27 July 2009
Back to Miller
Enjoyed a quick afternoon ride up to Miller Peak on Sunday after some fishing with the LRs in the morning. The hucks are out big time. Noticed them along the E. Fork of the Rattlesnake Saturday and yesterday in upper Miller. Could almost feel fall coming up there on top while looking over the valley. No bow hunting scouters up there yesterday, but the huck pickers are out for sure. Beautiful day.
26 July 2009
Ripped Adistar
These have been great shoes, but I now need an industrial seamstress. They made it longer than I expected. A season and a half. Both shoes were torn along the upper buckle strap. One (above) was the stitching and the other shoe's top strap simply was ripped. They made it about 5,500 miles.
25 July 2009
Today's Jaunt
I've been hurting a bit this week, coughing since Monday non-stop. No other symptoms though like a temp for instance. Stomach muscles actually hurt from coughing so much. Mad about it. Have not been riding too much since Oregon, though I tried to ride up Second Thought Thursday and coughed so hard after one 15 minute session I turned around and left. Pat's doing a nice job widening the road, by the way. I was not able to go to Galena this year and it was probably a good thing, but still a major bummer.
I decided today to do a back yard jaunt anyway and see what conditions were on the hill. I managed to get to the helepad in 2.17 and there were not too many portages going up. Coming down the back side was a major disappointment. 
Just above and all along the East Fork were many portages and I got very frustrated. Also, the descending meant coughing for some reason. It was 96 degrees. Still got to Franklin in 3.17, with bleeding legs from the downed timber I climbed over. I have to say though that climbing 16,500 feet a couple of weeks ago made this feel pretty simple for the legs. Got it done in 3.42 back to the truck. However, my engine (lungs and h/r) is hurting with this cold. It just lingers along keeping me up at night and irritating me during the day. Pretty sure I'm going to lick it shortly though! This singletrack is always buttressing.
17 July 2009
Oregon
The folks in Oregon have a beautiful coastline which deserves its own post. The above shot is a photo of a favorite viewing area, Cape Foulweather and the Devil's Punch Bowl. It was cold and raining. 
At some point I'd like to take Jake (my cross bike) down the full coast line from Seattle through California as I noticed there were quite a few touring bike riders cruising along.
These guys were in the Oregon Aquarium Aviary. They were pretty funny, hopping off of ledges and splashing into the water right in front of us.
There was plenty of lush greenery around. There also were many different types of flowers in the Aquarium area as well.
The Aquarium has seals, otters, sharks, sea lions and some of the largest crabs alive in the world, Japanese Spider Crabs.
It's been quite a while since this area has had a Tsunami, but I stopped to read up (below) on what to do if there is an earthquake.
Below are some of the little jelly fish that were in the Aquarium. Not sure why, but I just stood there looking at these guys for quite a long time. I think I know why it is recommended to have an aquarium in one's house, as it is calming sitting there watching the creatures. I also was remembering my brother and I getting the heck stung out of us by these creatures at Myrtle Beach as children.
After some steamers and ales at the Rogue Brewery, I decided to take a walk out on the pier there to see what the locals really do.
The Sleeprobber was a really cool boat moored behind the brewery. It looked right at home at the dock where one of my favorite beers, Dead Guy Ale, was born. 
As a kid I used to love crabbing on the Virginia coast and was reminded of those days out on this pier. These were not blue crabs, however. They were Dungeness and Red Rock crabs.
The LRs and I had a lengthy visit with with two crabbers on the dock. They were ladies in their upper fifties who I could tell had been doing this a long time. They were using fileted out salmon and steelhead tails and backbones that had been recently left on the docks in the area. She told the LRs this is what we should be doing and pointed to where we needed to go to get the fish parts for trap bait.
Above is a legal sized Dungeness the ladies were particularly proud of sitting on top of a couple of Reds. We were told the Reds are best in stews. Dungeness, as you may know, are sweet and spectacular steamed with butter and lemon. If I lived in Oregon, this is what I would be doing for sure. Along with salmon and steelhead fishing. There was another local casting a large piece of lead with a treble hook with nothing on it. He said he was trying to snag lost crab pots. Interesting, yesterday's Missoulian had an article on government funds headed to this very area to remove 15,000 lost pots that are having a negative impact on the marine life. I love this coast.
