NealH

But I could vote in the Republican Party primary this year and the Democratic Party primary next year. And it wouldn't matter whether my voter registration card said Democrat or Republican. Back in Massachusetts, for the primaries, you requested a particular ballot when you walked in, so you couldn't make the mistake that lots of folks in Washington made last month.

I've flown >60k miles for the past 5 years. I've had my bags delayed exactly once, for a whopping 12hrs. The 5% is bullshit, 2005 domestic delayed/mishandled bag rate was .61% (roughly 6.1 bags per 1,000 passengers) - and Arch is on the money because >60% of that is mishandled transfer bags. Tight connections increase your odds of mishandling. People who carryon climbing gear (or ski boots, or any other nonbreakable) just want to look cool in the airport bar, take up binspace and fuck up boarding. I am just relaying my experience. I have probably flown 20-30 times in the last 10 years and my bags have been delayed twice. That's 5-10 percent. My wife flies a bit more, and her bags have been delayed twice as well. I think it largely depends on the airline. I'm sure some are better and some are worse. I don't necessarily doubt the 0.61% overall rate, and I suspect that if I did fly more that my percentage would go down. I would also agree that tight connections increase the likelihood, but my worst experience was a direct flight from Raleigh to New Orleans, where apparently they never bothered to take my bag off the plane. I got approximately 36 hours later (after the wedding I was attending) just in time to go back to the airport.

That's pretty consistent with my experience. I don't fly that often, but have had delayed bags on several occassions. That said, I have never had a bag lost, just delayed, and have never met anyone who has actually had their bag lost. But if you're immediately leaving your destination for your climbing trip, a delay could certainly ruin the trip. Perhaps carry-on on the way to your trip, giving plenty of time in the airport for security, and then checking on the way back when time isn't a factor . . .

I generally don't mind it too much, but some days it sucks for sure. The 358 is sure convenient (less 2 minutes walk from home and work) but the ridership certainly leaves a bit to be desired--not sure which was worse last week, the gentleman who sat down next to me reeking of alcohol but otherwise kept to himself, or the two guys talking about their impending drug deals . JayB--I never found the buses in Boston too bad, but then I was only ever on them between Arlington and Alewife/Porter/Harvard, so that may not be very representative of the bus system as a whole.

Great trip! I can relate to going into supportive husband mode, as my wife and I did Clark a couple weeks when she was 19 weeks pregnant, after which she decided she was done for the season. Sounds like Summer might be even further along--very impressive!

Have fun. If you're doing it over three days it should be a great trip (we did it 2 days, which made for a long second day). It's a beautiful area that sees relatively little traffic.

Pictures from June 18 Walrus Glacier--Our route is visible going left to right The opposite side of the SE Ridge Summit Ridge from false summit

I was up there June 17-18. Creek crossing was knee to mid-thigh. Snow was consistent about 1/2 mile after the crossing and a couple feet deep (3 feet?) where we camped at 5200'. Most, but not all, of the trail up to Boulder Pass was snow covered. Glacier was pretty closed up for the Walrus, allowing a very direct line. That said, given the weather in the past 10 days, a lot of snow has probably melted out, so conditions could be very different. I have pictures at home that I will try to post tonight.

oh you have not Well, I know he has had at least one request, and he has answered my initial questions well. Maybe I can get some of my pictures down to a reasonable size and still good quality and then figure out how to post them here. Thank you Gary.

You're talking about the Middle Fork Snoqualmie, not the Foss River Road, right?

Probably because they're crooked Republicans and don't want to set a precedent when a Democrat's in the White House.

Though not a trail per se, a nice (mostly) dirt/grass in-city route is the outer loop of Green Lake, down the grass median on Ravenna and then through Ravenna Park and back. Other than crossing the roads between Green Lake and the Park, it's all soft surfaces.