There and Back Again

Blog is back!

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:32:00 +0000

Wow, this year got very busy, very quickly.

I suppose in hindsight I could have made time to 'blog' about all of my outdoor adventures, as well as my indoor adventures...but I did not. :(

My work has kept me very busy and quite 'run down' by the time I get home. I'm looking to press the master reset button as I do from time to time, and that usually comes with the holiday rush.

So what outdoor adventures have I gone on this year? Sadly, not many. Although I am still quite capable of hiking through the 100 degree weather that seemed to plague us this year, I do not find it as enjoyable as I once did. When one gets home from work at 3 or 4 o'clock, one does not want to drive another 45 minutes to go for a hike. Then there is the drive home, and diving right into the home life. Ugh.

Therefore I have stuck mainly to the Mt. Tom range. I absolutely love the views, the history, and the solitude (if you know where to find it). After a while, however, the same thing over and over does get a little boring. I had made plans to go up to Monadnock a few weeks ago, mainly for the views, but due to the heat those plans fell through. I stuck closer to home and it was probably a good thing; The air was smoggy and the views from Monadnock would not have been as rewarding as I would have liked.

In other news, my work on the Hampshire/Hampden canal mapping is going to resume soon. Summer is not a good time to perform the surveys due to the overgrowth, bugs, etc. I plan to continue this fall when some of the leaves are down and there is some standing water on the ground. The canal is much more visible during these times.

Closer to home, as we move into autumn I will resume my search for the Eyrie house Dam and William Street's home up on the Mt. Tom range. I searched once or twice last year but failed, mainly because I only had about an hour before the park closed. As with the canal mentioned above, searching for ruins is greatly aided by the lack of leaves on the trees. Man-made structures stand pop out much better when the leaves are down, as one would expect. The Dam and location of William Street's house are not on the maps.

There were a few things on my checklist that I didn't get to this summer due to scheduling circumstances. Another trip up Mt. Washington, Monadnock, Greylock, and Katahdin. As you can see, I like the tall things. No, no aspiration for K2 yet.

Looking forward I have decided that perhaps I will tackle Monadnock in the winter this year. I had managed to pick up a set of nice Mtn boots at a sale last year, so this year I will snatch up some crampons. Monadnock is the closest mountain around here that sees anything significant in terms of weather, so as long as a storm is not moving in I think it would be good practice. The problem is, as in summer I have nobody that wants to or is avaiable to go with me. Grr. Solo it is, then.

So for now I am going to retire to the couch for I have been sick the last two days. Yes, two days in a row is very rare for me but it happens, I guess.

Nonotuck hike

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:02:00 +0000

So today I got a bit stir crazy. The superbowl was on a bit later in the day and Bernard hadn't called yet to split firewood. So, I grabbed a bottle of water, my jacket, hat, gloves, and headed out.

I parked at the first parking lot past the pavilion at the Mt Tom park. In winter the pavilion area is not plowed, and the cul de sac parking was full. I walked across the field and took the Dynamite trail as a cut through back to the closed portion of Christopher Clark road. (Information: Christopher Clark road has been, and will remain, closed to all vehicular traffic indefinitely starting at the pavilion and going to the Eyrie House. You are still welcome to walk the road)

Dynamite trail still has a small amount of snow on it right now. Gaiters are not needed, and even yak-trax/microspikes would be a bit overkill.

After reaching Christopher Clark Road I crossed to the other side and followed the McCool trail, heading northward towards the Eyrie House. McCool is still covered with snow in most spots, and there is a bit of ice under the snow. Yaktrax would come in handy here but I was able to navigate with my summer Merrils (of which most of the tread is worn off) without much slippage.

McCool give you a choice to dive down the mountain toward the power lines, join up with the M&M, or hop back onto Christopher Clark Road. I took the latter choice and headed straight up the road to the Eyrie House.

