RooDee

This should help you decide who should be president.

Immoral Republicans

Republican Senator David Vitter was subpoenaed for his use of prostitutes.

Mike Gravel

I hope these candidate endorsements help you make informed decisions about the candidates.

Tab Benoit

My Bucket Got A Hole In It

CRW_6352 graham don quixote brandwood, originally uploaded by bennettphoto.

I hiked with Don Quixote In "06 on the AT. Don was fun to talk with incredibly bright and awry sense of humor. He is an Englishman, not British.I remember on the 4th of July he told me" It's not to late to come back to the commonwealth. All is forgiven. "

Immoral Republicans

Here is a great link to all the recent Republicans immoral sex. As Melissa says, there are two kinds of republican sex and they are both illegal.

Hang Drum At Pinnacle

This video was taken at the Pinnacle in PA on the Appalachian Trail.

Beer Goggles

Ezra and Matt are having some fun with beer goggles. Part of the report reminded me of a joke I told to Charlie Foxtrot(his polite name). Charlie is a British chap, I hiked with in '06 on the AT.

drinkers were more likely to rate someone of the opposite sex as attractive.

"Charlie you British chaps are alright . You drink enough beer and you will sleep with women."

Iran Not A Threat

Real experts on the Middle East do not seem to think Iran is a threat to the US. This article by McClatchy Papers is pretty good. It seems Rudy Giuliani's campaign adviser, Norman Podhoretz is the biggest hawk in the article. Podhoretz is a true radical. He has been wrong about the Soviet Union, Iraq and now Iran.

Would I like Iran to have a nuclear bomb? No," said Robert Jervis , a Columbia University professor of international politics who has written widely on nuclear deterrence. But, "the fears (voiced) by the administration and a fair number of sensible people as well, just are exaggerated. The idea that this will really make a big difference, I think is foolish."

Even some commentators in Israel , whose leaders see themselves in Iran's crosshairs, present a more nuanced view of the potential threat than the White House does.

Go read the whole thing.

Twins

I remember reading about twins and yams in Africa a while ago. I believe it was in a cookbook. Probably not your best source for scientific info. So, it is nice to see an article about it.

But West Africa bucks that trend, particularly with a much higher incidence of fraternal, or non-identical twins than in Europe or Japan. That is especially true, experts say, amongst Nigeria's Yoruba community which is largely concentrated in the southwestern part of the country where Igbo-Ora is located.

Overall, almost 5 percent of all Yoruba births produce twins, the Belgian study said, compared with just around 1.2 percent for Western Europe and 0.8 percent for Japan -- although fertility drugs in the developed world are changing those figures.

Important New Invention

A device to cool beer in seconds. It would be great for backpacking.

And the portable gadget, which has a cooling capacity almost four times that of regular ice with the advantage that it doesn't water down your drink, could spell the end of lugging a heavy chilly bin to the beach.

Hiker Rescue

This is a great video of a hiker being rescued by helicopter. I'm sure she did not care about the cost after a night in the cold.
When I was on the PCT, the Germinator was rescued by a helicopter. The first thing the rescue officer said was there would be no charge for the helicopter. The first thing the Germanator said was he would walk because he did not want to pay for the helicopter.
Update: Nacona's journal of the day the Germanator was rescued.

Vote Libertarian

Ron Paul Girl - Watch today’s top amazing videos here
This is the most sophisticated argument I have seen lately to vote libertarian.

WAR IS BAD!

Gloom and Doom

I think of the plague as something from mid evil times but, an Arizona biologist likely died from the plague.

A wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park most likely died from the plague contracted while performing a necropsy on a mountain lion that later tested positive for the disease, officials said Friday.

Yellowstone may blow.

A big blob of molten rock appears to be pushing up remnants of an ancient volcano in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, scientists reported on Friday.

Things are not going well in Afghanistan or Iraq this year.

The six deaths brings the number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan this year to at least 101, according to an Associated Press count, surpassing the 93 troops killed in 2005. About 87 died last year. The toll echoes the situation in Iraq, where U.S. military deaths this year surpassed 850, also a record.

We are having a hard time keeping our children alive.

