Jim

Can I suggest who, oops, I mean what to provide as an offering? BTW I passed on your acronym filled ruminations on meetings to my teacher friends and they just thought it was a hoot.

While I'm waiting for my flight back to civilization I'd at least like to see some cats --- maybe this is why spray traffic has dropped considerably.

Wait wait, your bitch about the NCNP "locking" people out is that the road is no longer usable up to Cottonwood camp? Why the fuck would anybody who purports to enjoy the outdoors want an old road regraded underneath Park Creek Ridge?? That is literally the heart of NCNP. Should they reactivate that plan to force the road over Cascade Pass too? Jesus man, the access is great and you can get to some amazing terrain, largely undisturbed. You make it seem like armed guards are keeping you of the park. The NPS has spent some considerable time on that one - I was up there talking to them about it. Bottom line the road is in a bad place regarding flooding and some of the models indicate it's not going to get better with changes in hydrology. Because it's bounded on both sides by the wilderness it would take Congress to act to change it. This one seems an easy decision. Close the gate and let it be. I worked on another one on a USFWS refuge in AK with similar issues - different politics of course, the Feds chose not to move on the issue, and of course AK is now suing.

You prompted me to look into this a bit last night - and I'd agree it's not clear why the road is not opened - at least say thru about this time of year. Seems it could be a viable recreation use option. Is there a capacity issue - parking, turn-arounds?

I'd agree that communication on these issues has bee lacking, to say the least. And that some of the day-to-day operations, such as opening the Paradise Road in winter seem to be more geared towards what? I don't know, convenience of staffers rather than winter recreationists? Hard to tell. But - the Park Service and other natural resource agencies - USFS, BLM, USFWS are the step-children of the Federal budget process. We're moving more towards a user-fee system than ever before - Congress, and your (OK, more like Iowa's) elected officials are starving these agencies given the demand for neglected infrastructure and level of use. And never mind about ecological restoration or research. Seriously - in an era of dwindling budgets issues such as the West Side Road are not on the table, they are not even in the room.

Oh yea - leading (or trailing) the nation in several categories including funding for infrastructure, transportation gridlock, parks and open space funding, racial disparity in education, and overall education funding. But hey, we can have a J at out gay friends wedding so all is good. Those are social wave changes that occurred in the grassroots - neither the providence of the legislature or the NGOs who love to beat their chests over it.

Not that I know of -- only the ones chose by the electorate (30%) and the moneyed interests (1% or less) in the guise of free speech. Yea, we're making progress ok. In the coming budget battles who do you think, for instance, will win out - social needs/infrastructure/environments or the Pentagon? I know - at least the Dems throw a bone or two in that direction.

True that. And isn't there something in the original legislation that would have to be changed before this hypothetical option could occur? Didn't we cover this once? As in most political deals, money rules.

Too bad we can't have an initiative banning paid signature gatherers for initiatives - that would be closer to the original intent. But money= speech, right?

A group of us tested several beacons last winter in the Wallowas while on a BC trip. Buried - the Tracker II came out on top for precision and range - besting the Orthtovox S1. Your results may vary

Wrong. I have an old iPhone4 and get GPS satellites just fine and use Giaia GPS - which is a great program by the way.

My late father saw several over the years up at Buck Creek Pass, up to about 1954. There was a healthy population here, and it was completely lost due to human encroachment, unlike what is claimed here without basis in fact. I saw a presentation recently at a wildlife conference that looked at the energetics for the griz in the North Cascades vs. the greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Basically the pretty convincing conclusion was that the North Cascades can support some griz, but not anywhere near the densities found where they are doing well because of the habitat and prey abundance. The thoughts are that griz was never a high density species in the Cascades and never will be - but that the population could be bumped up a bit with some assistance. That's the non-technical thumbnail sketch I got from the presentation. From the USFWS perspective, they look at the Cascades as a way to increase this Distinct Population Segment as another step in Endangered Species Act Recovery. Given, however, that USFWS is the stepchild of all federal natural resource agencies and has very little funding to spare, I'd say give this and the politics - an introduction program is a long shot.

One other item - for the Canon lens you might try Glazers Camera in the Lake Union area - they have a decent selection of used lenses and you might find something here. I find the folks here very helpful. http://www.glazerscamera.com/store/used-items/used-lenses

I use binoculars for fieldwork regularly - but it depends on what you want to use them for. Scoping out routes and need to be compact? Longer distance critter watching? Birding in the forest at closer range? My advice would be to wander over to the Seattle Audubon Society's office in Wedgwood where they have a good range of optics and a very informed staff person that can help you out and you can step outside and try a few pairs. Camera - again depends. I shoot with a Nikon 7100 - you can pick up a body for about $1k. My very strong advice is to not scrimp on a lens and stick with the brand lens whichever company you go with. For when I want a lighter setup I just love my Sony RX100 - this camera sticks in my chest jacket pocket or side softshell pant pocket and it just takes great pics in .jpg or RAW format. One downside - no viewfinder but great optics. About $700. Oh - BootsandPants - FYI - loved that Iceland report and pics - may be emailing you in future for some trip advice. Awesome trip report.

Bump- $440 or make an offer

...with ground fly. $500. Perfect condition - only used for one Andes trip.

Ah, yea. But no one is climbing up to or around them on those skyscrapers, buildings, or bridges. They do quite well under the I5 Bridge and on the Mutual Tower downtown Seattle. Would be a good idea to give 'em a break until the youngsters fledge. I passed this note on to the district wildlife biologist - thanks.

Rats! Not this week. Working on the peninsula end of the week.

I recently picked up a replacement for mine and went with the Black Diamond Dawn Patrol LT. I had another older soft shell that had a thin insulation layer - I run hot so was looking for a minimal shell. I recently used the BD jacket on a week long yurt ski in the Wallowas. With a thin layer underneath I was able to regulate pretty well and keep the jacket on for climbs up and just threw on the puffy when we got to the top and was time to strip the skins. Seems pretty wind resistant and water resistant as the ski back down at the end of the week went through wetter snow. Dawn Patrol LT

Too bad I could not make this one - I even have one really weird piece of climbing hardware for general discussion! Next time Oly, save a large T-shirt.

I also went to Bouche and he seemed very competent, reviewed my X-rays, build a padded insert and gave me some advice, and hoped I did not have to return. Hendershot- how are you doing now?

Been that kind of work week - TODAY is Thursday, duh! Gotta be somewhere at 9:00 so may stop by for a quick brew - but will have to pass on the round-robin bocce ball tournament. Haven't been here yet but it's on the list!

.....but who won at bocce ball?

If anyone cares or has had a similar injury - the above advice was about it. Just needed a long rest, iced if flared up, some aleve now and then. After 2.5 months, ready to get back at it.

Thanks - hoping some down time will do it.