Summit to Shore Turns Four

There seems to be some debate about the average lifespan of a blog.  I have seen numbers as low as a few weeks and as high as two to three years.  Summit to Shore has apparently beaten the odds.  It turns four years old today! I started Summit to Shore, and blogging, on January 5, 2009. With a post entitled Ex-Nihlio, I entered the blogosphere.

Looking back  over the past four years, I think I started blogging for several reasons.  First and foremost, I wanted to learn about blogs and how to blog, as well as to learn more about social media.  In other words, I wanted to keep up with the times and I believe that the best way to learn is to do. 

Yes, I read a couple of books and on line articles about blogging but I more or less just jumped into the blogosphere without much preparation. I have learned a lot along the way.  In good Socratic fashion, however, I have also learned that when it comes to blogging and social media there is a lot I do not know.  It sometimes seems that social media is changing so fast one must be working in it full time to keep up with it. I use social media in my profession, but social media is not my profession, just part of it, one tool in my professional toolbox.  I therefore sometimes find it difficult to keep up with all the trends and changes.  Nevertheless, I try.

I also entered the blogosphere because I felt like I had something to say – not that anyone would want read what I wrote.  I may not be the world’s best writer, but I like to write.  I sometimes feel like there are words and ideas within me that I have to write down, or else I will burst.  Blogging offers me an outlet for some of my creative energies.  It also provides me a forum for some of my ideas and opinions.

I have sailed against the wind by not blogging about one particular topic.  Summit to Shore is certainly an eclectic blog, covering everything between, well, summit to shore.  In the beginning I had intended to be eclectic, but to write more about mountains and summits than I have.

When I lived in West Virginia, I spent a lot of my free time hiking and backpacking.  I often hiked two to four days a month, covering 8-16 miles a day hiking in some rough mountainous terrain at high altitude, at least by eastern standards.  After moving to New York City five and a half years ago, I thought I would spentd a lot more time climbing and hiking in the Gunks, Catskill’s and Adirondacks, but the reality of traffic and tolls soon altered my ideas.  It takes me at least an hour and a half and over $10 in tolls just to drive up to the Gunks for a day of hiking or climbing, and finding climbing partners whose skills and experience were compatible with mine was not always easy.

I can drive from my home to Jamaica Bay in half an hour and pay no tolls.  With a sit-on-top kayak kept on Jamaica Bay at the Sebago Canoe Club, where I can almost always find someone to paddle with,  I quickly found myself drawn more to the shore than the summit.  Two and a half years ago my wife and I took sailing lessons and  I bought a used C&C 24 sailboat, which I also keep on Jamaica Bay. This past summer we sailed on average probably one day a week.  A year ago I acquired a Necky Chatham 17 traditional kayak which I also keep on Jamaica Bay at the Sebago Canoe Club.  Is there any wonder, then, why I have ended up posting more about sailing and kayaking than hiking and climbing?  I also often cross post many of my kayaking related posts to the Sebago Canoe Club Blog,

Almost three years ago I took on the “Lectionary Ruminations” Column on Presbyterian Bloggers and soon started cross posting “Lectionary Ruminations” to my blog as well.  While between 25-45 people read my “Lectionary Ruminations” post every weak on Presbyterian Bloggers,  I will soon complete the three year lectionary cycle and will no longer post on Presbyterian Bloggers, which seems to have outlived its lifespan.  It has been six months since anyone else has posted to Presbyterian Bloggers, so I plan to update, expand, and edit my previous “Lectionary Ruminations” postings and continue posting them exclusively on Summit to Shore.

For the first two and three quarter years of Summit to Shore, I was working less than full time and had free time to write.  For the past sixteen months I have been working two half-time jobs, or the equivalent of a full time job, and have not had as much free time.  Therefore I post less than I used to, devoting most of my creative energies to “Lectionary Ruminations” with an occasional post about sailing, kayaking, politics, culture, or anything else between summit to shore..

Glancing at my BLOG ARCHIVE suggests that I started blogging like a sprinter and over the past four years have slowed down to a reduced but more manageable pace.  Here are the numbers.

2009    213 posts
2010    161 posts
2011    90 posts
2012    70 posts

According to All Time Stats, as of 10:40 AM this morning, there have been 53,598 pageviews and I have made 535 posts, with eighteen followers (THANKS ONE AND ALL). These have been the most popular posts.

We Sailed, posted August 27, 2012, has received 659 pageviews, nearly twice as many as the next most viewed post.

