Walking, Exploring, Picnicking

Fort Pickens Campground — Gulf Islands National Seashore (GINS), Florida
Temps: Lo 67F / Hi 73F (19C / 23C)

We woke up to so much fog in the campground that we thought for sure the day was going to be a bust. Hah! An hour later, the sun had burned off the fog and was peeking through the mostly-cloudy skies. Of course that meant we just had to go out and explore — despite the 100% humidity (ugh!).

We decided to walk a bit down the way to explore one of the coastal artillery fortifications overlooking the Gulf of Mexico — Battery Langdon (1923; casemated 1943). As we wandered up and over the battery, the clouds provided welcome filtering of the strong sun; and the breeze cooled us down while we sat a while … enjoying the view and our snacks.

(The light was sort of blah most of the day … and it shows in the photos.)

I catch Mui atop Battery Langdon …

… he catches me with his camera as I come up to join him.

When the sun comes out briefly, the scenery is visibly brightened.

Two to Travel at Battery Langdon.

From Battery Langdon, we walked back to the campground, got on the short trail from Loop B, and went to explore Battery Worth (1899). I’m going to write about these fortifications in a later post, so just a photo for now.

Visitors are allowed to wander freely on the fortifications.

By the time we returned to the coach, we were drained from the humid heat. What to do? Easy solution for Mui was to go for another dip in the ocean. So, we grabbed some snacks and drove over to Langdon Beach. The water temp was 62F (17C) — just a degree or two warmer than when he went for a dip a few days ago. He doubled up on his snorkeling skin layer and felt more comfortable in the water this time. So much so that he didn’t want to come out until I finally prevailed.

33 seconds in the water!

Happy Crazy Man!

The rain threatened all day, but not a drop fell.

When we eventually returned home we had just enough time to shower, get changed, and get over to Fort Pickens for the only program they offer this time of the year — an hour-long ranger-led tour. Describing herself as a “baby ranger,” Elizabeth enthusiastically launched into the program, which included a 10-minute lecture about the history of the fort and a 65-minute tour. Yes, that adds up to more than 60 minutes!

Ranger Elizabeth and one of the few cannons remaining at Fort Pickens.

I’m going to post about Fort Pickens separately, so for now … moving on. Mui was ready to call it quits after the tour, but I wasn’t ready to head home yet. So, we compromised — he went home, promising to come and get me when I was ready; I headed over to the museum, which reopened last spring after having been closed for nearly eight years following storm surge damage from Hurricane Ivan. More on that when I post about Fort Pickens.

Climbing atop the seawall that was built to protect Fort Pickens from storms, I wandered along the perimeter of the grounds, eventually ending up at the beach. Spotting a Great Blue Heron standing statue-still as some fisher people went about their business nearby, I hopped down the wall and quietly approached it. This bird could have cared less about my presence. I sat down on a toppled tree for a while before inching my way across the sand to spend some quality time with the heron … a very special experience. And yes … lots of photos.

Noticing that this Great Blue Heron is missing a foot, I wonder how that impacts its life.
(I didn’t have to wonder long; after about 30 minutes, it hopped a little ways,
picked up a twig in its beak, and flew off to its nest. It returned before I left
the beach and started fishing further down the beach … it has adapted.)

(That’s a double-crested cormorant in the background.)

There were other birds around as well, but not many — a pelican, a willet, a loon. Of course I got pictures of them as well, but I’ll spare you and skip to the end of our day.

After the heron flew off to his nest, I called Mui and suggested he make a couple of sandwiches and join me to watch the sunset. When he arrived, we put our chairs atop Battery Payne — not another soul around — and settled down to enjoy the scenery as the setting sun changed the colors of the sky and the landscape.

A nice ending to the day ...

