Crater Lake Revisited

Saturday, October 1st - - Last year I spent three beautiful days at Crater Lake National Park (September 24th through the 26th). And though this visit was just a week later than last year, the weather was much different – colder and cloudier, though not quite as windy – and the campground was closed as were many other facilities in the park.



This time, the visit was a short one – just a few hours – but it was sort of on my way. I don't know why, but this is a special place for me. It is exquisitely beautiful. Magical. Perhaps it is the startling color of the water – it's like nothing I've ever seen anywhere else.



Last year I had taken a series of pictures hoping to “merge” them together into a panoramic view, but never got around to doing it. And now I have this fancy new camera that does that for me! You really, really need to double-click on these images for a larger view...





This view was taken at Rim Village on the south side of Crater Lake.



This is from the southwest side near Discovery Point.



And, this is from the west side at Watchman Overlook.

Those few patches of white on the west side (left) of Wizard Island are piles of snow that are “left over” from last years record snowfall.





Surprisingly, there were quite a few other people there – but take a few steps along one of the trails and the people seem to disappear. Not many travel those paths this time of year. It would be easy to lose yourself in a place like this. The mind wanders into mysterious places while you're watching the movements of the clouds and the water. Time passes quickly, too quickly, but it is a two hour drive to the next campground and it is getting late in the afternoon. Reluctantly, I leave. Hoping that some day I may return again to spend a little more time in this place.

Dynamite M6 First Ascent

Putting work into Dynamite M6

Recently I wrote about a mixed climb that I had top roped last season. It was a fun line that I thought was worth investing some time and effort into. In recent days I spent some time equipping the route and giving it a few tries with State College climber and friend Joel Torretti. Early season and tired arms shut me down several times. With a night of rest I managed to get it. This new climb at Irishtown crag in Dunbar is now officially named Dynamite and is roughly M6. Yesterday my faithful partner Laura accompanied me to video, belay and motivate me for the send. With several days pump and some sheer determination I sent. I decided to put a short clip together to show everyone the climb. I hope this motivates more folks to come join in the great winter climbing that Southwestern PA has to offer. This is my first ever attempt at doing any video work, so any feedback is appreciated. click here and enjoy the clip!

My newly created helmet art

Tomorrowshould be an incredible day. Its Laura and myfirst day back at the local big ice playground. Laura and I are so excited to get our first pure ice day in (maybe). Rumor has it thatice climbing hardmanand old buddy Chip Kamin will be joining us for some tool swinging at some of the biggest local ice he's ever climbed. Dr. Bob, Regina, Felipe, Laura and myself are planning for some big fun on the best looking early season ice in 10 years.Of note, last yearI witnessedan incredible mixed lineform that I hadn't seen in otheryears. If its in tomorrow, I think I may have to investigate. Stay tuned for the details!

Projected corner line (last season) - Ohhhh, Ahhhhhhhh!

The last of the "old" Nomics"

Hey if you are one of the last to jump on theolder stle Nomic's in late summer or fall of you may have scored more than you first thought.



I bought a spare tool recently for a trip and wanteda mate for my original pair of old style Nomics. Found a fewon saleand ordered from a small retailer the last one they had in stock. It showed up and to my surprize the head was the new version which is able to take the newest Petzl hammer and adze. Pretty cool bonus from Petzl.



Not that big of deal because I use the C-T hammer.Not everyone's choiceso I think it is very cool that some of these older tools made it out with the factoryhammer option available.I really like thenew, and bigger,carabiner clip in the head. Makes it much easier to rack the tools on a biner. Win, win on this one.



Check out the head differences on your tool if it is a recent purchase (Fall of '10) and a old style Nomic.

Yellowstone :: Grand Prismatic Spring

Wednesday, August 31st - - Upon leaving the West Thumb area I stopped to see Old Faithful. I waited a little over half an hour for the old fellow to erupt. I'll just say it was less than spectacular. Old Faithful can have eruptions that last from a minute and a half to over four minutes. I happened to be there during one of the short eruptions in which it does not reach its maximum height. The next eruption, 90 minutes later, would probably have been a long one but I decided to go on to the next site on my list of “must see” things.





This diagram shows the features within the Midway Geyser Basin, the largest of which is the colorful Grand Prismatic Spring.





The water from the springs and pools in the area eventually makes its way to the Firehole River flowing below. Even here you could feel the heat from the water as it passed by. The sulfur smell was quite strong also.





A boardwalk trail meanders through the area giving you an “up close” look at the pools and springs. This is at the lower edge of Excelsior Geyser, which is currently dormant.





A panoramic view of Excelsior Geyser from its northern side (as with all photos, double-click on the image to view a larger version). Water flows from the geyser pool, down the hill, and into the Firehole River.





Water from the Grand Prismatic Spring flows into the Excelsior Geyser.



A view of Excelsior Geyser from its southwestern side.



Looking to the west toward the boardwalk around Grand Prismatic Spring from the boardwalk on the west side of Excelsior Geyser. The water is only a few inches deep between the two features.





The Grand Prismatic Spring. Colorful tendrils are formed by the heat-loving microorganisms where the water flows over the edge of the spring.





Looking back toward Excelsior Geyser.



The Opal Pool. You can just barely see Firehole River in the upper center of the photograph and the mountains way off in the far distance.





It was late in the evening when I headed back to the campground. This photo was taken along the western side of the southern loop in part of the Hayden Valley – that's the Yellowstone River flowing through the valley.



It had been a great day despite a few quick moving rain showers. The temperature was in the upper 60s and lower 70s all afternoon – great weather for sightseeing and playing the tourist!

Nathan and Daryl in the Tournament

After watching these two play this last week, I knew that they would do well.

I would not have wanted to be playing against them.

They played tough, fierce games against the competition.

They ended up in the championship game. They won their bracket. Woohoo! WTG, guys!

A Bee or What?

My blue knight spiria is blooming heavy and the bees and butterflies love it. I am not sure if this is a bee or a wasp but it sure had pretty blue wings.

Half of The Birds and The Bees

You can catch the birds over here and here!