Bicycle approach to Confluence ice flows

Went out to check conditions at Confluence and SCII yesterday. We loaded up our bikes and gear and left the house around 7am. We decided to ride our bikes into Confluence to check conditions and possibly do some dry-tooling. I figured the ice would be a no-go since it hasn't been that cold very long. Since we hadn't had snow, the bike ride seemed like the logical way to get the flat 2.25 miles on the Rail/trail out of the way quicker. This only left the 800+ vertical gain up the hillside to the old quarry wall. It was the coldest morning of the season (about 12 degrees) I've never ridden my bike in mountaineering boots, but it worked out well. We took the ride slow and made it to the hike in about 10min. The sun was out, but it didn't seem to make it any warmer. Riding in sure did save the legs for the hill climb. It was about the easiest its ever felt. The hillside was frozen solid with a slight crust of snow in some areas. We saw the tracks of someone from what I would guess was the day before checking conditions or just trying to locate the ice. The tracks disappeared by the top of the hill and we didn't see any sign of them walking around near the ice, so maybe they didn't make it to the ice. Confluence has been an elusive place for many people to find. I've heard stories of folks hiking around for 7 hrs trying to find the place (they paid and were being guided believe it or not). Well we made it to the cliff, and as I expected the wall had ice in many places, but was in the process of being washed out due to all the water run off. Confluence, for the most part is one of the least reliable places to climb in the region. It gets direct sun and melts out very quickly. It also has old mine openings at the bottom that spew warm air up under the ice and causes it to melt out from the backside. We thought we would be able to check out some dry tooling possibilities, but there was soooo much water running, that it would've been completely miserable to even try to give anything a go. We hung out for about 30min. watched tons of ice fall on every line and decided to head back to the car. On the way out, we stopped at the old stone walls near the bottom of the hill to pick around for a minute and shoot some photos. We made the ride out and decided to go check conditions at SCII.

3 lbs?

3 lb 4 oz per foot, Scarpa boot and Black Diamond crampon combo, in a size 45.


Not a dbl boot but more than a single boot.
Not a full steel crampon but at least the front half is.
Not 3 lbs but we are getting closer.

3lb 9 oz is the steel crampon, true double boot, gold standard in a size 45. Sadly that is a 1980's Kolfach Ultra, Evolite liner, strap-on steel, hinged Chouinards.


Spantik, Baruntse liner, Stripped Sabertooth with a aluminum Neve heel, Petzl front bail, size 45. 3lb 10oz. Make it an all steel Sabertooth with your custom Spantik and you have a 4# combo per foot. A 6# combo with a stock set of Cyborgs.
6lb 4oz with factory Spantiks and Cyborgs.

Only a 1/2 lb per foot to go.
Why does this have to so hard?
Is anyone paying attention?

Yellowstone :: West Thumb Geyser Basin

Wednesday, August 31st - - After spending the night at one of the campgrounds in Buffalo Bill State Park west of Cody, Wyoming it was a relatively short drive (a little over an hour) to the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Then another 30 miles to the campground at Bridge Bay in the southeast portion of the east side. I had decided to give the park a “second chance” since simply driving through it last year just before the Fourth of July weekend. My visit this time was quite pleasant with less people, far less traffic, and much cooler temperatures!



After checking into the campground, which would be my “base” for two nights, I drove the southern loop through the park. My first stop was the West Thumb Geyser Basin, which overlooks Yellowstone Lake, the largest lake at high elevation (7,733 feet) in North America – it encompasses 131.7 square miles, is 14 miles wide and 20 miles long, with an average depth of 140 feet. In other words, it is HUGE! And beautiful, with the Absaroka mountain range on its eastern side.





The volcanic caldera at West Thumb contains many geothermal features including pools, springs, geysers, and paint pots. Above is a view of the central portion, which sits above the lake. The geysers, however, are currently in a dormant stage, thus no eruptions were seen.





The Abyss Pool is one of the deeper hot springs in the park, descending to a depth of 53 feet.





The trail guide states that Black Pool was, at one time, actually black. Cooler water temperatures allowed thick mats of dark green and brown thermophiles (heat-loving microorganisms) to grow in the pool, causing it to appear black. The water temperature rose during the summer of 1991, killing the organisms.





Walking alongside the pool on the boardwalk you could feel the heat from the hot water. At times, the steam rising from the pool was so thick you couldn't see the other side!





The water appears to be turquoise but it was so clear you could easily see portions of the bottom. There were several deeper areas – the “black holes” where the bottom could not be seen.





Interesting formations line the sides of the pool.



Constantly in a state of change, new features appear every day.



