Norman_Clyde

Alas, my time is limited. Monday/Tuesday, otherwise not till the 25th. I have other days off but I am thinking I'd better allow at least a full night's sleep before going back to work.

Couloir, come join me on Monday and we'll knock it off.

Nice work, guys. How is the washout on the W. Fork Winthrop? It was a real mess in June.

Right by the Fremont Bridge, yes?

8 o clock is more realistic for me.

Bump. For once I'm free on a Tuesday. Need to make climbing plans for my upcoming time off. Name the spot, I'll be there.

I spent one fun summer during med school researching sensitivities of MRSA to various antibiotics. I worked with probably 30 different strains, which I regularly spilled all over the place, including onto my shoes. At the end of the summer I cultured my own nostrils just to make sure. I was relieved to find I was not infected. These days when working in Port Townsend I see a whole lot of MRSA in the Jefferson County jail population. I'm pretty sure other WA county jails are not much better.

I miss the rotating skull. That was by far the coolest avatar. It wasn't even close to worn out, but he got rid of it anyway! I don't like the new one nearly as much.

Chuck, your solos are way cool. I need to get out of my trail running rut and find a few summits myself.

When our party crossed there at the two downed trees on July 5, 2003 the water was low enough that no wading was needed, though we did use the trees to cross. I bet by now it's an easy ford. The big challenge is finding the right spot to cross, since it's not easy to see from the trail. I recall that at least one member of the group had preloaded GPS coordinates, which normally I would consider cheating, but was willing to tolerate on that occasion. The trail up Easy Ridge is likewise not apparent from the riverbank, but not too hard to find: head for the ridge bearing a little right from where you cross the river.

I find that when I'm moving fast I enjoy the scenery just as much. Memories of my one day car-to-car outings are just as precious in general as overnighters. However, if my goal is not realistically achievable in the time I have, and I develop a sense of haste and urgency, this spoils my fun immediately. I guess my philosophy is that it's fine to go fast as long as your itinerary doesn't put you in a hurry.

Before our lives divide for ever, While time is with us and hands are free, (Time, swift to fasten and swift to sever Hand from hand, as we stand by the sea) I will say no word that a man might say Whose whole life's love goes down in a day; For this could never have been; and never, Though the gods and the years relent, shall be.

Red lips are not so red As the stained stones kissed by the English dead. Kindness of wooed and wooer Seems shame to their love pure. O Love, your eyes lose lure When I behold eyes blinded in my stead! Your slender attitude Trembles not exquisite as limbs knife skewed, Rolling and rolling there Where God seems not to care; Till the fierce love they bear Cramps them in death's extreme decrepitude. Your voice sings not so soft-- Though as wind murmuring through raftered loft-- Your dear voice is not dear, Gentle, and evening clear As theirs whom none now hear, Now earth has stopped their piteous mouths that coughed. Heart, you were never hot Nor large, nor full as hearts made great with shot; And though your hand be pale, Paler are all which trail Your cross through flame and hail; Weep, you may weep, for you may touch them not.

Looks like you got some good traversing in on the lower half. I know how much you love traversing.

I'm not sure what you mean. If you're wondering if the gully is too much trouble, I'm wondering what difference a short 45 degree gully makes after the BW4 ascent of Terror Creek Ridge, followed by the ankle-breaking talus-fest of Crescent Creek Basin. The gully is not overly steep and probablyconstitutes no more than 2% of the total slogging required. At least you'll be on snow (probably).

Lake Ann has great views of lower Curtis Glacier on Shuksan. Five miles in, with a fair amount of elevation change (the climbing is mainly at the end on the return)-- might be close to the limit of the casual camper's tolerance.

I haven't been up there recently, but the snow is virtually certain to be all gone by this date. Even more so by early September.

MRSA has jumped the boundaries of the hospital and is now well established in the community. But all is not lost-- several oral antibiotics are usually effective against it, especially Bactrim (sulfa) and clindamycin.

Gary, you're right that it has nothing to do with the immune response. The local swelling, which is usually a lot worse on the day after the sting, is due to the destructive effects of the venom. Of course your body does mount an inflammatory response, but this is response is secondary to the damaging effects of the poison. There is really nothing to do except ice, elevation, Ibuprofen. Steroids have not been shown to help local reactions. I'm not sure why the pain was so intense in your case. In general, sensory nerve endings do not like being put under excessive pressure. Probably it had to do with local tissue pressures, already high from the swelling, increasing further in response to muscle contraction. Actual compartment syndrome from a sting is extremely unlikely.

Firn = snow or ice of some kind Spiegl = mirror So, Firnspiegl must = "mirror ice" or water ice. Or does it mean an ice catalog?

I took this route solo in August 1998, thinking I would thereby increase my safety by avoiding the danger of being unroped on a glacier. I can say that staying off the glacier on this route is a pain. Staying on the ridge crest, you will stay a few feet west of easy snow travel as you drag yourself up unpleasant scree and crumbling volcanic gravel, the crux being a 60 degree mudslide in the midst of a small waterfall. I had planned to take the same route down, but after meeting several soloists from the Sitkum at the summit, including one with his dog, I said Forget It and went down the Sitkum, which was completely melted out with no snow left to hide any crevasses; took about 90 minutes to get back to Boulder Basin that way, infinitely easier, and IMO safer than reversing my steps solo. If you've got a partner, just bring a little gear and take the glacier: you won't be sorry.

Here is a link that puts the West Coast Trail's origin in chilling historical context.

Ford's in his flivver, all's right with the world. Am I properly pneumatic? Centrifugal bumble-puppy Just don't give away the ending for the rest of us. I mean of the physics book, of course.

Cool You and who else?

I am just stepping out. I may be some time.