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Showing posts from January, 2010

GR 65 - a few days of beauty through the snow

- January 27, 2010

I've been scanning the slides for our April-May 2004 walk from Le Puy to Figeac. This is a long process. One slide at a time, I place into the flatbed scanner with a slide adaptor. There is a prescan, then a scan, it goes into Photoshop and I have to adjust the lighting and name the slide. Maybe three minutes per slide. You would think this is a tedious process, but as I go through the slides I am reliving that wonderful trip. It was cold and wet, rained most days and for five days it snowed, but we were prepared and comfortable. I thought I would share some of those snowy day images. The most snow was on the stretch from Nasbinals through Aubrac and Saint Chely. Click on the images below to see them full size. To us, daffodils came from bulbs you buy and plant in your yard. Here they were everywhere: In the morning there was a dusting of snow And then Daffodils through the snow And then just a track through the sparsely populated high plateau Leaving Nasbinals ...

Advice on hiking with a backpack in the rain

- January 26, 2010

I try not to let wind and rain stop me from hiking. If I am prepared, it is actually sort of fun. The plants are dripping with water droplets. Rainwater paths give an education in delta formation, in miniaturized fashion. Some creatures appear only in the rain. I've been doing some local training hikes during rainy conditions, some days raining when I start, some rain starts later. I am reminded by nature, once again I might add, that it is best to put on rain pants before it starts to rain. With no shelter, it gets a little tricky getting stuff out of the pack and still keeping the pack and contents dry. In my case, I have a Packa which is a rain poncho with sleeves or a rain jacket with a hump for the pack, whichever you want to call it. It keeps the pack quite dry, but to get in the pack I've got to take it off and expose myself to the elements. For now I have a Patagonia Guide Jacket which is water resistant and a warm layer in the outer mesh pocket, and I grab...

Joys of Walking in the Rain

- January 20, 2010

As I write this we are having a brief respite from the flash-boom thunderstorm right overhead. I know this is common for many of you, but for we in the Oakland Hills on the east side of San Francisco Bay, a few times a year occurrence. A smattering of hail on the ground, and no birds in sight. Earlier, when it was just windy and raining, birds were all over the place, a dozen or so trying to get on our cylindrical feeder with eight perches. Our plan for today was a two hour hike, regardless of the weather, so this morning we put on our rain pants, packs, rain parkas, etc. I even put on my Seal Skinz waterproof socks. Our route was one of our favorites, the Heaven Hill & Pacific RR route I blogged about earlier. We had just donned the same gear a couple of days ago to go on the Kings Canyon Loop , a familiar local water district trail. On both of these trips there was rain, wind, mud .... and we had a whole lot of fun. There is a lot of in the moment stuff, small...

Oakland Hills Walk 5 - North Oakland Sports Center loop to Skyline & Old Tunnel Rd

- January 14, 2010

The Caldecott Tunnel through the east bay hills is a critical commute corridor for those east of the hills. Initially roads wound over the hills. In 1903 a tunnel was built above the current tunnel location, and when this walk takes you on Old Tunnel Road, that's the origin of the name. The current tunnel started with two bores in 1937, added a third in 1964, and a fourth is budgeted. In 1982, a gasoline truck caused a firestorm within the tunnel, killing seven, and in 1991 an improperly extinguished grass file just above the tunnel caused the disastrous Oakland fire that killed 25 people. I have driven through this tunnel many times, and had to evacuate for the fire, so know this area well. As you approach the tunnel from the west, you see a lot of houses on the left side, and on the right, eucalyptus, brush, and a high voltage power line on the crest of some hills. Several years ago, a sports field facility was built on the right side at the base of ...

Kilimanjaro - mostly on conditioning

- January 10, 2010

I saw someone's blog posting re Kilimanjaro training a couple of days ago, and realized that we had never posted anything on our Kilimanjaro experience. I guess that is because it was a guided trip (mandatory), and we normally write on hiking/backpacking experiences that we have done entirely on our own. In retrospect, the training we did for Kilimanjaro, and our physical experiences while doing that climb could help others training for a similar high altitude climb (20,000 feet). Of all our trips, this is the one where we trained most rigorously, and did not slack off. We were afraid that if we didn't do the training, we just would not be able to complete the climb. To do the climb, you are required to have a guide, and the company we used, Tusker Trails, sent out sent out training requirements that made it clear this was not a thing to be taken casually. At this point, I didn't remember their exact instructions, so dug them up again. They had a very thorough set of ...

Buxter Hoot'n at the Freight & Salvage - a band to see

- January 08, 2010

I was booted out of the house last night, as there was a small female only gathering happening, so off I went to the Freight to hear whatever they had going. It turned out to be a collection of three different roots type bands, each having their own set, and each from Indiana, though I don't know if that is significant. The first two sets were ok, some talented individuals, but the overall sound from the groups didn't do much for me. I enjoyed it, but would not go back to hear them again till they played together for a few more years. The third set was different - Buxter Hoot'n. A lot of energy and their sound worked - filled the large Freight space, and overcame the occasional squeaks and hums from the sound system. Each band member was worth watching and listening to, though I would have liked to heard a lot more from their female vocalist. They are supposed to have a cd, but it wasn't in the lobby, and it is not on Amazon. I googled a little to see if there was s...

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