Hopefully my final comment on BD stainless

Is it just me or is it really hard to get a simple and straight forward answer in any public forum?



I posed this question on the BD website (and on the Super Topo thread) and added the bold insert here on the "recall":



Dane Burns @ Cold Thistle

17 Apr , 11:52PM

"In the Fall of '10 or early winter of '11 BD obviously made an inline change and added 30% or more material to the front point area on the frame of the Sabers where they have been breaking.



We have been calling them Gen I and Gen II for clarity's sake.



As late as last Fall () you could still buy Gen I Sabers at retailers online and in person.



Was there ever a recall internally of the Gen I crampons and replacement with Gen IIs. (the answer is yes in at least one retailer's case) If you own Gen Is will BD replace them with Gen IIs prior to a failure?Thanks for the reply."



The BD answer is here:

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb/all/qc-lab-gear-doesnt-last-forever--crampons



and reprinted here:



18 Apr , 4:04PM

"@Dane Burns As previously stated in our QC Lab post on the Black Diamond Journal and in Peter Metcalf's post on Supertopo.com, our designers and engineers always look for opportunities to improve designs through in-line adjustments. These iterative design tweaks are part of any BD product, be it a carabiner, crampon, ski boot, headlamp or trekking pole. And, as stated previously as well, we stand behind all of our products, including all stainless steel crampons."





Looks to me like they are standing behind the crampons. Swapping Gen Is for Gen IIs should be easy asBD really does stand behind the product. Here is their warranty info:



http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/customer-service/warranty-repair



North America:

Black Diamond Warranty and Repair

2084 East 3900 South

Salt Lake City, Utah 84124

801-365-5555

warranty@bdel.com



The EU:

Black Diamond Equipment AG

Christoph Merian Ring 7


4153 Reinach, Switzerland

p: +41/61 564 33 23

f: +41/61 564 33 24



service@blackdiamond.eu



Here is how you tell the difference:









"Interesting observation from a picture. 2nd gen Saber on the left and 1st generation Saber on the right. Serac's look to have added the same amount of material to the forward rails. Difference across the flat, in the same area as the breaks above, has gone from .53" to .70". Or if my numbers are correct, a 38% increase in material to the rails. The center bar on the front points went from .50" to .62" or 24%."

In the Woods

In the Woods, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Walking on the Stream Trail in Redwood Regional Park.

Although located a mile from Oakland, this park seems a world away. Huge, 150-foot+ redwoods stand majestically along the trails.

You will be craning your neck most of the time...

Native Clematis

This is a California native clematis, Clematis lasiantha.

Thoughts on Lugs, Then and Now

Those who love lugged steel bicycles arrive to that preference in one of several ways. Often they grew up with lugged steel. The look or concept of it either holds sentimental value or represents quality. Perhaps their dream bike - the one they'd see in the bike shop window every day on their way home from school- had distinct lugwork. Or else lugs are incorporated into a "they don't make'm like they used to" narrative. On the other hand, a person entirely new to bicycles might simply decide they like lugs - either for aesthetic reasons or perceived functional ones.




With me it was definitely the latter. I was born in 1979. The bikes of my youth looked like this. And as far as shop windows... Well, come to think of it, I don't even remember any bike shops around when I was growing up; bikes came from department stores.




I am trying to remember how I even learned what lugs were. I certainly did not know about them when I first got into cycling as an adult. Neither did I have an ingrained preference as far as frame material. Before I bought my first grownup bike, I rode a rentedaluminum hybridin Austria - which, frankly, I thought looked kind of nice. But it rode a little harshly, and when I mentioned this to the man at the rental place he advised that I buy steel - giving me a long, expert-sounding lecture about the benefits of steel over aluminum. This was among the things that sent me in that direction.




Fast forward a bit, and I remember standing at the Belmont Wheelworks bike shop, looking at a collection of hand-cut Peter Mooney lugs through the glass counterpane. Peter Mooney was the first custom framebuilder whose bicycles I saw in person, as well as the first builder whom I would meet face to face. I knew that the filigreed objects he made were those sleeve things I'd seen on some bicycles' joints. "Those are beautiful," I said. "Yeah, Peter makes his own lugs," replied the person at the counter. And I think that's how I learned what they were called.




