I’ve been going so hard from place to place, that I’ve left big gaps in how I got here.  Today, I’m weathered in at Port McNeill, B.C. on Vancouver Island, so I’ll take this opportunity to catch up on one of the high points of my trip………way back when I was starting out.  1½ months ago, already ??

While I was building my airplane, I became friendly with an Oregon couple who had a plane similar to mine, tho’ his is a Kolb FireStar II………a jump-seat version of the single place FireStar.  Nice little planes…………….

………….but really meant for 1 person and a little bit of luggage.  I rode with Larry at the Alvord Dry Lake near Steen’s Mountain in SE Oregon a couple of years ago, and actually survived the experience, so I can’t say I didn’t know what I was getting into.  Here he is at the controls, ready to go.  Notice the size and shape of the space behind him.  My knees were below his shoulders, my feet below his butt, crammed in beside the seat frames, my camera rested on the back of his neck, the back of his seat rested on my chest……and he weighs over 200#.  I could move my arms and my head…….nothing else, and I nearly went crazy with the inevitable itch while in flight…………….

At the end of the flight, I had to get out.  Can’t believe I actually fit back in there.  …………….

I won’t even joke that it was comfortable, but it was a great flight, and highly enjoyable.  Larry & Karen live on an isolated ranch out on the lava flatlands of SouthEastern Oregon, and love it there…………….

After take-off, we headed for the Owyhee (Oh-WAH-hee) River Canyon.  Flying across the open volcanic desert, we soon saw the 1st of many Pronghorn Antelope, which always ran from the plane.  I was frustrated, trying to get used to my cramped position, and didn’t think I’d gotten any decent shots of them.  Putting the pics up on the computer later was a pleasant surprise………………..

Cropping in on them showed far better results than I’d expected.  These are the fastest land animals in North America……………..

I’m told they can hit 60 mph for short distances……………

What Fun, eh ??  Soon afterward, an old, abandoned building appeared that Larry told me had been an old stagecoach stop………or was it a Pony Express stop ??  Can’t remember………………

Then, things got serious.  This little side canyon gives an easy entry into the main Owyhee River Canyon……………..

And, down we went……………

Waaaay down.  This was really neat, and cramped or not, I was clicking pictures like crazy.  It feels like you’re really…..uh……flying………….

Around some curves and past several sets of rapids……………..

The canyon opened out, and we passed a huge flock of Canada Geese.  This is only a few of them…………….

On the way home, flying past Jordan Valley on the Idaho border, we saw the “Pillars of Rome” formations.  Very nice, and they go for a long way…………

These are real, for sure, wide open spaces, and looks like nothing but flat lands, but there is a surprising amount of really beautiful country here, IF you know where to look……and it’s all quiet and private.  Very nice.  Larry & Karen know, and loaded me and 2 of the dogs into the Subaru and away we went, to the Succor Creek Road that leads down to the spectacular lava formations of Leslie Gulch……………

The farther you go, the better it gets………….

Until you think it can’t outdo itself……………..

And, of course, it does.  This is one of the most spectacular drives I’ve been on………………

Larry & Karen have many animals on their ranch, but their main focus is raising Peregrine Falcons, so it’s not surprising that this is one of their favorites…………….

Larry & Karen are real nice folks, and showed ol’ Lar a terrific day.  We spent the evening twilight on the back patio watching game come down to the creek below their house.  I can’t believe their eyes.  One would say quietly to the other………”see the covey of Quail by the fence post ??”  I’d look and see 300 fence posts fading into the distance.  What Quail ??  They’d patiently guide my eyes till I saw them.  Same with JackRabbits, and so on.  This country is far from barren or deserted.   I left the next morning with a warm glow, and hope that someday I can return the favor when they come to visit in Santa Fe.  Thanks for a great visit.                            Lar.

– …
Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: December 18th, 2009 under 08 Vacation, 08-7-24 Southeast Oregon.
Comments: none

For the last several years, driving up the Coast to Cariboo Highway, I’ve stopped at Joffre Lakes Park (locals pronounce it “JAW-free”) and enjoyed the view of the glaciers……………

Of course, one thing leading to another, it’s hard to resist walking the ¼ mile down to the lower lake for an even better view…………….

In the past, I’ve had time constraints, and was also concerned about walking 5 kilometers, (about 3¼ miles) thru heavy forest alone - this is Bear Country.  This year, with time to do what I like, I said, “phooey, time to go for it.”  Right away, the trail crosses the stream flowing out of the lake……………

Then the fun is over.  The trail is gently called “primitive,” and takes off thru the rocks……………..

Once in a while you get a peek at neat scenery to keep your interest up………………..

Then you gotta climb thru that scenery, and the mountain reminds you that it really is made of rock.  This part isn’t as tough going as it looks, tho’ - at least it’s fairly level - but you do hafta watch your step very carefully………………

Then, lest you become over-confident, the mountain slaps you down again.  This is muddy, rocky, and really Is tough going, and it goes for a long way………………

More nice scenery to keep your interest up……………

The creek from middle to lower lake is a little rougher.  Wouldn’t want to fall into this……………..

