Technical difficulties

I've been more than a bit lax on my blog updates these days.  The biggest reason is that my GPS and camera both died on a river trip in the Grand Canyon earlier this year, and I can't afford to replace them at the moment.  Sorry about that.  I figured that there's not a whole lot of point adding a bunch of paragraphs to this blog without good pictures, maps and trail beta to go with.

At some point I'll collect up enough ducats to get some replacement equipment going.  I'm having to be patient, and so, dear reader, must you be too.

Happy exploring!

No, you can't get to Verdi this way, yet...

So, apparently, folks are hiking up the Secret-Lamoille trail these days, fishing poles in hand, hoping to bring home a nice trout dinner from Verdi Lake.

I hate to tell you this but you can't get through to Verdi yet via this trail.  Not only that, you probably won't be able to get through to Verdi on this trail for a couple more years at the rate they're going.

Progress on trail construction is happening, but it's happening slowly.  The crews are up there working again this summer pushing the trail through, but they still have some rough country and thick brush to cross.

The trail is beautiful and challenging and a great day hike or mountain bike ride, but right now it dead ends a little less than half-way to Talbot Canyon where the crews are working.  Walk or ride on up, tell them "hi" and thank them for sweating in the sun on our behalf.

And in the meantime, if you want to get to Verdi, you can head up over the top of the Lamoille-Talbot ridge above the Terraces Picnic Area or you can make your way up the old guide trail that takes off at about the Glacier Overlook.  Neither route is for sissies, and the old guide trail fades into the brush before you get to the top of the ridge.  One of these days some trail fairies should go up there and finish brushing that trail out, but at the moment it eventually becomes very difficult to find.

The easiest way to get to Verdi right now - at least if you're willing to hike 16 miles or so round-trip - is through private property at the mouth of Talbot Canyon.  The folks who own it are good folks and are pretty open-minded about access.  You can pick up the old Secret-Lamoille trail behind their property and follow it to where it joins the Talbot Creek trail by a huge rock cairn.  Call Nancy Taylor at the USFS for contact information for this and other access points in the Rubies - 775-752-3357.  You can also call Joe Doucette at the Nevada Department of Wildlife for access information, 775-777-2300.

National Trails Day!

Can you believe it? My favorite day of the year is here! NATIONAL TRAILS DAY is coming up on Saturday! We're back up at the SnoBowl again this year, and if we get enough help will have a NEW bottom-to-top hiking and mountain biking trail complete and ready to use. The trail was roughed in last summer by volunteers and NDF crews, and if the stars align we should have it DONE by the end of work on Saturday.


Here's a write-up that appeared on the front page of today's Elko Daily Free Press. Thanks, guys, for helping us get the word out!

Anyway - This SATURDAY, June 8th. 8AM at the Elko SnoBowl. Wear work clothes and gloves. We'll provide tools and lunch. Let's get this baby done! Thanks to Raleys, the BLM and Event Source for helping us make this happen!

On the road, again...

Quick update on Lamoille Canyon conditions - The snow is melting out very quickly and the road is dry up to the closure past Pete's Corner. It won't be long before the USFS moves the closure higher. Don't be tempted to drive past it if they haven't, though - they WILL ticket you for driving on dry pavement. Not much better to do, I guess. Be aware that the left wall is shedding rocks and that it's likely that there will be rocks on the road. Keep an eye out.

The Secret-Lamoille trail is still snowy and muddy in spots and should probably be left alone for a while yet. Riding bikes and (especially) horses on the trail when it's muddy does tremendous damage to the trail bed. No reason to tear it up. Hikers tend to step around the mud, which isn't good for things either.

Snowshoers will have an easy time finding the old trail up climber's right in Right Fork Canyon. There's still snow from the Scout Camp up. Be sure and get back down before it gets too hot, though, as the climber's right wall will shed rocks and ice, as well as a few wet snowslides. To find this trail, walk through the A-frames and keep going past the trail sign that will try and turn you to the left. Follow the snowshoe and ski tracks along the right side of the creek. It's brushy in spots but it will eventually take you to the top of the bench. I was just up there a few days ago on skis - here's a trip report.

It's about a ten mile round trip to the back of the canyon, and easy walking once you get past the bushwhack and on the bench.

Winter's here!

We LOVE winter around here! My ski blog gets a lot more attention when the trails are covered in snow - naturally. If you like winter mountain pictures, go here. Otherwise, we're into winter access time, and there are several easy day hikes for the intrepid winter recreationist.

