California :: Moving On

My stay with Kathryn Doyle was a very pleasant and much needed “break” and I am indebted to her and her husband for their hospitality. I was also able to finally view the television series “American Faces” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” and thought that they were both well done and quite interesting. Thank you very much, Kathryn!

Leaving Oakland, I took the much despised Interstates south, heading for a rendezvous with my friends Sue and Fred at the Grand Canyon. Sue also happens to be my 3rd cousin once removed. Her great-grandfather, Luther Marion Joslin (1852-1930) was a brother of my great-great-grandmother Malissa Mariah Joslin Brubaker Bower (1849-1937). They were the children of Lysander and Lydia Robison Joslin. Sue's uncle, Irwin Joslin, was the first to make contact with our branch of the family (in 1968).

I allowed several days for the drive from Oakland to the Grand Canyon – it was much further than I had thought, about 850 miles. I didn't make any sightseeing stops along the way except for a slight detour to the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve, however I didn't take the time to walk any of the trails. It was almost impossible to get a good close-up shot of the poppies because of the wind, but they were absolutely gorgeous!






Photographs taken on April 8, ...

Natural Gourd Birdhouse

Kittens at Play

High Heels and Saddle Height

A belated Monday Mailboxpost, on account of my wifi having conked out yesterday. Here is a variation of a question I've gotten from several readers this summer:

...I'd like to wear high heeled shoes on my bike, but find it's hard to get the saddle height right. If I adjust the saddle for my heels it is too high when I wear flats, and vice versa. What do you recommend?

The problem here is not so much with the high heels themselves as it is with platform soles. Over the past year platform and wedge style shoes with substantial stack heights have become popular again. And alternating between shoes that are flat, and shoes with a 3cm rise in the sole will make a noticeable difference in leg extension on the bike.



For short distances, this might not matter so much. Some women will adjust their saddle height for flats and then simply ride with it too low when wearing heels and platforms. Others (myself included) find this uncomfortable even for short stretches. And of course for longer distances riding with your saddle too low is simply a bad idea - not only uncomfortable, but bad for the knees.





Aside from the obvious but unhelpful suggestion of picking a heel height and sticking with it, one thing to consider is converting your seatpost to quick release. This should be easy to do on most bikes: You simply purchase a quick release skewer, and install that in place of the seat clamp bolt. I now have QR seatposts on my everyday city bike and on my cargo bike, and they have changed my life. Well, not really. But they have liberated me to wear crazy heels again without worrying about leg extension. In mere seconds I can adjust the saddle to whatever height I want before a ride; problem solved.



Granted, the downside to quick release seatposts is the increased possibility of saddle theft - which means either sticking with an inexpensive saddle on your QR bike, taking the seatpost and saddle with you every time you leave the bike locked up, or using an extra lock to secure the saddle to the bike. The last two are a bother, but still could be worth it for the versatility of footwear the setup affords.



Another possibility is adjusting your saddle height on the go without a QR seatpost. Just carry the appropriate tool with you. Of course this assumes the ability to do it on your own, and a willingness to constantly mess with your saddle height "the hard way." Personally, I kind of enjoy this. But still the quick release is an easier and more reasonable solution.



After several years of wearing mostly flat shoes, I've been getting back to heels and platforms lately and it's been great fun. And being able to adjust my saddle height on the go means my leg extension is always just the way I like it.

Evening in Cathedral Valley

After yesterday's hikes it was nice to relax in the truck for a while and enjoy a little road time between Natural Bridges and Capitol Reef. Speaking of which, the drive between those two parks has some of the most incredibly scenery to be found anywhere! It is also a very desolate road with almost no development. We arrived in Capitol Reef National Park during the early evening hours and were hoping to camp at the park's campground, unfortunately it was FULL. So, we headed into the nearby town of Torrey hoping to find a nice private campground. We certainly did find a nice place! We actually ended up renting a small camper cabin at a private campground on the west end of town. The cabin was warm and cozy, there was a shower building AND the cabin had wi-fi! We were in heaven :-)





































