The Brenton's Final Results

Amy and I got up at 11:30 to the alarm on my phone. Yes, we had to set an alarm to wake up at 11:30. We are old people, and I sometimes get up at 11:30 for work. We dressed warmly because it is 40 degrees in Tucson tonight. I wore tights, two shirts, arm warmers, my Mountain Hardware beanie, and a windbreaker. Amy dressed similarly. Not only are we old, but we are desert rats too. We had a nice Fun Run through our neighborhood. We looked at the Christmas lights and watched the illegal fireworks shows. We ran 3.1 miles in 26:12, I burned 435 calories, had an average heart rate of 148 beats per minute, and averaged 8:43 miles according to my Garmin 305.

Early Results

Brett and his kids did their first half of the Broken, Beat & Scarred Team Brenton Fun Run. Brett finished in just over 22 minutes with Rebecca and Tyler just over 24 minutes. (I think they let the old man win to make him feel good). Remember to send pictures and times and I will post them here. Thanks to all who have/will participate.

Those are some cute little runners.

That looks like some serious business. Check out Tyler's hands. He is ready to sprint.

Christmas

Everyone made out pretty good this year. Caitlin got a video camera and is planning on becoming a youtube star. Philip got an acoustic guitar. He really seems to have a talent for music. Fortunately he is a metal head like his old man. Amy got a Patagucci fleece jacket and a new ipod. I made the mistake of introducing her to pod casts and her shuffle just wouldn't cut it anymore.I really scored. A set of tri-cams and 10 Wild Country carabiners. Just what my rack needed. Hope you had a Merry Christmas too.

Knot Answers

The answers to the knot trivia are as follows: Knot A- Granny Knot (This is probably the knot you are tying if your shoes come untied frequently, or you use a double knot to keep them from coming untied.) Knot B- Reef Knot. Some people call it the Square Knot, but a Square Knot is a completely different animal. (This is the base for a properly tied shoe.) Knot C- This is called a Thief Knot. Sailors used it to tie up their possessions in bags. It looks similar to a Reef Knot and then they could tell if someone had been stealing from them because the thief would surely use a Reef Knot to retie the bag. Unlike a Reef Knot it will easily come undone when pulled on. Brett got 100% on the first two, and half credit on the extra credit question. He's the only one who who even tried. It's like you people don't care about properly tied shoes. What's the matter with you. (Excuse me while I breathe in to a paper bag.) ..........OK, all better now.

Hypocrisy

I hope you like the Smiths. I know my friends Stayc and David do. In high school I was a big fan. They are outspoken vegetarians as evidenced by their album titled "Meat is Murder". I found if odd then when in the mid 90's that their song How Soon is Now, which is playing now, was played on a Nissan commercial while the advertisement touted the leather seats in the new Nissan Altima. I guess everyone has their price.

Music

It just wouldn't be Christmas without some AC/DC.

1st and 2nd Biannual Team Brenton 2.5K

We finally have it all together and are ready to announce the 1st and 2nd Biannual Team Brenton Fun Run. It starts on December 31st 2009. You run, walk, cycle, ski, snowshoe, skip, whatever 2.5K (1.55 miles). Then on January 1st 2010 you do the same. Amy and I are going to do ours back to back to end the year running, and ring in the new year running. Anyone who will be in town is welcome to join us. There will be finisher medals, and hand made bib numbers. All ages are welcome. Registration can be done by e-mail so I can get you your number (s) and medals. A small voluntary registration fee can be paid to either of theses charities https://www.ikat.org/make-a-donation/, or http://www.cureblindness.org/. The first link is to the Central Asian Project. That is Greg Mortenson's project to help educate girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. These girls live in remote villages and have no hope of ever being educated. He is the author of "Three Cups of Tea" (Amy's favorite book from 2008). The second link is to an organization started by Dr. Geoff Tabin. He is helping cure blindness in Nepal by raising money for cataract surgery. They are doing cataract surgeries in Nepal for $20. Normally these people would go blind, and then wait to die. There are articles about this charity in both Outside, and National Geographic Adventure this month. Both of the men who started these charities are climbers by the way. Here at Broken, Beat & Scarred we believe these charities to be honest and worthwhile. We hope to raise a few dollars that may help change someones life for the better, and have a good time while doing it. Take pictures, and send your times so we can post them here on BB&S. Hope to hear from you soon.

