Bronco

Auctioning his ex-wifes wedding dress. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4146756343

It's my recolectoin that Mr. Layton and Mr. Anderson? teamed up and climbed some route on the N. Face and had a brush delayed return last winter. Because of the delay, a concerned individual intiated a rescue.

I noticed the mountain goats around Gunn peak were really hard on the trails and left crap everywhere.

Sorry about the "unsecure rotten log". There wasn't any log when we got there so I grabbed the closest one that looked like it would clear the waterline and lobbed it in. It worked just fine for us. I'll bet you and Sergio were thinking "who'd be dumb enough to haul skis all the way up here?"

Fall flood damage hampers forest access The Forest Service says it will be 2005 before it has money to start fixing numerous washed-out trails, roads and bridges near Darrington. By Lukas Velush Herald Writers DARRINGTON -- It's been a rude awakening for hikers, mountain bikers and river rafters who, as the weather has started to get nicer, have tried to go play at their favorite spots on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The massive wave of destruction left by last fall's record flood is no secret, but it's only now that the 5.5 million people who visit the forest each year are starting to realize how severely their recreation options have been curtailed. The 100-year storm came the weekend of Oct. 17, and in one 24-hour period poured more than 6 inches of rain on Darrington, and more than 10 inches -- perhaps more -- on the flanks of Glacier Peak. Although the flood damage spanned the entire 1.7-million acre forest, the worst of it occurred around Darrington, where half of the 500,000-acre Darrington Ranger District is now inaccessible, said Gary Paull, trails coordinator for Mount Baker-Snoqualmie. "I thought it looked a little like the aftermath of Mount St. Helens," Paull said, adding the aftermath of the storm was among the most damaging things he's ever seen. "I've lived here all my life, but I've never seen a storm like that." Topping the list of impacts: The Mountain Loop Highway from Darrington to Granite Falls is closed; a roundtrip hike to Glacier Peak is now 20 miles longer; a 50-mile detour has been added to the Pacific Crest Trail; and a boat launch for Sauk River rafters needs to be replaced. The damage tally is $12.5 million, $8.3 million for washed-out Forest Service roads and bridges, and $4.2 million for trails -- numbers that could be revised upward once more-remote locations are reviewed. Pieces of 40 forest roads were washed out, including several bridges, 24 trail bridges were destroyed and 20 pieces of trail were washed out. The Forest Service took media to damaged sections of the forest Monday to show just how much public access will be restricted this summer. "We simply have to communicate to people that it isn't going to be restored overnight," said Ron DeHart, a Forest Service spokesman. If funding comes this spring, actual repairs won't start until next summer, and most roads and trails won't open until the summer of 2006 or later. People who want to play will find somewhere else to go, but that won't help the few rural business owners here who depend on a surge of summer visitors to stay afloat. "We depend an awful lot on the tourist," said Richard Anderson, owner of Sauk River Trading Post, an outdoor store in Darrington. "Every business does." Anderson was eager to hear when the roads would be repaired. When he heard not until 2006 or 2007, he looked surprised. "Phew, that is going to hurt," he said. Considering the situation, businesses owners are going to have to be creative to keep dollars coming in. Instead of worrying about the washed-out Mountain Loop Highway, Anderson suggested connecting with businesses in Concrete to the north to emphasize a scenic route up Highway 530 to Highway 20. He also wants to get maps showing places where hikers and campers can still go. Members of the river-rafting community think they may have found a way to work around the flood damage. Allyson Moore of Orion Expeditions in Seattle said guides with her company already have scouted the Sauk River. The flooding changed many rapids, but the river is still fine for rafting. "The main concern is the put-in" location, Moore said. The October flood destroyed the bridge across the White Chuck River where commercial rafters are supposed to embark at the confluence with the Sauk River. The Forest Service is working with rafting companies to see if an alternative location across the Sauk would suffice, Darrington District Ranger Terry Skorheim said. Many would-be recreationists already are stumbling up against closed roads. Marc Byrd of Monroe had his bid to scout out a future hiking trip up part of Glacier Peak thwarted Monday when he came upon a section of the White Chuck River Road washed away by the flood. "I'm not really OK with it," he said, adding that he knows it takes time to fix washed-out roads. "It's just a matter of getting the money to fix it." A pending federal appropriations bill has the money the Forest Service needs to fix the roads, and possibly has the money needed for the trails, but the Forest Service isn't counting on the money until it arrives.

Someone has taken the time to cut a pretty nice trail through the opening bushwack to Gunn Peak so I thought I'd give it some mention. Leave the Barclay Creek Road at the spur heading N approximatly 1 mile from the trailhead parking-lot. Just before reaching the creek, follow pink flagging to the East then North across the creek on logs. Trail travels North to an old road bed for maybe a 1/4 mile. Turn back to the West on the road for approximatly 100 yards where an even older more overgrown road takes off to the North. Follow that road to a landing where the road ends and you start gaining elevation following the flagging on what appears to be a game trail with random flagging. The trail here is not very obvious but, worth trying to sniff out as there is some BW 3-4 to deal with if you lose it. Follow the trail literally to the "toe of the buttress" where you do some gully scalin' starting at about 4,000'. Follow the 3rd and 4th class gully to a bigger drainage and follow that drainage to the ridge at 5,400' where you reach the basin. If you don't lose the trail (like we did), 3 hours to the basin is a realistic timeframe. We hauled our ski's all the way up there and were rewarded with some great skiing in Gunn Basin and back down to about 4,600' in the drainage. Great day to be out in the Mountains.