Several small birds came right up to me, almost tame.  “Hmmm,” I thought, “they look a lot like the Whiskey Jacks at Nambé Lake.  I wonder if they’re as fearless.  A young Chinese lady used my camera to document for me, while her husband took their pictures.  We all enjoyed this………………..

Back to reality.  Now, I crossed a “bridge.”……………….

And soon got my 1st view of the small middle lake…………………

You’ll notice there’s no more blue sky showing, and it’s solidly overcast.  It started to drizzle rain lightly, but I was already soaked with sweat, so kept on going.  First, another bridge, then the trail took off straight up.  Others had told me not to worry, it doesn’t last long.  It didn’t, and I’m glad.  It’s necessary to watch carefully - if you take a wrong turn, getting lost would be disastrous………………

Climbing to the middle lake seemed to take forever.  Thankfully, it seemed like I’d just got really started to the upper lake when I was surprised by a glimpse of bright turquoise thru the trees……………….

You never do get a decent look, tho’.  The trail winds around and you hafta go the full length of this larger lake to get the full benefit of your labors.  It’s worth it - this is stunning scenery…………….

At the end of the lake, a view of the upper glaciers, and an introduction to the “Glacier’s Breath.”  Temperature at the truck was 61º.  The chilling of the air by the ice of the glacier causes a downdraft, and up close it’s a pretty good breeze, that I’d guess at 50º or so.  All this way, I’d only been wearing a T-shirt, sweat, rain and all, and tho’ I was soaking wet, I was OK because of the exertion of the climb.  Suddenly, when the glacier blew on me, I was chilled to the bone.  I didn’t want to put on the heavy shirt or jacket in my pack, ’cause I was already soaked, and would only sweat more when I started down.  A few more quick pictures, one to the head of the  lake, where the trail comes in, and showing the dramatic difference between the stunted vegetation in the glacier’s breath and those trees just a little farther out.  This reminds me very much of the upper Salmon Glacier at Hyder, Alaska.  (  http://webpictures.homestead.com/hyderalaska.html  )  You can also clearly see the rain on the water…………………

One more look at the upper glacier, a telephoto shot clearly showing the deep blue of the ice………………

……….and I headed back 5.5 kilometers (over 3 miles) straight down, to the truck.  I was tired and it was a long way back, but so very worth the effort.  I can promise you that when I’m near this area again, I’ll watch the weather and make the climb again on a nice day.  Can you imagine this scenery with a blue sky background ??

Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: June 18th, 2009 under 08 Vacation, 08-8-12 Joffre Lakes.
Comments: none

Migawd, things are happening fast now, and still no hurry for any of it.  I came down out of the mountains at D’Arcy, B.C. and Anderson Lake on the 12th, and had a glider ride scheduled for 10:00 AM.  No thermal activity this early, and there was no wind for ridge lift, so the 180 hp Citabria tow plane pulled us a long, long way up over the ice fields of 8200 ft. Callaghan Mountain, west of Pemberton.  That’s it in the distance ahead of us……………..

Reflections inside the canopy were terrible and nothing to be done about them.   The Glacier Tour is advertised as 50 minutes, and these folks wanted to make very sure I got my money’s worth.  They certainly didn’t stint on tow plane time.  We were close to 9,000 ft over a large glacier at cut loose time………………

Now, on our own, we took an up close and personal look at those glaciers.  Terminology is fun - we call ‘em “glay-shers,” the English, like ol’ David Attenborough, call them “glass-ee-ers,” and the local Canadians call ‘em Ice Fields.  Appropriate, eh ??  This is looking more or less northwest, and the mountains go on for 100’s of miles.  Bella Coola is about 200 miles over yonder.  Remember the flying pics from there from the last 2 years ??  I’ll be there again in a couple of weeks……………….

Looking southeast down the Pemberton valley, with Lillooet Lake in the distance, and Lillooet River right down the middle.  Pemberton is at center right.  This picturesque little town is only 20 or 30 miles northeast of Whistler, site of the up-coming 2010 Winter Olympics, and is exploding with growth.  The difference from last year is un-believable………………

Looking the other way, the Pemberton Meadows area is known widely for virus-free seed potatoes, which it can control by virtue of its’ isolation.  The road to Bralorne Mines that was so rough I gave up on it takes off to the right at the far end.  Rugged, rugged country……………..

That’s OK, I got the boat into the ends of the lakes and made the trips by water.  More fun, anyway.  Coming to the end of the trip, that’s the airport just about in the center.  Mt. Callaghan in the distance;  8,000+ ft Mt. Currie to the left, Pemberton Village almost hidden by the wingtip………………

Here’s pilot Aaron (with sunglasses) and the Super Blanik sailplane.  He’s a very pleasant young feller who really knows his area, and was a pleasure to fly with.  Ol’ Lar got to ride in the front seat.  What a view ! ! !…..and quiet………………

This made a very pleasant diversion before heading on up to Joffre Lakes (google it) for a nice, strenuous, cold, wet climb up to the glaciers that afternoon.                 Lar, in Williams Lake, B.C. for a couple of days.