Alex Honnold

Last night at the gym I met Alex Honnold. If you don't know him you haven't been watching enough climbing videos. Alex is one of the best in the world right now. He is known for free soloing. Free climbing is using only your hands, feet etc to keep you on the rock, but using gear and a rope to protect you from a fall. Soloing is climbing without any gear, or a rope. So free soloing is using only your body to climb and doing it with no protection from a fall. That's right boys and girls one mistake and splat. Alex has free soloed some of the biggest hardest routes in the Yosemite valley like Half Dome. He seemed to be a very nice kid. He posed for a picture, and acted embarrassed to be recognized. Imagine that, a famous climber being recognized in a climbing gym. Watching him climb was amazing. He moves so easily on routes that are at my limit. He did some lead climbing and he would climb up a 10a, down climb, lead a 9-, and then down climb. Both of these routes are very overhung, and horizontal at the top. I have lead both of them and there is no way I could do them back to back after having down climbed them. I was geeking out after talking to him and telling Amy about all of his climbing accomplishments. She looked at me and said "You know he is going to die." It made me sad to think that someday I will open a Climbing magazine and read a memorial to Alex Honnold. He really is a nice kid. If you are interested either google him, or search for him on youtube.

Big Announcement

It's Christmas time at UPS (and everywhere else I would imagine) so I have not been as good at keeping up with my blog as I would like. I know I have a shoe tying lesson to finish, but I needed to let you know about a huge event coming soon. Team Brenton and Broken, Beat & Scarred will be holding it's first event at the end of the month. It will be available nationwide to all of my readers. More details to come in the next couple of days.

Tying Your Shoes

One of my pet peeves is improperly tied shoes. I know it shouldn't matter to me how other people tie their shoes, but I guess I feel sorry for those who can't properly tie a shoe. Take for example an engineer friend of mine (who will remain nameless). I saw him yesterday and it looked like his four year old had tied his shoes. They were untying themselves while he was sitting in a chair.

I am here to try to save you from yourselves and untied shoes. This is going to have to be at least a two part post, and maybe even three. I have done more research than any one man should ever do on tying shoes. I consulted all three of my knot books, the web, Runners World Magazine, and others who appreciate a well tied knot. I think I have found the perfect variation on a knot for tying your shoes.

First a quiz. Can you name the three knots below. Please leave your answers in the comments, or e-mail them to me. That is if you are interested.

Knot A. Knot B (correct name, not the Boy Scout name).

Knot C (trick question, extra credit).

The Bounty

It started innocently as a 5K Turkey Trot. I was going for a sub 24 minute PR (personal record). I had been trying to go sub 24 for the last four years on Thanks Giving Day, but conditions were never quite right. The first two years I had ridden the 109 mile El Tour de Tucson four days earlier. Last year I thought I would surely go sub 24. I had been doing speed work, and really working on running faster. It rained on race day, and was so muddy that it was impossible to run fast. This year I have been running lots of miles on trails, with lots and lots of hills. I am getting ready for a long race in February. I hadn't been concentrating on speed at all. I still thought I might be able to to go sub 24. Philip decided to run this year too. And so it begins. A couple days before the race I heard rumors of a bounty. On me specifically. My Dad had offered to pay Philip $20 if he beat me. Philip had run a 22 minute 5K the weekend before so I figured he would make a quick 20 bucks. Thursday morning we lined up. I put Philip up ahead of me with the faster guys. After the gun went off I couldn't see Philip. He got a pretty good lead on me. There is a loop where you can see the runners ahead of you. He was about 45 seconds ahead of me. Half a mile into the second lap I realized that the kid just a little bit ahead of me was Philip. I'd know that cowlick anywhere. When I caught up to him I realized he was hurting. I thought about running with him to help him out. Maybe let him cross the finish line first. Nah, the little fart conspired against me, and I was going to PR. I patted him on the back on the way by. That's Philip getting his feet wet.

