Yesterday, after scraping and planing the inside of Vern's new canoe, I took a fitness hike with my backpack. Walking back to the house, I came across a cyclist with panniers riding up the hill. He was riding to San Diego and was looking for two trees to spend the night in his hammock. I said he could hang from posts in front of my house. On the walk up to the house, he said he was from Syracuse, NY (hey! I lived there four years), graduated a year ago (Christian Bros. Academy), and was taking off a year from college. He'd taken buses from upstate NY for 4 days to Seattle, another bus to Vancouver, BC, where he stayed in a grungy hostel ($10/night) with drug dealers and other ilk, and where someone stole his bicycle. He'd taken another bus back to Seattle, where he discovered that he'd left his camping hammock at the hostel, bought another hammock at REI (Byer Moskito Kakoon), bought a nice used Jamis Aurora to replace his bike and arranged for a place to stay the night at www.warmshowers.org. From Bremerton, he rode to Aberdeen looking for Stewart Park, and found me instead.
Andrew saw my hammock stand and said, "You know Shug?" After he showered, I looked at his hammock and suspension. I upgraded his rope to whoopie slings ("Dyneema?" he asked)--he offered to pay for them, but I wouldn't have been a good host if I'd accepted. I cut his single polypropylene strap in two and sewed in loops. I gave him my wifi password so he could do what people do on their smartphones.
In the a.m., I made oatmeal with fresh blueberries and he rolled down the hill to Westport.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
More fishing
It's the last week of summer for school kids. A few made a day at Lake Aberdeen with picnics, swimming, etc. The sight of overindulgent pale people in swimsuits made me think of really cheap beer. I had taken my canoe and new fishing gear, expecting to mostly get practice casting as on earlier visits. About noon, I put into the calm water and paddled to the middle, where I extended my new Tenkara rod, put on a furled fly line and cast a fly from the box that came with the Wetfly Tenkara Package I got from Backcountry.com. Fish rose to insects all around--none went for my fly. As the wind picked up, I paddled to the west side and cast the fly into calmer water below trees, where some fish went for the fly, but not well enough to set the hook. These were strikes, not fish nudging the fly out of curiosity--the fish had moved on before I could react to set the hook myself.
I paddled to the east shore, and here the fish overcame their carelessness and bit hard, setting the hook. I pulled in a couple 10" fish and a few smaller fish, releasing all into the lake but one that I invited as a guest for dinner. The bigger fish fought well--my first dinner guest escaped when I tried to club it over the head with my paddle, so I returned to the east shore and caught another, dropping him into the foot pocket of my canoe. I put him into my shoe when I got to shore--his presence at dinner wasn't optional. Because I didn't think I'd caught a trout species, I went to John's house--he said I caught a pike minnow/squaw fish, which he'd never heard of anyone eating. Fishing these near the Columbia River brings a bounty of ~$4 per fish, because this native "junkfish" feeds on salmon and steelhead babies. I got the rice cooking and the fish in the steamer.
The fish cooked for 15 minutes--it tasted like trout, though with more than its share of tiny, colorless bones begging to choke me. A little soy sauce and sesame oil made this fish a star. These are more fun to pull in than to eat, like Jiffy Pop popcorn (back in the day).
The three hours on the lake put to death my view that fish only feed at twilight.
New rule: Fish feed when they see what looks like food and if they think they can get away with taking it.
Newer rule: If I can catch fish, anyone can.
I paddled to the east shore, and here the fish overcame their carelessness and bit hard, setting the hook. I pulled in a couple 10" fish and a few smaller fish, releasing all into the lake but one that I invited as a guest for dinner. The bigger fish fought well--my first dinner guest escaped when I tried to club it over the head with my paddle, so I returned to the east shore and caught another, dropping him into the foot pocket of my canoe. I put him into my shoe when I got to shore--his presence at dinner wasn't optional. Because I didn't think I'd caught a trout species, I went to John's house--he said I caught a pike minnow/squaw fish, which he'd never heard of anyone eating. Fishing these near the Columbia River brings a bounty of ~$4 per fish, because this native "junkfish" feeds on salmon and steelhead babies. I got the rice cooking and the fish in the steamer.