The United States ranks near the bottom for infant survival rates among modernized nations.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Andrew Skurka on completing the Great Western Loop. A journey of 6,875 miles. A pretty good article in the Arizona Republic. It is nice to see a hiker getting some sponsorship even if it is from Go Lite. The folks at Go Lite once told Tuna "If you Go Lite you can hike more miles and get back to work faster." No one is in a hurry to get back to work.

It took me five and a half months just to do the Pacific Crest Trail part of The Great Western Loop. I'm Amazed by people that can do thirty plus mile days for months on end.

Immoral Republicans

The immoral Republicans hate children. How else can you explain this:

The nation’s top official for consumer product safety has asked Congress in recent days to reject legislation intended to strengthen the agency, which polices thousands of consumer goods, from toys to tools.

This summer I remember reports of lead paint in children's toys,nasty stuff in toothpaste. Now this:

WASHINGTON - Millions of Chinese-made toys for children have been pulled from shelves in North America and Australia after scientists found they contain a chemical that converts into a powerful "date-rape" drug when ingested.

They just do not want anything to get in the way of there corporate profits. Children's health is just not important to Republicans. Go read the first article. Guess how many inspectors there are for all those Chinese toys and everybody else's toys. Or you can find out at the end of this video

Hiker Found Dead

A hiker was found on the Ozark Highlands Trail on Monday. No signs of foul play.

Adelsberger was found lying atop a sleeping bag and under a tarp suspended between trees.

My condolences to his family.

Tell It Keith


Go Watch!

Food Fight

The New York Times has a good opinion piece about the upcoming farm bill. It is written by Michael Pollan the author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and the forthcoming "In Defence Of Food: An Eaters Manifesto." It talks about the huge subsidies for commodities farmers and

or the first time, about $2 billion to support “specialty crops” — farm-bill-speak for the kind of food people actually eat.

Man do we have our priorities wrong in this country. Coke is the same price as water because of the subsidies.

Massive Beef Recalls

My buddy Pete wont eat ground beef. I can not say that I blame him. This past weekend there was a million pound beef recall from Cargill. This was just the most recent for them.

On Oct. 6, Cargill voluntarily recalled more than 840,000 pounds of ground beef patties distributed at Sam's Club stores

This is just small potatoes compared to the Topps recall in September

Topps Meat Co. has issued a nationwide recall for 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products following

Chef Finds Out That

He is an illeist. (one who refers to himself in the third person.) Over at Freakonomics, They have a cool post about Wordsmith. Wordsmith also has an internet anagram server, where you can find anagrams for cheflovesbeer, like: bee chefs lover or for eve belches.

Beer increase on tap?

I have seen a few articles about this lately it appears that there is or will be a shortage of hops. What kind of hops it does not say.

n 1994 there were 234,000 acres in the world, last year there were 113,000, this year there's 118,000 - that should say it right there," said Olson.

It seem from the article that hops production is up from last year.

The only thing we've had to change is now we have to secure an annual inventory," rather than just phoning suppliers when necessary, he said. "A lot's changed on the logistic front on how we're looking to get hops in the future

Maybe this will be a good thing if small breweries start working with small organic farms to ensure a supply of hops.

Mississippi God Damn

I did not hear of Nina Simone until after she passed on.But dig it.She is awesome.

Lion King

Lion King is hiking the American discovery Trail this year. My guess is he will still be hiking it next year. The American Discovery Trail stretches across more than 6,800 miles and 15 states, it has two routes. Lion King is taking the southern route.He is just about finished hiking through IN.
I first met Lion King in 1998 while I was hiking south and he was going north. He is a very memorable character . I most recently saw him at this years ALDHA gathering. He made a pretty good movie about the Appalachian Trail, Walking with Freedom.

Diet Coke and Mentos

How do people come up with this stuff?

Cephas and Wiggins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33RNw_kEf-s

Good

It seems the nasty Fred Phelps is going to have to pay.

Fucking Asshole
Chris Mathews

More Tools

Chris Mathews keeps bringing up UFOs. He is clearly a Republican tool. Heck, I have seen UFOs. Who has not? Look into the night sky. You will see stuff, that you can not identify. That does not mean you believe in extra terrestrial beings. He Should grow up.

TOOLS

Andrea Mitchel looks like a heroin addict. She does not look well. Hey, I spent most of my life in the city. I have seen too many heroin addicts.