Here are a few ideas: 

The Lamoille Canyon Road is closed at the normal spot just past Pete's Corner. However, for some reason they're not plowing it this year and so whether it's passable or not is entirely a different question. You can reliably get (in a passenger car) to the Ruby Dome Ranch gate just below the mouth of the canyon. If you have 4WD you can generally get to the first pull-out and the trailhead for the (under construction) Lamoille - Talbot section of the Secret-Lamoille Trail. Or, of course, you can hike up the road. A lot of people do.

Depending on how melt-out is going, you can get up to Right Fork and the trail that takes off behind the Lion's Camp. Keep in mind that this is avalanche terrain and that Right Fork canyon is very prone to avalanches, particularly along the climber's right wall. The trail sticks to the climber's left side of the canyon, but that doesn't mean that you needn't be concerned about slides. Be very confident that you know what you're doing if you decide to head up past the Lion's Camp. Otherwise, there are plenty of snow-covered creekside roads down in the bottom that are safe for casual exploration.

You can also hike up Hennen Canyon. That's an enjoyable winter snowshoe trip. Again, like any canyon up there, stay out if it's wind loaded and the avy danger is high. You can always tool around Spring Creek Campground for a more casual play-day.

If there's plenty of snow on the Lamoille Valley floor, you can head to the Soldier Canyon access road.  Directions are here.  The gate will be locked and you'll have to leave your car on the Lower Lamoille Road, but the snowy access road makes for a nice snowshoe and/or XC ski. It eventually goes six miles up Soldier Canyon, so there's lots of terrain to explore if the conditions are good and you're up for it. Enjoy, and do the snow dance!

Do you hear what I hear?

Winter is on the way (yay!) and the Rubies are covered in snow. Not much, mind you, and the trails are very much hikeable. Be sure and wear waterproof boots and gaiters. The road in to Soldier Canyon is going to be closed in the next couple of days, so if you're planning a trip up there you might want to get on it soon. The road up Lamoille Canyon is icy in spots but still passable by car all the way to the end. I was up cross-country skiing on the road a couple of days ago, but that's not really possible at the moment. It'll fill in again, hopefully soon.

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I got an e-mail a few days ago from a guy who ran across my blog looking for hunting beta. Apparently hearing loss has been an issue in his family, and he asked me to publish a short write-up he did for would-be hunters on the subject. As a former owner of a professional sound reinforcement company, and as someone who has experienced hearing loss because I didn't take care of my hearing, I think that what he has to say is worth considering.

Your ears, your choice. Personally I wish now I'd taken more care, as the constant ringing and my unending requests for my husband to repeat himself get old. 

One thing he didn't mention in his write-up: you can have custom earplugs made these days that reduce decibels without changing frequency response. In other words, you'll still be able to hear Ma Nature and your hunting partners while you're out there, it'll all just be quieter. They're great for other overloud situations, as well, like concerts and movies. Here's the link.

One final note: Listening to sound at 120dB for only five minutes can cause permanent hearing damage. Here's a list of decibel levels of common sounds. You'll see that gun blasts are up there in the range that cause permanent hearing damage with very, very little exposure.

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Hi my name is John O'Connor, I am a father, outdoorsman and passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. Over the past few years I have become more and more interested in hearing loss. My father and grandfathers, who are and were all hunters, are affected by hearing loss. I feel that there is a general lack of understanding around the issue and it is our job to spread awareness where we can. Check out my new blog at bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com!

Protecting Your Hearing While Hunting

Hunting is a very popular sport and hobby for many people these days. When planning for a hunting trip many people always check for their rifles, ammo, maps and camouflage but often don’t check to see if they have their hearing protection with him. Because most people begin hunting when they are quite young, many don't think about the consequences of hunting on their hearing at all. However, no matter how young the hunter, being proactive now against damage to the hearing can prevent future difficulties.

My father who as been hunting as long as I can remember, often did not really pay much attention to his hearing while out in the field or shooting at the range. He often felt that if he didn’t see any signs or symptoms of hearing loss why should he have to wear hearing protection. Looking back on it, he regrets that he did not consistently wear some sort of hearing protection when hunting. He now is affected severely by hearing loss and uses hearing aids to help amplify sounds around him so he can hear better.

Are Firearms Dangerous to Your Hearing?

Let's face it: Firearms usually make loud noises. Because hunting rifles are normally positioned close to the ear, hunters are at an increased risk of developing loss of hearing due to exposure to loud noises. The hearing of those accompanying you on your hunting trips can also be negatively impacted.

