Achingly Upright

Longer commutes over the past few months have given me the opportunity to ride a variety of upright bikes over varying distances. And while achieving a particular fit is less important to me on upright bikes than it is on roadbikes, I still have preferences. For instance, my ideal handlebar height is on the low side. I began to notice that fairly early on, lowering the bars on my city bikes further with each passing year.I'd assumed this growing preference had to do with performance: That maybe as I picked up handling skills and began to ride faster, lower handlebars just made more sense. And in part that's probably true. But lately I've realised that it's also a matter of physical comfort.



Riding several bikes with the bars set higher than I prefer, I notice that my back starts to hurt after some miles. It's a distinct kind of dull, gnawing pain, somewhere around the shoulder blade area. On bikes where the bars are set lower, I don't experience the pain. And having moved the handlebars on one of the "painful" bikes down an inch, the pain disappeared. I've tried this a few times now over the past couple of months with the same result: When the bars are too high, my back aches.



The downside to having a city bike set up the way I like, is that other women who try it usually tell me the handlebars feel too low.In the end, it's about finding our personal optimal position. And too upright can be just as achy as too leaned forward.

The Bike Shop Next Door

It is the hottest day of the summer when I visit the finished space - a space I have watched transform from a dusty vacant storefront around the corner from my house, to Boston's only transportation-oriented bike shop. Carice and the Small Brown Dog are basking in the morning glow of the homey sun-drenched interior.The newly installed air conditioning is blessedly strong. The phone rings, and it appears that someone wants to order a bike. It is official: Bicycle Belle is open for business.






I have known Carice for about 4 years now - an architect, local bike blogger, DIY addict and lover of vintage 3-speeds. On occasion, we would meet for tea. Funny to think it was only months ago that, engaged in that very activity, we discussed taking the cargo bike plunge. She was considering buying a Dutch bakfiets.I was leaning toward an Xtracycle Radish.We debated the pros and cons of each.








Now both cargo bikes stand side by side in her very own retail space. It was that quick: from idea, to decision, to action, to completion, in just a couple of months. And yet, what happened felt neither hasty nor impulsive. Sometimes an idea develops dormantly, swirling around under the surface for years, ripening, just waiting for something to crack that surface open. In the Spring of , Carice felt that something and the idea became reality. And once the decision was made, her organisational skills, work ethic, and industry contacts from years of bike blogging, made everything happen swiftly. A bit of luck with the retail space cinched the deal.





The retail space had several compelling qualities to recommend it. First, the address. Situated on the border of Somerville and Cambridge (quite literally: half the building is on one side of the town line, half on the other),it sits at the start of Beacon Street - a bicycle super-highway through two of Boston's most bike-friendly boroughs. With its triangular footprint, the structure is distinct and no doubt an architect's dream. Windows on all sides, the interior is penetrated by gorgeous natural light. The wrap-around storefront also makes the wares on display highly visible to local traffic.








Finally - and rather remarkably - the space was available for immediate occupancy. Carice saw an opportunity and took it.







At the start of July Bicycle Belle was soft-launched under the slogan "cycling for city life." At present, the core collection includes transportation bicycles from Bobbin, Papillionnaire, Beater, Paper Bike and Soma, cargo bikes from Workcycles, Xtracycle and Kinn, and a slew of accessories from the likes of Basil, Brooks, Cleverhood, Vespertine, Yepp, Burley, Iva Jean, Velo Orange, et cetera. With utility/ transport/ city/ family bikes (circle your preferred term) more popular in North America than ever, there is nothing unusual about the inventory - save for the fact that a store with an exclusive focus on this market did not already exist in Boston, a major US city teeming with bicycle commuters.





Over the years, many of us have wondered why that was so. Not only was there no transportation-specific bike shop, but many shops that did try to carry some of that merchandise would often drop it after only a year or two - citing lack of local interest. "Boston is too aggressive of a city for these types of bikes" bike shop owners have told me - meaning cargo bikes, utility bikes. And yet, more and more of "these types of bikes" kept filling the streets. Clearly locals were buying them, and they were traveling out of town to do so - or else ordering online. Bike shops in places as remote as Oregon, Florida, California and Washington State have reported routinely selling bikes to customers in Boston.



