Chickens!

 Watching the chickens gives me great joy. They are so stupid (one still has problems finding the door of the run, even when the other two go out in front of her), but so fun.

The hens should be old enough to lay eggs, but haven't started yet. We've put a golf ball in the nest box to encourage them. Hopefully soon!

The kids have given names to them all, but I'm not sure if they use the same names each time or change them around.

We're still trapping skunks, so are very careful about getting the chickens in the coop each night. We have some changes planned for the run, but haven't had time to implement them. Hopefully we will do better with these chickens than our previous chicks.

New Artwork and Photos Gracing My Walls

For a long time, I always wondered if the artwork I liked was "good" artwork. Maybe it was that art appreciation class in Florence or a field trip to the Chicago Art Institute that made me question if I had good taste. Finally I got it. Art is good if you like it. And since everyone likes different things, that makes room for lots of artists in the world.

I've tried drawing and painting and quickly realized that despite my best efforts, I don't have much natural art ability. Fortunately, I have some friends who are artists, and I've recently added some of their art to my house. 

And since if you're reading this blog you might share some of my tastes, I thought I'd share these pieces of art with you.

First off is a tryptych (three-piece) panel done by Kristin Gjerdset. She was Great Basin National Park's 2012 Artist-in-Residence, quite an honor, as the competition to be the artist-in-residence is quite fierce. The artist-in-residence usually receives two or three weeks housing and in return provides a piece of art for the park. Below is a print of Kristin's contribution, which is on display at the Great Basin Visitor Center. On the left is aquatic life, in the middle terrestrial life, and on the right subterranean life. Kristin captures the tiny things that are so frequently overlooked. (Click on any of the photos for a larger version)

She also did an amazing job of capturing some of the complexity of Lehman Cave.

With the Lepidoptera BioBlitz this year and getting to know butterflies better, I couldn't resist this gorgeous piece of art. You can find even more on Kristin's website.

Another friend who is an artist is Mimi Matsuda. We worked together in Yellowstone many years ago, and now she is a full-time artist based in Montana. Along with some amazing artwork of trout, she also has a whimsical series that makes me smile. The latest one I got of hers is this large 'Wildlife, Watching'. That comma placement is very important! You can see more of Mimi's marvelous creations on her website.


I also enjoy good photography. Fortunately that is one area where I feel I can make a contribution. Some folks have specialty areas of photography, and one is Kelly Carroll of Great Basin Images. He has some amazing night sky photos. I really liked this old horse-driven car with the star trails.

Sometimes you don't want permanent art on your wall, but just want to be able to enjoy a variety of views. If that's the case, Deanna Stever's calendar may fit the bill. Deanna asked me to contribute photos to it this year, which I was very honored to do. You can find the calendar at Lulu or at the Garnet Mercantile in Ely. Deanna also has lots of photos available from her Western Mountain Photography website. 

Inspired by Kelly and Deanna, I've added a few photos to my author website. You can send free e-cards with the images to anyone you like.

I'm curious, what's the newest art you've gotten for your house? I'd love to check it out!

Hiking with Kids-North Schell Peak, Nevada

My husband and I will soon be off on our tenth anniversary trip. We decided to climb Mount Rainier, at 14,410 ft. To prepare, we decided we should hike one mountain peak a month, and we've amazingly been able to stick to that training plan.

In April we hiked Crystal Peak, 7,108 ft, 2.5 miles round trip, a few hundred ft elevation gain.

In May we hiked Wheeler Peak, 13,063 ft, eight miles round trip, about 3,000 ft elevation gain.

In June we hiked Mount Moriah, 12,050 ft, 7.5 miles round trip, about 2,000 ft elevation gain.

In July we hiked Pyramid Peak, 11,998 ft, 8 miles round trip, 3,900 ft elevation gain.

And in August we hiked North Schell Peak, 11,883 ft, 6 miles round trip, 2,800 ft elevation gain.

Here's the story of the North Schell Peak trip, a peak I really enjoyed.

