The Squamidian Report – May 23 / 09
Issue #365
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Breakfast in Whistler on the bike. A great way to start off a sunny warm Sunday morning. So that’s what Sue and I did, we climbed aboard the Harley and had a relaxing rumble up to Whistler. On the way we spotted a momma bear and two cubs munching on grass near the highway by the Alice Lake road. That’s a popular spot for them, lots of grass out in a small field. Breakfast at the Whistler Wildwood is always good and relatively inexpensive. The restaurant is hidden in the ‘worker’s’ section of Whistler and tends to cater to real people as opposed to tourists and the well-to-do that gravitate to the area.
On the way back down to Squamish we spotted another black bear, a single very large one on a grassy slope above the highway. He was also munching grass. Our ride back was otherwise uneventful and enjoyable. Just the way it should be.
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Once we got back home I hooked up with Ryan and two of his friends who were getting ready to climb the Chief. We met in the lower parking lot and walked the half-kilometer or so to the trailhead. There are 3 closer parking lots but they were already full. This was a warm sunny day and that brings out the climbers and hikers. I’d worked hard all winter pushing myself on my daily walks but nothing can really prepare my old bones for the grueling climb up and back down the steep rocky trails. Its pure punishment. Most of the younger hikers just seem to bounce along effortlessly but not all of them. Some were puffing and struggling just as much as I was. Even saw one young woman who had stepped off the trail so she could up-chuck. Point is, it is NOT a walk in the park even though many who head up there start off thinking that it is.
Our intention was to do the second and third peak so we veered off for the second peak where the trail splits. This took us up a crevasse full of large boulders and very large trees. Just past the chains that you us to pull yourself up onto the upper rock of the second peak the crevasse ends and the view is out through the rock face on both sides. As we were enjoying the view we spotted something we had never noticed before when at this spot. Drilled into the rock of the vertical wall of the backside of the First peak were metal rungs that formed a crude ladder. So up Ryan and his friends went. They have all done some rock climbing and it looked pretty ‘do-able’ to them. The ladder took them onto a ledge and from there they found a rope bolted to the rock that led them up a steep slopping ledge. From there they were able to scramble up onto Peak One. Cool, now we have a back way route.
Once we finished exploring this find, we used the chains bolted to the side of Peak Two to pull ourselves up and over the steep section. Past the chains the climbing is relatively easy and we found our way to the top where we has some water and an energy snack. There are packs of chipmunks that live on the peaks and make their living by mooching nuts, trail mix and fruit from the hikers and climbers. They have gotten so used to people that if you don’t have exactly what they want, they just walk right over top of you on their way to the next person so see what they have to offer.
We left the Second peak and made our way over to the third and highest of the peaks. Here we enjoyed a view from the edge of a shear cliff that drops straight down for hundreds, perhaps a thousand feet. If you stepped off, you’d fall a long way before you’d bounce off a ledge before dropping over another cliff. Not forgiving country for the inattentive. The trail back down from both these peaks starts between them so we backtracked a bit and headed down.
Hiking up is a grueling mind-numbing lung bursting muscle-screaming hell for an old fart like me. The hike down is worse. Much worse. Within steps of starting out my knees are on fire, feeling like bare bone on bare bone. You have to use your legs and knees as brakes on every step. Long before reaching the bottom my legs feel like rubber and I’ve used my hands and arms so much as well that they are warn out. But I made it down, we all made it down just fine. I had stopped many times on the way up and down to rest and I had to stop several times while walking back to the parking lot on the smooth access trail. But I made it and feel great…. ever bit hurts but I feel great.
Pictures at:
http://www.thedougsite.net/F&F/Pictures/Chief/Chief3.htm
doug
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Hello
Everyone!
Pressure!
Pressure! Pressure! There I was relaxing on the couch in the family room
watching TV and enjoying a nice cup of tea when all of a sudden it hit
me……….damn!.... I haven’t written my “Ontarion” yet! Up from the couch and off
with the TV, scramble up the stairs to the office and start wracking my brain
for something to write about! Sheesh! If
I don’t get my submission sent off to the “Editor in Chief” tonight, there’s no
way I’ll be able to knock it off in the morning early enough to deliver for
“Press Time”! So, here I sit broken hearted. Paid a dime and only far_ _ _!
Oops, that’s the wrong one liner for this situation! Sorry ‘bout that!
Sometimes those old sayings just pop out without any prompting! I’ll have to do better than this if I hope
to keep your attention this Saturday morning.
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Not to
rub our good weather into Doug and Sue but haven’t we been enjoying FANTASTIC
weather lately? It’s been like summer rather than spring for the past month and
as the McDonald’s ad says “I’m Lovin’ It!” Our lawn was the patchiest it’s been
in years a few weeks ago and frankly I was worried about it for the first time
in a long time. I cut it for the first time and then quickly picked up some
Scott’s Turf Builder to apply and see if I could rescue the lawn from disaster.
Here it is only three weeks later and I am so impressed with the results
obtained with this product that I even went out and took a few pictures of the
front lawn the other day. I’m cutting it twice a week so far and it’s growing
at a faster rate every time I do. The “Turf Builder” has really thickened it up
and the bare patches are filling in very nicely indeed. I have over seeded the
whole lawn and redone the patches again and may just do them a third time to
make sure they fill in completely. Looks like I’ll have a nice thick lawn this
year again just as we have other years. Carole’s gardens in the back are
looking very nice too! We usually take our tea and sit out back on the garden
swing first thing in the morning and contemplate the day.
Each
morning we are able to notice new developments in the growth of the gardens.
Like I’ve said before we are amazed at the speed with which these plants grow
and fill out. With the blossoming of the plants and trees in the garden we are
treated to visits by wild life all day long. We’ve got a pair of robins nesting
in a small tin watering can that sits on a shelf on the wall of the house on
our patio. They have been there for about two weeks so far and they take turns
sitting on the three eggs that are in the nest. I don’t know how long it takes
for these eggs to hatch but I’m sure it’ll be soon. Carole managed to take a
few pictures of the robin sitting on the eggs. The watering can is just big
enough to hold the adult bird. When on the eggs, the tail hangs our one side of
the can and her head sticks over the edge on the other side. It’s cute to see
and if we don’t move too close to that side of the patio, she will stay on the
nest while we sit out at the patio table. We’ve been careful not to scare her
off the nest when we go out there but sometimes it’s unavoidable. She seems to
like to sit on the eggs while I barbeque about 5’ away. I think she likes the
smells that come off the grill and even seems to have a jealous glint in her
eye when I hoist my “once in a while” Export Ale as I tend the grill. I’m sure
her kids will hatch out ok and grow up to be fine feathered creatures that may even
revisit Carole’s garden in years to come. I’ll let you know how the “robin”
saga turns out and I’ll send a picture or two to Doug to post for you all to
see.
That’s it
for this week folks!
Thanks
for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next week in The
Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… Greg.
PS:
Something To Think About>
I guess
“Global Warming” has taken a back seat since the “Recession” has come along!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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