Fishermen trashing Puyallup River

Fishermen trashing Puyallup River

New Bicycle, already crashed it, teenagers and logging trucks suck.

Yesterday, I finally went and got myself a good bicycle. It has disc brakes and I got toe clips to go with it. The combination of disc brakes and toe clips has caused me to crash already.

I was on the sidewalk and getting ready to cross a main street with the "walk" signal, when a logging truck turned right and cut off my right of way (It is a sharp corner for a truck and the driver was probably watching his trailer in his mirrors instead of watching the crosswalk) so I stopped and waited for it to go by and then I tried to cross the street again but a little old lady in a little red car was following the logging truck so closely that she cut me off without even seeing me. So being used to a bike with bad caliper brakes I slammed on the brakes and that caused my bike to stop too fast while the toe clips made me unable to jump off. I never left the sidewalk with my bike, this was all just braking to keep from being hit by motorists who were not watching for a pedestrian. The little old lady saw me crash and mouthed "are you ok" through her window. I mouthed yes, but did not know for sure. When I broke my wrist while bicycling, one year ago, it took me about half and hour to realize I was badly hurt.

After I fell I got up and rode a few blocks and then I stopped on the side walk but in the driveway of a closed store to assess the damage and make sure I was not badly hurt. But while I was trying to do that another little old lady came along and honked at me with her huge loud old American car horn until I got up off the side walk. That was pretty much all that my nerves could handle.

The whole point of the trip was to get groceries. But instead of waiting for grocery store to open I went home and took the clips off my pedals and now I don't really feel like riding my new bike. I am afraid of the disc brakes.

I still don't have any groceries. I might drive to the store later. I don't want to ride my bike this time of day anyway because the high school kids are just getting out of school for the day and a few of them like to torment me by jumping out in front of me and screaming and then jumping back really quick.

Both of my wrists and both of my knees are hurting now.

Goodbye Aunt Eileen

My Great-Aunt died two days ago. My father only told me about it today and only because I sent him an email asking how she was. So I was right to suspect that my family would not tell me when she died. How very sad. I named my first born after my Great-Aunt's sister who of course was my Grandma.

As I have blogged here before, but I may have deleted, it my Great-Aunt and my Great-Uncle used to come up to Seattle from California and visit me. I was living in horrible spirit crushing poverty and I was terribly lonely back then. Those visits meant a lot to me. During the visits my Great-Aunt and Uncle with my Grandma would take me to a Mariners game and then take me out for a Chinese Meal. It was a rare opportunity for me to eat protein, ride in a car, get out of my cockroach infested, studio, basement apartment, have some human contact and feel like a human being.

My Grandma died almost 13 years ago, my Great Uncle died about 14 years ago and now my Great-Aunt is gone. I wonder if they have already buried my Great-Aunt ?

Sigh I got my answer. Yes they buried her today or are going to bury her today and they had a funeral today and I'm not invited to it. For all I know they are lowering her into her grave right now.

My Great-Uncle had a big memorial when he died. Maybe if he had died after his wife died he would not have had one. I suppose the memorial for was for the Benefit of my Great-Aunt.

Mount Stone and other dreams.

I really want to climb Mount Stone but it might be a bit out of my league. It involves off trail travel and a little bit of rock scrambling and a lot of route finding. Mentally I might not be up for it, but I really want to do it.

My great-aunt is still laying on her deathbed this week. I assume my family would tell me if she had died. My youngest just started Kindergarten in a stressful full-day dual language school. I'm going back to school in a few weeks and I'm stressed out. In the middle of all of that some stupid MHP (what was her name anyway?) moved to Spokane but why the hell should I care. Why the hell has it set me off like this? MHP's come and MHP's go and I normally don't give a toss. What the hell is wrong with me this time? I had almost come back down to normal and the beast is back thanks to one tiny little insignificant thing. WTF?

Hiking on trails is losing its thrill. I could switch to mountain biking but I already know what happens when I try bike riding while manic. I want to try some cross country type stuff now. I know how to read a topo map, but I'm a bit sketchy with the compass.



I know my GPS pretty darn well but it could fail, then again a map could blow away and a compass can be dropped. I need some compass practice or I need to just rely on my GPS and pack extra batteries.

I’m down with my second illness of the Season. I hope to be well enough to hike by Monday. I really want to go camping and hiking somewhere before I have to go back to class on the 28th.

I'll be taking two art classes. I am so relieved that a new art class opened up and it sounds like a good one. It meets for just 4 weekends but it is 8 credits. I was going to have to take statistics and I'm in no state of mind for statistics. I only need 3 credits to get my B.A. degree but I have to go full time to get the funding.

I hope to keep going and get a B.A.S. degree. I only need two quarters of upper division science and then I'll have all the math and science requirements filled. Then I can take art classes or politics classes until I get 225 credits.

There are not many Upper Division Science classes at the college and the one that I took had my crying almost every day. I don’t ever want to repeat that experience, so I hope to earn my last 32 credits in science by doing individual study contracts. I had one all planned out for this quarter but I can’t find a faculty member to sponsor me.

Maybe next quarter I can find a faculty member. My head is really not together enough to deal with science right now anyway. I've had another relapse into the realm of extreme emotions. Maybe I will have settled down by winter quarter.

I need to talk to an advisor and find out if I should apply for my B.A. degree now or wait and apply for a B.A.S. degree next year.

My husband thinks I should just take art classes until I’ve reached the 225 credit limit for financial aid. He says I am good at art and get glowing evaluations in art classes so why should I bother with being a second rate scientist when I can be a first rate artist? But if I’m going to hold on for that many credits I want the dual degree. I loved science at the community college and in grade school and I did well in scientific subjects. But science at Evergreen is a different beast. I got a lousy evaluation in the once science class that I took at Evergreen. But I've gotten glowing evaluations in all my other classes.