More Tools

Not one possitve thing has been said by the republican tools on MSNBC. Not one tool has said who won. OK now the tools have started.

WE ARE NOT

Heck that is just wrong. The the Republicans are not helping the American people. The Democratic contenders should say that. It is not the Democratic contenders.

Republican tools

Every question I saw tonight put the democratic contender on the defensive. It says to me that Russert and Williams are working for a Republican majority. NBC is a partisan Republican tool. I have not watched the Republican debates. I think I will now to see how they ask questions. I suspect that the talking heads will not be as tough.

You Know You Are A Geek When?
When you are watching the Senate Agriculture,Nutrition,&Forestry Committee.

Full Moon!

Books I have read
Crota Owl Goingback
There's Something in The Back Yard Richard Snodgrass
The Staratagies of Zues Gary Hart
Tom Clancy THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, DEBT OF HONOR, THE CARDINAL OF THE CREMLIN, PATRIOT GAMES, RED STORM RISING, THE TEETH OF THE TIGER, CLEAR AND PREASANT DANGER, WITHOUT REMORSE
Michael Chricton, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, THE TERMANAL MAN,THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
Robert Fulghum, SOME OBSERVATIONS FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR, IT WAS ON FIRE WHEN I LAY DOWN ON IT, ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARDEN
Aldous huxley, BRAVE NEW WORLD
John Irving, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP
Herman Wouk, THE HOPE
James A Michener, THE SOURSE
William W Johnstone, PURSUIT OF THE MOUNTAIN MAN
Kenneth Roberts, NORTHWEST PASSAGE
Ruth Beebe Hill, HANTA YO

how do you embed?

Bloggered
Blogger ate my post. I do not feel like rewriting my post. So a short version of why Chef is an extreme athlete. Lions, ticks, and bears! OH MY! Seriously thru-hiking is an extreme sport. Think about some of the things we have to do on the Pacific Crest Trail. You start out at the Mexico U.S. border. Watch out for the "aliens "a border patrolman said. So you start in a desert Dodging illegal aliens and then you have to deal with rain, sleet, snow, hail, fog, rain, wind(don't laugh, It is hard to stand in 60 mph winds), cliffs, high snow covered pass(as high as 13,199 ft), glaciers, deserts, fording rivers full of spring runoff, spiders, ticks, scorpians, rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and bears.

Extreme Athlete
Am I an extreme athlete? I have been jokingly asking myself that question. In Twin Lakes Resort a man walked up to me and said "I'm an extreme athlete too." Now I thought that was pretty funy, but I needed a ride. I remember a couple of days later argueing with Eagle whether or not we were indeed extreme athletes. It was pretty houmorous if I recall correctly. A couple of chuby kids dreaming about ESPN's Extreme Games.

Here is my arguement that I am an extreme athlete. I participate in the sport of backpacking or hiking. Todays top two headlines.

No charges in wilderness survival-school death
California hiker mauled by mountain lion leaves hospital

How many sports have their participants Mauled by Lions? It is not even hiking season and we have death and a lion attack. I walk through places like this. I know some one that was attacked by a bear, was only a few miles away when it happened. Rattlesnakes, deserts, glaciers, snow covered passes, cliffs, fording rivers, lions, bears, scorpions, ticks, snow, sleet, rain, fog, hail, spiders, giardia, high altitude pulmenary edema, are some of the things that you have to deal with on a Pacific Crest Trail thru hike. Some pretty extreme stuff.

Anheuser-Bush Too Push Asian Beer
It seems that A-B will try and cash in on the microbrew import craze with Harbin Lager.

With increasing demand amongst American consumers for non-domestic beer, A-B's interest in Chinese beer is significant.

I love how the market is not imports but non-domestic. It really drives me nuts when microbrews are not domestic beers. I do not really see a huge demand here for it, but if it gets shelfspace in enough coolers some will sell.

Sunday Random Fifteen
Uncle John's Band-The Greatful Dead
Hard Time Killing Floor-Buddy Guy
Naked As We Come-Iron And Wine
Back Around-Bonnie Raitt
Our Shangri la-Mark Knoffler
God Only Knows-Jonatha Brook
N'oubliez Jamais-Joe Cocker
Everything But You-Peter Keane
Cows With Guns-Dana Lyons
I'm A Blues Man-Johny Winter
Goin' Home-Pure Prairie League
How Sweet It Is-Joan Osbourne
Sweet Child Of Mine-Poor Man's Whiskey
The Spoken Wheel-Flogging Molley
Don't Call Us We'll Call You-Taj Mahal
Station Blues- North Mississippi Allstars

Guinness Goes Red

It appears that Guinness is trying something new.

