Back on the yak, Packsaddle to Spencer's Hole on the North Santiam

We headed out on a favorite section of the North Santiam this past Sunday. It'd been a full month since I'd been in the kayak and I definitely felt the novelty of it when we first set out. The rusted reflexes quickly became intuitive though and I was fully relaxed and enjoying myself after a few rapids downstream of our put-in. By the end of the run I had another 4 combat rolls and one self-inflicted swim (vid coming soon).

Spencer's Hole, a class III rapid at the end of this run, afforded us the opportunity to take some great pictures while we ran the rapid. The rapid is formed by a narrowing of the channel to a 20' gap bordered by large sedimentary escarpments on each side. The camera man can set up on top of the rocks on river right while another person sets up safety downstream (though it's largely unnecessary because the rapid finishes with a large pool area with little current and an easy swim to shore). Lennie has taken most of our river pictures thus far, because he's a far more skilled kayaker than the rest of us, so I made a point to get this sequence of him going through Spencer's Hole.

Lennie, coming in to the top of the hole (all that really foamy whitewater below him is the front of the hole - it blocks the back of the hole from the camera):

Lennie, in Spencer's Hole

The best part about this run is that we can take out below Spencer's, drag our yaks up the rocks, and launch again from above the hole to run the rapids all over again! We each ran it a couple of times. 

A pic of me and a rapid somewhere upstream of Spencer's. 

Me, at the top of Spencer's.

We also had some time to practice rolling and T-rescues. Here's Kim (underwater) practicing a T-rescue. She slaps the side of her boat and other boaters will push the bow of their yak against her hands so she can push off their boat and right herself.

Kim, practicing her roll (she's flipping up from being underwater).

Me, practicing eddy-outs. Three of my combat rolls were forced from poor technique on the eddy-out. While I rolled up it's still far better to be able to eddy-out correctly. It's a little unnerving to put the boat on such a lean but that actually keeps you from getting swamped by the forceful water from upstream (to the left in the pic above).

Ear Wax Candles? Mythbuster's Special Edition

During my latest Kalamazoo visit we happened to talk about ear wax candles, those long wax tubes you stick in your ear that magically 'suck' out excess ear wax while they burn. I've heard multiple people swear that they work and that using the candles helps to prevent ear wax buildup. A few quick searches on the world-wide interweb brings up tons of sites challenging the idea that ear wax candles do much of anything. 

We decided to test the idea that the candles remove wax and used ourselves as subjects.

Bec, subject #1

Brian, subject #2, who giggled through all of it. That's Aiden in the background (Bec and Brian's daughter)

Subject #3, in a lonely glass jar

After we burned each candle to the sticker (according to the instructions this is the proper amount of time), we cut each candle apart. They're just hollow tubes made of a gauze material that's impregnated with flammable waxes.

Aiden, amateur photographer, and subject #3. The smoke from the candle completely filled the little jar and it trickled up and out like a smoke-machine at a Poison concert.

And the results? How about I show you and you can guess which one is from the jar? 

A.

B.

C.

D.

Key:

A is Bec's left ear

B is the control, only half opened

C is Brian's right ear

D is the control, fully opened

Summary. The candles don't remove any earwax. All of the wax you see in the candle after you burn it is from the candle itself and there is a lot of variability between candles. Bec's candles looked squeaky clean while the control was one of the dirtiest. 

While it seems the ear wax candle is a myth, some of our other results made us think they might be bad for your ears. In the control jar that filled with smoke while we burned it, ostensibly this is also what would happen in your ear canal, we noticed a lot of white wax soot that built up on the bottom of the jar. Now if that stuff accumulates in your ear, it can't be good.

Subject #3 in the jar. You can see the white buildup at the base.

Post burn, lots of stuff down there.

Annapolis! The Whirlwind Finds its Mark

Sails, boats, marinas, and taverns - all of it spread throughout Annapolis' multiple peninsulas which jut out into the Chesapeake. These are the things that draw me to Annapolis and while I can't explain why I like them so much, I know I do. 

The Winona, all 25' of her sleekness.

I'd hoped for some time out on the Winona, a 25' Tanzer of my friend Chris Charbonneau (Charby to those who trust him enough to be dragged out onto the ocean with him). Winds at 25 knots with gusts to 30 are a good deal too much to be enjoyable on the craft and we spent the time instead drinking beer below decks and telling lies. The space below is actually enough to sleep 2 and there is at least one person who's spent a winter sleeping on her to save on rent. - My own plan...

Charby, Yuengling in hand, after I asked him to let me take her for a spin. He apparently remembers my amazing sailing skills.

A really nice 5o', do I look like I own it?

The brief couple of days I spent in Annapolis were filled with lots of looking at boats, Yuengling, and Dark & Stormy. While I didn't get to put time in out on the water, I really enjoyed myself. 

The Whirlwind Continues

Arrived in DC on Sunday evening for quick orientation as part of the NSF fellowship. One of the most painless orientations I've attended; we covered a full suite of logistical pains, program requirements, legal constrictions, and medical considerations in record time. I even got to hit the town and see some sights.

Yours truly, Washington Monument in the background.

The Washington Monument, viewed from the new (ish) WWII memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial, viewed from the WWII memorial.

I also went to see my buddy Travis and his girlfriend Bonnie, who are now living in DC. Trav and I lived together in Annapolis before I moved to Oregon.

Here he is with Lucia, a super-awesome and very chill aussie border mix. She loved me right away.

A Whirlwind Tour

Arrived in Chicago this past Tuesday to meet up with Kelly Gates-Derousseau, a great friend from my undergrad at WMU. We'd arranged to drive up to Kalamazoo to surprise Bec and Chad, with lots of extra help from their respective spouses. Kelly hasn't been back to the states in more than a year (she's off in the south pacific, drinking kava and playing expatriate games) and I'm always keen for travel. My suggestion to show up with JFK and Nixon masks was vetoed though, we brought beer instead.

The shock on Bec and Chad's faces was worth the secrecy. They were truly surprised and just sat there, jaws-dropping, with an obvious uncomprehending look. I think it probably took some time before they really accepted that we were actually there in the living room. 

While in Michigan I also took time to visit the fam. Lucas posed for a special shot:

(No worries, it's innocent. He's teething and the cold can feels good on his gums)

While Sage and Lane conspired (these two will be hooligans together, give them time):

And Willow, another poor victim of the vicious beef stroganoff (I hated the stuff when I was little, it always made me gag):