One possible explanation for the discrepancy, is that the shops citing a lack of local interest have not been sufficiently "into" utility bikes to successfully sell them. When you don't fully believe in a product, customers sense that and failure can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By committing wholly to the utility bike target market, Bicycle Belle hopes to experience a more positive response.






Will the approach work? After only weeks in business, it is far too early to tell. It's worked for a dozen or so successful city bike shops that have sprung up throughout the US. But there are also those that have failed. Since opening its doors, Bicycle Belle has received a healthy amount of orders. But initial buzz does not mean long-term success. In other words: Let's wait and see.





Last Thursday night, Bicycle Belle held its official opening party. Due to limited space, it was intended to be a semi-invitational, low key affair. Yet the turnout was impressive and the atmosphere charged with excitement.






It was good to meet local activists, such as Jessica Mink.





And local bike bloggers, like Bike Style Boston





and Car Free Cambridge.





There were also plenty of familiar faces, including cartoonist Bikeyface and fashion model Vorpal Chortle.





Many of those in attendance were dressed up - lots of skirts, heels, suits - all arriving by bike of course.





At first I thought they'd dressed up for the party, but actually this was simply what people had worn to the office, since the party was immediately after many finished work.





Another trend of the evening was pregnancy - I spotted at least half a dozen pregnant cyclists in attendance. (Perhaps a future group ride theme?)







It was a good evening of wine, food and sparkly conversation, that showcased Boston's utility and family bicycling scene.






And all the while, outside, a steady procession of cyclists could be observed through the storefront windows.






Business as usual for the end of the workday commute down Beacon Street.






Local reactions to Bicycle Belle have been mostly positive, of the "It's about time!" variety. As anyone in the industry knows, a bike shop is never a get rich scheme - not even close. But the business must prove sustainable, and I sincerely hope this one does. Boston has been crying out for a resource like this for some time, and it's exciting that we finally have it - in my very own neighbourhood, no less. If you're in the area, drop by and pay theBicycle Bellea visit! More shots of the space and opening party here.

RAB's NeoShell Pant

On the 1st ascent of "Chucky"






RAB NeoShell Pant



reviewed by Craig Pope



The noise is deafening. It sounds as though I've crawled up under a train trestle and have my head inches from the speeding machine above. Jess just screamed something incomprehensible barely audible from only 30 ft away - or did I just imagine his voice? The only dependable communication between us is a 7.7 mm rope periodically reminding me to hurry upward. I can't see my tools, my gloves or the rock and ice less than three feet in front of me.



I am 2,200 ft up the North Buttress of Mt Hunter in the worst 'spindrift' I have ever experienced. It may as well be called an avalanche. We've been perpetually hammered for about three and a half hours now, and avalanches are more considered to be a single violent event rather than a continuous pummeling. After only three pitches in four hours, Jess realizes that the shaft of his carbon shaftedtool is broken, and we are dehydrated and cold, so it is time to retreat. After eight hours of rappelling and 26 hours overall, we are back at our camp where it is cold, but partly sunny, and the radiant warmth feels great. I throw my pack down, and despite the 2 mile ski and warmer temperatures, I'm not too sweaty. I don't even even put on my down right away.



My body is dry, HAS been dry, and relatively warm for the last 26 hours of climbing and rappelling. In ALL different types of conditions! From a cold, (10°F), ski to the base of the route, to a more aerobic intro on 75-85° ice as we cruised through the lower 8 pitches in calm overcast skies, to getting hammered by spindrift for the remaining 5 hours of climbing and 8 hours rappelling in the snow... to the the ski back to camp I stayed dry protected by RAB NeoStretch pant and jacket. During the ski in, I was able to moderate more aerobic moisture control by the almost full side zip on the pant, and the jacket, (despite the inevitable damp back from my pack), dissipates vapor moisture like a soft shell. Both the NeoStretch Pant and Jacket breath and stretch like a soft shell. For the majority of the ice season and on 90% of all my ice/alpine climbs, I wear softshell pants and jacket. Even if the ice is wet and dripping, I know that if I'm physically exerting myself, my own body heat will dry my outer layer. If my partner and I are 'swinging pitches', by the time they have reached the belay, my jacket is dry, and I can put on my insulation layer for the duration of their lead. In the past, especially when climbing in the alpine and not just cragging on ice, I would sacrifice comfort for the breathability of softshell. Despite being slightly damp, if there was precipitation, I figured I would always be moving, and if not, either in my insulation layer or sleeping bag. Inevitably, however, my insulation layer would get 'wetted out', heavy, and eventually gain weight or lose warmth, (depending on synthetic or down insulation).






