Me

A really dorky looking photo of me taken by my friend when we made the day trip to Old Town.

Crater Explorations

Late July brought a climbing team to Mount Rainier that was looking to do something a little bit different. Their mission was to explore the summit crater and it's ice caves, with the Kautz Glacier as their route of access. By the looks of their pictures it looks like they succeeded, big is the only way to look at them.













No significant in-depth exploration or research of the crater caves has been done since Willian Lokey in 1971 and 1972.William Lokey will be presenting about "Project Crater" and his crater explorations at the Paradise Inn Saturday, August 17th starting at 9:00 PM! This event is free however Park Admission is still required.










From Xavier:

"The climb went great. We spent 24th on the summit which was probably the hardest part of the whole climb. You know... altitude."










"The caves are amazing. We didn't get much time in them as everybody was feeling a bit altitude sick + cold and tired but I got some good shots nonetheless. See below. I would love to spend more time up there and document the phenomenon more thoroughly."










"Ice caves in crater, wicked!"



The summit craters and steam vents have provided mystery and refuge to climbers since the early days of climbing Rainier. For more information check out Dee Molenaar's classic The Challenge of Rainier.



-682

Hardee County Animal Rescue

Before we ever visited the TT's here, Barb and Dennis told us we had to visit this place when we did stay for the winter. Barb described how the boardwalk elevates you so you can see the animals clearly. I'm so glad she did tell us about it, because we might have missed it otherwise.



I love visiting this very small rescue and I love that we are usually in for a treat with the animals that are here. I also love that we can get pretty close to some of the animals.

Ok, so that animal doesn't count in an official rescue way, because they are not part of the rescued animals. They are part of the experience though, because they are everywhere. There are some animals that I am a bit more fond of here too.This guy was not very big last year. If it is the same guy. He's huge now.

These were not so close, but that's ok...I'd rather not be too close to the green gunk.This guy was annoyed that I woke him up from his nap. He was not amused. I was talking baby talk to him because I thought he was so handsome. Apparently panthers are not fond of baby talk. Who knew? I apologized and moved on quickly. I'm not sure what would posses me to talk baby talk to a wild animal anyways. Besides, I can relate because this is how I feel each and every morning. This was my favorite close encounter. This sweet guy was hanging in his rope hammock and peeked out to see me. I guess baby talk works on raccoons.Aric asked why someone would rescue raccoons. Good question. After seeing this sweet face though, I'd be tempted to. Well, if I didn't live in an RV with three cats, one dog and two teenage boys I would be tempted to. Glad I can visit them this way so I don't have to. Living the life in warmer Florida.

Charlie Borgh

If everyone will please pardon my digression from the immediate issues of Mount Rainier, so that I can talk about my friend Charlie Borgh.

I met Charlie on a trip to Mount Rainier’s summit. During the ascent, and subsequent overnight on the summit, it became clear to me that Charlie had a vision of his life. As a young man about to finish college, Charlie was amassing the skills and experiences to lead the life of an accomplished climber. I recognized the love and passion, and from that time on the summit, knew that mountains were going to be a big part of Charlie.

For the next four years, I witnessed Charlie develop as both a mountain climber and a park ranger. When it came to climbing, I can confidently say that few pursued the sport with as much diligence. He simply loved rock climbing and mountaineering, AND he was quite good at it. Physical and strong, Charlie moved through the mountains, over the rock, or up the ice with grace and confidence. He chose climbing routes that were beautiful, technical and challenging. He recently commented that in the last year he had done more climbing than most people in do in a lifetime… And if you spent much time with Charlie, you knew this was true.

Charlie served as a National Park Service Climbing Ranger. He started as a volunteer at Camp Schurman, but quickly climbed the ranks to become a lead climbing ranger on Mount Rainier. Charlie’s assignments as a climbing ranger required him to delicately mix intense physical ability with sound judgment and excellent decision making. The job was adventurous and dynamic and that seemed to suit Charlie well. So well in fact, that he took assignments at Yosemite on the prestigous search and rescue team in Camp 4.

On Mount Rainier, he led climbing patrols and rescues. On more than one occasion, Charlie risked his life to save another. He didn’t do this carelessly, but purposefully and with confidence. He was an important part of our team, and I trusted him implicitly. Which was something he seemed to enjoy, trust. In fact, I say that Charlie blossomed when trusted, and the responsibility that came with it.

Maybe most impressively, was the simplicity at which Charlie enabled himself. He pursued a challenging path for his life and it was inspiring to watch. Charlie succeeded at most anything he set his mind to, and in succeeding, he led and motivated others to do the same. He made choices that reflected his soul and passion; he was living his life with purpose and direction, things that we all can look up to.

