this change as the number of female cyclists grows? I hope so! It would be fun to argue with another female about seat tube angles and lugwork.

Nene Way 2 Nether Heyford - Sixfields and return.

With Marta. 22 July . 11.2 miles. Walking time 3 hrs 30, a total of almost 5 hrs including breaks. Weather, fine, warm, some sun.






'Organisational difficulties' meant that we had to do this walk as a there-and-back. Fortunately we worked this out after 5 and a half miles, and the walk was roughly the samedistanceas we had planned.

At Nether Heyford

The pub at the start of the walk served us coffee although they were not officially open until 12 noon. Much appreciated. We turned left from the pub car park, along Middle Street, turned right at T-junction, then right into Watery Lane, where we met the first waymarker.

The first waymarker - were the bags too heavy before we'd even started the walk?






From Watery Lane we took a signposted track between two houses. The path turns slightly left and crosses a stream (not the Nene) and several fields. There are stiles. On the left a mile or so away is Glassthorpe Hill, and according to Mia Butler, there was once a Roman villa in the valley.





We meet the mighty Nene itself as we approach the bulk of Heygate's Flour Mill (marked on the OS map as Bugbrooke Mill. Weirs remain from the original watermill. The water is very clear - we saw small fish and a froglet, as well as damselflies. There's also a walled fruit and veg garden full of rows of beans, and with a fig tree growing against the wall.















Just here was the only place we made a small unintentional detour. After crossing the service road, we followed the clearly signposted path, but didn't notice the gap in the hedge a couple of hundred yards further on - no signs here. We realised what we'd done when we came to an impassable ditch and barbed wire at the end of the field. We even walked all the way back and missed the turning. Careful consulting of the map - and, yes, there had to be some way through the hedge - it's just after the end of the taller bushes, to skirt the industrial building.


The path leads diagonally through a field storing what look like abandoned food storage containers - grain silos? - round and very big.


























Through the gate and across a wheat field towards the M1 and through a tunnel underneath.

Under the M1

This was the quietest place within a hundred yards or so, and was clearly the place where old farm machinery comes to die.





Across a meadow where cows were doing their best to eat the maize in the next field, then through the maize jungle, closely planted, neat rows, computerised sowing, taller than we are, past an area where children were playing by the river and a cat was observing from its vantage point.

Totem cat

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The fourteenth century church at Kislingbury

Kislingbury has three pubs, a general store and a butcher's shop, as well as the church.

I like the colours here, though I should have got the writing and flowers in focus too. Need to study 'depth of field'.






The path to the footbridge is part of the flood defences, and a large metal gate can be closed off to protect the village against another two for three foot rise in the water level.





After Kislingbury we turned right from the road, and walked through several fields, quite a distance from the Nene, which was on our right. We could see a raised dyke area, and the path was clearly marked. We walked past a long wall, which has fallen down in places, although there is a door in one of the remaining sections. We arrived at Upton Hall Farm with horses and vociferous geese, then came to the new development of Upton Sustainable Urban Extension. It still looks rather new, but when the trees have grown and the water/ drainage areas have settled in it promises to be an attractive area.

Part of Upton Sustainable Housing Development

The signs for the Nene Way were a little sparse through the new houses, but we found our way through to where the path crosses the dual carriageway of the old A45 at traffic lights

and were ready to take the Duston Mill Lane when we decided we had to turn back.

Geese getting ornery

Wildlife - kestrels and a couple of herons.

For details click here

Gunks Routes: Commando Rave (5.9) & Dat-Mantel (5.10b)

(Photo: Maryana starting the crux section of Commando Rave (5.9).)



Last Sunday was a gorgeous day, with highs in the mid- to-upper sixties. In other words: sending weather. High season, baby!



I was meeting up with Maryana for the first time in a while. She had been forced to take an eight-week break from climbing because of a cycling accident in the city, which had left her with several fractures in her back. This was a heartbreaking blow for her, coming as it did right in the middle of a great climbing year. Before the accident Maryana had led some truly impressive Gunks 5.10's (like Birdcage, for example). But now she had to rebuild. I was climbing with her on only her second weekend back in the climbing game.



We started with a nice warm-up. I led both pitches of Son of Bitchy Virgin (5.6) in one, running it all the way to the GT ledge. I'd never done the first pitch before. It is okay, but after the initial 5.5 overhang there isn't really much to recommend it. I think the second pitch is quite nice, but it is better approached via the Immaculate Conception variation.



After our warm-up Maryana did an excellent job leading Dry Heaves, a challenging 5.8. Then I got down to business with one of those 5.9's I still hadn't gotten around to: Commando Rave.



Dick Williams suggests in his guide book that Commando Rave is a polarizing climb. He says some love it and some hate it. I guess the hate springs from the lack of pro before the crux. The climb begins with some nice moves up a seam. Then comes an unprotected thirty-foot (!) traverse, but really this traverse is so easy it is barely fifth class. For most of it you are basically walking on a sidewalk. And about two-thirds of the way across I actually got a big blue Camalot in the crack at my feet. After that the rest of the way was well-protected.