So I went home and looked it up online. Until that point, the artist in me thought the sleeve things looked beautiful, but I had assumed they were entirely decorative - much like embellishments on furniture and porch railings. Now reading about them, I understood that they served as frame joints and were inherent to the frame's construction. I also found many articles and posts expressing the opinion that this lugged construction was "better" (stronger, more receptive to repair, requiring more skillful execution) than other kinds. This was even before I stumbled upon Rivendell(although it set the stage for Rivendell's appeal); this was coming from individual framebuilders and from vintage bike collectors, of whom I soon came to know a few personally. The argument seemed logical enough: Modern bikes, like everything else that's made now, were fragile and disposable. The traditional method was meant to last.And what made me particularly receptive to this argument was visiting bike shops and trying the different city bikes that were available at the time. The bikes that felt uncomfortable or seemed poorly made, happened to be welded.




This is all simplified of course. But it's not an inaccurate summary of how my preference for lugged steel came about. It wasn't a perspective I brought with me to the blog. But it developedpretty quickly within the first year of it.




Interestingly enough, the first stages of its unraveling had to do with aesthetics. I liked looking at bikes and spent a lot of time doing it, studying frames from different eras and different builders. I also live in an area where handbuilt lugged steel bikes are plentiful, which gave me in-person access to a lot of the custom work. One thing I began to notice, was that lugs and their various relations (fork crowns, reinforcer plates, dropout sockets, and the like) gave bicycle frames a certain aesthetic uniformity. Most framebuilders do not make their own lugs but purchase pre-fabricated sets, and there aren't many of those to choose from. And while some builders modify existing lugs to the point that the originals are not recognisable, most do not. Because of its visual distinctness, lugwork has a strong influence over a bicycle frame's aesthetic. And the more frames I looked at, the more I started to feel that the same generic details were dominating many framebuilds' work. I began to question what it was that I was actually appreciating: the creativity, the craftsmanship, or the pleasing shape of a $1 reinforcer plate? With fillet brazed and TIG welded frames I may not have cared for the look of the joints, but had to admit that the work seemed less constricted by pre-fabricated parts.




Around the same time that my thoughts started to flow in this direction, I began to encounter an increasing number of modern, well-made bikes that were not lugged and, in some cases, not steel. Demoingthe aluminum Urbana bike had a big effect on me. This excellent machine was nothing like the half-heartedly made bikes I'd grown weary of seeing in bike shops, despite using similar construction methods.The same could be said of the Paper BikeandPilenI tried soon thereafter, not to mention custom welded bikes by ANT, Geekhouse and Seven. The association I'd formed between construction methods and quality had been erroneous. The flimsy bikes I disliked were such because they were made and assembled poorly, not because they were welded.I still preferred the look of lugs, particularly unique lugs. But my appreciation for the other methods of frame construction grew.




The growth continued as I developed closer relationships with a handful of local builders and began to better understand their methods. With this, my sense of aesthetics shifted. When looking at a bicycle frame's joint, I now see it as an embodiment of the work and creativity that making it involved, of the opportunities and limitations that were created by the chosen method of construction. This does not so much overshadow the look, as it gives meaning to the look. And meaning informs our subjective judgments of beauty.




Having now tried my own hand at building a bicycle frame, my thoughts on lugs have gone through yet another iteration. When asked what I think of them, what comes to mind is that I appreciate them making brazing easier. I don't appreciate how time consuming they are to work with and the limitations they place on frame geometry. That reasoning is entirely devoid of aesthetic sentiment, which worries me a bit. I don't want to stop "seeing." And I don't think that I will; more likely I am just a little tired now, and still overwhelmed from having gone through the process so intensely and quickly.




I remember how, after welding two bits of steel together myself, I tried to pry them apart a couple of minutes later. The strength of the connection took me by surprise. It felt like fusion (which, of course, it was), whereas a similar joint, when brazed, felt more like it held together with very strong glue. This doesn't necessarily mean anything, I know. But I would like to learn more, and I would like to learn it firsthand.




Indifferent is a negative word, so I would not say I am now indifferent to lugs.I like lugs, particularly unique ones.One of my crazy dreams is to design and cast a lugset of my own some day. Until then... I sort of like it all, lugs included.

All mountain skis? The Dynafit Huascaran.

I've been lucky enough to ski a dozen new skis in the last couple of weeks. All of them hand picked for possible inclusion in my personal "ultimate" quiver. No skito date more of a surprise or more impressive as a true "all mountain ski", than... the new Dynafit Hauscaran. This is truly one amazing ski. Helped to have 2+' (yes 2+ feet) of new, untracked hero snow today to play on. It is the Cascades after all so anything you can actually ski here that is 2' deep IS,almost unbelievable, hero snow. And it was snowing hard enough to fill it in all day long.Did I mention it was almost untracked from 9AM to 4PM because it kept snowing so hard? Just one of THOSE days :) Butliterally, from water ice, to cut up crud and a hard rain crust to some amazing POW;the Hauscaranwill rip fast GS turns or dance in the deep and steep stuff amid tight trees. Effortless in either situation, even for me! An amazing ski. And now I know why so many decide towear a helmet.