On the Moon Flower






However, if there is precip in the forecast, I can wear my RAB NeoStretch all day. I can move quickly over vertical terrain and approaches, knowing my sweat will move through my outer layer, and stay completely dry from outside weather. Unlike a softshell pant, I can kneel, sit, and stand in deep snow with out getting my mid layers wet. When, in the past I would take an ultralight softshell, AND an ultralight hardshell, both of which don't hold up to much alpine abuse, I can take my NeoStretch pants, save weight, and know it will hold up to pitch after pitch of squeeze chimneys, hanging belays, post holing on the approach, all the while keeping me dry from the outside elements and moving sweat away from my body!



Unless I'm hiking through the Olympic National Rainforest in April, I will never have to excessively sweat in a pair of hardshell pants.

Christmas :: Past - Present - Future

=+==+==+= Christmas Past =+==+==+=



When I was younger, before the teenage years, my family always got together at Christmas time with my mother's sisters and brother and their families – usually at my grandfather's house.



As we got older it became more difficult for all of us to get together at Christmas - there were really too many of us to fit in anyone's home. (My mom had three sisters and one brother and altogether they had 19 children.) Then the years went by all too quickly and we all went our separate ways, some got married and had families of their own, others just went away! But as many of us that could, still got together at Christmas. Sometimes it was just Mom and her siblings, but there was almost always some kind of Christmas gathering.



In 1980, after being diagnosed with cancer and having her leg amputated, my Grandmother decided that it was time for the entire family to get together again for Christmas! My mother and I were living in rural Noble County and the township had a community building that we rented and we made all of the arrangements. By this time there were about 75 family members in four generations.



The biggest family Christmas dinner was held in December of 1983 – 28 years ago! It would be the last time this many of the family was together. I think there were only two cousins who were not able to attend. The picture below was taken at that dinner and includes almost everyone who was there. I was taking the picture. (Better double-click on the picture to see all those smiling faces!)





My grandmother is in the wheelchair (she passed away the following May), her sister Jane is sitting beside her, and my nephew Jason is sitting on grandma's lap. Jason was five years old then; he is now 33 years old and has an eight year old daughter of his own. All of those little kids have grown up and many now have families. It is more than a little sad to think about those who are no longer with us – Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jane, Uncle Bob, Uncle Walt, Aunt Phyllis, cousin Mike, my sister, and my mother. But it is such a pleasure to think of them and remember the good times we all had together.



=+==+==+= Christmas Present =+==+==+=



Christmas this year was spent in northeast Louisiana with extended family members. Twelve of us gathered together on Christmas Eve to celebrate. After a very good dinner of spicy Jambalaya we moved into the living room to continue one of their traditional events – caroling by telephone! As each family member who could not be present was called we all joined in with a hearty rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” I lost track of how many people were called... East Coast, West Coast, and places in-between as well as one couple who was on their honeymoon on a Caribbean Island (they had gotten married earlier this year) and another couple who was vacationing in Thailand! It was a lot of fun.



=+==+==+= Christmas Future =+==+==+=



Ah, the future. Wouldn't it be great to get all of my first cousins and their families together again? Some of us do maintain contact on Facebook so we have stayed in touch that way. But it isn't the same as being together, in person. Many of that next generation – the cousins' children and grandchildren - have never met some of their cousins. I'm sure that some have no idea how many relatively-close relatives they really have!



Of course, it would be a logistical (and financial) nightmare but I think it would be great fun to meet up, oh, say in Hawaii or perhaps on a cruise ship – someplace warm! Just spend a week together doing various activities and have time to leisurely get caught up on all the family news.



Written for the 113th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, "A Charles Dickens Christmas."

