Training Archive: SwampfoxIn the 7 days ending 2008-04-12:
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| S | M | T | W | H | F | S | |||||||||||||||||
Saturday Apr 12 | ||
| biking 27:00 [3] | |
| More winter, with fresh snow falling and a tough, cold wind out of the NW. Spring is going to feel so good tomorrow! | ||
| skiing 2:00:00 [3] | |
When I went up to ski at Happy Jack this afternoon, this is what I found:
What a surprise! More snow! More ice! More wind! More winter! It's enough to warm the heart of any ski wax manufacturer. Skiing was incredible for 12 April. Lots of locals have completely given up on Spring at this point, but I still think there are chances it could turn up one day. Maybe tomorrow! PS--There are more than 27 UFOs in this photo. Can you find them all? | ||
| C • UFO´s 2 | ||
Friday Apr 11 | ||
| Note | |
| I mapped this boulder last Saturday:
View Larger Map That was about all I had time for, before the cold winds imperiled my very survival. | ||
| C • Google maps 10 | ||
| Note | |
| Just when you think things can't get any worse (referring to the testimony earlier this week by Petraeus & Crocker whereby we have learned that if things get worse in Iraq we can't withdraw troops, if things get better we can't withdraw troops, if things stay the same we can't withdraw troops; basically as long as the Prez is the Prez, there are no circumstances under which we can withdraw troops), things get worse!
I refer of course to the discovery that there is something even more terrible than American Idol, Brittany Spears behind the wheel, or a Memphis basketball player at the free throw line, or even the combination of all three plus the mess in Iraq: a devilrunner blogg. (Do not ask me why there is the extra "g" on blogg--that's just the way they do it over in Sweden.) All I can say is, if you go there, I'm not taking any of the blame. http://devilrunner.blogg.se/ | ||
| skiing 2:11:00 [3] | |
| Up to the trails in the late afternoon where I found...lots and lots of new snow! In fact, there is more snow on the trails up at Happy Jack right now, on April 11 (!!!) than I have ever seen up there before.
Luckily, a groomer had been out earlier and had rolled the trails, but even with that, there was so much new, unconsolidated snow that skiing was slow and soft going. But the look--phenomenally wintry! As if that weren't enough, just as I was stepping off the trails, it started snowing heavily, and conditions were near white-out on the drive back down the hill into the valley. Definitely still winter, and it didn't even get about 28F in Laramie today. Man! On top of all that, now it seems the forecasters are saying spring will not arrive tomorrow after all, but that it has been delayed and the updated forecast is that it is supposed to show up on Sunday. | ||
| biking 1:06:00 [2] | |
Thursday Apr 10 | ||
| Note | |
| It was not surprising to wake up to about 8-10" of new snow in Laramie this morning. Hard to say what the total would actually be since: 1) the only thing the folks on the radio have been talking about so far this morning are Tiger Woods and the Masters, 2) all the highways are closed, as usual, 3) the ground was warmish to begin with, and so a good deal of snow melted from the bottom, and 4) it's still snowing.
But what *was* surprising was to read in the morning paper that the Prez's approval rating had sunk to a new low. I didn't know the Prez even still had any approval rating left, so it didn't seem there was any room for further sinking. The same story reported only 7% of Democrats approve of the Prez's overall job, a number which is clearly grossly exaggerated. Personally, I don't know of a single Democrat that approves of anything the Prez has done for about the past 7 years. Maybe these are mythical Democrats. I think you would have a hard time finding 7% of Democrats who would approve of the way the Prez ties his shoes or eats jello. So I believe this number like I believe in large, furry, four footed pig creatures. I would put more creedance in an Elvis sighting, especially if the sighting took place in Knob Noster SP. I was so inspired by all this that I had to head to Starbucks for some morning brew where--surprise again!--I found to my delight they were giving away a new blend of drip coffee called Pike Place Roast, and was it ever good! It's hard to describe it in ordinary words since it was such an un-ordinary blend, but I will do my best: I would say the flavor profile was bold and robust, but with a smoother and more buttery finish than you would expect. Once it settled in, the overall vibe was somehow vaguely suggestive of a Texas Longhorn grazing idly amongst the Hill Country bluebonnets. Yum! The best part though was that the new brew was served in a special cup featuring a new version of the original Starbucks logo. Gotta love that mermaid! Gotta love that long, wavy hair! But it's a little harder to love the fact that the long, wavy hair is hiding the mermaid's bare breasts. Ok, it's a lot harder to love that. Maybe when the protesters are done with the Prez and the Torch and other stuff, they can turn their attention to Starbucks, and demand that the mermaid be re-liberated! | ||
| C • Dems 4 | ||
| Yowsa!!! 1 [4] | |
| Very heavy Yowsa!!! | ||
| run 48:00 [3] | |
| Just a simple run on asphalt--whole lotta winter going on. Things were totally socked in up top with execrable conditions, and with the Happy Jack Road closed, skiing on the trails would have been pointless anyway. | ||
| biking 1:17:00 [2] | |
Wednesday Apr 9 | ||
| Note | |
| I just got off the phone with the National Weather Service, curious to see when winter might end. Quite by coincidence, they had *just* updated their models, and they said it looks like winter in the Laramie Valley will be ending at around 1307 hours on May 22. That came as quite a shock, and a real blow to mapping plans. But that's OK, because I still have my guitar! ; ) | ||
| C • What? What? 2 | ||
| skiing 1:11:00 [3] | |
| It looked like the trails had been newly groomed sometime earlier in the day, which surprised me because it had been above freezing all day. But that's the way they looked, and there were only a few tracks before I got there...whatever. Very slow skiing because there was a little new, very wet snow on top. Still fun to be out, fast or slow. | ||
| biking 1:01:00 [2] | |
Tuesday Apr 8 | ||
| biking 51:00 [3] | |
| Some sun, but more wind. Slight edge to the wind. This can't go down as winter or spring, and so officially it will have to be recorded as "nuetral."
Saw several helicopters headed west, singly, in the beginning of the annual helicopter migration. | ||
| skiing 1:39:00 [3] | |
| Still winter, nice snow! | ||
| biking 1:04:00 [2] | |
Monday Apr 7 | ||
| Note | |
| It's Billie Holliday's birthday--what a fine romance! | ||
| C • If a person drove out to th... 3 | ||
| Note | |
| Interpretation of weather forecasts in the spring in SE Wyoming:
They say it will be nice and sunny: there have been some instances in years past when it was nice and sunny when they said it would be nice and sunny. They say there is a chance of rain/snow: it will definitely snow. Highways will close, and beeves will stir around unhappily, wondering why the gods couldn't have made them Texas Longhorns and placed them in Texas instead. They say it will be windy: ....oh, boy! | ||
| run 32:00 [3] | |
| Light snow, trying to be sunny, but the Old Man (winter) won't let it. | ||
| skiing 1:22:00 [3] | |
| 3" new snow = more winter! | ||
| biking 54:00 [2] | |
Sunday Apr 6 | ||
| skiing 53:00 [3] | |
| Based on the extensive snow coverage, no reason to think I won't be able to ski at Happy Jack this time next week. | ||
| run 1:57:00 [2] | |
| Some dirt (road), mostly out in terrain. | ||
| biking 45:00 [2] | |