Cascajun

I spent the past weekend camping at Ft. Flagler State Park. It was built around the turn of the 20th century, along with Fort Casey and Fort Worden, to form a “triangle of fire” that could protect the entrance to Puget Sound at Admiralty Inlet. Harkening back to an era before air power, each fort was equipped with batteries of 6-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch “disappearing guns” and mortar batteries capable of hurling shells up to 12-inches in diameter a distance of 10-miles. Made obsolete by aircraft, the three forts were decommissioned and converted to state parks in the 1950s.

I participated in Ride 542 - The Mt. Baker Hill Climb today. It’s a 24.5 mile road race that follows the Mt. Baker Highway (SR 542) from the town of Glacier (elev. 955 ft) to its terminus at Artist Point (elev. 5,140 ft), on the border of North Cascades National Park.

I finished the race in 1 hr 49 minutes and 50-some-odd seconds. I don’t know my placing, but the winners in the recreational division finished about 5-minutes ahead of me. The competitive division winners finished in just over 1 hr 20 minutes. I’ll update this post later with more details after the race results are released.

The weather was perfect and the scenery was fantastic. It’s a great race and the ride back down is a real treat!

UPDATE:

I placed 10th of the 65* men my age (Rec Men, 30 - 39) and 27th overall of the 221 men racing in the recreational division. Here is an elevation profile of the race course. The last climb is 16 kilometers at 5.7% grade.

* There was a 66th racer age 30 - 39. Gerry Kingslien, was riding with his 8-year old son Keagan, who finished the race looking strong after the epic 4-hour climb.

Wretchard on the Press:

Yet subtly, without anyone noticing, in the years between World War 2 and today the Press has acquired the power to be the arbiter of any great public enterprise and in particular to declare defeat or victory in war. Vietnam was the first clear exercise of that power. It is jealously guarded to this day. To effect this all the old metrics first had to be declared invalid.

No longer could the destruction of the enemy’s armies, the capture of his capital, the occupation of his territory, the fugitive life of the opposition, the absence of meaningful retaliation be entered as evidence of victory. Today these count for nothing. Organizations like Hezbollah were the first to realize that a sea change had taken place. What took place on the battlefield ran a poor second to what was shown on TV screens. In fact, the battlefield could be ignored altogether if suitably doctored images could be procured for exhibition.

The press set the rules of evidence within their tribunal. Did you establish an elected government? It’s not a liberal, secular multicultural government! Did you say losses are lower than any war in history? They should be zero! Did you say America has not been attacked in five years? That would have happened any way and especially if you had left it all to the UN!

Coalition losses are counted and recounted. No one even bothers to tally the enemy’s. Not that it can’t be known. It’s that it has no relevance. Has the plan been changed from the original? Then it will be described as “the Pentagon has been forced to admit” … “in the face of mounting evidence” … “despite assurances by the President” … “in contrast to overoptimistic planning”. Adapatability a vice in us, a virtue in the enemy’s. Because only by choosing a moment in time can things be compared to a perfect instant; can we find for guilt against a bill of impossible particulars and like Gatsby, object to the kiss if unaccompanied by the tuning fork upon a star.

Sonia-Belle eloquently says it in the final paragraph of her recent post, Myths about the Soviet Union.

The fact remains that an irrational hatred of the United States turns otherwise intelligent and progressive people into supporters and appologists of the worst totalitarian empires that humanity has ever known: the Soviet Union, Mao’s China, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, and others. It’s a disease that attacks the progressive Left and destroys it from the inside.

Indeed.

I visited the Pacific Coast on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula for the first time since moving to Bellingham three years ago and chose Shi Shi Beach as my destination, a place that’s been referred to as “a jewel in the peninsula’s rugged crown.” Located at the northern terminus of Olympic National Park’s 57-mile stretch of wilderness coast, this strip of sand wedged between two magnificent headlands really is glorious. At three miles in length, the beach offers ample space for the heavy use it gets from both day trippers and overnight backpackers.

Headlands at the south end of the beach jut into the ocean forming Point of the Arches, an archipelago of rocks and sea stacks, some with arches and caves. The weather on Saturday was beautiful, clear skies with temperatures in the upper 70s. Aside from birds, the only wildlife I saw was a pair of deer who came down to the beach at sunset to investigate the campsites. On the avian scene, I saw many shore birds, gulls, pelicans, several eagles and a kite. I was pleased to not see a single boat of any sort, aside from some very large ships that were far offshore. Likewise, I heard no engines whatsoever, just the steady crash of waves.

All along the beach are established campsites, both down on the sand and higher up in the forest. Finding a spot with some well placed logs that formed a bench and table near a fire ring, I decided to camp right on the beach and opted to only set up the rain fly and lay down a ground cloth. The fly provided some much needed shade for afternoon reading and a nap, as well as shelter from the heavy morning dew. It’s been years since I’ve camped on the beach and I had forgotten how pervasive sand can be.

The National Park Service requires that all overnight campers store food and garbage in varmint and bear proof plastic canisters. While there have been no reported bear problems, the raccoons in the area have become notoriously adept at raiding backpacker’s pantries - even when suspended from trees. The special canisters are available at the park’s Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles, WA. I had to substantially re-think my packing scheme to fit that thing in my backpack. Some extra reading material and my binoculars lost out in the re-prioritization of necessities.

Tidal pools teaming with sea life can be found at the rocky headlands during periods of low tide. I saw snails, sea anemone, sea stars, crabs, and many colorful varieties of algae. There were also several large caves which are completely dry at low tide, but entirely submerged at high tide. Nothing brings the curious boy out in me like an outdoor lab ripe for exploration and discovery.

Sunday’s weather brought a different experience. A chilly fog billowed in from the ocean, giving the beach an entirely different atmosphere. I lounged under my shelter for several hours, enjoying my coffee and reading. I found Shi Shi Beach very relaxing, either in the bright sunshine or blanketed in a pacific northwest fog. It’s certainly place I could visit again.

Engram and Dr. Tony discuss economic pessimism in America.

I’ve been perplexed at the attitudes of acquaintances who complain about how bad the economy is these days. Unemployment, wages, inflation, fuel prices… You name it, they are all bad and getting worse. And it all started when Bush stole the election in 2000.

Economic pessimism is a symptom of BDS.