Even more impressive to meknowing that I was doing all thiswhileskiinga pair of light weight TLT 5 Performance boots and the new TLT Speed Superlite RACE Binding (185g). The same boot the original designer said it was "stupid to ski them off the lifts". They are that light. But they do ski well ;) Turns out, for no special reason, it was a Dynafit day. I hadn't planned it that way. This set up was to be my "lwt fat" ski for longer mid winter touring days. The Hauscaranis all that and a bag of chips! But I am rethinking what might be its other uses now and what it would do with a "real" ski boot bolted on. Something like the Mercury or Vulcan. may be even the One. I know my Zero4 Carbons are way, way too much boot for this ski, in a 177. No need for that much power!













These are short @177cm. Taking advantage of the size/weight ofthe binding these(ski & binding) weigh in at 8# 10oz. First time I have ever thought about buying a 2nd pair of the same ski...the next one in a 196cm. Two sizes, two different boots to drive them and two totally different usesfor the ski.



The 178cm is 134-112-123 and 1780g weights in at . The 196cm is 136-115-125 and weights in at 1940g. And yes, it was snowing :)


In the next few weeks hopefully I'll get the time to write up all the skis I've been ridingrecently.And my ideas behind the "ultimate quiver". Along with some old and new boots and some of the accessories I've found really useful this winter for skiing in bounds and out.



But as I mentioned this ski was a total surprise. I wasn't expecting much from such a big skis. And what the Hauscaran delivered was pretty impressive in my limited experience. Enough so thatI wanted to do an early heads up on it tonight. 'Cuz it is snowing like crazy at the house right now and likely a huge dump upon the hill for tomorrow!

Pink Elephant Balloon

Sharing the Road: Notes from Rural Northern Ireland

Traffic is different here. I have shared the country roads with everyone and everything - from cars to oversized trucks, to tractors, horses, cows, other cyclists, runners and pedestrians. Some go very fast, some go very slow, some go somewhere in between. Many of the roads are narrow, winding, with no shoulders - oftentimes with barely room for a full sized lane in each direction. Situations frequently arise when travelers are in each other's way. An old truck putters along below the speed limit. A herd of cows is moved from one pasture to another. A jogger runs wearing earphones. A cyclist takes the lane on a winding descent.A pony and trap race is in progress on a Sunday afternoon. At the same time, the roads are teeming with fast sports cars,long distance lorries, and sedans full of people rushing to and from work in one of the industrial parks or factories nearby. With the limited space, this mix sounds like a recipe for disaster - or at least regular incidents of road rage. But I have seen no signs of that yet. On the contrary, road users across the spectrum are eerily patient and courteous.




I noticed it at first as a cyclist. Out on my bike every day, and sometimes at peak commuting times, I am never made to feel as if my presence on the roads is inconveniencing anyone - even though technically, sometimes it is. But if I am in the way, drivers will simply pass me, or wait until they can. They genuinely don't seem bothered. Sometimes a driver will wave as they pass - not in a hyper-friendly sort of way, but more like in casual acknowledgement of my presence.




Riding as a passenger in a car with locals offered a glimpse of the driver's perspective. Whenever we had to slow down for another road user, that was exactly what the driver did - without altering his emotional state or breaking stride in the conversation we were all having inside the car. There was no impatience, no eye-rolling, no "Jeez, what's this guy doing stopped in the middle of the road?" on the driver's or other passengers' part. Put simply, they did not seem to process slower road users as inconveniences or obstacles.




It would be tempting to explain this attitude as country manners or something specific to "Irishness" - except being here in the midst of it, that doesn't feel like it.The attitude is more matter of fact than friendly or polite. There seems to be a system in place that road users implicitly acknowledge being a part of. Cooperation is necessary for the system to work, and everyone understands that.




Is this system really so different from what goes on in congested cities and chaotic suburbs? In some ways yes, but in other ways not so much. I am not sure whether planners interested in road sharing dynamics ever look at areas like this one for ideas. But I propose they should; it might yield some unexpected insights.

More Clouds

Everyday there are these pretty, white, fluffy clouds but no rain. Sometimes we even get the dark, ominous, threatening clouds that give us lots of lightening and thunder but still no rain.

Blue Dawn, Sunset on Magnet Island

Roger (www.rogernordstromphoto.com) was up again this weekend for some more shooting. I first met Roger last October when he contacted me asking if I would be willing to take him down to the Spirit Tree to shoot a sunrise. We did just that, but the morning that we went there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Ever since then Roger has been wanting to get back to the tree for another sunrise, hopefully with clouds this time. Well, we went down to the tree this morning and this time we had some beautiful clouds!





