Fairweather

Not any more than Socialism--or even Cosmopolitanism. Part of Enlightenment appeal was its ability to free the individual from the oppression (real and perceived) of the community. While the unquoted portion of your post is apolitical and accurate, this last bit is way off base--or, at the very least, too narrowly defined or tailored toward a particular world-view.

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Harvey Manning's bitter NCCC legacy: "Buy my guidebooks and then stay the F@#$% out of my mountains." By the way, ALPS is not any better.

"I tell ya Bill, thayz no tellin what chull come up wit when you drag a hunnerd dolla bill through a trailer park..."

moveon dot org

We all know this topic is part of your latest ego self-massage, but you make quite a leap to get to it. Off topic. Nobody cares. Please reread.

1.3Bn Chinese. Yes, it's working well for the .2Bn urbanites who have adopted capitalism. For the remaining 1.1Bn, not so much. So wait....you mean them Chinese Commies are better capitalists than America?? And since when did you get behind this whole 99% movement????? I'm part of the 53% movement.

1.3Bn Chinese. Yes, it's working well for the .2Bn urbanites who have adopted capitalism. For the remaining 1.1Bn, not so much.

YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS COMMENTING ON CHINESE AFFAIRS UNLESS YOU SPEAK FLUENT MANDARIN AND WERE ONCE ABLE TO CLIMB 5.10. --Steve

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Solyndra. Fast and Furious. John Corzine. Please do not discuss these issues while you're watching Herman gettin his knobbin. As you were...

Uh, pretty far?

Another example of geriatric editorializing here. Joel seems to be (rightly) bashing the NCCC for their dogmatism vis-a-vis road repairs even as he scolds Doc Hastings for wanting to remedy the problem. Not sure what his point is about Rick Larsen--or Maria Cantwell for that matter. It seems like Connelly wants to bash the deep greens--but can't let go of his own knee-jerk urge to bash a Republican in-kind. By the way, Joel, the sun actually does rise over the Olympic Mountains--if you live in Forks or Amanda Park. Seattle-centric journalism at its finest.

Stalker? Not at all. Those quotes--typical though they were--cover only three days of content. Sorry if I rained on your parade, but the prospect of having cc.com's history documented by one of its most virulent psychopaths was simply more than I could stand.

I don't know about Jon, but I'm really excited to see your film--especially juxtaposed against your more recent contributions here:

I climbed it on May 28th. They were not there then.

Presently there are no limits to day trips in MRNP, NCNP, Grand Teton or ONP. The closest Natioal Park where day use limits are enforced is Yosemite and Half Dome Think Mount St Helens. A National Monument, of course, but administered by the same bureaucratic mindset as our nation's other scenic wonders. I still have no doubt that the hats at NCNP would--sooner not later--take a look at the Blue Lake trailhead on a sunny Saturday or Sunday afternoon and decide in short order that something just had to be done to preserve the solitude myth.

Keeping extractive entities at bay is why climbers, hikers, and yes, even mountain bikers and horseback riders need to advocate for their particular brands of utility. Locking out those who have enjoyed the outdoors in a given area or region and have long advocated for its preservation makes no sense in the long term. As for wilderness itself, well, it's probably time to reexamine the definition before we move forward. Below is a great essay written by William Cronon from the American Society for Environmental History. He also has a recently published book called Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature. http://www.williamcronon.net/writing/Trouble_with_Wilderness_Main.html

Well said. That Seattle Times link is absolutely shocking. Worthy of its own thread here.

I'm kind of torn over this one. With the NPS's wild mood swings between scenic nationalism and green ideological purity, day-use limits at Washington Pass trail heads would almost be a given--even as countless RVs would continue to grind their way over the nearby highway. Do we really want even more of this kind of NPS nonsense? http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1030902/Re_TR_Forbidden_W_and_NW_ridge#Post1030902

Another Olympic Mountains dream vacation post! Thanks for the beautiful pictures and story.

Trip: Mount Bretherton - Milk Lake Date: 9/11/2011 Trip Report: Climbed to Lower Lena Lake on mountain bikes late in the morning and hiked onward among flowers and waterfalls to Upper Lena which is now snow-free. The short and easy XC route to Milk Lake was largely snow-covered--in September! Milk Lake is still 90% snow-filled and the snowfield basin above the lake is still spring-white. We climbed the largest gully to the low point between the false summit and the main peak running into extremely loose and dangerous 4th and low 5th class below the crest. Another TR posted here a couple years ago indicated that recent rock slides may have altered the route and I believe this poster was correct. Not sure if we had this thing right in any event, but we climbed back down without touching the top and took in the beauty of this neat little basin as we washed down Snickers bars with cold unfiltered water from a nearby stream. Milk Lake below with The Brothers and the fire beyond: Gear Notes: Mountain Boots Approach Notes: Mountain Bikes to Lower Lena

What an incredible trip! Yours is the first TR I've ever read for West Peak. Did you find evidence of past ascents? How was the rock? Also, I noticed you took route 2 on Mount Anderson (East peak). Was this because route 1 via Flypaper Pass above the remnants of Anderson Glacier looked impassible? or because you didn't want to take a chance on the Eel bergschrund being too wide to cross? Again, great trip. The stuff of my workaday dreams.

Our dad hung out at the Icefield visitor's center while Steve and I climbed. He took a telephoto picture of us on the Skyladder that's kind of neat:

Nothing's changed in ten years. In fact, I think those cords in your picture are the very same ones we rapped off of--just a little less faded and worn. (Just joking.) (I think.)