Slugs and Worms

That's the headline I would have used a few weeks ago to describe my local velo experience after several days of heavy rain.  I never got around to making that post.  Now that the weather is very nice, the headline no longer applies but I like it enough to use it anyway.

Yesterday slugs and worms were not in evidence.  We had bright sunlight and warm temperatures after several days of increasingly sunny, dry weather.  Truly the early days of summer here in Olympia.  The trees are filling in with green.  Flowers in bloom everywhere.  People out and about in shorts in t-shirts.  I rode in a t-shirt for the first time this year yesterday. 

Last week was cool and overcast.  I managed to ride early, hoping to dodge predicted mid-day showers.  A nice enough ride but nothing like yesterday.  When the sun comes out here this place sparkles.

A few weeks ago--the week of slugs and worms--was much cooler and darker, pretty much what I expect in early spring here.  The slugs were pretty easy to spot with their eyes periscoped up; they looked intent on getting somewhere.  The worms were less easy to see.  As a rule, I keep a sharp look out a (a lesson deeply imbedded in my brain from booby trap training in the Army) and so I didn't run over anything.

Yesterday's fauna amounted to a wooly caterpillar and a small garter snake, both easily spotted in the bright sunlight.

Procession 2013

Yesterday in Olympia. Procession of the Species.

Dancers

Artesian Rumble Arkestra

Mongoose and cobra

Whale and jellyfish

Geoduck

Giraffe

Earlier in the day we attended the Power Tool Drag Races.

A Current Outing

Yesterday a friend and I hiked the Lena Lake trail on the Olympic Peninsula.  The trailhead is about an hour and a half from Olympia with easy access over paved road.  My hiking partner and I attempted this hike in late December but found the forest road impassible due to snow and a low clearance vehicle.  Yesterday we encountered no such obstacles.  Driving Route 101 on the way to the trailhead, we had spectacular views of snow-capped Olympic ridges as the morning clouds lifted and the sun broke through.

According to the Olympic Peninsula day hiking guide, Lena Lake is an "extremely popular back country lake surrounded by ancient timber" and generally overused.  No doubt that comes from the easy road access and the short (3.2 mile) distance to the lake on well-maintained trail.  Pretty much anyone capable of basic mobility can get there. 

That's not to say the hike requires no effort.  The trail climbs 1,300 feet total, maybe half of that in the first mile.  The long switchbacks lessen the grade but it's still a climb.  Along the way, we passed through boulder fields surrounded by dense forest, skirted under a rock overhang and found water streaming in many places.  At 3 miles we found a nice spot where the trail first encounters the Lena Lake, on a bluff well above the water with a view of the lower end of the lake.  Farther along are designated campsites and a very impressive composting privy (closed for the maintenance).  A few campsites were occupied but we saw only, tents, tarps and hanging food bags.  No people.  We crossed the bridge over Lena Creek and found a lunch spot nearby.

For people, we encountered a fairly large troop of Boy Scouts (at least 20 plus adults) who camped on the other side of the lake, and day hikers.  Not counting the scouts, we saw most of the people as we walked out.  The day was mostly cloudy, sometimes sunny.  It clearly favored the 70 percent chance of no showers implied by the predicted 30 percent chance of showers forecast for the day.  I expected at least some damp and drizzle.  Its absence made for a leisurely, pleasant walk.  Starting out I wore a rain jacket over a polypro long-sleeve turtleneck hiking shirt but removed the jacket soon enough.  The shirt was plenty comfortable as long as I was moving.

Actual hiking time was about four and half hours, including lunch at Lena Lake, dawdling at the 3 mile viewpoint and taking photos.  We made it to the 3 mile point in about an hour and a half, which includes Scott returning to the car shortly after we started walking to make sure the headlights were off (they were).   My arthritis did not give me any problems walking; it was most noticeable when I had to scramble around the few obstacles in trail.

The trip ended at the Fish Tale Brew Pub in Olympia.  In all, a very nice day.

Here are a few images.