Like mother like son.

That's me coming over the hill. That kid ran in front of until the last 100 yards. His T-shirt said 2008 State Finalist. In the finishing chute I turned around to talk to him and the front of his shirt said swimming. I thought I was beating a State Finalist Runner.

New Music

I recently found three new songs that I like so I decided to put all three on BB&S this week. Breath 2AM by Anna Nalick is a very pretty song I think. Psycho by Puddle of Mudd is just catchy. Pursuit of Vikings is my favorite new song. It is by Amon Amarth. They are a Norwegian hardcore metal band that sings about vikings. Amy says it sounds like Cookie Monster singing. They may be adolescent, but I still like them.

R3 Rupley Towers

Thursday Ryan and I went to Windy Point to Climb tower #3 of Rupley Towers. We top roped Bop 'Til You Drop (5.10R). I would really like to lead it, but there are only three or four bolts, the first being twenty plus feet off the ground with two very committing moves. The crux comes at the third bolt, and a fall would put you on to a ledge with a broken ankle. It's horrible to be such a coward. We climbed both pitches of R3. It is a very fun two pitch 5.8 gear route. Here is Ryan at the top of the second pitch on R3.

That's me belaying Ryan from the top of R3.

It was getting dark by the time we left.

I like getting the moon in some of these pictures. Someday I am going to learn to take photographs.

Great Weekend

I ordered a couple of jackets and knew they were going to come in last Friday. I went to get them off the driver's truck and he said he had a couple other packages for my wife. One of them just happened to be from Victoria's Secret. Of course all the guys standing around had to chime in. "Looks like Brenton is going to have a great weekend." That's the kind of ribbing a guy likes to take.

Later when things had slowed down a little bit I called Amy and asked her "Do you know how to tell when it's going to be a great weekend?" She said she didn't. I said "When your wife gets a package from Victoria's Secret." She said "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. It's a sweater." A sweater? Who orders clothes from Victoria's Secret? New rule at our house. No one orders anything but underwear from Victoria's Secret.

Quitter

That's it I quit. I have been testing a pair of Brooks Cascadia 5 for the past ten and a half weeks. Between yesterday and today I have put seventeen miles on them. I am almost crippled now. They started to break down at about 150 miles, and by 175 they really needed to be replaced. If I had been buying them I would have replaced them by mile 175. Since I agreed to test them and got them for free I felt obligated to finish the whole 300 miles. I only made it to about 232. It would be no problem for me to finish the last sixty eight miles. In fact I will probably do it in my old shoes. It's just that these shoes have lost all of their ability to cushion my feet, protect my feet from rocks, are giving me blisters because the mid sole has collapsed so badly that it rubs a blister on the side of my foot, and are causing my knees to hurt. My knees never hurt. I know. It sounds like a bunch of excuses to me too.

Bad Friend

I ran into my friend Angela at the Sweetwater trailhead last week, or maybe the week before. I loose track of time easily. Anyway, we were discussing how we should have met up there to do the same sport. She was mountain biking and I was trail running. We also discussed how we don't get out with our friends enough. I told her that I had to turn down three really cool climbing trips in as many weekends. One to Jack's Canyon in NE Arizona, one to Red Rocks near Las Vegas, and the one I most wanted to go on to "J" Tree (Joshua Tree National Park) in California. I was telling her that I felt really bad to always be declining invitations, but that there was always something else that I needed to be doing. I was mid sentence saying that I feel like I am just being a.......when she said "bad friend". Exactly. Someone else understands. I was thinking about it today while I was running, and planning how to write this post. I realized that I spend entirely to much time with people I have no real affinity for. Either out of sense of duty, or circumstances. Not that I dislike most of these people, but I don't have those certain feelings that would make them a friend. I've decided to fix this, but I'm not sure how just yet.

