mattp

Just fantasizing that we are actually talking about bump 5003, that last photo could be on the rock band that appears in the background of the earlier ones, looking west.

Is that a glacier in the background of this last photo? I believe the crag I'm thinking of is on the bump labeled 5003 on your topo map but I'm not 100% sure because I never really took sufficient notice to even pay much attention to where it was. I just remember noticing it on the road hike to and from the N. Ridge of Pinnacle Peak.

I may be on thin ice arguing with the Klenkinator here, but if it was the cliff I'm thinking of, the background in the photo's above would be a hill above Reflection Lakes and would likely not appear in any photo's of Pinnacle Peak (it would actually be below Castle Peak more likely but even still well below the actual peak itself and very low on the approach). I took note of that particular cliff because the rock there did not look to me like the garbage up on Pinnacle Peak.

Probably the most important thing is to pay attention and take the time to stop when necessary to take clothes on and off to avoid sweating and getting your clothes wet from the inside. I did that traverse with leather boots and mostly army surplus wool clothing many years ago after attempting it once before but being turned around in storm winds so strong that we literally couldn't sit still without holding on to something. Frostbiting feet and hands was a real concern but we never got cold to the core and there were times when, even at zero or less, we hiked in shirt sleeves below timberline. It might be only for a half hour while on a steep climb, and you might have to put on down immediately upon stopping, but it IS possible to avoid sweating out your clothes.

Nope. We were pretty sure we knew who did it but even in those days we didn't use water boarding so we never found out for sure. After the beach hike, we took that group for an overnight on Mt. Zion and then completed a ski-hike from the Cle Elum River to Icicle Creek. And all of that with no smokes.

Yup. The guy had really given of his heart and we got a great "teachable moment" out of it. Those "kids" (some were 19 and 20 years old) were a lot of fun.

I was hiking the coast from Hoh to Third Beach with a group of ten juvenile delinquents from Maple Lane. One kid stole the tobacco stash and we had Kangaroo Court at Scott Creek. It was a HUGE deal and (to us) much more serious than any rocket ship deal. Had our inquest identified the culprit, he would have wished he was on that rocket.

My first thought was that it looked sort of like a small wall I've noticed right above the road headed toward Pinnacle Peak, as Jens speculates. I think the features may have been similar, but I'm not sure that wall was steep enough to allow these views of it. My second guess was that it may be somewhere on Guye Peak or in what Jim Nelson calls the low quality alps, as the ambiance seems to match. I suppose it could just as easily be somewhere on Pilchuck or in the Monte Christo area or ??? Great mystery! I bet we can figure it out.

That lit professor may be a bit esoteric for you, Mr. Maine, but even though I might roll my eyes in the back row right along side of you I think the rote memory and mindless competition that passed for "education" at UW law school was even MORE worthless. We could have been inspired to at least once in a while think about how laws make our society work or encouraged to practice some of the skills we'd need as attorney's, but there was almost no room for that. They made a big deal about how we were "learning how to think" but in reality it was all about how much minutia can you store up in your brain, spit back on a test, and then forget about as you store up the next load of crap for another big dump. You may be studying geography today, but I'd be surprised if you didn't think, years from now, that some of that unrelated fluff was worthwhile.

I hope not. Not until we are sure we've made it clear that we don't stand for that crap. Obama is making some good initial statements that may be intended to suggest he is fulfilling campaign pledges, but I hope somebody will hold his feet to the fire or I fear he'll backslide. As much as you would like to see us continue life as usual, I would not.

Hey thanks, Bill. I expected to come back and find more along the lines of "screw you - if you don't like it." And even in your own way, Fairweather, you too have acknowledged my point. (I should note,though, that the bit about my refusing to discuss anything is obvious horse dookie. Search "Bush" "Plame" "lies" "healthcare" or any number of topics and you'll quickly find literally dozens of threads where you've taken a narrow position and refused to discuss any other aspect of the topic at hand but sunk instead into dodge and insult while I've gone out and found new information to add and tried to circle back to drag you into a discussion.) Anyway, my point is that I'd like to see more substantive discussion. Like Bill, I actually learn stuff around here sometimes and I participate in these discussions not to see if I can outwit the other guy but because I'm genuinely interested in the discourse. Sometimes, as in this thread, it appears that many posters here have no interest in actual discussion and you two I noted here have a lot of company in this regard. Sexy Cocoa's post of a few weeks ago was right on. Anyway, I feel better now. I'll get down off my high horse. Carry on.