Boulder Field

Overhang

 

 Waterfall

Another Waterfall

Lena Lake

An April Hike

18 Apr 1992.  Bill Williams Wilderness, Arizona.  I'm sitting in the shade of a rock wall beside the Bill Williams River.  The day is hot but the shade is cool and a nice breeze is blowing.  We walked in about two miles.  It was pretty easy but did require a lot of in-and-out-of-water, bushwacking and scrambling in places.  The high point was seeing a family of bald eagles--two adults and two fledglings--nesting on a cliff above the river.  Two eaglewatch volunteers let us look through their spotting scope for a great view of the family.  We could see one of the fledglings perched on the edge of the nest trying out its wings.  An adult was eating a fish while the other circled overhead.  We also got good views of the nest as we walked downriver until rounding a bend.

Now we are camped on a sandy bench above the river.  The plan was to base camp and explore downriver.  The reality has been lying about, swimming and fishing.  I did wander up a side canyon looking for photos but have otherwise been pretty inactive.  I watched about 10 buzzards circling above the canyon.  We passed a dead javelina upstream so they may be attracted by that.  The buzzards are impressive birds--cruising almost effortlessly, wings folded back as they dive, wings extended as they cruise.  We also saw a large swarm of swallows, darting around a ledge over the water.  In all, a nice day.  The canyon is not as sheer as I expected.  Except for a few narrows it's pretty open.  Even the narrows are not that closed in.  The riverbed is loose rock with a sandy bottom.

Another Book

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers, 2012

Like a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, Kevin Powers’ tale of two soldiers, Privates Bartle and Murphy, in Iraq reveals itself slowly.  Narrated by Bartle, the story puts the reader on edge from the start, offering hints and adding facts in a series of what seem at first to be disconnected scenes occurring in mostly in Tal Afar, Iraq and Bartle’s hometown, Richmond, Virginia.  The reader early on learns that Murphy is dead and that his death is not the end of the matter.  The story unfolds, filling the missing pieces on either end:  the events in Tal Afar and their impact on Bartle in Richmond, to which he has returned only in body.  His conscience is still in Iraq, wrestling with his part in Murphy’s death.  His turmoil is more than guilt over a broken promise-that-he-never-should-have-made to Murphy’s mother to keep her son safe.  What begins as a combat tale evolves into a tale of devolution into the fatal logic of war and its consequences.  Powers, an Iraq War veteran, writes credibly of combat:  how it feels, how one thinks, how one moves and reacts, how everything happens at once.  He evokes both the action of combat, the landscape in which it occurs and the long tail of responsibility and retribution that follows.

A March-April Hike

31Mar -3 April 1989.  Grand Canyon, Arizona.   I'm on the last leg of my Tonto Trail Hikes.  This section between South Bass and Boucher canyons will complete my traverse of the route from the Little Colorado River to Elves Chasm, about 95 river miles.  Tonight I am at Serpentine Canyon, about 4 miles upriver from South. Bass.  I came in about 10 miles today, most of which wasn't too bad.  The last four miles were in the very hot afternoon sun (can it really be this hot this early?).  Fortunately, this spot is cool in the evening and has trickling water so I am very comfortable.  Hiking down South Bass seemed fairly easy.  This was my third time down that trail so maybe I'm getting used to it.  I especially enjoyed crossing the Esplanade with its dwarf evergreen vegetation and long views.  Bass Canyon was brushy but the trail was easy to follow.  The Tonto Plateau is nice with some good views of the river.  But it's hot in the afternoon sun.

Day two rolls by in a blur of effort.  Crossing the Tonto in the heat takes its toll.  There is little shade and the trail wanders in and out of many side canyons which make for a long day.  Fortunately, we had cloud cover for much of the the day and found a little shade under ledges in a few places.  Ruby Canyon was the nicest spot.  We arrived around 10:00 and found nice shade, cool rocks and a few pools of water.  Turquoise Canyon was a bit of a disappointment:  no shade and only the barest trickle of water.  We waited out a thunderstorm--it was mainly on the North Rim but we got a few drops of rain before rolling out at 4:30.  We made a late camp in Sapphire Canyon which had a good water flow.  We were all tired.  I barely finished eating before dropping off to sleep.

Day three is much nicer.  We start early and are in by 1:30.  Walking was good all day although it got warm during the last couple hours.  Slate Creek was the major drainage crossing--probably goes back a couple miles or so.  Morning views were wonderful--soft light filtering through the buttes and canyons.  The whole day was one of changing light from morning subtlety to the high sun of mid afternoon.  Now we are resting at Boucher Creek in what little shade we can find, waiting for the sun to drop behind the canyon wall.  We all lounged in the creek to wash off trail dirt and feel pretty good despite the heat.

