Muscle Girls + Paddleboards + Yough River....

... had some fun (as usual) last Sunday hangin' out with muscle girls 'Sarah' and 'Tara'....

.... racked up and head'n out...

... on the water and head'n upstream...

... Sarah...

... Tara...

... Tara & Sarah...

... perfect weather...

... perfect water...

... perfect day for this stuff - those are two 'Surftech 12.1 Soft-Top "Laird" Paddleboards' (eponym 'Laird Hamilton' boards by master shaper 'Ron House') - do well on the river - rigid foam so ya' gotta' be careful "ding'n 'em" on the rocks  - the 'sit-on-top' is a 'Coupe' manufactured by 'Liquid Logic'...

... Tara takin' the 'Coupe' for a ride - pretty nice boat for a 'sit-on-top' - good "secondary stability" - surfs well and "spins on a dime" - not bad...

... checkin' out the water...

... and havin' fun...

... "catchin' some rays"... looks like they both been puttin' in some time over at the 'Virtus Institute' (http://virtus-institute.com/)... good...

... gettin' to be late in the afternoon - shadows are startin' to creep in from the west and the fish are jumpin'...

Keystone Thrust Fault

During the "rainy" visit to the western desert a few years back (see First Creek Canyon) we took the time to check out a few of the easier trails in the low desert of 'Red Rock Canyon'. They were threatening flash flooding again this day, so we decided to stick to slightly higher ground away from the major washes. The 'Keystone Thrust Trail' sounded pretty cool. It's a 0.8 mile "out & back" that hikes into a geologic feature known as the 'Keystone Thrust Fault'. The 'Thrust Fault' occurred 65 million years ago when "plate tectonic earthquake activity" thrust the older, 'Cambrian Limestone' bedrock up and over the older the younger 'Jurassic Sandstone', creating the 'high country' to the northeast....

... wanted to avoid any 'flashflood' activity - here's a good example - a tour bus, traveling from Arizona to Las Vegas, that got caught up in one just last week (photo swiped from CBS news - don't know who the photographer was)...

... lookin' back into the 'canyon', the skies look a little threatening - those are the 'Wilson Cliffs' - world class multi-pitch climbing...

... view from the trail - was actually the last day of rain, which ended earlier that morning before we arrived...

... lots of 'desert shrub' and 'pinyon-juniper woodland'...

... not sure exactly what this plant is - nested in the red 'Aztec (Jurassic) Sandstone' - nice contrast in colors...

... again, some green 'desert lichen' contrasting with the red sandstone...

... think this is called 'Pancake Prickly-Pear Cactus'...

... an ancient human 'shelter' nested amongst the sandstone... 

... "ditto"...

... viewing toward the south - that's 'Turtlehead Peak' (stay tuned) - elevation around 6,000ft...

... here's the actual 'Thrust Fault' - blue-gray limestone and red sandstone - 'Keystone Canyon' beyond...

... another angle - sandstone left, limestone right...

... last one...

... a final sweeping view of 'Red Rock Canyon' and desert wilderness before returning to the trailhead - definitely not a "wasteland" as typically portrayed in movies and on tv - sadly the majority of the populations only-ever exposure to places as such... probably a good thing (again, sadly so) - they'd just "f*k it all up!"....

Attack of the Ants

Man, been raining around here consistently for at least the past six weeks - and mostly an extended heavy downpour when it does. Was boiling some water for breakfast tea last weekend. Walk over to the sinktop to toss a teabag in the cup - What!!?? - there's a large army of "miniature ants" marching single file across the countertop and "congregating" in the sinkbowl - now what??!!!  Never saw anything like these - all about 1/32 to 1/16 inch long - light brown. Sweep 'em all into the sinkbowl, grab the sinkhose and flush 'em "down the drain"....

.... next morning - same thing...

... that evening - now they're on the kitchen table - in the dogs foodbowl - and in my dinner (rice), as I don't notice until "dining" - f*k it! - it's late and I'm starvin'!! - ate the rice (and Salmon steak - no way I'm throwin' this meal out) - separatin' the rice and ants as I go (sure I missed a few - no big deal -  probably pretty nutritious, eatin' them alive and all - I'm still living so far)...