–
Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: June 18th, 2009 under 08 Vacation, 08-8-12 Pemberton Sailplane.
Comments: none

For 2½ days, I sat here in the campground at D’Arcy, B.C. on the shore of Anderson Lake, waiting for a break in the solid overcast and rain.  Typical west coast weather, and ya just gotta be patient.  While waiting, I put on my rain gear and walked up the creek a ways,  just wandering.  I soon saw that the Sockeye Salmon were just starting to run, with the males already in their bright spawning colors………..

Just above this was the entrance to the hatchery, and they were guided in for processing.  After spawning, the Salmon die and float back down to the lake and Bears gather to scavenge them.  That led to lots of fun for the Lar later in the trip.

This morning, Monday, Aug. 11, it dawned mostly clear, so, after a leisurely breakfast (don’t want to get carried away with these things, ya know) I dumped the Dustbuster into the water and headed down lake.  Beautiful.  Nice, fresh morning, about 65º that warmed later to about 75º, and the clouds that were up there slowly dissipated.  The moderate breeze wasn’t strong enuf to cause problems.  Before we start, here’s a map of the area.  D’Arcy is almost dead center and I ran about 25 miles NE to Seton Portage.  In a few days, I’ll try coming up Seton Lake from Lillooet to the other end of the portage.  I’ve been told that the road from Lillooet to Terzaghi Dam and Carpenter Lake is pretty good, so might try for that, too.  Keep in mind that the height of these mountains is deceptive.  2,800 meters is over 9,000 ft, and there’s lots of them like that.  I tried the road from Pemberton Meadows to Bralorne again the other day, and it’s just too rough.  It’s silly to abuse the camper, boat and trailer like that for no good reason………………

Starting out, I looked back at the campground for a visual check and to set both GPS’s.  The little Garmin eTrex that I love to hate carried the day again.  The big Lowrance i600C needs a more secure power hookup to be dependable.  S’OK, it’s a long, narrow lake, and even the Lar would have trouble getting lost here.  :-)……………

Some of the peaks were still wrapped in clouds, so the trip downlake went fairly quickly.  Dustbuster isn’t a hot rod……. it’s very heavy for it’s size, rides deep in the water and cruising speed with the 50 hp Tohatsu engine is right at 22 mph at 5,000 rpm, but it gets the job done very nicely and very economically.  Speeding along, I’d forgotten about a waterfall showing on the local hand-out map, so couldn’t figure at 1st what I was looking at here……………

McGillivray Falls.  There’s a dock there and a fair number of homes, so I zoomed on over and tied up.  Walked ashore to find a big “No Trespassing” sign in front of me.  What a pack of bums ! ! !  Burning, but not wanting to cause problems, I left.  All the way down the lake, on both sides, there are scattered cabins, some areas amounting to small communities, and others, like these, very obviously valuing their privacy…………..

Around the point to the right, these folks have built a very, very nice picnic area at the mouth of a large creek.  Looks good, sounds better, with the water flowing over the stones……………..

Continuing on down lake, Seton Portage is showing in the distance.  The farthest mountains are on the shore of Seton Lake near the huge power generating station at Shalalth.  Local people tell me it’s pronounced “See-ton” Lake………………

Soon, I carefully beached the boat at Seton Portage.  There’s a road all the way along both lakes on the north side, but locals told me it was very bad - worse than the Bralorne Road.  CN (Canadian National) train tracks also go along just above the shoreline on the north side.  This is a really beautiful spot, and the site of a small community that’s been here a long time - over a century.  The water is gin clear.  There was a group of people tubing behind their boat here, and I’d seen them launching at D’Arcy….why’d they come all the way down here to play ??  Then I looked at the temperature read-out on the fishfinder.  At the campground the lake water temp had been 53º.  Down here, it was 62º.  Reason enuf, eh ??  (yes, the boat is tied to a tree on the shore)……………

There’s a concrete railway bridge crossing the river joining the 2 lakes, and I walked out onto it for a look back……..after looking and listening very carefully.  Also looked for migrating salmon in this crystal clear water, with no joy………………

Heading back, some of the mountains were far more visible, and very scenic.  These are giants - 10,000 ft high.  This is magnificent country and it goes for 100’s of miles.  I never tire of it.

……………..

Is this enuf of a cliff for you ??  It went way deep, too.  Water just off-shore was well over 200 ft deep, and I metered many areas over 700 ft deep on my trip………………

This one had me going, and I had trouble getting photos of it because of the angle of the sun.  It looks like a whole chunk of the mountainside just broke loose - all the way to the top - and disintegrated on the way down.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  The fan of debris goes way out underwater, too……………..

I had spoken to the waterskiers at Seton Portage and told them about the No Trespassing at McGillivray Falls, and they laughed.  Said, “don’t worry about it, go ahead and take a look.”  OK, I did that, and tied back up to the little dock with my back bristling……………

This is a surprisingly large community, with probably 20 houses, give or take, and they obviously take great pride in it.  In my whole time here, and walking right thru the middle, I saw open windows, sprinklers on in gardens, etc., etc., and not a single person the whole time…………..