Now the hike is over and I can say I've covered the entire Tonto Trail and then some.  We came out in about six and a half hours of steady climbing--9 miles and 4400 feet.  I was out of camp by 6:00 so I got to see the sunrise and the soft morning light and beat the heat (for a while).  Boucher Trail is tough either way.  I still remember how hard it was coming down in 85.  Climbing is marginally easier but no less work.  The trail is easy to follow but hard to walk:  lots of loose rock and heavy brush.  Have to step carefully as the trail skirts the top of some sheer walls.  I climb in segments:  2600 feet and 2 miles to White's Butte, then straight up the back of Travertine Canyon for about 1500 feet, an easy traverse from Yuma Point to Dripping Springs being careful as it skirts the top of a sheer wall and cuts across small drainages.  I'm high enough now to see Hermit Rapids.  Dripping Springs to the top is the hardest.  I'm tired and the day is now very warm.  There's no shade, the light reflects harshly from the bright Coconino sandstone, burning into my eyes.  I step slowly and deliberately.  My stomach is queasy so I don't feel like eating--a bad mistake since I need all the energy I can muster.  finally, the trailhead on the rim!  I drop my pack and fall on to it.  Just shovel me into the car and take me home.

In all, this was a great hike.  Not only did I achieve a personal milestone but I had the chance to share the Canyon environment with a good group of friends .  We travelled well, each at his or her own pace but never far apart.  We encountered and dealt with problems along the way:  my lost water bottle, Colleen's feet, Rick's stove, Randy's chair and Bill's anything(?).  We were mutually supportive, especially in pumping water.  We covered some difficult ground but we also came to know and feel the Canyon; its shapes and textures, its stillness, exuberance and challenge.  My favorite camp was Sapphire Canyon.  When we reached that spot at the end of the second day we were not only assured of completing the trip in time but also had water to clean up and slake our thirst.  We contoured through 12 side canyons--three were immense, sheer walled drainages cutting well back to the rim for miles.  Walking into these large side canyons I could see the ledge I was walking on meeting the drainage one or two miles back.  Not obvious was how much farther back the side canyons are carved.  Crossing so many side canyons was tedious and tiring, especially in the unusual heat of early April.  They were obstacles in the way of some very important goals:  rest and relaxation.

Sapphire Canyon was a favorite also because of the late afternoon walk in from Turquoise Canyon.  Wonderful, late afternoon shadows and colors played across the Tonto Plateau and the rocks towering above it.  The heat was dissipating.  Sapphire was deep in shadow as the last light made it almost glow.

One Book

Stalin's Barber by Paul M. Levitt

Russia, 1931.  An Albanian Jew, Razeer Shtube, a barber fleeing fascist persecution in his homeland seeks refuge in the “workers’ paradise” under construction in the Soviet Union.  He not only finds refuge but a wife, newly widowed after the death of her abusive husband.  Unlike the deceased husband, Razeer is kind but in Stalin’s Russia he is also always wary.  His skill as a barber draws the attention of his stepson, Dimitri, a KGB officer, who recommends him as a replacement for Josef Stalin's recently dismissed barber.  Razeer recognizes the risk—the closer to power, the greater the danger—but takes the job and his chances.  Stalin’s Barber vividly and chillingly re-creates Russia during the unfolding years of Stalin’s dictatorship where people live double lives, their private thoughts at odds with the public persona required to avoid the scrutiny of an all-encompassing ideology and all-too-ruthless state.  

 Paul Levitt vividly recreates Russia in the 1930’s.  Razeer and his family live in the Kremlin and move among the new Soviet elite.  Then the purges begin.  They witness the purges as neighbors disappear.  They experience exile, hardship and, for some, survival.  The story is chilling one but Levitt also demonstrates how human beings manage the hand they are dealt.  Razeer, Anna, her children and Yelana, their adopted daughter, retain their humanity even as events become foreboding, more dire and outright dangerous.  Stalin’s Barber is a tale of difficult lives and times, well told and a fascinating read for students of Russian History.