Nice Rack

Steve had the winning caption. "Nice Rack!" He even got the punctuation correct. Steve was obviously impressed with my climbing gear which is referred to by climbers as a "rack". There was some rumblings of double entendre and immaturity about the contest. Really, have you read this blog. Do you really think I am that clever? Would I even be able to figure out the workings of a double entendre? You be the judge.

Since Steve posted the winning response he will be receiving a prize in the mail. He also gets to have his choice of songs play on BB&S. We will be listening to Panama by Van Halen.

Thanks for the comments and participation. It's nice to know that someone is still reading my blog.

Best Wife Ever

I know that the competition is probably not over yet, but I've decided to make it official anyway. I have the best wife ever. Not only does she take care of the house, cook, do laundry, handle the finances, shuttle the kids around, and hold down a job, but she also takes care of me too. Examples; yesterday she made me breakfast and sandwiches for a climbing trip that she wasn't even going on. I know that sounds pretty good, but she encouraged me to go while she stayed home to clean house. She also runs the kids around on Thursday nights so I can go climb at the gym. She always tries to make sure I have time to get my runs in. Best of all though, she never nags me. It doesn't hurt that she is smoking hot too. With her new title of Best Wife Ever I decided she deserved something so I took her out and bought her this new outfit. I even got to help pick it out. This is the photo I wanted to post. I even had a caption all picked out for it. I figured if I did I would just end up in trouble, but if one of you can guess what it is you will win a small prize from Broken, Beat & Scarred and Team Brenton.

Mountain Biking with Philip

A couple of weeks ago Philip had Friday off. He said he wanted to go mountain biking. I took him over to Sweetwater because it is the easiest trail system I know of. I apparently need to rethink "easy" because everyone I have taken there says it is way harder than I think it is. He didn't have that good of a time, but he has agreed to go again sometime.

Climber Speak

OK, I admit it. I think and speak in climber. More than once a non climber has made the mistake of asking me about climbing. Usually their eyes glaze over and I can tell they are lost and only pretending to be interested just to be nice. Sometimes Amy will tell me "Nobody understood what you just said. You were speaking climber again." Fortunately my non climbing friends ask for clarification. Brett even asked if he could come along.I still haven't figured out why he thought trusting his life to me was a good idea, but he came back in one piece. I decided to post a Climber to English dictionary in case you ever feel like I'm speaking a different language, or that I am just making up words as I go along. http://www.rockclimbing.com/Articles/Introduction_to_Climbing/Climbing_Dictionary_528.html

Brett the Newb

Friday Philip had a scout camp out so I went with him. We were going to get up and go finish off his climbing merit badge. All he needed to do was rappel. When Brett found out he decided to come along. He had never rapped or climbed outside before. Here he is going over the edge for the first time.

Brett did really well for his first time out. He learned to trust the gear very quickly, and concentrated on climbing instead of "what happens if I fall." Here he is about to top out.

He even got his first climbing battle scar.

Climbing Sunset

Thursday Ryan and I went to Windy Point on Mt. Lemmon. We climbed on the North Fin. We did Slippery When Wet and Agatha Christie. We had a great time and met some interesting characters. On the way out the sunset was incredible. Ryan agreed to pose on top of a rock for a picture. It's a little fuzzy because I didn't have a tripod and had to turn off the flash.

Ridgeline

Yesterday we spent the day climbing as a family. Except for Caitlin. She was off babysitting and cleaning house. That kid has more money than I do. We went to Ridgeline. It is one of my favorite moderate crags.

Truly Original

I had Thursday and Friday off this week for the kid's fall break. I got up early every morning to go run. On Thursday as I was trying to warm up to start my run, (I was a little stiff OK the temperature had plummeted below 70 degrees), when I heard a mountain biker coming. As he got closer It sounded funny. Like he was really struggling to ride. I could see his head and shoulders over some bushes and it looked like a young guy on a bike that was to big for him and had a brake stuck. Then he rode out where I could see him. He was missing half of his bike. I had to go over to talk to him. His name is Andy. He is a mountain unicyclist. He let me take a few pictures of him and sent me this video. He rides stuff on one wheel that many people are afraid to ride on a mountain bike. I told Amy that after I take up BASE jumping, mountain unicycling is next on my list.