We arrived well before sunrise so we could make plenty of images in the low light before the sun broke the horizon. My favorite image of the morning is the one at the beginning of this entry, which I call "Blue Dawn". This image is a 90 second exposure, and the streaks in the sky are from clouds that were being pushed across the sky rather quickly by the wind.





After shooting the sunrise I had to go to work for the day, but Roger and I made plans to meet up again after work. I told him if the lake was calm that evening, we would head out to the Susie Islands to shoot the sunset. As luck would have it, the lake was nice and calm that evening so we loaded our gear into the boat and I headed for Magnet Island, which is probably my favorite place in Grand Portage to shoot the sunset. This was Roger's first trip to the Susie Islands, and after our evening of shooting he said "I decided that anytime you want to head out to Magnet Island, I'm game!" I guess that means he liked it :-)

Early morning Aurora over Deronda Bay

My new habit of checking the spaceweather.com website every day seems to be paying off! Lately I have been getting quite a few nice shots of the Aurora Borealis, thanks in no small part to the information gathered from the spaceweather.com site. On Thursday, September 8th I checked the website just like I do any other day. Thursday's visit to the site revealed that a series of CME's (Coronal Mass Ejections) had occurred on the sun, and that those CME's had occurred on the side of the sun that was facing Earth. When this happens, generally it takes about 48 hours for them to reach our atmosphere... and when they do, beautiful Auroras are the result.


With the knowledge of the incoming CME's, and their expected time of arrival the night of September 10th, I started making my plans. I had to work on the 10th, so I knew that without some solid sack time I would be a zombie before the lights started to flare up. So, as is my normal plan of attack when shooting the Northern lights, I got done with work on the 10th, went home and went straight to bed. I slept from 5:00 PM until 10:00 PM, and was then refreshed enough (I hoped) for a full night of shooting.


As it turns out it was a good thing I got that sleep time in, because the lights didn't really start with any significance until just after midnight, and they continued all night until daylight started to creep into the sky, just before 6:00 AM. This particular photo was made at 4:42 AM along the shores of Lake Superior. Before moving to the shoreline, I had spent most of the night up on Mt. Maude, where the higher elevation provides almost a 360 degree view of the night sky. While on Mt. Maude I took a series of almost 400 photos of the dancing Northern lights and condensed them into a timelapse video, my first ever attempt at such a thing. All in all, it was a tiring, yet very rewarding, night of photography!

Bert and Nellie (Knight) Sutton

Nellie Gertrude Knight was the daughter of William and Minerva Fatima (Joslin) Knight. Minerva was my 2nd great-grandaunt. Obituaries and tombstone photos were obtained September 10, .. on a visit to Iola, Allen County, Kansas.

Nellie Knight was born on December 22, 1879 near Great Bend, Barton County, Kansas. According to Barton County marriage records, She was married on July 13, 1897 to Bert Alva Sutton. The photo below is a scanned image that I received from one of my distant Joslin cousins. It was labeled Nellie and Bert Sutton, and is presumed to be their wedding photo.


Nellie's obituary, published on July 28, 1947 in the Iola Register [Allen County, Kansas] states that she moved to Iola in 1907 with her husband. At the time of her death, just two weeks after celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, they were residing at 201 N. Sycamore Street. It also gave the names of two daughters that survived her.

As often happens, the obituary for the husband contains much more information. Published on February 17, 1964 in the Iola Register.

Bert Alvie Sutton, 90, resident of Iola since 1907, died at his home at 605 North Washington Saturday afternoon after a prolonged illness. He had been seriously ill for more than two months.

Mr. Sutton was born in Princeton, Mo., Sept. 25, 1873, the son of William Turner and Berthena Wall Sutton. He was married to Nellie Gertrude Knight in El Dorado in 1897. She died in 1947.

Three children were born to this union, Mrs. Hazel Sailing of Long Beach, Calif., Harmon Sutton, deceased, and Mrs. Helen Curtis of Wichita. Eight grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren survive.

Mr. Sutton was twice married. On Aug. 6, 1949 he was married to Eula Geniva High of Ottawa, of the home, who survives, known to her husband, relatives and friends as Polly. He had one step-daughter, Mrs. Ann Melton of Ventura, Calif.

Mr. Sutton grew to manhood on a farm (part of sentence is illegible). He worked for the Frisco Railroad for seven and a half years. He came to Iola in 1907 and was employed by T. B. Shannon Hardware. Then he went into business for himself and operated the Iola Plumbing Co. for 38 years, retiring in November 1948.

