Uncle_Tricky

I'm not sure precisely which rocks you are referring to. Most of the stuff along 97 between Wenatchee and Pateros is loose and junky. There is one nice looking outcrop just before Pateros at the confluence of the Methow and Columbia rivers. It's across the Columbia (on the East side) from where the two rivers meet, set up above some orchards. Looks like the glacier that once flowed out of the Methow scoured out the opposite valley wall, leaving some clean and solid looking rock. I've tried to get there--it's hard to do without crossing private orchard land. I turned around at the sign that says "No Trespassing: this property is patrolled three days a week by an angry vinegar pissing shotgun toting son of a bitch who believes in Western Justice. Is today your lucky day?"

MtnGoat: ever *vigilant* against collectivism.

Current contents of van: hacksaw bowsaw chains lots of red sand coffee mug tow hitch compass 2 cans spray insulation wool blanket a half-dozen books (mostly regional field guides--geology, history, plants, birds, etc.) a bunch of maps and WA gazatteer wood glue sleeping bag magic marker antique but still functional draw knife a plastic bag of honey locust seed pods buck knife folding wood "tobacco pipe" couple water bottles, semi-chewed various fire-starting implements a dozen bungee cords dog bowl sleeping bag and pad 3 milk crates 2 propane wall mount light fixtures kindling duct tape 5 gallon bucket of dog food ice scraper plastic frog snow shovel 50 feet 8 mm cord a couple old retired biners folding chair scissors camp stove 1 pound square head fast-tap wood screws a 100 year old round of ponderosa with "Moonhowl Hill" and a coyote carved into it 5 gallon water jug a letter to a woman that will probably never be mailed nor read

I've encountered those baked Canadian ice-tool wielding deer before. A rough herd. They drink a bunch of Kokanee and start stumbling around in the roads, defying the #1 deer maxim: never be caught in the headlights.

I was wondering if anyone knew the story behind the old truck that used to be in the Index parking lot? How did it come to be there, and how long ago did it first appear? Who hauled it away? I was also wondering if anyone knows about the ruins on the right side of the trail to Green Giant Buttress. Just before you cross the creek, there's a remnents of a foundation, some huge bolts drilled into the rock, and bunch of old rusty wheels and machinery. Then there's the piping on the other side of the creek which I assume was used to power the thing with gravity flow? Was it a place to process mine tailings or a sawmill or what? How long ago was it built? When was it abondoned? I'd be interested in as much detail as possible about when, who, etc.

Sometimes I think the world might be a better place if upon turning 18 years of age, every American was issued a copy of the Bill of Rights, a voter registration card, a driver's license, a loaded rifle, a bag of greenery, and a case of the beer of your choice. Oh--and a one-way ticket to Pyongyang, exercisable at any time one decided they couldn't handle the occasional messiness of living in a (still sorta) free country. I'm reminded of what my grampa, who tended to speak in opaque aphorisms, once said as he was teaching me to shoot: "Son, just because you're wearing overalls at the OK Corral don't mean the world is rated PG all the time." I still lie awake at night, pondering just what in the hell he meant by that....

Mushroom season!

Hey Mike, I assume you are talking about Borovik's Hidden War? Interesting book--I borrowed it from my gramps last year when it became clear we were going to depose the Taliban. But I'm always looking for some good book suggestions. You've probably read History of Warfare by Keegan? Just and Unjust Wars (Walzer) is another ok book. While the guy can get a bit wordy, the historical examples he uses are interesting. PS. I thought ya'll would appreciate the truth of the cartoon I posted on the guns and skiing thread?

Is that the video from the Afghani wedding party massacre where we killed 50 innocent women and children and injured 100 others? ("Whoops! Sorry about that!" said the US military later.) But yeah, we sure killed the crap outta them kids, eh Fairweather? (they're the ones that run really slow.)

Regarding the index town walls, what does the state do there that costs them a bunch o money? There's no bathrooms, no facilities, no signs (aside from the "call 911" sign) no ongoing trail work that I'm aware of (didn't climbers volunteer to build and then unbuild the "new" trail to the lower wall?), no parking fees to collect, and I've never seen any sort of state employees working there, so how exactly is it costing them money to let people climb there?

Some WA climbing areas that are part of the state park system and could be affected by these rules: Beacon Rock Peshastin Pinnacles Mt. Erie Larrabee Potholes Some of Banks Lake (Steamboat State Park) Exit 38 (Ollalie SP) Horsethief SP (fun bouldering on the columbia river gorge) Palouse Falls SP area north of Walla Walla along snake river (crap rock) NOT state parks: Index, exit 32, Darrington, Frenchmen's, Leavenworth, Tieton, mazama area, and some of the areas near and north of Spokane. Still, some of these areas are partly state land, such as DFW, so ??? So Mattp, is this new stuff? What is your take on it and what it might mean?

