not_a_climber

I think the Forest Pass is an issue to some extent. The person or group that decides to go on a hike will now drive to the trailhead, see signs that say they need a pass, and wonder what the pass thing is all about. I ran into this at a trailhead last Summer. A group of guys pulled into the parking lot next to my car. "Do you need a pass here?" they asked me. I told them they did. They risked the day without a pass. I have no idea if they got ticketed, but I suspect that for those who do, it really dampens their intial wilderness experience. I agree with the comment that you don't need a lot of expensive gear to start out, though advertisers would try and convince you otherwise. Summer hikes were common for our family, and we wouldn't carry much more than lunch, sweatshirts, and maybe a flashlight and compass (me carrying these, possibly hoping the hike might break out into a real adventure). Now they try and convince people that even for short excursions you need hydration systems, nutrition systems...and maybe a college degree as well.

Does anyone know the status of the Middle Fork Cascade River trail? The USFS report dated May 11 says closed due to fire and flood. http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/recreation/activities/trails/cascades.shtml

If you like Earth Wind and Fire, then the chicks should be willing to put up with your Led Z occaisionally. EW&F has legs. Their version of Got to Get You into my Life beats that of the fab 4 hands down. I can't rave enough about them within the small confines of this bulletin board...

Any other telemark boarders out there?

Considering that this trailhead is one of the more popular and easily accessed winter trailheads there should probably be some kind of warning sign at the trailhead about avalanche danger. Is there one? Anyone who watches the evening news for a few years but never takes a step in the mountains can come to the realization that this area is potentially dangerous. As far as avalanch beacons go, why not, if you are the REI, post a sign in the area where the beacons are sold telling when your next avalanche awareness class is (maybe they do this, already)?

Here are some photos showing how the South Cascade Glacier receded from 1960 to 1992. A couple of other relevant links: 1999 USGS data South Cascade Glacier Express

I might be inclined to put bike helmets and grocery cards in this category too. I prefer going to a store that treats me like a person, not a piece of data. I also prefer being able to exercise my own judgement on wearing a bike helmet.

Our King County Exec and other elected officials should be working overtime with lawnmowers to keep the parks open.

Our parks are being held hostage...for more tax dollars.

All the big kids in the neighborhood were riding down from the top of the Big Hill. I decided to try it. I think I'd only been riding my bike for a couple weeks. My bike was different from theirs. It didn't have brakes. The pedals went proportionatley faster as the speed of the wheels increased. No such thing as coasting. My neighbor had given it to me (of course I had refused it at first because it was a girl's bike, but he was good with metal and fastened a bar from the stem to the seat post to save me from this extreme embarassment). The wipeout occurred about halfway down at which point the pedals and wheels were moving much faster than my little legs could keep up with them. Me and my friend built a treehouse way up in a cedar. We cut off all the branches below it so any enemy neighbor kids couldn't get up it. We used a long section of rubber hose to shinny up. We cut off more branches to make rooom for the floor and walls and tossed them over the side into the stickers that grew high up among the surrounding trees and brush. My friend then jumps over the side and pulling me with him. At first the nest of pine boughs held. Then we plummeted fast, but it was actually more like an elevator ride the way it stopped at the bottom. Pretty fun actually. Am I the only one that's been hit in the head with a baseball bat?

What if both people are wearing the optional force field (assuming this option has been manufactured more than once). The first time it bounces back at twice the force. Then twice that, and so on. Pretty soon it reaches the speed of light. Then what happens. The speed of light is supposed to be a constant (or is it?) Well if it doesn't bounce back at twice the speed of light then I think you sir are guilty of fraudulent advertising. On the other hand if it becomes faster than the speed of light you may be able to go on the lecture circuit, do a bunch of hand waving mathematics and eat croissants and orange juice for breakfast every day.

quote: Howard Jones no one is to blame???/ what is the title?? Howard Jones, No One Is to Blame produced by & backup vocals by Phil Collins Here's another: As the evening turned to rain Watch the water run down the drain As we followed him down to the station. And though he never would wave goodbye You could see it written in his eye, As the train rolled out of sight, bye bye...

an easy one: You can see the summit but you can't reach it It's the last piece of the puzzle but you just can't make it fit Doctor says you're cured but you still feel the pain

Well there's bad turkey sandwiches and bad turkey sandwiches At least you got the west coast variety. [ 10-14-2002, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: not a climber ]

I didn't know there was such thing as a good box lunch. Why can't they just close Bellevue on Saturday's? Is Bellevue really that important?

Visa card lying on the front seat of my car way down there at Exit 38. About this time I noticed the one snafflehound with an ugly scar on its neck and one ear missing talking in hushed tones into a small walkie talkie. Another too my right appeared to be flashing hand signals but it was also possible that he was imitating John Travolta in...

that Allison's nose looked alot like Brad Pitt's or rather how his nose used to look. It seems the plastic surgeon lacked any native talent and had thus relied on massive doses of general anethesia and 3 stitches to pull a clumsy switcherooie. Meanwhile Not A Climber who was seated in the back of a classroom at Bellevue CC working on his Spray Certification noticed someone across the aisle with a nose that looked oddly familiar...

moldy underroos while the snaffles did some quick back of the envelope calculations on the half life of a cc.com thread and how short it takes for it to degenerate into a vortex of steady state of nullity, the side result of the calculation proving that Not A Climber actually climbs more than the other cc'rs. While snafflehounds are considered poor at math they were able to use several tables from old Pee-Chees in a massively parallel architecture to ultimately arrive at the fortold conclusion that...

ask for a light but I refused as I only had one match left. With an air of superiority, I lit my last, and ground the match into the earth at his feet.

The sky durned an ugly yellow and the wind picked up. Lightening in the distance sounded above the defeaning roar of the river. From around the bend I heard hoofbeats in unison coming closer. I stepped back behind a gnarled pine and took a long draw on my cigarette stub. And then what happened?

I was going to hike up the South Fork Cascade River trail a couple weeks ago and found that the access road had been converted into a nature trail I can't imagine alot of people hiking this as a nature trail and in fact there were no cars parked there other than my own. My guess is that the upper part of this trail as well as the Middle Fork CCR trail are going to return to nature. Access to the Kindy Ridge trail also required a 2 mile road hike due to some problem w/ the road, but I don't think it is a USFS road. I think alot of it is trying to control access to certain areas by limiting the trails to them.

Congress passed an emergency motion today to raise the price of the annual forest pass to $57.38 saying that the price of pass was not keeping up with the average American's earning ability. Also since people are working harder, that means they are enjoying their recreation even more, and hence should pay more for playing more. Toll roads are being established at all forest entrances and also at HWY 167 and 15th street which was designated a wilderness area in the bill.

At the protest they had several weeks ago by the REI maybe 20 people showed up. If there had been more (100-200 or more would be nice) maybe we could have got some press coverage and look more like a force to be reckoned with . Next time there's a protest, if you've got the time, show up and make some noise. You can chat live with some of your friends instead of over the internet. I really have to wonder if the forest pass thing is working against those that distribute it. They are pricing people out of the wilderness.

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=825 It could happen to you If your taking the effort to post in this thread, send a post to congress and the permit vendors as well.

"I think the real disease is the two party system that really offers no viable choice, so people just don't care." Aren't the parties just a reflection of their constituents and ultimately the average American? I suspect the average American has just become more average and so the parties have drifted closer together. Would a third part of any size really offer anything different? If there is no demand, then there will be no supply. For better or worse, there is less polarization in public opinion. I want my, I want my, I want my MTV.