Mr. Sutton was a member of the First Christian Church, the Chamber of Commerce for many years, and the Iola Lions and Elks clubs. He was a long-time member of the Kansas Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Association and held an honorary membership in that association from the time of his retirement.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Tomorrow at the First Christian Church with the Rev. Chester Werbin officiating. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery. The Waugh Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The Sutton family plot in Highland Cemetery, Iola, Kansas.

BERT ALVA SUTTON
SEPT. 25, 1873
FEB. 15, 1964

NELLIE G.
WIFE OF B. A. SUTTON
1880 - 1947

Three children were born to Bert and Nellie (Knight) Sutton:

1. Hazel Marie Sutton was born March 2, 1896 and married Mr. Saling. She lived in Long Beach, California when her mother died in 1947 and in 1964 when her father died.

2. Harmon Harold Knight Sutton was born April 2, 1902 and died March 24, 1945 in Compton, California. A future post will provide some additional information on Harmon and his family.

3. Helen Juanita Sutton was born November 29, 1910 in Iola, Kansas and died December 19, 1984 in Wichita, Kansas. She was married in 1933 to Gerald Leon Curtis (1910-1982) and had three children: Judith, Ronald, and Gary.

Petzl Nomic Review..Old vs New

Colin Haley photo of Bjørn-Eivind Årtun on their new route, Dracula, Mt Foraker, June .



"The old Nomic and a pair of C-T hammers"

















Up front...the old Nomic is every bit the equal for climbing difficult ground as the new Nomic.



No need to panic.



Major change on the new Nomic? It is the new pommel that has a serrated stainless blade. It will add some stability on hard ice and can be used to give the pommel some stability as a cane on easy terrain. Better yet just use the top of the Astro or Dry pick while reversing the tool in that same easy terrain. Not suggested by Petzl but the new pommel can be retro fitted to the old Nomic. Just bolt it on...no issues what so ever.



Biggest over all improvement? New pommel fits bigger hands and thicker gloves much, much better. But it can be bolted right on no fuss, no muss to the older tools if that is something you want to try. The new Pommel offers a tiny bit more support and more coverage and hand protection on the upward curve towards the ice. Maybe the most important improvement is a metal to metal interface where they mate up on the end of the shaft. BUT...the metal to metal female/male fittings have some slop in the mating surfaces so they move backwards and forwards a bit even when cranked down tight . That is not an improvement. You won't get every advantage of the size improvements for big hands using the new pommel on the old tools but a good bit of it. Worth buying that piece of kit and trying it on your old tools. It is an option now.



I don't like the serrated blade in some places on hard technical climbing...it gets in the way during extreme rotation. I put the old pommel on my new Ergos because of it. But I do like having the option.



Hammer and adze? Yes you can add either the hammer or the adze designed for the new Quark to the Nomic. A small bit of round file or Dremel work to the tool head will allow you to fit the new Petzl hammer to the old style Nomic head. (see the detail photos below) But why would you? Needing a hammer is one thing, using the one Petzl made for the Quark is another. There is a better answer that is about to get even better shortly. That would be the Cold Thistle, 4mm, Nomic hammer. If it was not a LOT better than Petzl's offering I wouldn't bother making it. C-T hammers will also be much, much easier to change in the field using the newest Petzl picks or older style picks we cut for you. And the C-T hammer will fit the old and the new Nomic head with NO changes. Having it difficult to fit the hammer or change picks with the required spacer is a down side to the newest Petzl pick/hammer design. The new pick and spacer is truly a bitch to change in the field if the pair of Nomics I have here is any example.



C-T hammer info and pricing can be found in this link:



http://coldthistletools.blogspot.com//08/ice-climbing-gear.html





The new umbilical attachment? Good move on Petzl's part but if you want it to hold more than TOOL weight on your umbilicals you need to do a small mod on the newest Nomic's pommel. There isn't enough clearance between plastic and aluminum to get even 3mm cord through which you'll need to opened up for 4mm + cord. The hole Petzl drilled in my samples are 5.9mm. But these samples had some threads showing internally which will need to be taken out if you want to use 4 or 5mm cord there. The edges of the hole are well chambered on these but I would check that as well and do it if there is a sharp edge on either side of the shaft. Easy enough to drill out and chamfer the hole. I like 5mm cord there because you always know what the knot will do and it is easy to inspect cord for wear. Again easy to modify the older Nomic and now even easy enough to modify the new Nomic as well.



