Sherri

That was beautiful, man.

MLU's. Upon leaving the frosty, damp embrace of the PNW, all cc.comer's will be issued one so that we can be located should we become gleefully disoriented by the sudden abundance of warm sunlight, the tactile reawakening of touching warm rock followed by drinking warm beer, and the strangely comforting smell of climbing shoes exhumed from packs which had lain dormant all winter. Only 2 more sleeps...

Can't argue with that.

Looks like we've got a quorum. That does it, we're taking over!

Sounds like your heart's got more bruises than Archie's left leg.

I'm too wimpy of a drinker to have a shot at becoming a whiskey connoisseur, but I had the fortune of being introduced to the fine art of port consumption while I lived in Australia. It was a three-part process, as I remember. Take a sip of port(a Rutherglen tawny is a nice choice), followed by a sip of hot coffee, and then a nibble of a Cadbury chocolate bar. Smooth, hot, and sweet...all the way down. Good times.

Sounds like a good time to me.

We're still missing a leg, though, right?.... Anyone? (A freshly bruised one would be preferable, so they match up and all.) And, no, DeChristo, we don't want your old toe.

Yowch. Reminds me of a clothing store sign I passed coming home from a particularly rough Leavenworth trip last year. It read: "SPORTS HIRTS." Truer words have never been misspoken.

...dog paws. (Howz come they smell like Frito's? )

If you're going to start batting for the other team, you'll need to rethink the fashion choices. There is a dress code(and I'm pretty sure shorts-over-polypro and the gators/sandals combo are not in it). The devil isn't the only one wearing Prada, honey. But don't be so quick to throw away the polypro. I'm sure there's still a few nice girls left out there. Like a wise climbing guide observed one morning when a rather toadish guy in our group was late running late because of going back home to his girlfriend the night before: "Just goes to prove, there's a lid for every pot." It looks like I'm squared away for a partner for the duration of my stay there-- --but I sure appreciate the offer to join in with you fun folks and hope to still run into you down there. The free beer sounds good. (Free Shiraz would sound better... Can't wait till they start putting THAT in a kegger. )

I'm glad we could stay friends. Oh, and it would lovely to meet you, if things work out that way at the RRR. Blake's gonna be there, too. Cool. At this point, I'm looking at being around Sat-Mon, but I might be able to stretch that out a bit. Anybody got room for an extra if I need a partner for Mon/Tues?

Assassin Or, Sorceress "Dark Angel" has a nice ring to it, too.

Boo on this rain! Wondering if anybody else heading south for the 'vous...? Gonna be a hot time. Yaaay sun!

Next time she asks, just say no. That was bad medicine, dude. Get better soon!

You bet.

nice suspenders.

Crikey! Quit scarin' me.

...A scared, shivering doe huddled in the bog next to our pond. It had just narrowly escaped being a coyote's meal(a couple fresh lacerations on it's hind quarters evidenced just how narrowly ) I watched the coyote come back thru ISO it's missed lunch, but apparently the deer's scent was masked by the water. Doe stayed there for about 2 hours before gingerly hobbling off to seek solace in the deeper forest. Like a scene right out of Wild Kingdom, for pete's sake.

about.... BTW, Hi Neighbor!

"Open Your Fly For Me"....Nice! Very punny, Mr.E.

Humbling for sure. It seems we can easily find greatness in those who have gone before us and easily imagine it in those who will come after us, but that shouldn't stop us from trying to find it in ourselves.(That last part, not always so easy.. ) Here's one of her fishin' poems: " DEAD WEIGHT Heavier and heavier, these trout I shoulder home After a day upstream; How dear the while, Our little time in the swim-- mine to me and theirs, no doubt, to them." A. Thomas

My S/O's 88 yr-old mother used to go flyfishing from her cabin in Blue River(OR). She'd catch three fish each time, one for her cat, one for her dog, and one for herself. She's given us her old tacklebox/poles. Some treasures in there, for sure. She also was a climber, summitting several mountains in her day, and flew tow-target planes for the WWII boys to shoot at. Her poetry is what I use as my signature lines. She's an inspiring example of a life well-lived. Congrats on the graduation, Arch. Fish on!

R, It's great that you are already becoming aware of the silver lining(it's hard to believe there really is one when you are in the midst of the injury cycle). A good attitude will carry you far through this, and you WILL end up better(and smarter ) than before When I used to think I could get away with pushing my body beyond its limits, sure I was "fit", but very tight, tired, and unbalanced in my exercise choices(running/walking/weights). After two years of healing and learning a gazillion lessons, I am not only back to running(and doing longer trail runs than I could ever do before), but my routine now includes biking and climbing. For active rest/recovery, I practice yoga and tai chi and substitute swimming for a couple of my run days. I know myself well enough to recognize my tendency to overdo anything I commit to, so it was an important strategy for me to incorporate a balance of activities. The swimming part was recommended by my PT, and was probably the one I most resisted because I was so "compressed" that I seemed to sink. But, now it's becoming more comfortable and the benefits really are a payoff for sticking it out. Keep that positive, pro-active attitude, and you'll get to where you want to be. And it'll be better than where you came from. Good luck!