At this time the road up to the Eyrie house is mostly fine, with no ice and hard packed snow. The final push to the top, however, is somewhat difficult right now due to sheer and thick ice under a thin cover of loose snow. Yaktrax would help but microspikes would be a much better choice, especially for your descent. Most likely the heating of the day combined with wind blowing the snow off has caused minor melting and refreezing cycles. This would almost certainly be the same reason that they cannot repair the road anymore and it has fallen into complete disrepair.

The woods path up to the Eyrie house is also difficult. Again we have smooth sheer ice on top of rock, with a deceptively safe looking layer of snow on the top of it. A slip here could mean a quick trip over the edge; A nasty fall and slide until a tree stops you. This is not high on my list of fun things!

I then explored the woods for a bit, looking for an artifact that I believe to be located somewhere in generally unexplored area. Said artifact is related to the Eyrie house. Unfortunately the clock was running against me. With the park closing at 4PM I made it back with about 20 minutes to spare.

Stats from today:
Temp: 30
Wind: 5-10 MPH
Sunny

Clothing:
Jeans, EMS jacket, wool hat, gloves. Tshirt and light sweatshirt. Comfortably warm. Slightly overheated/sweat when I had to walk doubletime back to the car.

The New Year

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:31:00 +0000

We rung in the new year by going to see Avatar in 3d. This was the first time I was able to actually see a 3d movie without getting sick. They do not use those red-blue glasses any more. This is good for me as they really messed around with my balance.

The movie, which was awesome, was followed up by dinner with friends at Ginzu in Bloomfield, CT.

Right now I am starting the new year with an annoying head cold. Just enough to make me sneeze every other minute and have a constant runny nose. Argh! Does not make for good hiking when you have a runny nose and go outside in the cold air.

So today I sit here, 10:30 in the morning, and wonder what I should do. What I'd like to do is go walk around outside. What I should do is go get a tarp so I can tune my skis and also go grocery shopping. The wife would like some cereal. Ugh, breakfast? Eww.

Speaking of skiing, I have not been yet. I haven't updated skinut.net. At all. I should probably get on both of those, eh? I should also brush up on my French for the trip to Canada. The phrase "Brush up" means "re learn all over again," lol.

I'd also like to take advantage of the winter landscape and work on a bit of winter photography...but that involves going outside. Perhaps I can find a book or a website with tips.

Food related TV shows

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:03:00 +0000

The latest phenomena: TV Chef shows, wanna-be-a-cook TV shows, and "Whom is the best chef show." Ok, I get it. People want the reality TV cooking shows so that is what they are producing.

However, I must seriously ask... What. The. Hell?? I just tuned in to a new TV show called "Chef Academy." Apparently there is some dude with a French accent trying to whip up some students into chefs. I have no doubt that these people are talented. Yes, the "head chef" dude has a French accent too. But could we seriously feed the cooking-chef-teacher stereotype anymore? There is more to cooking than some dude you can barely understand preaching how to make meringue.

Some of these "contestants" do seem to have talent. Certainly, I admit that. Some even went to "chef school." I do use the term "school" loosely. There seems to be a school of culinary arts in every major metropolis center now. Can you really learn how to be a true chef from some no-name "academy of culinary arts?" I mean, a serious chef?

I doubt it. I really, really doubt it. One certainly can learn the basics and perhaps even step up to mid-level techniques. For the most part, however, I think you are learning how to "cook." Being a cook and a chef are not the same in my book. A cook certainly can wow the crowd, follow a recipe, and even be in the know creating his own dishes. But a "Chef?" No. Jim Bobs school of cooking is more like a Home-Ec class in the chef world.

A chef, to me, is a person who is an artist. They understand the food. They know the reasons behind why a+b=c in the recipe. Cooks can do that too, yes. The chef, however, goes beyond this. The chef understands what is in season. He understands what the local fare is. He knows how to manage people, manage the line, manage his customers, control the flow of product. He doesn't hold back and lets you know when you screwed up. He also will sit down with you and talk about your future.

Chef has scars up his arms from the hot oven doors and callouses on his index finger from the knives. He doesn't care if he has his own TV show (not to take away from those who do, however). Eager to further his knowledge, chef travels the world from time to time to see how it's done over there. Never a master, always learning, a chef is.

