Ray's House of Love (Volume II)

Oh I love Hiking ... Went on a 20K hike last Saturday. It was spectacular. I live in Calgary and we are about an hour away from Banff. We did a hike on Citadel Ridge that takes you right to the continental divide. The end is the border between Alberta and British Columbia. All the wildflowers were in full bloom and I got some amazing pics. The only bad thing were the flocks of black flies.
I am so glad that I live so close to the mountain's. There are tons of great hikes.

Maryn said:

20K might well kill me, unless it was fairly level. I've done 14K on an easy path and could have gone farther. But "ridge" makes me think I'd end up in a shallow grave near the trail. Take my water and the spare socks!

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I once hiked 27 miles in a day. Wearing cheap rubber boots.

But I was 17 then. These days, 2.7 miles is pushing my limit. And that's only because I keep (more or less) in condition. Another 45 pounds, and I'm there.

20K might well kill me, unless it was fairly level. I've done 14K on an easy path and could have gone farther. But "ridge" makes me think I'd end up in a shallow grave near the trail. Take my water and the spare socks!

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Yup ... there was some killer inclines. I am a work out spaz so this wasn't tough for me but some of my mates got half way and wanted to be left there to die. It was the fear of bear or cougar attack's that got them moving again. If I could figure out how to add a picture, I would.

Maryn said:

1. Find a free photo-hosting site. These include PhotoBucket, Flickr, and Imageshack.us.

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I'm fond of imgur.com which is possibly the easiest to use of any free website for photo hosting. For instance, this is a photo of me after finishing one of my all night writing stints:
http://i.imgur.com/aFBSK.jpg

sneakysnail said:

I am a work out spaz so this wasn't tough for me but some of my mates got half way and wanted to be left there to die.

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We've had an unusually high mortality rate in the desert this year. 'Being left to die' takes on real meaning when young, fit hikers let themselves get dehydrated and turn up their toes on the trail, hours before the day has reached full heat. Most of them are tourists in their 20s who don't understand the effects of 5% humidity on the amount of water you lose every hour.

During our summer, real Tucsonans stay home in the AC and swill beer from sunrise until two hours after sunset.

Humidity of five percent? That sounds heavenly compared to what I'm accustomed to but evidently it is not as great as I imagine it to be. Humidity here can run over ninety percent.

Komnena said:

Humidity of five percent? That sounds heavenly compared to what I'm accustomed to but evidently it is not as great as I imagine it to be. Humidity here can run over ninety percent.

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That's why people can tolerate more heat here, not necessarily realizing that the reason they can prance about when it's 100 F is because they're sweating like Niagara Falls, but it's evaporating instantly. So they dehydrate without realizing it. Dehydration isn't the same as thirst; you don't really have a sense for it.

Basically, what you do is drink enough water to keep your wizz running pale; otherwise you're not getting enough.

Maryn said:

I have how-to on pictures somewhere. Let me hunt a minute...

Pfft, I don't see it, so I'll wing it.

1. Find a free photo-hosting site. These include PhotoBucket, Flickr, and Imageshack.us.

2. On your own computer, find the image you want to share. Re-size it if needed so it's no larger than about 400 x 400.

3. Upload the (resized) image to the host website.

4. Find the picture you just uploaded and copy the URL for Direct Link to Image or similar. Leave this window or tab open, just in case.

5. Type your post here at AbsoluteWrite. When you get to the part where you want to put the image, type {img}http://directlinkurl.jpg{/img}, except replace the curly brackets with [this kind].

6. Preview your post, making sure the image shows and isn't gigantic. Adjust accordingly. If it doesn't show, try a different code from the others offered at the image hosting site.

7. Bask in the praise of others who have never hiked where you do.

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Maryn, thank you so!
Clear as mud!

there is a thread about it to in the FAQ section. I know, I made dpatsero make it a sticky.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83938

Howdy everyone!

So I made cookies last night. SOmetimes I am super sore all over after doing things like that. But I have new slippers that are supportive and I took breaks while the cookies were in the oven instead of cleaning then asked hubby to help clean after we watched a movie. Which he did. So I can do stuff if I pace myself. Oh and the cookies were good. Alas I've given them away to college students - well I did keep a few.

Well, I tried my best to follow the photobucket procedure when I tried to share some great snowy owl pix from a B.C. beach near here. It's the interface with AW that defeated me. So, yesterday's Mt. Baker pix will just have to be content to go on Facebook and emails. sorry HOL.
The hike was about 8 miles (13 k) with an 1100 foot ascent to start, dropping into some small lakes (frankly, my dear, I don't give a tarn) and then up another 800 ft to get to Artist Point. We aren't humidity-challenged like the desert dwellers so all my companion and I had to do is lug our aging muscles and joints up those grades. Worst was the snowfields--we didn't bring crampons! Still, nice to avoid the summer "heat"--Seattle hit 88 yesterday while the M's best pitcher was throwing a perfect game, and our town was mid-80s. More summer coming: I volunteered to pour at a beer festival in Everett this Saturday when it gets over 90. We'll know the Arizonans; they won't be wilting. Trevor

Morning, everybody.

Hi Komnena!

Thanks for the explanation, DangerousBill.
I guess heat is heat whatever the humidity.

dangerousbill said:

That's why people can tolerate more heat here, not necessarily realizing that the reason they can prance about when it's 100 F is because they're sweating like Niagara Falls, but it's evaporating instantly. So they dehydrate without realizing it. Dehydration isn't the same as thirst; you don't really have a sense for it.

Basically, what you do is drink enough water to keep your wizz running pale; otherwise you're not getting enough.

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And it appears Arizona officials are doing all they can to make sure folks stay hydrated...yeah, right. http://www.naturalnews.com/036859_permits_charity_water.html

Albuquerque is amazing. The energy is palpable.

Russ Mars said:

And it appears Arizona officials are doing all they can to make sure folks stay hydrated...yeah, right. http://www.naturalnews.com/036859_permits_charity_water.html

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Phoenix isn't Arizona. It's a giant festering tumor in the middle of the state, a foul nest of selfish conservatives who watch Fox News and hate Mexicans.

In Tucson and some other towns, the police carry water in their cars in summer, which they hand out to the homeless and others on request. So will most storekeepers and others. In fact, there's a law in Arizona that you cannot refuse a drink of water to someone who asks for it. I carry cold water in my own car, which I hand to people who sell newspapers at intersections.
http://www.stupidlaws.com/it-is-unlawful-to-refuse-a-person-a-glass-of-water/

(Not a tourism advocate for Phoenix.)

Maryn said:

And people wonder aloud why I insist we will not return to Arizona when we retire in a few years.

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If I were retiring today instead of eight years ago, I might have chosen differently, too. However, Tucson was probably the best choice we could have made.

Phoenix, on the other hand, was never on the list.