Approach and trail running shoes...Salewa?

As I get back outdoors the gear I am using comes to my mind. Thought along with the previous training thoughts I add some commentson shoes. And one shoe in particular. Where I live here on the west side of the Cascades you can generally run trails for 10 months of the year with little heartache. Some do it year around. But not me.We do get a lot of rain and mud however. But that can happen any time of year.



I use a a combination of protective socks (http://www.sealskinz.com/socksand ) and differing shoes to protect my feet depending on the conditions and weather. I hate cold feet.



I have a couple of friends that make fun of runningshoes. We have a long granite ridge traverse in the Selkirksthat we do in the summer.









http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/819415/TR_Selkirk_Crest_High_Traverse#Post819415Trail



Running shoes without sticky rubber can turn that outing into a "run away" mission if you aren't careful. Adding the protection of a good approach shoe for that kind of adventure is just common sense. A hard lesson learned on my first attempt at the traverse.



My Garmont and Selewa approach shoes are better compared to low top lwt boots than my Nike Free running shoes. But they are the appropriate shoe for the Selkirks in comparison to my Brooks Cascadia.



The new to me Salewa Firetail GTX (bottom right) seems to be a unique blend of technology and construction that is a good match to my ownneeds. I have yet to have cold feet in these no matter the conditions an only regular socks.










Here is the Salewa company line on these:




"The Salewa Men’s Firetail GTX Hiking Shoe represents an evolutionary step forward, the missing link between a technical approach shoe and a lightweight trail runner. Specially-designed Vibram outsoles, climbing lacing, protective rands, and a customizable fit enable the state-of-the-art Firetail to handle approaches and descents on the most technical trails with ease and, thanks to the Gore-Tex insert, in any weather."


•Gore-Tex insert keeps your feet bone-dry on rainy days in the backcountry



•3F System distributes the lacing power over the whole foot for unmatched heel retention, so you enjoy a friction-free, blister-free precision fit as well as excellent ankle support



•EVA midsole and PU Shock Absorber cushion your foot on descents, and the Multi- Fit Footbed allows you to adjust the volume of the footbed in the shoe for a perfect fit



•All-around aramidic fiber and rubber rand protects the shoe from impact and abrasion and provides grip when you climb



•Climbing-style lacing extends further towards the front to allow you to dial in your fit



•Proprietary Salewa Vibram Approach outsole provides maximum grip and edging on rocks and helps you put on the brakes on steep descents



•Armored mesh protects the shoe against abrasion while enhancing breathability on hot summer hikes



There are a gazillion different running /approach and trail shoes available. Everyone has their own favorites and styles. So it is a tough market for them and good for us as consumers. The Salewa version was a new one for me as were the Garmonts previous. I'd rather use a running shoe to be honest and a light weight one at that. But for my own use the Salewa has come up with a good combo of protection, additional ankle support, sticky rubber, excellent fitand may be a link betweena "heavier technical approach shoe and a not so lightweight trail runner". It is worth a second look if you require something similar for those full on, long days in the mountains.












SalewaFiretail GTX Hiking Shoe

An Early Morning Visit...

An Early Morning Visit..., originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

I woke up early this morning to go check on my 'Grandpa Ott' morning glories. Look at what I found!

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1922)

[page 1]
The thirteenth Annual reunion of the Phend and Fisher families was held at the home of Henry Phend at Columbia City Ind., on the first Sunday in September 1922.

There were 40 members and 7 friends present. The forenoon was spent in a social way. Songs were sung and games were played.

Blessing was offered by Jacob Phend after which a basket dinner was served. After dinner a short business session was held, Will Phend acting as president in Henry Phend's place. The secretary's report was read and approved and the following officers were elected for the following year.
Will Phend - President.
Ralph Ernest - V. President
Christ Phend - Treasurer
Fred Ernest - Secretary.

After the election of officers several short talks were given in which special emphasis was laid upon

[page 2]
the true Christain [sic] spirit which has always predominated in the Phend - Fisher reunions. Younger members of the reunion were urged to take a special interest and help to perpetuate the feeling of good - will and fellowship.

It was decided by vote that the next annual reunion would be held at the home of Jacob Phend, north-west of Elkhart on the first Sunday in September 1923.

Ice cream was served after the business session. Every body reported a good time and expressed their intention to be present at the next annual reunion.

Fred ErnestSec'y.


The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Elkhart County, Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. Usually held at Nappanee, the events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book. Spelling has been retained as it was in the original though some punctuation and paragraph breaks have been added. To view all articles in this series click on the "Phend-Fisher Reunion Ledger" label at the bottom of this post.

