aint_this_great

damn it's hard to tell when people are avatars or not, but for the possibility that mary k is real, I go with a couple other folks (not from this site) to either exit 32 or 38 at least once a week these days, feel free to p.m. me if you want to come along some time.

ahem. there are...shall we say...more than a couple folks on this board who work on the dark side. no names mentioned of course. and while we may agree with sundry articles written in the weekly, we also need jobs. I mean "they." "they" need jobs.

Word to the wise, brought to you by the not-so-wise. There's a cute little blue sign by Alpental that says "this gate may be locked without notice; do not park beyond this point" or some such. Heed it! Myself and Mystic Nacho didn't see the sign and found ourselves locked in upon return. Thanks go out to the nice lady who knew the combination to the lock and happened to still be out there. Ice axes were helpful on the approach and glissade, though the rock itself is completely bare. Wednesday day with predicted bad weather, it was socked in but no rain, and we didn't see a soul on the climb, just one group on the snow and another on the trail. Awesome day out.

so who's gonna be the first to bitch that this thread was started on sunday night and not monday morning? I'll be out drinking hard liquor to celebrate gradjamacating, so don't go somewhere too wonderful the night I can't come!

uh-oh alpinek, you're gonna get in trouble from all those tacoma guys who get mad when the seattleites won't drive down there. who says we can't hop a plane to the fairview? c'mon, erik and szyjakowski, step up!

Yay for Erden and Cory and Eddie...hope Chris and Jeremy aren't too disappointed. I guess Erden will make it back in time for his wedding after all.

let's keep the whole team in our thoughts, not just Erden. most of the rest of them post on the board too! good luck guys...

parking at grady's wasn't half bad (at least for those of us who don't think 1 block is far to walk...). if it's there, I might actually be able to come as it's on my way home from work. way too much to do this week to go anywhere out of the way. plus it's non-smoking! my vote is for grady's.

so I'm biased because I work at REI, but the Morning Star is great, tons of pockets, doesn't weigh much. I haven't gone on anything super long with mine, but it could hold enough for a longer trip if you went somewhat lightweight. Gregory makes a million different sizes but nothing women specific. Arcteryx has women specific but you pay outrageous prices. and yes, REI will let you return a pack after trying it out on a hike.

oh come on! the rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, does the hokey pokey, and goes back into the hole. sheesh! I'm just kidding. I can never remember how to tie the damn thing either.

went to it on opening night, and I must say I think it's better than the original, but I guess that depends on your definition of 'better.' I actually didn't see the first one until after seeing x2, and x2 seemed to be a more exciting, nonstop action and special effects kind of movie. and to quote a friend, let's not forget all the "eye candy."

I would love a burger if people will actually be there after 9:00 with food. I've found in the past that showing up after 9:15 means folks are there, but food and beer is almost gone. I'm pretty sure the easiest way to the picnic shelters is to come in on the 65th entrance (65th and sand point) and there should be signs once you're in the park itself.

last year in oregon I met a couple guys from colorado in a 1963 black mustang at a gas station, who mentioned that they always drove as fast as they felt like through oregon, then slowed down in washington because the state patrol were much worse there. I had been keeping up with them for a couple hundred miles at about 30 above the speed limit. so of course I left the gas station first, and while going maybe 15 over, waiting for them to catch up, I got pulled over. 175 bucks, and who's gonna drive seven hours back to bakersfield for a damn court date? never gotten pulled over on highways in washington, so I think they had it backwards. just in island county for going one mile over the 25 limit, and he asked me what my hurry was (worse than concrete!).

-What is your name? Sir Galahad of Camelot. -What is your quest? To seek the grail. -What is your favorite color? Blue...no, no, yellow! Aahhhh!

it's been a long time, but that looks like the house in "the man without a face."

wow, distel, they carded me at zeke's when I asked for a glass! (and I am 21) I wondered if cooper's would ever be a potential pub club, 'cause it's about 2 blocks from my house, but it's a little small. I'll have to see if I can make it tonight.

this sounds awesome. way to go veteran pub clubbers, changing up the old routine. just to check, we're saying zeek's on greenwood, not the one downtown, right?

hey can we fight about whether it's tEHva or tEEva? haven't heard that argument in a while...

what is "climbing"? I read the posts on some website called cascade "climb"ers, and I think it must have something to do with iraq...

I'm the last one to heap shit on those poor suburban soccer moms, underrepresented in our political system, spending their days ferrying one child after another to games that they would probably watch, too, if only the other kids didn't have to be somewhere else...but damn I wish they would realize the irony of them sticking those american flags on their antennas after 9-11. maybe they're the voting demographic bush is after here...

yeah, what is it about this thing that makes me want to go curl up in a hole far, far away from the rest of humanity? I think g.w. did a good job sneaking into it...I mean obviously he's been talking about it for a long time, but that 48 hour ultimatum came out of nowhere as far as I could see, and then bang. I've really appreciated reading everyone's views on here, because I can't seem to think about this for extended periods of time and come to a solid conclusion on my feelings about it. I would much rather stand here and look out the window at the absolutely gorgeous olympics than introspect about this, so thanks for your insights guys.

okay, I know this is combining two threads, but... climbing is inherently dangerous stuff climbing is better than sex hiking is a fun thing to do but you should really try something else hiking is basically extended walking nuff said.

too bad I'm on muffy's side...ain't_this_great is not known by google. but my real life self is "awesome" and "one of the remaining places on earth where you can expect the unexpected." score.

The Matrix? Frisbee golf? What is this website anyways, armchairclimbers.com? "Sheesh," says aint_this_great. I will be working, but that doesn't appear to be an excuse you all can make.

Mattp's wife is a massage therapist (she was getting hit up for massages at pub club last night). I bet she does physical therapy in the climbing community...give him a pm if you're interested.