tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13529727688566567832024-03-05T07:36:29.805-08:00thediscerninghoboTales of treachery, deceit and white trash adventuresJoshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.comBlogger304125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-37492200323745174302016-09-05T17:16:00.000-07:002016-09-05T17:16:57.526-07:00Kicking Hippies or what to look for in rubber bootsI have spent a very significant portion of my life in knee high, rubber boots. Sure, there are some Alaskan fisherman that live in them, but I doubt that many people have walked around in rubber boots more than I have.<br />
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Growing up in the mountains of NC, black rubber boots were pretty much all we wore all summer long.<br />
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Working on dairy and hog operations in NZ and in Kentucky? Black rubber boots.</div>
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Field work in in irrigated crop fields. Rubber boots. </div>
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In more recent years, CX races and Boundary Waters trips in October necessitated knee high boots, and my go to was the venerable Burley from Lacrosse. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fall is the best time to be in the BWCA. You just need some tall boots for the portages</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have been known to roll with boots to more formal occasions.</td></tr>
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Pretty comfortable and plenty warm for MN winter use, The Burley is a great boot. My only gripe with it is that they are heavy and do not give you much traction.<br />
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So it came a a big surprise to me this year when I bought a new pair of rubber boots that really blew me a away.</div>
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The <a href="http://www.irishsetterboots.com/USD/product/hunting-boots/04892-17-pull-on-mobu-infty-wp">Rutmaster RPM</a> is the most comfortable boot I have ever worn. There are made from a Croc like material and have a raised mesh interior that keeps you cool. The biggest plus is how light these boots are. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the mud stuck in the tread pushes them over the 3.5 lb mark.</td></tr>
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Clean, they are less than 3.5 pounds for a pair. Thats half of what my Lacrosse Burleys weigh. When we are scouting irrigated fields we cover between 5-10 miles per day on foot.Light boots mean less hip and knee pain at the end of the day. The RPMs also have a pretty aggressive tread, so you are not sliding around in the mud.</div>
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My biggest gripe is that they are camo. </div>
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They are on clearance at Gander Mountain store (not online :( ) for under $100 dollars.</div>
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I do not think that they will see much use during the depths of MN winter, but for covering big miles during the summer, fall portages in the BWCA or <a href="http://deathrideradventure.blogspot.com/2015/12/november-rides.html">navigating a sewer tour</a>, these are some pretty great shit kickers.</div>
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Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-82328484884709612712016-07-17T19:23:00.000-07:002016-07-17T19:46:35.155-07:00Touring with ButchThis past winter, Brent and I hatched a plan to take a week long bike tour leaving from the twin cities and a returning under our own power. We had kicked around some routes but I ended up plotting out a trip up to Duluth and up the North Shore then back down through the Chequamegon. It was a pretty ambitious route by my standards, and it was a learning experience for me, as I have never gone on a bikepacking trip with someone that is touring.<br />
This is a key point. Butch was touring, and was prone to go on 60 minute vision quests while I sit a the cafe or bar in town, wondering where the heck Butch is? Then he shows up with a tale of a Swedish wood carver explaining his craft and lamenting tourists. We drink beers and then proceed. Nothing wrong with it, we just never discussed the the details of how and where we would ride. As such, my mileage expectations were unrealistic (even for me).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butch built this troll about 10 hours before we started. 1x10 with 2.5 hookworms and slime tubes. He would put some Duluth Pack Panniers on it when we hit Duluth.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I rode a Ventana El Comandante with an ovalized 1x11 drivetrain. Arch Ex with Bontrager rubber. zero flats. Bontrager tires are like the Shimano of the tire world. Not the lightest, most supple or the flashiest. Just high quality and consistent. </td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">We left the St Paul on Monday morning and headed out of town on the Gateway Trail, then headed north along the MN side of the St. Croix. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Redwing Rd. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Wild River SP. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Government Rd. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Ticked off miles until we started to have some storms. Luckily, Zach and Ike at <a href="http://www.treasuredhavenfarm.com/">Treasured Haven Farm</a> were kind enough to let us take shelter in their produce washing shed. They deliver organic CSA shares to Minneapolis! Check them out!</span><br />
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After the first series of storms blew through, we jumped back on the bikes and motored into Pine City. Dinner at Chubbys and watched the radar. Decided to seek out some more solid shelter given the nature of the storms that were predicted.<br />
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Baseball dugout fit the bill (thanks for the idea Morgan!). We were kept awake for much of the night as storm after storm rolled over us (or maybe it was Butch snoring?). Quite the light show.<br />
It rained like a cow peeing on a flat rock. All night.<br />
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In the morning, we rolled into Hinckley for some vittles and it became apparent just how much it rained overnight. The reports started rolling in. Eight inches. Ten inches. Fourteen inches. There was standing water everywhere.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Section roads usually looked like this</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only spot that the rain got the best of the Munger Trail.</td></tr>
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Luckily we were taking the Munger Trail north so I was not worried about the water since rail beds tend to be engineered to a higher standard than roads. This proved true as we hit Willow River. Lots of ATVs using the trail as a means to get from one side of town to another.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proceeds to crush can on forehead</td></tr>
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We blasted our way into Jay Cook SP and hung out by the river with with some locals that had long boarded 9 miles carrying a bottle of Schnapps. GEDs, manufacturing jobs (MN still has them!), and the utility of a good lighter were discussed as we got our Huckleberry Finn on with these dudes.<br />
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Butch got skunked in Duluth as Frost River and Bent Paddle were closed, but bought some Panniers at Duluth Pack store while I took a nap by the harbor. Managed not to run over anyone on the lake side trail. What a mess, from a navigational and transportation standpoint. Once we got north a bit we knew it was time to find some flat ground and get horizontal. Fire. Shore. ZZZZs<br />
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The next day, we decided to make it a recreational day. Big tail winds saw us to Gooseberry for a Lake Superior spa day.<br />
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It was like something out of a Hemingway story. All we were lacking was to roast a goat and drink new wine out of a skin.<br />
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Instead we ate sardines and drank #merica.<br />
Refreshed, we rolled on to Silver Bay via the Gitchigumee and some ATV trails.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOVJQFimz8ydNtncNIWpZyZ_ps7nEhfaD0JHhwPm480v45ajzi_DTRAk44Bx35gWmj_qyk5bmTkPiK67zGl0ieBMhpaNskElqLcrXXNBq-FnKaf052YNzvxdx4gq2-kvSvHYFAsCGnzs/s1600/20160714_081714%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOVJQFimz8ydNtncNIWpZyZ_ps7nEhfaD0JHhwPm480v45ajzi_DTRAk44Bx35gWmj_qyk5bmTkPiK67zGl0ieBMhpaNskElqLcrXXNBq-FnKaf052YNzvxdx4gq2-kvSvHYFAsCGnzs/s320/20160714_081714%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moosewalking</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvozTPfy-VQ4Rc3HG0rfqrVJLC_kxY8dutRJsBgvhpssh8ZjqMD1oL0B6wmz2yLwYvOHnbnzFHthpMS4P5-anidZNAIm_EZ099re6w-U3cLhBbzVU_JetJ8woq3kBzni2QXiFwXzw3Xi8/s1600/20160714_082522%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvozTPfy-VQ4Rc3HG0rfqrVJLC_kxY8dutRJsBgvhpssh8ZjqMD1oL0B6wmz2yLwYvOHnbnzFHthpMS4P5-anidZNAIm_EZ099re6w-U3cLhBbzVU_JetJ8woq3kBzni2QXiFwXzw3Xi8/s320/20160714_082522%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approved</td></tr>
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Deathrider Chalet put a roof over our heads for the evening (thanks Josh!). Did some recon and route finding and decided to curtail our northerly route in favor of some south shore exploring.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ud6MnKjXtbcwMSfRuswYocV8cDERcTqKiqhF-SYUfjGS7ZMRQCL0XNTaOLRheDne_8sAaL1HY3RU_FEci4eDikRJiLH1EOZMp7ARrX1cmRbLsv05EWYmCw0ZzpXlNpB248XIO6_Qkfo/s1600/IMG_5323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ud6MnKjXtbcwMSfRuswYocV8cDERcTqKiqhF-SYUfjGS7ZMRQCL0XNTaOLRheDne_8sAaL1HY3RU_FEci4eDikRJiLH1EOZMp7ARrX1cmRbLsv05EWYmCw0ZzpXlNpB248XIO6_Qkfo/s320/IMG_5323.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a dump.....Seriously this is by the solid waste facility</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21PSgRpdej9UNItgpFLKXEZ7tDRuL_3zHBZYzkOod2Be-ekCiFw8rJ-0e2518ZhLTCBRl_ykl2_xAX4InLLspBfxD5LSZh3aki3LAtNhSEgjx4wPBp1ltwWecorbpz-MlRT5yM5oXll0/s1600/IMG_5324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21PSgRpdej9UNItgpFLKXEZ7tDRuL_3zHBZYzkOod2Be-ekCiFw8rJ-0e2518ZhLTCBRl_ykl2_xAX4InLLspBfxD5LSZh3aki3LAtNhSEgjx4wPBp1ltwWecorbpz-MlRT5yM5oXll0/s320/IMG_5324.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The next day we rolled all the way back to Duluth so Butch could hit up Frost River and Bent Paddle. I also got to witness this pokemon thing. Every schmuck with a phone was standing on the bike path looking at their phone like a zombie. Not sure how I feel about this.<br />
Upon exiting Frost River, I was rushed and embraced by a wild eyed, bearded man, who turned out to be ALVIN! Alvin is a fellow Nebraskan that works for OB up in Ely, and we got to also meet his fiancee, Alexia, over beers and Russ Kendall smoked fish and cheese. Divine.<br />
<br />
Sated, we rolled the Dicky Bong (I can't make this stuff up!) across the St Louis river and into Superior, WI. Tri-County Corridor to Brule. Exhaustion set in and we ended up sleeping under a sign that said, "No Overnight Camping". (Sorry)<br />
<br />
The next morning we rolled the dice, and let Google pick a cycling route from Brule to Danbury. Holy Buckets! If I had been on a road bike I would have wanted to kill myself, but 2.4's were the ticket. We destroyed 60 miles of ATV trail and sand roads in an incredibly remote part of northern WI. I saw two bears, some Badgers, and all sorts of critters.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotFwU1Ey-BTF74NYtUzjW4Lb3N8xW4Lxu2c6ZwyX_rATOMA_mdstIWKgd6_J6QhXkJH2ql-bjtrs2ZM6ZCaLqP8XmVL5YKcqIiR2pR-Ojq1h6fOL_-tc8Xx6mISAHwh3-22BnCjie9Dk/s1600/IMG_5352%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotFwU1Ey-BTF74NYtUzjW4Lb3N8xW4Lxu2c6ZwyX_rATOMA_mdstIWKgd6_J6QhXkJH2ql-bjtrs2ZM6ZCaLqP8XmVL5YKcqIiR2pR-Ojq1h6fOL_-tc8Xx6mISAHwh3-22BnCjie9Dk/s320/IMG_5352%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Once we hit Gordon (its on the way to your vacation?) we laid in some provisions at the only store in town. We set up shop on the bench out front of the store, and served as a constant source of olfactory amusement for tourists with Illinois plates. I would have killed to have had a knife and a over-ripe <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian">durian</a> at this point. Instead we ate twizzlers and drank Bent Paddle. It was 10am.<br />
Telling you man, Hemingway.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOFJwyKjiBlPr0GQUYsDb-aAl11YnKp-XuLsHuO1caAEn16g3CREAOj3K38XnzsAx4oYfCM9jN7VFi_x26j6vfVz8OZvTzzYz6OvGcFQu4LJMFAZoYVMuqhiAa12VQET_NwFt4J8Oogc/s1600/IMG_5357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOFJwyKjiBlPr0GQUYsDb-aAl11YnKp-XuLsHuO1caAEn16g3CREAOj3K38XnzsAx4oYfCM9jN7VFi_x26j6vfVz8OZvTzzYz6OvGcFQu4LJMFAZoYVMuqhiAa12VQET_NwFt4J8Oogc/s320/IMG_5357.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last section of the sand roads was pretty tough as the head wind and heat started to ramp up. Finally popped out on Hwy 35 and headed for the first shady looking (literally and figuratively) bar for some relief.<br />
I feel like taking a moment to point something out. In Wisconsin small towns, all places that serve food are bars. The only establishments that only serve food are either schools or daycare centers. So when I say we stopped at the bar, I mean that we also got food with our drinks. Don't want ya'll getting the wrong idea.<br />
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From Danbury, we Gandy Danced our way to Luck before exhaustion set in. Crashed in trailside shelter knowing that we had a 20 mile pull to get to <a href="http://www.thewatershedcafe.com/">Watershed Cafe in Osceola</a>. In the AM I was a man on a mission. Raged down the Gandy then cruised "S" into Osceola. Hit Watershed right after the doors opened. Downed liter of coffee, double stack of waffles (with real maple syrup!), eggs, hashbrowns, toast and Sausage. Fact. Best 20 dollars you can spend. You are free to disagree with me, but you will still be wrong.<br />
Then it was back to the cities. All told, we knocked out over 500 miles in 6 days. Had a great time exploring this area. Here are a few takeaways should you consider a similar trip:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Start in Hinkley. It cuts 2 days of gratuitous travel time off your trip, and you still get to experience all of the Munger Trail which is SWEET! </li>
<li>Roll the widest tire your bike will clear. Always.</li>
<li>Don't drink crappy beer.</li>
<li>We never paid to camp anywhere, but this comes with its own set of perils. You will setup camp in the dark and be on the road as soon as the sun is up (unless you want that vagrancy/trespassing ticket for instant skid row cred). I rarely spend money on lodging unless its really crappy out and it benefits my mental health. </li>
<li>Don't be all racer Boi like me. Find a partner that will get you to stop and smell the roses....or at least drink all the local beer.</li>
</ul>
Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-6173184630767122572016-02-14T07:29:00.000-08:002016-02-14T07:29:00.217-08:00BWCA Late SeasonOctober 1st is the best time of the year. It marks free range in the BWCA. You still have to fill out a permit, but its at the entry point and there are no fees this time of year. It essentially means that you have a month to look at the weather, and pick a stretch that looks like nice weather and then head up.<br />
It also means that there are no bugs and not many people.<br />
The downside, its pretty chilly, the fishing is marginal, and you have to portage in knee boots.<br />
<br />
The Stampers, the Johnsons, and the Brohaughs and a pack of 6 man-children set up base camp not too far past Lake 1 in Ely. And for 3 days, did nothing but cut wood, cook, eat, and make merry.<br />
This is that story in images:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWG04TS3RZPptiIG8MRcaahR1xyQ7lgOWu-ZMuPTFUNTrCICqdWmQuzxYTBlB_XCsznva1DsY2aLAOpaeR4ZsR1skdFy5rMTcn_5YoNc9EvzyCe0kRyyTXxQ_hAQnNg9Q4Aci-mFkU0H0/s1600/20151017_105453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWG04TS3RZPptiIG8MRcaahR1xyQ7lgOWu-ZMuPTFUNTrCICqdWmQuzxYTBlB_XCsznva1DsY2aLAOpaeR4ZsR1skdFy5rMTcn_5YoNc9EvzyCe0kRyyTXxQ_hAQnNg9Q4Aci-mFkU0H0/s640/20151017_105453.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Blue Steel, Griffin, Blue Steel"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-EQV4Vi4AlNO56jC_4ym_WmTTxyj2mWNlCNweH1YIf3mPs68PdaJC9RFv18vMjRcUIhUIdBPsBfuGnCPU2A0FlUgD7ZlqjXtW55s5d44lJPRFMv1azcQ_TMp_GErzJmqmi9Jb4DCMoBI/s1600/IMG_0494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-EQV4Vi4AlNO56jC_4ym_WmTTxyj2mWNlCNweH1YIf3mPs68PdaJC9RFv18vMjRcUIhUIdBPsBfuGnCPU2A0FlUgD7ZlqjXtW55s5d44lJPRFMv1azcQ_TMp_GErzJmqmi9Jb4DCMoBI/s320/IMG_0494.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Griffin is stoked on the camp vibes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpohEQahldOowR5vqpsh4ZJpqkW2LZddDSOdgAvJoBDQfWAExrHRog0t0dWE3HV9z98yc0kwdYijbM14zcF5XP33M2O8_f0dzP6byVTtEtK_3wQs-m2zLp9kfjm4WD38me4BmNUtRBEbY/s1600/IMG_0498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpohEQahldOowR5vqpsh4ZJpqkW2LZddDSOdgAvJoBDQfWAExrHRog0t0dWE3HV9z98yc0kwdYijbM14zcF5XP33M2O8_f0dzP6byVTtEtK_3wQs-m2zLp9kfjm4WD38me4BmNUtRBEbY/s320/IMG_0498.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Since it was pretty chilly we spent a lot of time around the stove and feeding the fire.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQBOxX_eWisnrRMPdm0QGOlbNSlrdrISXM-ephbPf2o86XUDvsoB9J1i366qcq4kb_H-rEU9DxSAH8_UxSMunQWu7ox-GyKaZc4a6yPUoRwfHKQ8ykDTs9RzFBuABZTA2SxkOJmFMBJE/s1600/IMG_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQBOxX_eWisnrRMPdm0QGOlbNSlrdrISXM-ephbPf2o86XUDvsoB9J1i366qcq4kb_H-rEU9DxSAH8_UxSMunQWu7ox-GyKaZc4a6yPUoRwfHKQ8ykDTs9RzFBuABZTA2SxkOJmFMBJE/s320/IMG_0505.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butch in his element</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWIvY4rXk0WFUj8Tl06Tbd1sZvqe9s6wQ-EDL40VF2xdHHSvOR91tlkTc7lbCMbUlZyaU_Ccm-pxzLvOGoBKV8Gzv1lIC_0Mt9AXJDzpxYi-_SRgOSvKLJLlnVCzYqgmKaNFBg7VitX8/s1600/IMG_0515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWIvY4rXk0WFUj8Tl06Tbd1sZvqe9s6wQ-EDL40VF2xdHHSvOR91tlkTc7lbCMbUlZyaU_Ccm-pxzLvOGoBKV8Gzv1lIC_0Mt9AXJDzpxYi-_SRgOSvKLJLlnVCzYqgmKaNFBg7VitX8/s320/IMG_0515.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I also have admit that the bushcraft of Paul Brohaugh blew me away. That dude camps on a whole other level. I felt like a tenderfoot several times. If nothing else, he showed me the magic of cornmeal in pancake batter. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1r6MmAPcOC9IlYFowgErlXDoIiRc28Xv2zieJ8IBLqkJEBDadCWUux-I2I62ybTSuSsEGazDcyblCY4Hu1F_qev391hFzLulyoqqATHiqEHwIKf77cH3k_ndyWzKucjhEHGY1mBHQWo/s1600/IMG_0534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1r6MmAPcOC9IlYFowgErlXDoIiRc28Xv2zieJ8IBLqkJEBDadCWUux-I2I62ybTSuSsEGazDcyblCY4Hu1F_qev391hFzLulyoqqATHiqEHwIKf77cH3k_ndyWzKucjhEHGY1mBHQWo/s320/IMG_0534.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a south facing site so we caught some warm afternoon rays and we sheltered from the wind. Not quite "guns out" weather but morale stayed high despite some snow at night.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGR-tDvDMIdzuMYaJSBTFWjbrOCJ-pfEE0hT56NnLMYLBguvGW-SLaIBih3dIVCpjP9ugf5vQ6_e8X94Zpv5jO8PqtZ5domTonG5IzDJpiupUVGh0AMzlHzfg_N7ITDheSm1hkslpU8JE/s1600/IMG_0560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGR-tDvDMIdzuMYaJSBTFWjbrOCJ-pfEE0hT56NnLMYLBguvGW-SLaIBih3dIVCpjP9ugf5vQ6_e8X94Zpv5jO8PqtZ5domTonG5IzDJpiupUVGh0AMzlHzfg_N7ITDheSm1hkslpU8JE/s320/IMG_0560.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They get it from their mothers</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEmDARz7vcmBzjt15jNlJrR8rHNULgPsPA-PNB36QPLBUWtnlnFlJnqE81mFCI_c6l-1pKQRwNkeDKw_brGm-iF-vO_FVWSSOdMxNmWDRlZ4T7O0aLmJnimNQr36CgNB5jjviuFBf2TU/s1600/IMG_0565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEmDARz7vcmBzjt15jNlJrR8rHNULgPsPA-PNB36QPLBUWtnlnFlJnqE81mFCI_c6l-1pKQRwNkeDKw_brGm-iF-vO_FVWSSOdMxNmWDRlZ4T7O0aLmJnimNQr36CgNB5jjviuFBf2TU/s320/IMG_0565.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't even know what to say.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLgkRKKP68yw2XELrCUSJMsffCITfQIeBPVJnX5VsJT1Yxb0AWW-mQctamZ8Q9Rqd-FThHIEFLu7GzcLM-lKtBAPGL1Qz9bwKSa6UzMLlk_v-b9W6N2E80WdcXXZBgoIN2nIbV24MrwM/s1600/IMG_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLgkRKKP68yw2XELrCUSJMsffCITfQIeBPVJnX5VsJT1Yxb0AWW-mQctamZ8Q9Rqd-FThHIEFLu7GzcLM-lKtBAPGL1Qz9bwKSa6UzMLlk_v-b9W6N2E80WdcXXZBgoIN2nIbV24MrwM/s320/IMG_0581.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One must have a minstrel with a repertoire of several chords </td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Never disturb the wildlife when feeding.</div>
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A few observations about gear and camping with the progeny:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Get a big Boat. We rented a 3 person boat from Ely Outfitters (Thanks to Kristen and Corey Larsen, We guided together back in the early 2000's, and now they live in Ely year round). We put all the gear, two boys and a dog in it snuggly.</li>
<li>Make sure that there is plenty of food stuffs for grazing. Carb'ed man-children are happy man-children </li>
<li>Bring several saws and axes. When its cold, you will spend much time gathering firewood, and we probably would have fished a lot more if we had cut our firewood gathering time in half. </li>
<li>Have a large tarp that you can rig into a covered kitchen should the weather become inclement.</li>
<li> Don't be afraid to let the man-children maraud freely. We were on an island so there was not too much trouble they could get into. We kept the smallest in a pfd any time he was near water.</li>
</ul>
Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-87064923820713810282016-01-27T13:11:00.000-08:002016-01-27T13:22:41.527-08:00Chequamegon DeadhorseThis was a route that Patrick Ross cooked up that I think deserves to be acknowledged. Patrick is another one of the wonderful people that I have gotten to know through <a href="http://gravelconspiracy.blogspot.com/">Gravel Conspiracy</a>, and I think of him as a good friend. Its a gem of a 2 day bikepacking route that starts and ends at the OO trailhead just east of Seeley, WI and is a tour of gravel and ATV trails in the Chequamegon National Forest on the last weekend before the trails open to ATVs in the spring. Patrick has the event on FB so if you search for it there you will find it. Its definitely worth it.<br />
I drove up to OO trailhead after work and slept in the back of my car. The next morning I saw Dallas Wynne and we had breakfast<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpxCM1iTp-QoZPKcWqze3mx_98VhTbudZLk0n060BGQjyFcEHkSeoVQd1QPrvMb_wiovW-9zzvtB3imMCX5GAvK2urY7wxoECW0bBDHEBx_23P_pPJ5zu1tvuiySIirZRV2mQn4ESSBU/s1600/20150502_061459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpxCM1iTp-QoZPKcWqze3mx_98VhTbudZLk0n060BGQjyFcEHkSeoVQd1QPrvMb_wiovW-9zzvtB3imMCX5GAvK2urY7wxoECW0bBDHEBx_23P_pPJ5zu1tvuiySIirZRV2mQn4ESSBU/s320/20150502_061459.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I even brought my own country ham</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpmZwZ9P14-6Si3Nn7vLMz317DCSyBfnmySLKLaUIkptN6uiKPeFHKu73eJ4_0M7b_hX_wuD3aw3E4iqVb2NWwcrhlq9hGIqVZRuEHhkxxq_1wdx1RbbeAZvnW8Vsw5KgIa1HJXs48rw/s1600/20150502_072909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpmZwZ9P14-6Si3Nn7vLMz317DCSyBfnmySLKLaUIkptN6uiKPeFHKu73eJ4_0M7b_hX_wuD3aw3E4iqVb2NWwcrhlq9hGIqVZRuEHhkxxq_1wdx1RbbeAZvnW8Vsw5KgIa1HJXs48rw/s320/20150502_072909.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All saddled up and ready to roll (Lto R: Dallas Wynne, Joshua Stamper, Keith Kowalsky, Patrick Ross) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlzjfjrjiaH_FhR5ym6IO10WZzB2Rlc917J5Oa5fFIf-HDL6msn5UtVg-u07MRwc2i5KDz_qxLuUt6gzls8kSjMYKLlV2jt9Owvjd266wq5gFK1nKsS5brVI7EbvyhyphenhyphenfgZYkdOz2-nBM/s1600/20150502_090507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlzjfjrjiaH_FhR5ym6IO10WZzB2Rlc917J5Oa5fFIf-HDL6msn5UtVg-u07MRwc2i5KDz_qxLuUt6gzls8kSjMYKLlV2jt9Owvjd266wq5gFK1nKsS5brVI7EbvyhyphenhyphenfgZYkdOz2-nBM/s320/20150502_090507.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golf course in the middle of no where. Only John Waller will grasp the significance of why I stopped here, and what I intended to do</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGTIDOxCvFXpmvGAP-xHF_zQ_K8jbwC5VGTApcyxDE41mE5QWFuH7-22Eve_qDbRWpaRK889GRbkSqjee5eoEc43tXstgUPmUuMSorREp6X8hjNqpfcUwZd_hd6JypDAjvztYfUCI8tw/s1600/Cheq+bike+pack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGTIDOxCvFXpmvGAP-xHF_zQ_K8jbwC5VGTApcyxDE41mE5QWFuH7-22Eve_qDbRWpaRK889GRbkSqjee5eoEc43tXstgUPmUuMSorREp6X8hjNqpfcUwZd_hd6JypDAjvztYfUCI8tw/s320/Cheq+bike+pack.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was pretty cool to be able to see the CNF without it being either a tunnel of green or a sheet of ice. Photo cred: Patrick</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
We stopped in Clam lake at about the 40 mile point to lay in some more supplies, and to have lunch (ie pilfer salt and pepper for dinner), then we boosted. And by supplies, I mean that I bought a 14 oz boneless ribeye, a tallboy of Bud, and a pound of twizzlers. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3bQZymKXvbMWNdDJVukOjZ99-yDOMSDM5ItqPnuOyh3H96aruuYQqE-DeXyvyJSs_fI0b_d-5xXrrCOBvFn1PDF1ifwWJjP1U3yi0ADAj0btD1ntPDMCiZSVGapN3YwgaOTM3MMTQtY/s1600/20150502_102857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3bQZymKXvbMWNdDJVukOjZ99-yDOMSDM5ItqPnuOyh3H96aruuYQqE-DeXyvyJSs_fI0b_d-5xXrrCOBvFn1PDF1ifwWJjP1U3yi0ADAj0btD1ntPDMCiZSVGapN3YwgaOTM3MMTQtY/s320/20150502_102857.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where I discovered that all my chainring bolts were loose.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Last 40 miles for the day ticked of easily. Then it was time for a Chippewa river swim to freshen up, and prepare dinner</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBDleFyuJEQvUqxj4p4rGfJbUylCvu7S_A121aT-5og5twXWNDNU3hXc8zu9uUXFCdSXGQJIbcAhQt-9-iyo4PRbOR7bzwZRi7qa9d1y_haerrUqCz8UajcwtxFQ2aP563slWsTh15RE/s1600/20150502_193155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBDleFyuJEQvUqxj4p4rGfJbUylCvu7S_A121aT-5og5twXWNDNU3hXc8zu9uUXFCdSXGQJIbcAhQt-9-iyo4PRbOR7bzwZRi7qa9d1y_haerrUqCz8UajcwtxFQ2aP563slWsTh15RE/s320/20150502_193155.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main course that night. D-Dub lounges like a lion on the savannah. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdMS82FwFJLvNKIVbWjkXBiZDbZw3bkG522dhaVBW8Zkg7-pihFPsL242U606Hy_ZjWnPHjGc5SxiudVkh77OB13g8kr0kMyX2AdHrj1DmJsSuDPrZG1PiUbA_iDKUVq5C4wEWgOnBOg/s1600/20150503_054153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdMS82FwFJLvNKIVbWjkXBiZDbZw3bkG522dhaVBW8Zkg7-pihFPsL242U606Hy_ZjWnPHjGc5SxiudVkh77OB13g8kr0kMyX2AdHrj1DmJsSuDPrZG1PiUbA_iDKUVq5C4wEWgOnBOg/s320/20150503_054153.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In a bivy, down by the river!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIfN5Xtmo_zXL9VqroAcN12Xw9uvKjX302Rsm2_NPO68iAyDd9dAXgf9ap92rS8fwhscF1xauDuBfxbAmvmgMnKuNJc3QJoA5WoFm2Hm6Q6EJsUWZF6yiZXALS1SWJOSZy35i4AkM9k8/s1600/20150503_072422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIfN5Xtmo_zXL9VqroAcN12Xw9uvKjX302Rsm2_NPO68iAyDd9dAXgf9ap92rS8fwhscF1xauDuBfxbAmvmgMnKuNJc3QJoA5WoFm2Hm6Q6EJsUWZF6yiZXALS1SWJOSZy35i4AkM9k8/s320/20150503_072422.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't call me, I will call you.</td></tr>
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The next morning we rolled about 10 miles to head into Winter for some vittles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpvbBmUXWV336l1KJQixG7Nd6AtyDSXHgU3l4515OCPZoVkh5B94ewVu8OSwSHq0M8KNiXkmxp4rnCH2M1_YGPhN-m9PMJA3JmKeyVXE62Ox1qVNY68rpNgxsGREjC5YL-7Vc5Yx6bKk/s1600/20150503_083757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpvbBmUXWV336l1KJQixG7Nd6AtyDSXHgU3l4515OCPZoVkh5B94ewVu8OSwSHq0M8KNiXkmxp4rnCH2M1_YGPhN-m9PMJA3JmKeyVXE62Ox1qVNY68rpNgxsGREjC5YL-7Vc5Yx6bKk/s320/20150503_083757.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WE got to Wendy and Joes before they opened so I changed a slow leak. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGUv9vHADZ9XldtxU8Fm_1NjIZEwIOfbLqu9moW1CXkuyK4cT8DHd5ccaQ-ReuwbsjU_I4BNDEbd9WddXRLooXjyXpWCP440JpZjaeLF8PGlXTYg_PJ7yJJgD4V7ksqkKsa5YA-z775M/s1600/20150503_102244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGUv9vHADZ9XldtxU8Fm_1NjIZEwIOfbLqu9moW1CXkuyK4cT8DHd5ccaQ-ReuwbsjU_I4BNDEbd9WddXRLooXjyXpWCP440JpZjaeLF8PGlXTYg_PJ7yJJgD4V7ksqkKsa5YA-z775M/s320/20150503_102244.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">D-Dub revelling in the glory of the day.</td></tr>
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Then the day got a little more interesting. we navigated some blowdown and forded the creek. I would later create a strava section through here called "cackles maniacally" <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXzwBSKQsbtCreDiTt4LUU7j56Hx5ZQAOcV30nMyvog_vhPlW-KOz_HscfvVm9WVIioO-6ToAv9aX4H96N_UD66-GkEY1_efuth31nqScCwGXjJTeampnaJPbFkbvlVKXHxHBK0XIx2uU/s1600/20150503_113425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXzwBSKQsbtCreDiTt4LUU7j56Hx5ZQAOcV30nMyvog_vhPlW-KOz_HscfvVm9WVIioO-6ToAv9aX4H96N_UD66-GkEY1_efuth31nqScCwGXjJTeampnaJPbFkbvlVKXHxHBK0XIx2uU/s320/20150503_113425.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dallas is pumped</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3RfXW033xY5AJWnT2dMz5WLf_W-8Yv0NArtyi7GS1EHHgp8z23IizZN6mQzFzaY_90d12AcNVI5xcQ6Pa6qn6AT0FiG9Ujw0fR9CyH8vKSPR9qk6zPeavfjX4g-Zv3VvDV0dG_haIHM/s1600/20150503_114842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3RfXW033xY5AJWnT2dMz5WLf_W-8Yv0NArtyi7GS1EHHgp8z23IizZN6mQzFzaY_90d12AcNVI5xcQ6Pa6qn6AT0FiG9Ujw0fR9CyH8vKSPR9qk6zPeavfjX4g-Zv3VvDV0dG_haIHM/s320/20150503_114842.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cold therapy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnr8eOZmz6GGUt3ehgoBObhpqQp-6I7bZl2ZMY1K-A0qJ11u5rYPNKYOym1tSNyNouTmCee0iNRpxuphRq0m4ih5hFlpuhEEUHo5bADpVX_uDPykW7Gfyu4xlBM0Bl3iyZl0rcyeXOYkI/s1600/20150503_123903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnr8eOZmz6GGUt3ehgoBObhpqQp-6I7bZl2ZMY1K-A0qJ11u5rYPNKYOym1tSNyNouTmCee0iNRpxuphRq0m4ih5hFlpuhEEUHo5bADpVX_uDPykW7Gfyu4xlBM0Bl3iyZl0rcyeXOYkI/s320/20150503_123903.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gratuitous WI logging shot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsAIq5ltjznQ8_Jsj0A0qpNROFI3KdyNBtaekcwdKdP_fjtDxPKueuDn5XM4UZVp6_QaWXF3HZidX4aVVisEOPku9iBKPf0ZNtquPPFrMZjR5QAmImjBJCxCK50V8fEMXLNki6gSxK3U/s1600/Cheq+bike+pack+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsAIq5ltjznQ8_Jsj0A0qpNROFI3KdyNBtaekcwdKdP_fjtDxPKueuDn5XM4UZVp6_QaWXF3HZidX4aVVisEOPku9iBKPf0ZNtquPPFrMZjR5QAmImjBJCxCK50V8fEMXLNki6gSxK3U/s320/Cheq+bike+pack+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I totally could have done this trip without the backpack.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I heartily encourage you to checkout this route. Like fine wine, its best shared with friends.<br />