Mount Rose Thunderstorm

The Glorious Summit View


This was the most high energy hike I have ever had. But I survived the drive home. I'm too manic to type. Damn! I can't imagine what kind of trouble I would have gotten myself into if I had stayed in town today.

I made a very long movie of the final push to the summit. I think this will play if you right click and save the file.


Over 1000 feet per mile!



I hiked up in the pouring rain. At one point a thunderbolt crashed and I screamed with glee and yelled "bring it on mother nature!" "You made me, you can come and take me!" The thunder frightened my dog so I had to reassure it that it was ok, it was all good.

The view at the top? Lol I made my own view once I got up top. Maybe I'll have the nerve to post it here.

Brought my doggie with me. She did well, but she shivered a bit on the summit. At least she had her coat on. I saw bears heads and chicken of the woods and a lobster mushroom. The creeks all swelled up and turned into rivers. All that water came down while I was up there.

Mount Rose is now flushed of all the summer hikers. She is clean again and she was all mine. I only saw one piece of toilet paper.. Actually a baby wipe. I picked it up with my trekking pole and pushed in into a hole under a tree.


Yep that's how it felt




Dog shaking off the rain




Salamander hiding from me (rough skinned newt)


(I know the rule of thirds but where does my dog fit in?)
It rained so hard and the ground was so dry that the rain flowed down the trail.



(Found the time to make a tight composition on the way down)

I saw a sexy looking guy at the gas station on the way there and I smiled at him a few times. He looked a bit strange. He was dressed in deer or bear killing cloths from head to toe. I bet he's not used to having strange women smile at him. He looked a bit surprised by my smiles.

I bought some food at Arco. Too manic to be on a budget and look for the cheapest power bars in town. So I splurged and bought a bag of jerky and two overpriced cliff bars. Too bad it turns out The Cliff bars had caffeine in them. I could have done without caffeine today!

I had to share the jerky with my dog because I left the canned cat food in the car inspire of making great efforts to remember to pack it.

It took me awhile to leave the trail head and start my hike because I was so disorganized. But I just gave myself the time and re-did everything a dozen times unlock the door, lock the door, whoops I forgot something, unlock the door, now why did I unlock the door what did I want, oh yeah I remember what I wanted but it's not in this door, re-lock the door, close it. Unlock a different door, get what I want. Remember there was something else in that first door go unlock it again, try to remember what it was. Repeat several times with each door of my five door. Such is life.
 But the system must work because I've never left my GPS on my car roof and I've only locked my keys into my car at the trail head one time.



This is like this and that. (Hint white stripe on tree and on dog, sharp black pointy stump and spot on dog's side.)


Handrail


Chicken of the Woods, water on the lens


My first glimpse of my true love Mount Rose!


Manic



For the first time ever I took my I-pod on a hike and I listened to it for most of the hike. Water song played to deaf ears! I took it off for a bit though. I mostly listened to John Trudell but also listened to Enigma and Ronnie Gilbert and some other stuff. It did make hiking more fun and helped me with the push to the summit.
*********
3 hours up
2.75 hours down
3,500 feet
6.9 miles
177 miles on my shoes
)))))))))))

Other times I have blogged Rose
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Saturday, June 09, 2007





I took a lot of pictures on the way down but most of my pictures are blurry from water on my lens. I'm kind of glad that some of them came out blurry!

I hope my camera survived this rainy trip. I did not take proper care to keep my camera dry.

My husband had dinner waiting for me and I really enjoyed that. I did not cook lunch or make tea on the summit because it was too cold so I was ready to eat when I got home.



Before Starting (Wow, black really is slimming!)



Fall colors and rain on the lens


Fall colors and rain on the lens


Overhanging mossy rock and dog



Wet!


Floodgates about to burst


This tree survived multiple forest fires only to fall to the (firefighters?) Chainsaw


A sense of place


More dead stuff

Spaniel eyes


How many times have I photographed these trees?

I ran through my favorite forest instead of taking my time.



Setting up the shot


Different realities was my listed trail register destination


Bears head about to be decapitated


Flush baby flush! Flush away the tourists and the greeners. You're all mine for the winter.


Flush! I sure am glad the wildlife department cleaned up all the anglers poop before this happened.



The Day After

So it is the day after the hike and I felt really good for the first 4 hours after I woke up but now the beast is back. But I felt really good this morning. Not too anxious, not too manic, not depressed, clear headed, able to think. It was nice. I must try to get out every week, it does me a world of good.

I am a lot sorer than I expected to be. With the condition I am in I did not actually expect to be at all sore today.

Yeah the manic monster is back now but at least my body is too tired to pay it much heed. Just my thoughts are racing.

I'm reading a book called "Tracks" it is about "A woman's Solo Trek across 1,700 Miles of Australian Outback" copyright 1980. I found this book in a dumpster a few months ago. This reading makes a nice change from the gender-centric musings of Edward Abbey. Abbey writes some good stuff in Desert Solitaire but it is hard for a female bodied person to read. Female bodied people are just an after thought, he never seemed to think that a female bodied person (a woman) might read his books! But Abbey is a product of his times and I grew up during those times, so his writing style is all too familiar.

So now to read about adventures from a female point of view is a refreshing change. Right now I'm on page 74 and Robyn Davidson is depressed, it is nice to read that other people get depressed too. I hope I can do some more reading today. I hope my mind will be calm enough to allow me to read.






Dead Manzanita for a certain forest ecologist