He has two jackets. His favorite has beet juice splashed all over it. Paprika smears across the arms. Singe marks from the grill up the sleeves. A pen and a thermometer in the sleeve. The thermo probably doesn't get used often because he presses on the meat or just listens to the pan sizzle...that's how he knows it is done. The second jacket is for when he walks the restaurant because he can't button over the double breast on his other one any more, it's just too dirty.

All this being said...none of these people on this show are going to be a "chef" at the end because Mr. French dude says they are. Educated beyond the average layperson, definitely. A chef? No. Go travel to France and study. Study hard. Become sleep deprived. Boot camp for chefs; There will be yelling and belittling. You will screw up...alot. Chef will try and make you cry. You will have to shoulder everything.

Do all of that for a long, long time. A Soux-Chef you will be! I mean, heck, you probably could even open your own restaurant on the block and do pretty well for yourself. Are you a master chef? Probably not until you can gain the trust, respect, and half the knowledge as some of the greats like Eric Ripert, Robuchon, or Gagnaire.

I don't want to take away from people who certainly are excellent chefs that you see on the television. Ramsay, Bourdain, Lagasse, Jean-Christope Novelli...yes, they all have their own TV shows and have achieved "celebrity chef" status. They have put their dues in. And yes, they are awesome. They know their stuff inside and out; They have lived the life right side up and upside down. I certainly hold nothing against them for wanting to teach out what they have learned. I'm just annoyed with the fact that anyone who spends two months on the set of one of those shows gives the public the impression that this is all there is to becoming a "chef."

Some of you might be asking "well don't you like to cook?" Duh, yes. No, I have not gone to culinary school. Yes, I have read almost all of Child's books and watched all her shows since I was about 4 years old. Yes, my mom taught me all the home-cooking techniques she knows. Yes, I have greatly expanded my knowledge of not just how, but why the food is doing what it is doing. I'm probably almost reached "expert home-cook" status. True "chef?" Nope.

I certainly could work any line of any chain-restaurant out there, at any station, or as a manager (and be quite bored because that isn't cooking, imo) and have no issue. I could hold my own as an entry-level student in school. Saucier? Sure, I'm actually somewhat of a specialist in that area. Demi-chef or chef du partie? Not even close. Plongeur? If it gets my foot in the door, certainly. That's how some of the greats got to where they are. It puts you in a spot where you can observe everything. Absolutely everything. I've got no problem being the lower than low man on the totem pole with respect to leaning the food.

But please...just because you learned how to make salmon tartare because of the TV please don't forget all the work that it takes to be able to call yourself a true chef. Those people you are seeing on the TV didn't get to where they were after only 4 years of school.

Snow

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Wet snow two days ago whilst I was traveling home from Trumbull, CT. Yesterday there was a bit of snow flaky goodness on the wife's car in the AM.

Today, I just tuned into the Patriots game on the tele and wow...it's snowing hard enough that you can't tell where the yard-lines are on the field.

I hope this is a sign of things to come. I don't care how hard the snow makes my life. I'll pay the electric heat bill. Just give me feet upon feet of the white stuff. Makes me happy!

Maine Primitive Gathering

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:19:00 +0000

I have just returned from the Maine Primitive Gathering. Leah and I spent the weekend up there learning all sorts of new things; Birdcalling, plant identification, trading blankets, etc... all cool stuff.

I got to meet a lot of interesting people who share the same interest of relearning some of the lost arts from 'primitive' times. Personally I partook in learning some flintnapping, blacksmithing, knife making, plant identification, bird calling, an archery tournament (borrowed a bow), potluck dinner, and of course camping.

The gentleman teaching the flintnapping is actually known as one of the top flint-nappers in the world, an experience I was not about to pass by. I also got to meet Mr. Arthur Haines, one of the top plant experts in the world as well.

The experience in itself was totally awesome and I look forward to hopefully spending more time with these people learning new skills. I just wish it was a bit closer than Maine.