"A Kneebar Too Far" 29 Coolum Cave

I could have died happy after ticking this one.

73 attempts and several cycles of injury and recovery. The swoop out of the roof really spooked me the first few times, a few people had collected the wall on the other side. Then once my focus had shifted away from the fall and toward the next moves it was pure joy.





photo: Phil Box

Change of Venue

After leaving Picacho Peak State Park, I stopped in Tucson long enough to use the wifi and check weather reports. It really didn't look good anywhere. It seems that those winds that blew in from California and wreaked havoc in many places also changed weather patterns. There has been a cold spell in southern Arizona the past few days. I checked weather in southern New Mexico and it didn't look much better.



So, I headed toward a place where I've stayed several times. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best of decisions. But it is what it is.



On Saturday, December 3rd, I arrived at Kartchner Cavern State Park (south of Benson, about 10 miles from I-10) and decided to spend the weekend, knowing that the temperatures were going to be cool. At the time I just didn't realize how cold it was going to get! For the next three days the daytime temperature did not get much above 40 degrees and during the night it dropped into the mid 20s.



Actually, I was quite comfortable as long as I stayed in the van! Since being on the road for so long, I've learned a few things – like how to run a heavy-duty extension cord through the window so that no outside air enters... It's quite cozy in the van with a little heater on. So in spite of the cold weather I enjoyed my stay here. It's a great little park. I didn't take advantage of the nice trails but did take several short walks daily to help keep the blood circulating ;-)





This was the view from my campsite at about 8:15 on Monday morning when the temperature was about 28 degrees! I thought that the clouds might be clearing, but Mother Nature had other ideas.





Less than 15 minutes later the dark clouds rolled in. We even had snow flurries for a short time Monday afternoon.



Tuesday, December 6th - - I've left Kartchner Cavern State Park and am making my way further east. I'll be taking my time, and a meandering route, through New Mexico and Texas to northeast Louisiana to spend the Christmas and New Years Holidays with my friends (who are also distant Joslin cousins). It will be nice to spend the Holidays in the company of family and friends.



Below is the temperature map for the time this post was actually written... looks rather chilly everywhere in the U.S. except the southern-coastal areas!! Yuck.





One advantage of staying in one place for a few days is that I was able to get some genealogy posts written and scheduled. So for the next few days that is what you will see here at kinexxions...

Crevasse Falls

The past weekend went by without a hitch (no 911 calls) However, no one made the summit either. The recent climbing trend has involved crevasse falls. In the past two weeks, clients, guides, and rangers have all taken spills somewhere along the Ingraham Glacier Direct or upper Disappointment Cleaver route. No one was seriously injured, but the word on the glacier is that there a number of hidden or sketchy crevasses to cross high on the mountain. The latest report says that the wands have been removed from the Ingraham Glacier Direct, and the guided climbing teams are putting a route up the DC.

The other interesting trend that is being noticed is the number of skiers vs. the number of climbers. Over the past couple of years, I've seen an increase in the number of ski mountaineers on the hill in May and June. There have been quite a few weekends where we've actually seen more skiers than climbers at the high camps! It's no surprise that skiers and boarders flock to Rainier when the conditions are good (April/May/June) but to actually observe fewer climbers is interesting.

And with that said, ski demon Sky has been at it again. On the one day of really good weather last week (Friday), he and Dave Brown stormed the Success Couloirs and made short work of the route on skies. Not to be out done, Jason Hummel posted a sweet Fuhrer Finger trip report (a bit dated, but nice images). Photo by Dave Brown

Old pictures of Crete in Lassithi and Sitia

Since we are on Greece at the moment, I saw old pictures in my foto folder of our holiday in Crete a long time ago. This was pre-digital camera age for us: 2003.

These pictures were taken at the windmills in Lassithi and the marina in Sitia.

I managed to take digital pictures of some of the roll film developed pictures we had during our holiday in the summer of 2003. Somehow these pictures survived after one hard drive crash and migration to another but they are very poor in quality. I would need to dig up my old paper fotos and see if I can find better ones. If I remember it right, we had more and better pictures. For now I guess these will suffice.

We had good memories of our Crete holiday. Our apartment had 2 balconies with fantastic views, one looking down to the pool and the other across the plateau. We rented a car and toured the island. We walked a lot. We ate out every night and spent nights watching the nighlife scene. In the mornings we had 2 Euros full English breakfast with coffee and orange juice included. I cannot believe it was so cheap back then. Time fly so fast!