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<br />Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-73987750717952662642016-01-18T11:29:00.000-08:002016-01-18T11:30:11.280-08:00Yurts at Afton State Park or "Lets shiver in a rustic manner"<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
So this past week
Butch mentioned that he had reserved one of the yurts at Afton State Park, which
is located about 15 miles from our house in eastern Minnesota. This caught my attention because I
have been looking for some activities to do with the boys during the winter. I was
unable to find any useful information about the yurts on the DNR website
other than:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">They were available to use in
the winter for $55/night</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The yurt sleeps 7 and is
heated by a woodstove</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Firewood was supplied</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">You can't cook inside the yurt</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Then Sunday morning
Butch texts me that it is too cold to take the kids, and that he was cancelling
his reservation. So, I just had to go investigate further, to see if these yurts
were deep winter habitable by normal people.</div>
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</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BAhJQuYbaj5xkOOatJXy_xgMulRLJrg5H3VunjWmFerkpWWbnKJlg7nYc7faE41X_N2OLA8lu5A7PVDv8II78jJPOn_dvRuNBCR9hzrr55g___Yz4FpXs7tDAWLlhIFH35S2wyjkM0g/s1600/IMG_1040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BAhJQuYbaj5xkOOatJXy_xgMulRLJrg5H3VunjWmFerkpWWbnKJlg7nYc7faE41X_N2OLA8lu5A7PVDv8II78jJPOn_dvRuNBCR9hzrr55g___Yz4FpXs7tDAWLlhIFH35S2wyjkM0g/s320/IMG_1040.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I stayed in Gray Fox</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiMbPFoWJEIhSbVzxCtVThJDuu9BedUxR_S8uI7B7J5wGKfC58RT6pm2sKAs_hL0leVyTfenXeT7myR6xuZ81686GHRod9nVFEk_GQhze9iSOxCgD5ZiScNIkLU45hFpzZ0Aphsfh5ik/s1600/IMG_1033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiMbPFoWJEIhSbVzxCtVThJDuu9BedUxR_S8uI7B7J5wGKfC58RT6pm2sKAs_hL0leVyTfenXeT7myR6xuZ81686GHRod9nVFEk_GQhze9iSOxCgD5ZiScNIkLU45hFpzZ0Aphsfh5ik/s320/IMG_1033.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fire that puppy up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXI5nN3LJX-LwQnBlwMTPTeCd2JAR0zx5sdt3P-Hw2JA8cNsGO3hZy3UkLiJ1fUscRK1nTUaeQxpCsXlbvddoR97HcGp2fDAwM271qj-XiFJnuzL8jvw1sJSMr1KPRaJg1TBJQm2-k4Rw/s1600/IMG_1034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXI5nN3LJX-LwQnBlwMTPTeCd2JAR0zx5sdt3P-Hw2JA8cNsGO3hZy3UkLiJ1fUscRK1nTUaeQxpCsXlbvddoR97HcGp2fDAwM271qj-XiFJnuzL8jvw1sJSMr1KPRaJg1TBJQm2-k4Rw/s320/IMG_1034.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temp inside when I started the fire</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmwOfIgpv2n8dRFlt9iAUpnjQ54qjcTPrj_cRdrXt8KFqOJJBkj9niTYaz51XlZ66irJXjztunhbeFhGJ-3jQzVD8wvEn4-lKs6G3Aji14WnKZYgFl2krgUl1wZk9rQyfw0YlEI8mYrU/s1600/IMG_1037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmwOfIgpv2n8dRFlt9iAUpnjQ54qjcTPrj_cRdrXt8KFqOJJBkj9niTYaz51XlZ66irJXjztunhbeFhGJ-3jQzVD8wvEn4-lKs6G3Aji14WnKZYgFl2krgUl1wZk9rQyfw0YlEI8mYrU/s320/IMG_1037.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temp outside when I started the fire</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09qoJ9kl_S2ttDNjJdpLG7bVZE65dSFW2t8fP5RMYJZtmNOwBb77bbhk97ML4dWt9SLHer-RO6Tq-45ejra6Di7Fhlez8_bKUg6Cbj8H8vuQ1GDqU0UKH1FWYZystG3j6u-4SWFKZaZU/s1600/IMG_1041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09qoJ9kl_S2ttDNjJdpLG7bVZE65dSFW2t8fP5RMYJZtmNOwBb77bbhk97ML4dWt9SLHer-RO6Tq-45ejra6Di7Fhlez8_bKUg6Cbj8H8vuQ1GDqU0UKH1FWYZystG3j6u-4SWFKZaZU/s320/IMG_1041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The power of positive thinking decreases in a linear fashion as you move away from the equator.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When
I got to the Yurt at about 3pm, the temp inside was about 14F. I immediately
started a raging fire in the woodstove, and then went for a hike down along the
St. Croix. I got back around 6pm, and the yurt had only warmed up to about 25F. Once
I switched out my boots for down booties I was pretty comfortable. I
was wearing a mid wt Capilene base layer under wranglers, a wool shirt and an
insulated vest.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1JcoN6rJ_7aI33uuWUDbOeLgJsWuZdqEO3_z6u5dkyGKs8ySyHNj1uadai31vANH61O5Ud0gFoBY6q3PZdXctFJEesbxwbTw8UJ8zJEtdG-uWGPgtbsV_GO8rVmRumkG8w6Leo_HI1U/s1600/IMG_1046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1JcoN6rJ_7aI33uuWUDbOeLgJsWuZdqEO3_z6u5dkyGKs8ySyHNj1uadai31vANH61O5Ud0gFoBY6q3PZdXctFJEesbxwbTw8UJ8zJEtdG-uWGPgtbsV_GO8rVmRumkG8w6Leo_HI1U/s320/IMG_1046.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Took a hike while the yurt warmed....or tried to warm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5j6P9SGyWRMWQSlcNbhGvoVulOUkNtoMNfobf-UunPkeLeK_5vB1eWPOZoA04073ltllnI9S8CQE0ttFq604CpZt0s5agFjM4gYwx-9N90_-epkURFy2qnFV0dEgLzuFDy7xmTb8GJsM/s1600/IMG_1052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5j6P9SGyWRMWQSlcNbhGvoVulOUkNtoMNfobf-UunPkeLeK_5vB1eWPOZoA04073ltllnI9S8CQE0ttFq604CpZt0s5agFjM4gYwx-9N90_-epkURFy2qnFV0dEgLzuFDy7xmTb8GJsM/s320/IMG_1052.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had Cake lyrics stuck in my head</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIq564OrGVVUepeAMIl70hzxGS3TO2pv038_ttHw0VMcWX3Vdzjd7Rqig7woTGNiR7wXMIX7nfkcuJowl5N-nUwQ86FKkzpsSRBjsKTwAS1gRL0_uATAM3_QzJVPNLxSkaONpAD7CDOA/s1600/IMG_1059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIq564OrGVVUepeAMIl70hzxGS3TO2pv038_ttHw0VMcWX3Vdzjd7Rqig7woTGNiR7wXMIX7nfkcuJowl5N-nUwQ86FKkzpsSRBjsKTwAS1gRL0_uATAM3_QzJVPNLxSkaONpAD7CDOA/s320/IMG_1059.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The day before I made a Cassoulet, and I heated (outside!) it up over a double boiler using a Vargo alcohol stove.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMzrB10yRyKpG7lMDVpaPmKQ9tQ43XmcG0z67be5F-WGuYLtXnKPnS6R6nBQ5ZMIc__NARYzvZq8XBeepW99DZA1CPzJzILShoBFB8dUlgEjSgk_98EPFtrmISfbUTNBDa67_cCT67Ug/s1600/IMG_1069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMzrB10yRyKpG7lMDVpaPmKQ9tQ43XmcG0z67be5F-WGuYLtXnKPnS6R6nBQ5ZMIc__NARYzvZq8XBeepW99DZA1CPzJzILShoBFB8dUlgEjSgk_98EPFtrmISfbUTNBDa67_cCT67Ug/s320/IMG_1069.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtt-JAr6hFNePj3yabYLumVpKPi3-ZMrPZNuHg8RsXGi-KkJKNHsb1gYeUn_r5ej3tocftJpDkC0lxT3kQu5x7fOP0qxWKDHrxoFaCP2XU8rkV2zM1nuNZFYEdjh-5UVAyJBat14DT4sI/s1600/IMG_1071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtt-JAr6hFNePj3yabYLumVpKPi3-ZMrPZNuHg8RsXGi-KkJKNHsb1gYeUn_r5ej3tocftJpDkC0lxT3kQu5x7fOP0qxWKDHrxoFaCP2XU8rkV2zM1nuNZFYEdjh-5UVAyJBat14DT4sI/s400/IMG_1071.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nighttime falls on the hall of the dirtbag king</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRVwt-dX_sQRjkiV87oO67YCpnpa4MowvwP8B8RJbFlGlJhstO6NFLVlcNUzjp97u0CfgPB-knLI6Eu_KXmWeOrbxc3NwyGuNopHAfipGq6ODLnogBMr_PaZygFhpwDW2jlfw9wtMIlY/s1600/IMG_1082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRVwt-dX_sQRjkiV87oO67YCpnpa4MowvwP8B8RJbFlGlJhstO6NFLVlcNUzjp97u0CfgPB-knLI6Eu_KXmWeOrbxc3NwyGuNopHAfipGq6ODLnogBMr_PaZygFhpwDW2jlfw9wtMIlY/s400/IMG_1082.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before I went to bed I managed to get the yurt up to about 35 degrees F</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">The Yurt was well
apportioned. 2 sets of twin bunk beds, and another full futon bunk bed let
these yurts sleep 7, but it would get pretty tight. All the furniture had that
rough cut, northwoods style to it. The mattresses were comfortable, and while its was really cold, I slept very well in a -20F down bag. I did get up once in the middle of the night to pee and stoke the fire. (Pro tip: never go winter camping without a pee bottle)</span><br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
While I worked
pretty steady to keep the fire stoked, I was never able to get the temp in the
yurt above 35F. Maybe if I was going to be here multiple days in milder weather I could get the temp
up into the comfort range, but it seemed a struggle when it was this cold and I was the only person there. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I should also point out
that the woodstove is about half the size of anything that I have ever seen or
used. It was cute, but failed to heat the space. I was sort of surprised to see
that they insulated the flue pipe almost as soon as it exited the stove, which
usually is a significant source of heat exchange with wood stoves. I imagine that this has something to
do with safety, but I was too cold to really care. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NUmKGYfBSg0GzGZJdn1ajKnk7tAJu_vbHRopbegB1XPRk1bMreHFcNOQGBSQ2Zhn1iaZ8UeAHaYAB3ek5hgtY64oH4cR_Bki7YAK5vGTVk6T7Lhob96CmJXsJuoev3A6u_VJrWKJMu0/s1600/IMG_1086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NUmKGYfBSg0GzGZJdn1ajKnk7tAJu_vbHRopbegB1XPRk1bMreHFcNOQGBSQ2Zhn1iaZ8UeAHaYAB3ek5hgtY64oH4cR_Bki7YAK5vGTVk6T7Lhob96CmJXsJuoev3A6u_VJrWKJMu0/s320/IMG_1086.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This morning the temp in the yurt was about 10 F. Note the frozen water jug. I had to sleep with my camera batteries, and my work laptop was not happy when I started working on irrigation BMPs </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5UHvCzXqy14Jf5HGwxhaBh5JsfaJyRDeOchIv5QXMPUqYIHXIneS4j-ohTnnTwr29wRLcrWVb_vI17Z21130v2yUbY2LsmcANVo7HGTQgadvMqvyis-0BGP-U2Vjpsq-Xn8XscFWmgs/s1600/IMG_1092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5UHvCzXqy14Jf5HGwxhaBh5JsfaJyRDeOchIv5QXMPUqYIHXIneS4j-ohTnnTwr29wRLcrWVb_vI17Z21130v2yUbY2LsmcANVo7HGTQgadvMqvyis-0BGP-U2Vjpsq-Xn8XscFWmgs/s320/IMG_1092.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Which was slightly better than the temp outside.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After I heated water and got the fire going again, I went for a hike on the St Croix<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU36Zbthk27ZjRedI12kQ0a22QKlsE78c7iix7D4qo6nWoke8auVPVJ5tQCWQCjqtHAKJSufzJsXW852UT3gtnMr2GGWaJi_slGlYtPO44OAKWx1KIYvq5TNg2Rx5hvUex0GuNY2xBlHs/s1600/IMG_1094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU36Zbthk27ZjRedI12kQ0a22QKlsE78c7iix7D4qo6nWoke8auVPVJ5tQCWQCjqtHAKJSufzJsXW852UT3gtnMr2GGWaJi_slGlYtPO44OAKWx1KIYvq5TNg2Rx5hvUex0GuNY2xBlHs/s320/IMG_1094.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">looks like there was some high water at some point this winter.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJH8n6Cnxw_dkrjRnuJ6w6DOArlG01reDiEHhhbnOd7hbAk43HchilzQJDQWPtU1KIIhHC5kGdENZXyd8viFugWwJUTIzUYCr-bG34cLFTnUHVC5Cdgjg2xU8iVQycBw0VlDvLIT02sw/s1600/IMG_1096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJH8n6Cnxw_dkrjRnuJ6w6DOArlG01reDiEHhhbnOd7hbAk43HchilzQJDQWPtU1KIIhHC5kGdENZXyd8viFugWwJUTIzUYCr-bG34cLFTnUHVC5Cdgjg2xU8iVQycBw0VlDvLIT02sw/s320/IMG_1096.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hog drops</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gGQp7ninkNblj8xeteOkCPPgIMFbXaFROZZ1WhCfj19ghywTy3QC7L_1VKpxkDFCptHg8AttLaEx0dGzbbek0EyAMSOzJgdiGJeXsWeXZ0mtEu7OZ1f9EDi5GWU6x3SxTYTb6S4wVTs/s1600/IMG_1098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gGQp7ninkNblj8xeteOkCPPgIMFbXaFROZZ1WhCfj19ghywTy3QC7L_1VKpxkDFCptHg8AttLaEx0dGzbbek0EyAMSOzJgdiGJeXsWeXZ0mtEu7OZ1f9EDi5GWU6x3SxTYTb6S4wVTs/s320/IMG_1098.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Croix heading north</td></tr>
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Final thoughts: These yurts are a really cool, slightly more rustic, way to enjoy Afton State Park. My main goal was to ascertain at what level would kids (and parents) be comfortable staying in these structures during the depths of winter in Minnesota. Given the fact that I was only able to bring temps in the yurt about 40 degrees above outside temp, I would say that the outside temperature "comfort limit" is about 20F. If we could get the temp inside up to about 60 F I would totally take the boys here.<br />
That being said, if you are well prepared and want a bit of adventure, these yurts are a ton of fun when the mercury falls below zero. Here are a few tips:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Down booties or some other warm footwear. The yurts have no subfloor insulation. </li>
<li>Liner gloves and mittens </li>
<li>Bring a foam pad to kneel on while you stoke the fire. The wood that DNR provides is so dry and the firebox is so small you will be spending a lot of time down in front of it. </li>
<li>Pee bottle: its a 80 yard walk to the vault toilet </li>
<li>Have winter rated sleeping bag</li>
<li>Make sure everyone has a head lamp, since there is no power or lights in the yurts. Gas lanterns are not allowed.</li>
<li>You have to cook outside so focus on meals that just require boiling water and don't require you to stand out there tending it. Bring thermoses or some way to store hot water.</li>
<li>You are gonna need a cooler to keep things from freezing.</li>
<li>Bring your classic skis. the yurts are ski in and ski out.</li>
</ul>
Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-35812243922459384692016-01-06T13:42:00.002-08:002016-01-06T13:42:58.217-08:00Southeastern PromisesI dumped the book of faces. It wan't me, it was them. I just got tired of reading crap, and it gave me pause to reflect that maybe I should revisit this type of long form storytelling.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXssgSTQTCGwkTFgIFnMS507JuGy6CjpYUrofa6tfRB2esbll5oBXvBE3Xk3PhGPwNP_Y1pOHYe-CKSIgQRH5oEaiGH1uiy4-7t3l3m9T0T7iI-oyk3zj8Vn2L1bYkuXCFAN1kmeqpc0M/s1600/20151220_172912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXssgSTQTCGwkTFgIFnMS507JuGy6CjpYUrofa6tfRB2esbll5oBXvBE3Xk3PhGPwNP_Y1pOHYe-CKSIgQRH5oEaiGH1uiy4-7t3l3m9T0T7iI-oyk3zj8Vn2L1bYkuXCFAN1kmeqpc0M/s320/20151220_172912.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We pretty much started shooting as soon as we got to the Mason-Dixon line, then we got down to splitting wood</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-EHov5XfEs6w9cErCZzvTsVQd3c_siiJnNIGybODpEJRq2ES27Qo-avgzJHVbpSjEMCtcXJRVNC-qKWkvtz-9h093ueIC7QfNdlb2Yz-I3HyVSSGnLDqHp85BF1Af3FlsU-X_Ltix_c/s1600/20151221_062219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-EHov5XfEs6w9cErCZzvTsVQd3c_siiJnNIGybODpEJRq2ES27Qo-avgzJHVbpSjEMCtcXJRVNC-qKWkvtz-9h093ueIC7QfNdlb2Yz-I3HyVSSGnLDqHp85BF1Af3FlsU-X_Ltix_c/s320/20151221_062219.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is always a highlight of going back to the old homeplace. My dad builds the kind of fireplaces that Hunter S. Thomson would appreciate</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5icVCMqEx2XMVSrtDY7e66coBho-kzibg7Q-B-z1K68xZwOaaROVfiW7w_ueM1bwhsnqsMd4lucNOgv7eakdFsCALfNw-It6NO84lEvrrynzvGQkkBXzJu3eoghagPF-S7KguRI0Es0/s1600/20151222_123455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5icVCMqEx2XMVSrtDY7e66coBho-kzibg7Q-B-z1K68xZwOaaROVfiW7w_ueM1bwhsnqsMd4lucNOgv7eakdFsCALfNw-It6NO84lEvrrynzvGQkkBXzJu3eoghagPF-S7KguRI0Es0/s320/20151222_123455.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New nephew looking all pie-eyed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LYxwgjeleNanPQ6fvxcnJBCZ6_trA2uSBotsxY2_rc06qvLDpZW78n-NaYypuUkNi-_-Kvpr5Ows9GKtTExKY001mQRWkryGuIL1elKqeAmMfz4L4bUc286vbRkxgQxYcUexOGqZmZk/s1600/20151222_145907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LYxwgjeleNanPQ6fvxcnJBCZ6_trA2uSBotsxY2_rc06qvLDpZW78n-NaYypuUkNi-_-Kvpr5Ows9GKtTExKY001mQRWkryGuIL1elKqeAmMfz4L4bUc286vbRkxgQxYcUexOGqZmZk/s320/20151222_145907.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got to go ride bikes at Dark Mountain with two of my high school teachers that also coached in wrestling and baseball me over the years. This brought me great pleasure.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jKLPAOMMfLqvNzdmLAO5A9AuEehmafcZQHVaLH99jcm-j8rtozhoc4c8yBeu_C39SbINg0bcKEEZH4YEjyMOaZ1lIFJ_CUNn1yKFVaStGCoe7x2ScRI2YST6ZjbyCIcFeNBhsXXgQkI/s1600/20151223_165811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jKLPAOMMfLqvNzdmLAO5A9AuEehmafcZQHVaLH99jcm-j8rtozhoc4c8yBeu_C39SbINg0bcKEEZH4YEjyMOaZ1lIFJ_CUNn1yKFVaStGCoe7x2ScRI2YST6ZjbyCIcFeNBhsXXgQkI/s320/20151223_165811.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I also cached some beer on a separate hiking trip with my eyes to the future. Plotting~Planning</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCv33lZgaG3_r6nGFvLKyKvGxAnamJQlI4deAsbF8kSUvBQhF7qfUFqxkusC0Ryuy5S_hSLZsHHyNbbF6XwSaljx_6d5o64dYc0IeocbGwuSVIU9-fv87P7TfL00up1oPGRAdjrTPdIuU/s1600/20151223_173029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCv33lZgaG3_r6nGFvLKyKvGxAnamJQlI4deAsbF8kSUvBQhF7qfUFqxkusC0Ryuy5S_hSLZsHHyNbbF6XwSaljx_6d5o64dYc0IeocbGwuSVIU9-fv87P7TfL00up1oPGRAdjrTPdIuU/s320/20151223_173029.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A glorious sunset over Whitetop Mountain after dropping the loot</td></tr>
