All things Rainier...

More information about the climbing routes and access to them is starting to pour in from our vast network of contributors (you could be one too)... And from the latest reports, getting up and down the Glacier Basin trail won't be so easy this year. Today, the NPS trail-crew leader said, "My initial impressions, given the several feet of snow, is that the route will be impassable to most people and will likely require the full replacement of about one mile of trail." There's more on the Glacier Basin trail in the Updated Route Conditions.
The Seattle PI (in the Getaway Section) did a nice feature on spring access to Mt Rainier. The story covers what's happening, safety, and what visitors may expect once the park reopens. But the best part of the story is that they managed to tag this blog as "all things Rainier." Nice!
Last week, I revisited Camp Muir for the first time in three months. Things there seemed as normal as ever when it comes to spring access... However, things will be different this summer with the new guide services on the mountain. The most notable change will be that the NPS ranger station is moving to the Cook Shack (which is much more centrally located in camp). Also worth noting are the changes to what guide service will be operating out of what facility... AND that there will be a few new weatherports at Camp Muir... When the dust settles on the plan, I'll post more information. In the meantime, the reservation office has been quite busy churning out permits. If you've submitted a climbing reservation, there is a good chance that your confirmation is already in the mail. Pictured right is Seattle Times photogragher Erika Shultz, image by Mike Gauthier.
In other mountaineering news, Phil Ershler (longtime guide for International Mountain Guides) and his wife Susan recently released a book about their quest for the seven summits. In 2002, they became the first known couple to complete the circuit. The Seattle PI did a really nice piece about them, and some of the trials and tribulations, that went on behind the scenes.

Abstract Ice II

As promised, here is the same patch of ice as the photo I posted yesterday, only taken a few days later. It's amazing how the same patch of ice can look completely different from one day to the next!

Color on Figueroa

Color on Figueroa, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Figueroa Mountain has got to be one of the most colorful mountains I've seen. The wildflower displays near the summit are incredible. I recommend you visit if you're ever in the area!

Coming Into Clarity

This excerpt is from the book From Clutter to Clarity by Nancy Twigg: "In my years of being a Christian, I've learned something about making time for God. I believe we are supposed to find God in all things. Although quiet time with God is essential, I now feel it is equally essential to see God in the midst of our busyness.
Am I busy with meetings today? Then there is probably someone in one of those meetings whom God is calling me to meet--someone who needs to be acknowledged or needs to see my example of being fed by God. Are there errands I need to run? As I buy groceries, pay bills, pick up clothes from the cleaners, I take that opportunity to thank God for my abundance. I don't wait until my quiet time. I do it minute after minute throughout my day.
Our digestive system works to deliver nourishment to our bodies between our meals. Likewise, I have found that acknowledging God keeps me sustained between my conversations with Him." Adela from Aurora, CO
I also find this to be true, and when I've walked with God all day long, then I find it so much easier to pay attention in church on Sunday. But if I've sped through the week with no thought of anything but my to-do-list, I find my mind still in that mode as I try to worship on Sunday. I just can't do it.
The photos were taken on Fripp Island, SC. We had a condo on the third story which pretty much hung out over an inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. The bird traffic was superhighway status. They were zooming right and left. I was standing on our balcony aiming my camera at the sky, but I had the settings wrong.
After taking photos for several minutes, I stopped long enough to look at what I had taken. It wasn't until I put them on the computer and could view them much bigger that I gasped in surprise. I loved them! They looked so ethereal and dreamlike. And if you know me and my photography style, you know that that's the look I mostly go after.

Weekend at Broken Head

For various reasons I decided I needed a complete change of scenery last weekend. I loaded up the touring gear on my bike and headed south for a weekend, with an intended destination of Broken Head, a few kilometres south of Byron Bay in NSW. In truth I had another ulterior motive in mind -- a tour of Japan that starts in just nine days. I needed to get some rides in with the full touring load, pronto.
I headed south along the Tweed Coast, after clearing the initial 35km of suburbia that one has to do if heading south by that particular route. Thank God for the inland route through Chinderah, otherwise it would be 45km to clear suburbia. Either way, I got through it, marvelling at just how quickly I managed to adapt to handling the bike fully loaded, and decided to pause at Cabarita Beach to climb all over Norrie's head. While the views from the summit here aren't quite as impressive as Cape Byron, it is, nonetheless, very pleasant.



