Ursa_Eagle

RPI: Engineers (do they have to stop and work out the math for optimum speed, angle, and spin before making a pass?) and many years back my middle school principal wanted to change our mascot from the warriors to the "Applepickers"... luckily, he went with our suggestion of "Hawks"

yeah, no free ice cream, but it *is* a large ice cream shop, with (I think) all the flavors they offer available in bowls, on cones, probably also in milkshakes (I almost said "frappes" for those New Englanders out there), etc. Good stuff. hmmm, now I want ice cream... when are you going?

yeah, I gotta ditch the cable in favor of a less-raping high-speed solution.

I'm a huge fan of the ice cream, and I liked the tour (lots of automation), but if it's one of your last PNW days, I'd prolly recommend some climbing. If you haven't really been to the coast yet, then it's another story (go to the cheese factory, do some hikes along the coast, hang out at the beach, etc.) Just some ideas...

no cable here. I don't have time to watch TV as it is. Any Simpsons episodes I watch are downloaded off the internet.

why, because I'm not the moron who spent an ungodly amount of money on an obnoxious, resource-raping piece of shit?

There was one (H2) in front of me getting onto 217 this morning... I tried to see the driver to get an idea of what kind of moron buys one of those things, but the thing was so freakin high that I couldn't see in. The funny part is, I think my Outback has more clearance.

I laugh at the morons commuting in Expeditions when gas prices are this high!

I've become a fan of single layer stuff. No need to constantly stop and change layers... It works a little better on the legs than the torso though.

Attitude, what is that shirt?

it's right after the section on "if it's raining, slow down to at least 5 mph slower than the speed limit and drive in the left lane"

DFA is fucking iain?

I have no problem with climbing in caves so long as there are no bolts or chalk. Whenever I go caving, I leave things as they were before I got there. No dumping of spent carbide/batteries, no litter, etc. I try to pick up whatever trash I see in caves, within reason (the amount of trash in some caves would require a much bigger bag than I carry.) I don't think that the "well, it's only in the first 100 feet" argument really holds much water. Some caves aren't much longer than this. And even if it's a longer cave, why should we have to walk through crap to get to the good stuff? Chalk and bolts have their place, and inside caves is not one of them.

I was thinking the exact same thing...

and I'd do it again!

you're just trolling for more votes, right?

I've used some tan REI mistral pants (Schoeller Dynamic) all summer, and they're awesome. They keep me warm in the morning when it's cool, fairly cool when the sun is beating down on me, I can grind up/down rock and glissade down snow without worrying about wrecking them, and they're super comfortable on top of all of that. Gotta have a light color for summer climbing though, why did REI discontinue the tan?

or perhaps a trail park pass

I have a pair of Salomon Pro Sticky Mids (high-top approach shoes), and I have mixed feelings on them. I got them a shoe that I could use for approaches, easy-moderate snow, and moderate rock. For one thing, they are NOT waterproof, but if they do get wet, they dry very quickly. They don't have the support of a real boot, and at the end of an attempt on Jack Mtn, my feet were really hurting me. I think you may find this with any lightweight approach shoe unfortunately. No shank means they also don't kick steps in snow as well as a large boot. I used them as my rock boot on the West Ridge of Forbidden (I wore my bigger boots for the approach and snow sections,) and they worked great. Going up the 3rd and 4th class section of Crater Mtn (our consolation after missing Jack), they performed very well. Bottom line: works great as a moderate rock shoe, will get a little wet in the snow (but dries quickly), but did not work well for a long approach with a heavy pack (at least for me.)

What he said. count me in too

Derrick Cave All the vandalism in caves pisses me off (the broken glass and bonfires, etc.), and I think that's a much larger problem than climbing sans chalk. Is anyone part of one of the grottos here in the Portland area? I need to start finding out where the lesser known caves are.

Nice TR Klenke!

free at rope up

Mt. Logan. I think that's my favorite climb at this point! With the exception of the bugs, nothing but pure fun the entire way. Thursday: Leisurely boat ride, fun time kickin' it in Stehekin, shuttle busses, then hangin' out in camp. Friday: sleep in, pack up, hike up almost to Park Creek Pass, stopping at every water spot along the way to either dunk shirts and hats or dunk entire selves. Hung out at last major water crossing for 1.5 hours, sitting in water, standing underneath waterfall, etc. Make it to camp and skinnydip in warm alpine lake. Saturday: Climb Logan, extremely fun climb, decent exposure, great view, not very technical. Make it back to camp and go swimming in warm lake again. Sunday: Pack out, shuttle rides, gorging at the bakery, beer in Stehekin, cards on the boat ride, then the long drive home.

nice TR! So long as you're gonna make the hump up to that basin, might as well pick off a few peaks.