Bull Moose

Well if there are going to be two Illinois transplants there, I better try to get my wife to come along so I'm not the only cheesehead.

Yeah... by the time Bull and I reached the summit, the fellow with the wine was already on his way down. We had missed that part of the party. Didn't know about the kite, but it sure was windy enough :-) That reminds me. A person like Shunra is also important to have along. If you try to quit he'll force you to march up to the summit. (It's worth it.)

For a Sep. 11 climb, I did not wear gaiters and didn't have much problem, even in the loose stuff near the top. I probably would've wore gaiters if they made gaiters that fit me, but they don't. I didn't miss them as much as I do in the winter in the snow. Bring more water than you think you need. I ran out of water with a full platypus and 2-1L Nalgene bottles. I was almost out when I ran out, but running out is running out. Sunglasses. Gloves. Stocking hat, even if it's 70 degrees at the Climber's Bivouac. Sunglasses. Sunglasses. (Not only for sun protection, but to keep blowing pumice out of your eyes.) Trekking poles were very helpful for me. Kite and wine are optional.

You are a wimp. Name the time and place. I might be gone a few days... but I will meet you head on anytime. Next week ...Friday? I don't care if you beat me into the ground (which you won't) I won't let you. I just know my friends will be there to support me whatever the out come may be. That's all that matters...... friends... do yoiu have any? Decide on the place... it must be Seattle. I will be there. Affer April 5th. Ready....lets go you little criminal! I'm confused, what are you talking about? RUMBLE!!! OK, who wants to submit the event cache? /Just trying to ease the tension in here. //Let's not go all "main forum" in the NW people.

Looks like we'll be just getting back from vacation that around that day and probably won't feel like anything that ambitious, so we'll free up some consideration for someone else.

I'm getting to #500 soonish - hopefully in May - and I have The Original Stash Tribute slated for half-way to 1000. A little bit of a road trip, but it's a celebration!

That's only kinda true. There are some cool virtuals. And this cache is one of my favorites - it starts in Teddy Roosevelt NP and ends outside the park with a big ammo box.

Last year, though, they took a lot of trailheads off the list of those requiring passes. A pass is only required now if the trailhead is "developed" - meaning there is a pit toilet there. We always buy the yearly pass, but could've done with daily passes because of how few trailheads we used that required them. Then again it's nice just to have it in the glovebox and not worry about stopping to buy one.

I should've guessed it had something to do with salmon. At least the road should be open.

For what dates? BTW, have fun divying out those extra passes. I got lobbied pretty hard for my extra ones.

When we went in '04, I put in for permits for Sep. 11 in February or so. So if they do decide to open it up, and someone does want to put in for permits, it'd probably be smart to do it as soon as they start accepting reservations.

Cool. I've actually been thinking about that hike again. My wife wants to go since she missed out last time due to being preggers and I'm always talking about how cool it was. I'd like to see how much it's changed since. I'm also curious if the cache has survived all this time.

I'm guessing the northern approach is still open. I think they are worried about erosion on that hill. Admittedly it was pretty tore up a few weeks ago, but I think if they banned bikes and horses - which there were many of a few weeks ago - that problem would be solved. Or even if they restricted use to one of the several trails going up the hill it would be solved too. Although, I'm not really sure why they are worried about erosion on that hill. It's not like there's anything around there. It's just a run-of-the-mill hill. Hills erode. Just protecting it so future generations can not use it.

Speaking of nerds: I'd be more than happy to see who the bigger nerd is, assuming he wants to put aside his gun and badge.

(Rim shot.)

I'm looking for lawyers that I like to justify my decision of moving from one of the most respected professions to one of the least. Finding few even in my own class, I figured caching lawyers would be the best bet. Edit: To clarify: I don't really want to form such a group. Just envisoioning the bylaws alone gives me a headache.

I think our trip to St. Helens broke him. I hope he takes a break and regains interest. I want to start a Puget Sound Attorney Caching Club when I graduate, and he's the only other potential member I know of. EDIT: Switched link to his log rather than cache log.

It's official. EVERYTHING is on the internet.

I'll check out Touratech, thanks. I'll post some pictures of my bike... but I have to take some first.

Toothyfamily, Do you feel pretty good about clipping your explorist to the mount and driving at highway speeds? I have an eXplorist 600 that I want to mount to my motorcycle, but haven't been able to get a look at the Magellan produced mount. I've just been using the map pocket of a tank bag, but that means I have to carry the tank bag along and lower my eyes further than I'd like to.

Sounds good to me! I have quite a few caches on my list over there, too.

Looks like fun. I got a Harley Sportster not too long ago, more or less for ferry commuting to work and school, but have been itching to take it on a long ride for some caches. Problem is Chewie (the dog) doesn't want to be left behind. I may have to get a model with a sidecar.

Wanna tell us about the Griz encounter? Not much to it. We were in Glacier on our honeymoon, hiking. My wife had never been in grizzly bear country, so I briefed her about what to do if we had an encounter. I had pepper spray, we were wearing bells. We were back to the car, putting our stuff in the trunk and changing footwear when a big sow bear came through the woods and onto the road about 15 feet in front of us while we were getting things back in the trunk. She stopped, looked at us for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few seconds, then continued on to the lake she was headed for breaking branches along the way. All I could think about was whether there was any food in the car that she was going to smell and come to find before we could get in. The worst part was my wife - after a few seconds - ran after where the bear had went down to get a better look. Sheesh. I grabbed the pepper spray, ran after her, grabbed her and got in the car. The excitement of seeing the bear just trumped her better judgment. I always joke about how she was trying to make me a widower three days into our marriage.

I just saw Grizzly Man the other day. Treadwell was insane. "He thought bears were people in bear suits," I think was the best quote. He's lucky he got away with disrespecting the bear as long as he did. I had a grizzly encounter before my geocaching days, and I think that was probably the only time in my adult life where I can honestly say I was scared. I definatly think about it when I'm caching in bear country, even black bear country.

Uh... What chapter am I in?