Here there was a local lady conducting a free stretching class, and I was inclined to join, but ultimately decided to press on down the coast. The coastal banksias were blooming along the side of the road, a slightly paler colour than the ones I saw at Lamington National Park a couple of weeks ago. The old coast road that used to link Wooyung with Ocean Shores has been closed for a while, but I had heard talk of an alternative. Of course, today wouldn't be a great day to try it, carrying a full touring load, so I decided to try it anyway.


The initial part of the ride was alright, following a reasonable quality dirt track, where I was glad for my recently added "optional suspension" front forks. Shortly after this, my track turned toward the ocean, making me think that perhaps it would link up with the old coastal track and give me a seaside run to Ocean Shores. It didn't occur to me that firstly, the track would be flooded here after the rain earlier in the week, and secondly, it wouldn't link up with the coast at all, but instead change direction again, and head for a 14% incline, complete with tree roots, rock and ruts. Oh well, the steeper the incline, the shorter it must be by nature. I came out rejoining a good quality dirt road, which I quickly identified as Jones Road, which links up with the old Pacific Highway at Yelgun. It wasn't the route I was expecting, but was an interesting trip regardless, particularly the final section in between the giant gum trees.


The next stretch south to Byron Bay is relatively uninteresting, passing along coastal flats that aren't quite on the the coast. I got some lunch and other supplies in Byron Bay, and checked out a local camping store for which I had a $100 voucher, but nothing to spend it on, given the limited range the store had. I pondered climbing Cape Byron again, but decided against it as I did it last year, and opted instead for a ride along a track near Tallow's Beach to the south of the town. Ultimately, I wanted to get to Broken Head, where there is a stunningly beautiful (if slightly expensive) campground.

Once I'd set up at Broken Head, I decided to take a walk over... Broken Head, with it's views in both directions, including The Three Sisters, a rock formation which, according to Aboriginal Legend marks the point where three sisters drowned off the coast many thousands of years ago. I went to look for the rock paintings at the bottom of the headland that I had discovered last year, but they look to have been wiped away with a landslide since. Maybe it's just as well I found them when I did.




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Another warm "winter's" morning greeted me on Sunday. It had been 27 degrees C the previous day, and if the 6am temperature was anything to go by, it wasn't going to be far short of that today. Having to backtrack can be unexciting sometimes, but fortunately today wasn't one of those times. I had a spectacular inland route lined up, one that passed through Mt Jerusalem National Park, with a couple of other climbs to make things interesting. I started off by heading back to Byron Bay to take Bangalow road out of town. It's only 12km between Byron and Bangalow, but the road is a spectacular one, climbing onto a plateau with sweeping views on every direction, and plenty of switchbacks through the rolling green hills.


After leaving Bangalow, there was another climb to be had, onto the Coolomon Scenic Drive, behind Mullumbimby, with more sweeping coastal views. There are also some enchanted forests in this part of the world, where the gnarled limbs on some of the trees indicate that things may have been very different up here at one time in the past. Today I also couldn't ignore the fact that the seemingly obligatory northerly wind was now picking up rapidly. I was glad to have chosen the hilly route home to break it up.

After descending into the Brunswick Valley and passing through Mullumbimby it was time for the next phase of the ride home, along the exotic stretch toward Main Arm, and the climb over the fake Mt Jerusalem. One of my favourite things about this stretch is that you can never be sure what will be flowering in this part of the world. Today it was a spectacular strand of cherry blossom trees lighting up the side of the road near Main Arm. Next time I pass through it will be something completely different.