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After a few days with my folks in NC, we packed it up and headed over to Johnson City. Brad Reed had some vacation time racked up, and so we took 3 days to do a bikepacking tour of the Virginia Creeper Trail, Mt Rogers National Recreation Area and Grayson Highlands State Park.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ExF3mYMuW5QvMiDYo5tlM5Z1yqiTQtL9Xpf3TZWkKYYZ-Gsendv3yrbFSr5qe-gAcrnuQDlZGGXRKmDchw6NOI4zdcsdZCmUQ08vqXC8EasGX7Kk8NMQ2MclIhv8ECng8GfnZnSDZzY/s1600/20151227_110346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ExF3mYMuW5QvMiDYo5tlM5Z1yqiTQtL9Xpf3TZWkKYYZ-Gsendv3yrbFSr5qe-gAcrnuQDlZGGXRKmDchw6NOI4zdcsdZCmUQ08vqXC8EasGX7Kk8NMQ2MclIhv8ECng8GfnZnSDZzY/s320/20151227_110346.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No. *checks* Heck no. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsYRIZDu6GyvfwPvjFh9UXY8Qx41hqtBEQLhTqqupzSVtTTrdZClRjPTR19tu8SL_v9fRtIaPINkH4G0yox2OoOaoQX9b1gsbcDc7Znvr82ViZQytRedP68Lx6OUEVPdcwEgzwSduyPU/s1600/20151227_124325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsYRIZDu6GyvfwPvjFh9UXY8Qx41hqtBEQLhTqqupzSVtTTrdZClRjPTR19tu8SL_v9fRtIaPINkH4G0yox2OoOaoQX9b1gsbcDc7Znvr82ViZQytRedP68Lx6OUEVPdcwEgzwSduyPU/s320/20151227_124325.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brad Reed even picked me up a Cajun Filet Biscuit on the way to the Creeper Trail. This is Happiness</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3htzVJcLv3WNgxNISfjHULAZqtGL6-9hiEfIEU3DYvBG8inaciAxrpkQ4ekl44YsD5Y3PV7V7H_PXwqHrNp3pXhwRLw7xE3IDPxBLbAfLKImRxFpI9bZLkBNibIH6s_JM8nUmkWY9ck/s1600/20151229_111658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3htzVJcLv3WNgxNISfjHULAZqtGL6-9hiEfIEU3DYvBG8inaciAxrpkQ4ekl44YsD5Y3PV7V7H_PXwqHrNp3pXhwRLw7xE3IDPxBLbAfLKImRxFpI9bZLkBNibIH6s_JM8nUmkWY9ck/s320/20151229_111658.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creeper beta</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We took the Creeper from Abingdon all the way up to Creek Junction, and then zigzaged up through Beartree to stay at a shelter on the Iron Mountain Trail.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_i-QwtOw-9IQkbjkFtHu2DqCQC7V0cyZXXCv_YA5148NtFjkYyjAB2QB-JVtz3LNaqRe_l3_v4nE-SH9z3DTF6Rj_mKFSmRBe1hdiZvE91l0STWDs_hnEU6d_mR31MpJSXoZ3ROOzDU/s1600/20151227_150627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_i-QwtOw-9IQkbjkFtHu2DqCQC7V0cyZXXCv_YA5148NtFjkYyjAB2QB-JVtz3LNaqRe_l3_v4nE-SH9z3DTF6Rj_mKFSmRBe1hdiZvE91l0STWDs_hnEU6d_mR31MpJSXoZ3ROOzDU/s320/20151227_150627.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last time I would see the #adventurecrocs</td></tr>
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I lost my Crocs coming down Straight Mountain. This made me pretty sad. I don't expect you to understand.<br />
We stayed the night at the Straight Branch Shelter, and boosted in the AM.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40cO3RM6F5nxn7yAE_co7AsDOlVbIKQI2tjYYewliskjukBS_3dxbQ0PP7myPjFz5CpBN9jBvLQe2eYl3XWKEXm1joIk7jMns98iqNFDld1zB9IIZwu6fqLE2f1DR4GsnK6nH5KM6W3M/s1600/20151228_093858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40cO3RM6F5nxn7yAE_co7AsDOlVbIKQI2tjYYewliskjukBS_3dxbQ0PP7myPjFz5CpBN9jBvLQe2eYl3XWKEXm1joIk7jMns98iqNFDld1zB9IIZwu6fqLE2f1DR4GsnK6nH5KM6W3M/s320/20151228_093858.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 2nd big climb of the morning.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDx5_alNs4l7ztkI-O9wWdXaetMuxFVpUdgDnPOz4-XleN9L10eQc_FcU9nEV_6YPuSExv1CkWCS8bipfukeQRCCE6akWMDFRk_-M9pvR4-jzU_nR6xNubkctX_vEDkrMorkBvScoj1kY/s1600/20151228_094038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDx5_alNs4l7ztkI-O9wWdXaetMuxFVpUdgDnPOz4-XleN9L10eQc_FcU9nEV_6YPuSExv1CkWCS8bipfukeQRCCE6akWMDFRk_-M9pvR4-jzU_nR6xNubkctX_vEDkrMorkBvScoj1kY/s320/20151228_094038.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not only is this choad littering on top of a mountain, he is failing personal finance. Pro-tip if you don't want your crappy grades to end up on the interwebs, don't let me catch you littering</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dHYK85a_y2HE9Ms9_9EiIldD9bSE4HDumra75x3mGKGhlgCROjqnvcqVI_XRhBZMpAnKPfl6tZ8iFpadnFKjjdEq7Td4j81WF66SnmyrBnInikc_hHpDUE7eVUqOf5S4Wf-JJd-8wNY/s1600/20151228_110751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dHYK85a_y2HE9Ms9_9EiIldD9bSE4HDumra75x3mGKGhlgCROjqnvcqVI_XRhBZMpAnKPfl6tZ8iFpadnFKjjdEq7Td4j81WF66SnmyrBnInikc_hHpDUE7eVUqOf5S4Wf-JJd-8wNY/s320/20151228_110751.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screamed down the IMT > 603 at Grindstone > and coasted into Fairview. Then started the climb up to scales </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQFF1cbHj3JSalq6EnOfddy4PPVx-zaH4aLg0bO4dJd18WVuLZ0Bke_8aZU8-JSkczHxal1dqFotY4t0cAsQzC49Wka4ptFpFJEdZOAff1EYdpvPaGxP7OuP-X_ZOFODVavXfjYkYwhLI/s1600/20151228_114306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQFF1cbHj3JSalq6EnOfddy4PPVx-zaH4aLg0bO4dJd18WVuLZ0Bke_8aZU8-JSkczHxal1dqFotY4t0cAsQzC49Wka4ptFpFJEdZOAff1EYdpvPaGxP7OuP-X_ZOFODVavXfjYkYwhLI/s320/20151228_114306.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I would eventually get sick of waterfalls.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJL87GQwyATKPz1pfLlO2wGVqF8JPwmWSO4eIO9CwrgxUbq7InVWJ7yECPVEqVRP9P9zeVS49SlOWRfZMRz8RDrMZPFK8W6bFMPf_NtqhN0XHkIh6vRRdS5suoUh37WavqZFMqA8c3_w/s1600/20151228_125048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJL87GQwyATKPz1pfLlO2wGVqF8JPwmWSO4eIO9CwrgxUbq7InVWJ7yECPVEqVRP9P9zeVS49SlOWRfZMRz8RDrMZPFK8W6bFMPf_NtqhN0XHkIh6vRRdS5suoUh37WavqZFMqA8c3_w/s320/20151228_125048.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grayson Highlands is usually socked in like this. Brad Reed was quite the Bad Goat about things.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_QHjgmrQ1Ii4X1pT13vtCgD39HjTg7ODgWdbMDtiEm0c-MTGah8l2r-Z_lRb5BkVmNnLvpfvYtHeE1Efz24jom_kNXeGNNCeY3zQZttsp_PnYw2HmdST2Y4Z-swREaweOGh_-QLR80U/s1600/20151228_133927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_QHjgmrQ1Ii4X1pT13vtCgD39HjTg7ODgWdbMDtiEm0c-MTGah8l2r-Z_lRb5BkVmNnLvpfvYtHeE1Efz24jom_kNXeGNNCeY3zQZttsp_PnYw2HmdST2Y4Z-swREaweOGh_-QLR80U/s320/20151228_133927.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes I saw the ponies, but only after I left my Wingnut pack at scales and had to ride 7 miles in the pouring rain to retrieve it.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Upon returning from my ill fated detour, I retrieved the goodies that I had previously cached.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJpTq5FkmZeYp9ZWU5e9alaOwM-JLPzU3lbQlljwbqZlM86WrZ2IE-mbOtWBqzVlPFlumPysa1QfbcecW1aeqJcv0A6G2cq5wOEZEdVu_o7PBdX9t2RhSEE5I43QGzZZGIJ8n0IjBMRo/s1600/20151228_140855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJpTq5FkmZeYp9ZWU5e9alaOwM-JLPzU3lbQlljwbqZlM86WrZ2IE-mbOtWBqzVlPFlumPysa1QfbcecW1aeqJcv0A6G2cq5wOEZEdVu_o7PBdX9t2RhSEE5I43QGzZZGIJ8n0IjBMRo/s320/20151228_140855.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No. I am not the least bit sorry or repentant. </td></tr>
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Those kids that used to make bathroom graphitti? Turns out, they got into backpacking.<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Also, those of you that know this area may recognize that we are at the AT Wise shelter. Before you get your Patagonia in a wad, we never had our bikes on the AT. We dumped them on the Wilson Creek Trail and carried our luggage to the shelter.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-LeYGkXywv3C9RVUfB63UGxbvOfsE_w64bV1QnHVazJmI0PldO7hGTcC9m4BSAdB2e6wgmxxx6KJ9aBCK_siQvYVxWlXDVELaQZ9-giTYTAZWjraMmWGeHe5gSfcsybz15emtZsVQp4/s1600/20151229_083005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-LeYGkXywv3C9RVUfB63UGxbvOfsE_w64bV1QnHVazJmI0PldO7hGTcC9m4BSAdB2e6wgmxxx6KJ9aBCK_siQvYVxWlXDVELaQZ9-giTYTAZWjraMmWGeHe5gSfcsybz15emtZsVQp4/s320/20151229_083005.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Go Everywhere. Study Everything. Fear <strike> Nothing </strike> the vegan gas cloud. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUuyNCLHzAq7IJ78UH4B9N3j3S2k-h3vqA9dHrieubGkX4s9EGsji6wjnsXj445iejH4s90lOo894TqBklESVQKkmiyc5ds2164cUucr6ClsYVKleYOyHFT01l-AOBDs3shQG2D5HVWY/s1600/20151229_084945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUuyNCLHzAq7IJ78UH4B9N3j3S2k-h3vqA9dHrieubGkX4s9EGsji6wjnsXj445iejH4s90lOo894TqBklESVQKkmiyc5ds2164cUucr6ClsYVKleYOyHFT01l-AOBDs3shQG2D5HVWY/s320/20151229_084945.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This thing bucked me off in a glorious fashion.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFzlQSbE1UpCfjDFFakXUSaFKNvXGCBf3Na838t-7cMJZ7JmuVSeleGIGYswT7mTg_PlcvMTlRqc-KG4AZJnelolO4XaCQP2NH6RZjLHefh4zsxjg9vwmOwJ0DhJdJncpeP78IQPfU9k/s1600/20151229_090059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFzlQSbE1UpCfjDFFakXUSaFKNvXGCBf3Na838t-7cMJZ7JmuVSeleGIGYswT7mTg_PlcvMTlRqc-KG4AZJnelolO4XaCQP2NH6RZjLHefh4zsxjg9vwmOwJ0DhJdJncpeP78IQPfU9k/s320/20151229_090059.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the rain stopped, it was awesome!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7navxwKWr1f-x3VD7JztxLKX_3n74lEu5nnZG9NXfItWGu_pclYQenjP4fK3o12ddszLE8X0vZQDkLsvZJ-KtV3x9UTudifPJmCix7shEkpl1Em-STBxF35TGVhWDVZVBvnlo_gIBW8/s1600/20151229_094926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7navxwKWr1f-x3VD7JztxLKX_3n74lEu5nnZG9NXfItWGu_pclYQenjP4fK3o12ddszLE8X0vZQDkLsvZJ-KtV3x9UTudifPJmCix7shEkpl1Em-STBxF35TGVhWDVZVBvnlo_gIBW8/s320/20151229_094926.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This valley is where all of my people came from 3 generations ago</td></tr>
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The last day, we rolled out of Grayson Highlands SP (clearly breaking the speed limit), and then screamed down Hwy 58 towards Whitetop. Once we got to WhiteTop store, we laid in some provisions, and then cruised over to Whitetop station, which is the high point for the VA Creeper Trail. From there it was 16 miles of downhill back to Damascus.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0C6cmeZr0XwscYzhaq5lNSoAwhErOFNitLCx3dTXKpoGonnS193rtP0LaqU2mhFQIiQvFi0qcAQQt8gaeveCO_Y_pjpcVKCsAPwOgyzJWmMQB7qr7D8VCyLFHGeLMMhhTsQsyFtVAxs/s1600/20151229_113949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0C6cmeZr0XwscYzhaq5lNSoAwhErOFNitLCx3dTXKpoGonnS193rtP0LaqU2mhFQIiQvFi0qcAQQt8gaeveCO_Y_pjpcVKCsAPwOgyzJWmMQB7qr7D8VCyLFHGeLMMhhTsQsyFtVAxs/s320/20151229_113949.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It spoke to me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgisuKp-ZV-foYNqF5I5KkGX_BZex_yExmbNboR2nTkniwUkxIsKDYp69YKF99gBbtQ60p4HMridS3w98naJ-KTOATKqUkDMSW52CVSX3AEAb84LjZQsPf8rRIZDqvArvHeqCtoK9g9xDg/s1600/20151229_133147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgisuKp-ZV-foYNqF5I5KkGX_BZex_yExmbNboR2nTkniwUkxIsKDYp69YKF99gBbtQ60p4HMridS3w98naJ-KTOATKqUkDMSW52CVSX3AEAb84LjZQsPf8rRIZDqvArvHeqCtoK9g9xDg/s320/20151229_133147.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best Rail-Trail evar?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzxdvrxc_6NRyAMA1uEB8bddZIXHRslhAHCqySVfkvWOET1xP-MIyU9e7UFrADO2y5Xx8O6BYslF-785Erd3fEw6PkqgAPvWits5Kd5d8tXoagmlKwc1dL4zywwBxSCaO67CV7JY5Em0/s1600/20151229_134155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzxdvrxc_6NRyAMA1uEB8bddZIXHRslhAHCqySVfkvWOET1xP-MIyU9e7UFrADO2y5Xx8O6BYslF-785Erd3fEw6PkqgAPvWits5Kd5d8tXoagmlKwc1dL4zywwBxSCaO67CV7JY5Em0/s320/20151229_134155.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Don't shoot! We are Bad Goats"<br />The area between Damascus and Abingdon is defined by Karst topography, so you have no idea where a sink hole is going to open up into a cave. </td></tr>
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Words cannot describe how awesome that tour was. Marrying her Al-ness 10 years ago was pretty much the pinnacle of my life, but getting to hang with the best brother-in-law ever really take it to 11 for me. Thanks Brad!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfIFUq1Q3REtlGRPrnFVrupjIGb4d3knKJ7uS0BOlNXKtKZqTr3iEZWJyjHwgjWI7i1UtPNVMnkGVkQWoHWfHO7Eud9EXEAqvubnrk_w3nUgNOrlWyRz9BcLRJa57677qEet2EI2mwew/s1600/20151231_134949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfIFUq1Q3REtlGRPrnFVrupjIGb4d3knKJ7uS0BOlNXKtKZqTr3iEZWJyjHwgjWI7i1UtPNVMnkGVkQWoHWfHO7Eud9EXEAqvubnrk_w3nUgNOrlWyRz9BcLRJa57677qEet2EI2mwew/s320/20151231_134949.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnson City Got a brand new Rail Trail that connects JC to Elizabethton. Its sweet, but has the steepest grade I have ever seen.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnoI10fd5TR1l7ciL-yNEKbL9DAl9d2SdBjNS71VvmYSHsUhTH-yCPu6L6W0DNjJd6CzcTHI1GXOSMCI-9zRUQe2nonbW8D9p2aVXC3kcFNTLMZC84XwMRZ4qPOceEudbL0o3e7VdEa0/s1600/20160101_160517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnoI10fd5TR1l7ciL-yNEKbL9DAl9d2SdBjNS71VvmYSHsUhTH-yCPu6L6W0DNjJd6CzcTHI1GXOSMCI-9zRUQe2nonbW8D9p2aVXC3kcFNTLMZC84XwMRZ4qPOceEudbL0o3e7VdEa0/s320/20160101_160517.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am just going to let you use your imaginations</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgvkyS-WA_OBnFN6xzsitk12eQI5uc31v7B_qdQEEqBEcB5z2ueI1XjcwRueWrm3NfHkO5TzmaOEp_OG4CHJl8Hp73oDgk4L2Eakm7hQ5yldDGje6RgRs0yqsy5JWPjTzkfj5xfaTmaU/s1600/20160101_160815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgvkyS-WA_OBnFN6xzsitk12eQI5uc31v7B_qdQEEqBEcB5z2ueI1XjcwRueWrm3NfHkO5TzmaOEp_OG4CHJl8Hp73oDgk4L2Eakm7hQ5yldDGje6RgRs0yqsy5JWPjTzkfj5xfaTmaU/s320/20160101_160815.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laid in the last of the provisions before heading north again.</td></tr>
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I miss the old country for what it represents in my mind, but I found myself thinking about the North Shore and Minnesota more than I wanted to tell people about. I guess I can never go home.</div>