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| A cellphone photo. |
The fish cooked for 15 minutes--it tasted like trout, though with more than its share of tiny, colorless bones begging to choke me. A little soy sauce and sesame oil made this fish a star. These are more fun to pull in than to eat, like Jiffy Pop popcorn (back in the day).
The three hours on the lake put to death my view that fish only feed at twilight.
New rule: Fish feed when they see what looks like food and if they think they can get away with taking it.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Fish cards, Tenkara fishing
From Lexi:
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I started looking for fishing gear thinking that I would fish a little bit when hiking in the backcountry. Spinning gear & fly fishing gear sit in the house gathering dust. Unable to find the fly rod I'd bought 20 years ago, I began to shop for a new one--maybe a $20 rod from Big5Sporting Goods. Then I remembered seeing something about Tenkara fishing on backpackinglight.com . I read about it online and before I could hold myself back, I had ordered a Wetfly Tenkara Backcountry Package with rod, lines, flies. I opened that package today. I'm ready to go fishing.
I went fishing. Here's my review of that fishing package:
Tenkara fishing is:
1. Japanese fly fishing: a rod, a line, a tippet and a fly. Simple and lightweight.
2. fly fishing without a reel and without the dozens of yards of fly line that would go on reel.
3. fly fishing with a fixed length line which one can quickly change out for different distances and different conditions.
4. fly fishing with a very long, light, telescoping rod with the line attached to the end segment.
I didn't know that much about using a Tenkara rod and didn't know anyone who had one, either. I put together the kit as detailed on various websites & went fishing, i.e. rod>line>tippet>fly. The rod was light, but it felt stiff. Having never cast with another Tenkara road I don't mean stiff compared to other rods, but stiff. After a couple dozen casts, it felt heavy and I switched hands. With 11' of level line, a 6' tippet and a wet fly (caddis) I had hoped the fly would hit the water at least 10' past the rod tip. After multiple casts, the fly landed not 2' beyond the rod tip. After another 30 min practice, I could cast the fly up to 10' beyond the rod tip, but against the wind the fly might land 1' past the rod tip. To do that, it took an amazing effort: an almost violent backcast to 12 o'clock (vertical) and a forceful thrust forward to 2 o'clock.
Next, I paddled my canoe on a local lake, connected the ~12' furled line to the lillian (the lillian is a short ~2" line attached to the rod tip), a tippet and a fly from the package. Casting with this line, I could, with little practice, drop the fly 10-14' away and almost as far into the wind. I could cast using overhead or sidearm techniques, the latter when trees threatened to snag my fly--I could often make the fly hit the water with a splash, attracting fish attention or land lightly on the water to keep from spooking them. I still had a few knotted lines from poor technique, but overall thoroughly enjoyed the fishing. Pikeminnows aggressively struck the fly, once I found the most favorable area to fish.
I discovered on tenkarabum the Common Cents System of measuring and comparing rod flex with other rods. The Wetfly at 41 pennies ranked among the stiffer of the rods in the Common Cents Database which explains the mismatch between the level line and the rod.
Recently, I received a Nissin Pro Square 360, which rates average (17 pennies) in flexibility and can cast a level line. I discovered that the new rod at 2.5 oz did not make my arm sore after 5 minutes as did the 3.7 oz. Wetfly rod.
and
I went fishing. Here's my review of that fishing package:
Tenkara fishing is:
1. Japanese fly fishing: a rod, a line, a tippet and a fly. Simple and lightweight.
2. fly fishing without a reel and without the dozens of yards of fly line that would go on reel.
3. fly fishing with a fixed length line which one can quickly change out for different distances and different conditions.
4. fly fishing with a very long, light, telescoping rod with the line attached to the end segment.
5. intimate fishing from 10-30' away.
6. not magic, it's just fishing.
The good: Wetfly put together a nice outfit. The package included:
- A lightweight rod at 3.7 oz. with a thin nylon sleeve with a tie-down flap closure
- A very sturdy rod tube for transporting the rod in a suitcase or duffel bag. I'd leave it at home or in the car, when going fishing.