This morning we had a nice breakfast at the cabin then headed out to explore Capitol Reef National Park. We did a hike through the Grand Wash, which was really cool but also overloaded with people, being that it wasn't that far from the visitor center. After that hike we couldn't wait to get into the backcountry of the park, which was our plan for the rest of the day and the next morning. Earlier on in the trip we had decided that we wanted to see Cathedral Valley, which is a very remote part of Capitol Reef that is in the northern part of the park. There are 3 different ways to reach the valley; we went in from the southeast direction via the Caineville Wash Road. The road, like many in southern Utah, varies between a base of gravel, clay and sand. It was actually in very good shape and we had no trouble at all passing through. It is still a very remote area, though, and we only saw 3 or 4 other vehicles during our time in this part of the park.





































The first area of the valley that we came to was Lower Cathedral Valley, which is famous for its two massive sandstone monoliths known as the Temples of the Sun and Moon. These monoliths are incredible... they are sobig that you feel truly insignificant when standing alongside them. We walked around the temples and photographed them from various angles then continued on the road to Upper Cathedral Valley. We were, of course, hoping for a magnificent sunset but it was not to be. Clouds moved in and made our evening light rather flat. We drove up to the backcountry campground and set up our camp then returned to the valley to spend more time taking in the wonders of the cathedrals. The sandstone here is endlessly intriguing. The lines and patterns in the cliffs surrounding the valley made for some pretty interesting photographs. As the light faded we made our way back to camp where we enjoyed a very calm and peacefulevening. There was only one other party staying at the 6-site campground that night and we didn't hear a peep from them all night. We crawled into our sleeping bags glowing from the excitement of another amazing day of adventure in the southwest, but also a little sad knowing that tomorrow we have to head home :-(

Immersion foot?

Frostbitten toes are easy to identify. Immersion foot is not.

(this is another retread piece from June of '10. It is worth a few minutes of your time if my personal experience is any example.)



In the last couple of weeks I have been asking my buddies what they have been up to. With all the nasty weather over most of the Western states and into Canada no surprise many of us are still trying to ice/alpine or even "winter" climb of sorts.

Frost-bite is less of an issue outside of Alaska in spring. Immersion foot is not. And that injury is more serious than you might first think.

"Immersion foot occurs when feet are cold and damp while wearing constricting footwear. Unlike frostbite, immersion foot does not require freezing temperatures and can occur in temperatures up to 60° Fahrenheit (about 16° Celsius). The condition can occur with as little as twelve hours' exposure."

FWIW I suspect mild immersion foot injuries (the ones with no visual injury) are very common in the summer and winter alpine climbing communities but unreported and generally unrecognised for what they really are.

How easy is the injury to sustain? I came off a 24hr c2c winter climb and on the walk out decided I was tired enough a nap on the trail was in order. Something I had done before many times in the past winter or summer. I wasn't particularly dehydrated (but likely more than I realised), hungry or cold but with the early start from home, the drive, the approach, the climb, the decent and then the walk out I was pretty worn out and had by then been up for 30+ hrs. So a quick nap seemed a luxury. I laid down on my pack to keep me off the ground and figured as usual when the cold woke me up I'd finish the walk out with a bit more energy. The cold did wake me up as expected. So I got a 20 or 30 minute nap. And with in a few minutes of walking I was warm again and life seemed better. But what I hadn't noticed till then was I still had damp feet from breaking through some water ice earlier in the day. Took longer than expected while walking to the car for my feet to warm up, but they did eventually warm up. When I got home I took a hot shower and hit the sheets for a few hrs before I went back to work. When I finally stepped back into my shop I noticed the front half of both feet were numb. Because I kept climbing all winter it took a full 18 months for that to totally disappear and my feet are very susceptible to re injury. (front of my feet go numb) Now re injury can happen by just a few hrs of cold feet sitting at the computer early in the morning barefoot. Or wearing tight rock shoes in cool conditions and not moving, like a hanging belay for example, can do it as well.