The LRs and I had a lengthy visit with with two crabbers on the dock. They were ladies in their upper fifties who I could tell had been doing this a long time. They were using fileted out salmon and steelhead tails and backbones that had been recently left on the docks in the area. She told the LRs this is what we should be doing and pointed to where we needed to go to get the fish parts for trap bait.
Above is a legal sized Dungeness the ladies were particularly proud of sitting on top of a couple of Reds. We were told the Reds are best in stews. Dungeness, as you may know, are sweet and spectacular steamed with butter and lemon. If I lived in Oregon, this is what I would be doing for sure. Along with salmon and steelhead fishing. There was another local casting a large piece of lead with a treble hook with nothing on it. He said he was trying to snag lost crab pots. Interesting, yesterday's Missoulian had an article on government funds headed to this very area to remove 15,000 lost pots that are having a negative impact on the marine life. I love this coast.
California Sheephead
Following Sunday's C.C.P. in Westfir we shot over to the coast and stopped by the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Being an avid sport fisherman, I really enjoyed the Gyotaku Exhibit. Bruce Koike's work was excellent and was at the entrance to the shark tank.
16 July 2009
The Mire (C.C.P. 2009)
It is 12:19 AM, the Venti Bold is still running through my veins keeping me wide awake having just gotten back to Missoula. We did a straight shot from Portland, after wrapping up a few things there Wednesday morning after playing for a few days on the Oregon coast. I'm trying to think of how to best describe the race last Sunday in Westfir - the 2009 Cascade Cream Puff.
I rolled into Oakridge this year around two or so with my wife and three kids (LRs). As has become standard operating procedure, following this race we head to the coast for some R&R away from the office. In order to not be too redundant, you can catch last year's information here - CCP '08. The initial routine was the same. Scott and Mike (the promoter with Mudslinger.com) along with some other folks (awesome volunteers) with the Trail Care Crew laid out the scenario for this year's race in the school gym. Everything was pretty much the same in terms of the race course and the rules. However, I caught one new item loud and clear, which was that the Jedi singletrack had been added this year. Last year, this section was still snowed in. I was not sure what this meant, except that it was "above station two," which meant more climbing. However, when Scott stuck out his arms and proceeded to describe this single track as a glider going down something like a roller coaster, I got pretty excited about it! Also new this year was a beer garden following the race in the finish area at the red covered bridge (I love that bridge). Once again the whole community of Westfir got behind this race, something that is immediately noticeable. As one can tell from the place the photo was taken, I sat close to where the chow was going to be served by the Kiwanis Club following the meeting. My Lion's Club friends would probably fine me if they knew I was promoting the Kiwanians, but the Kiwanian's really put on an outstanding meal which this year I was able to partake in. This year also there were to be awards and swag was going to be given out following the event.
I got a good nights rest and we stayed once again in Oakridge. Race day I awoke to rain and knew what this meant. I had decided this year not to race with a pack. I also had decided not to take a shell. I did send my pack up to station two in that bag the night before. I got dropped off at 4.30 at the school and signed in (with the shell on). During the initial start, a slow cruise up to the red bridge, I rode by Toby (a Missoula racer doing this race on a single speed). We visited for a bit. Then, further up the road, I visited with Shaun ( Montana Cyclocross ) and said to put one in for Missoula and he echoed that back to me as well. There were Shaun, Doug (on single speed as well), Toby and Joel all racing from Missoula and affiliated with Montana Cross. Also, Adam (in Seattle). Shaun had chosen this race for his first mtb ultra - pretty cool!
