#final checkpoint took me 5 or 6 crashes

[svbhuman]

FINALLY I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LETS GO!!!!!! thoughts feelings?

i ran out of tags.. continued next post mayb

[xxrainbow-princessxx]

Unspoken Truths - Royal Romance/TRR AU

As things come to a head, can Isabella or Leo find some mutual agreement? Does Liam, Drake and Leo’s hunt for Barthemely gain momentum?

Chapter list:

Chapter 1: Enough

Chapter 2: Homeward Bound

Chapter 3: Band of Brothers

Chapter 4 Dearest Sympathies

Chapter 5: No Expectations

Chapter 6: Line of Succession

Tag list: @lorirwritesfanfic @drakewalkerfantasy @desireepow-1986 @rainbowsinthestorm @lorircreates @itslaniquelove @liam-rhys @hopefulmoonobject @speedyoperarascalparty @kimmiedoo5 @rafasgirl23415 @kingliam2019 @mom2000aggie @texaskitten30 @the-everlasting-dream

Trigger warning: Violence, death, premonition of death, sexual innuendo, swearing

“We’re getting nowhere!” Liam barked slamming his fist onto the table, “If Barthelemy has been under our noses this whole time, where the hell could he be hiding?!” Drake began to slowly shake his head, “...we’ve checked every corner of each of the provinces over the past two weeks... you don’t think...” Drake ran his fingers through his hair, his dark features smouldering in the dimly lit room, “Maxwell’s and Bertrand’s disappearance will have spooked him?” Liam took a deep breath, his shoulders were tense as he stared at the map of the Cordonian Kingdom, “No...” Liam’s tongue clicked “...we’re obviously missing something...” tracing his finger across the North River. “We’ve had the Kings guard check each of these points...” Drake agreed, “Yes, and they are currently in the Valtoria forests... should we send in another party to scour the Fydelia to Portavira intersection?” Leo stood on the veranda with one hand in his jean pocket whilst taking a drag of a cigarette staring out into the Cordonian landscape. He was glad that Liam was now focusing on what was important; he was fighting for what he believed in but he missed Isabella, he missed his own family. As Leo’s sea green eyes gazed towards the flickering stars that glistened in the dark midnight sky, he wondered if they missed him too? Once Camille was safe, it would allow Liam to return to rule the Kingdom in his own way and if anything; this would establish a message to neighbouring Kingdom’s that Cordonia is not for sale.

Once everything was signed and sealed. Leo would finally be able to let go. He would finally feel like the burden he placed upon his brother’s shoulders when he abdicated would become less painful or at least, in his heart, the guilt he held to gain his own personal freedoms would no longer keep him up at night. It had been over a decade since Leo abdicated but Leo felt duty bound to repay that debt, no matter his own cost. Drake looked over his shoulder, sighing as he watched Leo standing quietly in the archway; the cigarette smoke lingering in the Cordonian air. “Liam...” Drake began to shake his head, “He needs to talk to her...” whispering under his breath so Leo didn’t hear. Liam nodded in agreement as he sadly looked out towards his brother, “He’s more like Father than he cares to admit...” Drake snorted at the comparison as Liam up the map that had been sprawled across the desk, “Leo is crazy if he thinks that Sánchez will be sitting waiting for him when he gets back?” handing Drake the map, Liam shrugged his shoulders, “My brother and his wife’s circumstances are none of our concern...” Drake’s dark brow lifted as he angrily the map from Liam, “Talk to him...” Drake snapped, “He’s throwing his marriage away to help you and that’s all you can say?! If you don’t say something...”

Liam took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, “This is not the time, go rally the Guards before we lose the cover of darkness...” Drake had heard enough, gritting his teeth, he stared down his friend and King, “Make it the goddamn time!” before pushing passed Liam. It was hard for Drake knowing the truth, even after all these years - he adored her. Isabella was the only one that Drake felt was there for him with no agenda. Anything Drake ever needed, she did without him having to ask. Many a night he crashed in her townhouse when he needed to get away from the suffocating pageantry of the Cordonian Palace or needed to vent about life in general she supplied the alcohol and listened but deep down Drake knew if he interfered, he would say something he’d immediately regret. Running his fingers through his dark mane, he refocused proceeded to the Guards armour to plan for the next search. “Bas...” Drake quietly murmured, “Tonight’s checkpoints are the Valtorian Pass and the Fydelia to Portavira intersection...” Drake picked up rounds of ammunition and a rifle, throwing it’s strap over his shoulder, “I’ll head out with the second team to the Valtorian Pass... you head out to Fydelia...” Bastien nodded before signalling to the guards to fall out, “You heard the man... let’s go!”

Drake’s words however played on Liam’s conscious. He wasn’t Isabella’s biggest fan by any means but he knew deep down that she made his brother happy and that’s all that mattered. Pouring himself and Leo a drink, Liam walked out onto the veranda where his brother had stood silently for what felt like hours, “Here...” Liam handed him the crystal tumbler as he sighed, “I appreciate the sentiment brother... but putting your marriage on the line...” The Cordonian King’s sparkling river blue eyes met his brother’s, placing a hand gently onto his shoulder, “You don’t have to do this...” Leo bit down on his bottom lip as he held the bourbon in his hand, “I must do something...” he murmured before taking a drink, “I won’t allow Cordonia to fall...” Liam remained quiet as he allowed his brother to speak, “Felipe mentioned before that he knew the Cordonian Royal Council were dirty rats but even I could never have believed him...” shaking his head, Leo sighed heavily, as his grip onto the tumbler tightened, “These people were our family, our friends....” turning his head, he glared at Liam, Leo’s sea green eyes burned with hatred, “... how can I trust the woman I married when I can’t even trust my own fucking shadow right now?!” Liam tilted his head slightly, his heart heavy as he empathised with Leo, “Brother... you need to speak with Isabella... I’m sure she would understand... You still love her don’t you?”

Leo’s sea green eyes rolled to the left towards his brother sadly, “With all my heart... Of course I do...” a lump was forming in his throat as Liam placed his hand on Leo’s shoulder, a passive smile barely graced his face, “Tell her before it’s too late...” Leo nodded pensively and without a word returned to his suite twisting his wedding ring as he walked. The pure Laurentian gold band was plain but it stood for much more than just their marriage; it was everything he and Isabella ever fought for. It wasn’t new that Leo lay in an empty bed without Isabella beside him; the last six months affirmed that but with a deep breath, Leo removed his phone staring at the lock screen. Isabella’s bright, warm dazzling smile drew him in and made him fall in love with her all over again every single day. He could almost hear her giggling happily in the quiet room as he took the simple photograph of her smiling back at him. Closing his eyes, Leo sighed heavily. What he wouldn’t give for Isabella to look at him like that again. “You have no idea...” he quietly spoke, running his finger down the screen, “...how much I miss you...” Biting down onto his lip, Leo began to type, holding his breath as he sent Isabella a message, the first time they had spoken in weeks.

‘Can we talk?’

‘Please...’

Isabella’s dark chocolate brown eyes rolled to the left as she saw her phone lighting up. Her heart was in her throat as Sasha and Lia pouted, “Is that papa?” Turning her phone over, Isabella raised her brow, “You two need to focus on getting ready for school, than what’s on my phone...” as she nursed Nico, brushing his little cheeks gently. “But Mama...” the pair begged, “Can we FaceTime him later?” Isabella began to sigh, “Mi queridas... he is busy, I can’t promise anything...” Leo’s texts infuriated her but she couldn’t allow her children to see the pain she felt, “Now go get dressed you two... Jimena will need to take you to school today...” Unimpressed, the pouting Princesses slid off of their chairs sulking off towards their room knowing it was best not to argue with their mother. Isabella rested her elbow onto the table, cradling her head as she looked at the empty chair to her right where Leo would have sat each morning. She was so confused, on one hand, he made her blood boil - the other; she still loved him which made things so much harder. Isabella reluctantly opened the messages, her cheeks sucked in as her eyes gazed upon the text. “You want to talk huh?” she sarcastically mumbled, “Look Nico...” as she cradled the little one “...Your papa actually has something to say...” before rolling her eyes and coldly replying,

‘Fine... but you can video call me in Conference Room 2...”

Isabella knew she’d have to wait; Leo was never on time on a good day let alone when he was on Cordonian time. Fixing her nightdress, she lifted her baby boy upwards giggling before she rested him against her chest rubbing his little back. She cooed happily as Nico snuggled into her shoulder, “Who loves you?? Mama loves you!” as she carefully carried him back to her suite. Since Leo had left, Isabella had the crib moved to her room - he wasn’t there to complain that the kids were in the room or the baby’s crying would keep either of them awake. Sitting up on her bed, Isabella propped the infant against her legs, tickling him and making funny faces as he smiled back at her trying to giggle, “Sí mi amor... puedes hacerlo...” she cooed, “Eso es....” as Nico stared up at her with his father’s green eyes, Isabella could only beam with delight, her and Leo’s children were getting her through this mess. It was hard shielding them from the rows and pain she felt but she tried her hardest. “Who’s my handsome little Prince... huh?” Isabella carefully brushed Nicolás’ soft sandy blonde hair back as he was drifting off to sleep. Isabella gently manoeuvred herself to place Nico into his crib. As his little body was placed onto the mattress, Isabella bit down onto her lower lip. He was his father’s double, same hair, same eyes, same nose and like his father, he was the most beautiful boy his mother set eyes on. Swallowing hard, Isabella brushed his cheek, “Please when you are old enough, don’t you break someone’s heart like your father’s broke mine...”

