dkemp

Dude, Lowells in Pike Place Market is great for brunch. Food is okay, view is awesome, location right there in the market. Pike Place Market dining guide - then click Lowells Another great brunch place for auntie is Chinooks at Fishermans Terminal. But you asked for downtown, so I digress.

I went to Tieton two weekends ago. One of the climbs we did was Twin Cracks. My pal is a bit of a beginner so when seconding the route and cleaning the gear he had a hard time getting out my blue Metolius cam. He tried and tried, was pumped and sketched, and he couldnt get it. I didnt want to rappel on my anchor to get it (there's no anchor & chains above Twin Cracks) and we left it there . This past Saturday I was there again and I planned to go up Twin Cracks to see if that cam was still there a week later. I met a nice couple there - Mark and Willow. Willow had just led Inca Roads, and I congratulated her - she smoked it! We kept talking and they said they had done Twin Cracks earlier that day. Well yeah, I asked them if they had recovered my cam. They looked at each other, slumped their shoulders and grinned, and said Yeah, we got it! They handed it over with a smile. I took the cam and thumped both her shoulders ceremoniously and dubbed her Karma Queen for the day. I know that cam was justifiable booty and I think its cool that they gave it up in such a friendly manner. I was hoping to run into them again yesterday but it was raining so we bailed back to the big city. Mark and Willow - if you're out there - thanks again! Doxey

We approached Orizaba from the east. When I was there the hut's roof was loose on one corner, so it flapped when the wind blew hard - "clang! clang! clang!" all night long. Sheesh, just try to sleep through that! And the mice running across my face didnt help, and all that made worse by the altitude headache. None of us slept except my pal Sandy, who had the nerve to sleep like a baby - we all wanted to strangle him! Despite lack of sleep, it sure was fun, and a great way to beat the WA rain. That place was sunny as could be. old Bushwhacker Newsletter TR

Not true. Same golden rule that applies to everything else. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Real simple - good stuff.

So I go to the Gunks, and I'm following my pal up this route. I get to this pink tri-cam and have difficulty getting it out. I'm hangin' on one arm, dinkin' with my nut tool with the other, tryin' to get that stupid pink tri-cam out. Finally, whoo! got it! So I get up to the belay and I tell my pal 'Shoot man, gettin' that pink tri-cam out was really hard!' He laughs his head off, thusly and says, 'Dude, I didn't place that - that thing was fixed!" So we inspected it and it looks fine. I proceeded to place it on each climb I led afterward. Okay, so today I'm at work... but I aint workin', I'm surfin'. I google 'tri-cam' and the first link I get is this funny ode to the pink tri-cam . Thought y'all might enjoy it.

Whew, Gunks is an all time great crag! Ignoring the good advice given above, we went to Easy Overhang and I promptly led the first pitch of that great route. Rob led the second. I then led the first pitch of Shockleys, Rob led the second, and Randy the wow, third pitch. Awesome climb! Yesterday we climbed Gelsa. Again, wow, what an awesome route. I led the first, Randy the second, then I led the freakin awesome third pitch. Best pitch I ever led. Randy then led first pitch of Yellow Ridge. I did the second but got off route. Randy bailed us out - uh....whoops! Today we climbed High Exposure - Randy led both pitches. I pulled over that thing - whoo hoo! - then up the face - yow! We rappelled in rain and its been raining ever since. Here are three pics. Me leading third pitch of Gelsa: Randy starting up Yellow Ridge: Me starting out ill-fated second pitch of Yellow Ridge - whats the worst that can happen, right?

Thanks all! I just stopped by Seth's and borrowed his guidebooks - good airplane reading, as I've never looked at any guidebook material about the Gunks before. Yay, I leave in the morning! D

Nice, thanks. I was near Black Peak last weekend, backpacking with my spouse. Our camp looked right out over at Porcupine - looked at it all weekend! Was wondering about that sucker.

Thanks man, thats awesome.

A couple of my pals go to the Gunks each year after Labor Day. They asked me but I said No, I'm too busy, blah blah blah. So my pal says, "Dude, work it out!" Well, I couldnt very well argue against that. All of a sudden, I've got a ticket! I leave in the morning! Any suggestions for a beginner leader at the Gunks? ( I think I could count my trad leads on two hands ).

Nice! I love bears - this post makes my day! Dox

I've encountered missing nuts, or loose nuts. Is it common to carry nuts and wrench just in case?

Huh? Short easy hike with the new footbridge, right? I havent been this year but the footbridge was there last year. Maybe I dont understand.

Oh man. RIP Rodchester. Really really sad. Apparently he was a A #1 kinda person.

Yeah, I like Carolyn's statement. Its a personal choice - and I personally always choose to wear one. Like someone said before, I wear it not just to protect from falling stuff, but because I've conked my head on roofs and such a few times. Cheers, Dox

On Friday my buddy Seth and I climbed Castle Rock. The Fault, then Catapult (fun!). After lunch I led the first pitch of Midway, then he led Midway Direct to the top. This was my first time on Castle Rock and yes, I'll be back. Dox

Perhaps you'll be less scared of Tennessee when that guy gets crushed by the incumbent Democrat. I'm from Tennessee - Nashville actually - and I'm offended by the insinuation of the title of this thread that people from TN are any certain way. Of course, I'm even more offended by Mr Bertrand's beliefs, but my point is - historical context included - that TN is inhabited by all sorts of people. Its an old story of course, but its ironic to to be prejusticed against a group of people (Tennessee) by suggesting that they are prejusticed.

I'm on my third year of carrying a summit register with me. I sign it, and my team signs it, and I carry it back down. Summit Register 2004 already has a bunch of stuff in there. Someday I'll look back on them, or at least thats the plan.

Sheesh! Boy sees bear, bear ignores boy, boy panics and falls down dead. CNN story The bear is reported to be feeling a little woozy also. Dox

Went to Exit 38 yesterday, had a lot of fun actually. I led a 5.7 and upon lowering to the ground Stim Bullitt walked over and asked me how I liked the climb. I told him it was okay as a warm-up but nothing to write home about. He smiled and walked away up the bike path. I couldnt help myself so I untied real quick and caught up to him and introduced myself. He was cordial, like the time I bumped into him last year. He introduced me to his wife Tina and his friend Alex. I know we've talked about Stim on this board before but I just thought I'd mention that I saw him climbing again yesterday - I think its real cool. Dox

But again we drift... Hope they're okay - I wonder what happened. Dox

sounds like a great outing - way to go!

Whaddabout Mt Rainier and Denali too. Those rangers are badass.

Very nice I've looked at the maps many times and wondered about that descent into Thunder Basin - looks bad on the map and I'm glad to hear it goes! Way to go! Dox

Cool