Beef Jerky

Yes, yes, it's that time...random project season! I mean, now that I am back in New York and it's getting cold, the adventures significantly drop off, but I have some things to keep me occupied and relatively sane.

My friend Abe pointed me towards this episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats where he makes beef jerky...with no heat and no dehydrator! I was extremely interested. I recommend watching the two videos before you continue reading: One Two

I followed Brown's recipe and video as closely as possible, with two exceptions:

1. I didn't add onion powder or liquid smoke (too much work) to my marinade.
2. I put all 2lbs of my marinated flank steak in just one (1) air filter and then capped it with an empty air filter

The set-up (new fan in place, note the distance between fan and filter)

Things I learned from my first batch:

-Putting stuff right up against a fan breaks it. Don't do this. I'm not sure why Brown didn't mention this in the video, he may have just had the freakish luck of not running into this problem.
-The pleated air filters that Brown recommends restrict the flow of air significantly. This batch took 24 hours to dry, on a mixture of low/medium fan settings, mostly on medium.

I was convinced that there was a Better Way. That's probably because there almost ALWAYS is. I decided to create a low-cost alternative that would allow the meat to dry faster, hold more meat, and also be re-usable (by virtue of being washable). Enter...

THE MARK II DEHYDRATOR

What is that thing? Very simple, comrades-in-construction:

-A cardboard box. Mine measures 18"x18"x16.5" and was acquired for free from a friend's garage.
-Wooden dowels. I got the thinnest, least expensive ones I could find. I believe I paid $.55 for each one.
-Materials to build screen windows. This is a simple skill that I had to learn because we kept on walking through our sliding screen door and I figured I could repair it. We no longer have this problem because of some high-tech adhesive butterfly technology.
-High flow furnace filters (the green thing in the picture) that fits over one of the openings on your box. I think this does significant work in keeping the jerky dust free until it is dried.
-All these materials can be purchased at a home depot or found for free if you are clever.

Assembly:
1. I made screen window "trays" that fit in the box. To err on the side of caution, I factored in about 1/2" clearance (total) for the width.
2. I cut two of the flaps off each end of the box. They should be flaps that are opposite to each other. The other two remain in place and will act as outriggers to keep the box open during operation.

The inside of the box; one tray in place

3. After cutting holes ever 1.5" (space between trays) I poked the dowels through the box to act as cross-rails for the trays to rest on.
4. To operate the dehydrator, put a strip of duct tape between the fore and aft flaps; this keeps them from folding and allowing the box to collapse.
5. Place the filter in front of the box, position your fan, and turn it on!


Things I learned from this batch:

-After slicing the steak into strips, make sure it's totally thawed before you begin marinating. Frozen flank steak doesn't seem to absorb marinade very well.
-Watch out for overdrying. This batch (~5lbs) took 9 hours to dry on a high fan setting. Once it was dry, it kept on drying out. This may also have to do with the storage method. I was a bit paranoid about the jerky developing mold, so I stored it in the open. A semi-sealed (NOT a ziplock bag) may be the answer.
-I think I also stretched the capacity of the marinade ratio. Stay as close to 2lbs of steak for the amounts given.

If you try this, let me know of any improvements.

David does... the Lost Arrow Spire Direct!

Well, sort of. I had been looking at this beautiful formation for weeks now-after all, it was in my back yard. It was the end of September, and I had not climbed a bigwall yet this season. The only logical course of action was to hike a heinously large load of gear, food, and water (I think my haulbag weighed 70 lbs) up 1,500 feet of sharp talus and loose sand to the base of a route I was going to climb alone in three days. The route: Lost Arrow Spire Direct, 5.9 C2 V.

It all started reasonably well. My friend and housemate Tommy Rokita helped me hike a couple loads up the night before and also belayed me on the first three pitches of this 15 pitch route. It was Tommy's first time jugging (ascending a rope with mechanical rope clamps) and he was cruising.

Tommy jugging...like a boss.

At the top of pitch 3, Tommy rappelled to the ground and I was on my way. This was my first time hauling a bag on a wall. Dealing with that was enough distraction that I forgot to take more pictures on that day.

My one and only solo night on the wall was anything but uneventful. The first event was the howling wind that nearly turned me into a human kite, the second being a medium-sized rodent that found my sleeping form interesting and was hell-bent on collecting nest material from midnight til dawn. Little sleep was had by me.