Clash of the Gods

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:26:00 +0000

An excellent show on The History Channel, "Clash of the Gods," examines those myths and legends we are all familiar with. The Greek & Roman gods, legends of Grendel and Beowulf, Odysseus, and a Gorgon are the latest topics that have been covered.

Not only does this show examine the legends as they were told, but it also brings to light present day archeological examination of how these legends may have come to be. They do a good job of summarizing how it may have been possible for these places, peoples, and journeys to have actually taken place. With a little embellishment of course.

It would be awesome if we could go back in time to these periods in history with the knowledge we have now and see how correct we actually are...

Tis the season of change!

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:29:00 +0000

I went for my usual hike up the side of Mt Tom today. You know, up the telephone line trail to the top. It is my preferred method of ascent as it is the steepest and shortest way to get all the way up.

On the way down I got whiffs of that "fall" smell. The dead-dry leaf smell coupled with pine pitch. An all to familiar smell up atop Mt. Tom. I am looking forward to the leaves falling completely so I can scope out the sights and check out a few odd...or old...trails I have come across in the middle of the woods.

The wildlife study atop Mt. Tom also seems to be continuing. Oxbow Associates is performing a pretty thorough examination of the local flora and fauna at the request of Holyoke Gas and Electric. Although I do not know of too many details, what I do know is that they are interested in installing wind and/or solar energy equipment atop the mountain. I'm still not sure where I stand on this. They need to release more details before I come to a conclusion.

---
On a different note of 'change', the wife and I have become addicted to a new show on TV, "Weeds." The show follows the life of a windowed mom of two who turns to selling marijuana to provide support for her family in an affluent fictional development in CA. Her world starts spinning round and round when things spiral out of control without warning. Sounds odd, yes, but really...it's a funny show!

Mary-Louise Parker plays the naive mom of two breaking into the Mary-Jane dealing world. She hooks up with a few street-smart growers and dealers, and the result is most entertaining. Just picture a rich, innocent-looking white mom deposited into the back-street drug-using subculture. Seem a little out of place?

Throughout the show they do use pretty good taste and the actual use of drugs is not shown heavily on screen. The producers also do an excellent job of reeling in the comedy once in a while to remind viewers that the world of drug dealing can be quite serious despite the light-hearted on-screen scenes.

Check it out on Netflix on-demand, Netflix DVD rentals, or the latest episodes on the Showtime channel.

Trip

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:52:00 +0000

In MN for a little corporate visit. Should be fun...

...

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:11:00 +0000

I have decided that should the weather be good in August when I go to New Hampshire, I will clamber up the side of Mt. Washington.

Currently my diet of slim jims and watching TV is probably note the best way to attain conditioning for the long haul...

Maine banning smoking at public beaches?

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:42:00 +0000

Apparently Maine has a passed a bill into law banning smoking at public beaches, state parks, and other public attractions. The smokers are of course up in arms about it.

"What next, I won't be able to smoke in my back yard?" They say. Well, no, that will not happen. You see, Mr. Smoker, your back yard is private property, not public property. And as long as your smoke isn't annoying someone on public property, you are fine.

One of the factors cited in the passing of the law was the improper disposal of butts. Yes, there is nothing more disgusting than walking a beach littered with butts. I do realize that the vast majority of smokers do not dispose of their waste in such a manner, but unfortunately we must make a blanket law in this case.

You smokers can cry violation of civil liberties all you want. The bottom line, however, is that you have chosen to engage in an activity that is a hazard to the health of other people around you. Secondhand smoke is an infringement on other people's health. This makes people who do not smoke not able to go to public places of their choosing.

What we have here is an infringement of civil liberties on both parties. Given the choice, the party who is voluntarily causing a health hazard should be the party who takes the brunt of the legislation. You chose to start smoking, knowing it is a hazard to you and others around you. It is a problem to me when you choose to sit next to me and I inhale your smoke. Go away.