The crux is really fun. You angle up and right through some overhangs to a left-facing corner. The hardest bit comes as you reach the end of the roof at the corner. You have to hang in to place a bomber piece, and then it takes a balance move out right to escape the corner and reach up to the good hold.



Once through the crux the belay tree is just a couple of moves away. Commando Rave is good, featuring a solid 5.9 crux. It is a quality quick tick, and totally worth doing. It isn't amazing, and it certainly isn't bad. I really can't imagine loving or hating it.







(Photo: Heading up to the big roof on Dat-Mantel (5.10b).)



I felt pretty good about Commando Rave, and afterwards thought I might get another quick tick, this time of a 5.10. I jumped right on the nearby Dat-Mantel.



This was a climb I'd aborted leading with Gail. On that occasion I was just getting up to the roof when I realized I needed some big gear I'd already used below, and then it started raining. After abandoning the lead I sent it pretty easily on toprope on the first try. Pissed to have found it so easy, I resolved then to try to come back and get the redpoint on lead before was out.







(Photo: Getting ready to attack the roof on Dat-Mantel.)



This time, on lead, I wouldn't say it went easily, exactly. I fumbled about a bit before figuring out how to reach the bomber horizontal above the roof. Then I was psyched to place two good cams above the roof, one for each of our double ropes.



I got set to throw a heel and pivot over the roof....



And it worked out. It took a few tries. It wasn't pretty. I remember standing right up over the roof when I did it on top rope. On lead, by contrast, I ended up basically pushing my whole leg and hip into the rock before I could pull myself over the roof. But I never weighted the rope, and I made it! I'll gladly call it a victory and put it in the bank.



Dat-Mantel is a good introductory 5.10. The crux is short and the pro is great. You should be careful as you figure out how to reach the horizontal over the roof. There is good pro at the back, where the roof meets the wall, but until you can plug that horizontal over your head a fall will send you down onto the slab.It wouldn't bea dangerous fall, but it would be unpleasant. Once you get your fingers in the horizontal, however,there are great placements left and right, and you can try the roof move over and over again without falling onto the rope.



After Dat-Mantel my day was as good as done. With a new 5.9 onsight to my credit plus a successful 5.10, I was content to coast. Maryana proved herself to be the comeback kid, leading two more hard 5.8's: the wonderful first pitches of both Carbs & Caffeine and Airy Aria. I then got to end our day by combining the beautiful second and third pitches of Airy Aria into one lead, a fitting finish to a glorious day of climbing.



I love sending season.

Beach Weather

Ever been to the beach on a cold, rainy day?It can be brutal. It can also, every so often, surprise you with a microcosm of serenity. Finding myself in South Boston on a wet afternoon, I stopped by Carson Beach before heading home. Some Greater Boston residents balk at the mention of South Boston beaches. Too urban. Too gritty. Too close to the airport. The water is freezing. The harbor is polluted. But when I visit the 5 mile walkable, cyclable stretch of shoreline, I see an intriguing, beautiful landscape. There are hills, fortresses, turn of the century pavilions. Views of the islands, the Atlantic Ocean and the city skyline surround. There is some difficult history in this part of town. And there are people eager to forget it, enjoying their evenings after a day of work, watching planes take off over the water. Boston-Reykjavic: 5 hours. Boston-Dublin: 6 hours. Boston-Paris: 7 hours. The rest of the world is really not that far.






But on a rainy day in March no one was watching the planes take off or sitting on the beach. The shoreline paths lay abandoned, strewn with wet sand from the latest storm.






On the boardwalk I saw an off duty policeman jogging. I saw a young woman pushing a baby carriage, adjusting the cover when the rain began coming down harder. I saw an elderly man get out of a parked car and stand in the dunes looking straight ahead, then get back in the car and drive away.








Closer to the water, it suddenly grew warmer and the wind quieted down. I stepped out onto the sand and took a few strides forward.The harbor looked still as glass.There was a breeze behind me, but not ahead of me, as if the boardwalk served as some sort of microclimate border that day.





The quality of light was different too. To my right, the sand looked beige and the water a pale gray.But to my left was a patch that almost looked sunny - warm saffron and turquoise.





The dunes looked soft and inviting,I would hardly guess theyhad been covered in snow only days earlier.






A solitary boat stood, tilted, in the shallow water. Later I learned it had spent all winter in that same spot. As I studied its curious presence, the air was still, almost stuffy. This could be a summer sunset.




But only yards behind me it was raining and some degrees colder. The shuttered up snack shack glistened in the fading light as I cycled past.





Closer to the street, the wind picked up, the tree branches groaned, the rain became insistent. I zipped up my jacket and began to make my way home, leaving South Boston - and beach weather - behind.