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Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-60924975953872587622015-12-07T09:58:00.000-08:002015-12-07T09:58:05.234-08:00A year of being inspired<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_iFgzDhgU6uWYtykbd8fSjx9D35abwJFgczjd33_YQt_VxeLzC8dr9yQMMxlCSfTVAR_bC-tXlhyPBQl9cmcMORI7Ffhio2ElNZVbEHm6yHhyphenhyphenquioDHTVu9LpN8y6kPJVN0YwvJEmSQ/s1600/IMG_3717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_iFgzDhgU6uWYtykbd8fSjx9D35abwJFgczjd33_YQt_VxeLzC8dr9yQMMxlCSfTVAR_bC-tXlhyPBQl9cmcMORI7Ffhio2ElNZVbEHm6yHhyphenhyphenquioDHTVu9LpN8y6kPJVN0YwvJEmSQ/s320/IMG_3717.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have spent a lot of the last year doing this.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4M94Suolr1iqt8MvYHv3PVJDtW5ib4G7Ex2rzz9MBKbf3rSpnTaKSzXg3XSJ3NbatPguJ0zxhJpy2klvr1soIfTEl3TwxbmqyWX5_9YnRK5vgQqhOaEqAOCy_MJm0Hy4JvTC_gjptbU/s1600/IMG_3719+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4M94Suolr1iqt8MvYHv3PVJDtW5ib4G7Ex2rzz9MBKbf3rSpnTaKSzXg3XSJ3NbatPguJ0zxhJpy2klvr1soIfTEl3TwxbmqyWX5_9YnRK5vgQqhOaEqAOCy_MJm0Hy4JvTC_gjptbU/s320/IMG_3719+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And This</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfYn5229-2_5eJKYyV55vT1Q1mjB7ed5OB0-9BRB4rDSEQQDZW17XiwPNQRqposE8DSacqre143K79vKNPKLylxWuIYs797qm0lpVt5A8LArDncSXPMwdkPFfMdwXgh6skp8MTKSzErg/s1600/IMG_3720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfYn5229-2_5eJKYyV55vT1Q1mjB7ed5OB0-9BRB4rDSEQQDZW17XiwPNQRqposE8DSacqre143K79vKNPKLylxWuIYs797qm0lpVt5A8LArDncSXPMwdkPFfMdwXgh6skp8MTKSzErg/s320/IMG_3720.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And then we pickup other peoples trash.</td></tr>
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<br />
And you know what?<br />
I am not sorry.<br />
I don't think butch is sorry either......as a matter of fact, I know that he is completely unrepentant.Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-14976368599487926612014-03-16T10:56:00.000-07:002014-03-16T11:00:08.509-07:00Winter 14: who needs therapy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7jlnvO746cBrYr2u5geRln4iWvhHYJ_3Z6LKc2NVUgjiyKbrH2GMIUQQKZcm25JnkJgLl7_C8iBqaZCXFxttA9Nc-JQIOtES9bd7PjqcB6-oZzudJRMbIJpiV6H6FknF-eXLjHsw6tU/s1600/IMAG0767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK1Av2T_XZj2gLsnIfsS9mZNj4G1CJ1Y3Qrp_zJlliPqh3Ju38fstvpjQnYFKvox9BQaPAPVn0wxSbog0CxvVVy8hpw4gE8UBo0H8YYwjYlrwApwg3-TOfNndOWHnFyVPPlQnWEhjYY4/s1600/IMAG0793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiE8AZA99fbfSbmNqi2VIeQxWvx-OBkR6lftiexH1ThXU7PCHm7W-ByQxrYf_UJn2vUe5dpD3fdyzmLnKoC8p_xIwbUdfOS8f96eoJ1SFyXCxdb5UotmiFq-XqAvEaLe3QHPKmwhtEr8Y/s1600/IMAG0805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Di9leKir-xunSEwjoRpD-PXvCLhyphenhyphen_zLWkhRRd6CP6wF1n2Z1LZZ3YHu7K9cDRG2LRm8RzM4sIatep5n2cj2ZNlJ0z7-eu0ekKxgyTADdA9iZN0TI6vMj-StIF63F67LspUGn4ulRf9s/s1600/IMAG0848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Now that the boys are a year older; we have had our first winter where both Ali and I have been able to get out of the house. Even if it has been the coldest MN winter in 35 years.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7jlnvO746cBrYr2u5geRln4iWvhHYJ_3Z6LKc2NVUgjiyKbrH2GMIUQQKZcm25JnkJgLl7_C8iBqaZCXFxttA9Nc-JQIOtES9bd7PjqcB6-oZzudJRMbIJpiV6H6FknF-eXLjHsw6tU/s1600/IMAG0767.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7jlnvO746cBrYr2u5geRln4iWvhHYJ_3Z6LKc2NVUgjiyKbrH2GMIUQQKZcm25JnkJgLl7_C8iBqaZCXFxttA9Nc-JQIOtES9bd7PjqcB6-oZzudJRMbIJpiV6H6FknF-eXLjHsw6tU/s640/IMAG0767.jpg" height="239" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, those are lips.....fresh off of the face of a 3 year old</td></tr>
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Plenty of outside fun!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK1Av2T_XZj2gLsnIfsS9mZNj4G1CJ1Y3Qrp_zJlliPqh3Ju38fstvpjQnYFKvox9BQaPAPVn0wxSbog0CxvVVy8hpw4gE8UBo0H8YYwjYlrwApwg3-TOfNndOWHnFyVPPlQnWEhjYY4/s1600/IMAG0793.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK1Av2T_XZj2gLsnIfsS9mZNj4G1CJ1Y3Qrp_zJlliPqh3Ju38fstvpjQnYFKvox9BQaPAPVn0wxSbog0CxvVVy8hpw4gE8UBo0H8YYwjYlrwApwg3-TOfNndOWHnFyVPPlQnWEhjYY4/s640/IMAG0793.jpg" height="400" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frost Beards abounded.</td></tr>
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XC skis were had, and many a weekend afternoon was spent with the Johnsons.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiE8AZA99fbfSbmNqi2VIeQxWvx-OBkR6lftiexH1ThXU7PCHm7W-ByQxrYf_UJn2vUe5dpD3fdyzmLnKoC8p_xIwbUdfOS8f96eoJ1SFyXCxdb5UotmiFq-XqAvEaLe3QHPKmwhtEr8Y/s1600/IMAG0805.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiE8AZA99fbfSbmNqi2VIeQxWvx-OBkR6lftiexH1ThXU7PCHm7W-ByQxrYf_UJn2vUe5dpD3fdyzmLnKoC8p_xIwbUdfOS8f96eoJ1SFyXCxdb5UotmiFq-XqAvEaLe3QHPKmwhtEr8Y/s640/IMAG0805.jpg" height="239" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing more pro than taking the holeshot and blowing it in the first corner.</td></tr>
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I refrained from any winter riding once we got into the depths of the winter chill. Sometimes its just fun to yell disparaging things at people. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgBHHlbx0e3sMBmgVpDL39DvONETnZVhrZlLFYcKqi0oaX0U8sgo3y2AQuZ8peTU-zsDwqtu26dXxfZS6d5DJaFyHX5i4cYlGXhgfKCophmR0_S2pS8HSWttzq7-u9M00aAS935oDC1c/s1600/IMAG0825.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgBHHlbx0e3sMBmgVpDL39DvONETnZVhrZlLFYcKqi0oaX0U8sgo3y2AQuZ8peTU-zsDwqtu26dXxfZS6d5DJaFyHX5i4cYlGXhgfKCophmR0_S2pS8HSWttzq7-u9M00aAS935oDC1c/s640/IMAG0825.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Why did you bring me to this forsaken place?"</td></tr>
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One evening we did pictures of each of the family.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaF6RZ8O6VOEd-tW4XSBeUP3-ovGVWu8B0c_0aA4CjXMzA-se9alI2cc_uttEXORFzrjRZAEWcRAhJW-Y3jqtneqL-QJBUd2tAfg0VMLXXrH9iAsAxasGyl3ViP9kxpr0Zt19YipLQCoU/s1600/IMAG0828.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaF6RZ8O6VOEd-tW4XSBeUP3-ovGVWu8B0c_0aA4CjXMzA-se9alI2cc_uttEXORFzrjRZAEWcRAhJW-Y3jqtneqL-QJBUd2tAfg0VMLXXrH9iAsAxasGyl3ViP9kxpr0Zt19YipLQCoU/s640/IMAG0828.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"guess whats in my diaper?"</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nOoeHG6d-ZEbZPJfA0YciG__B9Qpgj1JjjLHuESTT3rl5dk6jsK4EKMXMz8EmfJjjZW3Ev5NtOVaXoXwgJQC042mtUClryfm5dahhByG7HyOsSDQSEwk6nT5TOEM5WNlP7dUbRo9ia0/s1600/IMAG0830.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nOoeHG6d-ZEbZPJfA0YciG__B9Qpgj1JjjLHuESTT3rl5dk6jsK4EKMXMz8EmfJjjZW3Ev5NtOVaXoXwgJQC042mtUClryfm5dahhByG7HyOsSDQSEwk6nT5TOEM5WNlP7dUbRo9ia0/s640/IMAG0830.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"You there, yes, you, fetch me that floppy eared dog"</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVRqjAfPPbU_rOQaXRLND6U5YO2-FvqJZlxhf5n4LiqBfxwkRK9YLed_Jml_TZVXRibaAPuEpq2ccYA1KWJvz_lHAT_imQwZ9Z0TDXSmHceYeep9QNJvIrbkx-VjGL9tPmfO8iFB3hNk/s1600/IMAG0832.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVRqjAfPPbU_rOQaXRLND6U5YO2-FvqJZlxhf5n4LiqBfxwkRK9YLed_Jml_TZVXRibaAPuEpq2ccYA1KWJvz_lHAT_imQwZ9Z0TDXSmHceYeep9QNJvIrbkx-VjGL9tPmfO8iFB3hNk/s640/IMAG0832.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"the child is biting the dog, but I am going going to smile anyway"</td></tr>
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We drove to TX in Feb to see Mina and Tanner. with the children and the dog. nonstop. 19 hours. No meltdowns. My progeny are road warriors. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAerEanb-MK_Snpeb8AFpJ6EPidmq96-Z4_hLfbG46ujbKHlrqY9qhEqGbrZwdkQbBd8yuqWG1VzLweMddDokAPgSm5FWuQCKyWX1EZHyEzYjPZJn7erOSIvwCd377XJZMykme9t-yHfg/s1600/IMAG0841.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAerEanb-MK_Snpeb8AFpJ6EPidmq96-Z4_hLfbG46ujbKHlrqY9qhEqGbrZwdkQbBd8yuqWG1VzLweMddDokAPgSm5FWuQCKyWX1EZHyEzYjPZJn7erOSIvwCd377XJZMykme9t-yHfg/s640/IMAG0841.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got to ride a whole bunch of the Buffalo Bayou. Refrained from any serious crime.</td></tr>
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Love being able to get produce year round. The Hispanic influence in south Texas means that there are some pretty terrific vittles to be had</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEJKP8sJM90nwDjAbdDHvx_dt7gsiOXXHn2oaoCRr7u2YeAOwxFrvNJptRQtPg-yYkwmC7x_nymbVVRjCv1-qqTkNrErKCWMy754b58hGBSvW5lhYaRIcXun28p2TQ6vhCpZ-xABf0Vw/s1600/IMAG0842.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEJKP8sJM90nwDjAbdDHvx_dt7gsiOXXHn2oaoCRr7u2YeAOwxFrvNJptRQtPg-yYkwmC7x_nymbVVRjCv1-qqTkNrErKCWMy754b58hGBSvW5lhYaRIcXun28p2TQ6vhCpZ-xABf0Vw/s640/IMAG0842.jpg" height="239" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got to defile Mina's granite countertops</td></tr>
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We also took the grommets to the Houston "chillins" museum that had the Dr. Seuss display. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Di9leKir-xunSEwjoRpD-PXvCLhyphenhyphen_zLWkhRRd6CP6wF1n2Z1LZZ3YHu7K9cDRG2LRm8RzM4sIatep5n2cj2ZNlJ0z7-eu0ekKxgyTADdA9iZN0TI6vMj-StIF63F67LspUGn4ulRf9s/s1600/IMAG0848.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Di9leKir-xunSEwjoRpD-PXvCLhyphenhyphen_zLWkhRRd6CP6wF1n2Z1LZZ3YHu7K9cDRG2LRm8RzM4sIatep5n2cj2ZNlJ0z7-eu0ekKxgyTADdA9iZN0TI6vMj-StIF63F67LspUGn4ulRf9s/s640/IMAG0848.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grinchin' ain't easy</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW88n-xnaM7PL0MFZZ6ggnU4GvzIU9Bpn9-_FHW5I6gvu4dsBeJ6QoXQEmCjQwE7k5cZaW-O9UMTODtoOhv3uPpse6AEm7uNPFUCxsglMWUqxvs7bum6EUJYt0J-agA8TYPvTwl6riWLw/s1600/IMAG0862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjeVX_fsb2rO_2m3RXDA76ozmVhLEasX3yE3axQ5qYWlrLuToGndmng7GkbRUCH_cvbChtpSISd639fF98llHtHUpJYPzUYIUpv1XWIl9_yCXjdElKZ3n9RZZiUFMjhhkm6sEWTHIZx8E/s640/IMAG0859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjeVX_fsb2rO_2m3RXDA76ozmVhLEasX3yE3axQ5qYWlrLuToGndmng7GkbRUCH_cvbChtpSISd639fF98llHtHUpJYPzUYIUpv1XWIl9_yCXjdElKZ3n9RZZiUFMjhhkm6sEWTHIZx8E/s640/IMAG0859.jpg" height="239" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When Ali's mom was in town we got out on a ski date (it was about -5F)</td></tr>
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But alas, winter is quickly fading, and the snow drifts are receding. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW88n-xnaM7PL0MFZZ6ggnU4GvzIU9Bpn9-_FHW5I6gvu4dsBeJ6QoXQEmCjQwE7k5cZaW-O9UMTODtoOhv3uPpse6AEm7uNPFUCxsglMWUqxvs7bum6EUJYt0J-agA8TYPvTwl6riWLw/s1600/IMAG0862.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW88n-xnaM7PL0MFZZ6ggnU4GvzIU9Bpn9-_FHW5I6gvu4dsBeJ6QoXQEmCjQwE7k5cZaW-O9UMTODtoOhv3uPpse6AEm7uNPFUCxsglMWUqxvs7bum6EUJYt0J-agA8TYPvTwl6riWLw/s640/IMAG0862.jpg" height="239" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I never know what I will find in snow drifts around here.</td></tr>
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Flh3.ggpht.com%2F-bkP0yYn14qk%2FUyXZHC5loBI%2FAAAAAAAAFAY%2FI-R2dE5GTRo%2Fs640%2FIMAG0859.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjeVX_fsb2rO_2m3RXDA76ozmVhLEasX3yE3axQ5qYWlrLuToGndmng7GkbRUCH_cvbChtpSISd639fF98llHtHUpJYPzUYIUpv1XWIl9_yCXjdElKZ3n9RZZiUFMjhhkm6sEWTHIZx8E/s640/IMAG0859.jpg" -->Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-81289360533379212072014-03-15T19:31:00.001-07:002014-03-15T19:34:45.602-07:00Dirtbag ice cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfpCRUKKxr-1-TA9-d_g3aCsBSLioCFSrynbEvwxiFXOHCGtWH-MMCrqgh7MeMxWah8g4Dg1nTa6EDtAKxfYL_hM8qyXo9Ww4iI2AEFamPXCRECMyk4qhn1bayjWjBAdfnsnm6mU2Yns/s1600/IMAG0802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
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Ok kids, its recipe time. I have been sitting on this one for some time, so I figured that it was time to show you how to make dirtbag ice cream....or at least make ice cream without an ice cream maker and the mess it entails.</div>
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Buttermilk Ice Cream </div>
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by Ed Lee (he has a simply incredible cookbook entitled "Smoke and Pickles")</div>
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Ingredients: </div>
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1 pint Cream</div>
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1 Cup Buttermilk</div>
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1 Cup sugar </div>
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Seriously, its that simple (even John Waller could do this). Pour your cream into a heavy bottomed sauce pan (even dirtbags should own 1 good sauce pan) and heat over medium low until it takes the chill off of the cream. Begin to stir in the cup of sugar very slowly to dissolve it. You only want to heat the sweetened cream mixture enough to dissolve the sugar, not cook it. Once all your sugar is dissolved, you can add in your buttermilk. </div>
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The next step is to pour your mixture into a 1 Gallon Freezer bag, seal it, and lay it flat in your freezer (or if you live in the tundra like us, just put it outside) to solidify.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpHskZ_w36ZmwACgXLdUNyPGt0PB3En00vML4jiJCVgAitvUwJk7QIIf6MO4E0ryW-1qPiP2gtCpn4ghMIrEhPpAxT1d3bZ7yrrbDG_qUpHiM68pKWBAWzXD72tHTUokRipsQlUffUto/s1600/IMAG0804.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpHskZ_w36ZmwACgXLdUNyPGt0PB3En00vML4jiJCVgAitvUwJk7QIIf6MO4E0ryW-1qPiP2gtCpn4ghMIrEhPpAxT1d3bZ7yrrbDG_qUpHiM68pKWBAWzXD72tHTUokRipsQlUffUto/s640/IMAG0804.jpg" /></a></div>
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Once your solution has solidified, break it up, and put it in either a blender or a food processor until it is smooth and creamy. It will melt and soften while your kitchen device is beating it into submission. This is the really important step, if you do not blend or process the mixture, it will be granular and crunchy. <u>You cannot blend it too much. </u></div>
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Then pour your ice cream mix into a container and refreeze it. Once it firms back up, its ready to consume.</div>
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I really like this ice cream by itself, but the truest method of consumption of this ambrosia would be the Affogato (Italian for drowned). </div>
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This after dinner drink is a a scoop of buttermilk ice cream that is dolloped into a expresso.......my dirtbag version is to use 3oz of boiling water to one envelope of starbucks "via" coffee, and then add in the buttermilk ice cream. You will be exalted by your compatriots. Wealthy petroleum engineers will try to recruit you as their personal chef. They will also try to snatch your children, but thats a story for another day. </div>
Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-74147380944645618972014-03-15T18:45:00.002-07:002014-03-15T19:52:55.958-07:00Filthy 50 and holiday musing (yes its 5 months late)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So this past fall a couple of us went down to do the Filthy 50. It was the shortest gravel race I have ever done, and was hands down the fastest. The first 40 miles had about a dozen of us in the first chase group just gnawing stem the whole time. I popped about 5 miles from the finish and cramped so badly I actually had to get off the bike for like 5 minutes. Drew won the Mens race, and Monika rode a flat for the last 2 miles to win the womens race. It was a good time.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monika, Ben Oney, Scott Spoo and I rode down in the new minivan. tires