The next morning on my spacious stone perch was beautiful, despite the lack of sleep.

Looking down at the base of the (now dry) Upper Yosemite Falls. Can you spot the people?

The view from the top of pitch 5. You can see my haulbag just to skiers left of the large ledge.

My first pitch of the day (#5 of the route) went pretty terribly. The information from the guidebook was incorrect and then once I figured out what was wrong, the rest of the pitch went very slowly. The previous day I had take 50 minutes to lead pitch 4; pitch 5 lasted 3 hours. After a little calculation and deliberation, I decided to retreat.

The guidebook suggested I pendulum off this. No thanks.

Bailing went surprisingly smoothly, until I arrived at the ground. Hiking down with my full haulbag turned out to be horrendous. And then it started raining. Remembering that part of the descent was a steep unprotected slab, I stashed the haulbag in the bushes and took off down the scree with my two ropes. I fixed them on the slabs, scurried down, and ran into Tommy coming up the trail.

The next day I went and retrieved the haulbag.

How can someone bailing look this happy?

Next week, I returned with my friend and housemate Eric Bissell to do some reconnaissance of the upper pitches of the route. This time we had much more success.

Eric scoping pitch 9.

A little bit of rain and the falls start trickling again.

Sometimes all you need is food, cool rocks, and good company.

A privileged view: Rare cloudcover in the Valley.

Playing peekaboo with Half Dome.

Here we are on our first day, enjoying a break in the clouds:

All in all, a few good days of fun.

Chicken wing! Generator Crack, (5.10c).

Incredible Hulk

Sometime in mid-August, while sitting around the campfire in the SAR (Search and Rescue) site, I overheard SAR member Sam Piper mention that one of the other team members, Ben, was in a predicament. Ben was camping in Little Slide Canyon, home to the Incredible Hulk, one of the best backcountry walls in the High Sierra. Situated at the end of the canyon for only climbers and intrepid hikers to see, it stands well over 1000' tall and sports many difficult free climbs on amazing high country granite.

Ben had been camping there for several days, and had lined up climbing partners for every day he was up there, enticing people with the idea that they would not have to hike up any extra climbing gear beyond their shoes and harness. He did not have a vehicle, and so was relying on his partner for the last day to give him a ride back to the SAR site for work. The problem arose when his partner (who shall remain anonymous, despite being a huge jerk) for that day decided to take a rest day and not hike up to meet Ben. This was problematic because Ben was stuck a 2-hour drive from the site and moreover, there was no way of contacting him to tell him the jerk had bailed on him.

Back to the campfire: the idea of someone else going up there to get him was thrown around, but everyone had plans or was working...except for me. Time: 11:00PM. Time I had to get up to make it there with time to climb with Ben: 4:00AM. I packed quickly while Sam drew me a map of the approach hike.

The next morning was a true alpine start. I was on the road by 4:40AM, on my way to Twin Lakes, the start of the approach for the Hulk.

Dawn on the Sawtooth range

The approach went well for the first hour...until I had to find the climber's trail that took me into Little Slide Canyon. I later learned I had severely overshot it. I began bushwhacking uphill into the canyon, across and over boulders. At least the view was beautiful!

I forgot the name of this formation, but luckily you don't need a name to appreciate beauty

After 2 hours of steep, vegetated battling, I found Ben tucked in under some boulders by the base of the Hulk. He expressed a little surprise at seeing me and offered my a quesadilla he had just cooked...how could I say no after the approach?

The Incredible Hulk!

We decided to climb Positive Vibrations (5.11a), a 1200 foot route following exceptional crack systems up the center of the formation.

Disclaimer: The following pictures are the best I could find out of the few I took. It was pretty windy, cold, and taking pictures while belaying is tricky at best. I also did not lead any of the pitches; I was not feeling my best. Regardless, I had a fantastic time on the route.

Ben leading what I believe is the second pitch

One of the final pitches of the route; check out the color of the sky! (Elev: 11,500 feet)

Soon I'll have a trip report of my aborted (but fortunately aborted) attempt to solo-aid the Lost Arrow Spire.

Coffee and offwidth climbing go hand in hand.
Championship Wrestling (5.10a), Joshua Tree Natl Park

Cam Lobe Earrings

I was recently given a haircut from a friend (and what a kick-ass haircut it was). Being a professional hairdresser and all, she required payment, but considering the conditions the haircut were given in, I thought it would be cooler to trade her service for something I could make...