It got spooky, and I got my pictures and scrammed, starting to feel like I was in “Deliverance” country……………

Shortly afterward, there were my familiar landmark mountains.  D’Arcy is about ¼ of the way in from the right side, and the campground is about in the middle, just out of sight behind that big point……………

This all made for a very pleasant, laid back day, and I was “home” early.  Now, hoping the weather holds, I have reservations for soaring in a glider, over the peaks and glaciers around Pemberton tomorrow at 10:00 AM.  It’s only an hour from here, so I’ll spend the night, then mosey on down.  ‘Bout time to button up the camper, I guess.  Cool breeze is blowing thru the windows, and it’s starting to get dark.  Time to turn in.  Yesterday was 4 weeks that I’ve been on the road, and I’m slowly learning to relax and take my time.  It’s nice.  Ahhhhhhh………………                       Lar.

–

Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: June 17th, 2009 under 08 Vacation, 08-8-11 Anderson Lake.
Comments: none

This morning I left my cousin’s home in Richmond, B.C., Canada and headed north.  It’s about 60 or 80 miles thru Stanley Park, across the Lion’s Gate Bridge, past the Horseshoe Bay Ferry terminals and beautiful Howe Sound to the picturesque little touristy village of Squamish, at the top of Howe Sound and just a few miles south of Whistler, site of the 2010 Winter Olympics.  When approaching Squamish, you’ll see the huge granite monolith of Stawamus Chief.  The spike of Mt. Garibaldi is just visible at center left……………….

I understand this to be a major challenge for technical rock climbers, and I believe it prob’ly is.  Not for me, tho’.  Too old for that foolish-ness.  There’s construction - lots of it - on the winding, twisting, bumpy Sea to Sky Highway preparing for the Olympics;  traffic is very heavy, and I didn’t dare pull off to get pictures of the extremely beautiful Howe Sound region.  Here’s a link to the SPOT locater’s signal……… http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=49.6909,-123.1637&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1     I’d never have gotten back into the traffic flow.  I did pull off to go to the view points for Shannon Falls, just outside Squamish City Limits.  Very picturesque…………….

While going up the trail to Shannon Falls, I saw a sign and trail leading to Stawamus Chief.  Sign said it’s 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) in distance and 550 meters (1800 feet) in elevation gain.   (it turned out there’s 3 or 4 alternatives as you get higher)  I didn’t know there was a trail up the back, so, of course, up I went.  My toughest climbs - Gray’s Peak, Lake Peak, etc., have had elevation gains of about 1,000 ft per mile.  I mis-translated the metric to feet/miles conversion at 1st, so went on just as happy as if I had brains.  About 1/2 way up, I was starting to puff a bit, so re-translated in my head.  This works out a little over 1,000 ft per mile, but I did it, and the ol’ legs held up just fine, thank you very much.  Here’s a look at the Chief from across the way, in Squamish.  I climbed, in 1 3/4 hours, to the diagonal notch about a third of the way in from the right, above the dock in the water………………

Ran into a couple of small problems, tho’.  At one point near the top, the trail consists of chains bolted into the solid rock, and you pull yourself up.  It’s not all that bad, and kinda fun.  You can safely bet that this portion is Very Steep, and the chain was welcome…………….

Then, major problem #1 reared it’s ugly head.  The trail petered out on a nearly vertical cliff.  You can see the end of it to the right of the bottom of that tree.  It just…….ends.  That’s part of Squamish in the background.  No way was I going out there.  I learned my lesson well at Cabezon Peak....................

OK, back up, and try a different route.  Nope………this one didn’t even take me as far.  You can see the end of the trail at the very bottom, just left of center.  T’ain’t much, is it ??  Ain’t goin’ up thar, neither……………..

Try the other direction.  This time the trail petered out at a lesser slope to the left, and I’m very sure I could friction climb the 100 ft to the top……..33 years ago when I taught this.  Not now.  Not without a top rope and belayer.  It’s very steep below, a long way down and a little slip would lead to a huge problem……………….

Soooo…………I turned around and came back down.  Sighhhh………  The trail is so steep and so rough that it took nearly as long to come down as to climb the thing.  I’m tired now, but not sore, and I think I’ll be fine tomorrow, and I do plan to spend a day or 2 here.  Very, very nice area.  I’m camped now in a wide spot just south of the place I took the 3rd picture from, across the water from the mountain.  What a view out the back.  It’s 75 deg. out there now, the camper windows are open, and a nice, cool breeze is flowing thru.  Nice campsite, nice evening.  Ahhhhhh……………                       Lar.

–

Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: June 17th, 2009 under 08 Vacation, 08-8-7 Squamish.
Comments: none

In early September, ‘08, I waited around Port McNeill on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, for several days, waiting out bad weather.  Too bad - it never did clear up nor calm down and remained foggy and rough.  No chance of seeing Whales from my little 16 foot boat, so I left for the Sechelt (Seee-SHELt) Peninsula to visit with old friends who were expecting me and had plans of their own for the following weekend.  First, I stopped at Halfmoon Bay on Tuesday the 9th to visit my lifelong (60 yrs now) friend, Bob, and his ladyfriend Marsha and grand-daughter Mattie.   He’s one of the few people (Hans in Idaho is another) who I can walk in on 10 years later and pick up as tho’ there’d been no time lapse at all.   A rare gift.