- a level line and a furled line--these are the casting lines, intended to carry the tippet (also included) and the fly forward to land on water.
- A pretty bamboo fly box, if a bit heavy at 5.5 oz. with a dozen handsome flies. The included tippet, level line and furled line are wound on spools that can be used to hold different length lines.
- You can go fish with what the package contains.
The not so good:
1. No instructions whatsoever, not even a note indicating where on the Internet to find instructions--it loses a star for that. Simple things such as rod assembly, rod disassembly, rod care, which line attaches to what line, what knots to use and how to cast. I found good information at tenkara websites among them, tenkaratalk, tenkarabum, tenkaratimes, tenkarausa, badgertenkara. The other Tenkara sites offered information as well as the merchandise at competitive prices.
2. The included "level line" was so insubstantial that it didn't carry a fly very far. The included level line is a nylon monofilament line that is about the same weight as 4-6 lb. test--the included tippet is almost the same weight. The line is also colorless, so one could miss seeing the subtle tugs that indicate a strike. Luckily, the "furled leader" in the kit saved the day, as had enough mass to propel the fly forward. Wetfly calls this furled line a "leader"--they shouldn't. The tippet a thin fishing line that connects the fly to the casting line. The furled line is 10-12 strands of thin nylon monofilament braided to a thickness of about 1/16". I'd take away half a star for the wimpy level line.
Next, I paddled my canoe on a local lake, connected the ~12' furled line to the lillian (the lillian is a short ~2" line attached to the rod tip), a tippet and a fly from the package. Casting with this line, I could, with little practice, drop the fly 10-14' away and almost as far into the wind. I could cast using overhead or sidearm techniques, the latter when trees threatened to snag my fly--I could often make the fly hit the water with a splash, attracting fish attention or land lightly on the water to keep from spooking them. I still had a few knotted lines from poor technique, but overall thoroughly enjoyed the fishing. Pikeminnows aggressively struck the fly, once I found the most favorable area to fish.
I discovered on tenkarabum the Common Cents System of measuring and comparing rod flex with other rods. The Wetfly at 41 pennies ranked among the stiffer of the rods in the Common Cents Database which explains the mismatch between the level line and the rod.
Recently, I received a Nissin Pro Square 360, which rates average (17 pennies) in flexibility and can cast a level line. I discovered that the new rod at 2.5 oz did not make my arm sore after 5 minutes as did the 3.7 oz. Wetfly rod.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Snowgrass Flat--Goat Ridge Loop
Thank goodness for golf, softball, soccer, etc. or we might have seen all those people on the trail to Goat Lake in the Goat Rocks Wilderness.
Ben & I left Olympia at 1700 Friday Aug 8, 2014. Trailhead start: 1930.
Having made camp just short of the Goat Creek bridge, we prepared to hang our food. Ben tossed a rock bag tied to my rope over a high branch & we used the PCT method. We set up camp: Ben, his Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock, and me, my DIY bridge hammock. After a short meal, we went to the bridge with headlights and Ben's Canon G1X camera & itty bitty tripod. Ben focused and framed, then opened the shutter, turning me loose to "paint" the dark landscape using the spotlight from my headlamp. Photo below. Delicious fun, if you ever get the chance.
Photography done, we retired to our hammocks. Not long after tucking in, I learned the downside of sleeping to the sound of a creek rushing past--I got cold. I hoped I had incorrectly attached my underquilt and checked--no such luck. My Marmot Hydrogen sleeping bag (30 degree rating) didn't keep me warm. I balanced pulling out my insulating air mattress & losing heat while doing so against doing nothing--I stayed in and stayed cold. I envied Ben with his long experience hammock camping, warm and cozy in his hammock. Morning found both of us remarking how cold we felt. Cold fingers made coffee, tea and hot meals and broke camp. We left, warming quickly with each step away from the Goat Creek drainage. People tell the truth after a cold night, but now I wish I'd said, " You were cold? I was sweating all night and had to tear off a layer. Yeah, and I'm a cold sleeper.". I have no sense of humor.
