canyonwalker: Uh-oh, physics (Wile E. Coyote)
Smoke from wildfires is in the news again. News articles are running with pictures of cityscapes viewed through orange haze. It's like... uh, basically each of the last few summers in California and the US West... except this time it's not in California! Fires are burning in Ontario, Canada, and smoke is drifting south into the Midwest and Northeast US. The pics of orange skies are not from San Francisco but New York City this time around.

Wildfire smoke from Canada covers New York City (June 2023)

Out here in the San Francisco Bay Area we've got a different problem with the sky. The sky is... leaking. Yes, it actually rained yesterday! To put in context how rare that is, I've lived in California for 27 years, and the last time it rained here in June was... before I moved here. I remember it raining in late May twice, but never in June. Just after our weather caught up with late April (in June) it regressed to March. And while it's clear the rest of the week it'll remain cool-ish very unlike June.

canyonwalker: My other car is a pair of hiking boots (in beauty I walk)
Mississippi Travelog #6
Foxworth, MS - Thursday, 26 Apr 2023, 1pm

Whew, this is getting long: three blogs now about Red Bluff canyon in Mississippi. And I'm going to stuff 6 pictures in this entry to get 'er done.

Once we climbed up through the creek at the bottom of the canyon our views opened up into this crazy, colorful badlands:

Down in Red Bluff canyon (Apr 2023)

The bottom of the drainage was generally easily navigable. It was only going up the sides that would get steep. And going up one of the sides was what our trail map called for. We could see that trail— or, rather, we could see part of it. Another part of it had eroded away recently, leaving it impassable. So we explored various side canyons to see if there was another way out climbing up over the edge.

Down in Red Bluff canyon (Apr 2023)

We had fun exploring around the bottom. The colors down here are so crazy. All the earth around us is dirt, BTW. Dirt in bright hues of yellow, orage, red, and even purple. Purple dirt!

Down in Red Bluff canyon (Apr 2023)

Alas, we couldn't find a safe way up and out over the rim that wouldn't involve a lot of dangerous scrambling— on loose dirt, no less. Fortunately we had plenty of time this afternoon, having canceled redirected our previous plans so that all we have to do is get back to New Orleans tonight for a flight tomorrow. Thus we could explore all these canyons to our hearts' content and then retrace our route back out the bottom and climb back up the side of the hill.

Is this railroad line live? Yup!/Oui! (Apr 2023)

Down below the canyon we walked along the railroad for about 100 meters from where the creek crossed it to where the trail back up the side began.

"Is this a live railroad line?" we wondered.

"Don't walk on the tracks; what if a train comes?" someone worried.

"Don't worry, if there's a train you'll hear it from a long way off," I responded.

Well, the answer to the first question is Yes, it's a live line. We heard a train approaching as we were about to start the ascent back up. We waited to see it— because, yes, we heard it long before it arrived. And surprisingly it was a Canadian train! That's sure far from home down here in southern Mississippi. (You can tell it's Canadian because of the CN emblem on the engine— Canadian National. And all the rail cars have "Sorry for the inconvenience" printed on them in English and French.)

Back up to the rim of Red Bluff (Apr 2023)

Climbing back up the hill took some huffing and puffing. It seemed like it would take a long time but it didn't. The canyon isn't quite as deep as it looks from some angles. I don't think it took us more than about 15 minutes to get back up to the rim. And the views were beautiful.

Once back at the car we actually skipped opening the car and instead continued further around the rim toward the other side of the canyon. Up here there's a use trail that skirts around where the road has collapsed into the canyon and picks it up on the other side.

There used to be a road here at Red Bluff (Apr 2023)

We got out to the remnants of the old road. It's actually the new old road.... The fragments here are from where they rebuilt the road further back after the original road fell into the canyon.

After checking out the views from the opposite side of the canyon we headed back to the car. At this point it was almost 1pm. We'd been hiking for almost 4 hours. That's twice as long as we expected to spend here. But the time spent has been so worth it! In beauty we walk.

canyonwalker: coronavirus (coronavirus)
Earlier this week the CDC added several more countries to its list of "Level 4: COVID-19 Very High" travel risk. Example coverage: CNN.com article 13 Sep 2021. This came two weeks after Canada and several European countries were moved from Level 2 to Level 3. CNN.com article 30 Aug 2021. The full, latest lists are available at Covid-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination (CDC.gov link). On social media people in these countries have fired back, saying (cheekily) that they're glad because it will keep highly infectious Americans away from them. Because that's the thing— by the standards the CDC uses for rating the risks of Americans traveling to other countries, Americans should not travel to America.