New Old Moser: a 400 Mile Assessment

Having now ridden Moser 2.0 for about 400 miles, I think it is time for a report. For those who do not feel like reading about the bike's entire history, this is a lugged steel racing frame circa 1978 fitted with niceCampagnolocomponents circa 1999. The Columbus"tretubi" frame is 52x53cm, with an 11cm stem, handlebars 1cm below saddle level (I would like to set them lower, but the stem won't go down any further), 700Cx23mm tires, and 175mm cranks. Gearing is 52/39t in the front and 12-26t (9-speed)in the rear.The complete bike weighs 22lb without the waterbottle. I have been riding it since the end of November, and the individual rides have ranged from 30 to 60 miles. Mostly these have been group and club types of rides, and mostly with riders stronger and faster than me.



I know that people are interested in whether building up an older steel racing frame is feasible for "serious" roadcycling, and based on my experience with the Moser I do not see why not. As far as weight, 22lb is not bad at all for a complete bike - I have picked up new bikes with aluminum frames and carbon forks and they felt heavier. If I want to shave even more weight off, it could be done with some strategic component upgrades, but honestly I did not feel that the weight was an issue for someone at my level of ability.





As far as speed, I was able to ride with strong cycliststhe likes of which I did not think I'd be good enough to ride with,at what they call a social pace (15-18mph on average, depending on the ride), while also feeling some reserve. At no point did I feel "if only I had a faster bike!" while riding the Moser.



When climbing, the bike itself feels "eager" to ascend, and the only limitations I felt were my own and also the high gearing. I would need to get lower gearing in the long run, no question. But the bike itself was fine climbing. When I ran out of gears, I would simply "heave" us uphill. Sadly my legs no longer fit into my jeans as a result of this practice, but we can't have it all.



The ride quality on bad roads has no harshness to it despite the 23mm tires, I am very happy with this aspect. The frame's tubing feels wonderful and just right; perfect amount of flex and all that.



At slow speeds (and I mean very slow - like less than 10mph, when stalling in traffic) the Moser is a little twitchy (compared to my fond memories of the Seven at least, which remained stable even at a crawl), but I do not mind and can still easily control the bike.



The one and only inherent aspect of the handling that is a problem - and the more I ride, the more I realise it is a problem - is descending. I do not entirely understand what is going on and why. But basically at high speeds, the bike is extremely resistant to turning and this was rather scary to discover. At first I thought that I just needed to get used to being on a racy bike again, and that I was holding myself back because I was nervous. But nope, something odd is definitely happening with the high speed turns - not just 90° turns, but even following the curvature of a winding road on a descent. I cannot make the same turns that I know I had no trouble making on the Seven over the summer. So while the bike is capable of great speed, this handling issueultimately makes me slower, since I hold myself back on descents when I do not feel in full control of the bike. I've been trying to understand what is causing this, and what I can do to counteract it, but my instincts are failing me. Naturally I try to take wider turns, but it isn't always possible, and I am just never at a point where I can let myself go on descents.





Exacerbating the descent problem is that I am not entirely happy with the braking power. I did not have a brakeset that would fit this bike, so I bought some CampagnoloVeloce calipers. While I realise that Veloce is not top of the line, I still expected it to be fully functional. I guess with my weak hands, not so much. We have adjusted the brakes this way and that, but coming to a complete stop (like at a stoplight or traffic light at the bottom of a hill) after a high speed descent is problematic.





There are other issues that have surfaced in the course of riding the bike. For instance, there are only braze-ons for one bottle cage, and during longer rides I needed more water. I could get a second bolt-on bottle cage, but it seems a shame to do that to this frame. As mentioned before, there is also quite a bit of rust on the frame that is not visible in pictures (like along the underside of the top tube). It might make sense to get the frame stripped, the rust cleaned up, a second set bottle cage bosses brazed on, and then the frame repainted.





In addition, the rear wheel does not want to stay put in the chromed horizontal dropouts unless the skewer is tightened with a death grip. When initially the skewer was closed with reasonable force, it became misaligned and jammed against the chainstays the first time I rode the bike. It is now tightened as tighteningly as can be and this has not happened since. But it means that I cannot remove the wheels on my own despite them being quick-release; I am not strong enough to budge the skewers.