This thread is a perfect example of why I've lost interest in Spray lately. You guys apparently suggest you are superior but at least Bill first admitted that he rehashed some complete baloney though, sadly, his next "substantive" post indicated either that he misread the article he was commenting on or that the response had little substantive to say about it and then he bristles at a dismissive response. Fairweather on the other hand first insults the Gubernator for being infected with Democratness and then goes after J_B while he has contributed next to nothing of substance about anything. Bill at least leaves room for discussion while being superior. Fairweather none. I know: you guys will say "lighten up." But I think it'd be fun to actually talk politics some time. Have fun guys!

Right on, Porwit. That's a classic climb and to climb it in January is most classic. This is the kind of beta that we like to see!

I'm with you Bill: 48.

It's pretty much all good, Kevbone. At first, I never really liked his stuff because it was too "pop" for my taste and I thought I was more sophisticated than that but eventually I took the stick out of my you know what and realized that my narrow taste focusing largely on blues and jazz was a bit snobby. Springsteen really hit the note in a certain way and, while maybe not as exciting as some others from the same time frame, he was (is) iconic and broadly appealing in a way that the Talking Heads or Led Zeppelin or [insert your favorite rock band that released hit albums in the 1970's and 1980's] didn't quite match.

Yo Bill: Why piss on the parade? We know, you had a difficult time making up your mind who to vote for but lots of folks actually think Obama was a great candidate and will make a great president. Myself? I'm skeptically optimistic as your New York Times link suggests is a rather common take on him. I don't harbor any illusions that he's going to "fix" the economy or take either American foreign or domestic policy in a whole new direction but he's going to put people who think education is important in charge of education, and at least a couple who think the environment matters in charge of protecting the environment. He might even listen to his military advisors before starting the next war. And the fact that America voted for a black presidential candidate IS impressive. There IS much to celebrate and I for one will tip a glass of champagne toward Washington tomorrow night.

How big of a factor IS the taxation -- and how much does it vary? I have bought Cubans in duty free shops and they are still very expensive. And I believe my brother paid nearly as much for some Cuban smokes in Mexico just as a few weeks ago as you would in downtown Vancouver. (Maybe not quite as much, but they were seriously expensive.) Anyway, you don't have to buy them if they come onto the American market, and I'm sure our taxes will compete with any Canadian tax, but I agree the embargo should end.

Right on, PC. I wasn't suggesting that you had been particularly rude but was only offering my opinion that what we say here actually DOES matter.

Fact is, I've been posting here since the beginning of cc.com and the guys who post "dont' take it seriously" are almost 100% the guys who go apeshit when you post something directly to them. The fact is that we hang out on this site on a daily basis and get to know each other as personalities on-line and off-line. What we say here DOES mean something. Make of it what you will. You can spray whatever insult you wish and the fact is that IN REALITY nobody is going to show up at your house and call you on it. But, just as surely, IN REALITY, somebody is going to take offense. Personally.

Sorry, PC13, but that's crap. The fact is that we hang out on this site on a daily basis and get to know each other as personalities on-line and off-line. What we say here DOES mean something. Make of it what you will. You can spray whatever insult you wish and the fact is that IN REALITY nobody is going to show up at your house and call you on it. But, just as surely, IN REALITY, somebody is going to take offense. Personally.

For winter camping at or below timberline, the advantage of a tarp is not only weight. It offers much more comfort as well. All those who worried about my tarp protecting them ended up hanging out in my snow hole on nearly every ski-camping trip I've taken. A tarp is better for this purpose than a tarp tent, but neither is very good for camping in the alpine zone.

"Tramp," from the King and Queen album with Carla Thomas, has always been one of my favorites. "You country Otis -- you wear overalls." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic8RxGdI5bk

You're a simpleton. Which particular idea there do you disagree with? The idea that forging peace in the MIddle East or between Pakistan and India would increase our security? The idea that we have a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons we cannot use and which do not deter terrorists? The idea that if we maintain a huge arsenal and supply arms all over the world it can be used as a justification by those who would seek their own arms?

Thanks, JohnDavidJr. Maybe the cc.com equipment police aren't ready for your ideas but I hope others who are not quite so into gear for gear's sake will find your post informative. I don't disagree with the idea that good quality gear is often worth the money but, as you note, lots of cheapo gear works just fine. (Disclaimer: I am one who thinks a cheapo windbreaker and raincoat combination is at least if not more effective than goretex, and who uses a plain tarp for winter camping in the Cascades and Coast Range.)

On the same page with this editorial was one where William Kristol wrote that we have won the war in Iraq and that a speedy Israeli victory in Gaza is important for the war on terror. And today Ann Coulter was on TV saying that only liberals and communists seek to assassinate our presidents. I bet we're going to see a constant stream of this stuff on the editorial pages from those who have complained that the liberal media has been unfair to George Bush. Bolton and Yoo were largely against treaties of any kind and Yoo was particularly into the "unitary executive" theory of government. How can the "liberal media" runs these pieces with a straight face?