Hot water from Black Pool and other features in the area flows into Yellowstone Lake. The color variations are caused by those little thermophiles – microorganisms that thrive in the hot water.





Along the shore of Yellowstone Lake is this feature, called Big Cone. It's difficult to tell from the angle of the photo, but the cone rises about 12 inches above the outer surface.





Boiling hot water bubbles up in the Big Cone.



Further along the path and completely surrounded by water is the “Fishing Cone” so called because Mountain Men told of catching a trout in the lake, swinging the pole around, dipping the catch in the boiling pool, and cooking the fish without even taking it off the line! Sometimes in spring and early summer the Fishing Cone is underwater due to the rising lake waters from snow melt.

Blob's Park Americana by Ben Pagac

Coming of age in the Maryland 'burbs in the 1970s inevitably lead many of us to a large, hill-side German polka joint within a stone's throw of the BW Parkway. It's curb appeal wasn't apparent at first. The name "Blob's" perhaps only drew those with a smirky sense of humor. (In fact, some might have been taken there by their parents. Ugh!)



But once discovered, it was natural to develop a soft spot for the place. One reason high on the list- cheap pitchers of beer. Even better, a weird policy of charging a $1 (returnable) deposit on the pitcher. (Did they really fit in a purse?) This turned out to be a source of much-needed income for those who closed the joint, capitalizing on the forgetful. If you were fast enough, your night could be free!



But it was more than just cheap beer. Despite bathing in the excitement of the creative Punk and New Wave DC scene bubbling during that time, there was something comforting about watching polyester-suited gentlemen and perfectly coiffed ladies move to the rhythmically predictable. And how could you help not join in the Chicken Dance, still secure in the knowledge that your ripped jeans and Ramones T-shirt made it very clear that you were just visiting-not one of “them.” It seemed so afar from what our ears and bodies were tuning into, that it sounded and felt...well, good!



Remarkably Blob’s still exists. And looks pretty much the same. Sadly no more pitcher deposits. But the mural of Prague (huh?) is still behind the bandstand. And it is now showcasing diverse, danceable music. Their once-a-month Honky-tonk night has been building steam. The familiar neon “Blob’s” sign fell down 10 years ago, but rest assured, Blob’s is still there- for now.

Waterspouts on Pamlico Sound

One nice thing about staying put in areas for a longer period of time, is that we learn things from the people there that we wouldn't know otherwise. For example, when I got to work today someone asked me if I saw the waterspouts out there. I had no idea what a waterspout was. They said go and look out the window and look up at the sky. Once I saw it, I had no idea how I missed it on my way to work. I called Nathan and sent him out to take some pictures of them.

Waterspouts are tornadoes that are over the water instead of land. And they are something else to watch.

You learn something new every day!

A Now It's Funny Tale

You know how sometimes it life you have things happen and say to each other, we'll laugh about this later? We had one of those concerning the new car we bought. It has taken me some time to get to the I'm laughing about it part though. In the meantime I was not laughing at all. I was in fact convinced it was the Universes way of telling us, "Bad idea" on buying the car.



We bought this car during the weeks that were extra crazy busy for us so I was already on overload. We lost some employees at work so work was extra crazy busy for me. The car was in Clearwater which is at least two hours away.



The drive was pretty hectic for us, especially when we had to go after our work days which meant we were hitting other people's rush hour traffic in Tampa. I am not a fan of this. In fact, I've been known to freak out a bit in traffic like this. But we wanted this car, so I made myself do it. (I'm not driving here, only the passenger)



Once we got closer to Clearwater, it was a delightful drive. You cross over water. The mermaid in me was slightly satisfied to be that close to a real body of water. It was beautiful.



So we made the trek there. Took the bad along with the good. I drove the truck back home, so I could not snap pictures this time except at traffic lights. Swore a bit while driving but we made it.



Had the car at home. Enjoyed it for one day. The second day the top got stuck and wouldn't go back up. Called the dealer. Oh yeah, we knew there was a problem with the top but we thought we fixed it. Bring it back in and we'll fix it right this time. So we go after work again. For a two hour drive each way. Hit rush hour traffic again. Hit the lovely part near Clearwater again.



So pretty, it was almost worth the second drive over. NOT!



Left our car. Brought home a loaner car. Made it home just fine. Few days later got a call saying our car was ready to pick up. I am beat so Nathan offers to go pick it up alone this time. So he heads over for the THIRD trip in one week's time to Clearwater. So much for the car saving us lots of gas money.



I am scrapbooking and get a text message from Nathan that lets me know he just had a flat tire. With the loaner car. He hasn't even made it to our car yet. Before I can even respond with great sympathy he sends me another saying that the spare tire now has a flat. Wow. Really??????