were getting swapped going down the road! Long live the minivan!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drew time trialed away to the win. </td></tr>
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<span title="Source: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope"><i>"I felt a great
disturbance in the Force, as if millions of triathletes suddenly cried out
in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has
happened.</i>" Joshua Stamper</span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not gonna lie, I like that van. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This dude crushed some souls. Chugging a big ol' gear. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made a cajun stuffing with andouille sausage, oysters, and okra to go with the yard bird that I brined. Justin Wilson would have been proud.</td></tr>
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Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-33141630646051057682013-10-07T19:13:00.002-07:002013-10-07T19:13:28.438-07:00MammothGravel Classic 2013Last year I did the 70 mile version of the Mammoth Gravel classic, and it did not disappoint. I was really taken with the stark, barren nature of the river valley that is north of St Croix Falls. Its just so desolate. The Wooly crew always refers to that area as "the sand barrens", and I find this so appropriate. We were initially supposed to have the event in the spring, but the worst winter ever pushed the date back into the fall. The brothers Fisk, Dallas, Ben, The Velaski's, and the Crew from Cyclova XC plotted and connived to put together a <a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/87168782">incredible course</a> that took us through the sand barrens up to Grantsburg, WI. Then we crossed the river (and dodged a roadkill porcupine) and started back south along Minnesota's Wild River State Park.<br />
I suck at documenting things so I will let the images that Dallas put together tell the story if you get sick of my words.<br />
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We started out rolling north from SCF and after about 15 miles we started to hit the sand roads that blew the group up last year. Having the widest tires and being the smallest I found that I was floating over the loose sand a little better than everyone else so I just went. After a few miles, I stopped to air down my tires, and two of the gents from Hudson made contact with me. We exchanged pleasantries, but after a few minutes they had dropped back, and I was focusing my thoughts on staying smooth and floating over the sand double track sections.<br />
The double track sections. Oh. the double track sections. <br />
I love me a some great double track, and The Woolly crew sniffed out some of the most remote winding fire lanes. It was divine.<br />
(bumps record player) Then I almost ran over a black bear. I told you it was remote out there!<br />
By the time I made it all the way to Grantsburg the gents from Hudson had just about caught back up with me, but they decided to keep motoring while I set my sights on slaying some gas station pizza!<br />
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I took a long break at the Holiday, and was stoked when Dallas, Mark, and Ben rolled in.<br />
Once we got rolling again, we all took turns at the front to get us off the paved road as quickly and safely as possible. Once we hit the gravel again the group split up so that everyone could do their own thing as the drizzle really set in. After an hour, we ran into the roaming aid station.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had forgotten to air up my tires after deflating them for the sand section. I rode about another 40 miles with 20 psi. Thankfully there was Hamms while Frank Lundeen got me some air. Photocred: Kristen Velaski</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Hamms. Sweet. Hamms.<br />
We just kept rolling south until we hit the MMR hills that bordered Wild River State Park. Then it was a screaming descent into Taylors Falls on MN-95. This was simply a incredible route with a type of riding that you are just not going to get in MN. Love it! the 100 is fairly flat and the most challenging sections are early. Hopefully next spring will have better conditions, as holding a even this late in the year is a challenge with all the Cyclocross events going on.<br />
I was also super stoked to learn that I won a sweet new pair of <a href="http://www.challengetech.it/products/cyclocross/almanzo-041/en">Almanzo tires from Challenge</a> for being the youngest 100 mile finisher.<br />
My delight was amplified this morning, when I found out that I got into the Filthy 50 this next weekend so will get to put these tires through the paces.<br />
Many thanks to the <a href="http://woollybikeclub.com/">Woolly Bike Club</a> and <a href="http://www.cyclova-xc.blogspot.com/">Cyclova XC</a> for putting on a great event!<br />
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<br />Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-32799889918215188792013-10-06T19:28:00.000-07:002013-10-06T19:30:50.975-07:00Racing without trainingAfter destroying my knee last fall, I decided to get serious about training this spring. I bought the <a href="http://trainright.com/media-2/training-books/">CTS Time Crunched Cyclist</a> book, and pretty much did the whole plan on a trainer since we had the worst winter ever. As soon as things thawed and I started getting to some early season races, I was shocked at what I was capable of. I could close gaps at will. nobody got away. and I could pretty much hang with anybody for about 90 minutes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photocred: Todd Bauer</td></tr>
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On the Tuesday night races at Whitetail Ridge I consistently won by putting all the other fast guys on the rivet, then punching it to create a 5 second gap. Its a mental battle in mountain biking. If you get a 5 second gap, you might as well have a 30 second gap, because once you get out of sight of your chaser, psychologically, you have won.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I trained my dad on a proper hand-up.</td></tr>
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However CC is pretty adamant that you cannot maintain this high intensity level of training indefinitely. You just become too fatiuged. So I used a training block that went through June, and then just rode whenever I felt like it. That level of fitness tapered off noticeably in 2 weeks. I was still mid pack in the elite races in MN, but I struggled so much more trying to recover from efforts. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grumpy Stumpy. Photocred:Todd Bauer</td></tr>
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The last few weeks have really been frustrating as I struggle to deal with the increased pressure from work, impacting my time and ability to get out and ride. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My parents were back from China over the 4th of July so my dad finally got to see me do a MTB race. He was shocked at how fast the WORS guys were.</td></tr>
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It really is amazing how much different you feel when you have that
high level of fitness that allows you to do whatever you want in a
race. I totally get why training blocks work, now if I can just get the
time to train. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deer Fly Chase: unable to get into the lead group, and then fell off the back of the chase to finish 10th.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deer Fly Chase <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photocred; Noah Michelson</span></td></tr>
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Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-16024695425508261432013-07-19T14:10:00.000-07:002013-07-19T14:13:34.630-07:00North Shore with the Reeds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We busted up on the north shore this week with the Reeds. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqHl_2cruPvlbCS7gHvcOAtEZBY6pObE9090C6SSN8-0texKjHwuQ5W0iNnxxJ2sltSJBy1vO4vUK7NKGPdYAjJ-XICYEMwlkmHCtjTF79aGAnCjGPJQHFNDU1fkt0UKgtIHfAtXC0Vw/s1600/IMAG0466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqHl_2cruPvlbCS7gHvcOAtEZBY6pObE9090C6SSN8-0texKjHwuQ5W0iNnxxJ2sltSJBy1vO4vUK7NKGPdYAjJ-XICYEMwlkmHCtjTF79aGAnCjGPJQHFNDU1fkt0UKgtIHfAtXC0Vw/s320/IMAG0466.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bullwinkle?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
B-Rad and I took some time to do some route finding (read: trespassing) for the Gravel Conspiracy. We got skunked on the first day, but managed to feed some of the locals</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLl68ZS8sG-Eu88FC1a_AULT_ii31vVlWuJcB-U7cfh-EIO8tLAtgJdMbg3gIYhWkalP_HqKkdE-pEY6b83-KYWP7UY7Z8B54X1nr8Q4k7sFBCpXkwjDh9Lb65cpF_eOgo3mfsY7S08I/s320/IMAG0469.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="191" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avoiding the traffic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQjcixqgJB_Em-b0rTmJvN_J54qww1iz4LZ8NOKo4chKl972GsaIozVKL320LNT1hcwsCB4EDZzMe5VAxSqBIvoijgGggZGmNQCap4bXTBLLoUgxE6Gm7npGxSKKSYf6_CeC9sMer2vE/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQjcixqgJB_Em-b0rTmJvN_J54qww1iz4LZ8NOKo4chKl972GsaIozVKL320LNT1hcwsCB4EDZzMe5VAxSqBIvoijgGggZGmNQCap4bXTBLLoUgxE6Gm7npGxSKKSYf6_CeC9sMer2vE/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If a tree falls on a goat peeing in the woods, does it make a sound?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXojk6qoEVcVfvB7V71yEyQn_4Y45k0RwISCU5epMRMkG0aNoaF_pZN5QoUrr_gVbMrEztEv6F17-QGn6tpdAc0eMr0N1mjr7qUGqtpeH5GclrVZLRgHe_MGgFdJIhRr-g3P34eJkpIlc/s400/IMAG0471.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eastcoast Bad Goat approved</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXojk6qoEVcVfvB7V71yEyQn_4Y45k0RwISCU5epMRMkG0aNoaF_pZN5QoUrr_gVbMrEztEv6F17-QGn6tpdAc0eMr0N1mjr7qUGqtpeH5GclrVZLRgHe_MGgFdJIhRr-g3P34eJkpIlc/s1600/IMAG0471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
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</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxmTVNl6gLTe5r269U_WYvO5V5RuQWxhdCJwvKaZ56osyQSDtiZw_214IxBbbtvpYl9tWt1ylrDnP-MVfOrHiy-RZzp2xm2dxTttB4NlEZT2a4aLaeEnJdHggNVEx6UQNbiM6wh3MLJs/s1600/IMAG0473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxmTVNl6gLTe5r269U_WYvO5V5RuQWxhdCJwvKaZ56osyQSDtiZw_214IxBbbtvpYl9tWt1ylrDnP-MVfOrHiy-RZzp2xm2dxTttB4NlEZT2a4aLaeEnJdHggNVEx6UQNbiM6wh3MLJs/s400/IMAG0473.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey there lil buddy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aTCiS9y8gk1YJ1EhEYn6BFFY1AZcBxo30cdvKJjdEeHjL3SFazHRMFrnCCmCVfqwDgBdczbkFMRWBuUzou2waEIfP_efw9L21MC78J7Ng-HXNUI_qrk-q6qMyVrKoCtY_6m6w6CV3Ms/s1600/photo(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aTCiS9y8gk1YJ1EhEYn6BFFY1AZcBxo30cdvKJjdEeHjL3SFazHRMFrnCCmCVfqwDgBdczbkFMRWBuUzou2waEIfP_efw9L21MC78J7Ng-HXNUI_qrk-q6qMyVrKoCtY_6m6w6CV3Ms/s400/photo(1).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ambulatory grommets</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPzXAiUmuhrRlrJPHwh75-N9NyEx-qI8BM_U_ElOCmqPbxOniu-LlHZ2jaftWLN0pVpPDhEFnAB0M3DkAwephFslyfy1FteRSxVel3oHlIx9owu0cIWUP5-r33EjUne_2LgxkvS9rhhk/s1600/photo(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPzXAiUmuhrRlrJPHwh75-N9NyEx-qI8BM_U_ElOCmqPbxOniu-LlHZ2jaftWLN0pVpPDhEFnAB0M3DkAwephFslyfy1FteRSxVel3oHlIx9owu0cIWUP5-r33EjUne_2LgxkvS9rhhk/s400/photo(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bringing the ruckus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-88322878845500534162013-06-30T19:31:00.003-07:002013-06-30T19:32:30.507-07:00WORS Red Flint Fire Cracker So after missing the Wooley Race ealier this spring I thought I should get in a little XC racing while the Family was in town. Eau Claire is now as far west as the WORS series gets in WI.......Maybe they should just call it EWORS.<br />
I finally renewed my USAC license, just so I could ask nicely if I could do the open elite race even though I am still a Cat 2. Not sure how that happened. Once I got a geared bike, I just started racing in the elite class, and no one ever told me no, so I never actually got any upgrade points.<br />
Long Story, short. Last row start. Everyone was super fast. I fell into the trap of going way too hard too early. My garmin was squaking at me constantly that my HR was too high (it was over 170 for the first lap). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx55ee2WvuRF152o-qpw9Hh3y9ZSnThm2ufVQ_SljGeeBvmLIoQbebpB_kJ3Tng9HqNsId8sAZy6zul7naR6GIM1fpokRGLDkoNuYwXoEjwVWQM0v5UT6ARBXBg_swGj_js0g2jysziTY/s1600/IMG_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx55ee2WvuRF152o-qpw9Hh3y9ZSnThm2ufVQ_SljGeeBvmLIoQbebpB_kJ3Tng9HqNsId8sAZy6zul7naR6GIM1fpokRGLDkoNuYwXoEjwVWQM0v5UT6ARBXBg_swGj_js0g2jysziTY/s320/IMG_0070.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really wanted me some orange drank!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I ended up giving up a bunch of spots as I was in damage control mode for the 2nd and 3rd laps. On the last lap, Me and a Dude from Fond Du Lac made contact with a group of about 5. I noticed that Reece Oleson was doing all the work at the front, so I came around and told Reece to sit on, since the train of people was undoubtedly going to try to jump him once they hit the single track. Once we made it throught the totally gratuitous "bog of despair" I looked back and saw that the group had gotten a little strung out, and by the time we had hit the rock garden, I had a 5 second gap. I tried to really make some hay then, and got a good 15 seconds at one point. However, with less than 2 miles to go I could tell that there was some pretty serious divergence between my HR and power output. My gap disappeared, I clipped a pedal and gave up 3 spots (I really wanted to finish 36th instead of 39th). I even tried to sprint to the finish, and once we in the chute my leg cramped so bad I fell off the bike.<br />
It is eye opening going to do the WI races. I was pleased with the effort but I know that I need to start getting some longer, high intensity efforts if I am going to keep playing with the big kids.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U9s0Mjs71Hkk0DXWTypVOKLUpkHgqDWKvTHHV9JF_7yfhmdlh8dg1EPigkxebuwdyJVsyY0Bj7v7p3WkmsS1ALUf90BAlLVGRKPpjd19tirM_lhdpB5NnjdtUInx1da0FNBchZbRIM8/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U9s0Mjs71Hkk0DXWTypVOKLUpkHgqDWKvTHHV9JF_7yfhmdlh8dg1EPigkxebuwdyJVsyY0Bj7v7p3WkmsS1ALUf90BAlLVGRKPpjd19tirM_lhdpB5NnjdtUInx1da0FNBchZbRIM8/s320/IMG_0078.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Then we got some family bike cleaning time.Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-56852790196398581622013-05-29T18:37:00.002-07:002013-05-29T18:50:57.380-07:00Moab Man Camp: Amasa back, Captain Ahab, and The Whole Enchilada<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moab Man Camp Day 1: get to airport in
DIA. Acquire luggage. John Waller tackles me from behind at the
luggage carousel.. After assuring security that this is not a act of
aggression, we proceed to public house to await the arrival of Josh
Patterson. Once we were on I70 headed West we got caught up on
everyones stories, and John Waller reaffirmed his financial backing
that the first person to pee on Patterson got 20 bucks. The tone was
set.
