August 1st PItchstone Plateau

Steve mentioned at breakfast that he would be more inclined to drive to the other end rather than try to find the trail and clamber over dead fall. We might get the same number of miles im but it would be more like 1.3 to get put and then 5.5 with our backpacks on versus the 11.1. Then we could day hike and explore the plateau in more comfort.
However.  The path was hot. H. O. T. And when we got to the campsite, there was a dark cloud and eventually thunder. So we all got in our tents and hung out for a couple of hours. It was actually quite lovely. Then we did get up on the plateau. It was basically low key bushwhacking which is not a favorite of mine. Then back to camp for dinner and popping into the tent because, even with the breezes and fewer trees, the mosquitoes weren't pleasant

PItchstone Plateau July 31st

Another 8ish mile day. Steve, Heidi, and Robin all wanted to go to Union Falls which would be a 13 mile round-trip hike with the last mile or so being like "walking through sand." No thank you. Karen and I decided to scout out the path for tomorrow instead. And it ended up being a good thing because it was not well marked nor well cleared for the first few miles. It looks like there were some fires maybe 10ish years ago and thr trail markers hadn't been replaced. There were a lot of times we would just sort of walk around until we found a cut log signaling that it had been a cleared path at some point. We just went to the second stream crossing but it was enough. The way back was remarkably easier to see and what too about 1 1/2 hours to get to took about an hour to get back.
We hung out at camp for awhile, filtered some water, but the mosquitoes were once again hideous so we decided to head back toward Cascade Acres to hang out and see if we could find a part off Heidi's Camelback. The part was found and we lazed. Karen got in the water for awhile. I just dunked my shirt and then read on the beach.
We got to see three otters playing and then headed back to our campsite that Heidi said is about elevation 7,021. The mosquitoes were disgusting once again so I was in the tent by 8.

Pitchstone Plateau July 30th

The morning drive was spectacular but foggy. It hasn't been cool at night lately so it was thick in many places.
Heidi and I were early so we tootled down to the South Entrance and back up to the Pitchstone Plateau trailhead. Luckily, Steve was there to meet us even though it was more than an hour early. So we dropped the truck off and went to find the other end of our hike. It took some doing because it was supposed to start behind the corrals and we only barely saw the trail markers. So we parked Steve's truck and set out across the swamp to the markers.  We got there and there was a lot of dead fall.  A lot. A Lot. Steve and Heidi quickly made the decision not to go any further because it would be about 6 or 7 miles before we got to the connecting trail that should be better. Then came the dilemma of how to let Robin and Karen know since there is no cell service. We ended up finding a pull out where we waited about 45 minutes  and flagged them down.  We made the decision to head in via Grassy Lake Road which would cut off a big part of our in hike but would probably mean that we would have time to take a side trip (without backpacks!) to a nearby falls.
We made it to the parking lot and ate lunch then headed off. Less than 2 miles later, we were at our campsite. Surprise! That definitely left enough time for a side trip so off we went. After deciding to go slightly NE to see if we could find the falls that way, it was turning into a lot of bushwhacking so we turned around and did the stream crossing. Well, two of them. Sort of an uphill hike to get to Cascade Acres but well worth the 6 miles we ended up hiking total.
Back to 9F2 which was hideous.  Late July and it was wet so the mosquitoes were out in force. There was a cloud that followed anyone outside a tent. Even duplicate rounds of Off barely kept them away. I went to bed early but didn't end up sleeping well. Kept waking up for no reason.

Winery visit with the ladies

Foley Sonoma
Pedro
American Viticulture Area-AVA
Dry wines
The hotter the Climate the beter the bordeaux is going to do
Good grapes=Good wine
1st sip shucks your palate
2nd sip coats the palate
3rd sip, you're absorbing the full flavor

If a label has "estate," all of the grapes are from that land

To test acidity in the wine, sip or taste the wine and then let it out (not spitting) and see how much saliva comes out

Tanins come from the skin and the seed of the grape
Tanins may also come from the barrels

2018 Rose- pinot grape from Russian River Valley Coolest AVA in Sonoma County
Completely direct to consumer- not in any stores
only wine that is not locally sourced
New vs neutral- brand new barrel vs. One that has flavor from previous tastings
1 star
2016  chardonnay-4 stars
2016 Pinot Noir
Bigger style
3 stars
2015 Malbec
97% Malbec 3% Tannat
Tannat - found in Uruguay, derived from "tanin", Light flavor cuts through the fat of a heavier diet
2014 Cabernet Savignon
Three blocks of cab at this winery
Two stars
2014 Merlot
100% merlot
40% new oak compared to 30% in the other varietals