Another example? I spent most of my first Alaskan expedition wiggling my toes every night for a hr or so before I fell asleep in my lwt bag if we weren't actually out climbing. I'd count the toe curls until I fell asleep. By the end of that trip I had numb toes but no frost bite injuries. I'd bet now I had a classic case of Immersion foot.

Not a lot is out there for the care of Immersion foot incurred in a climbing situation. Two friends I talked to about the injury said they had "frost nip", a third thought he had "nerve damage". But the symptoms are nearly the same. And almost everyone I know who has spent time out winter climbing has had either Immersion foot or Frost Bite. I suspect the basic treatment to heal the injury (nerve damage, Immersion foot, or moderate Frostbite-blisters) is also the same, keep your feet warm, clean and give yourself time to heal the injury completely without re injury.

What we miss is Immersion foot can easily lead to very serious re injury and less resistance to cold injuries in general.

So how do you know you have it? Many of us have always thought of it as "frost nip" but it generally is not. Immersion foot is serious damage to your nerves and circulation in the foot. And frost bite will be the freezing of tissue. But Immersion foot may have almost no outward sign of injury. Frost Bite most defiantly will. A good thing many of us are beginning to recognise there is an injury with Immersion foot by incorrectly naming it "frost nip". Your feet or at least the toes and forefoot become numb with Immersion foot. Get a good enough case of Immersion foot and even your once comfortable but tight rock shoes will now not fit and worse yet re injure you feet on a typical spring day and you don't have to have cold feet while it happens .

The other culprit that leads to Immersion foot is abuse, same reason the rock shoe scenario is so hard on their past winter's injury. Get on some hard and continuous alpine ice with a tight fitting boot and it is very easy to pound you feet and toes into submission with nerve damage. But sometimes it is hard to tell nerve damage from Immersion foot. Keeping your feet warm and dry once out of the mountains is your best chance of healing your feet quickly and getting back outside in comfort.

Besides making an effort to treat your feet better and wearing a warmer climbing boot this time of year with all the bad weather, what can you do once you have a good case of Immersion foot?

My answers to date: wear very warm shoes in the house or office so your feet sweat. Keep your feet dry even if you have to change socs several times a day while doing little or nothing. It will heal the nerve endings faster if your feet are warm. But avoid doing nothing once you are out of your boots. Walking seems to speed healing. Pounding out mileage I am not so sure about once you get into the "abuse of feet" distances. Watch how warm/dry your feet stay if you are riding a bicycle for training. Remember you only have to get to 60° Fahrenheit (about 16° Celsius) before damage can re occur. After the first incident with Immersion foot your feet will be damaged easier the next time. The amount of time between the first injury and the next exposure can make a difference as well on how you heal and your next case of Immersion foot. While your feet are still numb stay out of tight rock shoes. And most importantly avoid getting your feet cold again for any reason while they are still numb. The more time between exposures to cold the better.

As a side note to make the point. Have you ever heard of older people having "poor circulation" in their feet and them always being cold? Remember that Immersion foot can be experienced at 60° Fahrenheit. Many, many cases of "poor circulation" as we age are simply reoccurring Immersion foot events until the person has suffered permeate cold damage to their feet.

Make some one you know happy this winter (or all year long) by buying them chemical heat packs and show them how to put them in their slippers or sox :)

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1938)

The 29th annual reunion of the Phend family was held in the Nappanee community Park, August 28th 1938.

Reunion will be held in Nappanee again next year.

A motion was made to retain same pres for another year. "Henry Phend"
Fred Ernest - Vice Pres.
Bob Bechtel - Sec'y Treas.
Mrs. Cecil Phend - Entertainment Com.

Reservation will be made for the pavilion for next year.