There are many hazards that come along with smoking. The obvious is cancer and other respiratory diseases that the smoker and people exposed to secondhand smoke can come down with. The less obvious, but still important in terms of public beaches and forests, is the disposal of butts. Not only can they start fires, but the butts themselves are a hazard to animals that may eat them; They are a hazard to children who may play with them; Lastly they also do no biodegrade, so when deposited in a public place we need to spend money to have someone else pick them up lest they become unsightly.

If you would like more information see the bill here: http://www.mpbn.net/News/MaineNews/tabid/181/ctl/ViewItem/mid/1858/ItemId/10514/Default.aspx

Slobs

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:57:00 +0000

Something has been annoying me these past few days. The other day I went for a hike after work. I parked in a rather uncommon spot for the trail head, only hikers who are super familiar with these particular trails park at this spot.

So I parked, and go hiking. It was a good hike, up to Mt. Tom, played around the mountain a bit, then back to the car.

So as I am getting back to the car I notice a discarded Pretzel Time food container discarded on the ground. In the middle of the trail, not 50 feet from the parking spot. One of those cups that the pretzel bites come in. I thought maybe I didn't see it when I embarked on my trip...but no...no, I'm pretty sure it wasn't there.

Being the good doobie I am I picked it up...yep, fresh grease in the bottom of the container and not a speck of dust, dirt, or other nature-goodness in it. As I was mumbling under my breath about how lazy people are I noticed there was a new car parked next to me. It wasn't there when I had left.

And guess what was on the dashboard...a fresh solo container of Pretzel Time dipping cheese that goes along with the pretzel bites. I said to myself "are you serious. Really? Are you kidding me??" I so felt like taking that pretzel time cup and putting in under the guy's windshield wiper with a note saying "ground is not trash can, slob!"

So, Mr. VW Passat driver...pick your crap up off of the ground. Squirrels don't like pretzel bites. And I find it ironic that you are probably the outdoorsy somewhat fit type out for a hike, yet before you left you consumed 1000 calories of butter-filled heart-stopping crap food. Yeck.

Hike

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:56:00 +0000

Went for a hike today up at the old Eyrie House ruins. When I was up there admiring the view I noticed a little placard on the parking lot fence that said "John's Place". I wonder who John was. Perhaps someone who enjoyed the view from up here?

Check out the first part of this video I found on youtube. Must be from back in the 60s. Some guy drove his car off of the parking lot up by the Eyrie House whilst being chased by the State Police.

Weather

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:35:00 +0000

The weather seems to be turning nicer, at least during the day. I'm not sure what this whole 19 degrees a night thing is all about, however. Seriously...19 degrees?

I am debating what to do tomorrow. I know I need to get the car inspected. And I know I need to do shopping. I do not, however, know which outdoor activity I should partake in. Certainly a geocache, yes?

Nice day!

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:39:00 +0000

What a nice day today! Too bad I didn't have my car to get somewhere to hike to. So I settled for walking from home to the trail. Not really that far, but what a new concept...walking to go walk some more, lol.

I hit up the HCC ridge of East Mountain and checked out the trails. No matter how many times I go back there I always find another trail to explore. Some are old paved roads, one is what I suspect to be an old rail or trolley bed, others are abandoned fire roads. Quite the place back there.

Nuts!

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:09:00 +0000

First it's peanuts. Now pistachios? How exactly are these salmonella outbreaks occurring, and why is this a problem now? Why wasn't it such a big problem in the 70s, 80s, or 90s?

I want my pistachios, dammit.

Nice weather

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:42:00 +0000

The weather decided to turn more springlike today. A high of 63 degrees combined with me getting out of work when it was still daylight resulted in me hiking at Mt. Tom for the third time this week. I park along 141 and head up the steep side to the radio towers.

On a good day you can make it up to the top in 15 to 20 minutes. The view, when not hazy, is spectacular! Hartford to the south, Berkshires to the west, and the college towns to the north. You can even catch a glimpse of the dome-shaped Mt. Monadnock approximately 70 miles NNE. Occasionally you can also see Mt. Greylock to the west.