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ww15DvS-Q-ejNPDFFVswf3gJmhBCPlVi-lTPIQ13zSgt4GErAMqKdqVwnSqHlHr4pzAVNvPSiNxBc1nGeONSyIDmL1Si3PIngPLqtcYffjHlwPXtIdgZkyvK2VeL8e3zJt4Wh0X4-0s/s1600/IMAG0359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ww15DvS-Q-ejNPDFFVswf3gJmhBCPlVi-lTPIQ13zSgt4GErAMqKdqVwnSqHlHr4pzAVNvPSiNxBc1nGeONSyIDmL1Si3PIngPLqtcYffjHlwPXtIdgZkyvK2VeL8e3zJt4Wh0X4-0s/s320/IMAG0359.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got to Moab that evening and set up
camp off of Sand Flats Rd, not too far from the worlds 2<sup>nd</sup>
most scenic landfill (its says so on the map).little canyon that
provided We initially tried to get a campsite down on Kane Creek Rd
at the Moonflower canyon, but we arived about 10 minutes too late. I
had forgotten how sandy and windy it is in the desert southwest. It
was soon apperent that I would have to taylor my bushcraft to thrive
in this wasteland.. At about midnight, Slater and Jeff rolled in and
set up camp.</div>
The next morning we went on the prowl
to find a less wind swept campsite.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Cnwc1Own0k/UaUcSPlmXiI/AAAAAAAAFlU/p3VSDOg9zPU/w702-h395-no/2013-05-16_19-53-27_972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Cnwc1Own0k/UaUcSPlmXiI/AAAAAAAAFlU/p3VSDOg9zPU/w702-h395-no/2013-05-16_19-53-27_972.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boom. Shade at 3pm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We were able to catch a family
leaving their site (Site G6) that was nestled right in a sweet little
canyon that provided complete afternoon shade strting at about 3pm.
If you have ever spent any time in the desert you know that this is
money.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1MMKpOjjX3E/UaUcSNrY2bI/AAAAAAAAFlU/L3ouasM1-js/w300-h533-no/2013-05-18_08-22-22_533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1MMKpOjjX3E/UaUcSNrY2bI/AAAAAAAAFlU/L3ouasM1-js/w300-h533-no/2013-05-18_08-22-22_533.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking through our little canyon of vice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With our now digs nailed down, we headed out to ride Amasa
Back. I managed to make it about 150 feet
into the ride befoe I fell and busted my knee. Turns out that moondust
is not that grippy. However once we started rollling up the punchy
climbs of amasa back, I started to get the hang of transitioning from
sand to slickrock, and soon we we ticking off the miles. Patterson
had a Cannondale Trigger 29 for me to ride this week. I was really
impressed with the balance that it struck between capable trail bike
and pedaling stability. I would characterize the Trigger as a bike
for the “all-mountain curious”. It has a 69.5 degree HTA, and a
130mm lefty max that I found to be quite stiff. My only gripe
about the Lefty Max is that the dampening cartridge is tuned for a 180
lb rider so I could never really use all of my travel (even after
dropping the pressure to under 50 psi).
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigupzsz92L4ABiM7R_QbtGbyPu4GC5yaUAcAkz5wIcSITJv7ZTnZe-HU5yggJ3EHVumZ162KQsIveMr2CxJZ1CjGKNDO7f8hVFYmfqw1a4sfwjHz-ju3aG8Y0HPxbA3oi4C9bVSs6J71Y/s1600/IMAG0360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigupzsz92L4ABiM7R_QbtGbyPu4GC5yaUAcAkz5wIcSITJv7ZTnZe-HU5yggJ3EHVumZ162KQsIveMr2CxJZ1CjGKNDO7f8hVFYmfqw1a4sfwjHz-ju3aG8Y0HPxbA3oi4C9bVSs6J71Y/s320/IMAG0360.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amasa Back </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once we saw all the sights at Amasa
Back we came back down via the new trail called Captain Ahab. It was
mostly lots of exposed, technical slick rock. On Ahab you were
either going up or down, so it was pretty challenging since at that
point it was also the heat of the day that was sapping you dry. There
was some terrain on the last 3 miles of Ahab that really challenged
your handling skills with blind approaches and no way of knowing what
was at the bottom of each drop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUE7qYyPwMy9RamY7O_TgT0LMPMh8AvRXUq_IJVfWJS26RBP0IHQfATg5JfUq_OVTb1SwxPicSCKOgIxMWzCW-YUXDgcJMb61h96kA5fFgLjXrVxmXeM2EqqcYeVd5dql910c1V6X9NE/s1600/IMAG0363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUE7qYyPwMy9RamY7O_TgT0LMPMh8AvRXUq_IJVfWJS26RBP0IHQfATg5JfUq_OVTb1SwxPicSCKOgIxMWzCW-YUXDgcJMb61h96kA5fFgLjXrVxmXeM2EqqcYeVd5dql910c1V6X9NE/s320/IMAG0363.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pattersnap up to no good</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The next morning we all ponied up for
the Whole Enchilada Shuttle, which turned out to only take us up to
the start of the Kokopelli Trail since the trail up at Burro Pass was
still snowed in. We decided to start riding up towards Burro Pass to
get as much of the Enchilada as we could stand.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Wq0StX2reYRTxqRWSy2jGMUki0BZGmLMSupZj-adjw0jsay4jw8H4wpncUdEKmnIZqqpb9mipEVsEOQgCtIPg3uLX4JdmvTTHw3zjWQje6ZK7-lKIIZBw5dgeChdyHs-4YopVxqzSY4/s1600/IMAG0366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Wq0StX2reYRTxqRWSy2jGMUki0BZGmLMSupZj-adjw0jsay4jw8H4wpncUdEKmnIZqqpb9mipEVsEOQgCtIPg3uLX4JdmvTTHw3zjWQje6ZK7-lKIIZBw5dgeChdyHs-4YopVxqzSY4/s320/IMAG0366.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headed up from Hazard country</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQsKnVydUegnxqGPBrUj4yJGDZfMpccb-UKjUGBqIYup1gBYkJUMYQnoMKjZfau_17MMY6JmPZjM1EwnzhDTScmMulZgewg3BRIsR2vGjwe1IIsjt7Lf3Rl3XFeVSZG42ZiYc28ZQX5g/s1600/IMAG0371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQsKnVydUegnxqGPBrUj4yJGDZfMpccb-UKjUGBqIYup1gBYkJUMYQnoMKjZfau_17MMY6JmPZjM1EwnzhDTScmMulZgewg3BRIsR2vGjwe1IIsjt7Lf3Rl3XFeVSZG42ZiYc28ZQX5g/s320/IMAG0371.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patterson: its not much of a climber</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9x_gmNvuCVmHotFxyYIjI9_2PZb5sG4ioFRR-dE3CZSRaQBVvPcF0o2CzjoY_hg9x2czsZYDgXil_ecAcUDSsxiim3zjqz3iVMX30PfB_QKVduCmmlBBUXqkH2cxJmojqsymvbnxed4/s1600/IMAG0374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9x_gmNvuCVmHotFxyYIjI9_2PZb5sG4ioFRR-dE3CZSRaQBVvPcF0o2CzjoY_hg9x2czsZYDgXil_ecAcUDSsxiim3zjqz3iVMX30PfB_QKVduCmmlBBUXqkH2cxJmojqsymvbnxed4/s320/IMAG0374.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello there La Sal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZv09O_ph6l873MceOp1aK_KQ_41rCwlnQaFaoPLTOe524ib8wMZDMX8GuwZMs0_sKc_mXeL2bXIhU-IHVVALIyWfWMzuBAY9kCnM8itztdDdwMBaL93cuQEm2HJgySQ-v9cMokq5GPRE/s1600/IMAG0378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZv09O_ph6l873MceOp1aK_KQ_41rCwlnQaFaoPLTOe524ib8wMZDMX8GuwZMs0_sKc_mXeL2bXIhU-IHVVALIyWfWMzuBAY9kCnM8itztdDdwMBaL93cuQEm2HJgySQ-v9cMokq5GPRE/s320/IMAG0378.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff has a PhD in geology. We learned about rocks. Of which there are plenty in Moab</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPATtDnqaBIONip_CbnujifMEgy3lubRy-XqKzj61tJOx7YwtqKwgKmR1qQtSFFogr4L8yFf7EPwCh4eAu0l6fJyRi4_ZpViS64suXDG_AgTAmjoR7dI-l_2NJ-V8SIMQYGlnABgrz7i8/s1600/IMAG0379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPATtDnqaBIONip_CbnujifMEgy3lubRy-XqKzj61tJOx7YwtqKwgKmR1qQtSFFogr4L8yFf7EPwCh4eAu0l6fJyRi4_ZpViS64suXDG_AgTAmjoR7dI-l_2NJ-V8SIMQYGlnABgrz7i8/s320/IMAG0379.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sitting there. bleeding.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It was not long going up, before we
were in hero dirt, and into the aspen groves. I think that this is
one of the features of the whole enchilada that makes it so unique;
you go from high alpine tundra, to aspens, to high dessert slick
rock, to sandy canyon bottoms. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHpUT13L2A9i9q4IA3jRVAE58gjNbjjSvhsUKTXObvB86MRLsyC2g6LsMH40s7u7L4_N7_RU8KxvYifvbHgkG4M3ELd7d8LAWt9Rb3_t5tTgXzJAFtsPX3Rlh4fnBtw8LyG0wCQd0gUQ/s1600/IMAG0381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHpUT13L2A9i9q4IA3jRVAE58gjNbjjSvhsUKTXObvB86MRLsyC2g6LsMH40s7u7L4_N7_RU8KxvYifvbHgkG4M3ELd7d8LAWt9Rb3_t5tTgXzJAFtsPX3Rlh4fnBtw8LyG0wCQd0gUQ/s320/IMAG0381.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patterson was intent on slaying some mexican food on the whole enchilada.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BxElnoZ1oPr4vlmUSJbWqxm51Wz-WK6WRd401ZiHoo0Qe41azHS4wLG9bsk7Q8Go5LrQoqCL1ADwMUv9wgpjyofAJ5_k238h7-pSZqk52dGJ38ptXsU_jGe-qANv-WweS3M1sipwgFs/s1600/IMAG0382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BxElnoZ1oPr4vlmUSJbWqxm51Wz-WK6WRd401ZiHoo0Qe41azHS4wLG9bsk7Q8Go5LrQoqCL1ADwMUv9wgpjyofAJ5_k238h7-pSZqk52dGJ38ptXsU_jGe-qANv-WweS3M1sipwgFs/s320/IMAG0382.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The descent was simply amazing, as it
constantly challenged you with more and more technical terrain. It
forced you to constantly trust that your tires were going to hook up,
and that if you had enough speed you would roll over everything. I
only got in over my head once when I tried to roll off a 4 foot drop
without keeping my front end up.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We got spit out into Negro Bill Canyon
and then had to ride back into town to get the vehicles (and beer).</div>
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</tbody></table>
Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-88319594838745197152013-05-25T14:20:00.001-07:002014-01-22T05:09:57.811-08:00Moab Man Camp: Poison Spider Mesa, Portal, Slick Rock, and Fruita<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The next morning we headed to Poison
Spider mesa to ride up to the Portal Tail Overlook, and then descend
the portal trail. The ride up Poison Spider was our first and only
time sharing the tail with jeeps and moto traffic. The jeeps drivers
were very courteous, waving us thruogh whenever there was a back up
and cheering us on in the tech sections.
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U1mH8JH9FRE/UaUcSLZXSVI/AAAAAAAAFlU/cckQyWKb0wc/w702-h395-no/2013-05-18_11-50-13_503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U1mH8JH9FRE/UaUcSLZXSVI/AAAAAAAAFlU/cckQyWKb0wc/w702-h395-no/2013-05-18_11-50-13_503.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a few days of man camp things were starting to get pretty weird. Photo Cred: J Schroeder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UQ35sNLI7xI/UaUcSKKPX8I/AAAAAAAAFlU/mLrooSgZrqM/w702-h395-no/2013-05-18_11-35-04_455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UQ35sNLI7xI/UaUcSKKPX8I/AAAAAAAAFlU/mLrooSgZrqM/w702-h395-no/2013-05-18_11-35-04_455.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Navigating around the sand on poison spider mesa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The only real bummer was the 2-3 miles
of deep sand that we had to navigate through to get up to the
overlook.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzU4E-A4h2qrF4wZ0yd3dbDb2g4x6tWQsl130tqzl_Ql0n24RuoIfXddK22RsAC30czOk8n8pwAYQ4M4S5RTA5jyxbu6LMz3HgaocmXN07oGsQqqQ7rECp3xKYHUbCcZSs4gURAzVcyf4/s1600/IMAG0389.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzU4E-A4h2qrF4wZ0yd3dbDb2g4x6tWQsl130tqzl_Ql0n24RuoIfXddK22RsAC30czOk8n8pwAYQ4M4S5RTA5jyxbu6LMz3HgaocmXN07oGsQqqQ7rECp3xKYHUbCcZSs4gURAzVcyf4/s320/IMAG0389.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally to the top</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Once we got to portal it was all
business as theer was a storm brewingto the south, and portal is one
of the deadliest trails in Moab due to the extreme exposure. The
signs specificly tell you to dismount now, as 3 bikers have
previously died on Portal.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWoYOCOYVDxVt6H7xSm-PrFqZJZWgnKjtE17K-7i0bFwU4GzkgOmwxK-8gqhdNeihw-icar7YTjDS4GvEVM15yNrQf39cv9-MW0ymMlVHyUhWsWjdXsUiPGKH8w8-LECFQLrFtcWY7jA/s1600/IMAG0386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWoYOCOYVDxVt6H7xSm-PrFqZJZWgnKjtE17K-7i0bFwU4GzkgOmwxK-8gqhdNeihw-icar7YTjDS4GvEVM15yNrQf39cv9-MW0ymMlVHyUhWsWjdXsUiPGKH8w8-LECFQLrFtcWY7jA/s320/IMAG0386.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portal!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LrAP8fCsBNQ/UaUcSFJuYUI/AAAAAAAAFlU/zoeo5nEggME/w702-h395-no/2013-05-18_12-31-13_765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LrAP8fCsBNQ/UaUcSFJuYUI/AAAAAAAAFlU/zoeo5nEggME/w702-h395-no/2013-05-18_12-31-13_765.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And Patterson kept riding. Photo: J Schroeder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dhkWSzFIctI/UaUcSCO8kvI/AAAAAAAAFlU/ynLWk8qAXP4/w702-h395-no/2013-05-18_12-34-52_593.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dhkWSzFIctI/UaUcSCO8kvI/AAAAAAAAFlU/ynLWk8qAXP4/w702-h395-no/2013-05-18_12-34-52_593.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lots of exposure Photo: J Schroeder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After we finished portal with all aof
our appendages intact, we snagged some pizza headed to our swimming
hole up left hand canyon. Knowing that it was our last day in Moab
we also got a twilight slick rock loop in before dinner. Slickrock
is one of those trails that many folks think has played out, but it is just so incredible the first time you ride it.
