Hiking to the sun

The gloom of fog shrouding the valley with its cold and clammy fingers prodding and poking into bodies as they hurried down paths leading to errands and places. Being a sun loving tropical kind of person I was missing seeing the big shiny orb in the sky and to some extent was starting to go though withdrawal... I needed a fix... and as far as I knew, short of driving to Tollgate the other place I could access the sun would be up Blacksnake ridge. Convincing a buddy of mine to go on a hike I headed out for the sun. The fog was thick going up the steep and narrow road and often we could not see for more than 20 feet in front of the car. But we made it to where the car could not go any further without damage to the underside and hiked from there. 

As we climbed though the cold of the mist still hung around us we were greeted by the scent of pine and fir needles wafting through the air. This sweet smell drove us on with renewed energy to reach higher up the ridge.

And sun, the faint rays poking holes through the mist was our reward. Enjoying the sun for about 20 minuets when it started to drop below the tree line we sighed a satisfied sigh and began the trudge back to the depths of the gloom and back home. But sun we had if only for a moment and that small glimmer recharged us for a while.

Frost and fishing

Another weekend has come and gone, and with each passing day the air gets colder as the march of winter comes close. Determined to get a few more days of fishing in before I must hang up my waders for the winter I set out to once again ply the waters of the Walla Walla river and discover what bounties of aquatic delights awaited me. 

Arriving at the parking lot to the area I spent a few minuets chatting with some of the locals who had bagged themselves a couple birds. We chatted about our fortune of having such an ideal accessible area so close to where we lived and the fortune it provided through the seasons. 

A few minuets later donning my gear I sally forth into the thicket that encompasses the river. I have on previous occasions traveled down stream so today I decided to explore upstream. During the last couple weeks heavy rains, well heavy for this end of the state, caused a rise in the river level and with it caused the bed of the river to be scoured in some places and the substrate to be deposited in others. But as this was relatively new area to me while I could see the effect of the rushing water the holes and lies of the trout were yet to be explored. 

I did not find the monster that broke me off when I was last here but my day was not a complete bust. One thing that I enjoy about the trout in these small streams are that they fight like they have something to prove and that no lure is a match for them. It may also be the case that being a smaller stream they need to be more opportunistic in their diet and feed on whatever may come their way.

After catching and releasing a couple my eye was drawn to the frosty leaves along the high water mark. Though clumped together, cottonwood and aspen leaves formed a intricate pattern with the crystals of ice heralding the end of Fall and the near arrival of winter.

Sitting at home feeling mellow

The weekend is here and for the most part well looked forward to. Its been a busy week and while there are many things that got accomplished there are a number that didn't. I guess this is true of all weeks. But, now the weekend is here. Do I stay active all weekend working on projects, exploring interesting places, catching up on all the fun things that I had to put off during the week or is this the weekend for relaxing, sleeping and the general veg-out? 

At this point though I am leaning more to the side of the latter I feel the need to be doing the former. For the last hour I have been reading the general blogs and sites that I try to follow and there have been a couple things that have caught my eye.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/uv/?site_no=14018500&PARAmeter_cd=00060,00065

Looking at the most recent results the Walla Walla river might be in good shape tomorrow... Low and clear, however the wether report points it out to be a windy day with sunday being similar with less wind... I might have to put it off for a day or so. 

On the blog Canon Rumors the latest post talks about Canon holding off coming up with a new body till late 2009 while Nikon is planing on a body to be shown in a couple weeks or so... I don't know if I really believe that Canon will sit that long. While I believe the turn the economy has taken makes it harder for new equipment to be sold as everyone is penny-pinching, will the camera giant be allowed to be shown up for too long without coming back with a one up of their own. 

Looking back at the recent scuffle with video on a still body, Nikon was first to market, but Canon one-upped them with more impressive features. At the same time Canon did this to the mid range cameras which means it is either going to one-up them selves with even more features in the flagship model or not have this feature in the flagship model and really concentrate on making it a studio/ high image quality camera. Also with the latest breakthrough (now a couple weeks old) in reducing the space between the micro-lenses and developments of new forms of substrate such as black silicone the future looks interesting. Going back to the post that got me thinking about this, in the winter/spring (March) the photographic industry will be converging on Vegas for PMA 09, an ideal location me thinks for a one upping... 

Well we are going to have to be patient about it... but being as I am in a vegetative mood... I guess I can wait.

Just the words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... well I guess that would be true if I had the chance to get the picture. Since I had about an hour and a half of free time this morning between classes and work I decided to be productive and go fishing... 

I headed down to the Walla Walla and spent about half an hour walking along the bank when I spotted a splash and the back of a monster trout. Quickly switching flies to one that I though would entice it I cast up stream and tried to get a natural as possible drift to the fish. Being a novice it took more times than I wish to confess to but in the end I was rewarded with a slash and a grab and the game was on. At first the fish was not fighting too hard as the river at that point was not very deep nor wide so it did not have much room to run and I was able to bring it towards me quite quickly. That was my first mistake.