After disassembling an old piece of climbing gear called a Spring-loaded camming device (SLCD), or cam, I went about looking for earring hardware on the East side of the Sierra and came up empty handed...until I found myself in the hardware store (duh). Here is the result.

Lobes removed

One finished earring, 3 lobes, 1/4" threaded aluminum spacer, and cam axle

The goods!

My friend Sarah wearing the earring

I used a 1/4" threaded aluminum spacer, which barely fit into the hole in the cam lobe. I had to gently tap it in with a hammer...and thanks to the malleability of both pieces, the threaded hole did not deform, and the cam lobe did not break. I then placed a small (6-32 x 3/4") machine screw into the threaded hole. The appropriate nut holds the earring in place, much like a threaded barbell.

I risked using both a brass flathead screw (which looks really cool) and a stainless philips screw (which looks a little less cool). The brass ended up being too reactive with Sarah's skin and she can only wear the stainless one. Thankfully in Sarah's other earlobe resides a #3 Black Diamond stopper.

Photos from climbing and foot patrol

I have the opportunity to patrol and protect some of the most beautiful places in the world. Here are some of the pictures from this season:

The view down onto Tenaya Peak (left) and Tenaya Lake (center) from Medlicott Dome


Lots of wildflowers. This is one of my favorites. Any guesses?

Unicorn Peak (left) and Cathedral Peak (right) with their early-season blankets (taken in mid-July)

The Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River

The rare clouds and even rarer storm approaching Tuolumne Meadows.

A good assortment of the Domes and peaks pictured: from L to R, Unicorn, Fairview, Lamb, Mariuolumne, DAFF

A typical trail through the lodgepole forests.

Cloud's Rest (L) and Half Dome (R) in the evening light

The two story composting toilet in Glen Aulin, one of the High Sierra camps

There will be more patrol photos as the season progresses!

My coworker Eric finds a magical door...to where does it lead?

Yosemite 2010: Rope Rescue Training

Building a monster anchor

As the climbing intern here in Yosemite National Park, I am lucky; I have the opportunity to take part in all kinds of cool training. The most recent one was AST-1 (All-risk Support Technician, Type 1) and also Rope rescue training.

Sorting gear for the Rope Rescue portion

This was 4 days of training, the first covering topics like chain of command during a rescue mission, radio communications, and also some case studies, presented by John Dill, YOSAR legend (Yosemite Search and Rescue). The next three were full days of hands-on rope rescue training.

Practicing mechanical advantage haul systems

We spent those three days on top of granite domes in Tuolumne Meadows lowering 2kn loads (1kn roughly equals 225lbs, so two of our team members plus a litter and rope).

A Mono County SAR member playing attendant for one of our LE Rangers, Bekky.

A technical rope rescue has many positions.

• Ops: The Operations command must synchronize the teams' movements so as to reduce the risk of endangering anyone on the team and reduce the chance of further injuring the party that must be rescued.
  
• Mainline: This team is responsible for lowering the attendant with the litter to the injured party. They then either haul or continue lowering the injured party to the ground.
• Belay: The belay is a secondary safety line in case the mainline fails. They must either feed out line or take it in as necessary.
• Edge attendants: This is one of the most difficult positions, as the edge attendants must watch undue abrasion on the rope and also assist the attendant and injured party up past the edge in case of a haul.
• Safety officer: When it comes to double-checking systems, the more brains the better. The safety officer makes sure all anchors are solid and every team member is managing risk properly.
• Litter attendant (or just attendant): Possibly the most difficult position, second to Ops. They must possess a high level of medical training and be able to move the litter efficiently so as to allow the rescue to progress quickly and also to prevent further injuring the patient.
  

Clay as Edge Attendant


Tamsen rocking Ops.

Cheers, y'all. I will try to post more often (and more pictures) but I am pretty darn busy.

Journey Westward - Ill-Wi-SoDa-Col and beyond

From the Last Chance Corral, I drove to Chicago to sleep in one Graham Haviland's new apartment. He lives in a sweet neighborhood, right by the University of Chicago campus, where he currently attends. Chicago in the summer has got to be one of my favorite cities.

Next stop was Madison, Wisconsin, to see my friend Hannah. This may seem repetitious, but Madison is also a beautiful city in the summer. There are two lakes within city limits and sitting down by their shores during the sunset, enjoying the company of good people and good Wisconsin beer, is truly a delight.