Oh, I get it. You want to be close enough to the ground that if your belayer DOES drop you, you don't die. I'm a little slower than the average kid--must be all that lead paint I consumed as a child. I was thinking of places where you get get high enough that when you fell, you'd have enough rope out so a fall would not be so jarring. In that case I'd second the suggestion of the first pitch of the lizard route. And it's a great climb to continue up and introduce a newbie to many elements of climbing: good variety, they get a taste of multipitch stuff, get to see gear anchors, and you also an opportunity to teach them rope signals, cause it can be hard to communicate on the undercling pitch that does up onto the slab. That's probably my favorite climb for introducing a newbies or gym climbers to outside rock. I've probably taken 10 different beginners up that climb, though the 5.8 fist crack at the beginning thrashes most, including 5.10 sport leaders! S. face Jello is a bit cruxy and stenuous right off the start where you need to place gear, and a fall there would be bad. A newbie could follow no problem, but i wouldn't recommend it for a budding 5.8 leader.

For the most part, democrats were pretty good about observing the Fourth Maxim of Political Strategery: "Never interrupt or distract your opponent when they are busy fighting amongst themselves or engaged in suicidal self-destruction."

How bout the S. Face of Jello tower--steep enough for a clean fall, long enough you could have some rope out, and easy enough a newbie could follow? There's a couple places on Catapult that would also work. Of course you could also demonstrate the dangers of penduluming and falling directly onto the belay by taking a whipper off the roof on Canary!

I don't get it--you want to suprise a newbie belayer by taking an intentional lead fall? What sort of consequences are you wanting to gauge?

Have you ever just continued and carried over in the winter? Seem's like that'd make for a fun trip with many possible detours along the way. Just the logistics of getting back to the side you started on make you appreciate the nature of loops where somehow you end where you started without ever retracing your steps. I guess that raises another question, roughly how many self-propelled people cross the washington cascades east to west or west to east in the wintertime via the many various backcountry routes; and what crossings are most easy, or most popular, or most aesthetic, or most Donner-party-esque? "Could you please pass the steak sauce? And while you're at it, I'll have another helping of Grampa."

The north Cascades highway closed for the season this week. I ended up trekking around over stevens, but got shut down by a big rockslide on 97 right at the Chelan/Okanogan county line. Late Sunday night/Monday am, a couple of big boulders (maybe 5 feet thick, 20 feet long and 10 feet wide) came down onto the road, and a semi truck crashed into them. The rocks were big enough they closed the road for 10 hours and had to dynamite the chunks so they could move them off the road.

Wooloomooloo Creek (Okanogan County, near Loup Loup Pass) Uptha Creek (East of Port Angeles) The Nipple (a prominent pointy mound between Walla Walla and the Columbia River)

Hey kids, I got an old down bag that is beginning to produce its own methane-like swamp gas. Aside from bottling the odor and running propane appliances off it, what can I do? Can you just throw a down bag in the washer and the dryer or will this hopelessly ruin it? What are the options for de-funkifying down stuff?

Hey Sisu, what are ghost fish? Is that another name for ratfish? Now them's some ugly critters. Yes, there's great whites up here. There's been one confirmed great white attack (non-fatal) in Washington state, just north of Ocean Shores. That compares with 14 g.w. attacks in Oregon (1 fatal) and 79 white attacks (8 fatal) in CA. Of all shark attacks in America, only 26% were on divers. There's a mind-bending picture of a huge great white shark (20+ feet) caught off Westport hanging in a surf shop down there. They needed a crane to lift the thing up out of the water.

Speaking of closing, the Seattle institution Chubby and Tubby is having a big closing sale right now. They are going out of business unless they find a buyer soon (unlikely in the era of big box stores). Not exactly a premier outdoor shop, but damn if they don't got an amazing amount of useful crap packed into their small stores. Actually, I have fond memories of Chubby and Tubby. As a kid, we got out Christmas tree there every year--for 99 cents!

Avocados. Actors chow avocados to gain weight quickly for certain roles. Avocados go down easier than blocks of cheese and are less disgusting than fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Plus in addition to good old guacamole, you can make stuff like Avocado Basil Chicken Breasts, Avocado Ceviche, Avocado Chutney with Chicken Curry, Avocado Schnitzel , Avocado-Cilantro Bagel Spread, Avocado Cornbread Stuffing, Cajun-Style Avocado Fritters with Creole Mustard-Apricot Sauce, Bruschetta with Avocado and Basil, Avocado Shrimp Cocktail, Cream of Avocado Soup, Curried Avocado Triangles with Fresh Mint Sauce, Guanajuato Avocado Omelettes, Prawn and Avocado Pate, Pesto Avocado Tortas and Avocado Hash Browns.

Another excellent link that compliments the snowpack analysis is the forecast discussion page which goes into great detail about recent, current and forecast pressure systems, winds, precip amounts in inches, etc. for specific areas and the whole region: http://www.seawfo.noaa.gov/products/SABNW