Stirring the spoon in her afternoon tea, Isabella tapped the silverware against the delicate china crockery. She was becoming anxious that Leo hadn’t called yet and it was near time that the girls arrived back from school. Isabella was famously known for being patiently impatient as her long manicured nails tapped the table waiting for Leo to call. Isabella felt her chest tightening as the screen updated, the waiting video call was just a push of a button away. Would she get the answers she wanted? Would Leo tell her he was coming home? Did he even still love her? Nervously she accepted the call, her heart racing with trepidation as the screen flickered to see her husband looking at her. “Hey...” Leo spoke softly, “You look...Sorry I’m only...” Isabella sat still, her stony expression only added to the icy atmosphere between them. Leo began to run his fingers through his sandy blonde hair nervously as he cleared his throat, “Yeah...” she mumbled, “So... how are the kids?” Isabella raised her left brow slowly as her lips finally parted speaking quite matter of fact, “They miss you... they want to know when their father is coming back or if he is coming back...” Leo began to shake his head sadly as he shrugged his muscular frame, “Bella I...”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” The Laurentian Queen screamed, “It’s a simple answer!” as she gesticulated her arms widely, eyes darkening with anger, “Why the fuck are you playing games? There’s only two options here Leo, either you want to be here or you fucking don’t!” He was not in the mood to be chastised, taking a deep breath Leo clicked his tongue, “Isabella... we’re not all as fucking perfect as you... Things are complicated right now, I need more time...” Isabella’s lips began to pout, taking a moment to process what Leo had just said to her. “Time?” Isabella questioned, “You’ve had nearly six weeks of time!” slamming her hands into the table caused her china cup and saucer to shake, “I am trying to understand right now Leo I really... really am...” Isabella’s nostrils began to flare, “But you are making this exceptionally difficult!” Gritting his teeth, Leo tried to hold in his anger, “You’re not fucking listening!” he growled, “I’ve already told you, I can’t go into details! It’s not safe...” Lowering her head, Isabella pressed her fingers against her temples taking a deep breath before looking up at Leo. Her lips were pursed, eyes narrowed slightly as she finally spoke, “I can’t live in a marriage that’s based on secrets or lies... if you can’t talk to me, then...” she began to laugh shrugging her shoulders, “what is the point of anything?” Leo began to beg, “Bella... don’t... no...” but Isabella simply shook her head, tears began to roll whilst her mascara stained her cheeks, “I’m done... I can’t live my life waiting on a promise...” Leo closed his eyes, it felt like a knife was stabbed through his heart, “Kitten... don’t do this...” he began to panic, “I’ll tell you everything!!” Leo held his hands up as a knock came at the door, “... just...just wait!” but Isabella moved, her finger hovering over the end call button, “No...” she sniffed as she pressed the button. The Queen stood from the table wiping her tears as best she could with the sides of her index fingers, blinking away the excess, “Yes... come in...” she cleared her throat until her eyes widened, “Your Majesty...” Jimena rolled her eyes, “Duke Ramsford to see you in the throne room... he insisted you made yourself available...”

[damla5265274-blog]

PROJECT 1- HAMMER TOOL 

This project was assigned to us so we could have a broad understanding of the CAD programme Rhino. We were to create a 2D technical drawing of a hand tool of our choice. The minimum amount of views we had to display was 4; at least one of them had to be either

a cross-sectional view

an enlarged detail view

or an auxiliary view.

I chose to do the top, front, left side and enlarged detail view as I felt those were more manageable for my skillset. Another requirement of this task was that we had to complete the drawing with a title block, a border, an optional zoning chart, and 10 thoughtfully placed dimensions. 

The submission was to be sent via the university ’s online Moodle system in PDF format. The due date was Thursday of week 6 and we had 3 weeks to complete it. We had a week 5 checkpoint in which we submitted the handmade version of our drawing. This was so that we remained on track and we at least had one component out of our hair before the final submission. 

My experience: 

I feel like I learned a lot about Rhino and about myself while completing this task. I have been having difficulties juggling the 3 courses workloads. This submission was one of the times it hit me really hard in the face that I wasn’t doing a good job at managing my time. I started the handmade portion of the submission in the middle of week 5 which is quite late, to be honest. The hours I put into that portion were not as many as I hoped I would. That’s why the penmanship is a bit sloppy. But I did learn how to properly draw tools with curves so that’s good.�� 

After feeling embarrassed about that submission I tried to make sure I actually mastered Rhino good enough to complete the task so I dedicated all of my weekend to do just that. I had never worked with any type of digital technical drawing programme before which was, in my opinion, a fact that held me back. But I must admit that the dedicated hours spent that weekend came a bit late. 

That week I spent around 35 hours tirelessly trying to whip out a CAD that was presentable enough to be submitted. I took advantage of the 24/7 space generously provided by the Squarehouse. I bought a mouse so I could move my drawing with ease. I resolved my ever so fragile Rhino 5 (Mac) that kept on crashing throughout the weeks. I reached out to a good friend to accompany me while I was working so I could ask my questions to her while I was quickly running out of time. 

My CAD process:

When I started the front view, I made the decision that the right side view I included in my hand-drawn technical drawing was obsolete so I deleted it.

The curve, point, line, and offset were my most commonly used tools. 

I ran into Maks while I was working in the Squarehouse and with Paris, they taught me how to use construction lines by simply putting those lines on another layer and changing the color. 

To complete the head of my hammer on the left side view, I wanted to first complete the top view so I could transfer some of the measurements from there. But some measurements were simply not lining up. That’s why I did it the other way around which worked out pretty well. 

Paris helped me change the size of the grid so that I could fit all of my drawing on there.

I started off my front view on the origin thus completing that was much easier than the other views. The amount of calculation that I did for the left side was wild. 

To save some time, instead of drawing the same thing twice without giving any more information I scaled up a portion of my left side view for my detailed view. I didn’t choose to do a cross-sectional because it wouldn’t add anything to the drawing. 

I also didn’t draw the tiny dots on the handle because it didn’t add anything to the drawing. 

I had difficulties figuring out how to print the PDF. They showed us how to do it in class and I listened but I still found it hard to replicate. At the end that is what made my submission late and really held me back.

[mongoose232323]

Can Anyone Be Anymore Damned Petty

Than That Treasonous Traitor Donald Trump??

Sore Loser Donald Trump REFUSES To Approve

Government Plane For Incoming Pres. Joe Biden

From The Article

Donald Trump, the most petty president in history, delivered Joe Biden one more snub today, forcing him to charter his own plane to fly from Delaware to Washington D.C. instead of authorizing an Air Force jet.

The president-elect flew the short hop from his home state after a tear-stained speech eulogizing his dead son Beau on a converted Boeing 737 – then as he landed at Joint Base Andrews taxied past an idle Air Force Boeing 757 on the tarmac.

The snub was the latest in one-term Trump’s defiant refusal to acknowledge his successor.

In contrast the Obama administration sent an Air Force plane to New York for the Trumps in January 2017.

Just as the Biden family landed, the White House released a 20-minute farewell video from Trump, which did not mention his successor by name or congratulate him on his victory.

On Wednesday, the sore-loser Trumps will fly out of Washington without greeting the Bidens, with the president holding his own farewell ‘ceremony’ at Andrews before getting on Air Force One to his Mar-a-Lago estate.

In contrast, Biden set an emotional tone as he departed Delaware, crying as he spoke about his late son Beau, who died of cancer in 2015.

Biden recalled the 2009 inauguration day – and how important it was that a black man became president of the United States.

‘And here we are today – my family and I – about to return to Washington to meet a black woman, of south Asian descent, to be sworn in as president and vice president of the United States,’ Biden said, referring to his running mate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

‘As I told Beau on that station waiting for Barack – and Hunter and Ashley – I said don’t tell me things can’t change,’ Biden continued.

‘They can and they do.’

He said this hopeful mentality was thanks to Delaware, a state he said had given his parents work when they needed it – his family left Scranton, PA, when he was 10 – and had helped him heal from the loss of his first wife Neila and baby daughter Naomi in a car crash in 1972.

‘That’s America. That’s Delaware. A place of hope and light and limitless possibilities,’ Biden said.

He asked the audience to excuse his emotion as he talked about his adopted home state, one that gave his parents ‘a home and a livelihood when they needed it most.’

And, he said, Delaware sent him as a ‘kid’ to the U.S. Senate.

Biden was elected at age 29 and sworn-in, as the Constitution permits, at age 30.

‘When I die, Delaware will be written on my heart and the hearts of all of the Bidens,’ he said.

‘We love you all, you’ve been there for us in the good and the bad, you never walked away,’ Biden continued.

‘And I am proud – proud, proud, proud to be a son of Delaware and I am even more proud to be standing here doing this from the Major Beau Biden facility.’