After cutting up the pommels on my first new set of Nomics I might modify these a bit different the next time around and cut up the grip a bit instead of going under the pommel. Looks like to me that you could now easily run a cord from the full strength hole in the handle and go behind the new smaller pommel. Done right it might be a better answer. I'm undecided at the moment. But the new tools are easy to cut with a Dremel or a round file where I used a vertical milling machine on the original Nomic's pommel. The best answer on the new tools is still a work in progress. What ever the answer the factory version isn't it for me.



New picks...DRY and ICE? Same materials, same heat treat, slightly different designs from the Astro and the Cascade. Still great picks...all still 3mm tips. Now rated as T picks instead of B picks. Little or no change in strength more likely just the label. Truly awesome picks, old or new!

Old picks fit new tools, new picks fit old tools. New picks require a spacer...which is a major PAIN to replace in the field. Buy the old Astro or Cascade if you need to carry spares and think you'll break or bend a pick or need to replace them on a climb. I like the original Cascade pick design on pure ice better FWIW. Either way buy the old picks because they are easier to replace and no spacer required if you aren't using a hammer.



Is it worth selling your old Nomic to get the new one? Obviously not....no way in fact. Worth making a few mods on either tool to suit your own climbing...you bet.





My old Nomic and umibilical about to pull a bulge on Curtain Call





































Here are the details:





Tool weights:



old shaft 366g (+4g)

new shaft 362g





pommel old 20g (-4g)

pommel new 24g





old Cascade pick w/weight 188g (+8g)

new Cascade pick w/weight 180g





Old Nomic is 8g heavier with the old pick design. Old Nomic is the same weight with the new "ICE" pick design.



8g = 1.4 oz. Dbl click the pictures for the details where required.









































































































































My undying, loyalty, respect and appreciation to Daniel Harro for loaning me his new Nomics for this review :) But..... you'll need to get in line for the hammers!





The link below is worth a read as well.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/947206/Re_New_Nomic

The William Hale Brubaker Family

William Hale Brubaker, born February 22, 1905, was the fourth and last child of Charles Romain and Maude Catherine Wise Brubaker. The family was living in Troy Township, Whitley County at the time. In less than two years the family would move to Traverse City, Michigan where they would live for about three years. In December 1910, when Charles' younger brother Maurice Hale Brubaker, passed away the family returned to Whitley County. They lived at the Goose Lake Farm until about 1918 when they moved into Columbia City.

Bill, as he was more commonly known, married Fern Flossie Rohn on January 5, 1924 in Hillsdale, Michigan. He was 18 years old and she was 16. They moved to Elkhart, Indiana where his uncle Maurice Wise was living. I'm not sure when Bill bought his first restaurant. His obituary stated that he was the owner and operator of Tyler Lunch restaurant from 1927 to 1965 but the 1930 census gives his occupation as a cook in the restaurant industry. That restaurant and the second one he owned, called "Bill's Restaurant" which he owned from 1966 to 1974, were both open only for breakfast and lunch; they closed for the day at 2 p.m. and were opened at 5 a.m. every morning.

Bill and Fern were the parents of three children; Gene, Mary Lee and Glea. Fern passed away on June 14, 1973. The following year Bill sold the restaurant and moved to Orlando, Florida. He died on April 21, 1979 at the home of his daughter in Orlando.

Bill and his family probably came to North Webster to visit my grandmother, there are several pictures of them at her house, but I don't know if we were ever there when they visited, except for one time. I don't remember it but a picture shows that I was there, along with all my cousins. Give me a break, please, it was 1965 and I was a teenager!

Fast forward to July of .. when I received an email from a friend that worked at the Whitley County Historical Museum. She had been contacted by someone wanting information on the Brubaker family and she was aware that I had Brubaker's in my family. Long story, short, I made contact and it was the wife of one of Bill's grandson, we'll call them Dick and Jane. Jane was hoping to gather enough information on the Brubaker family to present to Dick as a gift for his birthday that fall. Of course, I sent her the information and we made arrangements to meet.

In October .., Dick and Jane came to visit me and they met my mother and her sisters and brother. Now, when you get my Mother and her siblings all together, following conversations can be difficult, and this occasion was no different. There were ten people in the room but five conversations going on at the same time! Aunt Phyllis had brought some pictures of Bill's family to share with them, many which they had never seen. I'm sure that by the time Dick and Jane left they were overwhelmed by it all. I've kept in contact with them via email since then and someday hope to meet with them again.

William Hale Brubaker with his son Gene who was only six days old, according to the writing on the edge of the picture. If so, it would be August 24, 1925. The little girl is Phyllis Phend.

Four Generations - sort of - The baby, Gene Brubaker, is being held by his great grandfather William P. Wise. Then it's William's daughter, Maude Wise Brubaker and her son William Hale Brubaker. Not dated, probably 1925-26.