The main criteria for Level 4: Very High, the CDC's highest risk category, is a new case rate of 500+ per 100,000 population, cumulatively, over the past 28 days. Source: How CDC Determines the Level for Covid-19 Health Notices at CDC.gov. This is a different metric than the incidence rate most commonly used domestically and internationally, average daily new cases per 100k over the past 7 days. But with some estimation it's not hard to align them.

My favorite source for checking Covid-19 trends in the US is the New York Times's Covid in the US: Latest Map and Case Count. Per their state level figures it looks like only one state, Connecticut, would not receive a "Level 4: Very High" travel risk rating if the CDC were using the same ratings within the US that it uses for foreign countries. One state. The other 49 states and the District of Columbia would have the US government warning slapped on them, "Avoid travel to this destination".

canyonwalker: My other car is a pair of hiking boots (in beauty I walk)
Olympic Peninsula Travelog #10
Olympic National Park, WA - Sat, 4 Sep 2021. 1pm.

The weird thing about climbing a mountain is that one you get to the top the views are all missing something.... You can't see the mountain. You're accustomed to seeing it dominate the skyline, and all of a sudden... nope. It's under your feet now. Fortunately the flip side of being on top of a mountain is you can see everything else.

Unicorn Peak and beyond from Hurricane Hill, Olympic National Park (Sep 2021)

Looking north from Hurricane Hill I see down across the twin spires of Unicorn Peak and Unicorn Horn to the Straight of Juan de Fuca. With Hurricane Hill at elev. 5,757' this is more than a vertical mile. The town on the near shore is Port Angeles, where we're staying for 3 nights. Across the straight, on the left, is Vancouver Island. The city on its shore is Victoria, Canada, the capital of the province of British Columbia. The large island on the right farther away is San Juan Island, part of Washington, US. The dead trees on the near ridge are left from a fire that burned in 2008.

View of Mt. Angeles from atop Hurricane Hill, Olympic National Park (Sep 2021)

Turning slightly to the right I see Mt. Angeles. It's been there, over my right shoulder, pretty much the whole hike up to this point.

From the top of Hurricane Hill we explored out a bit further on the ridge. It descends gently for a bit before dropping off steeply. We went to the edge of the steep area to take a look around.

View back up to Hurricane Hill with the Elwha Valley and Pacific Ocean beyond (Olympic National Park, Sep 2021)

Here the trail back to the west shows the summit of Hurricane Hill. Beyond it is the Elwha Valley, a steep drop of more than a vertical mile. Beyond the ridges on the far side of Elwha Valley is the Pacific Ocean.

So, having show view to the north, east, and west, what's left is... the south. And you know what's there. Right? It's been there the whole time. Mt. Olympus.

Homo Sapiens frolic atop Hurricane Hill in Olympic National Park (Sep 2021)

And speaking of things that have been here the whole time, fellow Homo Sapiens have been constant companions on this trek, as well. Some outdoors writers I've had the misfortune of buying books from consider people a pest and bad-mouth any hiking trail that's too popular. Many hikes are popular precisely because they are so beautiful. I don't begrudge my fellow hikers the beauty in which we walk. Plus, it's fun seeing other people enjoy themselves, like the hikers checking their watch to learn "It's Mountain Time!" or these folks, above, posing for their own picture. In beauty we walk. Together.

Update: This hike is over but the adventure continues! Read about Obstruction Point in my next blog.

canyonwalker: Cheers! (wine tasting)
Maine Week Travelog #21
Bangor, ME - Friday, 18 Jun 2021, 10pm.

First let me say: Whew. It's been a long day. We left the hotel this morning, drove a few hours north to Baxter State Park, and hiked not one but two trails— Katahdin Falls trail and Little and Big Niagara Falls. We thought maybe we could squeeze in a third trail at the park. We had one picked out; we just didn't have the energy left for it after 4pm.

On the scenic drive back down to central Maine we decided to get dinner before driving all the way back to the hotel in Bangor. And we decided to splurge a bit, at least from a calories standpoint, as we'd exercised quite a bit and our lunch had been stuff like protein bars and water.

"Let's get Mexican!" we agreed.

Haha, easier said than done. Our first Yelp search for Mexican restaurants turned up only one restaurant within 50 miles, and it was Italian. Maybe they list a Mexican pizza on their menu? Not that we expected much, of course. We knew were were less than an hour south of the border— the Canadian border! In fact, we were so close to Canada the park had all of its signs in English and French.

We searched again within an hour of Bangor. Several choices popped up: a few in Bangor we'd looked at and decided against last night (the menus and food looked too Americanized) and one in Orono, a college town a bit closer than Bangor. The menu, pictures, and reviews of the joint in Orono made it look not too Americanized, so we went there. Plus, there were plenty of other eats nearby (college town) so if we walked into the Mexican restaurant and it looked like a bad pick there were 5-6 other restaurants within a block's walk.