Here are few links to stories about Charlie. Charlie Borgh loved climbing, despite danger. These two require free registration but tell the story of a dramatic rescue in 2004 that Charlie took part in. In the Seattle PI, Injured climber dies after rescue and in the Seattle Times, Injured mountain climber dies after daring rescue.

Information about the accident was posted here. In the next few days, I'll put more up about Gabe Coler, Mount Deltaform and a Pacific NW memorial for Charlie.

Glacier National Park :: A Visit With Jack Frost

Tuesday, September 20th - - We drove as far as we could from the east side on the Going to the Sun Highway – to Logan Pass. The highway had closed for the season at midnight on Sunday the 18th; not because of the weather but so that construction crews could work on the road.





On the way up to Logan Pass. Can you see several waterfalls toward the center of the picture? They can be seen if you double-click on the image for a larger version...





Clements Mountain and the beginning of the trail to Hidden Lake.

We walked a (very) short distance on the Hidden Lake Trail... The snow that I encountered in July of last year was no where to be seen, but I think there will be plenty of snow very soon!





In one section of trail, wildflowers blanketed the meadow.

We decided to walk a ways along the Highline Trail. Even though it was late in the morning there were traces of frost on the trails in the shaded areas, especially along the first portion of the Highline Trail. (As always, double-click on the image to see a larger version.)













Perhaps it was a good thing that the Going to the Sun Road was closed since the valley below was covered with fog.





You can see a little of the Going to the Sun Road on the right side of the above photo, just to the right and above the top of the fog.





Since the “season” was over, work crews had removed the chains along this section of the trail, parts of which are very narrow with a rather long fall if one should happen to slip! Crews were working on the trail around that far bend and we were reluctant to attempt to pass by them so we returned the way we came. After a short break for lunch, sitting in the glorious sunshine and taking in the awesome views, we went to the 'Many Glaciers' area further north in the park.

Garden Beans With Shallots and Basil

Garden Beans With Shallots and Basil, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

This is an easy side dish that can be made in a few minutes. I used 'Tenderpick' beans from my not-so-healthy plants. Sweet basil (also from the garden) was added, as were shallots from Trader Joe's.

Green Beans with Shallots and Basil

Serves 1.

1 cup fresh green beans
2 shallots
5-10 fresh sweet basil leaves
1-2 tbsp. butter
salt

Peel and mince the shallots. Tear the basil into small pieces. In a pan, stir-fry the green beans, basil, and shallots in the butter (medium-high heat). When the beans are tender, serve immediately and garnish with leftover shallots from the pan. Salt as desired.

Sometimes It Doesn't Seem Like it's Worth the Effort

But you'll never know unless you try!



Monday, August 8th - - After leaving the Keweenaw Peninsula, I headed south (really, the only direction I could go from there!) and, after a few hours, entered Wisconsin. My sojourn in Pure Michigan had come to an end. A beautiful place, but honestly, I was tired of the humidity - I was hot and sticky during the day and cold and clammy at night! Some place with a little less humidity was in my forecast.



My stay in Wisconsin would be brief – one night and parts of two days traveling across the uppermost tip and along the shoreline of Lake Superior. A quick check of the map and I saw that Copper Falls State Park was just a few miles across the Wisconsin state line, southwest of the town of Ironwood. I arrived at Copper Falls early in the afternoon and secured a very nice campsite.



I had gotten some information about trails when I checked in and the lady at the desk told me about two popular hikes. One of the hikes was to an observation tower. Now, she didn't explicitly state that there was a nice view but it was somewhat implied. You know, it's an observation tower so there “has” to be a good view. She did state that there was a flight of stairs with a few steps involved along the trail as well as at the tower itself. My knees do much better on the way up stairs than they do on the way down, but, I thought I could handle what she described. After a short walk along a relatively smooth trail, uphill, I came to this:





It didn't look so bad. Wide steps and each one wasn't very high. Onward I went. This is the view looking down from the top.





And this is what awaited around the bend...





At the top of that stairway was more of the uphill path. And then, this:





I figured, what the heck, I'm there. Might as well go for it. And this is what I saw from the top of the observation tower.





And this is the view in another direction... I think you get the idea!





I'm sure that in the fall this would be absolutely gorgeous. Maybe even in the winter or the spring when there are no leaves on the trees. Maybe then you could actually see the surrounding countryside. But in the summer? Not so much.



Not all walks or hikes are going to give you spectacular views. But each one does give you an appreciation for nature and this amazing world in which we live. It's not the destination that matters, but the journey itself, and what happens along the way. So I tell myself when these things happen, which thankfully, hasn't been too often.



I took it slow and easy on the way down. Yeah, the knees were hurting some by the time I got back to the bottom. But once back on level ground the pain eased up and I continued on to another little hike.