William Brubaker Family. Fern, Gene, Bill, Glea, and Mary Lee. Not dated, probably 1937-38.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Jacob & Louisa Phend at Hepton

Hepton Union Church is located in Scott Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana. It is two miles south of Nappanee, Elkhart County and a mile east of neighboring Marshall County. Jacob Phend, my second great-grandfather, was one of the founders of the Evangelical Church at Hepton and owned the land upon which the original church was built. The current church building, shown above, is on or near the site of the original church.

Jacob Phend was also one of the founders of at least two other churches; one in Marshall County and the other one in Nappanee.

In the spring of 1852, Jacob moved his family from Greene County, Indiana to Marshall County. In 1865 he purchased the land in Hepton, eventually selling the land in Marshall County to his two oldest sons John and Christian. Jacob had set aside a portion of that land in Marshall county for the erection of a church.

Jacob and Louisa lived on the Hepton farm until 1890 when they sold it to their son John and moved to Nappanee.

According to the Archives of DePauw University and Indiana United Methodism, the "Nappanee Mission" was organized in the fall of 1891 in the home of Jacob Phend. In 1892 a wooden frame church was built by the Mennonite Brethren in Christ and the Evangelicals together and was dedicated in the fall of 1892. The two groups worshiped there together for five years and then in 1897 the Evangelicals bought out the MBC. The building was then rededicated as the Evangelical church. In 1905 a parsonage was built and at that time the church had a membership of 110 and Sunday school enrollment of 124. A new and larger building was built and dedicated on October 31, 1926.

Hepton Union Cemetery is located on the north side of the Hepton Union Church. The view above is looking north-northwest. The view below is looking to the east. The graves for the Fisher and Phend families are located on the west side of the twin evergreen trees in the center of the cemetery.

JACOB PHEND / JUNE 27, 1828
LOUISA C. HIS WIFE / JUNE 27, 1829 - APRIL 4, 1897
According to his christening record (at the bottom of that post), Jacob was born in 1829, not in 1828. He died on October 7, 1917. Louisa's date of death was also inscribed wrong, she died April 4, 1898.

Three sons - John, Christian, and William - as well as some of their children and one of Louisa's sisters are buried in surrounding graves.

Tuffee & Me

This is me and my dog, Tuffee taking a break in our very slow, windy walk along the first 100 yards or so of the trail down from Sandia Crest.

Three O' Clock Rock Big Tree One ..

With Adam unemployed, we finally connected on a weekday outing. The original plan was to head up to Static Point, but this late in the season my inclination toward walking long distances diminishes. So we opted to go to Three O' Clock rock with its half hour approach.

Due to roadwork near my house, we got a late start. We finally got to the base of the route around Noon after taking a slight detour to check out the North Buttress side of the rock. It didn't take us too long to find the base of the route, but the beta said "wide crack" and the crack does not start until you are more than ten feet off the ground, so it was not immediately apparent. Since the third pitch was 5.8 and gear, it was decided that I would lead the odd pitches and Adam would lead the even pitches. That also meant that if we opted to, I could lead the fifth unprotected pitch.

There was a seep at the base next to a dirty corner. It was inevitable that one foot or the other would get wet/dirty. I chose the left foot putting it in the dirty corner while keeping my right foot dry on the rock between the corner and seep. There is no gear for the first eight feet or so before gaining the crack which made it a little more interesting than I was looking for. Once in the crack, I moved left to where it steepened. The first few moves on the steeper section was the crux of the pitch. There was a good fist jam, and then the crack widened to an off width that was difficult to jam. I placed a #4 cam and attempted an arm bar move only to slip off. It was barely a fall. I blame it partially on my ability to climb the crack, but also on the still wet/dirty left shoe I had. I eventually did a sort of lie back on the crack keeping my feet on the left side of it to get through the steep section. (one or two moves) The angle eases off after that, and I cruised up to a ledge below a finger crack. I climbed the slab using the crack for hand holds and gear. Once passed that I was at the belay.

Adam at the finger crack

I brought Adam up who complained about the dirt and moisture. I told him it would get better the higher he climbed. Once at the belay he we exchanged the rack and we discussed the next pitch. He headed up and placed a nut behind a flake and then started toward the slab that is the main feature of the second pitch. There are two bolts on it, and it appears quite run out. Adam's head was not into making the committing move onto the slab and continuing up the run out. So he backed off and handed me the lead.