I got up to station two trying to stay near the front but stopped to take off the shell and leave it at this station knowing it would probably come in handy later. As I suspected, an already technical Tire Mountain trail ( CCP Topofusion Map ) was a muddy mire. I was dealing already with a chainsuck and my chain was hopping all over on the rear cassette. About halfway along this, Toby and some of the other racers came fearlessly flying by. One thing about a singlespeed that came in handy today is a lack of gears! I kept the chain on the third largest rear cog and quit shifting halfway through this trail section. I noticed that there were some new steps on the trail where last year there was a treacherous root/drop off. Nice work by the trail crew! When I got to station three, I pulled a handkerchief out of my drop bag and carved the mud off of the derailleur spindles. One thing is for sure, and that is that throughout the whole race the volunteers (freezing in the rain) at each of the stations did their best to help the racers deal with the mud on/in their transmission providing lube and helping to clean things up. I needed a flat head screwdriver to carve the butter.
I had a chain that was continuing to hop the smaller rear cogs throughout the section along Winberry to station four. Again, picking one a bit larger and spinning on the road while eating a cliff bar. I played leap frog with racer's from Bend, Boise and CA on the first few loops. The fellow from Bend knew many Missoula area racers and rattled off three or four names to me. I told him I liked Bend a lot and spent some time on Bachelor as a kid in the '80s during a summer Bob Beattie ski race camp. I visited briefly about Galena (one of my favorite races coming up this weekend) with the guy from Boise and the guy from CA had a WVU jersey on, so we visited a bit about the Mountaineers (where he went to school) and my native state. The climbing at this race is on forest service roads principally, which makes it pretty ideal for the single speeders. For Missoula readers, the climbing is about the equivalent to a little over four trips to Point 6 from the Grant Creek road mailboxes. The descents are singletrack the equivalent of the East Fork of the Rattlesnake, only much longer with serious switchbacks and wooden bridge sections. The Winberry section at the CCP is usually a moment to have brief visits with some of the competition as we're not anaerobic (well most of us).
To get to the Jedi section, there was a new brief climb just prior to the road dropping into station two. It is an awesome addition to the race. A brief, rolling singletrack descent down to station two. I was pretty cold coming into station two the first time, but I did not hunt down my shell, heading pretty quickly back into the Tire section. It's funny how this thing was going. Climb fast, pass folks, then get passed on the wet slippery downhills. I love the Tire trail. Beautiful singletrack. However, my chain was very upset and again I stayed in one rear cog as much as possible dealing with a mess. Mud from head to tail.
[above photo Oregon Velo] I stopped often to try to fix the chain and clean the cassette. That's just the way it was. I did want to finish the race seeing to it that things held together. My initial goal was to get it done at least three hours better than last year when I raced with an injured hand. The cool weather had its advantages over last year's heat and humidity too. However, the speed coming down parts of the road between stations three and two became bitter in the cold rain. The volunteers had a fire going at station two. They handed me my shell going through to the first Alpine descent, and I never took it off again. Many of the racer's I had passed on the climbs caught me on this descent. It's amazing, but I'm pretty careful on it. I can't believe how fast some folks descend that trail! The Alpine trail was in good shape, not too muddy.
My pit crew (the fam...) had decided to shop around Eugene for the day, so unlike last year, there was no whooping it up with the LRs when I came through station one. Climbing back up the road after winding along the lower drainage for a few miles, I thought about chasing down some of the folks who passed me coming down. Then, I thought the same thing would probably occur again anyway quite frankly and decided to listen to my chain hop around while I looked off to the right on the climb up. It was probably about four o'clock or so and the rain had finally settled down. A mist was rising above the Willamette. It was an amazing site. My mind started to wander a bit (it's a long climb and one racer passed me at the top) pondering a few things related to this sport and in particular the views at this location. The rolling mountains are similar to W.Va. as are the streams. Also, this area has two beautiful historic covered bridges which W.Va. has many of as well. I guess I was thinking a bit about where I grew up. When I next come back to this race, I'm bringing a fly rod for certain and maybe a singlespeed. Probably should use a rigid front fork as well as I keep going through those too.
I got to the new station 2.1 (a little shorter climb back up probably due to the addition of the little climb done twice to get to the Jedi section). I thanked the volunteers who were there and dropped down the Alpine to the finish. One racer passed me going down giving a jubilant "woo hoo,"really living it up on this last descent. I finished with a time of about 11.57 and the unofficial results are above on the Mudslinger link in the text above. I was 14.30 last year, so not quite three hours better, but my chain and tranie had somehow made it through. Scott was super in the finish area and gave me another hat while my rascals looked on. It was a cool moment.