PC(USA) GA Vice Mod Visits NYC Presbytery at the God Box, posted October 8, 2009 , has received 346 pageviews.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, December 4, 2011, the SecondSunday of Advent (Year B), posted December 1, 2011, has received 339 pageviews.

A Prayer for Newtown, posted December 17, 2012, has received 339 pageviews.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, February 26, 2012, the FirstSunday in Lent (Year B), posted February 23, 2012, has received 319 pageviews.

Stuck, posted June 15, 2010, has received 317 pageviews.

At least one post from each year made it into the top six.  Three of the top six posts, however, are from the most recent year.  I suspect "We Sailed," "A Prayer for Newtown," and "Stuck" will continue receiving additional pageviews and that "A Prayer for Newtown" will eventually rise to second place while "Stuck" will eventually rise to third.

Happy Birthday, Summit to Shore, and may your best years be ahead of you.

Bear Hill

Signs at the Bear Hill entrance

Thanksgiving morning I enjoyed a short walk to and around the Bear Hill Nature Preserve.

After a fifteen to twenty minute walk from our friends' house in Cragsmoor, where we were staying for Thanksgiving, Justin, Myrrhlyn and I arrived at the Bear Hill Nature Preserve. As we walked into the preserve, we passed by some of Cragsmoor’s older as well as newer homes. All reminders of civilization eventually passed from view, however, as we walked further into the preserve.

A few minutes later some small outcroppings of boulders appeared through the trees to our right. Never having been to Bear Hill before, I thought that we had arrived at our destination. We had not.

The three of us, two humans and a canine, continued walking until the distant horizon came into view though a cut in the trees created by the trail. For a while, it looked like the trail might end in a sudden drop off. As we crested a small rise, I could see, though, that the trail did not end at a drop off but at a “T” intersection. Justin suggested we turn left, and we did.

The view from rocky Bear Hill

Some more hiking brought us to the real Bear Hill, an outcropping of lichen encrusted silurian conglomerate typical of the Shawangunks. Offering a spectacular 180-degree southern and western view, we explored the area, climbing over slabs and boulders, jumping across and climbing down into and back up crevices. The deepest chimney like crevice we explored was must have been a hundred feet from top to bottom. As we climbed through the rock and boulder strewn formation, sometimes passing over, under and around large and small boulders edged into the chimney, I had visions of the movie 127 hours. We climbed down and back up, however, without incident.

At an elevation of 1,950 feet, the Summit of Bear Hill is no eastern Everest. Its commanding view over the lowlands to the south and west, combined with its exposed rocky ruggedness, suggests an elevation much higher.

While the nearby Sam’s Point Nature Preserve offers many more miles of hiking trails, far more flora and fauna, and a slightly higher elevation, I think the Bear Hill preserve offers a better view and far better rocks for scrambling. I am glad that this most recent Thanksgiving we explored it rather than hiking trails I have already hiked in the Sam’s Point Preserve.

About The June 2010 Header Photo

The June Header Photo premiered a few days ago, on Friday, May 28. Personal travel plans prevented me from posting the photo today. The Blogger platform, however, allowed me to write this post at that time but to delay its posting until June 1.
The photo was taken over a year ago on May 25, 2009, during my most recent serious climbing trip to the Gunks. That means it has been over a year, far too long, since I last went climbing.

The scene features the western slope and face of New York’s Shawangunk Ridge looking south from the popular climbing area of the Gunks known as the Trapps.

About December’s Header Photo

I shot this photo at the Gunks a little over a year ago, looking north along the east facing ledges of The Trapps, while resting on a ledge after leading the first pitch of Ribs. It was a warm, sunny day, and my first day of serious climbing in almost eight years. I do not know the identity of the climbers on the face.

A Summit to Shore Week from Hell

Monday, July 27 to Sunday, August 2, 2009 was a Summit to Shore week. July 27th was my first full day off from my two part-time jobs in over a month, so I took advantage of it by taking our dog Hermes up to the Mohonk Mountain Preserve at the Northern end of the Shawangunk Mountains and together we hiked up to Bonticou Crag, one of the more prominent natural features offering one of the most outstanding views in the Gunks, and a hike I had been wanting to do for a long time. A week later, August 2nd, after Sunday morning Worship, I was able to paddle a circumnavigation of Jamaica Bay with my paddling friend and water blogger colleague Bonnie. A summit on Monday plus a shore on Sunday equals a summit to shore week.