A month of records: Liam O'Sullivan claims new speed record

Less than a month after Justin Merle broke the speed summit record of Mount Rainier from Paradise to Columbia Crest and back, Liam O'Sullivan, a mountain guide employed by International Mountain Guides (IMG), raised the bar once again, beating Merle's time by 3 minutes with a new record of 4 hours, 46 minutes and 29 seconds (FYI: Both Merle and O'Sullivan had small amounts of supplies cached at Camp Muir and dropped crampons on the descent). O'Sullivan left the upper Paradise parking lot at 4:20:08 a.m. and arrived at Camp Muir 1 hr 24 minutes later, putting him well on the way to a new record. O'Sullivan then beat his own personal time to Columbia Crest by 5 minutes, with a one way time of 3:11:22. On a previous attempt this month, O'Sullivan had been on pace to beat the record, but then faced fierce cramps on the descent which prevented him from setting a new record. This was almost the case again, but he was able to pull through this time.

"Any long or awkward step (which the Cleaver has plenty of by now) would cause me to cramp, so I descended cautiously to Muir, by which time I had lost all but 1 minute of the lead I had gained on Justin Merle's pace. I descended the (unfortunately) still firm Muir Snowfield, reaching Pebble neck-and-neck with Justin's time. Then battling the rocky, stepped trail, I commenced. Below Glacier Vista I kicked, breaking away from the pace, opted for the more direct east side of Alta Vista (complete with skin-shredding steep asphalt descent), and reached the trailhead in 4:46:29!"

Climbing conditions on Disappoinment Cleaver (DC) are some of the best conditions seen in years, which could account for the recent trend of speed ascents this month, including record attempts by O'Sullivan and Alpine Ascents International (AAI) Guide Michael Horst, and an amazing combination bicycle ride and speed ascent by Randall Nordfors. Despite the phenomenal conditions on the DC all summer, the season is moving along and things are beginning to break up, so future speed ascent attempts may be more difficult due to less direct route and slower climbing conditions. However, this may not stop would-be record breakers like Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, a guide with Alpine Ascents International (AAI) and previous Everest record holder. Check out a recent article by The Seattle Times, covering this new competition for the "Rainier Speed Summit".

In addition to his record breaking climb, O'Sullivan has had a pretty good month - he made his 100th summit of Rainier on a tough Kautz route in less than ideal conditions, he guided Nordfors' Puget Sound to Summit trip and now begins a new path: medical school. After 10 years of mountain guiding on Mount Rainier and around the globe, we wish Liam the best and look forward to hearing more great things from him in the future.

Smokies: A Teaser

Had a great day for our visit to the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Alas, I took too many photos and didn’t have nearly enough time to cull through them for the blog after we returned home.  Actually, truth be told, I had plenty of time, but sitting in a comfy chair overlooking a mesmerizing river was less-than conducive to getting any work done :-)

So for now … just a teaser …

Just inside the Townsend Entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Looking at Summer

Magnolias, whip-poor-wills, lightning bugs, and the ever-present humidity; summer's comin'!

...And More Summer

Last weekend we saw a tremendous number of climbers heading up Mount Rainier and lots of folks just out for a day hike, picnic at Muir or getting some rather great mid-July turns in. Most routes on the mountain seem to be staying in great shape thanks to a cooler and wetter than average June.

July is one of the busiest months for climbing on Rainier, but those seeking more solitude should try for mid-week climbs on the popular routes, such as the DC and Emmons, or head out to some of the more remote west-side routes that are still in good shape. Also many thanks to the climbers who have been helping keep the routes and high camps clean during this busy time of year. We really appreciate your efforts.

Check out a couple of great trip reports sent to us by contributing climbers Bartosz Paliswiat and Scott Seitz on Sunset Ridge and Success Clever, respectively. The photo at right was also taken by Paliswiat. Guess Sunset Ridge got its name for a reason!

Farm in morning sun

A farm with a view, overlooking the Spey valley. The white dots in the foreground are sheep. I think this farm also has cattle, and grows some barley and oats. Most of the Spey valley is at too high an elevation for growing wheat, but the traditional Scottish grain crops do well, and of course the best of the barley goes for making whisky (along with - whisper it - barley from continental Europe).
The hill behind is called Ben Rinnes. On the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 a huge bonfire was lit on top of it, one of a chain of bonfires stretching from Land's End in the south to John O'Groats in the North. Think Lord of the Rings and the bonfires of Rohan, but without the snow and sadly without Viggo Mortensen.

