Sunday, August 30, 2009

My hat says it all.

And I am.
I'm heading for the Vast Wilderness tomorrow morning, August 31st. I plan to spend almost a week doing day hikes and acclimatizing near Mammoth, CA. Then head over McGee Pass as the Labor Day folks retreat. I plan to spend seven days backpacking.

After that I'm thinking about doing a round trip hike from Mahogany Flats to Telescope Peak.

Then mozy north along 395 in my Vanagon with my Kayak. Maybe do some kayaking on Mono Lake, again.

I want to be in the Seattle area by the 26th of September for my Aunt's 80th birthday party. After that I would like to spend a couple of weeks in the San Juan's with my Lolli and her mom.

I expect to return to Fort Bragg around the second week of October with stories to tell and photos, lots of photos!

I hope you too can take the time to "Get Out". And if you can't, you might enjoy checking the"Links I like" over there on the left. Interesting bunch of folks.

Onward.

Friday, August 28, 2009

A post for my Gearhead friends!

My friend Pete informed me that this year "bear canisters" are required beyond McGee Pass. I borrowed his "small" one. Damn, I hate to have to haul it in and out of McGee but it will make a nice camp seat! I have seven days worth of food crammed into it:

Six mornings of oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar and powdered milk.
Seven lunches of trail mix, sardines, cheese and crackers.
Six dinners of either; split pea soup, lentil soup, corn chowder or black bean soup with fresh garlic added for enhancement!
Four Lara Bars for an occasional treat.
Ten "Black Tea with Double Bergamot" tea bags.

Here is my "Gear" or "Kit". Mariposa Plus backpack on the left. Folding fiberglass tent poles. "The One" Gossamer Gear tent. REI Goose down sleeping bag. 12 oz of white gas in a small MSR bottle. Seva 123 white gas stove with 6 oz. of gas inside. Aluminum foil "windshield" for stove. Snow Peak titanium pot with lid. Aluminum drinking cup. Rolled up Tyvek rain suit. Two water bottles. NeoAir air mattress. Two "Polycryo" groundsheets. The afore mentioned bear canister with food. Katadyn water filter. Cat hole shovel with emergency duct tape wrap. Toilet paper in zip bag with toothpaste and tooth brush.

Not shown.
Small stuff sack containing Moleskin sketchbook, two Micron pens, colored pencils, tweezers, minature scissors, Neosporin, Moleskin, extra nylon line, four spare "eneloop" AA batteries, large garbage bag for emergency pack cover, ShamWoW towel, small scrubber sponge, small container of Dr. Bronner soap, MicroBites spoon/knife/fork, small Petzl headlamp, foam ear plugs, small box of matches, butane lighter, PacerPole camera adapter. Small squeeze bottle of 30 SPF sunscreen and a small spray bottle of Deet mosquito repellent.

Plus, Crocs for leisure wear!
30 pounds.

Also not shown.
Tilly Hat, IceBreaker body shirt, IceBreaker long sleeve T-shirt, Patagonia "Down Sweater", two pair of nylon Gold Toe socks, one pair of Smart Wool socks, Nike Elite Running Shoes, NorthFace gloves, Wool stocking cap, PacerPoles, Canon PowerShot A2000IS camera, miniature PhotoLogic tripod, Garmin 60CSx with Topo U.S. 24k chip installed.

E-gad! It sure takes a lot to go for a walk now days!! Why I remember back when mom would send me and my brudder off camping with just a blanket and a cast iron skillet!


Thursday, August 27, 2009

Road Art




Well, it's art to me!
These marks are on Harold Street indicating the size and location of impending pot-holes.

Meanwhile.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

One of those mornings.

Early morning fog starts to lift.

The sun begins to peek underneath.

6:51 AM. The old Augustus West building on the other side of Lee's Chinese.

Downtown Franklin Street getting highlights.

This kind of lighting only happen this time of year.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Bubble Butt instead of Fancy Feast


I'm decided on a stove for my upcoming adventure. This is "Bubble Butt", formerly a Seva 123. It was given to me by my friend Peter. About fifteen years ago it had become involved in a big fire that almost caused it to blow up! The normally concave bottom became convex from the built up pressure! I used a hammer and a smooth piece of wood to gradually hammer and reform the brass "bubble butt" back into a concave shape. Since then I have fired it up several times and it operates just fine.

This is my home made "Fancy Feast" cat food can alcohol stove. I drilled the holes and made the base for it. It works just fine at sea level but I discovered it required almost twice as much fuel to heat water at 6,000 feet in the Yolla Bolly. So, although Bubble Butt is a lot heavier, Bubble Butt is going to the 10,000 foot High Sierra with me.