Bal on hand .87
Coll. 3.11
[balance] 3.98

Births this year
Judith Alice Phend daughter of Donald & Henretta

Total 3.98
Park fee 2.00
Notices .87
Bal. 1.11

Celestial Storm over Devil Fish Lake

I could not believe my eyes last night as I stood on the shores of Devil Fish Lake and watched this incredible aurora filling the sky overhead and reflecting in the ultra-calm waters of the lake below. This photo was taken about ten minutes after the "Solar Shock Wave" photo was made. As I watched this unbelievable light display in the sky, the haunting call of a pair of Loons echoed from across the lake. I couldn't think of any music more perfect than the call of Loons while watching the Aurora Borealis. Heaven in the north woods for sure :-)

Snow

I took this photo from our kitchen window looking over to our neighbors house.

Boys & Pony

Preston and Jayson were thrilled to be able to learn about my pony, Stormy. They learned to groom him and lead him, but most importantly learned to be calm and gentle when around a pony. Stormy seemed to like all the attention. I was so proud of him. He had never been around young children and was so good with the boys. Of course I was right there with them at all times.

Through the Window

Here is a shot I took looking through some old roots still attached to a log. As you can see the sky was very cloudy and there was almost a mist of rain.

The Shuder Family Mystery

The following records simply confirm information we already knew but they don't answer the questions as to whether Mary Tabitha Elzora Shuder was actually the daughter of Isaac Shuder and Nancy Jane Lavering or whether Noah Evert Long was the son of Mary Tabitha and John H. Long!

Mary Tabitha was born January 1, 1873 but Isaac and Nancy Jane were not married until October 26, 1875. Isaac would have been 29 years old when they married, Nancy was 20.

Noah Evert was born February 4, 1893 but Mary Tabitha "Dora" Shuder and John H. Long were not married until October 25, 1896.

For more information on this family mystery, please see my previous post "A new-found Cousin or Not?" Click on the images below to enlarge them.



The record on the left (above) shows that a marriage license was issued on October 25, 1875 to Isaac Schuder with consent of Daniel Lavering. Isaac Schuder and Nancy Jane Lavering were married on October 26, 1875. Elkhart County, Indiana Marriage Book 4 page 379.

On the right (above) is the marriage record that shows Dora Shuder married John H. Long on the 25th day of October 1896. Kosciusko County, Indiana Marriage Book K page 348.



On the left: Mary Tabitha Elzora Long married Walter L. Davis on November 8, 1926. Elkhart County, Indiana Marriage Book 35 page 618. The record shows that she was born in Kosciusko Co., Ind. on Jany 1, 1873; she resided in Middlebury, Ind.; her father was Isaac Shuder and her mother was Jane Lavering. It also shows that she was married once before and the marriage was dissolved by death on Sept. 16, 1920.

On the right: The marriage record of Noah Evert Long was on the next page (page 619). They were both married by S. S. Whisler a Justice of the Peace. Noah's record shows that he was born at Oswego, Kosciusko Co., Ind. on Feby 4, 1893; he resided in Middlebury, Ind. and was a Farmer; his father was John H. Long and his mother was Mary Tabitha Elzora Shudder.

What else has been going on

Some of these¹



have been doing some of this,



while nearby, this² was found:



Toothwort³ mania began in earnest.



We had visitors⁴.



This



gave way to this⁵.



There was also this⁶, which is not the same.



And neither is this⁷.



Some excavation⁸ was going on.



But was apparently not satisfactory.



Ahhh it's almost trillium time⁹.



Tiny snails were observed, and also something else¹⁰ that I'm still pondering.



-----

¹Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica
²See this earlier post if you're curious about the redrock fossils.
³Dentaria spp. Or is it all Cardamine now? I get confused.
⁴Canada Geese, Branta canadensis. I would say, "I know that you knew that already, I'm just trying to be consistent," but since there was a woman on a game show last night who did not know that the northern neighbor of the US is CANADA, for crying out loud, I'm not taking any chances.
⁵Hepatica or Liverleaf
⁶Rue Anemone, Thalictrum thalictroides
⁷Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium reptans) with Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) flower
⁸I'm guessing Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), but I'm not sure.
⁹Trailing Trillium, Trillium decumbens
¹⁰Little groups of tiny, tiny rocks are held together and to the larger rock surface like glue. Is something alive in there?