allison

Civil liberties are for the weak, give it up and live better The forty hour work week is for unions and the poor Code Orange is just a nice way of saying "get under your desks and stay there for three weeks"

You can count me in for cache-site support and evaluation. Glad to help! Funny Norm when we talked this morning, I had no idea you were considering doing this or the Stevens-to-Snoqualmie in a day. I still think I will do Stevens-to-Snoqualmie as a fast trip at some point, maybe 2-3 days, but the one day thing seems a little brutal to those of us not in the business of running marathons and whatnot.

Are you sure that is the right title? I just went to www.abebooks.com to see if they had it and they don't. Abebooks specializes in out-of-print.

Now that I've been on the board for a year or so, I've noticed the same questions come up time and time again. Could we have an FAQ page for things like this: How do I wash down/goretex/get that heinous smell out of my_____? What's good to eat in the backcounty? How do I deal with mildew? Where do I get my rock shoes/boots repaired/resoled? What's the difference between Mounties/Boealps/WAC? What should I look for in an AT setup? When these sorts of questions come up, mods could move them to the FAQ page or something.

Forgive me for drifting back toward main topic. I am once again hearing the anti-bolt brigade talking out both sides of their mouth. Let me ask you this:In your opinion, is ALL bolting bad, or is OVERbolting bad? Is it acceptable to bolt a line that does not go free? What about bolts at the rap stations? Should there be a ban on bolts in the NFs, the Wilderness, anywhere? What about existing bolts? Should they be removed? I recently tried to tease out this discussion with one of our most fervent anti-bolting posters, but was shut down in a most hostile manner.

Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain , the book Glen specifically said he doesn't like. I'm learning snow safety this winter, and I think it's an excellent read...but I am a backcountry newbie, so what do I know?

"That wasn't so easy, now was it?" "Not only am I exceptionally good-looking, I am also very modest!"

The ingredients of Scotchgard are a secret. As Dru suggests, I wouldn't be afraid to use it on a coated nylon tent piece, though it may not stick to SilNylon. Despite claims by Scotchgard that it doesn't mess up the breathability of DWR fabrics, I would not trust my Goretex to it, especially since there is a product out there specifically for DWRs, that is, Revivex. I thought Scotchgard was being pulled off the market for being carcinogenic, anyone know what happened with that?

I would not recommend this method. ScotchGard does not work at all like any DWR on the market.

Around the office....? You mean the stage, late into the second really long day in a row, after not getting any sleep last weekend in Salt Lake? Oh, I can only dream that someday I will be half as perfect as you! I think people who think they need helmets at the ski area may really need lessons on how to ski.

Of course soap is hydrophilic, that's how it works!! Wash as directed above, iron on lowish heat, and if that doesn't work, get a bottle of the spray-on Revivex, follow directions on bottle. One bottle does one jacket. Stuff works wonders.

I don't do a lot of skiing in the treez, and rarely fall down. Never really lose control, and tend to make some turns rather than just point them down the hill. Only reason I personally would wear one is to protect against out of control snowboarders. Now on Rando gear, well, that's another story....

Yes, I was. I see a considerable difference in the objective hazards associated with climbing vs. skiing, especially lift-serviced skiing.

It's huge, I expect to save almost a hundred dollars a year. If I quit buying pitchers at Pub Club, that is, of beer I didn't drink, I would save roughly $400 a year. One of the reasons I don't go so much now, can't afford to support the 'vision.'

Actually the problem doesn't plague me when I am skiing, and no I don't wear a helmet skiing, the idea of doing so strikes me as ridiculous. It's nice to see that candor will still get you laughed at here. I'm sure you are perfect.

Dave, I kind of fell down and got a little banged up at work yesterday, and the doc won't let me ski for a few days, but next week I should be good to go Tu or Weds. Flame suit on, yes I am a little bit accident-prone.

There is one thing about the Enchantment permit district thing that I am curious about: Why is it such a big area? To include the Lost World Plateau, Edward Mesa, Druid Plateau, and Temple Canyon, well, I just don't see why they did. There is not a lot of traffic back there, and of course there is no trail or any possible way anyone could get there either. Anyone know why all of that was drawn into the protected area?

I don't even think you need to be connected, just work in the industry or write for someone. There really aren't a lot of media people there either, it's mostly buyers and sellers, which might explain why I got invited to some pretty swank events despite writing for a tiny, tiny magazine. It was pretty cool, all in all.

Geek, you took the words right out of my mouth. My dad is a log scaler for Puget Sound Log Scaling and Grading Bureau. He has worked there for 30 years. They grade everything that is logged, in the whole state now, if I am not mistaken, and he tells me that there is virtually nothing being cut in NF land right now. With W's thugs working hard now, this too could change. In spite of egregious overcutting in the 80s, there are some mature stands in non-Wilderness areas in this state. As far as the permit issue, I have to once again express my frustration with climbers in general thinking they are somehow better users than others. Sorry folks, there is no difference between people climbing and people not climbing in the Wilderness. They still carry loads through the woods, and eat, sleep, and poop, whether there is a rope in their pack or not. Fees and permits are a nuisance, but aside from the $30 parking pass, special permits and fees are only required in a small part of the Cascades, one that would be severely impacted by an unlimited number of hikers and climbers.

I would also like to suggest writing a query instead of something longer. I think you actually increase your odds giving them something smaller, and it's a lot less work.

Wow, week three, time flies! It was hard being at OR last weekend, totally out of my element, knowing almost no one, trying to sell my projects and my enthusiasm, nervous, out of my league.....and without my old friend the American Spirit. It was the toughest test thus far, and no one would have been the wiser if I had cheated...and yet, I made it. It is starting to get easier. It must be, as I still can't believe I made it though that without having just one. Plexus, break some bad habits, and get a good support network (Muffy and my SO have both been big big help), and you too can join the ranks. Best of luck...and Toast, of course now you may no longer bum from me at PC! I realize I am not out of the woods yet, but one thing that really helped me this time was a long slow taper-off period, during which I stopped smoking at the obvious times....after meanls, on the phone, while drinking, in the car, you get the idea.

And I am cukoo for Blurr's ever-increasing apparel line. Look for it in the States in the Fall. Just when I was getting tired of being here, there was a rare Big Lou sighting in front of the Salt Palace this morning. We had a little photo op, complete with His Tallness giving the top of my head a sniff (I am fairly tall but Big Lou is still at least a head taller), and apparently my hair smells good. Good thing I washed it, or it would have had the smell of stinky nightclub Teva Party all over it. Promise to post the photo of Big Lou as soon as I can figure out how. Oh yeah, and the heat wave is over---it's dumping freshiez right here in town.

I do some outdoor writing as well. Been here six hours, made tons of contacts, had more beer than food, feet hurt already. Just checking in after a star-studded media event with 40 media and our good pals Big Jim, David Braeshears, Ed Viesturs, Peter Potterfield, and a host of other bigshots. Dean Potter and Steph Davis are everywhere.

No worries, I always pack earplugs in the backcountry.

We do have a celebratory pillow fight scheduled for the summer, but even our respective SOs will not be invited. It's actually not going to be a pillow fight, I'm going to teach Muffy the fine art of Backcountry Mud Wrestling, time and location undisclosed. And yes, it is harder to quit smoking than pretty much anything else I can think of.