We had a great visit, then I left for the home of Garry & Nellie, who were waiting to take me on another “mystery trip” on their 40 ft sloop, the “Sunshine.”  They had plans for the weekend with friends up in the interior of British Columbia, so we planned on Wed the 10th & Thurs the 11th for our cruise.

3 summers ago, we had a semi-impromptu race against several other varied boats and had a tremendous day fine tuning the sails and hoping for a better wind.  Great sport and a good time was had by all.  This “race” slapped me with “the shot that got away,” too.  A smaller boat was passing us closely to port (left) and as he came by the skipper was peering out under the boom of the sail, one hand gripping the tiller, the other the sheet and the total concentration and drive on his face gave an almost ferocious grimace.  I can still see his teeth almost snarling………..and I didn’t get the camera up in time.  What a shot that would’ve been ! ! !

2 summers ago, they took my cousins, their 2 grand-daughters and myself to Newcastle Island in the harbor of Nanaimo, B.C.  We spent the night over there and sailed home the next day.  Great Fun, again.

Last year it was just the 3 of us.  We met at Garden Bay/Pender Harbour on the Sunshine Coast and they took me to Jedediah Island, sandwiched between the lower west corner of Texada (Tex-AY-dah) Island and the lower east corner of Lasqueti (Lass-KEE-tee Island in the Strait of Georgia.  The morning at Jedediah was the calmest I’ve ever seen on the ocean.  How often have you seen the ocean like this ??………………

This year, we hauled all our gear down to the Sunshine and started loading it all aboard on Wednesday morning……..from food to cold weather gear.  A local resident, a Great Blue Heron, looked it all over and wondered why we didn’t just fly across and save all the fuss ??……………….

But finally we were underway, and very quickly started to relax and enjoy the peace and pleasure of sailing.  This was a clear day with a moderate breeze, and perfect for the trip.  In my mind, when I think of Garry & Nellie and the Sunshine, this is what I picture.  Wonderful…………….

In the above picture, the mountainous land in the distance is Vancouver Island.  Nanaimo, B.C. and Newcastle Island are about in the center, and if you look very closely, you can barely see a slightly darker line in front of the main Island.  That line is some of the many Gulf Islands, a northern reach of the American San Juan Islands………..tho’ the Canadians will tell you the San Juans are a southern reach of the Gulf Islands.  :-)  Straight ahead of the bow, that notch in the skyline is our aiming point for the channel leading in to Silva Bay on Gabriola Island……………

Meanwhile, we’ve already been passing some of the smaller islets…………..

Many of these islands are privately owned, and some owners have built wonderful get-aways.  At what expense, I wonder, but can’t help being envious.  Can you imagine a nicer weekend retreat than this…………….

Or this, hidden behind a huge red Arbutus tree, (called Madrona in the USA)………….

Homes like these are scattered everywhere up the B.C. coast, and around many of the lakes as well.  After we came thru the channel between Gabriola and Valdes Islands, a look to the east showed what I like to think of as “picture rocks.”  Others think the rocks are in my head.  Look right in the center…………….

Can’t see it ??  How ’bout a closer look.  To me that looks almost like hand carved hieroglyphics in the rock, with a roof and windows on the right.  It’s not, just erosion, but I think the effect is neat.  More on erosion later……………….

Now, after a hearty day at sea, the intrepid mariners sail (motor) into Pirate’s Cove on DeCourcy Island.  (sp ??)  What a beautiful spot………………

After setting the anchor, we took the dinghy (”the dink”) ashore and set out to explore the trail leading down the left side of the above picture to the notch to left of center.  Garry & Nellie hammed it up in front of the welcome sign, but I like this one a little better.  Can’t remember what they were looking at.  There’s actually “treasure” in the chest there - trinkets left by passing sailors in the spirit of fun……………….

After hiking about ¼ mile or less on the brushy, rocky trail, we came out to another anchorage on the south end.  Beautiful, again.  Look how clear the water is……………

There’s a small campground there for tent-ers, and a custodian to keep track of things.  A very pleasant lady, she lives on the island and loves her job.  She pointed out a family of River Otters playing on the far side of the cove……………

Too lazy to walk over there, it was getting late, so we hiked back to Pirates Cove…………………

……….and rowed back out to the Sunshine……………..

Later, after a great dinner prepared by Garry on the grill and Nellie in the galley, we kicked back and quietly watched the darkness fall.  A flock of birds passed the rising moon, behind another sailboat’s mast………………..

In the morning, we (Garry) rowed the dink to the landing closer to the notch we’d hiked to last night.  See it, tied almost out of sight, right behind the ramp at the dock at lower left ??  What a great way to start the day……..after a good breakfast, of course………………..