I started up and used the gear he placed and then ran it out to the bolt. It is probably over ten feet to the bolt from that first piece of gear, but the climbing is 5.5 or under. After the bolt, the climbing gets a touch easier with knobs on the slab for feet. I was able to sling a small tree, and get a small cam into an overlap before making a committing move right to reach the second bolt. After the second bolt it is a few friction moves up the slab before gaining a flake roof. Once at the roof the climbing was really fun. I placed a piece just at the roof, and then moved right around it the surmount it. A few more pieces, combined with some friction and stemming allow you to grab a nice hold and haul yourself onto a ledge above the roof. The ledge is a horizontal crack, which I followed to the left to get to the bolted anchor. I used the crack/ledge for feet, but I'm sure it would also work for hands. Although, if I had used it for hands, I would not have been able to protect the traverse, which was about 15' long. (I had used all my big gear coming around the roof.)

Once I got to the belay I started bringing Adam up while contemplating the next pitch. The opening sequence looked hard and I was sweating it. When Adam got to the belay, we re-racked and I got prepped for the next lead. From the topo, we knew the route went up a shallow left facing corner, and would briefly cross over before gaining another shallow left facing corner. It appeared steepest in the first 12' from the belay and then appeared to ease off. So my concern was getting through an overlap about eight feet up. My moves went smoothly and while I was concerned with the climbing I found it relatively easy. But due to my concern, I placed gear often early on. (Adam counted something like seven pieces in the first 20'!) I think that shows that I was mostly comfortable in placing gear and that the climbing was not too difficult. It also shows the head space I was in when leading the pitch. After the initial overlap, the route is somewhat of a lie back or contrapressure routine.

After the first corner peters out is where I found the crux of the pitch and therefore the route. There was a nice stance above a small bush with a small left facing overlap that offered more contrapressure climbing. The move from contrapressure to on top of the slab was a difficult transition. I initially went up to make the move and couldn't figure it out. I down climbed the move or two back to a good stance and surveyed my options. I also wiped the slab where I was going to be putting my feet as it seemed a bit dirty when I initially went for the move. I went back up and made the first move with my right foot on top of the slab. I felt in melting down the hold until it stopped, and I was in a good stance to continue on a few friction moves before regaining hand holds on the other side of the slab and into the next corner. With only one cam left that would fit the crack, I had to be creative, and run it out. This was really no issue as it is usually not too wise to maintain a lie back for long periods while placing gear. I headed up the final corner which was a perfect lie back while slinging a small bush, and placing a cam and nut. At the top of the corner, I slung another bush before moving right onto the slab to the anchor.

Adam about to go into the last stretch of lie back.

Adam came up and said he found it to be quite strenuous. Especially toward the end. For me, that was where I felt I was getting in the groove and was almost sad that it ended.

On the fourth pitch the topo shows three bolts before reaching the belay. I could see one bolt about 25' straight up, but there was a line of two bolts heading rightward. Adam agreed to lead this one which put him out of his comfort zone. He quickly got to the second bolt, but instead of heading to the other bolt in sight, (Which neither of us, especially me, thought was on route,) he headed to a depression and climbed straight up about 20' above the last protection. He found a decent set of bolts with old rap slings on it. He set up a belay, and I followed. Shortly after the second bolt I noticed the real top anchor and headed toward it. This is when we realized that the other bolt we could see was on route and about halfway between the second bolt Adam clipped and the chains. I got to the true anchor and belayed Adam over. We looked at the fifth unprotected pitch ending at a tree and decided it was not worth it. From the chains we made three raps to the base. There was no issues rapping and we were back to our packs in no time. We relaxed a bit and checked out more of the crag before hiking out to the car.

Adam heading into the unknown.

This was a great outing. I don't know if it is because I hadn't climbed in three weeks, but I found the climbing really enjoyable. The guidebooks have this route as two stars, but I would say it is perhaps a three star route. While not particularly difficult the climbing on the first and second pitches is interesting and fun. (While surmounting the roof on the second pitch, I couldn't stop yelling down to Adam how much fun it was!) The third pitch was really nice too and for a brief while mimicked Diedre in Squamish. (Although it was facing the opposite way.) This was a nice outing, and one that can easily be combined with some other shorter routes at Three O' Clock Rock. While the air temps were warm (60°s) we were in the shade from the second pitch up, and subsequently wore poofys the rest of the route.

Wave Wash on the Cascade Coast

Cascade River State Park, MN



I finally made it out to shoot a Lake Superior sunset again, something I haven't done in quite a while. The wave action this evening was pretty sweet. It would have been nice to have a bit more color in the sunset, but it was a very beautiful scene nonetheless! I even got to see an otter running along the shoreline while I was making images of the waves. Sorry, no pictures of the otter... he was gone before I could get the camera pointed at him :-(