Sunset in Idaho

Two hours after leaving Elko, Nevada I turned off of the Interstate onto US 93, which goes north into Idaho. Construction delays made the drive longer than it normally would have taken, but it was through some interesting scenery. In Twin Falls, I connected with the Interstate again, this time I-86 to Pocatello and then I-15 to Idaho Falls where I decided to take US 26 to the small town of Ririe, Idaho. There I found a nice campground on the north end of the Ririe Reservoir, another river that has been dammed up.

I couldn't hardly believe my good fortune – two beautiful sunsets in as many days! The light sensor of the digital camera can't quite handle the variances in brightness of the sun and the area surrounding it, hence the “halo” effect, which in this case I rather like.

Sorry, no bathing beauties here!

Northern Indiana is known for it's two largest lakes, Wawasee and Tippecanoe. Then there's Big Barbee and Little Barbee too. But there are numerous small lakes in Kosciusko County. So it was that, while growing up, we spent quite a bit of time at the lakes. Aunt Jane had a cottage and later, a small trailer, at Goose Lake. We lived not far from Barbee Lakes. And the town of North Webster, where I went to school and worked, was on the west side of Lake Webster.

Apparently though, during all those lakeside visits there was no camera around (thank goodness). Even as a youngster, me in a bathing suit was not a pretty site! In all of the family picture albums I found only one of a family member in bathing suit, of my grandmother and her sister, and it was contributed to last year's edition of the COG.

When I was about 10 years old we moved to a "modern" home in a subdivision we called Whitville (because it was developed by Gene Whitacre). It was on what was then called the Armstrong road, which was the "main drag" between North Webster and the south side of Lake Tippecanoe a few miles to the west. In the summertime we'd have some fun with the "lakers" looking for the Tippey Dance Hall, which was "the" place to go on a Saturday night for young adults. We'd sit out in the front yard and invariably someone would stop and ask how to get to the Dance Hall and we'd tell them "you can't get there from here." Ah, the joys of youth. It took so little for us to be happy back then.

But I digress. One of the things that my brothers and I used to do after we moved to Whitville, was walk. Everywhere. We had to look after our little sister so we'd put her in the wagon and walk to the lake, which was about two miles away. But along the way, we would pick up pop bottles from alongside the road and put them in the wagon with my sister. The Jot-Em-Down grocery store was "sort of" on the way to the public access area of the lake and we would stop there to cash in the pop bottles. Of course, we immediately spent it on candy and pop! Then it would be off to the lake for a cool swim.

The picture below is of my brother and his son in June 1983 on the occasion of my nephew's second birthday. My brothers in-laws had a lakeside house on Chapman Lake, which is near Warsaw.


Photograph Copyright © 1983 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

This post was written for the 74th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy :: Annual Swimsuit Edition.

Greetings from Texas :: Albeit Somewhat Belatedly

On December 7th I left Arizona, drove through the southwest corner of New Mexico and entered the great state of Texas! Yes, I've been here a week already... I stopped off for a few days at one of my favorite spots in Texas – Davis Mountains State Park – way down in the southwest corner of the state a few miles from Fort Davis.



Mother Nature was still throwing a hissy fit as far as the weather was concerned with colder than normal temperatures. However, there was one very nice day while I was at Davis Mountains – the thermometer actually reached 62 degrees! And there was sunshine and blue skies. It was quite nice, to say the least. Then the clouds and cold temps rolled back in that night... I left Davis Mountains on the morning of December 10th with the area enshrouded in fog and temperatures in the low 30s. The fog and low temps followed me eastward all day long...





Photos taken on December 8, .. from the top of Skyline Drive, Davis Mountains State Park. Overlooking the valley below. The campground is nestled between the hills on the left side of the photo.





This past spring and into early summer, parts of western Texas were ablaze with wildfires. Davis Mountains suffered some damage - most of the shrub trees in the upper areas of the park were blackened by fire and there was more extensive damage in the isolated areas.





The sunset wasn't the prettiest I've seen. But it wasn't bad either ;-)

Pitsford Water circuit

cowslips are everywhere this week

Just visible - a hovering kestrel.

7 miles in bright sunshine, with clouds and a chill wind. With Marta















No we didn't walk on water, as you'll see if you use the satellite view.

A.N.T. Open House: Lovely Bicycle Sightings

As those of you who are local may know, Mike Flanigan of A.N.T. hosted his annual Open House today. What is A.N.T, you ask? Alternative Needs Transportation is one of the most respected makers of handbuilt bicycles in the U.S., with a focus on "not sport... transport". And they happen to be located not far from Boston, in Holliston, Mass.

A studio view of the classic A.N.T. Boston Roadster. Mike Flanigan has been a professional TIG welder for over 15 years, and all of his experience has been poured into making the Boston Roadster what it is: a seriously sexy bicycle, combining strength, reliability, utilitarian simplicity, and a handsome physique.