On top of the too-high gearing, the pedal strike from the 175mm cranks, and the too-tall stem, all in all that adds up to a lot of stuff I would have to replace on the bike (the crankset, the cassette, the brakes, and the stem at least)even without the re-paint and second bottle cage question. I would be willing to make this investment for sure if I was 100% comfortable with the bicycle's handling, but this problem with descents now has me concerned.



And that is where I am right now with my assessment of the bike. More than anything, this experiment has convinced me that I do very much need a fast road bike. Despite the issues mentioned here, I just wanted to ride-ride-ride it all the time, even in the winter. No time to ride? I found the time. Too cold? I got over it. Too early in the morning? Nonsense, the Moser beckons. Tamer, more sensible bikes are wonderful, but for whatever reason they do not have the same effect on me as this bicycle does and as the Seven did over the summer. I want a bicycle that is fast enough for club and paceline rides, comfortable over bad roads, and handles well for a ballance-challenged person like me. Is the Moser it? I love it and I hoped so, but I honestly don't know at this stage. Holding back on descents is a problem; I need to feel in full control of the bike if I am going to improve, not to mention for reasons of safety.

Delving into the Deeds

In addition to the Yarians, Ruperts, and Switzers I have Berlin, Coy and Hoffman ancestors who lived in Columbiana County, Ohio. All of them in the 1803-1860 time period and all in the northeastern tier of townships: Unity, Fairfield, and Salem, and Green (which would become part of Mahoning County when it was formed in 1846).



By the beginning of my second week in Salt Lake City, I had pretty much gotten through my original, rather short, “to do” list except for one item that I knew would consume a huge amount of time. It simply said “Land Records – Columbiana County.” I've had good luck before with land records naming heirs of an ancestor and was hoping for some more luck, especially in the Rupert and Switzer lines.



If you have never done any work with deed records, be forewarned that it can be tedious and confusing. But it can also be extremely rewarding. First you have to search for the desired name in the General Index to Deeds. There are generally separate books for those purchasing land (grantee) and those selling land (grantor). The index will provide the name of the grantor and grantee, the date the transaction was recorded (could be just the year, and the recorded date could be many years after the date of the transaction), the location of the land (in the case of Ohio it is by Range, Township, and Section), the type of deed, and the volume and page number of the deed book in which the transaction is recorded.



This nice tutorial Taking The Mystery Out of Land Records is helpful as a reminder or as an introduction to working with deeds as is this list of Terms used by the Register of Deeds. (There are many others “out there” on the internet, these are two that I've used in the past.)



There were four rolls of microfilm with the grantee index and five rolls with the grantor index covering the years 1798-1897. It would take nearly two full days, but I transcribed each entry in the index books for my known or presumed ancestors John D. Berlin, Henry Coy, Detrick Hoffman, John Hoffman, John Rupert, Jacob Switzer, and Conrad Yarian along with a few entries for others with the surname Rupert and Switzer..



The first day I made it through the grantee index, writing them out by hand. Then, that night back at the campground I typed each entry into a spreadsheet. Duh! Duplicate work. The next day I arranged the netbook so I could type directly into the spreadsheet. A little awkward, but it worked quite well.



After getting the entries from the grantor index entered I sorted the spreadsheet several different ways to review the data. One was attempting to match up the sale of a piece of land to its corresponding purchase, another sort was by township, and yet another by surname.



All of that was done so that I could determine which deeds should actually be looked at. There were too many of them to review them all. Top priority was given to those that were sold by “so and so, etal” (etal means “and others” which could indicate a sale by heirs of the owner of the land) and to those that were sold with a “Quit Claim” deed (sometimes indicating a sale to another family member). I then went to the Library Catalog to get the film numbers and added that information to the spreadsheet.





A small portion of my list of deeds.

I actually looked at about 1/3 of the entries on my list. I had highlighted the records that I really wanted to look at and had sorted the list by film number so I could see what else was on the same roll of microfilm. Even then, I didn't always look at everything from my list on the same roll of film – sometimes I got distracted by what I found in certain deeds and went off on another tangent looking for something else! That's the beauty of being at The Library where a wide variety of sources are available.



As I looked at the deed records I abstracted information from those that were “of interest” to me, adding that information to the spreadsheet. Some documents were scanned while others were just abstracted. There simply wasn't enough time (or even a need) to scan them all.





The spreadsheet with data added after reviewing the deed.