Our friend from yesterday greeted us and wondered what had taken us so long……………..

Here we see the erosion from ocean waves that I spoke of earlier.  Strange shapes………………

And more great scenery.  It just keeps getting better……………..

On the way back to the Sunshine, we came across another resident busily foraging for his (her ??) own breakfast……………….

This Raccoon was turning over the large oyster shells (which are probably too difficult for him to open) and seemed to be doing quite well.  He (she ??) would stop fairly frequently to munch away on…..something………………

Finally, tho’, reality must intrude and we set sail back toward the mainland.  The big gray/brown mountains to the right of this picture are the ones behind the village of Squamish, that I went thru on my way to Pemberton, 2 months ago.  The city of Vancouver is out of sight to the right…………………

What a way to spend a “weekend.”  Thank you guys so much for a really great trip……….again.                   Lar.

–

Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: May 24th, 2009 under 08 Vacation, 08-9-11 Pirate's Cove.
Comments: none

I’ve been feeling a little lazy the last few days, and got behind on the picture editing.  It’ll take a while to catch up, but today, on the way back from Bear watching in Hyder, Alaska, I stopped at the Bulkley River Falls at Moricetown, B.C., Canada, about 20 miles north of Smithers.  (Smithers is one of the nicest small towns I’ve come across.  I really like it there)  The Bulkley is a major river and very powerful.  Where it squeezes down into the gorge it’s absolutely wild and the roar is like steady, heavy thunder.  Gotta share this………….

On the way up here, I saw Indian fishermen going after the migrating Salmon with dip nets.  The technique seems to be to find a back eddy where the salmon can get out of the main current to rest for a bit, then plunge a big dip net into the water and swoop it thru the eddy……………..

Sometimes they work for a long, hard time between fish, but I saw quite a few Salmon caught this way on the Fraser River and the Chilcotin River, and here on the Bulkley River, it worked again.  Looks like a back-breaking job to me…………….

That’s all well and good, but the guy who really impressed ol’ Lar was the guy perched on a plank over the main falls.  The Bulkley is a big river and squeezes down into this narrow chute for several hundred feet.  It really thunders on down…….you wouldn’t want to fall in ! ! !  This guy stood there - with a safety rope around his waist - and waited…..and waited……and waited……………..

I sat there, and watched……and watched……..and watched.  Suddenly a Salmon jumped, and I thought, “Oh, man, I wanna picture of that.”  Turned out that’s what this guy was waiting for, too, but he missed that fish.  He missed the next couple, too, and so did I.  Then, a big one jumped.  This time, the Lar didn’t miss………………

And neither did this guy.  Our friend got his net positioned just right - this guy is fast……………..

And added a very nice Salmon to his collection……………….

Having been raised on the West Coast of British Columbia, I’ve always thought it was standard practice to smoke these Salmon for eating that winter, but a 1st Nations man and wife I talked to who’d caught quite a few fish on the Chilcotin last week told me that they usually dry their fish instead of smoking them.  I’m not sure yet if that’s a regional preference, personal, or what………..??  This made for an interesting break, believe me, and I was strongly, deeply impressed.                        Lar.

--  Larry Bourne Santa Fe, NM www.gogittum.com www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: April 15th, 2009 under 08 Vacation, 08-8-23 Salmon Fishermen.
Comments: none

Going to Hyder, AK to see the Grizzlys was fun and interesting, but kind of like seeing them at the zoo.  You’re up on the boardwalk, there’s 100 people around you, the bears ignore you…………etc., etc.  Enjoyable, but…………??

Today, I went up-river about 30 miles to the Fish Pool campground on the Atnarko River, just west of Stuie in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and about 30 miles east of Bella Coola, B.C.  Checked several other sites, but wasn’t anything happening, and a fisherman here told me he’d seen 3 in 2 hours just prior to my arrival.  They came from upstream and walked and swam downstream, looking for Salmon.  OK, I pulled the Diesel Dodge as much off the road as I could, walked about 100 ft up the road to a fish counter’s hideout and settled in to wait.  2 hours later, I said, “phooey,” and started to walk back to the truck.  Glanced back over my shoulder, and there was a Grizzly coming from downstream, headed up.  I don’t “think” he’s seen me…………….

I was in the wrong place for good pictures, so quickly eased down the road a bit and watched him disappear into the brush………….

I wasn’t sure what to expect, and didn’t know whether he’d come up onto the road, or stay down by the water, so moved a little closer to the truck.  Having him show up on the road, closer to me than I was to the truck would’ve fixed my day, but good…..pepper spray or not.  I have no desire to put that stuff to the test.  A few minutes later he showed up swimming toward me.  I was about 70 or 80 feet from the truck, and he was about 100 feet the other way.  Hmmm ??  The big bear that I saw from the boat last Saturday took off like a shot when he realized I was a human, so I feel a little better about them, but not enuf to get careless……………

When he came up on the bank, I ducked down and scooted all the way back to the truck, and gently opened the door, being as quiet as possible…………

The bank here is about 10 or 12 feet high and as he got closer, I got more and more excited.  Those who’re familiar with them or lived among them are prob’ly laughing at me about now, but I was anything but calm.  “Should I jump in the truck ??”  “What if he sees me ??”  Wind was in my face, so he prob’ly wouldn’t smell me, but ya never know……………….