That’s when the president-elect wished his son would have been the Biden to make it to the White House.

Before his death, Beau Biden had encouraged his father to run for president in 2016, instead of letting Hillary Clinton become the heir to President Barack Obama’s legacy.

After Beau Biden died, Joe Biden sat out the 2016 race, which saw Clinton lose to Republican President Donald Trump.

Biden decided to run for president in 2020 after watching Trump handle the racial violence in Charlottesville in 2017.

Biden was introduced by Delaware’s Democratic Gov. John Carney, who said the president-elect was ‘born for this moment.’

‘I have one particular feeling that’s hard to describe and it’s one that so many Americans haven’t felt for so long,’ Carney said, explaining that that feeling was ‘hope.’

Carney also spoke of Beau Biden’s death, calling him Joe Biden’s ‘pride and joy.’ ‘And Delaware’s as well,’ Carney said.

‘He has picked himself up and brought us along with him,’ Carney said of the incoming president. ‘Now he stands ready to pull the country out of this morass out of the chaos and onto higher ground.’

At Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony, Biden’s inaugural address will center on unifying the country in the post-Trump era.

Biden is expected to speak for between 20 and 30 minutes.

When Biden lands in Washington, he’ll arrive at a city filled with National Guard troops and military checkpoints, as the main downtown arteries and Capitol Hill are all blocked off on the heels of the January 6 insurrection attempt.

The National Mall, which usually hosts major crowd for the swearing-in, has been blocked off to the public, with a flag display taking the place of humans.

Biden will be joined by Harris for a 5:30 p.m. event at the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflection Pool to honor the lives lost in the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. hit the dismal mark of 400,000 deaths from COVID-19.

Biden and Harris’ inauguration was always going to have a smaller human footprint because they’ve been strict about COVID-19 protocols.

But the MAGA mob’s siege made security even tighter.

While President Obama sent President-elect Trump an Air Force One-type jet for his family’s Washington arrival, Biden took a white and gray charter jet – a Boeing BBJ, based on the Boeing 737 – between Delaware and D.C.

As Biden’s white and gray private plane landed at Andrews, it passed one of the government planes used as Air Force One on the tarmac.

Trump’s refusal to send Biden a military jet was largely seen as a snub.

The president also refused to meet with Biden, a normal part of the transition.

First lady Melania Trump paid the same courtesy to Jill Biden, refusing to give her a tour of the residence, also a transition tradition.

The White House’s chief usher Timothy Harleth will greet the Bidens at the White House instead of the outgoing first family.

Even this week, The New York Times reported Monday, Trump was telling allies that he was the true winner of the election.

Trump will fly to West Palm Beach, Florida Wednesday and arrive there before noon, so he can fly onboard ‘Air Force One’ one final time.

The Air Force One label applies to the president’s plane, no matter what make or model.

But it is security that now defines the capital and the Capitol itself.

Twelve National Guardsmen have now been removed from the presidential inauguration security mission after they were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups or posted extremist views online, officials say.

The officials, a senior intelligence official and an Army official briefed on the matter, did not say which fringe group the Guard members belonged to or what unit they served in.

They did say, however, that here was no threat to Joe Biden.

Neither the National Guard or Secret Service would comment on the removal of the Guardsmen.

Their removal from the massive security presence at the nation’s capital comes as the FBI worked to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops headed to the area for Biden’s inauguration amid concerns of insider threats in the wake of the Capitol riots.

It comes after the National Guard chief, General Daniel Hokanson, said earlier on Tuesday that the 25,000 armed troops protecting DC were ‘trained and ready for anything’ and he wasn’t concerned about the potential for insider threat.

The National Guard said troops from all 50 states are supporting law enforcement for the inauguration.

Gen. Hokanson said the vetting of his troops was standard practice but was heightened given the large number of Guardsman brought in to fortify DC in the wake of the insurrection at Capitol by pro-Trump rioters.

In addition to the 25,000 National Guardsman, the Pentagon also authorized 750 active-duty troops with expertise in chemical, biological, nuclear, radiological and explosive weapons to provide additional security in the capital.

‘We’ve done a lot of work. We’re making sure that our folks are trained and ready for anything they’re going to be asked to do. Our folks are always trained in deescalation techniques,’ Gen Hokanson told NBC’s Today on Tuesday.

https://jimheath.tv/2021/01/sore-loser-trump-refuses-to-approve-government-plane-for-incoming-president-biden/amp/

[aemilythings-blog1]

My first glimpse into The General was on a short reconnaissance mission to get a sense for the approach and exit, and to have a peek into its depths. With its first decent having been done a few years prior, I knew to a degree what the trip would entail from the topo drawn for the purpose. Finding a ledge system that lead to a prime position overlooking the crux of the canyon, ‘the slot of doom’, I was stunned by what I saw...

THOSE FIVE WORDS...

‘Deep, steep, continuous slotted alpine canyon’ I read on the topo describing the canyons character. Those were exactly the words I liked to hear when it came to my preference of canyon type. I liked the narrow, inescapable canyons for the challenge they provided. They are one way trips. Once you pull the rope from that first drop, you better have the skills, gear and team to make it out!

And The General was all about the commitment! If done from the very top, over 40 abseils would have to be done, with very long stretches of no escape.

Located in the Dart Valley, an hour north from Glenorchy, it would offer a ‘wilderness’ feel to it, adding to that it had also only been done a handful of times after it's first descent.

WAITING FOR A CHANCE

With the original planned mission to descend the canyon with my Australian friend falling apart after a string of bad weather and lack of time, I set about finding a team ready to go for the next best chance.

Having spent the last part of my time off canyoning with Dan from the US and Biel from Mallorca in Spain, we had developed a good dynamic and were familiar with one another, so it took little convincing to get them keen on The General. The canyon was given a four star quality rating, the highest rating out there, meaning it was of international significance.

I mean, who wouldn't want a chance at that?!

Going back to work, I refreshed the weather app on my phone each day, hoping for a chance on a weekend. Finally after nearly 2 weeks (well, it felt long, I was excited after all), an opportunity presented itself with the best possible day on a Friday- a work day for me.

Damn. Well, I might as well give it a try, so I was honest with my work.

‘I need to go canyoning to do one of the best canyons in New Zealand’, was all I said. Boom! A day off was approved. We were in business!

With word being out about our attempt from the previous weeks, I had received plenty of interest to add to the team if we wanted it. Our group of 3 would work very well in the crux section as we had worked out, but a fourth person could be handy and free up one of us to do things like take photos.

One guy in particular, Justin, a canyoning guide working in Queenstown, was extremely keen. If there was a message emoticon representing high stoke, I think he would be it! There’s nothing like a lot of enthusiasm to make a trip fun, and with some last minute planning, he joined us out in the Dart valley Thursday night as we camped at the start of the approach hike to get that early start.

ASCENDING TO 'THE GENERAL'

Stirring to an annoying alarm and a dark morning at 5am after 6 hours of restless sleep, we did a quick breakfast and got going just before 6am. Bags were heavy with our wetsuits, harnesses, two 60 meter ropes, a 30 meter rope, and a cordless drill with spare bolts. It was also a great chance to try my new canyoning bag. Having good equipment makes life easy!

With so few descents and its high level of commitment and inescapability, it was important to have the tools to be able to repair or add new bolts if they were damaged in heavy rain. Smooth walls would offer very little in the way of natural anchor opportunities.

We made our way along the creek edge to the water level checkpoint, a place where we could check its level against the photo that came with the topo. Despite some rain a few days prior, it looked to be moderate-low.

The trip was good to go!

From here it was straight up, gaining enough elevation to enter the second entry from the top, known as the ‘superiore’ entry. I had decided I was not as keen for the top section, being presumably open, as I wanted to experience the narrow sections.

Beech forest with soft carpets of moss made the going relatively pleasant, and we negotiated the steep terrain as we got closer to the entry point at the 1050m contour.

It didn’t take us long to find the tree with the webbing that was our abseil into the canyon. It was here we would have a quick snack and gear up. With a toss of the rope into the canyons depths, we disappeared, completely committed. No escape was possible now. We were in.

DESCENDING 'THE GENERAL'

It was straight into the first abseil. From the Superiore entry, we would have about 35 abseils to do over the length of the canyon, dropping about 450 meters in elevation. Teamwork and efficiency are the key in successfully doing big canyons. Taking 5 minutes longer on each abseil would result in almost 3 hours of lost time!

Having the 3 ropes was a big reason we were able to do all the abseils so quickly. Leapfrogging, the first person down would immediately go to the next drop, often just meters away from the last one, and continue the process.

The canyon quickly narrowed, walls rising 40 meters or more above us. Its sinuous pathway was the veins of the earth, the cold water its blood. We were consumed and enveloped, each drop taking us further in.

Click on the photos to enlarge them!

Though the anchors were often placed as far away from the waterfalls as possible, often it was inevitable that you would go in, the pounding water crashing down. In those moments, you just hold on, kiss the rope, and keep going.

A few hours in, we recognised the feature in front of us. The crux of the canyon awaited...

