Hiking New England

A quick overview of what I have been doing in my free time in July:

Snowy Mtn, July 8th

Elevation: 3,899'

Mileage: 7.4

This was a fun but steep hike that Caitlin picked out, up in the Adirondacks near Indian Lake. It ended up taking us about 5 hrs round trip and raining on us most of the way down. It was also my first hike with Riley by myself (Jason usually takes responsibility for him) so I was pretty impressed that he behaved himself so well. At the top there was an old fire tower that Caitlin braved and I got about 5 flights up before Riley dug his feet in and refused to go higher. Afterwards we gorged on indian food and watched fireworks ... great day!

Escarpment Trail, July 18th
Elevation: 900'
Mileage: 4.5

This one was tricky because we never were actually sure if we were on the escarpment trail. We followed the map to the entrance near North Lake campground and saw every sign except for escarpment. Pretty humid and foggy that day and not much elevation change but it was a good hike. We found wild rasberries and Riley got to do a lot of swimming. We were probably out about 3 hrs.

Black Mtn, July 21

Elevation: 2,646'

Mileage: 5.6

Beautiful day and a pretty easy hike. I liked that the trailhead was only an hour or so from Albany, and I liked seeing Lake George from the top of a mountain rather than surrounded by cheesy miniature golf courses. Our guidebook said there was an optional loop decending down the other side of the summit, so we went along a pretty overgrown, steep trail for 5 or 10 min before deciding to turn back and go down the way we came. The whole hike took us just under 3 hours and we got a special treat of pb&j sandwiches at the top made with our very own local farm share blueberry rhubarb jam. Yummy!

Cascade & Porter Mtn, July 22
Elevation: 4,098' and 4,059'
Mileage: 6.2

We got two 4K footers in this day (out of 46 that exist in the Adirondacks). Sounds impressive but it was the same trail until about 300 feet before the summit. Very muddy trail that started off steep and never really let up. Probably also seemed difficult since we had just hiked the day before ... This was definetely my favorite hike of the summer so far. Beautiful day & I could have sat at the summit for hours. The trailhead was close to Lake Placid so it took us a couple hours to reach it. Also going on that day was an ironman competition so we had some slow going to get there. Even on days we plan to hike we can't get going until afternoon so it was a feat to be up and back before it got dark. This hike took just under 4 hours. Afterward we stopped at the Troy Brewpub for some much needed beer.

Mt Greylock, July 29
Elevation: 3,491'
Mileage: 11

This is the highest mtn in Massachussettes. For some reason I wasn't concerned because the elevation isn't daunting ... having said that, this hike kicked my ass. I think it must have been the humidity, which I would estimate was 100%. I was soaked in my own sweat before we even started climbing. The hike itself was very pretty, though the view from the top was anticlimactic. There is also a road that runs to the top and a resort, so we didn't spend much time there. It was also the first hike we've been on that intersected the AT, which made me think of my friend Kristin who hiked it in '05 and how insane she must be. We did end up doing a loop for this hike, as well as a detour to some falls, which added on quite a bit of time and took us about 6 hours to finish. I was so hungry at the top that the 2 (one each) pb sandwiches barely scratched the surface. We were definitely under prepared for this hike foodwise. On the way back I couldn't resist a swim in money brook which seemed to concern Riley, who is not used to us jumping in the river with him ... all in all a good hike but I was definetely regretting the mileage at soccer the next night!

Raku: Part 1

So this is the outdoor setup for my pottery class. The kiln is off to the far left and is placed outside because we crack it open at 1800 degrees and pull our pieces out to drop into flaming canisters of hay ... The canisters are actually made out of old chimneys, with lids to cut off the flames when the proper level of oxidation is reached. I was surprised to learn that we raku and saggar fire out of the same kiln. For some reason I thought saggar firing was less technical ... The entire firing took place in the two hours we had class. The traditional japanese method of raku is to submerge the piece in water direcly after taking it from the kiln. However, this can cause pieces to crack with the abrupt change of temperature so instead we left them in the chimneys and later sprayed them down with a hose. I brought the only two pieces I had thrown this year that might be considered non-functional, using the B-mix 5 clay I've been working with, although after this I will use the stoneware made in class. For my first piece I chose a matte glaze called copper sand and learned the hard way that the longer it stays in the kiln after opening the more blue it begins to turn ...

I also wanted to try out the glaze I helped make in class, called crackle clear. I didn't have many pieces already bisqued to experiment on so I used an old bowl that had cracked through the bottom and had to be cut away. I really like how this glaze ended up and will be using it on some more quality pieces in the future, provided I can throw some quality pieces ... I thought maybe I could put a mirror in the bottom of it and hang it on the wall.

To glaze these I used the spray booth at the studio and just sprayed a consistent coat. I guess as I learn how the glazes react I can get a little more experimental. Some of the other students work came out so beautiful that I wish we also glazed together as a class so I could re-create the effect ...

World Refugee Day

Yesterday was world refugee day. I probably would have never known this except a friend of ours, Sara, worked for USCRI - the US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants here in Albany, and came up from NYC for the event. It was held in Washington Park and consisted of refugees, some in native dress, dancing, food & soccer. Many of the refugees are familiar faces to me because they work at AMC, some of them in the cafe. Jason knows many more than me because he helps place them in jobs. He was something of a local celebrity at the park, and it was fun, everyone introducing us to their children and just meeting some of them on a more personal level.

One of the girls we play soccer with, Caitlin, came to the park for a pickup game with the refugees ... and she started telling me how she works with women dealing with domestic violence, helping them through the court process. And at some point it made me stop and reflect, hanging out with these two women who have these very important, amazing jobs and are so passionate about what they do. It made me sort of upset at myself because I remember a time, not that far gone, when I used to be filled with the same passion and idealism, when I used to feel like I would go out and save the world. And I wonder how I got so complacent, at what point that ceased to be a priority for me. Their jobs are a fundamental part of their life, their whole focus is wrapped up in what they do, while I can't stand to think about my job outside of work. What is wrong with this picture? Their jobs are all about helping people deal with life & get through life, while I deal with these same people - refugees, DM victims - and my job is to discipline them when they can't make it to work, to terminate them if the obstacles in their lives prevent them from being productive cogs in the machine. It was a real jolt of perspective ...

By the same token it is heartwarming to see people so invested in improving the lives of others. Sara has touched the lives of almost every refugee present yesterday. They still come up to her, one year later, and thank her for helping them. She still remembers each of their names, and now their children's names.

Solo

Jason completed his first solo flight yesterday, .6 hrs!

Leafy Greens

So this is what our farm share looks like. Talk about a lot of food! I was told that the share was structured to be enought for a family of four ... This week I went over to the Friends Meeting House, which is a Quaker center and also distribution center for our farm. Around back they had several crates of different vegetables with instructions on how much of each to take. The one problem was the crates weren't labeled and aside from the obvious veggies I wasn't sure what was what. I guess part of this experience is learning to identify more than the three or four veggies I am used to eating on a regular basis.

In June they said to expect mostly leafy greens, and that is exactly what we got ... so to break it down we received lettuce, chinese cabbage, swiss chard, broccoli, celeriac, scallions, and radishes. We have sauted the swiss chard a couple of times already, once with onions & garlic over pasta, and once with scallions, cheese and eggs in a souffle suggested by our farm guru. Both were pretty good ... you can actually experience the freshness as a a taste element that is missing in most produce i've had lately. The celeriac has me stumped. Supposedly it is one of the most versatile vegetables grown and can be used for anything from coleslaw to soup stock. I'll have to go online & get some recipes ...