We passed very slowly through Snowgrass Flats, wildflowers doing their blooming best.
Tent camps abounded, as did mosquitoes, which homed in on Ben, biting through his shirt. I took 4 bites on exposed skin only, having treated my clothes and hat with permethrin. Impressively, many parties hiked with young children, down to 8 years old or so. We saw hikers from Nepal and Colombia. We feasted on views of Mt. Adams south of us.
Following a long lunch at Goat Lake we ascended the trail 200' to straddle the Goat Ridge, then dropped into the Jordan Basin, filling our water bottles at the last trickle on the long leg back to the trailhead. We walked on, at times seeing Mt. Rainier to the northwest, Mt. Adams south and Mt. St. Helens southwest. About 1600, dog-tired, we made camp between some trees on a moderately sloped hillside far from any natural drainage. The thick base of pine needles on the ground at our campsite forced a relocation of our kitchens to the dirt trail, where we lit our stoves and cooked. We had water enough for dinner and breakfast tea. Nightfall brought much warmer air than the evening before.
Pictures on the way out:
Notes to self,
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| Digital photography still amazes us old school shutter bugs. |
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| Tiny waterfalls along the trail. |
Photography done, we retired to our hammocks. Not long after tucking in, I learned the downside of sleeping to the sound of a creek rushing past--I got cold. I hoped I had incorrectly attached my underquilt and checked--no such luck. My Marmot Hydrogen sleeping bag (30 degree rating) didn't keep me warm. I balanced pulling out my insulating air mattress & losing heat while doing so against doing nothing--I stayed in and stayed cold. I envied Ben with his long experience hammock camping, warm and cozy in his hammock. Morning found both of us remarking how cold we felt. Cold fingers made coffee, tea and hot meals and broke camp. We left, warming quickly with each step away from the Goat Creek drainage. People tell the truth after a cold night, but now I wish I'd said, " You were cold? I was sweating all night and had to tear off a layer. Yeah, and I'm a cold sleeper.". I have no sense of humor.
We passed very slowly through Snowgrass Flats, wildflowers doing their blooming best.
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| Our hillside camp |
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| Mt. Rainier from atop a rock pile on loop trail 95/95A |
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| Mt. Adams |
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| top of the 95/95A loop |
- an underquilt with Climashield Apex 6.0 won't keep you warm below 40 degrees F.
- Cold air coming down the mountain follows stream-beds and ravines.
- Bring three liters of water capacity.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
"The vein moved"
Elma. Red Cross Blood Drive at the Grange.
The Woman couldn't get my blood to flow through the needle. I looked over and saw her wiggling a size 16 or 18 needle and fixing to push it deeper.
I said, "That hurts. I don't feel confident about this. Can you please get some help?"
She called. Yuriko came. Woman said, "we need to go deeper."
I said, "Oh, no you don't."
She then said to Yuriko, " the vein moved."
I thought, no, it didn't move, you didn't properly anchor it. You didn't focus on doing this. Your mind was off somewhere else.
I said to Yuriko, "I need you to do this."
I have veins like garden hoses. Yuriko did not miss. I thanked her.
They took two units of blood, re-infusing my plasma after each unit. Two Tums calcium tabs before the re-infusions couldn't keep the citrate from chelating enough of my serum Ca making my lips tingle.
The Woman couldn't get my blood to flow through the needle. I looked over and saw her wiggling a size 16 or 18 needle and fixing to push it deeper.
I said, "That hurts. I don't feel confident about this. Can you please get some help?"
She called. Yuriko came. Woman said, "we need to go deeper."
I said, "Oh, no you don't."
She then said to Yuriko, " the vein moved."
I thought, no, it didn't move, you didn't properly anchor it. You didn't focus on doing this. Your mind was off somewhere else.
I said to Yuriko, "I need you to do this."
I have veins like garden hoses. Yuriko did not miss. I thanked her.
They took two units of blood, re-infusing my plasma after each unit. Two Tums calcium tabs before the re-infusions couldn't keep the citrate from chelating enough of my serum Ca making my lips tingle.