THE SLOT OF DOOM

Justin went first, disappearing into the white, roaring water. Whistle signals were all that could be used to communicate the most basic commands.

‘Give more rope’ sounded with three blasts.

A long silenced ensued as the rope was crept out.

‘Stop’ sounded in one sharp blast. Followed shortly by the familiar two whistles for ‘off rope’.

He had made it to the mid way anchor.

The slot of doom was comprised of a series of multipitch abseils in a steep, constricting drop. There was little chance of avoiding the water completely, and we would have to be quick in this section to avoid bottlenecks and delays.

Dan followed next, with the other rope to continue rigging the next pitch after Justin’s.

When it was my turn, I peered into that white frothing mixture that had been clear flowing water at the top. Its intensity was magnified by the walls, blasted smooth from the pressure, as it was honed with vicious precision.

With a deep breath I committed, moving fast to get through it. Water pounded my helmet and body, gravity fuelling that energy that made water feel like rocks. It always feels longer but I knew it was just seconds as I pass through the waterfall and appear somewhere beneath. That violent progression was magnified from those mere moments before at the peaceful, quiet anchor up top.

A new world awaited, one of wind and water in a never ending swirl. I reach the next belay, Justin already having rigged the next drop. Drops of water floated from my helmets edge, carried off horizontally from the force of the waterfalls wind. I’m off again, meeting Dan below for another abseil, which I promptly descend. No photos can be taken here with my unprotected camera, just some raw snippets from the Gopro...

By the time we are out of the slot of doom, we are cold. The wind takes it toll. Not letting up, the canyon continues to deliver its promise of constricted passageways through the rock. We keep moving, aware that we were only half way.

I look up at what appears to be sheer 60 meter high walls. A reminder. No escape, not ever.

THE NEVER ENDING CANYON

The slot behind us, the water calms again, subdued by a gentler slope. New abseils appear and we are back into it, sometimes staying clear of the water, sometimes not.

Click on the photos to enlarge them!

We lose track of which abseil number we are on. It all starts blending into one another. The roar of water ebbs and flows, our minds slowly worn down with the fatigue of heavy background noise.

The canyon slowly starts becoming tiring as our movements and repetitions wear us down. Towards what appears to be close to the end, it finally opens. Exposed to the cloudy day, some sun would have been perfect to warm us. Instead, we eat to give our bodies some more fuel and muster on.

Our hands become raw as we all agree that we are done with the abseils. Not bringing gloves was something I would regret for a day or two afterwards, the grit and gravel sticking to wet ropes and running through our hands on each abseil.

But the canyon has other plans, giving us plenty more waterfalls to negotiate. With the canyon opening up, we get great views and can sense our return to the flat terrain that would mark the end of the canyon. The last bit a blur, we round the corner to the spot I had stood on the reconnaissance trip a few weeks prior.

The canyon was done.

IS THIS ONE OF NEW ZEALAND’S BEST CANYONS?

Stomping once more through beech forest on the way back to our cars, we pay little attention to our path. In what feels like a blink of an eye, we make it to a wide grassy field, and the dirt road, clearly off track, but the excitement building anyway as we knew our cars couldn’t be far away.

Following the road, our cars now in sight, we feel complete. Shrugging heavy, wet packs off our shoulders in an unceremonious dump, we start pulling out snacks and a beer, and start reflecting on the nature of what we had just done.

Is this one of the best canyons in New Zealand? The high we were on and our smiles said it all. It was definitely up there and had earned its place among the greats. The General promised, and had also delivered.

Our Stats

Descent: January 2019

Times: 11 hours car to car. 6 hours in the canyon.

Gear: Two 60 meter ropes, one 30 meter rope. Cordless drill, 21 bolts, hangers and quicklinks and also Petzl rockpec hand bolting kit.

Estimated Water Level: Moderate, possibly on the higher side.

The post, , first appeared on The Vertical Adventurer.

Want to do The General?

This canyon is for highly experienced canyoning teams only! Building the experience and skills takes time and effort, but is well worth it! Having the right gear is also a must!

On a second trip through, 2 months later, a flood had gone through the canyon and stripped and mangled anchors. I replaced the worst, but there is still more work to be done.

If you are ready, you can get the topo from the Kiwicanyon’s website HERE. Be sure to have extra materials and bolts, including a way to place them (hand drill, cordless drill).

Remember:There is no escape for most of the canyon, it is highly committing!

A GPS track for the superiore entry can be found below:

You can also read about the first descent in the Canyon magazine, which is well worth reading, HERE. A big thank you for Joe Bugden and all the others involved in the first descent, we appreciate your discovery and work in bolting the canyon!

The post: Descending The General. Is This One of New Zealand’s Best Canyons? first appeared on The Vertical Adventurer.

[the-obsessive-fangirl]