I recently received an e-mail asking me what the average temperature in Fort Bragg is. I Googled around and found this!
Cool!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Gearing up!

I'm getting ready for my Walk in the Wilderness.

I have my lightweight "The One" single person tent.
I have my lightweight Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus backpack.
I have my lightweight Patagonia Down Sweater.
But what if it rains?

I have been looking at various rain tops, rain bottoms, gortex, vented, blah blah. All very pricy and then read about Tyvek coveralls on this blog.

What do you think? One step too far?

Friday, August 21, 2009

Little begger

Don't tell anyone but I took my Mother-in-Law to McDonald's yesterday. I bought two Hot Fudge Sundays and then drove us to the end of Ocean View Drive to enjoy our ice cream and the view. Sitting there we noticed something pop up just in front of the vehicle.

It was a squirrel!

Just standing there quietly looking at us.

Alright. Alright!

I sprinkled out the chopped nuts that came with our Sundays.

Boy, he's good!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Living in the Moment.

My ninety-three year old Mother-in-law is staying with us for a while. Today I took her to a park east of town. She said she has never seen such tall trees.

I found a feather laying on the ground and gave it to her. She said it was the most beautiful blue feather she has ever seen.

Arriving home she said that was the best trip she has ever been on.

********
Tomorrow is a new day. Could it be history isn't required to enjoy it?

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Okay. Okay.

A couple of folks are missing their "Walking Fort Bragg" fix while I am taking a little hiatus so...
Let me tell you about this!

I was at my mother-in-law's cabin a couple of summers ago and saw crows dive bombing what I thought was a cat in the tall grass. I walked over to investigate and it turned out to be a Great Horned Owl! With it's foot caught in a trap!!

I called the Critter Care folks and a guy came out with a butterfly net and a pet carrier. We cornered the owl, caught it and removed the trap from its leg.
.
We put it in the carrier and he took it away for rehabilitation.
That is how I got the amazing, close up, photo at the top of this blog!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Taking a break.

The "guard dog" at La Bamba Grocery. One of the smartest dogs in town!

************
Sorry I haven't posted lately. I had a "plantar's wart" removed from the bottom of my right foot and it is taking longer to "get over" than I had thought and for some reason if I don't walk, I don't gawk and if I don't gawk I don't see things to document and if I don't document I don't have anything to blog and so..... long story short..... there's no blog.
I'm fine.
Check back in about a week.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Ballast Bricks and Zugunruhe

Remember the newly constructed Pizza Oven at Fort Bragg Bakery I posted a photo of last month?

I got to visit again and here are some close up photos of the "ballast bricks" I mentioned in that blog.

These bricks were used as ballast in the sailing ships when they returned from San Francisco after delivering redwood.

We're talking late 1800's?

Fall must be in the air. The resident geese are getting that ol' Zugenrue feeling once again! Zugunruhe is defined as the need to migrate, or more accurately as a seasonally occurring restlessness.

Speaking of seasonally occurring restlessness.... I'm getting ready for an epic adventure. I am planning to spend most of the month of September backpacking, camping and kayaking. From McGee Pass to Puget Sound, September is going to be fun!

Speaking of planning. Here is an interesting blog involving a lot of planning!!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Early Morning Dew and a Correction!

The moisture in the air and early sunrise made for some interesting photo possibilities. Too bad I didn't have my tripod with me.

I got this "Correction" from my pal Johanna concerning my coverage of the doggie event during "First Friday":

"With due respect to my pal Ron, this was the PUP PJ Contest - prizes for the best doggie jammies. The Ugly Dog contest is Sept 5th as part of our Paul Bunyan Days festival... "

Thanks Johanna for keeping me honest!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Well, let's see...

Looks like two bicycles, four people and three dogs have crossed the Pudding Creek Trestle this morning!

Noticing the small trails in the beach sand I discovered this snail.

It looks like this one ran out of juice!

I set the camera timer so I could give you a two handed wave from the trestle bridge.
"Howdy, fellow blog readers!"

Monday, August 10, 2009

Monday Morning Musings

Always good advice.

Summer vacations are in full swing!

Someone coming in from the sea.

Passing the Coast Guard heading out to sea.

Training exercise?

Alongside the Safeway parking lot. No idea what these are besides interesting.

Wow!

Mom! I'm still hungry!

And finally..., the warning lights on the KDAC radio tower are off or burned out. Maybe they turn off when the sun comes up and I had not noticed before. Hmmm.