... this been goin' on now for three days - where they comin' from? Figure that all the rain has driven them to higher ground, so they figured that they'd check into a "hotel" until the flood waters recede...

... later found that they are (now?) infested in a bag of dog food that I previousely purchased - having never seen these small ants ever in my lifetime (I'm used to the standard size "Piss Ant" or larger "Black" or "Red Ant"), and considering all the crap dog and cat food that comes from China now'days (what ever happened to 'Wayne Feeds' that used to operate probably ten miles away in 'Everson, PA'?)  I'm pissed and figurin' that their "imports" who entered via the bag of dog food....

... I gotta' know - search "miniature ants" on line - these things are either "Pharaoh" or "Thief" Ants (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaoh_ant) - imports none the less, but been around for awhile - OK - I'll give the Chinamen a pass for now... also says not to spray 'em with bug spray - you'll risk splitting the "colony" into two "divisions"- or four, or eight...Uh-Oh - they're logarithmic? - "objective knowledge-types"? - maybe I'm right ...

Synopsis: Figure that I lucked out with them "congregating" to the bag of dog food - was like a trap - took it outside overnight and "observed" the activity 'till noon the next day - was loaded up with 'em - tossed the bag in the trash and sprayed it down pretty good with "ant-killer spray" - been a week and haven't "seen a one"....

... here's a photo of one - looking back, I missed a good opportunity to get some good shots of these guys - the "safari" moving across the sink countertop was pretty impressive (although, not at the time)....

...HA!.. reminds me of a very favorite classic story - 'Leiningen and the Ants' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leiningen_Versus_the_Ants) - although on a much smaller scale.... 

... was also made into a pretty good movie, "The Naked Jungle", with 'Charlton Heston and a "smokin' hot" Eleanor Parker....

... Whoa!! - go Chuck!!..."from my cold, dead hands....!!"

... check it out if ya' get the chance....

Now this looks like fun!...

Update 08/03: Have no interest what-so-ever in "climbing competitions" on "artificial walls" - but gotta' admit - this was very cool, and was fun to watch 'ta boot - can only imagine 'Bob Prince' or 'Myron Cope' doin' the "play-by-play" - especially with the chicks (who "rocked the house" as they say now'days)... here's a link to the "moving pictures":                                

                                                   http://psicocomp.com/watch.php

Initial post:  ... was cruisin' about - found this -  check out this gorgeous artificial climbing wall built specifically for a "First-Ever USA Deep Water Soloing Competition" scheduled for this upcoming August 1 and 2 in Park City, Utah....

 ... pretty impressive - someone's always out there thinkin' - check out 'www.psicocomp.com' for more information - look here for more information and as always entertaining reaction/comments - 'http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2188556/Psicobloc-Masters-deep-water-soloing-competition'...

... don't know about "spectating" - but look's like a ton of fun to participate in...

... hey, were we slightly ahead of our time?... check out the last segment of the old 'Bouldering' video on the website, as well as the recent 'Way Cool Piers' blog entry... all early 1980's... definitely a "minority" back then - was always told "... that looks stupid... climbing is "serious business"... and you're not even (like us) dressed right!!!" - HA! - we were never more "serious" in our lives at the time - plus ya' could "ditch the rope" and "focus"...

... will need to drive out to Utah after the "competition" and make them a "purchase offer" for this thing while they're all still loaded and hungover - can just picture it overhanging the "lawn" out at South C'ville"....

... the "lawn" and a young Colby Fiesta...

... in the mean-time,  we're workin' on a secret "waterproof climbing chalk" formula....

05/27: Found a few more photos...

... another angle - a few hard climbing routes on that short "bluff" over some deep water... those are the 'Way Cool Piers' off in the distance (took a guy paddling once and we stopped off and spent about a hour climbing and jumping off those things - all he kept saying was "Man - these are Way Cool!!!" - hence the name)...

... a young JJ Fiesta and a leap off 'Big Picnic' - part of the same rock outcrop... takes a pretty good run and jump to clear the shoreline...