The average shotgun produces over 160 decibels of sound. If a silencer is used, the decibel level is around 144. This is still over twice as much sound as the volume of normal speech. Fortunately, ear protection that can protect hunters and those who spend time with them are available to ensure hearing safety for all.

Earplugs

Earplugs are among the most commonly used equipment to defend against hearing loss due to high decibel levels created by firearms use. Because different earplugs protect against different decibel ranges, it is important to clearly read the package instructions and explanation before purchase to make certain that you've got the right ones. Although earplugs are the correct answer for many people who are trying to protect their hearing, they are not for everyone. If you aren't getting the protection that you want from earplugs, you should investigate the possible benefits of using earmuffs instead.

Earmuffs

The clamshell-style earmuffs favored by many hunters are comfortable, easy to use and provide superb sound protection. Inexpensive varieties are manufactured with foam padding around the ear area to provide a buffer from sound waves. However, if you are in need of a greater level of protection than these are capable of providing, you should look into earmuffs that have a liquid cushioning as opposed to foam. Many hunters receive more optimal protection by using these.


Electronic Earmuffs

I switched to electronic earmuffs a few years ago and have been happy using them. These earmuffs are designed so that if they detect any sound over 80 decibels, they automatically shut it out. This has allowed me to maintain voice communication with others in my hunting party as well as protect my hearing.

There's no place like home...

It's good to be back in the high desert. There was a time in my life that I didn't think that I could honestly say that... I thought that life in Colorado was the be-all and end-all of what a mountain-oriented person would want to find.

I was wrong, and I'm reminded of that every time I return home from a mountaineering trip.

I just got back from Alaska and an attempt on Denali. I was fortunate enough to climb that peak in 2003, and swore then that that trip wouldn't be my last time there. As I am now in my 50th year, I figured that I probably shouldn't put it off for much longer and so have been spending a lot of time these last eight months training for a very big climb. While it's nice to have a gym, it's nicer to have the Rubies in one's back yard. And when I got back, I switched out the stuff in my backpack and headed with my husband to Liberty Lake. I am lucky to live here, and I am blessed to have someone in my life who loves these mountains, too.

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Mt. Foraker from Denali's 14,000' camp.
This isn't a Denali blog but I'm going to post pictures from the trip here anyway so that I can share them with my friends and family. A lot of folks who don't know me read this blog, too... sorry for the interruption in our regularly scheduled program and I'll get back to Ruby Mountain blogging in the next little while.

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I started training for this trip last September, as I'd allowed myself to get into pretty terrible shape. Several years worth of injury and the ensuing loss of physical confidence had really worked a number on my body and my mental strength, and part of the whole point of committing to this trip was an effort to reverse the process. FWIW, it worked. ;)

Quite a few of the hikes highlighted on this blog for the past few months, as well as on my ski blog, were training trips for Denali.

I signed up to go with a guided group from the Alaska Mountaineering School. It has been years since I did a climb with guides, as I've been fortunate to have friends and a husband who can usually be enticed into all kinds of adventures. I couldn't put a group together for this one, though, and so signed on with a Talkeetna-based outfit that came highly recommended by the last guide I worked with.

We flew out of Talkeetna on June 27th, along with several other groups that had been stuck in Talkeetna for several days due to weather. It made this trip quite different from my previous one, in that there were a lot more people on the mountain, moving on schedules very similar to ours. Sometimes we looked like (and I felt like) the Chain of Fools.

We carried a metric shitload of gear up there.





Here's Barry, an absolutely delightful gentleman from Ireland via Dubai. Great guy to travel with and to share a rope with. He was pretty stoked about the Roadhouse sweet rolls planned for our first breakfast on the mountain.





Noah, one of the guides. Noah is an absolute hoot - a ski patroller at Big Sky when he's not working for AMS and for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. He's also a cellist and a very accomplished whistler... a fount of laughter who was wonderful to climb with.




The flight in to Denali Base Camp is utterly spectacular.




Base camp from the air.




We got onto the mountain quite late in the day, and so had just about enough time for a quick dinner and a nap before heading out again at 1AM or so. Smart climbers walk at night on the lower glacier in order to avoid soft snow bridges over crevasses. It never really gets dark on Denali in the summer, though, so the walking is pretty pleasant.




We got to our first camp at 7800' at around 9AM. It was hotter than Hades and we spent a big chunk of the day trying to get out of the sun.




Here is Elyse, digging out our first kitchen tent with Noah. Elyse is a wonder - very young, a recent West Point grad, hugely strong and full of energy. She had no problem at all walking all day carrying and/or pulling a huge percentage of her body weight, and then grabbing a shovel for the biggest camp chores immediately upon arrival.