Night Run

1 Above is a picture of my night run. Last week was really busy. In fact I didn't even get my miles in, and I have been very good at making sure I get out lately. Thursday night Amy had a class to go to so I had to run the kids around. I decided to make the most of the 45 minutes I had while waiting to pick them up. I grabbed my headlamp and Cascadias and went for it. Trail running at night is a completely different animal. My pace was slower because I was trying to stay upright. With shadows it is very easy to catch a toe and hit the deck. I really like my Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp for hiking in the dark, but it is a little anemic for actual running. My first mile I ran by at least 30 mountain lions that were considering eating that slow fat two legged creature that surely must be sickly otherwise he would be moving faster. No I didn't actually see them, but I'm pretty sure they were there. One's mind can play tricks when one can't see outside of a very dim cone of light from a headtorch. It wasn't long and I was truly enjoying myself. I was lost in thought when I saw it. I was sure it must be the mother ship coming to take me. I thought the aluminum foil in my hat would keep them from tracking me, but somehow they found me. Four lights on the ridge line coming directly at me moving erratically. Then disappointment set in. Just two mountain bikers with lights mounted on their helmets and handlebars. I finished up my run without being eaten, abducted, or falling on my face. That was my favorite run so far this year. I can't wait to do it again.

Test

Anyone know where this bench mark is? I've seen it with a few of you. It is on top of Wasson Peak. Wasson is the highest peak in the Tucson Mountains. Every once in a while I like to test myself on it to see what kind of shape I am in. The trail is fairly steep and really rocky. I run as much of it as I can, but ultimately it beats me into submission on the way up and I have to hike parts of the trail. I always try to make up for it on the way down. One hour fourty two minutes round trip this time. Eight and a half miles. Here is the view from the top down to the trail head. It looks like a dead end in the middle of the picture. There are three cars parked there. It was really windy on top. I was all sweaty and freezing so I didn't stay long. The mountains in the background (to the west) are the Silverbell Mountains. To the right of my big ugly mug there is a light colored spot on the mountains. That is the Silverbell copper mine. My dad worked there for thirty nine years, and my brother still works there.

Getting Soft

In my last post it must have sounded like I am getting a little soft in my old age. Brett thought that I might retire from climbing. To show my resolve to continue climbing I placed an order for four new cams (climbing gear). Frotunately for me Mountain Gear sent a sale catalog and the cams I needed were on sale. I think I will go do some one armed pull ups now.

Irresponsible

I haven't been able to climb outside much in the last month or so. I have had just to many other things going that would be irresponsible for me to miss. Lots of family things with the kids, church, a bathroom remodel that is still not done. It has given me time to think about climbing.......a lot. Last month in Climbing magazine there was a tribute to four well known climbers that had died while climbing (Johnny Copp, Micah Dash, Wade Johnson and John Bachar), and this month another was added to the list (Craig Luben). These guys were professionals, not weekend warriors. When tragedies like these happen it seems that there are two opinions. The first is "At least he died doing what he loved". The other is "That is so irresponsible. How could he endanger himself like that when he has a family?" I've thought about it. Accidents happen all the time. My climbing partners are all really conscientious, and we look out for each other. We remind each other to take the extra precautions that will hopefully keep us off the deck especially if we are doing something out of the ordinary, or something where accidents often occur. Say rappelling, or cleaning anchors. Climbers rapp off the end of their ropes all the time. Saturday I didn't get to climb so I went for a ten miler, worked around the house, and hung out with the kids. I read a couple of obituaries in Rock & Ice for regular climbers like me who had died when an old piece of webbing that they were clipped into broke (I wouldn't have clipped it). I wasn't sure how I felt about participating in a sport where an error can be fatal. So I loaded the kids up and took them to the climbing gym. I guess I am just irresponsible. On that note please enjoy High Speed Dirt my music pick for the week.

