Bedrock & Paradox

I dream of a hard and brutal mysticism in which the naked self merges with a non-human world and yet somehow survives still intact, individual, separate. Paradox and bedrock.

Saturday

Just another Saturday at college.  Got home late last night, drank too much, woke up not quite hungover.  Actually, that’s the first time I’ve done that here in Missoula.  Not an occurrence destined to be common.  Eventually I motivated, M and I found coffee, pastry, and quiche at Bernice’s Bakery, some goods at the farmers market, and returned home.  The afternoon was spent making potato and leek soup, completing some projects, and trying to summon homework focus.  The later has gone better in the last few hours.
Two projects are shown below: a doubled webbing holder sewn into the knife holder on my pfd, and a packraft sized throwbag.

The throwbag holds 60′ of 3/8″ poly line.  I used it as a pullcord canyoneering for a while (a pullcord being a non-weight bearing line for pulling down the rap line, saves weight and bulk), and now it’s experiencing a life transition.  It’s fairly cheap rope, floats, and retains very little water.  The bag has two big grommets in the bottom for fast drainage, a shock cord drawstring, and a full strength grap/clip loop integrated into the rim.  the 1/2″ tubular webbing you can see extents into the bag, and one end of the rope is tied to it.  Another loop of webbing is fed through the rim, alongside the shock cord.  The two loops intersect; thus, if a swimmers grabs the opening of the bag, they’ll be held to the line with a connection stronger (in this case) than the line itself.  To deploy, just unclip the biner, hold the biner, and chuck the bag.  

The larger raft situation is as follows.  Dylan (of the Lost Coast expedition) is sending me his old home-reinforced Sevylor free of charge.  The folks at REI yesterday (after both the local, non chain shops were totally unhelpful) graciously special ordered a 200 cm all-glass four piece Aquabound Shred for me.  In fact, the rep at Aquabound (who happened to be the owner) said they’d make it special as they didn’t have one in stock.  So, within two weeks I should be out floating around, getting into trouble.  The Sevylors are notoriously not burly, hence Dylan’s reinforcement, and my sense that should get my safety gear in order.  It’ll give me a good way to get wet behind the ears, and make informed choices (like spraydeck or no) when I order an Alpacka in a little while.  The Sevylor will get paid forward to spread the addiction it it’s still in one piece.
I’ve also been slacklining a bit this week, for the first time in a few years.  Encouragingly, I jumped right on immediately at 80% or more of my previous high water mark of skill.  In the park this evening I could bounce, turn, do sitting starts, and stay on for 5+ minutes without real difficulty.  All the cycling, yoga, running, and general training has done me well of late.  A good slackline session makes trackstanding seem E Z.  Very good for joint strengthening, injury prevention, mental training, and fun.
To close, here’s my soup recipe, quantified as best I can:
-Boil 6 cups chopped potatoes and 3 cups chopped leeks in plenty of water for several hours.
-Ladle off and frappe solids.  Add back in.
-Stir well, add 1/8 cup olive oil, salt (a good bit), pepper, sage, lavender, oregano, etc to taste.
-One could add greens at this stage, kale, spinach, etc.  Some finely diced spicy peppers would be good, too.
-Cook, stirring often, for another 5 minutes.  Let stand covered for 5-10 minutes to thicken (or overnight, and reheat), and serve.
-Goes well with a nice baguette.
-Makes ~4 good sized bowls.

DaveC

6 responses to “Saturday”

  1. D.P. Avatar
    D.P.

    Awfully close to the Lochsa not to have the spray skirt

    Reply
  2. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    Here is the debate as I see it. Eric or someone who actually knows of what they speak, correct me as needed:Benefits:Keeps water out (though not perfectly)Keeps wind off youThus, warmerDrawbacks:$200 moreExtra weight, bulkMakes tying a bike to the bow a bit more of a nuisanceSlightly impedes a wet exitMakes dumping the boat of water more complexThe technical water arguments seems to be that a skirtless boat is best is extreme creeking/canyoneering with boats, where constant scouting, portaging, dumping, and seal launching are necessary. The skirt rules the roost for big waves.So yeah, I probably want a skirt. (Middle Fork Flathead, Salmon, Grand Canyon)

    Reply
  3. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Any way to have a removeable skirt?Can’t wait to see more about the Sevelor. I want to pick one up to start with as well as get a quality PFD, paddle, etc. I figure then I can start boating soon and won’t have to buy “double” of anything except a quality boat later.What’s the reason for all glass paddle vs CF? Just cost?Winter paddle trip somewhere warmer? That might motivate me to get an at least semi worthy boat setup going…

    Reply
  4. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    The first iteration of the Alpacka (back in 2002-3 when I first wanted one) skirt was removable (aka, “the condom”). It posed a bit of a hazard when it detached from the boat before the swimmer (“death shroud” is a phrase used by the experienced).My thoughts exactly w/r/t good gear, except the boat.I got fiberglass because:-alu shafts conduct cold-CF is expensive-I trust ‘glass to hold up to impacts over time betterI could’ve paid 30-40 bucks more for a CF shaft, but for 2-3 oz of weight that seemed silly.Christmas plans are still in flux. Everything I can think of that’s runnable in winter this side of Mexico would still be fuckin’ cold. Then again, I already have a drysuit (talk about expensive…).

    Reply
  5. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    I dunno. Mexico is pretty cheap? Hehe. We could climb the volcanos too.How burly is the reinforced boat? Is it easy for me to duplicate the reinforcements on a new one?

    Reply
  6. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    I’ll let you know when it shows up!

    Reply

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