The Nikon’s mirror flips up to take a shot, then slams back down.  At that point, it seemed impossibly loud.  Surely he’d hear it.  I kept taking pictures………..Clang, Clang, Clang, the mirror said.  Either he didn’t hear it, or didn’t care, ’cause he came by right below me, within 15 feet.  I could’ve made a good leap from the bank and landed right beside him.  Haw ! ! !  You bet I will.  I was hardly breathing.  If he’d even sneezed, I’d've leaped clear thru the truck and out the other side……………..

I don’t know if you’re laughing with me or at me, but man, I was wound up tighter than a $3.00 watch about then.  Grinned like an idiot all the way down the highway and adrenaline was just a-pumping.  Here’s my final view of him.  Thank You, Mr. Bear ! ! !……………

The ferries to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island stop running for the season in a few days, so I’ve had to cut my visit here short, and will break camp here at 5:00 tomorrow morning.  Ouch.  For an over height, over length rig - mine, with boat, is 12 ft high and 43 ft long - it’s $861.00 for the trip.  Ouch, again.   It’s an overnight trip to Port Hardy, and you’re not allowed in your vehicles, so hafta camp in a recliner chair in the lounge.  Far rather sleep in my own bed, but they watch real close at people like me who have RV’s.  I tried that 2 trips ago and got busted.  Gotta finish up my ice cream tonight, too.  You’re required to turn off propane tanks on the ferry, so no refrigerator/freezer.  When I reach Telegraph Cove, it’ll be back into the boat to try and find more Orcas and Humpback Whales for a few days, then on down to visit friends in Sechelt and Gibsons.  Looking forward to those, too.                         Lar.

– 
Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: April 12th, 2009 under 08 Vacation, 08-9-2 Bella Coola Grizzlies.
Comments: none

After writing the 2 story pages about the “Mystery Mountain,” I remained fascinated, so did more research on it, and found that there’s an established trail winding from the east side around to the north side of the peak. We know now that this is Cabezon Peak, about 30 miles northwest of Bernalillo, NM. A salesman to the hotel who has become a good friend told me he’d climbed it some years ago, that it wasn’t too bad, and he’s seen cattle almost to the summit. “Hmmm………..must be a good trail, so let’s have at it,” I thought.

I retired on May 29, and prepared for an extended vacation to Canada over the next month or so. This seemed like a good way to start that trip, so when I left Santa Fe on Sunday, July 13, I drove the 80 miles to the base of Cabezon Peak in the Diesel Dodge, and towing my 16 foot boat, the “Dustbuster.” Remember the dry wash of the Rio Puerco ?? Ain’t so dry now, ’cause of all the thunderstorms deluging the country……………………

High on the shoulder of the mountain, I parked the truck and boat and set up camp. The 9′10″ Lance camper is self-contained……………

After a light dinner, I climbed higher onto the shoulder of the mountain, and looked back to the southwest. Beautiful………………..

Turns out my numbers guess-timates were quite accurate. The mountain is 1500 feet high, I camped about 200 feet up, and the actual peak is 700 feet high, and solid volcanic lava. Maybe I should say cracked and broken lava. On Monday morning, after a leisurely breakfast, I started up the shoulder of the mountain……………..

About 600 ft higher, less than an hour later, and a mile or 2 farther up, there was a large plateau, and I found the big rock “arrow” that someone had built to point the way to the beginning of the climb……………..

I think I’ve said before how much I appreciate the efforts of the people who build the cairns showing the way on some trails. They are a great benefit to people un-familiar with the area. Preparing for the effort, I shucked my new pack to check things out and make sure all was well. I’d accumulated an awkward conglomeration of fanny pack, Camelback pack, various hooks, cups, straps, ties, and so on to hold all my gear and it was getting very uncomfortable and messy keeping things sorted out. Sangre de Cristo Mountain Sports in Santa Fe has an attractive young lady on staff who hikes a lot herself, and really knows her stock…..and she’s very patient. I finally wound up with an “Osprey” brand pack, model “Kestrel 32.” It’s light, rugged, roomy, and very high quality. No sticking zippers or frayed edges on this one. It took 2 days of fooling around to get it set up to hold everything securely, yet available, and several hikes now have shown it to be very good. It was a blessing on this climb………………

This holds everything snug and solid to my back, yet flexes easily and doesn’t restrict movement. I really appreciate those attributes, especially after today.

OK, time now to look up the mountain to the 1st pitch………and it’s a doozy - this mountain does NOT fool around. I’m very sure that no cow ever spawned on this planet ever climbed higher than we are right now…………………

Well warmed up by the hike up to this point, I scrambled on up this 1st problem to the notch at high center. Steep, but easy. Lots of hand and footholds……..speaking of which, the site I’d researched this on said something about “a couple of class 3 scrambles.” Since I’d taught rock climbing for a summer in 1975, and am familiar with the terminology, I took this to mean moderately difficult problems like we see above. Yah, right ! ! !

