nolanr

Loved "Kung Fu Hustle." I would say it was somewhat of a live action cartoon. It didn't always make sense, but that didn't really matter. One of the funnier parts was a quick little gag early on that firmly established it as an entirely different movie than "Shaolin Soccer."

I agree w/ you Chuck, while Pugh is less distance, I think Del Campo from Gothic Basin is definitely more kid friendly.

Pugh is pretty rough too, that's a lot of vertical gain (close to 5,000' isn't it?).

I'd recommend fall for the colors. It is doable in a day. Depends on your conditioning. It's a matter of opinion, I like going in from Aasgard Pass (Colchuck Lake TH), then it's all downhill. Dall sheep? Aren't those native to Alaska. I know there are mountain goats up there, I'm not aware of any bighorn sheep though. And yes, IMHO it is one of the coolest places in the world, we're pretty lucky to have it nearby!

For a more adventurous outing try approaching from the opposite side. Start maybe 1/2 mi. up the trail to Headlee Pass, then veer off on climbers path following drainage of SF Stilly to basin between Del Campo and Morningstar. Numerous variations are possible and entertaining. That little valley is one of my favorite places. Doesn't get much traffic.

For some reason Morning Star, very minor peak, is my nemesis. I'm 0 for at least 4 or 5. I've been pretty sketched out on that thing a couple times. I want to quit trying, but I hate the thought of not getting to the top, so I may give it another go. Monte Cristo has turned me back at least 3 times, too.

Are they getting dumped on this winter? Will the High Sierras melt out significantly later than normal this year most likely? Thinking about heading down to dink around the eastern side of the range in July or August.

Sloan is visible from just about everywhere, seems like a topographical anomaly (if there even is such a thing) for a peak that's not among the higher in the state, but it's become a running joke w/ some of my climbing friends that if you aren't sure what a peak on the horizon is it must be Sloan.

My bad, I stand corrected. This is an interesting thread, people have varied views but it has remained open minded and thought provoking. I agree w/ one of the above posters, it's nearly impossible to come to a consensus on what a "Christian" even is.

I'll probably get flamed for this one, let me try to explain a little more. I didn't watch the inaugaration, and I'm not going to try to defend Bush. Billcoe or anyone else can dislike him and his policies as much as they want. I can't tell you for sure if Bush is a Christian or not, that's between him and God. But it seems like Billcoe is setting pretty high standards for the behavior of Christians, not allowing much room for making mistakes or using poor judgement of being "human." Seems kinda easy to do that if it's a faith you admit to not believing in, then you can easily sit back and criticize anyone who professes belief in that faith if they don't live up to your expectations. Okay, I'm done. Flame away.

So...Christians are perfect, and anything less than perfection proves them to be hypocrites? Come on.

Bill Monroe--branches off a bit differently into bluegrass but it's old and it's classic, it goes back almost as far as Hank Sr. I think. For newer stuff, I really like some of Steve Earle's work. He's kinda hit and miss but "Train A Comin" is great. Dwight Yoakam has some great albums. BR549 does some really retro sounding stuff. If you like some rock mixed with your country try the Old 97's.

Saw some guys had led a rock pitch around The Cable and set up a top rope on it on Saturday. The ice at Devils Punchbowl was a little rotten, it warmed up during the day and a bunch of the big icicles formed on the overhang detached and came crashing down. Sketchy!

From personal experience I can tell you porky's will get under your car and chew stuff up. I spent a mostly sleepless night chasing them off from a TH in Kokanee (spelling?) Glacier Provincial Park. Bastards!

A little beyond La Bohn gap in the Chain Lakes I found a water filled mine shaft or a quarry site at the very least. The water reeked of sulphur.

I know a Siberian husky mix named Luna, although I don't think she was named after the peak (owner is a non-climber). Good name though. Oops. Too late. Sahale works just fine, she's a cutie. Are you teaching her to climb ice? I've heard of dogs doing mid 5th class rock routes.

I've climbed Angeles several times in early January, it was a semi-tradition for a while. Snow cover varied from year to year. Very doable, fun half day outing. You can go straight up from the horseshoe bend in the road but I always went from Hurricane Ridge visitor center for little up and down ridge traverse. I've always brought snowshoes, one year there was so little snow there were bare patches of ground but it also drifted up a fair bit in places. Ran into a party of skiiers doing the same one year, so that works too. No special gear needed, just an axe.

The best thing you can say about the Dawgs is that at least basketball season is starting.

Oh come on, they're no different from any other major university that competes in D-I athletics. Yeah there's a lot wrong w/ college sports but what are you gonna do?

They just signed what many experts are saying is their best recruiting class ever, ranked in the top 5 nationally. It seems like almost overnight UW went from being a football school to a basketball school.

I don't think it was just the south that won the election for Bush. Gotta throw in a good chunk of the midwest too. They may not be Yankees, but they sure aren't Rebels. The ranter from the original post didn't impress me too much. He's trying to turn it into an "us vs. them, North vs. South" thing and he's really missing the point. Maybe he can't see past the end of his liberal elitist nose...

That is the Black Eyed Peas isn't it? If not, my bad.

The lyrics would be so much more interesting if I could see Fergie shakin' her booty!

Probably right, a lack of good candidates all the way around. I try to avoid politics as much as I can but sometimes it's not possible.

If W. is that bad and yet he still won, what does that tell you about what a lame candidate Kerry was! Hey Dems, if you want to win an election why don't you get somebody halfway decent to run for you!