Was it worth the time it took to make that extensive list of land transactions? Yes, indeed! (Pun intended.) It was definitely worth it. What I found in those deed books was cause for more than one Happy Dance and in future posts, I'll summarize a few of the things I found and the discoveries which followed.

"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.

Forsted Rope with Oat Seeds

Joslin Family :: Grandma Invites Irwin to Visit

North Webster, Ind.
April 6, 1969

Dear Mr. Joslin:

Your most welcome letter received: I have marked my apointment book Aug. 2 and 3 - Irwin Joslin may come here today; I had to use these dates as I work five days a week and the weekend is open and free to entertain you and your family. I do hope you can arrange to be here on these dates as I can show you so many interesting things about your ancestors.

I am enclosing an obituary of your great-gr-grandfather which I found in an old scrap book of Grandma's. You will note that it lists your ancestor as Mrs. Joslin of Okla. I was disapointed that her given name was not used. I told my Aunt Hazlette, about you and she knew all the Elliots here, and as she is now 84 years old she may be able to tell us many things. There is a Robert Elliot in Larwill and she says he is Robert J. Elliots decendent. Yes I know all these people about Larwill. My five children graduated from Larwill High school.

A few years ago I found the 1850 census for Whitley Co. This is in the Ft. Wayne Library and Columbia City Library too. Ft. Wayne has one of the finest geneology departments in the U. S. Hope you can find time to visit there while on your vacation. This is the information I want to share with you:

Census 1850
Lysander P. Joslin age 25
Lydia Joslin 29
Anna E. 5
Mallisa 11 month

James Joslin age 54
Abagail Joslin 45
Edwin 20
Joseph 19
Emily 12
Mary 6
Bela Goodrich 74

Henry Robison age 56
Ann Robison 56
Eliza 22
Henry 17
Emily 15
Elizabeth 10

There are so many ways to find the answers to a lot of things we want to know about these people, but I seem to have so little time to work on it. However, I shall keep at this line now until you come in Aug. in the hope that I can help you. Hearing from you has given me incentive to work harder on this line. I am trying to trace all my ancestors on each branch. All my great grandparents were in Whitley county by 1850 and I am realy having a ball in working on this in my spare time.

=+==+= Some Notes Regarding the Letter =+==+=

I don't know if she wrote more at this time or not. There isn't another letter or page in her files that goes along with this.

The obituary she enclosed was for Robert J. Elliott, father of Luther Joslin's wife, Phoebe Dorcas Elliott. Robert died on December 6, 1893.

Lysander Joslin was found on page 471 of the Whitley County, Indiana census, James Joslin on page 472, and Henry Robison on page 461. No townships were given in the census for that year. Grandma misinterpreted Lydia's age on the census - by comparing other entries on the same page you can see that she was 24 years old, not 29.

Grandma seems to have that age-old problem that most genealogists encounter - not enough time to devote to research!

Other posts in this series:

• Joslin Heritage Tour
• Joslin Family :: First Contact
• Joslin Family :: Grandma Responds to Irwin's Letter
• Joslin Family :: Irwin's Letter of March 25th

Sunrise at Cobscook Bay

Monday, September 17th - - The State Park at Cobscook Bay has what are known as 'primitive' facilities (pit toilets, no electrical hookups) but the campsites are spacious and private. My site was at the end of an outcropping or small peninsula in the bay. I had my own private rocky beach facing south and a nice cliff that faced west. It was rather remote, being at the end of the road, but I really liked it! Joann had her site in a separate area specifically for RVs and camper trailers.








The late afternoon sun cast long shadows through the campsite.






Only 'tent sites' had a shelter, which contained a picnic table. There was a second picnic table outside the shelter.




Tuesday, September 18th- - Joann was more energetic that I this morning. She got up early and drove the 15 miles to the West Quoddy Lighthouse, near Lubec, to photograph the sunrise. That lighthouse is located on the eastern-most point in the United States. I, on the other hand, took one look at the sky and stayed in bed a little while longer. However, I did manage to get up in time for these pictures...






But then, I would have missed out on these shots... The tide was still going out. Or maybe it was coming in. Not sure. But at low tide there was no water in this little bay and at high tide it was completely filled.