Surprisingly I always see a large number of cars parked up and down 141 at the various trailheads...yet I rarely run into more than one or two people on the actual M&M trail. I suspect that those people, like myself, want to take a stroll in the park past it's closing time of 4pm. They don't mind if you stroll along the road after the park actually closes, but you better make sure that your car is outta there by the time posted on the gate.

H&H Canal update

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:45:00 +0000

For those of you who are following my pursuance of recreating the old Hampshire & Hampden canal route; I have taken several more pictures and completed a beta version of a Google Earth layer.

I recently explored the area where a feeder canal to the main H&H started up by the old Strathmore building, in Westfield/Montgomery. The majority of the route is now the rail bed around the mountain, then it diverges and crosses private property through the Pochassic Hills of Westfield.

Whilst I was staring at a map by the Lane Construction quarry, an older gentleman came out of a house to ask if I needed help. He was a wealth of information on the area and I made note of every story he told me. Now I have some more non-canal investigation to do, including tales of Revolutionary War ties. Up by the Tekoa Reservoir there was a hidden spot used to make rifles; The British never found it and were stumped by where all the munitions were coming from. There was also a tale of the Grindstone Hills that I would like to share as well.

I will post some pics when I get them upped. For now, how about a video of the CSX train coming by? This video was shot from where the old H&H feeder canal intersected with what is now the rail line. This section of the feeder is no longer visible, covered up by the parking lot for the Strathmore building. As a note: some CSX maintenance crew showed up whilst I was there and had no problem with my presence. But as always I must say that the rail lines are private property and don't walk along them.

Winter Hike

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:45:00 +0000

Today I decided to go up to Mt. Tom for a hike. Well, at first I thought maybe just a walk, but knowing myself I packed all-terrain equipment. What I did not pack, however, was a lunch.

Equipment:
* EMS Hiking pants, zip offs.
* Pack with standard winter survival stuff
* Wool socks, thinsulate semistiff hiking boots
* Gaiters
* Hiking pole aquired from ground
* Yaktrax
* Flannel, techwick, and my German winter army jacket (that thing is HEAVY but totally windproof)

I got up there about 9am and aside from one dude reading a newspaper in his car, I was the only one. The gate was closed as it normal the day after big snow (we got 12" yesterday) so a walk in was needed.

Base temp was 13 according to the car gauge which I have tested to be accurate during a drive. Windspeed was between 16-25, gusts a big higher, according to the internet. That makes the windchill about -5 I think. I have discovered, however, that when you get up top the mountain face channels and accelerates the wind to higher than that. Although I don't know the exact windspeed it was strong enough to knock me over during gusts.

As I was gearing up another car pulled in with two guys that I have met before up here. They climb ice at an undisclosed location at the mountain. I've been up to the ice before to take some pics. My brain had considered that perhaps I would go up to the ice and take pics, but with other guys around I didn't want to be in the way. I also thought that without crampons the final portion of the trip to ice base might be a little difficult.

I greeted the guys and we all left our way. I turned in much farther down than they did, by the maintenance shed to hit up the M&M. That's only 2 miles in down the road.

At the trail head I saw some prints from afar and thought "Great, someone else broke trail already" but it turns out it was just a deer. Very fresh too because the wind had not blown any snow in the prints yet. It looks like he was following the Quarry trail to the shed. He stopped at a tree, turned around a few times, and then ran off in the same direction from which he came. You can tell all this from the prints if you know how to read them. He probably got startled by the guys at the maintenance shed working on the plow trucks.

The M&M at this location is very unforgiving. Within the first 100 feet you are greeted with the steeps of whiting peak. Not so bad in the summer. Defnitely different in the winter with a foot or more of snow.

For added special effects I soon found that the steeps held a surprise. Under the foot+ of snow there were sheer sheets of glare ice. Some spots were ok, the majority was an ice skating rink. Hmmm....I didn't see this possibility.