The night before we stayed at the Timber Creek campground. Since it's not far from Ely, we fully expected it to be full, but only two other campsites (of about 11 there) had tents up. Each site had a concrete pad, fire pit, picnic table, and lots of space. Potable water and pit toilets were nearby.

It was a chilly night, and we woke to frost on our packs. So we got up, left the tent in place, drove to the end of the road, and started hiking. We followed an old road through the aspens.

The old road followed Timber Creek as it curved to the north. The scenery was gorgeous.

The trail climbed steadily along the drainage. I hadn't even expected a trail so far up, so was very pleasantly surprised. The creek went dry, but we did find an occasional spring.

I even found a few ferns in a cool, moist spot.

And also a deer skeleton. Even though it's bow season, we didn't see any hunters.

The trail petered out as the creek bed merged into alpine slopes. We stopped for one of many snack breaks and snapped a quick family photo (I've learned not to wait until the top!).

Then we knew we just needed to go up. A gentle ridge beckoned us.

The lupine was still blooming, although some seed looked ready.

We found some wood up high on the slope, above any trees, indicating that the forest used to be up higher on the slopes.

Although Desert Girl was carried for about 500 ft elevation gain, she did most of the hike. One technique that was particularly effective was for her to share her dad's hiking poles. When he moved a pole forward, that helped propel her forward.

Desert Boy was charging ahead to the summit, except that what he thought was the summit was a false summit. It was a hard lesson to learn. Fortunately the bribe of pizza after the hike helped rekindle everyone's spirits. Plus as we got higher, the scenery was so dramatic.

Finally we only had the last ridge to climb, past the small wind shelter.

I got distracted by the alpine plants, which are so diminutive due to their short growing season and harsh conditions they have to withstand.

When I looked up from photographing plants, I saw my husband and kids making good progress.

The ridge had looked so sharp from below, but was not at all hard to hike up. We were glad we had our coats, it was cold!

And then we were there! Even our dog Henry made it.

Of course the top isn't the end of the hike, it's only halfway! We still had to get back to the vehicle. We debated going back the way we had come (which would have been a good idea and easier) or following the ridge and taking the straight line down. Since we seem to be suckers for taking the hike less traveled, we followed the ridge.

A huge group of ravens hung out in the leeward side of a saddle.

The buckwheat was beautiful.

Someday I'd like to hike a lot more of the crest. The Schell Creek Range is 142 miles long. I don't think I need to hike all that, but a few more miles would be beautiful.

Can you spot the people? We didn't see anyone else on our entire hike. The register from mid-July had seven people signed in. Nevertheless, North Schell Peak is a popular peak with those wanting to hike peaks with greater than 5,000 feet prominence. (Here's a list of ultra-prominent peaks in the lower 48).

It was blustery on our way down.


Although the landscape views are superb, I like taking in the little details, too, like the little wasp. It had a variety of flowers to visit.

Some of the quartzite rocks had interesting patterns in them.

And here's a pretty butterfly.

The scenery was absolutely spectacular. Have I mentioned that already? I know that I certainly never pictured Nevada looking like some of it does. The Basin and Range topography makes for a huge diversity of habitats.

Before long we reached a huge aspen grove, with most of the aspens bent due to winter snows.

It took us four hours to get up and about 2.5 hours to get down, with a round-trip total of close to six miles. It could certainly be done faster if you didn't need to take as many snack breaks!

Before we left the canyon, we had to stop at the playground. Yes, Timber Creek campground has a playground!

I hope to get back to the Schell Creek Range to do some more hiking. It is gorgeous and uncrowded.

National Cave Rescue Commission Camp Goldenbell, Colorado

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I like caves. Early on in my caving career, I became friends with some cavers who also were into cave rescue. They got me interested, and over the years I took enough classes (four eight-day classes to be exact) plus helped with many smaller cave rescue classes (also known as Orientation to Cave Rescue (OCR) classes) that I was permitted to take the test to become an instructor. Over the years I've instructed a variety of classes, and this year I was able to help instruct the Level 3 class at the national seminar for the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC). It was held in May at Camp Goldenbell, Colorado. (I think I mentioned before I was a little behind on some posting!)

