Wish I Was There January 6, 2008
Posted by Phineas in : Outdoors/Travel, Wild Animals , 1 comment so far
http://flickr.com/photos/ambitious_wench/show/
Fausse 2007 November 12, 2007
Posted by Phineas in : Alcohol, Environment, Irrelevant, Music, Outdoors/Travel, Photos, Wild Animals , 1 comment so far 
Lake Fausse 2007 Wrap up:
Gators? Check.
Pelicans/herons/loons, etc? Check.
Varmits? Check.
Paddlefish? Check.
Turtles? Check.
Lizards? Check.
Owls? Check.
Midnight kayaking into the infinity? Check.
Blazing constellations? Check.
Orion pursuing the Pleiades? Check.
Shooting stars? Check.
Copious quantities of expensive beer? Check.
Rock and Roll? Check.
All parties present and accounted for? This was our main failing this year, as the Arcturus was with us only in song.
Saints victorious over the winless Rams? Not so much.
Musicological/sociological experiment? Isolate four drunk middle-aged men away from their googles, wikis and twitters but with the entire Pink Floyd music collection on MP3 (no credits) and pose the question: Who sang what? David Gilmour or Roger Waters? Song by song/line by line. (Why is this hard? Listen to “Mother” from the Wall album. Consider: Waters sometimes sounds like Gilmour, but other times sounds like no one else.)
Photos? Check.
Videos? Check.
Give List 2007 November 3, 2007
Posted by Phineas in : End Of The World, Environment, Giving, Info, Wild Animals , add a commentStill working on this, but here’s my list for 2008.
African Wildlife Foundation
Washington, DC Animals: Wildlife Conservation |
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
New York, NY Public Benefit: Advocacy and Civil Rights |
American Red Cross
Washington, DC Human Services: Multipurpose Human Service Organizations |
Amnesty International USA
New York, NY International: International Peace, Security, and Affairs |
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
Atlanta, GA Animals: Wildlife Conservation |
Doctors Without Borders, USA
New York, NY International: Development and Relief Services |
DonorsChoose
New York, NY Education: Other Education Programs and Services |
Jane Goodall Institute
Arlington, VA Animals: Wildlife Conservation |
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
White Plains, NY Health: Diseases, Disorders, and Disciplines |
Marijuana Policy Project Foundation
Washington, DC Public Benefit: Research and Public Policy Institutions |
The Sierra Club Foundation
San Francisco, CA Environment: Environmental Protection and Conservation |
Southern Poverty Law Center
Montgomery, AL Public Benefit: Advocacy and Civil Rights |
United States Fund for UNICEF
New York, NY International: International Peace, Security, and Affairs |
USA for UNHCR
Washington, DC International: International Peace, Security, and Affairs |
Yosemite Fund
San Francisco, CA Environment: Botanical Gardens, Parks, and Nature Centers |
This is what I meant to say November 2, 2007
Posted by Phineas in : End Of The World, Irrelevant, Timewaster, Wild Animals , add a comment
Bagged Glacier Point October 22, 2007
Posted by Phineas in : Environment, Irrelevant, Lies, Outdoors/Travel, Photos, Psycho/Spirit, Wild Animals , add a commentThis weekend I bagged Glacier Point. By “bagged” of course I mean I rode the bus up to the top and hiked down the four mile trail.
[ Earlier this summer, Terry and I bagged Mt. Hoffman. We were on a seven day high country loop and we stayed at the May lake High Sierra Camp on day 4. The evening after dinner, many of the campers were hanging out on a ridge watching the sunset, sipping hot cocoa. I was completely fatigued, and although hiking to the summit of Mt. Hoffman was on the itinerary for the next morning, I was secretly thinking I might not make it. Terry later revealed that he was also feeling a little intimidated by that peak, given how exhausted he was feeling. This guy was standing nearby with his party, a little older than us I think. He was staring longingly at the summit and said, "There's another peak I'd like to bag." After a short pause, his wife lets him off the hook saying, "Yeah, but maybe on another trip." "Yeah," the dude says. I wonder how many other peaks he'd like to "bag", but doesn't. Why would he say it, but not do it? It's like a 2-3 hour hike up from May Lake, and we're all staying the night there. If you're ever going to "bag" it, now would be the right time. By claiming to want to but being let off the hook like that, it's almost like he gets credit without actually earning it. Kind of annoyed me. So Terry and I the next morning felt a lot better and decided not to be that guy, and went ahead and did the hike. Mt. Hoffman is in the bag.]
October is a wonderful month to go to Yosemite. There are lots of fall colors going on — yellow maples and red dogwoods. Even the evergreens were browning (I guess from the drought). The temps were cool and comfortable. There are no crowds. I’ve hiked hundreds of miles of trails in Yosemite, although my least favorites are the valley ones. I’m not a big fan of staircase switchbacks, whether up or down. But I only had a few free hours (we took some out of town guests up for a quick visit and they weren’t hikers). I had never done this trail so it seemed like a good candidate for a quickee.
Glacier Point is such an awesome view. I love being high up like that. The Valley is cool, but I prefer looking down on it than up from it. And I loved seeing all the peaks I really did “bag” (hopefully this term will become meaningless soon): Half Dome, Cloud’s Rest, Sunrise Mountain, Mt. Hoffman. I did not bag Echo Peaks, but I sort of humped it once. I took some sunset shots the evening prior and now got some morning video before slogging down the trail.
No bears, although a big grey squirrel scared me.
After the week I had workwise, Yosemite is such fantastic therapy.