Rides & Trail Work

Back on the trail Tuesday. I decided to fore go the Tuesday Evening Ride from the bike shop. Instead I rode dirt at Manawa. The trails are dry (except for 1 ditch), hard, and fast.
It felt that I was riding closely to the same as my hardtail. Good lines, increasing speed, etc. When I got the bike to the shop for Wednesday Morning Ride, I realized that the rear shock was locked! Now wonder it was riding like my 4300.

Wednesday dawned clear, crisp, and cool. A good morning for our ride. Riders: Randy, Greg, Zach and me. We did our normal ride from the shop to Lake Manawa, rode the trails there and headed back to the shop. I could feel the difference now - riding with the rear shock in v. locked. Still getting is used to the new bike - but riding better each time I am out.
Just ended the ride when my friend Chuck called - he wanted to come over for help picking out a bike. Took him to Xtreme Wheels, where he ended purchasing a Navigator 30.
From there - Trail work. I met Steve (Manawa Trail Leader) and Martin to clear the 3 dead falls and hopefully make repairs to the big tree crossing. Andrew (another rider from XW stopped by when working on the log crossing - helped with us.
When I got home I was tired - not mentioning sore legs. See how I feel today - if I am going to ride later.

Deep south deep freeze

Well, at least the wind's not blowing.
7.9°F (-13.4°C) is not the norm here, but I guess the temperature gods wanted to remind us that we're really still in zone 7, despite the updated hardiness map.
We are in a valley, so it's usually a bit colder here. The local tv station is saying that it's 16°F; (-9°C) in Birmingham.
This is the display for the fancy weather observation system we got for Christmas. I cropped out the bottom of the picture -- it also shows the atmospheric pressure.
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I could swear that it reached -12°F (-24°C) when I was a kid, but nobody else seems to remember this. We lived a little further north at the time, in Gadsden. According to this site, the lowest recorded temperature in Alabama was -27°, on January 30, 1966 in New Market. Now, that location is practically in Tennessee, but that could be the weather event I'm recalling.

It “Coalesced” For Us

Monday, June 3
On GA-97 En Route to Appling, GA

We have a longer than usual drive today to our next campground. What better way to spend a portion of that time than to write about a bit of maintenance Mui did on the Phaeton a few days ago.

Thanks go to Steve (of GoneByRV) for posting about this and alerting us to the Cummins requirement to replace the coalescing filter every 60,000 miles or 24 months

Our brand new coalescing filter fresh out of the box! Look at how clean that white
filter is … keep that in mind for comparison after Mui removes the existing filter.

As Steve noted in his post — and the subsequent “how-to” he posted on the TRVN forum — the replacement process was easy. (For those not in the know, TRVN stands for the Tiffin RV Network, which is a community of Tiffin owners.) You can access the post and document in question from this link. Be aware, however, that if you don’t already have login credentials, you will need to set them up first — well worth it in our opinion.

Once the engine hatch cover is removed, next step is to find the filter. Easy enough … it’s under a red metal cover right on top of the engine.

Tip: have a plastic-lined bin handy so you can throw the old filter into it after removal; ours was quite dirty … perhaps because it’s been some 48-60 months since it was installed. (On the other hand, we only have 17,100 miles on the odometer at the time of this writing, so perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all.)

The filter is under the red cover embossed with the Cummins name.
Mui cleaned the cover so that readers could easily see it in the photos :-))

Using a lug-nut wrench, Mui removed the bolts holding the cover in place.
I didn’t count how many bolts there were, but Steve’s how-to photo has 11 of them circled,

With very little torque required to remove (and later, to tighten) the bolts,
the cover comes off easily enough to reveal the coalescing filter.

By the way, the bolts were permanently secured to the cover, so no danger of
dropping them into the engine compartment … might not be the case for others.

What a difference a used well-used filter makes.
The filter is filthy … refer back to the photo of the new filter if you don’t believe me.

The new filter goes in … and it’s a wrap once the cover is bolted back on.
(again, very little torque is needed to tighten the bolts).

Mui made a calendar appointment — with himself — to replace the filter in 24 months or so. Now that we know of the requirement, he will stay on top of this maintenance task in the future.

(Though this is not a mod per se, I am posting it on the Phaeton Mods page for future reference.)