Being the stubborn head that I am, I decided to see if I could make it up. Now I don't know if you have every tried to go up 45 degree or more slopes with ice on them, with no crampons and just yaktrax, but it certainly is entertaining. I could kick in ice steps in some areas, but in other areas the ice smears atop rock offered no purchase.

Through creative use of trees, smashing the ground with my walking stick, and some interesting acrobatics I managed to make it up the steep part of whiting peak. It was probably only about 600 or 700 feet but it took me a good 45 minutes.

The view up top was worth it though. Rolling ground of completely untouched powder, drifts shaped by the winds, begging to be crossed. I found that some of the drifts were butt-high. Totally awesome to hike through.

Because the M&M follows the cliffline and I could not see what was under the snow (like ice, deadfall, etc) I decided to stay in a bit, less one trip to take pictures. After about an hour I decided it was break time. My gloves were frozen stiff from getting wet during the ice-escapade earlier. I hit up one of my shelters I frequent in the summer (Well off the beaten path) and made a small warming fire. I even managed to get it going by using just flint 'n' steel.

After warming up for a bit I continued on for a few. I heard the voices of the guys ice-climbing, who were ironically below me now. I looked at my watch and decided to head back, so I could get some lunch. By "head back" I mean another two hours of hiking before getting to the car.

When I got back to the ice-capades I decided to take the easy way down and glissade. I hunted around for a branch that I could use as a primitive ice-axe. (you can use a sturdy branch that has another branch coming off it, flip it upside down to look like an ice pick, and whala, it works well.

I picked a different way down than the way I came up. A few less trees to hit should I go out of control, and given the sunlight, less chance for sheer ice to be under the snow.

Grab primitive ice axe and WHEEEEEEE. Damn, did I get a wedgie on that one. Only took about a minute and a half to get down what it took me 45 minutes to get up. How nice.

Pics to be posted later!

Bordem

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:31:00 +0000

I am bored.

That is all.

Content

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:53:00 +0000

I am content at the moment. I have been outside all day hiking my way through the wilderness. The journey started out on the M&M trail but it wasn't long before my curiosity of "ooh look, deer tracks, I wonder where they go" kicked in.

I followed the meandering deer tracks for a bit. M.r deer was certainly running the borders of his territory this morning and checking everything out. Many poos, pees, and deer beds were evidence of his activity. A fox, some squirrel, and even the occasional wabbit were there to keep him company.

Lots of the tracks were old, but there were some definite fresh ones from this morning. You can tell by how 'sharp' the snow crystals are in the track. Tracks that have been there longer will not have had a chance to melt a little, or have wind wear away the clearly defined edges. Mr. Deer would occasionally lead me to where he munched on some greenery.

I never did catch sight of Mr. Deer, which is fine. I don't want to frighten him. Despite my being downwind from where he was going we never crossed paths. He could probably hear my crunching through the snow from a mile away anyway

I went back home and had an early lunch. I decided to head far up north and clamber around on really steep suff.

I'd be willing to bet that with the exception of the ice-climbing trail, no human had walked where I walked for a long, long time. I suspect some sections of where I went today may have been must easier climbing this time of year because you can create steps in the snow. Most sections, however, were pretty technical. There's about 6 to 8 inches of dry fluff on top of about an inch and a half of crust, a little more fluff under that...and in spots glare ice under that frozen directly to whatever the ground happened to be.

I got to practice several techniques to get back down and also to transverse the steeps. Plunge stepping was a breeze. I do that in the summer in the scree fields. The crust worked to my advantage today, I was able to kick in steps in some places. Punching in handholds was also a possibility to keep three points on at all times. The fun part was in the boulder fields...some of them had handholds, others were trying to fool you...they were really covered in ice.

At one point I decided to glissade down about 100 feet. That was freakin awesome in the fluff. My butt didn't complain a bit about it, and I didn't get any snow where it shouldn't have been. An axe or a stake would have come in handy to self arrest at the bottom in case I had picked up too much speed, but I planned my runout accordingly. Didn't actually get up much speed because the crusties built up and made a nice snow dam.