Winter's Night - Chapter 2

-6 Months Later, 5 years before Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Our mission was to destroy a base that had gone rogue. We were in Kamchatka, Russia, one of the most unexplored areas on the planet. Probably explains why they had a base there.I had my arms wrapped tightly around The Winter Soldier’s waist as he drove the motorbike we had given with an air of expertise. We could see the checkpoint coming up and I slipped our HYDRA ID out of my pocket. Each agent had their personal ID and then, if applicable, their team ID. We rolled to a stop, the engine still humming below us as the guard checked the ID. His eyes flashed with something before looking at our faces. “Proceed.” With that we rode all the way to the base without a hitch, bit even needing to stop at the other checkpoints. The woods the base was situated in went on for miles in all directions, trees towering over our heads as we sped down the open track. Winter pulled up just at the edge of the base and we quietly get off and slip towards the back entrance to the compound. Our sturdy combat boots didn’t make the slightest sound. In the tree line we stood, as workers bustled around. I pulled out my pistols and looked slightly towards Winter. Who spoke so quietly you would have missed it if you weren’t listening for it “Nightshade, you need to go around the north side once you’re in the building. Take out all hostiles immediately. I’m going along the south side,” he continued as he pulled out his own guns. “We’ll meet in the mess hall situated in the centre of the ground floor. We’ll set off a bomb to eliminate the rest.” I nodded almost interpretably but I knew he would catch it. I pulled out a silencer and calmly attached it to the gun in my hands. I took aim and took out five, a single bullet between the eyes, still walking forward. I could see the Winter Soldier’s victims fall around me. Silent deaths tore through the air. Rogue agents fell everywhere before us. I shot the lock on the door and stormed in, sword already off my back. I twirled and sliced, destroying anyone in my path. I stopped at a corner before taking a sharp left. I was running down the hall, disposing of anyone that got in my way. Tearing into the mess hall, my sword was quickly sheathed and my guns were picking off the unfortunate souls that were in there. I saw Winter come in and do the same from the other side. He pulled out a huge bomb made of pure C4 before placing it in the middle of the room as I covered him. He set the timer for three minutes as we resorted to hand to hand combat, my guns having run out of ammunition. A sharp pain hit the top of my left arm and I spun around to see a new squadron of soldiers there. One of them and taken a shot a missed drastically, earning me a flesh wound and them my wrath. I immediately engaged, snapping one’s neck and slamming another one against the wall to hear a sickening crack. I took one step back as I threw my thighs around another’s neck, twisting my body to send him to the ground before I grabbed his gun. Safe to say, they didn’t last long after that. I spun around to see the Winter Soldier taking on his own squadron. I looked at the bomb. 1:32. “Winter. We need to go.” I shot one of the men before I dragged his human arm away. He yanked it harshly out of my grasp and used it to punch another rogue out cold. “Come on!” I hissed and this time actually grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away. He seemed to get the message this time and started running next to me. I thought about the bomb. There was a slim chance of avoiding the explosion all together. Winter shot an agent that got in our way without even breaking his pace. We slammed into the doors and they flew open causing cold air to slap against our faces. The woods got closer and closer yet they were still about a hundred metres away. We heard the explosion before we felt it. The world seemed to spin as I flew through the air, landing badly on my right ankle. I heard something snap and I let out a sharp breath. A red river was flowing down my left arm as I pushed myself to my feet only for my right leg to give out on me. The ground rushed up to meet me but strong arms wrapped around my waist before picking me up. “Stay awake, Night.” A male voice grumbled above me and I looked to see the Winter Soldier running whilst carrying me. I squirmed. “I can walk, you know.” He snorted, a sound I’d never heard from him. “Just like you could stand up just now.” I felt myself being lower and Winter’s metal arm winding its way tightly around my waist. “Hold on.” I wrapped my good arm around him and we drove off, using speeds that were in no way legal. We got back to the base in times that were probably unheard of. I was playing nodding donkey, my eyes fluttering closed every few seconds as I thought to stay awake. My left side was coated in my blood as was Winter’s metal left arm. I looked up to see his face was sporting a black eye and other bruising along that side of his face whilst I had the gaping cut on my shoulder and a dislocated ankle. He had his metal arm underneath my shoulders whilst his natural one was hooked under my knees. Winter stormed down the corridors that we both knew oh so well. He walked into the medical room and snatched the first aid kit from its hook. The medical staff had long fled the room, having heard that we were coming. Winter snapped the lid up and immediately pulled out gloves followed by a needle and surgical thread. He look at me for a brief before stitching up my shoulder. My eyes flickered shut as I saw the small pool of blood that had been forming on the floor. I became light headed. Suddenly there was a hit to my cheek and my eyes snapped open, completely alert. Winter was looking at me sternly. “Stay awake.” I nodded numbly as he continued his job. He cut the last stitch neatly and wrapped a bandage around it to prevent infection. Attending to my ankle next, Winter was careful not to jostle it too much before snapping it back into place. A loud hiss emigrated from my mouth. Ow. Footsteps round the corner and walked into the room. We didn’t look away from each other as he tied the bandage around my ankle off. The Winter Soldier was yanked away from me by a group of men and Alexander Pierce appeared in my vision as I remained on the table, watching Winter struggle against the guards. Pierce began to speak. “You see dear, the Soldier was given a very simple task. Protect Nightshade from harm for this one mission. He failed that order and failure is something we can not accept nor tolerate at HYDRA. We need to punish him for failing. Guards.” He kept his face in mine as the guards hauled Winter away as he struggled. “No.” “Excuse me?” Alexander looked caught between feeling shocked and furious. “Let me take his punishment.” The entire room seemed to freeze. Winter stopped violently and breathed heavily. The guards stopped where they stood. Pierce had a blank face before he grinned. “Are you sure about this asset? You aren’t in the Red Room anymore. That means it’s not a mere twelve hours of the same ballet routine. It’s truly physical here.” Internally I shivered and knew this was going to hurt. I reiterated myself. “Let me take his punishment.” “Take her to the room.” Pierce ordered before swishing out of the room causing his custom made suit jacket to flap around behind him. Guards bodily hauled me from the room, dragging me down the winding corridors. They threw me to the centre of the training room and rolling slightly I braced myself sharply, ignoring the pain blooming from my ankle and shoulder. Silently kneeling in the centre of the room, I could hear Winter being chained to the side of the room due to the sounds of metal meeting metal and the ragged breathing. A cold hand wrapped around my jaw before yanking it up, my eyes met Alexander Pierce’s cold grey. His other fingers caressed my cheek and it took all my self control not to pull away. “The Winter Soldier would only have had twenty hits with the leather whips. But you, my dear, not only defied my orders but embarrassed me in front of witnesses. My dear, you have earned yourself twenty-five hits with the metal tipped whips. Perhaps that will teach you not to disobey me.” Pierce pondered as my face remained blank. Internally, however, I was kicking up a storm. “You are to count every hit, understood?” “Yes sir.” I had barely finished before the first one connected with my back. I pushed the pain aside. “One.” “Two.” “Three.” “Four.” I flinched as the fifth hit came in contact with my back. “Five.” “Six.” “Seven.” “Eight.” “Nine.” “Ten.” My breathing was ragged and my back would have felt better if you had poured liquid fire all over it. “Eleven.” “Twelve.” Smack. “Thirteen.” “Fourteen.” “Fifteen.” My whole body was quivering and I could feel the blood rolling down my back. Silent tears streamed down my burning cheeks as I counted the next five numbers. “Twenty one.” I finally screamed as the metal tip clawed my back which arched in pain; only to succeed in aggravating the other cuts. I could hear the chains slam dangerously against the wall as Winter struggled to get to me. The rest of the hits were punctuated with a harsh scream that would tear from my cracked lips. “Twenty five.” I whispered. Sobs racked my body violently. I never though a number could sound so much like heaven. I was on the verge of fainting, my back now completely numb from the sheer volume of pain running through it. Faintly there was a crash as I swayed dangerously on my knees. Strong arms scooped me up, high into the air, as I could hear a deep voice ordering the arms to take me away. I was carried back to our cell and was lowered gently onto my right side with my head in the person’s lap. Harsh scraping of plastic fill my ears as a green box was thrown into the room. I squinted at it to see it. A First Aid kit. I saw a metal hand reach out to grab it. Wait, metal hand? That means that I was led on the Winter Soldier’s lap. I went to move but his human hand rested on my thigh. “Stay still, ягода.” (Berry) He whispered. He had given me a nickname?! I relaxed carefully in his lap, hissing at the movement it caused in my back. He told me what he was doing every time before he did it. I had never even thought about this side of the Winter Soldier, let alone seen it. Winter was treating me like I was glass, trying to avoid causing me pain at all costs. It confused me in honesty, how someone so ruthless in the battlefield could be so gentle to me now? I tensed as he removed his hands as he finished tying of bandages. Wait - when had he started? He started whispering things in my ear quietly such as to relax and to sleep and that he was here. I found myself relaxing as his fingers wound his way through my hair. In that moment I realised something that scared me. I trusted the Winter Soldier. I whispered something so quietly: “Arianna.” “What did you say?” He volume matched mine. “My name. It’s Arianna.” I repeated and his hand stilled in my hair for a few moments before he continued. “James.” He paused for a moment. “But I think people called me Bucky but I don’t know why.”-I could hear the frown in his voice.-“Just get some rest.” He whispered. “I will, снжиники.” (Snowflake) “Snowflake?” “It snows in winter.” I whispered my eyes flickering shut. James hummed quietly in response and continued to play with my hair.

@firebendergirl33

[jacewilliams1]

“I’m just trying to keep my lunch down”

After working as a professional aviation mechanic/avionics tech for the past 23 years, I finally fulfilled the lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. I earned my Private Pilot Certificate in July 2018. My ten-year-old son, Elias, asked me relentlessly throughout my training to take him flying, and I promised him that he’d be my very first passenger, so the day after I passed my checkride we made it happen. One of the highlights in my life’s reel. We both had a blast.

My second passenger, and my first cross-country as a private pilot, was Garin, a lifelong friend with whom I grew up. He and his family came up to Clover to spend the weekend with us so I reserved my favorite 172 for Saturday morning. The weather was beautiful, if a little bit warm, with some showers moving in later in the day as normal. I decided we’d make the short, scenic hop from EQY up to HKY to get some grub at the airport cafe. On the way we would fly via JQF so he could get a good look at the nearby Charlotte Motor Speedway and dragstrip.

Looking good so far!

It was a promising start. He was excited to break ground for the first time; he’d never flown before. I laid everything out for him the night before. I showed him the route on the sectional and explained the phases of flight and what he could expect. As we drove to EQY, I explained everything again. He had some good questions: How high are we going? Will there be turbulence? Why the hell does the airplane have a parachute? What do you mean if you’re incapacitated? Standard stuff, really.

We got down to the end of runway 5. There were two airplanes in the pattern, one turning base and one turning downwind, so I took the opportunity to explain the traffic pattern to him and we watched both airplanes land and get going again. He was thoroughly enjoying plane-watching and recording video on his phone. I rolled onto the runway, smoothly applied full power and started making my standard callouts. Engine’s making power, gauges are green, airspeed’s alive, here we go – rotate, and we’re off. That’s when he and I both, at the same time, realized that he was afraid of flying.

He stopped recording on his phone and looked for somewhere, anywhere, to hold on to. We flew over the end of the runway and I looked over and said, “So whaddaya think? Pretty cool, huh?” I got a rapid nod of his head with a quick “Yeah.” I said, “It’s a new sensation, you’ll get used to it pretty quickly. Just let me know if you get uncomfortable or anything. We’re still right over the airport so I can come back around and land if you want to get back on the ground.”

“Nah, it’s cool. I’m just trying to get used to it. I’m good. I’m good.”

He was talking to himself more than to me.

I pointed at the general direction of JQF and let him know that we’d be turning that way shortly. I made my last call on CTAF and gently banked left – about half standard rate because I knew he was not terribly relaxed. He was okay with the bank but I noticed that he wasn’t talking much. I looked over and saw that he was holding on to the pillar trim as if that’s what was holding the airplane together.

I had to keep reminding myself that I had just gone through about 90 hours of primary training – steep turns, stalls, emergency descents, etc., so I was comfortable in a small airplane. Garin, however, probably wouldn’t react very well to any of it.

I was pointing out landmarks on the horizon trying to get him engaged while taking his mind off being afraid of the wings crumpling and us cartwheeling to our deaths at any second. It seemed to work for a while. We flew over JQF and transitioned to the northwest. He liked seeing the speedway and the dragstrip and I started pointing out Lake Norman and the city of Charlotte as soon as we got on course.

I called CLT approach after we left the JQF Class D and got flight following to HKY. I told him what flight following was and that we’d just added an extra layer of safety to our flight because now we had ATC looking out for us and helping with traffic awareness. We spotted a few planes over the lake, one of which CLT Approach pointed out to us. He seemed to be relaxing at this point, but he still felt that the trim piece needed to be firmly held in place.

I asked him if he saw that smokestack on the far side of the lake and he said he did. I said, “Why don’t you grab the yoke and keep us pointed at it.”

“No.”

“Okay. You don’t have to. At least grab the yoke and follow me. You’ll see how easy it is to keep everything straight and level. Look, I’m barely touching it.”

“Alright.” He held the yoke with as few skin cells as he could manage.

I said, “I’m going to take my hand away for a second and it’ll be all you.”

“Okay.”