This was the view from my little beach spot, looking south. Oddly enough, the sky was clearer over at the West Quoddy Lighthouse and Joann got some really nice shots. Almost made me wish I'd gotten up and gone over there myself. Almost.






Good morning, sunshine. It's so nice to see you!

Great Grey Owl in the Meadow

Yesterday there was a Great Grey Owl hanging out in the meadow at Grand Portage National Monument for most of the day. I had been gone out of town for most of the day photographing other things and when I got home there were messages from Jessica waiting for me throughout the village. Luckily the first place I stopped was the post office where our local postmaster conveyed the message from Jessica about the owl. So, I headed over to where the bird had been seen and there he was, sitting on the ground out in the meadow. At first I thought he must have been hurt, because I was told that he had been sitting there all day long. Eventually, though, he did fly away and seemed to be perfectly fine. Seeing this owl was the highlight of my day for sure!

Tangled Roots :: Time for a Change

Saturday, September 29th - - The sign at Beverly Beach State Park in Oregon states that this is an Ancient Stump that goes...

“Back to the dawn of the bronze age! This root mass was one of many buried beneath the beaches along the Oregon Coast between Newport and Neskowin. It once supported a spruce tree, which was buried when the land suddenly dropped into the sea. It remained preserved beneath the sand for 4,100 years before surfacing and breaking free in 1998. Violent winter storms washed it into the mouth of Spencer Creek in 1999.”

The root mass was quite large, perhaps 25-30 feet in diameter and appeared to be of one piece. An amazing thing, regardless of its age, with roots going off in all directions and twisting and curving around each other.



Monday, October 3rd - - The few days I had here on the coast of Oregon were incredibly nice. The weather forecast was as nice as was predicted, and as predicted the clouds and rain returned. It's time for a change...



After a great deal of thought, and realizing (among other things) that I'm just plain tired after being "on the road" for most of the last two years, I've decided to take a break from the travels for a while. I'm not saying the journey is at an end, in some regards it may just be beginning! Yes, that's rather cryptic. Sort of follows the mood I'm in at the moment.



I've been heading east for the last two days, but not back to Indiana, at least not just yet. I'll be making a stop in Salt Lake City to do some research (for an undetermined, indefinite period of time). The ancestors have been calling me and I think the time has come that more of them will reveal themselves to me! That's what I'm hoping for... The answers are out there, somewhere, the very least I can do is go and look for them. Perhaps I can make my way through the maze of tangled roots in my family tree and expose them for their descendants to see...

Summer

Weather patterns around the mountain have settled down. High pressure has been sitting in the area since Independence Day. Skiers, climbers, and ravens soaking up the rays at high camps are rewarded with unencumbered views of the Cascade Range.



Routes around the mountain all seem to be in 'typical' shape for this time of year. Check specific route conditions using the links to the right. July brings quick changes to conditions on the upper mountain. Be sure to ask rangers about the most recent updates while checking in for your adventure.



On another note, we'd like to give a special shout out to our extended climbing community for all your gracious assistance, positive vibes, food, gifts, and thoughts. We appreciate all your help and look forward to seeing ya'll back up on the mountain soon.

After the Fire

This is how it looks now after a fire was stopped right here at this road through the mountains about 3 years ago. Some aspen seedlings are starting to grow and a few wildflowers but still lots of dead trees. Standing dead trees, commonly called 'widow makers' can be dangerious to walk near as you never know when one is apt to fall down. This fire had come across the top of a ridge and down into a rocky area that helped stop it as well as little rain.

Ueber Steigeisentechnik- Crampon Manufacturing in 1908 Oscar Eckenstein

This is an interesting read I had not seen previous from the inventor of the modern crampon,Oscar Eckensteinn written in 1908.



From the original,

"More than thirty years have passed since I first ventured into the Alps and in this time alpinism has made many advances. One need only compare today's rock technique and climbing knowledge with what it was three decades ago to be impressed! But there remain sections of alpinism that look the same as they did fifty years ago. This is especially true of ice technique and everything involved with this type of climbing. I often read trip reports from alpinists, (both guided and self-lead, who are respected as good climbers) who often write that they were forced to cut steps despite the fact that they wore crampons."



More here from Alpinist.com :



http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web12f/wfeature-eckenstein