Hannah and her BF Jimmy^

I left early the next morning and drove through the plains of Wisconsin and South Dakota to a small town called Murdo, about 130 miles east of the Badlands. This was some of the most beautiful land I had seen so far:


The Missouri River from the Lewis and Clark Historical Museum^



More gorgeous grassland^


The last time I drove across the country and these relief-challenged places, I disliked them for their flatness. Presently my view has changed and I enjoy them for their tranquility.

More western beauty (this time Wyoming):



I stopped in Estes Park, CO to visit Jeanine, a good friend and one of the biggest influences early in my climbing career. I never realized exactly how spectacular this little mountain town was until I saw this:



Jeanine was busy working but she was able to connect me with a friend of hers who took me out climbing on Lumpy Ridge, the north side of the valley that houses the town. Lumpy's spectacular granite (have I mentioned how much I love granite) was just the thing I needed after sitting in a car for the last three days. Wes and I climbed Fat City Crack (5.10c) to Outlander (5.10c), for a total of 5 pitches, each one quality!

Next post: My final destination, the Big Yosemite...

Journey Westward 2010 - Last Chance Corral

I had the honor and pleasure of making my first stop on the way to Yosemite at the Last Chance Corral in Athens, OH. The corral is a cozy 2.6 acres, complete with a handful of barns and the animals to occupy them. I counted over 25 horses (a mixture of foals, mares, and stallions), 2 dogs, 3 cats, and some assorted humans (including myself) residing in close proximity to each other. In fact, the barn that partially houses the foals is also where us people sleep.



They are adorable. All legs, occasionally taking off into a fit of running and bucking, just for the fun of it. They are amazing to watch, as many of them are less than a month old (like this one)

I stayed for two nights, and put in about half a day's work, helping to build some new enclosures, do some cleaning, and feed the foals (that same day, they had received 10 new ones). The owner, Victoria, is a compassionate and capable individual, and her abundant hospitality is only outmatched by her love for horses.

I'm not taking it for granite

I spent most of the month of May in New Hampshire, climbing and graduating from college.

Some of the highlights of the trip:

-Introduced my friend Ana to the glory that is Cathedral Ledge. Here is a picture of her toproping A Room with a View (5.12a):



-Made another attempt at aid-soloing the Mordor Wall. On my previous attempt, I dropped my bathooks on the second pitch traverse, and was unable to continue upwards...this time, I reached the top of the third pitch and realized I was cold, hungry, and scared-just plain not having fun. I bailed for the second time...looks like it will have to wait.

-Graduation. Ceremony was fun but a bit hot. The university president chastised us for being too exuberant. I know there's a certain sense of decorum, but why be a killjoy, Sara Jayne Steen?

On the procession on the way down to the field:


-Came annoyingly close to onsighting Leafspring (5.11+) but slipped off the big jug at the top because I was too pumped. Overall really fun movement; similar to stuffing yourself into an overhanging broom closet that is trying to spit you out. Oh, and the closet is lined with 20-grit sandpaper.

-Made a possible first gear-only ascent of White Zombie, a 5.12d chimney. It took me about 6 tries over the last year to get this clean. A combination of strenuous chimneying and over-the-head handstacks and finger jams makes for a full-body thrashing...it's not the kind of route that you can try more than once in a day. Here's a video so you can get an idea of the madness.

I have spent the last three years in NH and I will miss the time shared in these majestic environments with truly wonderful people. Thank you all!

Tough Mudder - May 2010

As I mentioned a couple months ago, I had the opportunity to participate in the Tough Mudder, the "toughest one-day endurance race on the planet." I have limited experience with endurance races, but I still feel I can safely say that this race was pretty dang tough.

The race consisted of approximately 7 miles of running, with 16 obstacles strewn along its length, clustered mostly at the beginning and end. Among the obstacles were a mud pit:



...and a crawl under annoyingly low wire:



There was also the largest, steepest slip-n-slide I have ever seen...easily 100ft long, on a 45 degree slope! I should not forget to mention that we ran through FIRE right at the finish line. It was the most fun I have had in months! Even the monster hill runs were a blast; granted, they were Type II fun.

As for finishing times, I finished in 1:15, my friend Greg Dorsch finished in 1:03, and my friend Bill Kolaski finished in an amazing :57! Good job, all of you Mudders out there.