Being that this was a beautiful steely that was glowing with color and if I had to guess several pounds... it was about 18 or 20 inches easy and definitely thicker than my shoe to which it got about 3 feet away from... well I guess my shoe was not to its liking and my 3wt, which was the second mistake, was not the beefiest rod... it did a flip, splash, slip and was off down stream, reel screaming for a couple seconds before the line managed to wrap its self around a snag and with a twang give back the fish its freedom. Man I was so close.... Next time I need to take the 6wt and someone else to carry the camera. That way I can just show you the picture and not have to worry about the thousand words, which in retrospect would not have done that picture justice anyway had I got it.

A day and today...

Well it is officially thursday which means a day and today till the weekend. Its been a busy week as all weeks around here tend to be. The weather has been on the wet side with gusts of wind bringing rain one moment and blowing it away the next. As it is the end of fall the rain is hastening the dropping of leaves creating giant piles which are tempting to go jumping in except for the fact that the whole pile is like a sponge soaking up the rain and would make for a wet landing. Not quite the idyllic situation. 

I hope the weather starts to get dryer as the forecast is predicting. It might be a good weekend to go dunk a fly with the hopes of pulling it back out of the water with a fish attached to it. But a day and today to get through till then.

Back at home

Well the adventure over I am back at home. It was not exactly what I had planned but not all things happen as we expect. Anyway I did get to go fishing today and saw the sun so overall it was a good day. As an added bonus I got to see Dalls Sheep in the Yakima canyon.  Pictures from this weekend.

Off on another adventure...

Well I am out the door and looking forward to another adventure. I will be going fishing in the morning with a fellow fly fisherman that I met online via a fly fishing forum so it will be a great opportunity to met someone new as well. 

Went on a lovely walk this afternoon with some friends and it was cloudy and cold, but the kind that makes you want to be out and just enjoy the mist as it faintly swirls around you. When a warm jacket is like a long hug. And the colors of the fall though past its prime still lingers in the limbs and on the ground covering the trail in a golden carpet. 

But, I must move on. More later...

Energy from the sun and other clean energy

As a graduate with a degree in Environmental Science I am always interested in seeing what new technological advances are made that would create clean energy. While browsing though the articles I came across a couple that caught my attention.

Sun + Water = Fuel

This article in the MIT tech review caught my attention as the concept of plants capturing energy from the sun to perform such feats as to grow for hundreds of feet or like varieties of bamboo a foot per day where you can almost watch it grow... How can such a humble organism with its fragile proteins and enzymes do what keeps scientist scratching their heads. Well looks like we have finally caught up. This discovery combined with another recent discovery for black silicone might bring about a new revolution in clean energy. Interesting times.

On another note, Walla Walla is surrounded by hills where wind farms are common. I have on occasion had the opportunity to go close to these giants and watch as the sometimes 50 ft blades swing round with a commanding swish. Another new discovery that may make this form of energy more efficient is right now being tested up in Canada at a wind farm. 

Laser Sensors for Wind turbines

Maybe one day soon all these new devises will go into production and we can gain the benefits. 

Lugging the camera

I have made it a habit this week to carry my camera around with me as I go about my day. While this has allowed me to use those free minuets to capture interesting compositions of fall and the colors around me it also serves to remind me to pay attention to the details. In a previous post I made mention of a dream lens. A 28 - 135 mm f/2.8 with internal focusing. 

Image stabilization would be a nice touch too; however, one can't expect everything. I have been walking around with the Canon 100 mm f/2.8 lens. While this is a very nice lens that is fast as well as sharp I cant but daydream of the possibilities of the perfect lens that would have this and more. Sharpness, large aperture, zoom and most important an affordable price tag. I'll post some images from this week later when I have time to edit the stack down. But for now I think I will continue to carry the equipment I have and continue to look at the world and notice the details.

A blustery day in the Valley

Election day and as the presidential race has been called all the pundits and commentators are on the air gloating about having called the results or defending their statements. In the valley it was a cold windy day and I must give props to anyone who braved it to vote. Way to make you voice heard regardless if your candidate won or not. 

I on the other hand decided to be proactive as well but regarding lugging my camera and using those otherwise wasted moments to and from places to make some images. I think I will be doing that more often. 

Objects

Over the past several weeks I have noticed that I am shooting less primarily due the my busy schedule. Today was no different but for the fact that I happened to have my camera on me and when the opportunity of two spare minuets showed its self I was quite happy to go trigger happy. I cant say that all or even many of the images that I took are worth or deserving a second glance but one did stand out as a favorite.

I guess on the whole it pays to have the camera with me and I think I will be doing it more.

Fun Weekend

I had the opportunity to visit a friend up in Pullman this weekend and had a blast over there. She had invited several of her friends over, and being the night of halloween, came in dress and disguise. 

Pirate, Witch and Jester among others rounded up the more traditional costumes but we also had the unique and the voluptuous and the nitrogen fixing bacteria that came attached to quite a nice legume. The night wore on with conversation, laughter and puppets that terrorized. 

More pictures of the night.