We spent a lot of time on the lower glacier hiding from the sun. I'm pretty sure it's Laura under all of this stuff. Laura works for AMS in the office and is a hugely adventurous ski-jorer who tackles massive chunks of the Iditarod trail every winter. She is also my age, which was pretty darned nice when you consider that almost everyone else on the team was in their 20's. Yikes!




We did a carry up to 10,200' the next morning, allowing us to enjoy absolutely beautiful color on the peaks.




Looking down the Kahiltna glacier during the carry.




The next morning, after we moved our camp to 11,000', we enjoyed an awesome pancake breakfast courtesy of lead guide Rob Gowler. I have to say that the food on this trip was the best I've enjoyed on one of these little jaunts.

Rob is a pretty amazing guy with whom to share climbing time. The more you talk to him the more you realize how much... life... this guy has fit into the time he's spent on earth. In addition to being a key guy for AMS, he also guides for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides and on Aconcagua, is an accomplished backcountry skier, ice climber, mountain biker and surfer, works in the movie industry doing rigging and other specialized chores, and has refurbished a "short bus" school bus into a lovely living space. I'm probably leaving about half of it out.




The next day we picked up the cache we'd left at 10,300', and the following day we made the first of several trips around Windy Corner. On my 2003 trip, Windy Corner was anything but. It made up for it with a vengance this time around - the wind just howled. We would "enjoy" the conditions on Windy Corner a total of four times during the trip.




Here's Mike, topping Motorcycle Hill on the day we moved to the 14,000' camp. Mike was the team enthusiasm committee - it takes a lot to get this guy down. He was using his climb to raise money - $10,000 worth - for the group Summit for Someone. Very cool.

Charles topping Motorcycle Hill. Charles is a native of France living and working in San Diego. He is a little on the quiet side, and between everybody on the trip hardly got a word in edgewise! It was fun, though... as the trip went on his accent got more and more pronounced, and listening to him and our Irishman Barry talk gave the trip an enjoyable sound.

Heading up Squirrel Hill in a windstorm, on our way to camp at 14,000'.



The 14,000' camp on Denali is a beautiful place, with lots of ghost camps from old expeditions.




We spent a lot of time watching the wind tear on the 16 ridge and at the 17,000' camp. When we got to 14, there were several teams that had been trapped at 17,000' for days by the wind... not safe to go up or down.




View of Mt. Hunter from the 14,000' camp at about 11:30 pm.




After a couple of days of waiting for the wind to settle down, we were able to carry food and equipment to a cache at 16,400'. It was a gloriously beautiful day to enjoy some actual climbing (as opposed to slogging!)




View from our cache down the 16 ridge.




Unfortunately, that was our last shot at good climbing weather during the trip. We got about 2' of snow that night, which wasn't that big of a deal - until you also factored in the massive wind on the ridge. The transported snow created absolutely terrifying avalanche conditions, prohibiting a move up.

We killed a lot of time at the 14 camp waiting for the conditions to stabilize.








On the third day after the storm, the guides from the three groups that hadn't yet thrown in the towel very cautiously tiptoed up the route to see if the snowpack had stabilized. After carefully moving up, listening for whumps and digging pits, they agreed that things were finally safe enough to move up. We were going to get a shot!




Or so we thought.

The next day "dawned", if you can call it that, with more snow and more wind. The unstable snow cycle had started again, and at that point we were out of food and time. The mountain had the last laugh, and we were forced to call it quits for the trip. We, and the rest of the teams up there, had to walk away from our high caches and leave our lonely posessions to occupy the ridge until next spring. One team from Norway even had to walk away from four beautiful pairs of skis. Pretty harsh decision to have to make, but not worth risking one's life for.

We walked down in yet another wind storm and set up camp at 11000' in a blizzard.

Luckily, though, the mountain did opt to give us a beautiful day to walk down to base camp.




Here's Sean, the final member of our team, hanging out while we waited at base camp for the planes that would fly us out. Sean was an intern at AMS, getting experience with hopes of eventually becoming an Alaskan ski guide. He's an absolutely marvelous young man to travel with, and should do well in his chosen career.




Once we got a runway stomped out at Base Camp, the Talkeetna Air Taxi planes started to arrive to ferry us all out. On a few occasions, we had to help them turn around in the soft snow. Not often that you get to push an airplane into place for its takeoff.




So long Kahiltna Glacier! Don't know if I'll see you again. You are beautiful and fickle, and I've enjoyed spending time with you. Be kind to the people who attempt Denali, and thank you for welcoming us.