There was a lot happening at the Open House, including workshop tours, contests, tasty Indian lunch, hot apple cider, a 15 mile scenic foliage ride, and much velo-obsessed conversation. But for the purpose of keeping the length of this post in check, I will focus specifically on the bicycles.

I would say that the star of the show was probably the Basket Bike, available as either a men's or a ladies' frame. It was absolutely delightful, and everybody wanted to try it out.

As you can see, the front wheel is smaller than the rear, which is good for carrying heavy loads. The basket is enormous, and will fit at least 3 grocery bags side by side.

The front rack is welded onto the frame itself, improving the handling and stability of the bicycle when loaded.

Custom mount for the dynamo light is elegantly welded onto the fork blade. A.N.T.'s custom light mounts are just some of the features that make their bicycles special.

Another striking bicycle was this Scorcher Antique, which belongs to Randy. This is an amazing bicycle; it is impossible to capture in photos just how beautiful it is and how harmoniously all the colours and components fit together. The Scorcher Antique was built for the Shimano Alfine Frame Builder Challenge and won 3rd place.

The custom front rack features a "rising sun" design. This is perhaps the most beautiful front rack I have seen, and I think A.N.T. should offer it for sale in its own right. Note the light mount attachment.

Decorative lugwork and headbadge on the Scorcher Antique. Mmmm.

Seat cluster. Beautifully done!

Speaking of beautiful, it's time to move on to the ladies. Pictured above is Lacey's Boston Lady Roadster in vermillion red with cream tires. Lacey was kind enough to allow me to ride this bicycle and I will post a separate Test Ride Report about my impressions soon.

Laura's Derailleur Roadster. I absolutely love this colour. Notice the matching rims and the custom wooden front rack.

Betsy's turquoise Mixte. Yes, A.N.T. builds mixtes with twin lateral stays. This is another bicycle that I took for a spin, and a Test Ride Report is forthcoming.

And finally, Mr. Flanigan himself with his own bicycle - the original Scorcher, which I believe is a fixed gear.

Beautiful lines and a harmonious colour scheme; an aesthetic that is both vintage and minimalist. I should note that the handlebars on Scorcher models are custom made.

A.N.T. has recently announced that they will once again be making fully custom bicycles, which has made a lot of people very happy (the wait list had closed at some point, and for the past year only standard models had been available). Mr. Flanigan is a knowledgeable and generous person, whom I recommend very highly as a frame builder and whose A.N.T. website I invite you to visit. We had a wonderful time at the Open House and we thank Mike and Betsy for their hospitality. I also thank all the bicycle owners for their permission to photograph them with their bikes.

It looks like my attempt to limit this post to a reasonable length was not exactly successful, but I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Ziva & Wiley

Our new puppy, Ziva, playing with our black cat, Wiley. Check out more about Ziva at my blog, http://thepuppytale.blogspot.com/

Feel Like Crying

A road ride on a cold day. Wind in my face. Gasping for air.




Descending as the sun begins to set, there is nothing but speed, forest, and a faint golden glow on my face. This golden glow loves me, and it loves all the other riders on the road.



A feeling comes over me and it's the feeling of knowing infinity. At this moment, I could fade into the forest or ride off into the sun. My physical sense of self and bike grows weak. We are too light to be real; we dissipate.




I am high on endorphins. I know this.This is not a special moment. This is not meaningful. I must get ahold of myself.




But my chest is full.And the tears come.






It doesn't feel like crying. More like an emotional mix up. I laugh at myself as the chill hits my wet face. I need to cut this out. It's not that serious. It's not that beautiful. I am not pedaling that hard.






Could it be fear, rather than the pain of physical effort that I am converting into these intense waves of emotion? Am I too proud to experience fear, so I sublimate it into ...what exactly?




No no no. Thinking won't help here. Just go with it. Let it happen. People will understand. Or they will think the tears are from the wind.




This is what roadcycling does to me. No, I don't get it either.

Greening up

The happy little creek is greening up.

Walking around the ponds last week I had a possible encounter with a Bay-breasted warbler.

He hid among the crowd of new leaves, and wouldn't stay put long enough to be sure.

I have a strange track record with this species - I usually only see one per year. Hope that wasn't it.

This week the weather systems in the southeast are good for migrating birds, but bad for bird watchers. That's the way it goes.

Nowdays they can track some bird migrations with radar.

New England Coastal Town X

New England Coastal Town X. You know the one. Narrow streets, saltwater marshes, dog-rose bushes. Windswept rocky beaches, icy currents. The natives distinguished from the tourists by their accents, the age of their boat shoes, and their ability to go in the water (watah) without flinching. Dilapidating beachfront properties, clung to for generations before ultimately being sold because money's run out or the siblings can't decide who keeps the house.