Calls the dealer who tells him to drive on the rim until he can get to a tire place. Shows us at the tire place just in time to get a new tire. Sends me this picture:



At this point, we are not sure who is crying harder, us or the car dealer. He got the tire fixed and got the car to the dealer. Dealer lets him know how much money he has lost on the deal. We feel bad. A little. He then picks up our car and made it home. At one a.m. We pray this is the end of this nightmare.



What makes all of this even funnier to us now is that at the very same time we decided to go ahead and fix our golf cart and after replacing the batteries we discovered there was something else wrong with it. So we were also transporting the golf cart back and forth to the repair guy. We had to borrow a trailer in order to transport the golf cart. Oh yeah, big time fun there too.



To add even more irony to this fun fest, I had just been telling someone how I was considering getting rid of the golf cart because it was just one more thing to take care of, be responsible for and have to spend money on. That I felt our lives becoming less simple because of adding more things to it. Cue Twilight Zone music.



I'm happy to report both mechanical devices are working beautifully and we have been enjoying them very much. And I really am laughing about it now.



Mostly, that is.



Just a plug for the car dealership that did right by us: Regal Cars of Florida Inc. They seriously rocked and made the nightmare as smooth as it possibly could have been. We highly recommend them!



I really, really hope this is The End.

Moultons, Modern and Vintage

Local bike shopHarris Cycleryhas begun carrying Moulton bicycles, and I had not seen one up close until now. They had a dove gray one in the window that called out to me, so I took it outside for a closer examination and test ride. Jon Harris then brought out another Moulton - one of his personal bikes made in the 1960s, that had once belonged to Sheldon Brown. It was informative to see the two models side by side.





The new Moulton is the TSR 9 model, manufactured by Pashley-Moulton.





Moulton bicycles have a complicated history. Production initially began in 1962, then ceased in the 1970s and resumed in the 1990s - with some models produced under license byPashley.





This bicycle has a Moulton headbadge on the head tube and a Pashley headbadge on the seat tube.





The frame design is called a space frame, and it allows for greater rigidity and lighter weight in comparison to traditional steel frames.





Moultons are not folding bicycles, but are "separable" and can be disassembled for travel.





In addition to their unique geometry and small wheels, Moultons are distinguishable by their suspension system - which they had originally implemented decades before it would become common.





Components on the Pashley-Moulton models are modern and off-the-shelf, which keeps the price "reasonable" (this one is just over $2,000) compared to the higher-end models.





My impression of the space-frameMoulton is somewhat confused.I find it architecturally interesting and beautifully constructed. However, I do not quite understand what makes it a good bicycle.I mean, is one expected to buy it because it is unusual looking and has a cool history, or does it have unique characteristics that make it superior to other bicycles? By moderns standards, it is not a lightweight bike by any means (26 lb without pedals), which somewhat defeats the small wheel construction. And the complicated frame structure - while beautiful to look at - makes me worry that I'll get my foot stuck somewhere in there while attempting to step over it. It just doesn't seem like a very practical design to me. Also, to my eye the handlebar set-up on thismodel clashes with the frame, and it seems to me that some effort could have been made to keep the price down while finding more elegant components.





I tried to ride the bicycle, but the front suspension felt so powerful that I did not feel comfortable test riding it in the winter. The Co-Habitant rode it briefly and did not feel stable on it, which may have to do with the suspension as well - neither of us is used to it. The conditions on this day were not ideal for properly test riding bikes, so I'd like to try it again when it gets warmer. But on first impression, the Moultonspace frame bike did not feel entirely welcoming.





On the other hand, I was surprised by how friendly and accessible the vintage "F-frame" model felt in comparison. This is one of the original models, introduced in the early 1960s - the Major Deluxe. It came with a 4-speed hub, front and rear rack, and a large bag mounted on the rear. Here is a neat promotional video from when these bikes first came out.





Despite being somewhat heavier than the currently produced space-frame, I found the vintage f-frame easier to lift and carry.





The step-over is considerably lower as well. In other ways too, the vintage Moulton just felt like a better fit for my proportions; it felt very natural.





And of course the classic components are absolutely charming.





The North-roadish handlebars are more comfortable than the straight bars on the modern production bikes.





The fenders and racks are extremely useful, and the bag is huge. In essence, it is a small, practical bike - not as visually striking as the later space-frame, but more user-friendly.





I appreciated the opportunity to have a closer look at the Moultons, and would like to properly test ride the modern production bicycle once Spring arrives. While I can see myself owning and riding the vintage F-frame model, I findthe newer space-frame model intimidating and somewhat impractical, though visually compelling. Moulton owners and enthusiasts are welcome to contribute their impressions.