I then transversed about another half mile and heard something. So I stopped and reseted in the sun for about 10 minutes, not moving. I could definitely hear something on the other side of the rise. I did spot the animal but I am not going to speculate publicly as to what it was, as I do not wish to start debate. I am not 100% on what I saw, but I saw enough that I unconsciously drew my knife (then put it away, realizing it was not needed), made sure I was on stable ground, and silently undid my pack. Perhaps I what I saw was in my head, as I was tired and needed a break. In either case, I wish to believe what I saw I saw for personal reasons, and that is that.

That being said, the animal left the area quickly when the wind shifted. I then continued on my way. I would have attempted to make it to where the animals tracks were, but the valley between my rise and its rise consisted of absolute smooth, sheer ice. I was just not equipped for that type of crossing and I did not want to play sled-boy down 200 feet of steep ice with boulders at the bottom.

Overall today was a good day. My body is tired, but in a good way.

I must now fire up the stove and cook some beef for my Lovely and I to eat this evening. I think I will slice it thin and use my made-up recipe intended to clone chilis fajita marinade.

Time for change

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:14:00 +0000

I am usually not one to dabble in politics, but I must say I welcome the change in our country's leadership. I watched most of the inauguration yesterday on the television. We shall see what our new President can do with the pieces he was left to work with.

On an unrelated matter, despite my feeling a little yucky I went out to the reservoir for a hike yesterday. Unfortunately blogger is freaking out when trying to upload images, so I can't show you the nice waterfalls that I came across quite yet. I will be sure to post some pics.

The frozen waterfalls are in a nice hidden spot up on the mountain. A peaceful place to go for a hike and just sit. I just wish you couldn't hear the highway in the background.

Ah, my late day

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:27:00 +0000

So once every week on Thursdays I work an evening shift instead of a normal office-type shift. A first I was kind of annoyed at this prospect, but it turns out to be pretty cool. I can sleep in and laze around a bit in the morning. I can make my coffee, which I grind fresh and percolate in my French Press. I also apparently can sit here and blog while I watch the NECN loop for the second time.

As for the cold...I love it. Bring it on! I do plan on doing the "throw the boiling water into the subzero air" tonight. It's pretty cool, try it out.

The goings on

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Ah...I sit here, nice and warm, on the couch. It's my day off and I have the motivation of a slug. Well, maybe slugs are motivated but just frustrated at the lack of mobility

Anyway... there are things I "should" do, and things that I "Want" to do. Grocery shopping, returning leftover car parts, and other errands make up the 'should.'

Going back up the side of Mt. Tom with my GPS falls under the "want" category. Unfortunately I do not have time to do them all, so I will instead sit here and complain. Oh, and I'll watch the third cycle of the same NECN news stories.

Speaking of news, what is up with the Boston FD? A vet firefighter was recently killed when his brakes failed on the truck due to (presumably) lack of maintenance. A subsequent investigation has turned up that the firefighters themselves are expected to perform light repairs. In addition, no preventative maintenance is performed on the vehicles. What??

Ok these public service guys have enough on their plates as it is, yet we can't give them a safe ride? What the hell is wrong with that picture? Yeesh. Those guys and gals put their lives on the line, no questions asked, every day. Now they have to worry about the trucks too?

Ick, my coffee is getting cold. It's in the in-between period where it is luke-warm. I like it either stone cold or piping hot. Yet I do not believe I will get up and put it in the microwave. What I should really be doing is warming up my car.

Oh, and for all the beaker fans, he is doing well.

Until the next post, enjoy some pics of the ice climbing mecca of Mt. Tom. It's not really known to people who don't climb because to get there you have to be crazy. No, I do not ice-climb (although it looks interesting), but I do qualify as crazy. I also know the mountain like the back of my hand so I am pleasantly surprised to have found the location.

SNOW!

noreply@blogger.com (-C) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:38:00 +0000

Almost two feet of snow in two days. Does it get any better than this? I don't think so!