The developers from the Cityare good guys,thank God, not at all like those soulless predators who would have entire blocks of historical properties bulldozed for condos. Worshipful of the town's character, they only want to update, to improve. They landscape with native plant life (they've researched this; it looks natural and wild yet subtly colour-coordinated).Gingerly and respectfully they extract Jesus and Mary statues from front yards. They remove asbestos, replace yellowed wallpaper, tear down drop ceilings to expose natural beams, liberate hardwood floors. They gut those claustrophobic interiors with their myriads of tiny rooms to create an open concept layout. They install granite kitchen counters, stainless steel appliances, add extra bathrooms (really, a 6-bedroom house with 1 bath?...).



The updated properties are resold at prices that reflect the quality of labour, the professionalism of the interior design and the local sourcing of materials. They are bought by urban escapees. Eager to live in the quaint town for a fraction of the cost of their cramped city apartment, they long to improve their quality of life with fresh air and natural beauty and a sense of community. But the economy is terrible, and their ideas of local employment opportunities prove over-optimistic. Two years later they return to the City, keeping the property as a summer house and income-generating vacation rental.



A tiny commercial street runs through a narrow peninsula. It is home to 6 ice cream shops and 5 seafood restaurants, every single one of them with water views. The seafood is freshly caught, the ice cream home made. "There's a line, but it's worth it." A woman wearing a white beach dress and straw hat asks the high school girl behind the counter if the scallops are good. Unthinkingly the girl answers that she hates seafood, then laughs apologetically and promises they are excellent. The woman asks the girl where she is from. She replies that she lives down the road, pointing in the direction. The woman is ecstatic as she carries her food away to the outdoor seating area. She tells her husband about the exchange. "You know they're locals if they hate seafood!"



Around the corner is a string of cozy little shops selling locally made jewelry, fair trade clothing from South America, organic hand lotions, antique furniture, used books. The local Art Association operates a Co-Op. Paintings, ceramics, woodblock prints. A hand-holding couple discusses purchasing an abstract seascape. "I want the lighthouse to be recognisable without the whole thing being cheesy, you know?" They study several pieces that meet these criteria, tilting their heads.



There is a yoga studio, a book club, a historical society, a concert hall, a market stall selling fresh produce thrice a week on the Green. Artist residencies are held on a bi-monthly basis. There is a mannerism and style of dress that distinguishes the seasonals from the more casual vacationers and day trippers, establishing a hierarchy of sorts.



And then there are the locals, that elusive species. They work the counters, staff the hotels, rent out the boats. But mostly, those who remain are like ghosts. Sometimes you hear the accents at the beach, or a voice calling a child in "for suppah" from an open window.



New England Coastal Town X. I've lived in one and I've visited many, and now here I am again. Memories blend with images glimpsed from afar as I ride my bike past the rocky beaches, charming shops and impeccably renovated properties.

R.I.P. Stewpot

How many times did I ask the coyotes why they didn't take a rooster instead of a hen?



They finally did. Stewpot failed to return home at the end of the day.

Despite all his meanness, I'm going to miss him. He was one of our first chickens, and he sure was handsome.


With his girls.


Dust bathing.

How he was named, and his antics.

Princess of the Cave

Here at jjobrienclimbing we've had hundreds of letters from Russell Bright asking "when am I going toget my mug on your blog"? Our original charter forbade it, but we are after all, a shameless commercial operation, and when Russell came up with the required cash, we relented.So here's Princess Russ.





As far as can be understood this man makes a living from fish fiddling.I hope I'm not over simplifying it but I thinkhe makes goldfish have goldfish.





Russ earned his strength relentlessly lapping hard routes.



Style: Hard to say. Delicate Thai hippy details, barefoot, with awell maintained sharp edged do on top.

Let's call it, Tonsai dirtbag meets personal fitness trainer.











Curiously, Russ has a proven ability to make good on steep routeswithout climbing shoes. Ouch. Why would you do that?How could you do that?



The coldest, windiest day of the year allowed me the rare opportunity to shoot Russ with his shirt on.





Route: "Evil Knievel"

Coolum Cave

Dynamicin style.

Irrepressibly cheeky by nature.

Russ the belayer: He's not watching you, he's watching Sharma. How are you going to compete with that?The internethardly needs more photos of Russ, maybe just one more.



The strong man who earned the title "Princess Russ"



PS. Welcome to our newest follower Lewis Templar, who's middle name appears to be "Danger".

That rocks Lewis. Did your Mum come up with that?