Frying Pan Lake Loop hike
Frying Pan Lake Loop
In their guide 100 hikes in the Washington's South Cascades and Olympics, Manning and Spring accurately described this trip in the William O. Douglas Wilderness Area with at least two flaws: too many bugs & parts of the trails almost destroyed by horse usage.
I recommend this trip for September instead, after a good freeze, when most of the bugs will be dead, dead, dead, if you go at all. Trail switchbacks are moderately graded with few steep rises and you really can't "fall off" the trail anywhere; Once you've reached Penoyer Lake or Jug Lake the trail rolls along mildly with many level sections. The whole loop is less than 15 miles, which is great as a day hike or as an intro to overnight camping for newbies. I spent two nights out because I didn't need to go home.
The bugs gave me hell shortly after I set out at ~5:30 p.m. Saturday August 2. With a 22 lb pack and going uphill, I couldn't walk fast enough to keep them from attacking. They knew my blood tasted better than that of anyone else's on the trail. Pieces of swatted, dead bugs mixed with sweat, dust and insect repellent made for a dirty job. If you plan to camp at Penoyer Lake (a big pond, really, and bugged), you'll want to fill your water bottles by the fifth creek up from the trailhead, as you may dislike the brackish water at Penoyer, where you'll wet your shoes or feet getting to water deep enough to dip your bottle. I arrived early enough at Penoyer to set up camp and my bear bagging line (PCT method) and also cook dinner. I hadn't enough decent water for breakfast, which I deferred until I arrived at Snow Lake. Snow Lake's camp site was much more open than Penoyer, if you can get to the trailhead early enough (maybe 3-4 hours)--as for bugs, a couple camped there wore head nets. Frying Pan Lake had an inch of organic matter covering fist sized rocks which made for difficult barefoot walking, 4" swimming worms (leeches?) and lots of organic matter in the water whether filled from the surface or below the surface.
Jug Lake had much better water quality. At Jug Lake the fish worked hard to reduce the bug population, but many bugs survived both morning and evening feeds--during bug season, one would want to go for the fishing. No bears, no deer appeared during my visit. I hung my food 10' up & 6' out, so can't comment on rodents.
At Jug Lake, the penny stove 2.0 didn't prime--I blew out the puny flame, poured more alcohol near the base of the stove, re-lit and it behaved. Not expensive or heavy like an MSR liquid stove, but not as foolproof as a cat stove.
I washed my hair with the soap I had, diluted dish detergent, which is just wrong. I couldn't fall asleep the 2nd night--I wasn't tired enough or I just couldn't find the sweet spot in the hammock for getting to sleep. I felt like I was awake all the time, sitting up or lying down from 9 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., pinching or scratching some bug bites or scratching my head. Finally, I found the sweet spot and slept soundly until ~7:30.
Mosquito Bites
1. left arm/hand 21 bites
2. Right arm/hand 17
3. Head/neck 7
4. Shoulders and back 40 bites right through my shirt
5. legs 6
I resolved to make a soup of permethrin to soak my clothes to keep the girls away. Note to self on bug repellent: take liquid repellent. The solid stick, while great for coating my hair and head, can't cover like liquid.
Food: I took 3 lb and had 1.5 lb after the trip. Walking without snacking likely arose from my subconscious keeping me moving to thwart bugs. Rethinking food: increase the size of the morning and evening meals.
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| Trail head selfie |
I recommend this trip for September instead, after a good freeze, when most of the bugs will be dead, dead, dead, if you go at all. Trail switchbacks are moderately graded with few steep rises and you really can't "fall off" the trail anywhere; Once you've reached Penoyer Lake or Jug Lake the trail rolls along mildly with many level sections. The whole loop is less than 15 miles, which is great as a day hike or as an intro to overnight camping for newbies. I spent two nights out because I didn't need to go home.