Stop Eating....................

.........or You Will Look Like This. That is what I Photo shopped into this photo, and then I hung it on the refrigerator. I figured it would be good motivation. I am a terrible over eater, and am often lazy when it is time to exercise. Neither of which is a good attribute to have when trying to get rid of my love handles. I think I may have to make one for each cupboard too though.

Test Shoes

Last Saturday I received my test shoes from Brooks. The Fed Ex guy brought them (that really irks me). The color is called wasabi. They are a little more tame than my lava colored 4's. The only things that really changed are a few styling cues on the upper, the color, and the tongue is a little longer with two loops for the laces to run through. I have run in them three times so far and can't tell a difference from my two older pairs other than they aren't beat to death. When I took them out of the box I noticed some numbers hand written on different parts of the out sole and mid sole. I'm guessing they are durometer readings to tell how hard the materials are. Now I just have to run 25 miles a week in them for the next three months. The things I will do for a freebie.

New Music Monday Trivia

I put up a cover of the David Bowie song Fame for a couple of my friends who are huge Bowie fans. I hope you enjoy the Infectious Grooves rendition. The trivia question is why would I even know about Infectious Grooves? If you do a little searching there are two possible answers, but one of them will be very obvious. Happy hunting.

Steve's Arete and the Bald Spot

Yesterday Ryan, Mike and I went up to Windy Point to climb Steve's Arete. Ryan had been wanting to lead it for a couple of years and had decided to go for it, project it. It is rated 5.11-, and the first bolt is probably 20+ feet of the ground. Ryan lead it then Mike and I top roped it. That's mike above.

I made two attempts and was able to send it with no falls on my second try. It runs up the very left edge. It is the hardest climb I have ever done. I plan on leading it soon. To the right, through the dark spots is a climb called Green Ripper. It's claim to fame is that there are pictures of Lynn Hill on it. I'm sure she on sighted it at 5.12. Ryan and I tried to top rope it, but neither of us could get past the first move.

That is a picture of my right leg with a bald spot on it. Yesterday at work we had a box of wax hair remover break open on one of the belts. It was a huge mess. The packages were sticking to the slides and backing up the entire system. Well, my friend John Coons was sneaking up on people and slapping a dollop on their arm hair. Then they would have to stick a piece of paper to it and rip it off. Of course I heard I was on his list of people to get so I scraped some wax off the slide and stuck it in his arm hair. Preemptive strike as it were. I had forgotten all about it today. I was standing in my work area when I felt this warm blob on my leg. Sure enough there he was standing on the ladder that leads to my work area with a big stupid grin. He was nice enough to have a piece of paper ready to rip it off. He had even set the container of wax on his coffee maker to warm it up and make it stickier. He apparently doesn't have enough to do. Surprisingly it didn't hurt at all.

Saguaro Run

On Labor Day we ran in the Saguaro National Park 8 miler. We hadn't planned on doing it, but Friday Amy decided she wanted to run. I naturally joined in. Amy has run the race twice, but I had never run it before. All I knew about it was that there is a long hill. No big deal. I run hills all the time. Right?

The weather was nice, but a little humid since it rained the night before. The course is mostly downhill for the first 3.46 miles. Then you get to the hill. Fortunately it only lasts until mile 5.1, and never really lets up.

The hill is gnarly. I had to dig deep to continue running. After the hill I ended up running with a guy who had just run the Pikes Peak half marathon. While I was doing this Amy passed me. I thought "cool, Amy will finish before me." When it came down to it my ego just wouldn't take being beat by my wife. I shifted gears, ignored the ridiculous pain that comes from running two minutes per mile faster than what I normally average, and passed her in the last mile. Now you know the truth.

Stayc

I got to have dinner with Stayc and Porter on Saturday. It was good to see them both. Stayc is doing well after her accident. In fact she is doing so well that she feels good enough to give me a hard time about my music choices for Broken, Beat & Scarred. I decided that this week I would put on a song that she might be more familiar with. Something from her college days maybe. Enjoy Stayc.