“I’m not touching a thing; it’s all you. Not too bad, huh?”

“Nah man, not too bad… okay, can you take it back now?”

I did. I don’t know whether I should have done the next part, but I did. And it was fun. I told him I wanted to show him something. I said, “You know what causes plane crashes?” He shook his head. “Human intervention. Watch.” I banked about 15 degrees to the right and brought the nose up about 10 degrees, then crossed my arms and took my feet off the pedals. He went stiff as a board but I told him, “See how the airplane just settles back to where it was? The airplane wants to fly; it’s people who screw everything up.”

A little less happy…

He nodded enthusiastically, but I suspect that it was more from still being alive than from my lesson in stability. I asked him if he wanted to fly again but he declined.

HKY tower cleared me for a right downwind to runway 6. I was talking through the landing process, but the change in configuration and “feel” of the airplane sent Garin’s legs into nervous shakiness. I had to tell him to put his feet forward some so that his knee wasn’t banging into me. Poor guy.

I made the right downwind to base turn and he leaned into me so hard I thought I was going to open my door. I calmly advised him that there was no way he was going to fall out but if he did, I would drop a pin on the iPad so I’d know where to send the cops. He laughed and mentioned something about putting his foot up something-or-other. I was concentrating on flying so I didn’t really get all the details.

As we were on short final I told him, “See? Nice and slow, the runway’s right there and we’re slowly working our way down. Not too scary, right?”

“Ask me again in five minutes.”

I made a decent landing and we taxied on to the FBO. We shut down and got out and I asked him again how he liked it. “I wonder how much a taxi is from here?”

We had a leisurely lunch and he told me that it was all new for him, but he really enjoyed it. A side note: the sweet potato fries at the cafe are phenomenal. I pulled up the flight plan in ForeFlight and showed him that there was no weather between us and home to be worried about, but that it might be a little bit bumpy because it was July in North Carolina.

We got back to the airplane and got strapped in. He was chipper at this point and looking forward to heading back. We departed from runway 6 and turned on course. I pointed out a couple of towers and a couple of hills between us and the lake. He said, “Cool.” I asked if he wanted to fly a little bit and he declined. We spotted a couple more airplanes sightseeing over the lake. I pointed to Concord and asked if he saw the airport, “Um hmm.”

Uh oh.

I didn’t want to start asking if he was feeling sick just in case he wasn’t feeling sick. I tried diverting his attention out the window.

“Man, I bet Concord Mills is packed today, huh? See the Bass Pro Shop right there? Lots of boats!”

Nothing.

Transition south over JQF. I was still trying. “We’re going to fly right over the speedway again. I’ll put it on your side so you can get a good look at it. This is where I took my checkride, right here. You see the runway back there? Going that way is runway 2 and my first checkpoint was right here and…”

“I’m just trying to keep my lunch down right now.”

You know how you can have a thousand thoughts go through your head in the blink of an eye?

Oh man, he’s gonna puke. I shouldn’t’ve taken him on this long of a flight. I should’ve just flown a couple of patterns and called it a day. We could’ve just watched airplanes for a while then gone over to CLT and I could’ve shown him all the jets out there. Oh yeah! I stole those puke bags from American when I flew home from OKC the other day. Well, not American, I guess it was PSA that I stole the…

“You need a bag, man? I think I have a couple in the back seat.”

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll be alright.”

Losing the battle.

“Cool. Here, turn this air vent so it’s blowing on your face and put that cold bottle of water on your forehead. Just look out at the horizon there. You see that quarry there? That was my second checkpoint on my checkride… ”

“You got those bags?”

I’m pretty sure I leapt onto the back seat to rummage through my backpack and, WHEW! I came up with two white puke bags. I handed them to Garin and said, “Better safe than sorry.”

He held on to them while I was pointing out other landmarks and telling him “Only 13 miles until Monroe. Almost on the ground!”

Nothing.

“Monroe traffic Skyhawk 2055E 10 miles to th……..blarghghgarghgharghhhh. The north, inbound.”

I was extremely concerned with my friend’s well-being, as you can see from the photo at right.

He filled two bags then started talking again. I did end up letting him off the hook. “You know, the heat plus your nerves plus the bumpy air and all the new sensations would make nearly anybody puke. No shame in it, man,” I said. He thanked me and when we got on the ground he threw his bags away and helped me wipe down the airplane.

He swears that this wasn’t his last flight. I told him that I’d come pick him up this winter when the air is cold and smooth and he readily agreed that he’d try it again. I hope he does because I had a great, smelly time flying with my friend, even if it was a quiet ride home.

The post “I’m just trying to keep my lunch down” appeared first on Air Facts Journal.

from Engineering Blog https://airfactsjournal.com/2019/06/im-just-trying-to-keep-my-lunch-down/

[guynt]

We had a poor night’s sleep, due to hotel guests and some idiot the went up and down the street at 5 blowing his horn. So we were at the Pakistan border for 8:50 only 200 meters down the road. They are supposed to open at 9, they did open the doors at 9 but the people did not start working for a while later, so first the Carnet, they just filled the paperwork and filled in the official ledger book. Next the police wanted to look in a couple of the panniers, now heath check, if you have been in Pakistan more than 30 days you must have a Polio vaccination.

Now the last bit customs, we have to wait then wait then wait, we are finally told they have no power so their computers don’t work.

It took 1 and a half hours to complete about 10 min of paperwork and we were first in every queue, this was going to be the same throughout the day.

We are off to the border, another 1 and a half hours away.

There are two Checkpoints and we have to pass through a wild life park and pay the entry fee $10 each.

When we arrive the Chinese have not opened the border yet and there is one tuck in line in front of us. So we pull up behind him and take a few pictures. We don’t take a lot of pictures today, as we are told that we are not to take pictures that have ANY uniformed people in them or in any restricted areas, which was most of the day.

The Chinese arrive in a car, opens the gates, then sits back in his car, we have to go over he opens the car window and we give him our passports, he takes down the details of the Bikes and our passports, then says go over to the building in the distance, we are then queuing once more behind the big truck and a second truck behind us, 15 or so mins later a second roller shutter door opens on one side and we are told to come in, well that what we think they said. Here it all started, unload the bike all the bags off, that’s 4 panniers, tent, roll bag, 2 crash bags, these are all xrayed, along with our helmets, and water backpacks.

We then pass through a biometric facial recognition scanner that checks our passport is a picture of us!

Now that our bags have all been xrayed, they also want to take EVERYTHING out, including the tent, sleeping bag mattress etc. Now we can put everything back in the bags again.

We are then told to take our bikes to the xray machine so we have to turn the bikes around go out the door we came in and through the next door we are then told to put the bikes on a runway type thing and stand and wait while they start shouting at us. First they decided that they cannot do two bikes at once, so we have to manually pull  the bikes back  some 100 ft or more, they refuse to let us drive through and round, no we have to back them up! Next they decide we drove to fast and need to go slower, we went so slow the needle didn’t move so no idea how we can go any slower? Anyway I drive poppy through again and told I drove to fast again so back I go again, I then got shouted at again to go through slower so I practically pushed it in with my feet I got told to stop, then had to go out the end door, I was stood there for 20 mins when a guy came and asked me something I didn’t know what so he went and took a pic of my reg. he disappeared again then came for me again to go to his office and fill some paperwork in, which was in Chinese. So we slowly started getting it filled till I got asked for my passport number. I told them you have my passport I don’t know my number without it. Then one of the officers started shouting at me for my passport (he has been shouting at me since doing the bag search) so I took a deep breath and told him I’ve not got my passport you have it. I smiled anyway they found a piece of paper that had my number on it. I then had to go and get Guy to do his paperwork and got told to stay where I am. Then got told to go to the other doors anyway they final started xRaying Poppy I jumped back on her and rode her back in to the other room and told to put EVERYTHING ON MY BIKE.

The reality of the xRay machine was that they did not know how to operate the machine with motorbikes, clearly it was not triggering all the sensors like trucks and cars do! That whole process took well over an hour to complete.

Now they had worked it out, Daisy was straight in and out!

After putting the luggage back onto the bikes we were told we could not go to Tashkurgan for the customs process, it was nearly 3 by now, it had taken over 3 hours from reaching the border and we were the  first there bar one truck. As we start to move off we are told we cannot just go we need to pull up to a gate in the distance and wait for?  what we don’t know and they cannot explain, but turns out we have to travel together. Any way as we are pulling up a very short police man gestures for us to pull over to the side of the road, so we do line a stern as there is only soft dust off the road. He comes over and takes a look at the bikes and writes down the reg numbers in a book. Then  tells us we have to move our bikes and park them at 90 to the road in the dust, we just keep arguing and saying no,  but eventually we have no choice so we have to find some rocks to support the sidestands, we do deliberately take up more room though.

Eventually when  there are enough of us there some 6 or so cars and us two bikes we can go, but unfortunately Carol had gone to use the “long Drop” 🙂  so we all had to wait a couple of mins. Now we are told that one of the cars knows where to go and we have to follow him, the police man also gets in that car, with our passports. So not like we are going to lose him. As we set off there is a clear distinct change in scenery, like we had suddenly transported many miles away, the beautiful mountains of Pakistan had gone, we were in a very wide shallow valley, which the road just went straight along the bottom. There were camels at the roadside.

