joshzielinski

Rob krar of flagstaff, az just set a new record down there running the trail you mentioned from the south rim to north rim and back in 6 hours and 25 minutes. That's insanity!

hey nico, i am planning on running around the 3 sisters as soon as the snow melts off a bit. at what elevation did you encounter consistent snow? Just trying to gauge/plan a date and was surprised so much has melted already at pole creek on the 4070 trail.

2 local options include: 1) CROC center has a nice (albeit a bit shorter than many) indoor wall. Google for address. Actually not a bad rainy day place to pump. $5 will get you in. Swim, lift, shoot hoops while you're there... great for people watching. I've never been before 7:30pm when it's reserved for adults each night of the week. 2) There is a retaining wall right next to a railroad track just south of downtown. its on the west side of the road where owens serves and turns into south river road. once you get past the trash and "general meth addict's hideaway" feel the place will initially provide you with it can be somewhat fun to navigate the concrete seams between basalt rocks. There are some areas where the masons really got their shit together and it makes for some very small edges and ledges for both the hands and feet. traverse the whole wall a time or two and your fingers will get their fix. bring a pad as the landing is quarry rock and you can top out at 20'ish in the highest parts if you want to.

thanks for the info. i've heard all about this scree... gaiters... check. -jz

how long does this route take from the car to summit? looks scenic, nice pics.

just had some flatlander friends out to OR from Ar-kansas. They left the valley way down near the umqua and bottomed out there loop at Crater Lake/rogue river. They found no need to spend much time there as of a week or so ago as it still has a lot of snow and many of the campgrounds were not open (the drive around it either). well worth the time to go and see it though, "oh the water... it was amazing. never seen anything like that" they reported. they then headed up the east side of the cascades where the weather was delightful (albeit "mosquitoey") for their flatland hobbies of trail running and such. they encountered snow on many runs near the cascade lakes/three sisters. other highlights included a jaunt out to the coast where we surfed cape kiwanda's "chambers", big dunes present here as well. we hiked out to cascade head's beautiful vistas (quite a family friendly hike/no crowds on weekdays). silver creek falls' (near silverton, OR) canyon and rim trails were such a delightful run they did it a second time a day later. if and when on the eastside of the cascades go to smith, climb your heart out in a matter of hours at least one morning/evening. -jz around the valley they enjoyed silver creek falls SP.

just curious... does anyone wear a full on fanny pack and climb with a harness? Seems like a very strange combination. That's an awful lot of stuff in one concise area (the waist/upper bum). -Josh

um, is this really happening to one of the finest of forums on the site? marienbad, please stop. please. water has given you good advice. seek advice there.

is this the hitchhiker? are you gonna stick your thumb out there and go or sit around the gear critic forum for the summer? search backpacks, stoves, etc and look at the wealth of discussion that's been had on these topics (recently). you don't need any of this alpine/ultralight super 'spenive gear for a dirtbagger's-delight-mosey-across-the-country-in-the-back-of-a-pick-up. get on with it before a midwest/NE fall comes around and sends you the best western ducking for cover. as for your question... stove: taco bell/truck stop bucket o chicken. Have a nice summer!

basically all i've done here is point at the ridiculously misleading title you gave it and laugh. seriously, can someone please change the title? it will indefinitely mislead all who stumble across it for generations to come. or leave it as an educational tool: an example of yellow journalism at its finest. Nice topo/pic DonnV, that thing's spot on.

for glissades and self arrests try s.side hood before breakfast. get on those monster jumps that 10 yr. olds huck 50'+ airs off of. as for crampons... you'll have wear them while mowing the lawn unless you want to go pretty high up cause it appears things have warmed up for the time being.

i was at the first belay anchors on the slab when some 70+ yr. old lady came tramping up the "new bolted line". as i recall we did not share anchors. she seemed to think the line was mediocre but enjoyed the view. i enjoyed her company. i hope i am alive as she is at her age (then again maybe she was just a 50 something with a lot of sunny climbing days under her belt). alas something to play around on while the masses file through the 'slab and moscow (both are worth the wait). everyone relax. it's smith for crying out loud.

shopping at wal-mart is supporting satan's effort to screw us all out of a job. to shop at wallyworld is to wave good bye to the friendly, knowledgeable, ma and pa biz that built our competition/quality based economy and on a greater scale the american dream itself. the dream's already fading a bit along with the consciousness of many cheapskates with houses chock full of crappola. your tent sucks. may as well of bought tarp or bug netting for 2-5 bones if you weren't going to use the poles. have a nice summer.

walmart is the devil... someone had to say it. i did.

hey all thanks for the wealth of info. like i said this was a question sparked purely by curiousity (not with any intention). i have no plans to climb the stones. as a farmer i have more respect than most for property rights and i will respect the privacy/will of the owners. just looked like such a gem, so close to the 5... funny thing though... i have a cousin who was employed by the nature conservancy maintaining butterfly habits in the Coburg/Eugene area. seems i found were he was working. that was a few yrs ago. how do they call it, "its a small world"? especially in OR.