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dismk8Cz28k6fLGBzLuK72FlIZfvb6IgxaIKtckyJ1IOyNoLF-_-PpYMbduiHyT9llmMLnyDcji1Vuod_L8KOFRXVIGQUMEBJ_2cbIZT5UTD5-n4p_qN-2N8jIScEbASdJ47uzmmL4c/s1600/IMAG0396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dismk8Cz28k6fLGBzLuK72FlIZfvb6IgxaIKtckyJ1IOyNoLF-_-PpYMbduiHyT9llmMLnyDcji1Vuod_L8KOFRXVIGQUMEBJ_2cbIZT5UTD5-n4p_qN-2N8jIScEbASdJ47uzmmL4c/s320/IMAG0396.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Classic: Slickrock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We rolled slickrock right at dusk, and it was perfect. One thing that I did notice was that there were a lot of people riding slickrock that really were ill prepared for it. I really think that the real reason the slickrock trailhead/parking lot is so big is so that they can get the ambulances in more easily. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIcNEtFlWfyEMqpaTRo5M2DW4jBq7fLa1yQ60oWysg6xXlc5vmos1BIGL4X0WB0ZvjiCG4UZu1RiJrM115NDxuiyN3_A0T6ElXRLAvoHyC1y-f_IhoM93LZ9w5jZalkcByWDZb9p2Puew/s1600/IMAG0397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIcNEtFlWfyEMqpaTRo5M2DW4jBq7fLa1yQ60oWysg6xXlc5vmos1BIGL4X0WB0ZvjiCG4UZu1RiJrM115NDxuiyN3_A0T6ElXRLAvoHyC1y-f_IhoM93LZ9w5jZalkcByWDZb9p2Puew/s320/IMAG0397.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fruita: Horsethief</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We did stop in fruita on our way back to DIA. I got to ride a $10,000 mtb. I managed not to trash anything.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIVzejXdZTE6o0871viYQ3elLyq6Q097lGHRGWTYkpEC_OVv9E2E6KJyqm64RZzhWoY0PG54TfSEUsBrnM4kxv2TwqxgP6eUrJeZPdlRuzFiPcA-d8B-6qdoTNkB3wYhzxWB9SbOzrXJI/s1600/IMAG0399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIVzejXdZTE6o0871viYQ3elLyq6Q097lGHRGWTYkpEC_OVv9E2E6KJyqm64RZzhWoY0PG54TfSEUsBrnM4kxv2TwqxgP6eUrJeZPdlRuzFiPcA-d8B-6qdoTNkB3wYhzxWB9SbOzrXJI/s320/IMAG0399.jpg" height="320" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thats not gonna buff out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Which is more than I can say for some people.<br />
In all seriousness Moab really is still the place for wide open technical singletrack. I would not have had near as much fun without a dropper seatpost and a 5 inch bike. When I got back on trails here in MN I found myself steering with my hips and using more body english instead of steering the Scalpel . Moab is just one of those places that sticks with you.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-4731707212143489442013-05-25T13:58:00.001-07:002013-05-25T13:58:44.808-07:00Early Season Levis Trow <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;">Butch hatched the plan that we should take a day trip to Levis Trow. This was my 4th or 5th trip so I got to play tour guide to Butch and Alvin!</td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCD8JPCBQoa13G-djEgxDLVt8W6118mojV9MO2Hsgw593XfUDi1A9ayCaorN_fh-W073GrwEFaDF0wGRQjCbY9aoPx6hjo9sYo8hwOo-ZvIdnxZjXDCR1V14wBP36FcnSGjjRXxW3MGU/s1600/IMAG0307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCD8JPCBQoa13G-djEgxDLVt8W6118mojV9MO2Hsgw593XfUDi1A9ayCaorN_fh-W073GrwEFaDF0wGRQjCbY9aoPx6hjo9sYo8hwOo-ZvIdnxZjXDCR1V14wBP36FcnSGjjRXxW3MGU/s320/IMAG0307.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was so early that Butch had to scootch under and around all the tree fall. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6el0EU-NIhceAAwSIvl8sIfo-ann3pUCHoub7Lvo5AF5IghKIlUBw0j300cgAov0Pf-rG6eXy9g7IPzvYmwgdT2evn5PtedT2tBJ8sPxU0GdDGkDfIwMALKY76NwKyYpxeRy7o4vSW4/s1600/IMAG0315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6el0EU-NIhceAAwSIvl8sIfo-ann3pUCHoub7Lvo5AF5IghKIlUBw0j300cgAov0Pf-rG6eXy9g7IPzvYmwgdT2evn5PtedT2tBJ8sPxU0GdDGkDfIwMALKY76NwKyYpxeRy7o4vSW4/s320/IMAG0315.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alvin powers the wee wheels. We had a 29er, a 650b, and a 26er. We don't share tubes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZpA_6ORpJFIBTpquysXd2kIFri5ohPSIGRcn5ZwGtLFWmxTfpUP062goVLulK-Hetyqzb0cbpJSRFWSfmNO9nXlpqPpDS1Xg5qnQtDJxGvpr453VcldCuVJrxdeg7IWM-X11eRvmFso/s1600/IMAG0327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZpA_6ORpJFIBTpquysXd2kIFri5ohPSIGRcn5ZwGtLFWmxTfpUP062goVLulK-Hetyqzb0cbpJSRFWSfmNO9nXlpqPpDS1Xg5qnQtDJxGvpr453VcldCuVJrxdeg7IWM-X11eRvmFso/s320/IMAG0327.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alvin Shreds the notch on Toad Road. I think that this is the most iconic part of Levis.</td></tr>
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We had a great day, full of monstrous sandwiches, homebrew, and large DQ Blizzards on top of about 35 miles of single track.Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-3815021343824553572013-05-01T19:13:00.004-07:002013-05-02T11:12:10.535-07:00Strada Fango 2013Strada Fango v2.0 was this past weekend. It almost was for naught as the original course was still buried in snow. If we had been on the original course ( and the ATV trails) I would have take the Scalpel. But since the word on the street was that this was a "gravel" thing, I took the CX bike.<br />
Start was fast. Lead group was whittled down to 6 pretty quick, with Swanson and Lillie (on a SS MTB!) leading the charge. I was able to hang in until we hit the glacier road. 4 miles of riding through either snow melt or praying that you do not break through the ice crust. the group of 6 split, Lillie, Swanson and a Ski-haus rider were gone. I yoyo-ed with Tim from Duluth for the next 10 miles until I shifted over cassette. He got out of sight, but would miss the next turn. So I got to ride 40 miles by myself, which is a great when you are on soft, wet sand roads that attempt to suck you down. It was a character building ride, to say the least.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My trying to avoid swampy mud was for naught, as I would find out.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I did notice the lever throw of the disc brakes grow considerably after the swampy sections, but I never ran out of braking power. The OEM brakes that Cannondale specs uses organic pads. I was not thrilled about this, but will look for some metallic aftermarket pads.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Cred <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Out-There-Nordic-Sports-Camping/132951713390883">Out There</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Cred <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Out-There-Nordic-Sports-Camping/132951713390883">Out There</a></td></tr>
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All thing considered, it was a great day. We had awesome weather, and I got to hang with some great people afterwards. Big thanks to the Strada crew for putting on a great event. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lot of Character building went on.</td></tr>
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Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-20969154982923646952013-04-21T20:19:00.000-07:002013-04-22T17:57:51.824-07:00Dairy Roubaix 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I got a wild hair this weekend to head down to southern Wisconsin for the Dairy Roubaix when I got wind that the Mammoth Gravel Classic was going to be postponed due to snow. Drove 3 hours on Friday after work to get settled in. Awesome venue. Great people. We had a community cooler so every body got to try something new. Plus Kevin from <a href="http://redeyebrewing.com/">Red Eye Brewing in Wausau</a> brought down a beverage cylinder of a Rye Porter that was off the hook. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chow line in the morning. I am feeling highly caffeinated. Photo Cred <a href="http://twowheelsfromhome.blogspot.com/2013/04/im-sold.html?spref=fb">Two Wheeled Maiden </a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting to start on a beautiful WI morning.</td></tr>
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The next morning I realized that I was the northerner amongst all the southerners. People were putting on full length tights, Jackets, fleece hats w/ ear flaps, and neoprene booties. I was in a vest, embro and arm warmers and loved every second of it. We rolled out enmass and were down the road pretty quick. The first 5 miles were pretty much down hill, as we headed for the river. I was a little too lax and let a big gap form when bottles started flying and people started acting sketchy. It took me a few minutes to chase it down, and I did not think I was doing that much work, but when I checked my garmin file it said I pegged my HR at 192. One match burned.<br />
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As we made the turn to come up out of the river, there were 2 guys that were already away, and up the road. After a bit, I went to the front since it seemed like Brian Fuhrmann was doing all the work in our group of 7. By mile 17 I realized that Brian and I were the only ones doing anything. I pulled off the the side, and some club roadie actually stayed right on my wheel as I went over the the yellow line.</div>
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"you marking me, brah?" </div>
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Then it dawned on my that this guy had someone up the road. This was the first indicator of my roadie ignorance. I don't have a problem with people sitting in, but at least feign a contribution to the group. This isn't a crit, and your not Jens.</div>
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The second indication of my ignorance of roadie culture is that you can never shame a roadie into doing anything that they do not want to do. This is a mentality that I have been aware of, but have so much contempt for, that I stay away from the road scene. In hind site, I should have just started attacking. We were in these valleys with these long climbs, where it would have been so easy to launch a flier, OVER and OVER and OVER again. It least then it would have been miserable for everyone, and we might have shed some dead weight. Once we hit the 27 mile mark there was a pee break stop, and guess who attacks? That ended the roadie hijinks for the day.</div>
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All of the climbs pretty much consisted of the couloirs along the Mississippi river. It really reminded me of being back in Kentucky with all of the Kar<span id="goog_1262156660"></span><span id="goog_1262156661"></span>st topography and small farms. Right before we got to the finish Brian and one other guy from our group peeled off for the rest of the 107 miler (I just did 57 miles). Then we started this gut busting climb up to the top of the river bluffs to intersect with CR X. once we hit the top it was pretty smooth sailing. I did get jumped 100 yards from the finish line by the two guys that had just sat on my wheel for the last 6 miles. <i>rolls eyes</i>. I was pleased with the effort.<br />
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Average moving speed was 17.2 mph, and overall avg speed was 17.0mph. We had about 4700 feet of climbing. I finished 5th. It was a glorious time and many thanks go out to the folks at Wisconsin Bikes for Good. I met some great people, and finally got to see some ground that was not covered in snow.</div>
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The new bike worked awesome, and I am really impressed with what Cannondale is able to do with aluminum. The ride was never harsh, and the Ultegra worked great. I really did not notice the brakes being good or bad. The wheels are tanks. I bet you could knock 2 pounds off that bike with some Stans Crest wheels and some nice tires. </div>
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Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-73368215687733247132013-04-12T19:28:00.001-07:002013-04-14T12:35:00.499-07:00Shame The judging eyes of Brutus were upon me.<br />
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I could see him thinking, "you big dumb honky, how could you possibly get road rash at a indoor spin class?"<br />
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My dog has the kind of cutting wit that would drive away Mormons and girl scouts.<br />
I also experienced the euro lament of the injustice of nutella <span style="color: black;">packaging</span><br />
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There is still snow on the ground. sigh. </div>
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On the upside, I did order my new CX bike.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cxmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/cannondale-cross-bike-2013-img_0074-e_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://www.cxmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/cannondale-cross-bike-2013-img_0074-e_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Cred: CX Magazine</td></tr>
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Wanted to give disc brakes a whirl. Will see how this goes. </div>
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Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-27472772833871760382013-03-30T18:48:00.001-07:002013-03-31T13:00:30.261-07:00SprungWe have been on suicide watch around here. The first winter we had in MN was supposed to be have been really bad, but this year has really sucked. The continued cold and an especially fussy child has had me on the brink of irrational actions several time (like driving to to texas irrational). But now it looks like things are on the up swing. It was practically tropical this afternoon, but I was unable to gather the fortitude to get out and ride before pm church.<br />
I am reaching that strange point where I am getting ready to be in between bikes as I liquidate one to move on up to another. last weekend was the Slick 50 and it lived up to its name. What just aboout got me was not the icy trails that we had to navigate on our way out of town. Rather it was the fast descents that required functional brakes once we got out to Eden Prairie/Minnetonka hills. Even really well set up cantilevers are really only useful for slowing you down, not stopping. Up until now I have relied on my geared CX bike to pull road duty, and it works ok. However the consequences for not getting stopped in CX race and on the road are very different. At this point in my life stopping has become important.<br />
That being said, I have also listened the voices and reason of numerous people and I decided that it was time to just move on to disc brakes on the CX bike. I do not believe that cantis are dead or that disc brakes will ever be better than road calipers, but rather that they offer me more utility for the things that I do on a bike. I acknowledge that there is a weight penalty with disc brakes, but the level at which I race it is really just a wash.<br />
I have also been dinging up a lot of rims with the really crappy road conditions. The imperative to have true wheels is much less when your are not relying on lateral and radial rim integrity for friction.<br />
I have also been in a bit of a weight weenie haze, and that can be a bit too expensive when you start destroying 1500 gram wheel sets at a rate of more than 1 per year.<br />
So that means that we are on to a new standard. stand by for more.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jasper is reaching that age where his athletic ability has exceeded his level of coordination. This morning he had a busted lip to match what was going to be a nice shiner</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGxdPKlVcIywEDs_6jzQFlx9nzwbbWteiysEL56DwNjNswVQBLjfHSaqdUHl7FmKMYvGDELU_TL13X46ldCAzHFAGMEFlIDKGfY3qJNjffW4xGmU8qZTBhiAfIyMPZ6zgfkOflX1xdzs/s1600/IMAG0243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This has to end eventually.</td></tr>
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Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-37238886667875148632013-02-23T17:12:00.001-08:002013-02-23T17:12:53.073-08:00Mixed disciplines<p>Butch and I busted out some rural road action today. I get a chuckle out of the bus stops that some of the farmers put at the end of their drives. There is bus stop down near Hastings that consists of a tractor cab. This was right next to Acton alps hence the old gondola.</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3jroTvOJkANb37UtPsPw2mZPDLugmrKcq-CBZKaUFA1H5F-9S-nrxf3LbegoX_iNr5EXRrNGPS9-yNgYfPM5CtcWlNawyyUWvk9wSUMeZQq9pT1LcNoKT0E95ZCcIrAoGJz1fOUVUB0/s1600/IMAG0204.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3jroTvOJkANb37UtPsPw2mZPDLugmrKcq-CBZKaUFA1H5F-9S-nrxf3LbegoX_iNr5EXRrNGPS9-yNgYfPM5CtcWlNawyyUWvk9wSUMeZQq9pT1LcNoKT0E95ZCcIrAoGJz1fOUVUB0/s640/IMAG0204.jpg' /> </a> </div>Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-39145684874998063472013-02-11T18:09:00.000-08:002013-02-13T14:31:53.380-08:00Cross Worlds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last weekend I went to CX Worlds with my Supervisor Adam. Adam will dispute the fact that he is my supervisor, but his name is on my performance evals, so as far as I am concerned he is my supervisor. It was Adam, his 5 YO son Gerit, Dave, a dentist from Zumbrota, and I in a rental car for 12 hours each way.</div>
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It was a glorious time. By the time I got to the hotel all the Kansans were there and well into some PBR. Then some random dude from the Oregon Cross Crusade just wandered into our room, and Slater proceeds to bash OBRA and give the guy crap. If the dude had not just walked into our room I would have felt bad.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeping the mighty Ohio river at bay</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathon Page put on a good show, but had a mechanical that knoked him out of the running</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The course was awesome. I came away from the races thinking that our courses are simply not technical enough.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Voss just made everyone else look weak. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dangling. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U-23 Next year!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Lars was really impressive. Just kept laying the power down late in the race and popped onto the podium.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bart had a great race too. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poops and giggles abounded as we made fun of Brandon Bundys aversion to germs.</td></tr>
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I was pretty bummed that I did not get to see Mod's Race, where he brought the rainbow colors back to Nebraska. It was good to see the midwest so well represented.<br />
The snow keeps falling in Minnesota. Somebody should have shot that groundhog.......Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-29972179032908357162013-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:002013-02-04T12:00:58.310-08:00Fat Bike Musing and Riding St. Croix River Ice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week Eddie K lent me his fat bike for an entire week. I had the opportunity to ride it in several different scenarios. The first was at the Hillside race up in Elk River. I did not do as well as I thought I should have, but I had the distinct feeling that to milk the most out of a fatbike you really need to be realistic about your expectations. </div>
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<li>If the snow is packed, its probably going to be faster on a narrow tire bike. </li>
<li>Don't expect to accelerate rapidly. you are pushing a lot of rubber around, capitalize on your inertia.</li>
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After getting input from Grelk, I realized that it might be best to utilize the utility of the Pugsley for exploration. Enter Barry Tungseth: who hatched a plan to ride the St. Croix River north from Stillwater to Marine on St. Croix.There was only one other person dumb enough to join us, David Meyer of the Hub, Bike Cooperative. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little preventative medicine for my first river ice experience</td></tr>
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I will admit that I was scared to death at first, but Barry led the way. and we only saw open water once. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once we got north of the High Bridge we just skirted the sand bars on the WI side of the river.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was just so amazing to be out on a perfect day, seeing what no one else will ever witness on that day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was incredibly unnerving to look down through the ice and see the river bottom. You also would gauge the ice thickness by looking at the ice cracks......</td></tr>
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We were all on fat bikes, and tried to stay on the fringe of the river where there was some snow, as the ice could be incredibly treacherous. That being said, I only fell a few times<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Certain sections looked liked there had been a lot of Snowmobile traffic. Photo: David Meyer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post Coffee/Pre bubble gut. Photo: David Meyer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We only had one incidence of breaking through the ice, and thankfully the water was only 20 inches deep. The hole was just big enough to sink a wheel into. Photo: David Meyer</td></tr>
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Dave and Barry were great company and I would love to ride with them any time. I also had some time to reflect on the utility of fatbikes. I guess that I see the most utility for fat bikes off the beaten path. I actually did not care for it on the single track, as I was used to super steep angles and fast acceleration.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made Jasper a sweet school bus cake for his 2nd birthday.</td></tr>
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<br />Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352972768856656783.post-261307809205037562012-12-06T15:13:00.002-08:002012-12-06T15:13:30.977-08:00The case for conservation.PBS is currently streaming the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/">2 part Ken Burns documentary on the dustbowl</a>. It a pretty good representation of what can go wrong when we disregard good agricultural practices for the sake of a few more dollars. Something that most people do not realize is that about half of the row crop farm land in the US is rented for cash. This means that the tenants do not have a vested interest in the land, and the land owners probably live in a city and do not have any connection to the land. Land rent has gotten so expensive that tenants feel the need to squeeze every last dollar they can out of an acre.
I hear this argument all the time from people in the ag industry usually when someone is trying to justify a poor agricultural practice.<br />
It drives me insane.<br />
The most direct (but not necessarily effective) solutions involve regulation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-point_source_pollution">nonpoint source pollution</a>, but this approach will just mean that food will become more expensive and the environmental impact marginal. Regulations are a good fit for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_source_pollution">point sources of pollution</a>, but have historically had a extremely low success rate with non-point sources of pollution like sediment, excess nutrients, and the off-site movement of crop protection products.<br />
It is a very complex problem. The one thing that I am sure of is that there are a ton of ignorant people touting simple solutions to complex problems. I happen to believe that education (perhaps mandatory?) will improve our quality of life in rural areas and for those that live downstream, but its a shame that it takes disasters like the dust bowl to draw attention to problems.Joshua Stamperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559101607026277049noreply@blogger.com0