Jonathan

Danke sehr! Спасибо! Merci! Dank u wel! ¡Gracias! Tak! תודה Hayu masi! Shame if you live in the NW and don't know this! Well, how do you like that--I didn't even say thanks! Jonathan

Hi, Is there a resource out there that identifies Cascade peaks visible from, say, the eastern slope of Capitol Hill? I can ID Baker, Pilchuck, Sloan, Glacier, Phelps and the peaks of the S. Fork Snoqualmie drainage, et al. I must confess, however, that even after 25 years of traipsing about the Cascades some of those front range lumps are still mysteries to me. Thanks! Jonathan Pryce Seattle, Wash.

Hi all, I dropped and fatally punctured my trusty, algae-encrusted MSR camelbag. Really liked it as it was tougher and lighter for mountain and cycling trips and Golden Gardens BBQs/wine drink ups than some other product that is also named after camels or goats or civets. OK, early morning before tea--icy bag, cold fingers, gravity, sharp rock . . . you get the picture. I mailed MSR, and told them as much and asked how to repair. The next day (whoa! very prompt) they sent a note saying just return the damaged bag, they even provided printable labels. They wrote that they would be concerned about the adhesive I might use (I was thinking something with ShoeGoo and duct tape, actually), and that "we'll take care of you." I expected a charge, seems only fair, was my bumbling afterall. They replaced the bag, no charge! Humorously, the replaced it with a "Dromolite," that features a kind of handle for butterfingers like me. Free product replacement for something that wasn't their fault and a belly laugh to boot! Very cool, IMHO. Jonathan Pryce Seattle, Wash.

My 80 year old father and I wanna go car camping this weekend, but he's not wild about walking around on snow anymore. Thanks in advance for the beta! Jonathan

Hey, Anyone have any recent beta on how far east one could bike the N. Cascade Hwy from the gate at MP 134? Thanks! Jonathan

Hey, How far up the rd can you get in a regular AWD type car? Thanks, Jonathan

Second Ascent rocks! Great selection of new and used climbing stuff and biking gear and service as well. It's a fun store to just hang out in as well. The shop has filled the void left by the demise of The Swallows' Nest and Wilderness Sports. It's the place I look first for what I want.

More late breaking duct tape usefulness info . . . Got a menstrating Chihuahua? Duct tape and an old dish cloth to the rescue! Jonathan

Hey, As the big 50 approaches my once invunerable knees are feeling 35 years of hiking and scrambling. Nothing wrong w/ them 'cept wear and tear. Word has it that glucosamine taken on a regular basis will help those old joints. C'est vrai? Jonathan

Looking at Esmerelda Pk. next weekend, perhaps Bean/Volcanic Neck. Roads passable to the THs for regular sedan type cars? Thanks! Jonathan

To my fellow velophile CCCers . . . I ride from Ballard to my job in Montlake Terrace 2 or 3 times a week. Last week I pedaled the 1/2 mile section of the nearly finished first section of the City of Shoreline's Interurban Trail (cityofshoreline.com/cityhall/projects/interurban/index.cfm}. The Hope, the Dream: to shorten my route into work at bit and eliminate a couple of white knuckle sections near Shoreline CC and a HS (buses, harried parents, young drivers) in the same area. So I pick it up at its southern terminus where Linden Ave N ends at NE 145th. Boldly I proceed . . . But where will it dump me? Yet another bike path to nowhere useful? Some horrid dead end? A huckleberry patch replete with rabid civets? And will I be able to cross the great divide known as Aurora Ave N? In the damp, predawn gloom I forge on. Lewis, Clark, Shakleton--abide with me. And, woohoo! The path deposits me at NE 155th and Aurora. A crossing bereft of a signal? A chasm of cars separating me and my trusty steed from my Quest To Just Get Across The God Damned Street Already? No . . . Begorah! A well marked crosswalk with a safe place to stand while waiting for the light to change. No puddles even! Now I need to proceed to Meridian Ave N to head N into the wilds of Snohomish County. N 155th is unknown to me--will it prove a cyclist's hell like its cousin to the S, NE 145th? No! Whoa! Hot dang! Bike lanes! OK, narrow and filled with debris, but extant! Nothing my venerable '84 Univega with the 27 inch rims can't handle . . .just sit back and let the bike do all the work. And--no end of good--N 155th intersects Meridian Ave N just as Meridian widens and becomes quite cycle-friendly. I am sped onward into mysterious Snohomish County where Meridian becomes 76th Ave W, a land where the mullet runs wild and proud and free and the Camaro still rules the streets. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Jonathan Pryce

Golly gee, all the responses! Seriously, thanks! I'll attempt the drizzling heights of Si and Mailbox with the Stubai insteps and pray they don't pivot off, plunging me into a tree and necessitating an ignominious rescue. Maybe my trusty rusty ol' SMCs may be the way to go, was just looking for a way to save them for when I really want them and extend their life just a wee bit. Cheers, Jonathan Pryce

Thanks--I'll give that a go. I just wanted something for those icy, yet popular Mi Si or Mailbox Peak training hikes. The snow becomes so compacted from the masses that it resembles Glacier ice in Oct. Muchas Gracias!

Thanks for ther response. I did check out their website and there is a lovely pic of the darlings and a description http://www.stubai-bergsport.com/cgi-bin/frameset.pl?sid=847331178913&vid=192889739616&l=deutsch, but no info on how to strap on. Perhaps I should consult my friendly neighborhood SM dominatrix. So allow me to take a breath and show how clueless I am and ask: do they go on the heel? Jonathan Pryce

OK, at the risk seeming incredibly lame, how do I strap these puppies to my boots? See the attachment. I'm clueless. They are nice little Stubais, made in Austria, which recently annexed Kalifornia. Thanks! Jonathan Pryce