This summit to shore week was week from hell, however, and as some readers may have notice, I did not post an entry all week, because five to six hours after Hermes and I were sitting on the summit of Bonticou Crag (photo right), Hermes was dead. The hike up to Bonticou Crag from the Spring Farm Trailhead was a moderate three mile circuit. Hermes showed no signs of having any problems as we hiked up to the crag. We rested several minutes on top before heading down. On the way down, however, Hermes started to drag. Even though he had drank his fill of water and we were descending rather than climbing, he was moving more slowly, wanting to rest more often, and panting almost constantly. I kept offering him water and he would drink his fill. By the time we made it back to the car I had to help him up onto the tailgate and into the car. I let him drink his fill of water, turned the car air conditioning on full blast, and headed home.

Hermes was a veteran hiker. He had accompanied me on several day hikes in West Virginia's Otter Creek and Dolly Sods Wilderness Areas, to the top of West Virginia's highest peak, Spruce Knob, and back, including a mile plus bushwhack through brush and thicket, and the Gunk's Sam's Point Nature Preserve as well as the Mohonk Mountain Preserve. Many of our day circuit hikes were over ten miles. He had also accompanied me on two overnight backpacking trips in west Virginia's Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. He had his own pack and would often carry his own food and water, but not this day. Hermes was used to hiking in wilderness and mountainous terrain. Our most previous hike was a circuit around the Trapps, hiking the lower and upper carriage roads the day after Thanksgiving.

When we arrived home and I went around to the rear of the car to allow Hermes out I noticed that he had evacuated his bowels. I helped him from the back of the car onto the ground. He could barely walk the quarter block home and I had to carry him up the steps to the house and up the inside stairs to the bathroom, where I placed him in the bathtub and bathed him.

Carrying him into an air conditioned bedroom I placed Hermes on a couple towels on the floor underneath a window Air Conditioner. He was still panting and no longer wanted to drink let alone eat. I was hoping the refreshing bath and quiet, air conditioned room would eventually calm and soothe him. Eventually my wife Vicki came home from work, joined us in the bedroom, and sensed that Hermes’ condition was more serious than I suspected. As soon as Vicki joined us Hermes breathing almost immediately became more shallow and slower and then he experienced some spasms, as if he was going to throw up. I went into another room to call the vet and while I was on the phone Vicki yelled to me that she though Hermes had died. I came back into the bedroom and confirmed it. We both broke out in tears.

Our best guess is that Hermes suffered a heart attack even though he was not yet five years old. He was a rescue and we knew nothing about his lineage or the first few months of his life and it is possible he had a congenital condition we did not know about and the vet had not detected. I will certainly be writing more about Hermes at a later time. For now I simply note that both Vicki and I miss him. While no other dog can ever replace him we are investigating nearby animal shelters for a dog in need of adoption that might bring some the joy and companionship into our lives that only a dog can.

About August's Header Photo

August’s Header photo features our dog Hermes resting on a rock trailside on his way down from a hike up to Bonticou Crag along New York’s northern Shawangunk Mountains and part of the Mohonk Mountain Preserve. Over Hermes’ shoulders, to the east is the Hudson Valley. The photo was taken Monday Afternoon, July 27, 2009. There is a longer story related to this photo but I will save that narrative for later.

Shore to Summit: Back to the Gunks

Last Friday I kayaked with Tony and Walter. Today I climbed with Dan, a fellow Guide at EMS SoHo. Water and rock within four days! Ninety-six hours from Jamaica Bay to the Shawangunks! Sweet! Maybe I should rename my blog shore to summit?

I left the house around 8:00 AM, picked Dan up on the upper west side a little after 9:00 AM, took half an hour to get out of Manhattan, stopped at the Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center so Dan could purchase a day pass, parked, walked along the Carriage Road to The Trapps, and set up below Horseman before noon.

It had been seven months since I last climbed and I was sure my bones and muscles were going to be a little rusty. Nevertheless today started out to be a beautiful day, warmer than predicted, and the rain held off, and the muscles and bones still worked, at least for a while.

Todd Swain, in The Gunks Guide, describes Horseman as “A classic Gunks Climb.” It is only rated a 5.5 with excellent protection, but after a seven month climbing hiatus a 5.5 was about all I wanted to lead. I led it in two pitches (that's me on the first pitch in the photo to the right) and for the first time since upgrading my rack over the winter not only placed my new Camalots and new tri-cams for the first time, but placed tri-cams and Camalots for the first time ever as I did not have them on my rack before. Dan ably followed and cleaned the route. We sat on the belay ledge for a while soaking in the sun, enjoying the breeze, and looking out over the fantastic view. The only spoiler was the sound of an occasional vehicle on the road below. After basking in a climb well done we rappelled down in two raps as my 165 foot rope did not reach all the way to the ground from the rappel anchor.