Alexander Valley
14 different grapes
Cabernet is the smallest, thickest skin grape- why it has more tanins

Syrahs are like biting into a dark fruit while Zins are have BlackBerry notes

2018 dry Rose of Sangiovese- 3 stars
2017 Estate Chardonnay-4 stars
Temptation Zin-5 stars

Cyrus Alexander-Alexander valley named after him
He was originally a furrier.  Went even further west and helped establish the land around here
He married a 14 when he was 39
Bought by the Wetzels in the 60s, this has been in that family ever since
The jiffy pop is filled with liquid glycol so they can control the temp.
Tim is your guide
Denise did tasting
Pumass
they farm sustainable; use the leftover as fertilizer
First line provided are those killer insect like lady bugs, lace wings
Fifth largest wine cave in California
0 footprint to dig out the cave because it does not require any heating or cooling
French oak is a thousand to fifteen hundred where American oak is five hundred per barrel
Barrels are charred to light, medium,
Cali the dog, wrie haired Griffon
The cave was done in 3 phases
Total capacity is 10k barrels
The loss of wine is called the angels' share
Barrels are barcoded
There is a small graveyard on the property of the Cyrus and Wetzel families

River time Summer 2017

6/18/2017 (Trudy, Maria, LAW) Madison party float 2 hours

6/24/2017 (Trudy,LAW) Point of Rocks to Emigrant 2 hours

6/25/2017 (Trudy, LAW) Emigrant to Mallards 2 hours

7/1/2017 Mallard's Rest to Carter's Bridge (Trudy, LAW, Bridgette) Lots of waves, dumped three times 2 1/2 or 3 hours

7/2/2017 Point of Rocks to Emigrant 1 50 minutes

7/8 Point of Rocks to Emigrant 2 hours

7/9 Carbella to Emigrant 3 hours 13 minutes (some paddling, stopped for rain)

7/13 Rest stop to Emigrant 1 1/2 hours no head wind, little paddling (Trudy)

7/15 Bird float 2 hours some paddling, light headwinds 

7/20 Carbella to PoR (Trudy)- 37 minutes, light tail winds, little paddling 6,600 cfs 

7/21 Carbella to Emigrant (Trudy and LAW) - 3 hours 15 minutes, light head wind 6,500 cfs

7/22 Carbella to No Name (Trudy and LAW) -- 3 hours, light rail wind, mostly paddlingn, stop on the beach for 45 minutes

7/28 (Trudy) 2 1/2 hours no wind Point of Rocks to Emigrant

7/29 (Trudy) Carbella to no name, pretty good tail wind last five miles, 1 hour 33 minutes, 30 minutes sitting, rest was pretty good paddling

8/5 )LAW) Hell of a head wind, 10 minute stop on a beach, 1 1/2 Brogan's to Joe Brogan, dumped once (6.3 miles)

8/12  Emigrant to Yellowstone Valley Lodge 2 hours 10 minutes, light head wind, some upriver paddling

8/13 brogan's to Yankee Jim Trudy and LAW

8/19 McConnell to Yankee Jim (LAW) tiny tail wind, 2 hours 20 minutesb

8/20 Snake River (Maria Bisso, Moe Cairn, Jackie) - Dam to Pacific AC - 3 hoursish, stopped at the Oxbow for a long stretch

8/21 Snake River (Maria Bisso, Trudy, Jessica the traveling nurse from Chicago) -- 8 hours 55 minutes - watched the eclipse on the Oxbow

8/22 Jenny Lake

8/26

8/27

9/2

9/3

9/9

Holiday Collage

The holiday symphony this year was absolutely fabulous. It was a mixture of songs that moved seamlessly from one to the other. It included playing with the lights so that different areas were spotlighted or uplit. The group was fantastic and you could tell that a lot of them were having fun.

Gardiner Christmas Stroll

Tonight was the Gardiner Christmas Stroll but I was sort of just over being social. I went anyway. And had a lot of fun. It's a small town so on nights like last night, you get to see almost everyone in town, all at one time. With lovely food and free wine, friendly people and lots to see, what's not to enjoy?