We arrive at the customs in Tahskurgan and first off we get to pay them the privilege of disinfecting the bikes, which consists of someone spraying them with something and then rolling through a shallow bath of some water and what smells like chlorine. As we were on bike we got to go first as the rest of the cars, vans and busses go through a full spray bank.

This means we are first in the queue for customs, great as it’s been  a long day already and we just want to get a warm shower and some food. We are at the front of the queue and we are asked for our passports, when we tell them the nice police man over there has them we are sent off to a side room and told to sit and wait. Finally they come for us and tell us our passports will be at the counter when we can get there, yes the coaches had now arrived and the queue was long, and very slow, it takes them 5 to 10 mins to process each person. While in the queue the superintend comes over to us and says you need to get the luggage of your bikes, I tell him we will get through this customs first which he agrees to in the end.

So finally have the stamp on our passports, we have to get the luggage from the bikes and have it xRayed again and also have one or two opened. What a farce, it’s now gone 7 in the evning and we started at 8:30 in the morning. And now we find out that we have to leave our bikes somewhere across town in a customs yard until they are processed.

Finally  we get to our hotel, and there is no hot water, and no heating, apparently 3 star! BTW it’s -6 outside.

The couple we met from Amsterdam, in Gilgit we did meet again here in Sost and we have been travelling  with them all day along with another couple they have met from Amsterdam. So we all go for a meal together, a real chinese 🙂 and a couple of beers, which at 10000 ft and Being in a dry state for a couple of weeks is all you need.

  mde

cof

Just to add confusion the official time is Beijing time, which people quote, but this is 2 hours ahead of local time which people also use. We have to keep asking which time they are using as somehow they seem to know.

  Day 49 – Sost to Tashkorgan – The Chinese boarder We had a poor night's sleep, due to hotel guests and some idiot the went up and down the street at 5 blowing his horn.

[kenyannick]

If I had my dream job I’d be at national parks every day, unfortunately our visits are limited to the weekends and we usually end up doing something we didn’t have time for in the week. It’d been a while since we’d been to a wild area and I was dying to go out and explore somewhere new and exciting.

I hit the internet looking for a new wild area to visit and after scouting all the green areas on google earth I found what seemed to be a decent sized national park called Khao Sip Ha Chan National Park. The name roughly translates to ‘The hill with 15 floors/ levels’ but after a little more internet sleuthing I found out it was the hill with 15 waterfalls. I checked with Carly and we agreed that the next free weekend we’d head out to see if it was any good.

Finally we had a weekend free of work, chores or any other weekend destroyers and we headed out to the park. It was a two hour drive away but as we got closer the dry rubber trees and pineapple plantations gave way to lush green jungle the likes of which I haven’t seen since we lived in the South and I was relieved to see the drive was worth it.

As we neared the main gate we began to see signs for wild elephants and I was beginning to get excited that we could actually see some cool wildlife at the park.

We payed our entrance fee (100 baht each) and began the drive from the main gate, through the jungle, to the second car park at the foot of the trail. We presented our tickets to the ranger and he lead us to a small notice board at the start of the hike. There was a map of the path that lead up to each of the fifteen waterfalls and back in a giant loop.

Below the map there was a warning which read:

‘The hike is 6km long’ (nice walk we thought)

‘Hikers are advised to wear suitable sturdy footwear’, (common sense, Carly was in Hiking shoes and I was in comfy trainers)

‘The hike takes at least 3-4 hours’, (we’ll have a slow walk and make it back in 4 hours)

  The park ranger could not speak English so using our limited Thai we surmised that he was asking if we wanted a guide and he was telling us not to go off the paths. We told him in Thai don’t worry we don’t want a guide and set off down the path.

Not far down the path we noticed ranger was following us, must be because of the animals we thought, wouldn’t want to come too close to some wild elephants. A few minutes later there was the sound of a motorbike rattling up the rocky path and a new younger ranger joined us at the top of the first hill where the road stopped and the hiking trail began.

We introduced ourselves to our new hiking companion who was called Fang, he seemed nice enough and gave us space to explore by ourselves mostly. As we got deeper into the jungle the paths became harder to follow and Fang would have to point the paths out to us a lot of the time.

Despite having company we were enjoying the hike which was a rollercoaster of hills leading past each of the waterfalls. Soon there was no discernible path and Fang had to take the lead as we walked up the river through the jungle. Fang radioed in to his colleagues regularly at each waterfall we got to letting them know everything was ok which also let us know where we were as he’d say in Thai which level we’d reached.

Each waterfall was different and eventually we reached the 10th waterfall. I could not spot any path so I asked Fang where we were going and he simply pointed directly up at the waterfall. The confused look on my face prompted him to begin doing his best rock climbing impression. Gulp!

We climbed the right side of the waterfall with Fang in the lead doing his best to point out the best route for us and although it was quite steep we managed to make it up ok. Looking back down we were glad we wouldn’t have to come back down the slippery rocks.

So far our hike had been quite pleasant despite being almost all up and down steep hills. Unfortunately from this point on our hike began to become more, and more hellish, and here’s why…

The Path

We began to realise that not many people ventured up the waterfall this far as Fang was having to use his machete more and more to clear a path for us. The steep roller coaster paths were littered with fallen trees which created an awkward obstacle course we had to climb over or crawl under. Climbing under trees was the least of our worries though, as every waterfall after the 10th also involved climbing and each was progressively taller and more challenging than the last.

The Flora

On some of the steep hills there would be nothing to hold onto to help you up or down them. Surely there would be something to hold onto in the jungle you’d think, well you’d be right, there were lots of plants lining the path. Unfortunately some of these plants turned out to be rattan palms and snake fruit palms. If you don’t know these two plants, do me a quick favor:

Google ‘rattan plant’ or ‘snake fruit plant’ and you’ll see they are EVIL plants covered with three-inch long spikes that snap off in your skin when you bump into one or make the grave error of reaching out for something to stop you from falling.

The Fauna

Another aspect to our hike was the insects. It was too dry for leeches, instead we were swarmed by bees that were after the salt rich sweat that drenched our bodies. How they could stand the smell I have no idea, after 3 hours of hiking we were ripe!

It seemed like every branch was covered in small biting ants and what’s worse is they were on the branches on the sides of the waterfalls where you had no choice but to hang on and try to ignore them. Every time Fang cut through a dry piece of bamboo huge black ants would fall out on attack mode looking to exact their revenge on whatever they could find nearby……. usually us!

The arduous trek had taken its toll: the sole of my left shoe had detached, we had finished our water, our energy levels were waning fast and I was developing homicidal thoughts towards the incessant insect life.

Just when we were nearing breaking point we reached the penultimate waterfall and we began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. After this we’d be at the last waterfall and could begin the second half of the loop leading back to the head of the trail.

The 14th Waterfall was the highest yet and was 2-3 times bigger than the 10th and before we even asked I knew we’d have to scale it. I asked Fang to point out the route and this time his finger traced a zigzag up the right side of the waterfall and then through the waterfall from the right side, through the water to the taro plant  (the one with heart-shaped leaves) on the left side of the waterfall.

I spoke to Fang and he told us that after climbing the waterfall there’d be more climbing after and the return loop was definitely more taxing than the trail we had taken so far. The rocks were slick with algae and we decided that��it would be foolish to push any further and instead to head back down the path.

How the hell were we going to do all the steep waterfalls in reverse? Our spirits were broken, we’d been so close to the last level and now we were going to have to go back the way we’d come.

The first few waterfalls weren’t too bad to climb down but when we reached a waterfall and Fang took out the rope from his backpack we knew then, it was going to be challenging.

I made it down the waterfall ok and then stepped out onto rock which turned out to be slick with algae and came crashing down on my elbow. The impact sent a weird involuntary moan out of my lungs which Carly still teases me about. I found myself on my back in the river with a searing pain in my elbow and a very bruised arse. I manoeuvred myself into a more dignified position and gave my self a once over. I wiggled my fingers, stretched my arm out and everything seemed to be ok. Fang had come over at this point, probably to see where the dying animal was (Carly says the moan was really that weird) and sprayed something on my elbow which numbed it and then helped me up. I had to pay more attention, I was tired, and making stupid mistakes which was not helping.

Carly was the next to take a spill and landed awkwardly on some slippery rocks in the river twisting her knee and bruising her back and bum quite severely. It looked awful but she brushed it off as she always does but I could tell it had really hurt her.

We were both now sore, bruised and thoroughly fed up but thankfully we heard Fang radio in that we were at the 5th level and now he was on his radio more and more and we wondered what was going on, we heard a child’s voice so we guessed maybe he was talking to his son we’d seen back at the checkpoint near the car park.

Finally we rounded a bend and could see the very first hill we climbed. When we reached the top we saw 5 park staff all waiting with their motorbikes. This is why Fang must have been on his radio so much, we imagined he’d radioed in something like: “these Farangs (foreigners, in Thai) are dying you better pick them up with your motorbikes.”