The actual notch is a straight up climb of about 12 feet, with very poor handholds that slope outwards. Another good warmup, and I figured it was going to be fun figuring out foot placement on the way back down. It’s always easier to go up than come back down. OK, well, I’m up here now, might as well keep going, eh ??…………………

Soon, I looked back to the southeast and realized I’d already come quite a way. I’m in good shape now, and was breathing easily and nicely warmed up………….sweating pretty good warmed up……………….

Mountain wasn’t done with me yet. The trail climbs steeply and curls around toward the north. After a bit, problem #2 appeared. This is a little tougher, but looked do-able. Common sense weakly told me to turn around. Adrenaline and macho said “go for it.” I went. This one is probably about 15 feet or so straight up. Hand and foot holds were poor enuf to make me start feeling very un-easy about the descent and I was starting to wonder just what I was doing here. Pure stub-Bourne-ness kept me going…………….

The web site had said to watch for a small Juniper that the trail went to, then slightly, then steeply above. Going past it below was a real No-No. I went past it and up, then looked back. Man, we really getting some altitude here. The rock looks wet, but isn’t. Just glossy………………..

Not too far above this, and feeling more un-easy all the time, I came to the final “class 3 scramble” pitch. Physically, I felt great…….breathing deep, but easily, legs solid and strong, pulse steady and moderate, then I looked up. Oh Shit. Looks like good hand and footholds, but it’s an overhang and this particular portion of the climb is vertical. Finally…..FINally…….common sense took over and I said, “Nope, I ain’t doing it.” One small slip or loose rock here would be certain suicide……………..

I felt sick. You can see the top of the mountain……… or so I thought. Unwilling to just give up, and knowing it was insane to try to go on, I rested a bit, and took a look around. What ?? There’s a cairn over there, and dirt showing where people have been climbing. Bonehead Bourne had hiked right past the final pitch. Yah, that’s the trail, sports fans……………….

It looks bad, but was actually fairly easy and I was up in just a few seconds. Here’s the break onto the summit. Right at the bottom edge of this picture, just to the left of center, do you see the horizontal crack in the rock ?? You can see it just above center in the picture above, too. Keep that crack in mind for the descent……………….

I wasn’t out of trouble yet, by a bit. This was loose dirt over rock, and very treacherous. No way I was quitting now, and I went up this very quickly……….but my tummy was churning a bit………..How the h— are you gonna get down from here, you ancient idiot, I was telling myself ?? As I approached the top of the dome, I thought I could see……..a huge cairn…….?? Boy, is it ever. Someone went to a huge amount of work here…………….

Big Lar on the summit. Man, what a feeling. Felt like I could float around up here…………….

The cairn is U-shaped and there’s an ammunition box there with a Geo-Cache sign-in inside it. I didn’t find this with my GPS, but I figured I’d earned the right to sign it anyway……….so I did.

Then, a short walk to the south, keeping in mind the extreme dome shape of the summit, I got to the point - barely - where I could see the truck, camper and boat far below. A slip here would be very bad……………..

Then, to the northwest side of the peak, and a look back on the Rio Puerco Road that I’d come in on………………

During the climb and my time on the summit, the clouds had steadily darkened and thickened, and now it started to spatter a little rain. No thunder yet, but it was only a matter of time. I nearly freaked out……..quickly swung back into the pack and headed for the trail. In the rain, a descent would be impossible and I’d have to wait it out on the summit till the rock dried. One day ?? Two ?? No way, so away I went, nearly running. As I approached the edge, it looked like it just continued to round on out, and what could I hold onto ?? Man, this was ugly - the trail is right in the center, below the cairn, to the left of that rock, and that ledge from 5 pictures ago is over that edge……………

First foothold. Hmmm………..went down to the big rock on the far right, eased a foot over to the center rock, swung over and twisted, to put that big left hoof into that crack in the rock. Those bushes and pile of rocks at far left are 700 feet below. You can believe I was very careful of my grip and balance when I took this shot……………..

One and one-half hours later I was sitting in the camper, soaked with sweat, and the fronts of my thighs burning from the tremendous pressure of the descent. Make sure of the handholds and 1 foothold…..as sure as possible, anyway, then slow-w-w-w-ly bend the secure leg, letting myself down while feeling for a toe-hold with the other foot……..then repeat, and repeat, and repeat…………

When driving back to the highway, I was along side the Rio Puerco, and wondered if I could see the cairn from there. After all, I could see the road from the cairn. Here’s the mountain……………

………..and, strongly cropped, there’s the cairn. Cool……………..

What a day ! ! ! The climb took 4 hours, start to finish. 9:30 AM till 1:30 PM. Good workout, too.

I’m very glad I did this, and it’s a very satisfying feeling, but I promise, I will NOT put myself in a like position again. I’ll be 66 years old in a few months……..too old for this foolish-ness. Lar.

-

Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: August 6th, 2008 under 08 Vacation, 08-7-14 Mystery Mountain Climbed.
Comments: 2