We then moved right to Ken’s Crack, another Gunks classic, and a 5.7 with good pro. Dan led the climb (that's Dan leading Ken's Crack in the photo second right) even though he is fairly new to leading. I followed to the second piece of pro but spent so much time hanging by one arm or another trying to get the pro out that I had to come off the climb after my arms turned to rubber. Dan cleaned on rappel and spent about five minutes with a nut tool working the stubborn stopper out of the crack. No good gear should ever be left behind if it can at all be retrieved.

We then walked back toward the car and parking lot but stopped on the way to climb Picnic, a 5.4+ with pretty good pro. Dan led and I followed. We rapped down, packed up our gear, and just as soon as we started walking out along the Carriage Road it started to sprinkle. The front edge of the light rain we had seen moving up the valley had finally arrived.

All in all it was a good day. Two climbs for me, three for Dan, and seven rappels for my rope with no leader falls. Yep, it was a good day to climb and a good day climbing. Maybe I will go kayaking again this coming Friday.

Meet My New Friends (Sort Of)

It seems that I have been blogging a lot more about shores than summits. With the advent of spring, however, my thoughts are turning more and more to climbing in the Gunks as well as paddling on Jamaica Bay with the Sebago Canoe Club. Hoping to soon do some climbing, I recently purchased some Black Diamond Camelots, mechanical spring-load camming devices which come in a variety of sizes to fit a variety of crack widths. They remind me of “Friends”.

The first spring-load camming devices used for rock climbing were known as “Friends”. They were invented by Yosemite climber Ray Jardine in the late 1970s and intended to protect the valley’s smooth-sided cracks.

I started top roping at local crags in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania in the fall of 1974 and started leading at Seneca Rocks, WV in the fall of 1976. This was well after the start of the clean climbing movement. While using my partner's rack I led using primarily hexes and stoppers. I have never carried a rock hammer nor driven a piton though I have clipped into old ones for questionable pro.

Once I got bitten by the leading bug I purchased my own rack, filling it out in 1978 with Chouinard (the predecessor to Black Diamond) stoppers and hexes and a few other odds and ends. "Friends" had not yet hit the market so there was not a single one on my rack and I was leading on the vertical cracks of Seneca without them.

By the time “Friends” were invented and on the market I already had a full rack and could not justify the cost of adding what I considered unessential gear to my rack. I also thought their “mechanical” design detracted from the more pure passive pro. Hexes and stoppers seemed non-mechanical evolutionary developments from slung machine nuts and chock stones and thus more natural. “Friends” seemed too artificial and contrived, so from an ethical as well as financial standpoint I continued to climb, as occasional as it was, without any “Friends”.

Living with the decision not to add “Friends” to my rack, I continued to climb on and off at Seneca and the New River Gorge using only hexes and stoppers. In the summer of 2007 I moved to New York City and in the fall of 2008 started climbing in the Gunks. While leading 5.4 through 5.6 pitches in the Gunks I would still place only stoppers and hexes for pro but my young occasional climbing partner Bill used cams. After following and cleaning his leads I began to see how cams could provide a safety advantage and speed placing pro in the horizontal cracks of the Gunks, horizontal cracks where stoppers and hexes might not work.

I recently broke down and acquired some cams. A new generation of “Friends” is marketed by Wild Country but I opted for Black Diamond Camalots. I am partial to Black Diamond, the successor to Chouinard. When I acquired my first rack thirty years ago most of the hexes and stoppers were Chouinard and I had recently replaced them with Black Diamonds. I considered other cams but decided on Black Diamond Camalots and recently purchased three for my rack. Eventually I will probably be purchasing more.

Considering that a set of eleven Black Diamond stoppers can be purchased for around $85 but a single Camalot costs around $65, economics is still an issue. On the other hand, a Camalot can fit a wider range of cracks than any single stopper.

As the days grow longer and the weather warms, I hope to take my new Camalots (new “Friends” sort of) to the Gunks, lead a few pitches, and come home with old Camalots (old “Friends” sort of). It has taken me thirty years to make the acquaintance of these new “Friends” but hopefully we will become old "Friends" much more quickly.

On a side not, I am presently up to 99 “Friends” on face book and anxiously wonder who will be my 100th friends. To echo Mr. Rogers, “Won’t you be my friend?”