Family foils armed intruder A Lake Stevens man allegedly held a Snohomish family at knifepoint, but the father called police on a cellphone his wife slipped to him. By Katherine Schiffner Herald Writer SNOHOMISH - A man forced his way into a Snohomish home and held a family of five at knifepoint until they were able to secretly call 911, police said. "We all pulled together and did what needed to be done. I'm just glad nobody was hurt," said the family's father, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons. "It could have been worse - a lot worse." Snohomish police arrested Paul Granquist, 37, of Lake Stevens. They suspect the intruder entered the family's open garage on Wednesday afternoon to steal some items but was interrupted by the family's 16-year-old son. The boy said he was just getting home shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday when a man pointed a large hunting knife at him and forced him inside. As the pair entered the house, the family dog, Maggie, barked at the suspect, waking up the boy's father. "He said to get downstairs and sit on the couch or he was going to kill somebody," the father said. "I was afraid he was going to hurt the kids." The intruder, who the family did not know, seemed panicky and paranoid, they said, and may have been on drugs. "Whatever he was doing, it wasn't logical," the boy said. "He thought he was running from someone, but he wasn't." The boy, his father and his 12-year-old sister were sitting on the couch when his mother and 9-year-old sister arrived about 10 minutes later. The boy's mother, who was concerned because she saw her son's car door open and his keys on the garage floor, slipped her cellphone into her pocket before entering the house. "She was really using her head to put the cellphone in her pocket," her husband said. When she joined her family on the couch, she managed to pass the cellphone to her husband. The intruder, who had changed into clothes from the son's room and grabbed some items from a jewelry box, was upset that the family dog wouldn't stop barking, and allowed the father to go upstairs to get Maggie. "I managed to call 911 then and tell them there was an intruder," he said. The call ended, he said, when the man "yelled up the stairs, ëYou have 10 seconds or I'll kill someone.' I was just hoping I'd given enough information" to the police. The intruder took the cellphone, then ordered the family into their small bathroom downstairs, the father said. That's where Snohomish police found them when they arrived at the home near Blackmans Lake. When officers knocked on the door, the man allegedly pretended to be the family's son and told them he wasn't allowed to open the door when his parents weren't home, according to an affidavit filed in Snohomish County Superior Court. The family, who heard the officers, yelled for help. Officers caught Granquist in the garage, the affidavit says, where he was apparently pretending to talk to someone on the cellphone. The family says they're grateful for the quick response from Snohomish police, who ended the home-invasion robbery by 3:30 p.m. "I have a lot of confidence in the police now," the father said. "They did a great job." Staying calm throughout the ordeal was critical to helping them escape, the family said. "The girls and my son did a remarkable job keeping it together in a difficult situation," their mother said. She added, "This is a quiet, friendly neighborhood. I didn't expect this here, especially in broad daylight." Granquist was booked into the Snohomish County Jail, where he's being held on $100,000 bail.

No, you called out a five year old girl. That's cowardly. You also suggest I might see a potential abortion differently if it was my grandchild being considered. That's just personally offensive and would be to anyone with a heart. I guess I know where you stand. You and your kind can have all the abortions you want as far as I'm concerned.

Wow, that's pretty bitter and uncalled for statement! Have a good life.

I saw a guy carrying them DOWN from Camp Muir one time so they must have their drawbacks. I'd say invest in some old short skis, Silveretta 404 bindings and whatever skins you can afford. Better than snowshoeing.

no way dude, she's clearly the spawn of satan!

1 - He supports abortion. 2 - He supports raising taxes to balance the budget. 3 (bonus reason Kerry is the devil) - He is a verified knuckle draggin snowboarder. Bush isn't an angel and like I said, I wish there was a better cantidate but, Kerry won't be getting my vote. PS: I didn't literally mean he is the Anti-Crist, just that he has some "undesireable characterisics" in my opinion, similar to that of Satan. Lighten up. Bush has some hot babe relatives too.

You take your net connected cell phone to the outhouse to read your email. Your email address ends in ".over.yonder.com." Your computer is worth more than all of your cars combined. You ever refer to your computer as "Old Bessie." You start all of your emails with the word "Howdy." You can fix a trolling motor with a set of PC tools. You've ever used a CD-Rom as a coaster to sit your beer can on. Your screen saver is a bitmap image of your favorite tractor. You think re-booting is getting new soles on your boots.

Actually Josh, Bush is only the third president in history to visit Africa while in office and promised to give $15 billion to fight aids/hiv in Africa last year. I'd say he's doing a better job than most former presidents in doing what he can to help the "starving people of color". You might look into this stuff before making an unobjective blanket statement. And don't delude yourself, other than small pockets of liberal voters, Bush will overwelmingly win a second term. I might have voted for someone else, but Kerry is the anti -Crist.

Funny bumper sticker I saw yesterday - "Piss off a Liberal, work hard and be happy"

Diablo.

It was a couple of years ago in the Seattle PI. Do a search there.

Talking to a buddy of mine durring Easter dinner yesterday, he mentioned that he was on Baker Saturday doing some 'biling and breifly talked with the guy who lost his machine. He had some head lacerations but seemed pretty good for a dude who had ridden a snowmobile off an 80' drop. I thought I'd try to talk some sense into my friend about riding snowmobiles on glaciers but, he's convinced it's safe to follow other riders tracks.

If the Rangers notice you camping outside of the established and approved campsites they will probably make you move back down. I think Ingraham Flats is your highest "official" bivy. Enjoy.

awesome!

Mainly I like fried rice, but other kinds can be tasty too. Do you like milkshakes?

Post deleted by minx

Don't encourage him! He's probably writing his thesis for you to review right now! I feel like I'm in geek hell when I read some of this stuff!

That was the funniest f#cking read ever!!!! Ah sheeyat, I'm gonna need a case of paper towels to clean up the coffe sprayed all over my office now. Seriously.