It was my first time to help with the Level 3 class, which is more technical than the previous classes. Students had to pass various technical skills in order to be able to get into the class, as well as have had the Level 1 and Level 2 classes within a certain time period. We had a full class with a waiting list, and it was a great class! To see just how well they knew their stuff, one morning they were challenged to some knot tying. But not regular knot tying. This was with your eyes closed, or with just one hand, or behind your back (photo above), or with oven mitts, or with a partner. It was fun for everyone.

Soon it was time to head out to the cliffs to evaluate their skills and ability to work together. We did some basic anchors and hauls and lowers.

They did very well with all of that, so then we gave them more challenging problems. The colorful accessory cord and rope make it easier to tell what's going on in the photo below.

Everyone should be a pretend patient at some point, as it's a very strange feeling to be dangling on a rope, swinging in a basket.

The students were doing so well that we decided they needed one final challenge: to go down a boulder, through a hole in it, and up the other side. This would require the whole class (which had previously been split up) and be a communications challenge. The down and through part went smoothly.

 The up part was the most complicated. Here's a view of the litter still horizontal.

Then it was shifted to vertical. Then there were problems with some torque issues on one high anchor and some pre-tensioned (or I guess in this case, post-tensioned) backties were added at the last minute. And they succeeded in getting the patient to the top of the boulder again.

Since it was a cave rescue class, we wanted to spend as much time in caves as possible. The caves we had to work with didn't have large work spaces, so we split the class into three smaller groups and they had a variety of tasks to do, such as counterbalances, traveling hauls, and tensioned traverses. (If you want to know more about these things, in addition to taking NCRC classes, the books On Rope and Alpine Caving Techniques are very helpful). My camera didn't do great in the cave, so I didn't get as many photos of our cave days.

I did get a lot of photos on our highline day, when we sent a rescuer out to the middle of a gorge, then down to the river to pick up a patient, and back to the shore using a Norwegian Reeve.

 Can you see the rescuer?

After that very gear-intensive and long exercise, they were challenged to get me (wearing my harness) from one side of the river to the other using only two ropes and six carabiners. They did it in less than half an hour. Sometimes less gear makes things go a lot faster!

Then came the mock-mock day. We used part of Cave of the Winds for the exercise. All four classes (Levels 1, 2, 3, and TOFE) came together, and then were split into three mixed groups. I led one of the groups with a cadre of excellent instructors to one part of the cave, where we put on four mini-scenarios so everyone would learn more about how to launch a cave rescue and how to participate in various roles, such as communications (using old army phones, as seen below).

Finally came the culmination of the class: the mock rescue. This is an all-day event that the students solve with minimal instructor interaction. My role was to be entrance control for instructors going in and out of one of the caves used, plus to check the rigging used to take the patient from the cave entrance to the canyon bottom many hundred of feet below. It was a great spot to see people as they came to the cave.

The rigging was very nice, and after many hours, the patient was brought out of the cave and then taken down to the canyon bottom. The only problem was that a for real big storm came in, and the canyon is subject to flooding. So before everything could be derigged, we got everyone out of there as fast as we could. Some went up to the parking lot where we had started, others went down out of the canyon on a faster trail. But then they closed the roads for hours, and the two groups were stranded, bringing some real logistical challenges. The Colorado cavers did a super job of sorting it all out, and everyone got back to camp safely in the wee hours.

It was a super experience checking out the Colorado cliffs and caves. The students I talked to got a lot out of the class. Next year the national NCRC class will be held in Park City, KY from July 24-Aug 1. Other NCRC classes will be held throughout the year in various locales. If you like caving, I definitely recommend a cave rescue class, as it will make you cave a little differently--hopefully safer!