The bugs gave me hell shortly after I set out at ~5:30 p.m. Saturday August 2. With a 22 lb pack and going uphill, I couldn't walk fast enough to keep them from attacking. They knew my blood tasted better than that of anyone else's on the trail. Pieces of swatted, dead bugs mixed with sweat, dust and insect repellent made for a dirty job. If you plan to camp at Penoyer Lake (a big pond, really, and bugged), you'll want to fill your water bottles by the fifth creek up from the trailhead, as you may dislike the brackish water at Penoyer, where you'll wet your shoes or feet getting to water deep enough to dip your bottle. I arrived early enough at Penoyer to set up camp and my bear bagging line (PCT method) and also cook dinner. I hadn't enough decent water for breakfast, which I deferred until I arrived at Snow Lake. Snow Lake's camp site was much more open than Penoyer, if you can get to the trailhead early enough (maybe 3-4 hours)--as for bugs, a couple camped there wore head nets. Frying Pan Lake had an inch of organic matter covering fist sized rocks which made for difficult barefoot walking, 4" swimming worms (leeches?) and lots of organic matter in the water whether filled from the surface or below the surface.
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| Frying Pan Lake. Nice puffy clouds! |
Jug Lake had much better water quality. At Jug Lake the fish worked hard to reduce the bug population, but many bugs survived both morning and evening feeds--during bug season, one would want to go for the fishing. No bears, no deer appeared during my visit. I hung my food 10' up & 6' out, so can't comment on rodents.
At Jug Lake, the penny stove 2.0 didn't prime--I blew out the puny flame, poured more alcohol near the base of the stove, re-lit and it behaved. Not expensive or heavy like an MSR liquid stove, but not as foolproof as a cat stove.
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| Food up! |
Mosquito Bites
1. left arm/hand 21 bites
2. Right arm/hand 17
3. Head/neck 7
4. Shoulders and back 40 bites right through my shirt
5. legs 6
I resolved to make a soup of permethrin to soak my clothes to keep the girls away. Note to self on bug repellent: take liquid repellent. The solid stick, while great for coating my hair and head, can't cover like liquid.
Food: I took 3 lb and had 1.5 lb after the trip. Walking without snacking likely arose from my subconscious keeping me moving to thwart bugs. Rethinking food: increase the size of the morning and evening meals.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Enchanted Valley hike
July 9, 2014
John and I set out Monday July 7 at 12 noon. Only for me to remember 1.5 miles in, that I needed to cancel an appointment I'd made for today at 9 a.m. Jon gave me the car key--I trotted down the trail, and motored down towards Quinault. About 10 miles later, I noted a weak but steady cell phone signal over a short strip of road. I turned back a few yards after the signal disappeared and had enough signal to call. I returned to the trailhead about 2:15 p.m. and walked briskly, crossing Pony Bridge, Fire Creek, O'Neill Creek Camp, and Noname Creek. As I approached Pyrite Creek ~10 miles in, I came upon Jon reclining against a tree.
We camped right there.
We entered the Enchanted Valley in the morning, and sat on the porch of the chalet, full sun favoring us.
John and I set out Monday July 7 at 12 noon. Only for me to remember 1.5 miles in, that I needed to cancel an appointment I'd made for today at 9 a.m. Jon gave me the car key--I trotted down the trail, and motored down towards Quinault. About 10 miles later, I noted a weak but steady cell phone signal over a short strip of road. I turned back a few yards after the signal disappeared and had enough signal to call. I returned to the trailhead about 2:15 p.m. and walked briskly, crossing Pony Bridge, Fire Creek, O'Neill Creek Camp, and Noname Creek. As I approached Pyrite Creek ~10 miles in, I came upon Jon reclining against a tree.
We camped right there.
We entered the Enchanted Valley in the morning, and sat on the porch of the chalet, full sun favoring us.
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| John sits on the end of the chalet's porch opposite the end that overhangs the river. |
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| Our camp sweet camp. |
On the morning we left for home, mist filled the valley.
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| A privy can hardly appear more mystical. Thankfully cameras don't record wicked stench, a surfeit of which the privy enjoyed. |
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We took pictures showing how the river's new course had undermined the Enchanted Valley Chalet:
Below: I'm stretching my calf--I'm not doing my wimpy best to tip the chalet into the river.
Uh, this picture shows me stretching my quads and holding the post for balance, not pushing the chalet, right?
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| Starting the day right. |
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