CATS Return to Duncan Ridge
CATS Return to Duncan Ridge 27 Sep 18
I
missed last week at Pineridge Natural Area and heard all good things from
that outing/whack. All the work is done and looks great according to reliable
sources. Well Done! So we are back to the climbers trail and we met Joel
Schwab out there onsite too. He liked the work from two weeks ago except some
bonehead pulled all the red flags from the trail and neatly stacked them in a
pile on the opposite side of the road. WHAT? If I were a vandal, why would I
do that? Not sure what is the issue here, but Joel stayed long enough to
re-pin our step assignments and we went to work with pleasure. Dean and Denny
went to the top and worked up there all evening producing some really nice
steps (seven in fact). The bottom crew is still working our way up and
producing some good steps as well. I am amazed by the ‘rock shopping’ skills
of our members to find excellent stone for steps. They can clearly see the rise/run
on a stone and the overall fit. Some of the step creations we are installing
are truly a work of art for sure. Working on this trail is neat as we get a
view of the other climbing area (Piano Boulder) across the street, talk to
climbers going up for an evening climb, talk to folks in training, converse
with just hikers going to the top. All of these people are very friendly and
have kind things to say about the work.
With darkness creeping up on us, we whipped out our clear safety
glasses and continued work till the sun vanished. It was time to head over to
Pitchers for a pint or two and some good warm food. Thanks again for those
that are coming out on this particular project of stone work. https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105745169/duncans-ridge
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Members: Bobcat Bob,
Connie, Dean, Denny, Andy, Leigh, Tim
Hours: 4
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RESULTS: 20 stone steps of various kinds and functions
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ROSES:
o
Tim brought out the camera/video and shot some great scenes
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Weather is holding and cool enough to work
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Tool drop by Joel
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Pin in the steps again by Joel
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Lots of stone still – always enough here
o
Good rock shopping
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Good customer relations and feedback
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Denny’s first time here at Duncan and welcome back from all his travels
o
Trail hikes better and is safer
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THORNS:
ð Dirt scarce and quality of
moon dust
ð Ripped up flagging
ð Existing steps have higher
rise than norms (climbers trail what do you expect?)
ð Brakes on van need
checking
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BUDS: Catching up on my reports and such and glad to be
back from the beaches of Myrtle, SC. I am not a beach person, though it was
fun to run endlessly on the beach except at night when I ran into a fisherman’s
line across my face. Ouch! Back to the mountains – safer here. I have this phobia
about being trapped in only three directions. I prefer to go east occasionally
and not into the ocean. Besides, Myrtle Beach was spared the wrath of
Florence but not to the north of my friend’s house. Horrible flooding and
I-95 was closed in several places.
Back
to here and now. Duncan Ridge is becoming a fun work site to witness each week
our progress and see the improvements of the staircase in general. I think
when it is all done the user groups will appreciate the ease of getting up to
the top. Since CATS is closure driven, we intend to finish this project in
the next two weeks, so if you are planning to come out, best sign up and jump
in. We are going back to Loveland this month to finish work at Lake
Boedecker.
Can you smell fall in the air? Can you
smell the sparks made by your pick blows to the ground? Can you smell
anything with all that dirt up your nose? Being out there and experiencing
the smells is another subliminal thing that attracts folks to CATS. Smells
bind with the visual memories of the event. I am just hoping my BO does not
drive members away?
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