So, how was it? Well, it didn't suck. The chips tasted like they came out of a bag and the salsa tasted like it came out of a jar— a jar labeled "Pace", no less— but we were both experiencing taste amplification after the long day. The Negra Modelo on tap was cold and delicious and washed away many of the food's shortcomings.

Tonight we're back in our hotel. I'm glad we called an audible yesterday and got here a day early. As long as today was it might not have been tenable with an extra hour of driving plus the logistics of packing, checking out, checking in, and unpacking.

canyonwalker: wiseguy (Default)
I've been trying for more than a week to get my mobile phone company, Verizon, to refund me an international roaming charge for Canada. The charges were billed to our account when we went near Canada during our Inland Northwest trip several weeks ago.  When we drove within a few miles of the border on our way to Copper Creek Falls Verizon sent us text messages letting us know they'd "helpfully" billed us automatically for TravelPass - Canada. For something that was so quick & simple to add it was a total pain in the neck to remove. It took me five calls (and three failed chatbot attempts) before getting it fixed.

Technologically, this situation with fake international roaming happens because cell phones work by making contact with multiple towers in range. Near a border some may be on the other side. We don't have any control over it. But here's the thing: Verizon should understand this happens whenever someone is near a border and make it easy to fix the bill afterwards. Instead they put us through ridiculous phone menus that often result in being hung up on by a robot, waits of an hour or longer at some times, and worthless chatbots and chat agents.
canyonwalker: My other car is a pair of hiking boots (in beauty I walk)
Inland Empire Travelog #8
Bonners Ferry, Idaho - Sat, 15 May 2021. 1pm.

We're back in Bonners Ferry having just finished lunch here. This morning we traveled up north to near the border with Canada to hike Copper Creek Falls (previous entry) and then hunt for Smith Creek Falls. I say hunt for because Smith Creek was another wild goose chase courtesy of inaccurate directions and lack of field proofing in Prof. Smedley Q. Boredom's Very Dull Book of Waterfalls. Though this time we drove around until we caught the damn goose. By which I mean we did find the falls.

Smith Creek Falls, Idaho [May 2021]

Smith Creek Falls was only a few miles and a wrong turn from where Smedley said it was. And the falls were on private property marked with copious "no trespassing" signs (there was even a big one on the bridge in the scene above; I cropped it out) so we admired them from the shoulder of the road.

I've written before that sometimes wrong turns can be serendipitous. In losing one thing and seeking to find it, sometimes we find another, too. Today we found, and enjoyed, this view of the Kootenai River valley:

Kootenai River Valley - Idaho, US & British Columbia, CA [May 2021]

By the way, the left edge of the picture above is Canada. I mentioned we were close to the border... that's how close we were.

Our plans for the rest of the day are all well south of the border so we drove back down to Bonners Ferry. It was a good time for lunch, anyway, and Bonners Ferry is the first town of any size.

While noshing on barely tolerable burgers at a local joint with a nice outdoors table I was amused by this view across the street:

Gas is cheap-- to us Californians-- in Idaho [May 2021]

Yes, it's just a gas station. But the price is under $3 per gallon! And it's not just this one station; it's most of them. Meanwhile, back in California, the cheapest discount stations near home are about $3.79/gal and the name-brand stores are all over $4.


canyonwalker: My other car is a pair of hiking boots (in beauty I walk)
Inland Empire Travelog #7
Almost Canada, Idaho - Sat, 15 May 2021. 10:30am.

This morning we've driven up from Bonners Ferry, Idaho to almost the Canadian border. We're so close to the border that our phones are pinging off cell towers in Canada and helpfully telling us that we're now roaming internationally. Memo to self: fight with Verizon next week to get these stupid international roaming charges removed.

What are we doing here? Hiking to a waterfall, of course. In this case, Copper Creek Falls. It's one of the tallest waterfalls in Idaho, with a drop of over 100 feet.

Copper Creek Falls, Idaho [May 2021]

A short but steep trail led up from an ill marked trailhead on a dirt and gravel forest service road. On the flip side, the benefit of being way out here in booger country (as one of our favorite outdoors authors memorably calls it) is that we have it to ourselves. Ah, solitude! We enjoyed the trail and lingered at the viewpoint with nobody else around. Coming from crowded California that's quite a change of pace!

Alas nothing lasts forever, not even solitude in booger country. As we returned to the trailhead two other sets of people had just arrived in their cars.

"How did you find this place?" they wanted to know.

"Probably the same way as you, dumbass," I thought as I said something polite instead. I mentioned The Very Dull (and Frequently Erroneous) Book of Waterfalls... though this time it had steered us right.


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