... these are the 'Ledges' mentioned a while back in 'A Useful Map' (muscle girl Sarah paddling on a trip from 'Ohiopyle') ... no climbing on these things - water is only about a foot deep at normal flow with a solid rock bottom - pretty swift current at higher levels... pretty grainy (scanned) print - was photographed with a fixed aperture disposable camera... this is pretty much on the exact opposite side of 'Chestnut Ridge' as the above three photos, where the 'Loyalhanna Limestone' dips back underground...

Bellefonte Quarry (Rock Climbing Part 1)

Back in the "early days" we used to visit a place called "Bellefonte Quarry" located just outside the town of 'Bellefonte', near State College, Pennsylvania. Totally hideous-looking "hole-in-the-ground", but home to some of the best thin crack and steep, thin face climbing around - still remains a personal favorite - although, haven't been there since the early '90's. It's since been long closed by the landowner and off-limits to visitors for what-ever reasons. The place also boasts an excellent swimming hole which resulted from the mine being flooded after striking an artesian spring-head during mining operations - it's said to be around sixty feet deep - always clear blue water. We've also been told that some mining machinery was abandoned at the bottom of the mine as the flood waters rose and the mining company beat a hasty retreat - this apparently reported from scuba divers who also frequented the quarry - not reporting it as fact. The "pond" also attracted many students from nearby 'Penn State College', many of whom  occasionally swam "sans bathing suit" - the top of the wall was an excellent vantage point for viewing - unfortunately, more often than not is was some "hairy-ass guy"...

... anyway - the rock is a hard, stratified, Dolomite-type Limestone that is steeply folded at probably 80+ degrees. Irregular shearing of the rock face has resulted in some "flaking" between strata breaks, producing some awesome crack systems from top to bottom. There are also a few stress cracks, two of which have arguably (not from me, however) produced a pair of the best crack climbs on the east coast - "El Crackitan" - a long alternating finger and hand crack, and "Kolmans a Faggot" (Gasp!) - mostly finger locks.... both sport very thin feet ta' boot - Brilliant!!...

... here's a shot walkin' into the far end of the quarry, along the 'main wall', with the pond below... there's a 'Beginners Wall' further out... there's also an adjacent 'Death Star Quarry' which boasts some very difficult stuff - good luck finding it - was very overgrown back then - we got turned around returning from it late one evening - to avoid being "lost in the dark" (with no lights - who would expect to get lost in this place?), we wound up crawling (literally) for a few hundred feet on hands and knees through a "jungle" of thick shrubs 'till we finally "escaped" and made our way back to "camp"... (Goodman photo)...

... here's a shot of the main wall from the opposite end - there's a person (red shorts) photo center for scale - I had a ton of good photos from this place but wound up losing a whole "box" of stuff - all negatives and prints - during a "move" long ago - everything here is scanned from what "prints" remained (identified Goodman photos were "swiped" from him)... didn't go through and "retouch" scratches, etc... who cares...

... Rob on 'El Crackitan'...

... 'El Crackitan' close up - what a great climb...

... Rob and 'Kolmans Crack'... even better... (Goodman photo)...

... "ditto"... (Goodman photo)...

... "ditto" again... (Goodman Photo)...

... "ditto" - nearing the top... those aren't power lines to the left and below - are scratches in the old print (Goodman photo)...

... think that this may be 'Dismal World Left'... may be wrong... (Goodman photo)...

... this is 'Dismal World Right'...

..."ditto" - higher up...

... check out this "dihedral"! - 'Left Hand Eliminator' - one of the "old" Seneca Rocks guidebooks therein rates the classic 'Seneca' route, 'Triple S' (also an "inside corner"), as "probably the finest single pitch of ("moderate" - my edit) climbing on the east coast"... now I gotta' argue... (Goodman photo)...

... descending the main wall...

... ya' could practically (four wheel) drive to the top of the wall - great campsite... if ya' ran into four other climbers the entire weekend, the place was "packed"...

... cooling off in the "pond" - some good high dives off the wall - which reminds me - around 6pm Sunday night here - the sun has suddenly re-appeared since who remembers when - been raining around here relentlessly for probably six weeks straight with more to come... have a few hours of daylight left to head out to the river...