The Missoula crew really had fine results. Toby finished on the singlespeed 9th overall in 10.27 and mentioned to me that the cool weather helped (humble guy). He's a great athlete. Shaun got it done in a tad over 12 hours, a great job on this course for the first time. Barry (Victor, ID) won it. Adam (Montanacross) got second! Butterfield was third. Doug (Montanacross on a singlespeed) finished in 10.57. Joel also from Missoula got it done as well. Meier (Broken Spoke) had a great result as well. Kobin, DeWolfe and Peters were the top ladies. Once again, the town of Westfir/Oakridge made it happen. Great volunteers and a great mountain bike/trail loving community. Thanks again guys and gals!
I rolled into Oakridge this year around two or so with my wife and three kids (LRs). As has become standard operating procedure, following this race we head to the coast for some R&R away from the office. In order to not be too redundant, you can catch last year's information here - CCP '08. The initial routine was the same. Scott and Mike (the promoter with Mudslinger.com) along with some other folks (awesome volunteers) with the Trail Care Crew laid out the scenario for this year's race in the school gym. Everything was pretty much the same in terms of the race course and the rules. However, I caught one new item loud and clear, which was that the Jedi singletrack had been added this year. Last year, this section was still snowed in. I was not sure what this meant, except that it was "above station two," which meant more climbing. However, when Scott stuck out his arms and proceeded to describe this single track as a glider going down something like a roller coaster, I got pretty excited about it! Also new this year was a beer garden following the race in the finish area at the red covered bridge (I love that bridge). Once again the whole community of Westfir got behind this race, something that is immediately noticeable. As one can tell from the place the photo was taken, I sat close to where the chow was going to be served by the Kiwanis Club following the meeting. My Lion's Club friends would probably fine me if they knew I was promoting the Kiwanians, but the Kiwanian's really put on an outstanding meal which this year I was able to partake in. This year also there were to be awards and swag was going to be given out following the event.I got a good nights rest and we stayed once again in Oakridge. Race day I awoke to rain and knew what this meant. I had decided this year not to race with a pack. I also had decided not to take a shell. I did send my pack up to station two in that bag the night before. I got dropped off at 4.30 at the school and signed in (with the shell on). During the initial start, a slow cruise up to the red bridge, I rode by Toby (a Missoula racer doing this race on a single speed). We visited for a bit. Then, further up the road, I visited with Shaun ( Montana Cyclocross ) and said to put one in for Missoula and he echoed that back to me as well. There were Shaun, Doug (on single speed as well), Toby and Joel all racing from Missoula and affiliated with Montana Cross. Also, Adam (in Seattle). Shaun had chosen this race for his first mtb ultra - pretty cool!
I got up to station two trying to stay near the front but stopped to take off the shell and leave it at this station knowing it would probably come in handy later. As I suspected, an already technical Tire Mountain trail ( CCP Topofusion Map ) was a muddy mire. I was dealing already with a chainsuck and my chain was hopping all over on the rear cassette. About halfway along this, Toby and some of the other racers came fearlessly flying by. One thing about a singlespeed that came in handy today is a lack of gears! I kept the chain on the third largest rear cog and quit shifting halfway through this trail section. I noticed that there were some new steps on the trail where last year there was a treacherous root/drop off. Nice work by the trail crew! When I got to station three, I pulled a handkerchief out of my drop bag and carved the mud off of the derailleur spindles. One thing is for sure, and that is that throughout the whole race the volunteers (freezing in the rain) at each of the stations did their best to help the racers deal with the mud on/in their transmission providing lube and helping to clean things up. I needed a flat head screwdriver to carve the butter.I had a chain that was continuing to hop the smaller rear cogs throughout the section along Winberry to station four. Again, picking one a bit larger and spinning on the road while eating a cliff bar. I played leap frog with racer's from Bend, Boise and CA on the first few loops. The fellow from Bend knew many Missoula area racers and rattled off three or four names to me. I told him I liked Bend a lot and spent some time on Bachelor as a kid in the '80s during a summer Bob Beattie ski race camp. I visited briefly about Galena (one of my favorite races coming up this weekend) with the guy from Boise and the guy from CA had a WVU jersey on, so we visited a bit about the Mountaineers (where he went to school) and my native state. The climbing at this race is on forest service roads principally, which makes it pretty ideal for the single speeders. For Missoula readers, the climbing is about the equivalent to a little over four trips to Point 6 from the Grant Creek road mailboxes. The descents are singletrack the equivalent of the East Fork of the Rattlesnake, only much longer with serious switchbacks and wooden bridge sections. The Winberry section at the CCP is usually a moment to have brief visits with some of the competition as we're not anaerobic (well most of us).