Now it was time for the climb over Mt J, and it's a climb that is definitely easier from the southern side (I think the gradient on this side only reaches 13%). The dirt road and the rainforest trees always make it a very pretty climb, but today I had to wait for it, as a tiny piece of wire had found it's way into a tyre and given me a rather annoying flat. The trouble with tiny pieces of wire is that they are extremely problematic to remove, and this one was no exception. 45 minutes later, I was on my way again. The climb didn't pose any real problems after this, and nor, surprisingly, did the descent, with it's steep gradients, sharp corners and loose dirt surface. This was followed by a lunch at the Uki Cafe, and the freshest salads in NSW.

Now it was left to the final 55km to get home, with only really the climb of Tomewin to pose a problem. The rainforests on the way out of Uki gave me good protection from the wind to Murwillumbah, the town that would be the political, economic, social and cultural hub of the known universe if anybody actually cared about it, and I was left with a 6km grind along a flat, exposed stretch of road against the northerly wind, to the final climb of Tomewin.

I am so glad I made the decision two years ago to finish as many southern rides as possible with a climb over Tomewin. Not only does it give the legs a decent work out at the end of the ride, it also allows me to pass through beautiful rainforests, take in spectacular views, and most impressively, it cuts yesterday's 35km of suburbia back to about 15km at the finish. I handled the long climb with surprising ease, and the only real issue was the guy who decided to tailgate me on the steep descent at the finish where I clocked 66km/h.
For some bizarre reason, I still had a seemingly endless supply of energy at this point, so I decided to ride home a little faster, which was a great way to finish what had been an awesome weekend. This can be added to the growing list of "things I should do more often".

Tales from McGinnis

Hi! I've finally pawed mom enough about my blog to get her to do some catching up for me! , Here I am at Loch Lomond a few days ago getting to swim - that was sure fun! Mom wants to apologize for a couple of things: that she hasn't visited everybody's blogs to say hello on my behalf and secondly, that some of you have been having some problems posting commentary. Mom's going to look into this (although she doesn't know where to start), but will try to figure out how to remedy the situation. Sorries! Anyway, we have news and pix to share! Last evening we went to the park with Honey's mom. There were dozens of doggies there - wait til I tell you a tale you would never, ever believe unless you saw the bone truth with your own eyes. I got all the evidence I need to prove it - in pictures! It started out pretty normally - me chasing my kong - lots of other doggies coming and going - sniffing around and playing.
Below is my pal, Wesley, checking out the new arrivals and making sure the light poles for the ballfield remained right where they were.
After some playing, Wesley's dad, Bob did a very cool thing; gave us some treats - yum! I'd need some fortification for what was coming.
Anyway, since I was put under enforced rest, I had time to observe (hide your eyes unless you want them dropping out of their sockets). Here's the scoop. Here I am on the right, just hanging out with (left) Finnegan, and (middle) Olivia. Just normal doggies lying down, panting from all the ball, frisbee or kong chasing and...
All of a sudden, Finnegan picks up his ball by a thread and like, seems to seductively tease Olivia with it. Believe it or not, Olivia is up for the challenge, as if to say, "Yes - I can get that ball away from you!" But check these doggies out - wahoo. But these two do not rough and tumble play for the ball - no - just look at the scene they were making! And you can guess what happened next! All doggies gathered around to watch this shameless display of "The Kiss." Rodin should have been there - he'd have had himself another "hit" statue. I tell you, all doggies were getting heated up watching these two go at it! Then... bingo! Olivia pulls away with the ball, sure as shootin' - just like she said she would. But what do you think of these twos behavior!!! What a pair, that Finnegan - that Livvie girl!
Meanwhile, the crowd dispersed after the show, throats parched.
Wesley had to be consoled by his dad, who told him he'd never have to succumb to that sort of behavior - at least in public.
Kato drank a gallon of water after the "event."
When Olivia departed some minutes later, Finnegan had to be leashed to prevent him from chasing his true love's car. Even after 10 minutes, when he was finally unleashed, he still ran out toward the road, running after Livvie. Poor lovestruck Finnegan. And that's my tale. It's true. It happened at the park last evening and I stand by it.

In The Shadow of Giants

These huge redwoods are awe-inspiring.