New Music Mondays

I was told by a frequent reader of Broken, Beat &Scarred that he likes the music, and even downloads some of the songs. I was surprised. I didn't think anybody paid any attention to the music, and I definitely didn't think anyone would like them enough to buy them. No one ever seems to have heard of the the bands I like other than Metallica, after they sold out. I decided I would do a better job updating the playlist. From now on every Monday is new music Monday here at Broken, Beat & Scarred. Today I put on Apocalyptica's version of the Metallica song "One". My favorite instrument is the cello. The guys in Apocalyptica are all classically trained cellists from Finland. I don't know much about classical music so I would be lost trying to find something I like. With Apocalyptica I can enjoy the cello while still recognizing the song. Let me know if you would like me to put up more than one song at a time, or if you have a request.

Run Like the Devil

This morning Amy and I went for a little run together. We got a late start so we didn't go as far as we would have liked. When we got to our stopping point I hit the stop button on my Garmin and took a look at the time, and then the mileage. It read 6.66 miles. Is someone trying to tell me something? It was awfully hot out this morning.

Stick Clip

Several times when I have been climbing I wished I had a stick clip. If you don't know what it is, a stick clip is a clip on the end of an extendable pole that holds a carabiner open so that you can clip the first bolt of a sport climb if you are concerned about falling before you can clip. Let's say that it is a very high first bolt, the first few moves are difficult, or the landing is not safe. I have mixed feelings about it. There are times when I know I could have made the moves, but psyche myself out with "what if". Like what if a hold breaks, your foot slips, you break your ankle on that big rock, or what if you fall and roll down the hill. The older I get and the more times I hit the ground the harder it is to go for it.

So becoming more of a chicken I've been going to buy a stick clip. I just haven't wanted to spend the money. I could buy some real gear with the money. I have seen home made stick clips, but they always looked sloppy to me. The clamp was usually attached to the stick with hose clamps. I was always afraid that it might snag the sheath on my rope, or cut my pack. I got to thinking about it and decided to try building one that I liked. I have two dollars invested in mine. .99 cents for the clamp, and $1.00 for the pole which used to be a golf ball retriever that I bought at a yard sale. I attached the clamp to the stick with machine screws and nuts. Then to hide the screws I cut a small hole in the plastic cover on the clamp and slid it over the screws. I even filed a half round in the clamp where it sits against the stick so it would fit as smooth as possible. I am fairly happy with the outcome especially since it actually works.

Wyoming, Utah

Well I can finally look at a picture of the Grand without tearing up now. I had really hoped to climb it, but have decided it just gives me an excuse to go back. The weather was bad so we played tourist.

Kent and I went for a 14 mile hike into the Tetons to Holly Lake. It really was a great hike. I'd do it again if given the chance.

I'm usually not a very good tourist because I can't stand crowds, and I want to be out experiencing the scenery not just looking at it from a distance.

We were having such a good time seeing new sites and enjoying Kent and Janet's company that I completely forgot that I don't like being a tourist. I haven't laughed as much in the last year as I did driving around sight seeing with Kent and Janet. Kent was in rare form.

We hiked to the "Y" on the mountain above BYU. It is a very steep trail considering that it is hiked so much. Fortunately Tate held my hand to keep me from sliding down the mountain.

Our last day in Utah we went to Park City to hang out and shop. Anna and Sarah kept me entertained as we shared the back seat of the grandpa like Grand Marquis. They had me worn out by lunch time. We had a great time. Thanks Kent, Janet, Tate, Anna, and Sarah!

The Beat in Broken, Beat, and Scarred

When I went in to work on Tuesday several of the guys asked me if we made it to the top of the Grand. Apparently the word got back to my friend Bear. Bear is built like an NFL offensive lineman, and has a great sense of humor. At least it is great when he is pranking someone else. He didn't like the "follow me to the nearest gay bar" bumper sticker I put on his car. So when I got to my computer half way through my shift this is what I found.