To get to the Jedi section, there was a new brief climb just prior to the road dropping into station two. It is an awesome addition to the race. A brief, rolling singletrack descent down to station two. I was pretty cold coming into station two the first time, but I did not hunt down my shell, heading pretty quickly back into the Tire section. It's funny how this thing was going. Climb fast, pass folks, then get passed on the wet slippery downhills. I love the Tire trail. Beautiful singletrack. However, my chain was very upset and again I stayed in one rear cog as much as possible dealing with a mess. Mud from head to tail.
[above photo Oregon Velo] I stopped often to try to fix the chain and clean the cassette. That's just the way it was. I did want to finish the race seeing to it that things held together. My initial goal was to get it done at least three hours better than last year when I raced with an injured hand. The cool weather had its advantages over last year's heat and humidity too. However, the speed coming down parts of the road between stations three and two became bitter in the cold rain. The volunteers had a fire going at station two. They handed me my shell going through to the first Alpine descent, and I never took it off again. Many of the racer's I had passed on the climbs caught me on this descent. It's amazing, but I'm pretty careful on it. I can't believe how fast some folks descend that trail! The Alpine trail was in good shape, not too muddy.My pit crew (the fam...) had decided to shop around Eugene for the day, so unlike last year, there was no whooping it up with the LRs when I came through station one. Climbing back up the road after winding along the lower drainage for a few miles, I thought about chasing down some of the folks who passed me coming down. Then, I thought the same thing would probably occur again anyway quite frankly and decided to listen to my chain hop around while I looked off to the right on the climb up. It was probably about four o'clock or so and the rain had finally settled down. A mist was rising above the Willamette. It was an amazing site. My mind started to wander a bit (it's a long climb and one racer passed me at the top) pondering a few things related to this sport and in particular the views at this location. The rolling mountains are similar to W.Va. as are the streams. Also, this area has two beautiful historic covered bridges which W.Va. has many of as well. I guess I was thinking a bit about where I grew up. When I next come back to this race, I'm bringing a fly rod for certain and maybe a singlespeed. Probably should use a rigid front fork as well as I keep going through those too.
I got to the new station 2.1 (a little shorter climb back up probably due to the addition of the little climb done twice to get to the Jedi section). I thanked the volunteers who were there and dropped down the Alpine to the finish. One racer passed me going down giving a jubilant "woo hoo,"really living it up on this last descent. I finished with a time of about 11.57 and the unofficial results are above on the Mudslinger link in the text above. I was 14.30 last year, so not quite three hours better, but my chain and tranie had somehow made it through. Scott was super in the finish area and gave me another hat while my rascals looked on. It was a cool moment.
The Missoula crew really had fine results. Toby finished on the singlespeed 9th overall in 10.27 and mentioned to me that the cool weather helped (humble guy). He's a great athlete. Shaun got it done in a tad over 12 hours, a great job on this course for the first time. Barry (Victor, ID) won it. Adam (Montanacross) got second! Butterfield was third. Doug (Montanacross on a singlespeed) finished in 10.57. Joel also from Missoula got it done as well. Meier (Broken Spoke) had a great result as well. Kobin, DeWolfe and Peters were the top ladies. Once again, the town of Westfir/Oakridge made it happen. Great volunteers and a great mountain bike/trail loving community. Thanks again guys and gals!