We must have looked like we’d been in the jungle for weeks, our clothes were filthy from sliding down steep paths and waterfalls, the sole of my shoe was barely hanging on our pace would have fit in better in the walking dead than a Thai jungle!

We thanked the staff  and tried to tell them we’d walk the last 15 minutes ourselves, we might as well finish, we’d come this far. The park staff looked at us in disbelief and insisted we get on the motorbikes. We thanked them but insisted that we’d finish the walk ourselves and began walking back down the path.

The staff passed us on the path and again offered lifts as they drove passed and we once again politely refused and they smiled at us and drove on.

We made it to the end of the trail after 6 hours of walking and we went to find Fang to thank him.  We thanked him for his time and for the first time the whole day I noticed that Fang was looking a little fatigued, his face was flushed and hot and he was quite sweaty, I felt a little less pathetic now as even the expert was a tired by the hike.

We bought a few bottles of water from the small shop in the car park and sat down at a picnic table to drink them. We couldn’t help but laugh about how our relaxing weekend had turned out and how achy we’d be at work the next day.

This was one of the most hellish hikes I have done but it was a great reminder of what my body is capable of when pushed. Believe it or not I’d like to return to this park again not to walk to the entire trail but to explore more and take some more photos. The hilly hike meant that we’d had to have our hands free and the camera spent most of its time in the bag. These three butteflies are the only wildlife shots that we got that day.

Sullied Brown Sailor (Neptis nata goononata)

Harlequin (Taxila haquinus haquinus)

Magpie Crow (Euploea radamanthus)

So in summary, we had a hellish day but it makes for one heck of a story! We sweat, bled and almost cried but the feeling at the end of it all was one of accomplishment (and pain). Thailand never ceases to surprise us and I think after eight years of being here we’ve learnt to expect the unexpected, roll with the punches and go with the flow. Our lives are certainly more interesting for it and our bond with each other grows stronger with each crazy experience. TIT (This is Thailand 🙂 )

          Jungle Hell If I had my dream job I'd be at national parks every day, unfortunately our visits are limited to the weekends and we usually end up doing something we didn't have time for in the week.

[bigmacsg]

Tour Of Friendship | Open 2017

Day 0

There’s a feeling of familiarity about my 5th consecutive ToF. It’s largely the same faces in the Nonthaburi hotel, same waitresses in the restaurant and I even get the same room for 3rd year in a row! The hotel is completely unchanged - including the mysterious mattresses stacked in the stairwell but you can’t complain given the bargain cost of the event (18000 baht for 5 days).

Change is afoot in the race though. The obligitary 7km TT being changed at the last minute to an 18km trek round an army airbase & stages 3-5 are all new. Little is known about the new stages but it promises something fresh for a race that many have started skipping due to the repetition & the host of alternative racing options now available.

Representing Allied World Champion System, we’ve got Pierre (strung out on antibiotics), Raoul, Pete B, Sofiane, Hong Kong Paolo and myself. Open is packed - up from 40 to 88 riders! - so it should be an interesting week.

Day 1 - 18km ITT

An apocalyptical rainstorm at 3am broke early and we headed out to some still drying roads to the new stage 1 at an army air base 90km outside Bangkok. Officially the start was 9am but delays led to it being nearer 9.40 before the 1st rider rolled off.

The new course proved to be excellent. 18km of smooth, flat and mostly shaded roads led to some fast times. The only negative would be the stretch of 4 consecutive speed bumps in the last 3km but they were a small price to play. The army MPs stationed around the course even saluted when we came past every checkpoint!

I started behind Strooper and had little illusion that I could keep him in sight. Thankfully my 60,90 and 120 second men came into sight so I at least had something to chase. My power wasn’t great and I finished back in 30th on a 26.15 time. 41km/avg with a 176 heart rate.

PA is our best placed man in 9th suggesting the next few days are going to hurt.

Day 2 - 118km

Today was 118km in a windy furnace out to Kanchanaburi. It’s one saving grace being that the stage was pancake flat.

With Long straight roads, a breakaway was always going to be challenging. A few brave souls tried - including multiple attacks from Pierre. His best was a 10km break that got maybe 40 seconds at best. Hats off to Specialized Shanghai who did a fine job riding tempo and policing the front for the majority of the morning.

Sadly Paolo was ruled out of contention in the sprint after snapping his bars early in the stage. Riding mostly one-handed, he still finished in the top 10 on the day. Everyone else finished safely in the pack.

The day was largely uneventful. My legs felt ok initially but everything after 80km felt like a drag. My gears were noisy as hell and the cassette was taking 30 seconds to make the move into the 11 sprocket. An early gangbang with a pothole also had my bars arrowed down for the whole race. 41 average for the day but largely an easyish tempo ride.

PA also got a chance to try my vinegar cramp cure in the van on the way back. Cramps disappeared immediately after I squirted him in The Eye accidentally.

Day 3 - 127km

Death or glory stuff today.

127km with 30km of lumpy stuff in the middle. As one of the new stages, no one really knew the finish and it was all a bit chaotic as riders second guessed where it might be.

Pretty much the whole team took flyers off the front at some point. Sofiane had the most success - creating the break of the day which stayed out for 30km. I managed about 7km for mine which took me over the 1st hill of the day successfully before getting caught.

There were 3 larger climbs and we lost a lot of the peloton over the day. I struggled to hang on over the 2nd climb but did enough to claw on the back and survive.

Pierre was taken out in the last km at 50km/hr and snapped his frame, forks and destroyed a wheel. Thankfully no bones broken but a few chucks of skin off.

Paolo nailed the sprint to perfection and took home the victory for the team! He moves into the top 10 with the bonus seconds.

Thanks to The CycAM team we have a borrowed bike & Pierre will start tomorrow. Mostly tempo day with a few challenging moments on the climbs. 39 avg with the hills.

On an unrelated front, I also discovered that chamois Creme makes an excellent replacement for shaving foam!

Day 4 - 98km

Stage 4 was shortened overnight from the initial 130km down to a mere 98km. One can only imagine what the unabridged stage would have been like as many listed the 98km as one of the hardest days ever on a bike.

The team rolled out flush with the success of Paolo’s win on the previous stage. Pierre Alain was bandaged like a mummy and on a borrowed bike.

Myself & Raoul took off at 5km - along with a CCN Foil dude - with the goal of making it to the KoM first. We stayed out for 35km before being caught in the final kilo before the new climbs started. Both subsequently paying dearly for the early heroics…

The new climbs started with about 10km at around 6% split over 3 main ramps. This was followed by 15km of rollers - some of which hit over 25%. Uturn and do it all in reverse, followed by a climb up a dam. In 40 degree heat.

Jean-Luo (ex Saur Sojasun pro) Frenchman attacked at the start of first climb - followed by 2-3 guys. Behind, Paolo noticed that no one would take turns, so forged a tactical agreement with Beardy McBeard to bridge & drop the remaining wheel suckers.

With the yellow jersey dropped there were about 6 chasing Jean-Luo at the midway point and the attrition commenced. Realising no one had legs to close the gap, Paolo chased solo for 10km and could see a lead group of 4 ahead. At 70km, he made contact and worked together with the Frenchman.

With 5km to go, it was down to just Paolo and Jean-Luo for the dam ascent. A cramp in the final km put Paolo out of sprint contention & he came home 2nd - about 17 seconds down.

Friend of the team Mike Korenoff came home 6th, 1 minute back. PA came home in the top 15 on the borrowed bike. Pete was next, followed by Raoul, a punctured Sofiane and Don. Really hard day on the bike for all & one that destroyed the GC rankings.

Paolo now sits 2nd in GC. 7 seconds off the lead. With bonus seconds available for the sprints, tomorrow’s final stage is going to be fireworks!

We had to give PAs loaner bike back overnight leading to a massive scramble to find a replacement. Amazingly someone came through with a beautiful Cervelo S5 about 30 mins before the race start.

Day 5 - 90km

Stage 5 was always going to be a tough one. Paolo was in 2nd - only 7 seconds off the GC lead. With 5 others lurking within 1 minute, massive attacks were a certainty.

Our best chance of victory was for Paolo to pick up the bonus seconds in the sprint so we tried to keep the race together. The team valiantly fought and held the race together till the 80km mark. This required some Monster work especially on the Long 5km uphill drag that saw half the peleton blow out the back.

I was popping just over the top  of the Long drag. The immediate descent at 80km/hr afterwards surrounded by riders on the highway was too much and I dropped back. I had the group in sight till Km 60 before sitting up and easy spinning home.

The new finish at 90km wasn’t signposted well and took most by surprise. Iron Mike K nabbed 3rd but the overall GC remained unchanged. Paolo ended the GC in second behind the former Saur Sojasun pro Jean Lou.

Overall it was a fantastic race. The new stages and stronger peleton led to some great racing and the overall laid back atmosphere was a pleasure for all. Great to see ToF getting back on form again - The new stages definitely reinvigorated the event. There’s talk of basing all 5 stages in Kanchanaburi next year - I’ll definitely be back for number 6!

Thanks also to Team Cy Cam & the other unknown cyclist that graciously donated a bike to PA after his crash. Fantastic sportsmanship.