05 July 2009
West Fork
Max and I decided Sunday would be a great day to float once again as a double header following up on yesterday's lower Bitterroot float. After a quick confirmation call on the evening of the 4th, Nick decided that he would gladly fill the extra seat in the Odyssey (a great self-bailer that has seen many a stream in the States and Canada). For today's float, we chose the West Fork the Bitterroot, a long time favorite fishery of mine. This water holds large cutthroats.
Max had already been snooping around in the drainage earlier in the week - Thursday to be exact and alluded yesterday to the fact that the big flies were already up to Painted Rocks Reservoir. I had never floated the upper stretch (a bit more hazardous when running high and fast) of the West Fork, having usually floated from Piquett down to the highway 93 bridge.
The upper water is very accessible from the bank. I was pretty certain there were going to be numerous opportunities for foul ups with debris and hazardous snags, but that wound up not being too big of a problem. There was still plenty of water and it was running clear. Thursday Max had taken his pontoon down and scouted out things which had me feeling a bit more comfortable as well. The only log (jam) across the full works was at the Rombo campground.
We floated from just below the Reservoir to the Ranger Station. It was a beautiful day and the salmon flies and goldens were abundant on the upper part of this tailwater. There were two other rafts putting in at the same upper spot. One plate was from California and another Utah. Other than these two boats, we had the works to ourselves. This worked out well, as we simply stopped in a couple of spots I like. For instance, the below log Max is casting into. One year in this spot after a bit of business in the area, I snuck over to this hole late in the day and fished during a salmonfly hatch. The fish that day were cutthroats and rainbows, dark and beautiful, rising in a frenzy to hatching salmonflies. An electrical storm came though during that day and I almost could not pry myself out of the water. Today in the same spot however I missed a couple of small ones and Max caught a few smaller fish on a copper nymph. There were not as many big bugs in this section today and I had the feeling we were about a week off (too late). Also, the fish had probably seen a few presentations recently.
While I was rowing, Nick cast into some really nice deep braided water along the main road and hooked a three to four pound fish which two times bound out of the water. It was hilarious watching his eyes as they bulged and the size of the grin on his face. The fish was so alive. Max struggled for the net while I tried to keep us out of the rocks. First the fish went under the raft (it was a fast section) and then after jumping, it found its way under a large boulder and broke off. From exaltation to dejection. Times like this are why I like rowing. The ability to take it all in. We cheered him up and said that was an amazing fish! After the float, Nick informed me that it was probably the largest cutthroat he has had on his fly rod and he had hoped I had my camera ready. It rose to one of Max's (a native Bitterrooter) hand tied salmon flies. Max ties very "buggy" patterns!
Honestly, the cutthroats here remind me of the cutthroats on Fernie's Elk. The only thing I would say is that I like this better as it's near home, without a border crossing and there are a lot less folks around. Nez Perce was flowing clear and brought the water level of the West Fork up nicely. This drainage makes its way along the back side of Trapper Peak (part of seen below and the top shot of Trapper taken along HWY 93). Trapper is a favorite back country skier destination. The West Fork had a major fire recently which is now quickly filling in with lush greenery. There are big horn sheep in this area though we did not see the herd today. One can drive through the Magruder Corridor and drop into the Selway when the conditions warrant. Today was a great float and we were content.
Max at Ease
Saturday, the 4th of July, we let the LR's row us from Stevensville to Florence. Max is up from Brighton for a few weeks and that means fishing! 
The Bitterroot is still up but coming down fast and clear. Max appeared pretty content with a pheasant tail and a San Juan double nymph rig. He also had tied up some caddis flies and pitched a few of those when things were happening on top. It was an evening float.
Max managed to catch many white fish on the pheasant tail and had one large fish on that we were never able to see, let alone land. The fight was fun. I managed to catch the above little brown on a parachute adams. There were many hatches, but the largest was the evening caddis. We saw one blue heron many osprey. The mosquitoes were unbearable at the Florence bridge. We got out of there fast and picked up a few sparklers in Lolo for the big night.
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