Yes thats right red Guinness.

Happy Birthday!

Lilly
Tate

Happy Birthday
12/15 Connie
12/15 Numbrrs
12/16 John Prez
12/17 Dan Boehl
12/18 Hollis

This might take a while

I am having trouble getting the comments to work. I googled cheflovesbeer.blogspot.com and there is no such document. However comments I have left come up with the right words.

Comments

Comments

A Picture

Thanksgiving at my friend Dave's farm. Believe it or not, this is before I got really dirty. Dig it!

Try again

I am not sure how blogger works anymore.

Here you go Dan

Try this link for some pictures of the tribe. Try here for backpacking pictures. Make sure you hit on the picture of Chef.

The link below discusses the inturnment of the Japanese in WWII. It seems that some of our politicians do not care to remember history. I will try to come back to this.

I am not sure what to say about this.

ROADLESS RULES

You can still make a difference ! Just because the evil George W Bush was reelected is no reason to give up hope. We need to keep the Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule is balanced policy that was finalized after years of scientific study, a record number of comments,and 600 public hearings. It is a vital tool for protecting 58.5 millionacres of our National Forests from harmfuland costly roadbuilding and commercil logging. Please write to Forest sevice Chief Bosworth At this address:
Contact analysis Team
Attn:Roadless Petitions
USDA Forest Service
PO Box 221090
Salt Lake City UT 84122
For more info check out ourforest.org

I am done

I finnished the trail in Stehekin WA on the16th of October. The weather was getting rough and Chef was tired.

Chef is getting close to Canada

I am only about 180 miles from the end.

The Sierras

The Sierras are amazing. At one point on the PCT Idid not go below 10,000 feet for about seventy miles. It seams like every day we climb a pass. Then we follow a steam down to a fork and climb a stream to the next pass. After Muir Pass we got about Four hours of frozen stuff coming out of the sky. It was unpleasant but we made good miles.

There is still some snow in the passes. It can be hard to find the trail because of the snow. The snow can be scarry. At times a fall would be dangerous but hopefully not fatal. The snow can also be fun. I slid down Mule pass yesterday on my but. The hikers at the bottom said it was too early to have that much fun. They were wrong.

Forrester Pass

Forrester pass was awesome. The ten miles leading up to the pass were spectacular. The trail was above 10,000 feet the whole time with views of mountains 12-14,000 ft. on either side of the trail. It is the most amazing piece of trail I have ever seen. After going through the pass you enter Kings Canyon and it is more beautiful than the other side if possible. We had perfect weather for the climb. CAVU is the term for it. clrear above visability unlimited. God I love the Sierras

Lone Pine

I made it to Lone Pine. 739 miles. It is under 2000 miles to Canada now.I am in the High Sierras. The views are amazing! I will hit the high point on the trail in a couple of days. Forrester pass 13,100 feet!

Hiking Partners

I have been hiking with K-too, Crow, and Jenny. We have not come up with a name for our group yet or for Jenny. I am leaning towards the name Hair Bear Bunch, but we are not really hairry enough. I hate writing about people because I dont want to offend people.

Check out the journals for Crow and Jenny. That should tell you enough about them. K-too is a white male about fifty from New England.

Hiking Partners

I have been hiking with K-too, Crow, and Jenny. We have not come up with a name for our group yet or for Jenny. I am leaning towards the name Hair Bear Bunch, but we are not really hairry enough. I hate writing about people because I dont want to offend people.

Check out the journals for Crow and Jenny. That should tell you enough about them. K-too is a white male about fifty from New England.

Hollywood

I am in hollywood. I am visiting with Andy and Missy, friends of K-too's. We needed to run errands and his friend was kind enough to help us out. Last night one of thier friends Chris came over for dinner. He is working on a article for the LA Times about the PCT. I will post a link when it comes out.

Big Bear

I am in BIg Bear. I have walked 276 miles. A little over a tenth of the trail. I will be leaving town tommorow. I will check mail in Mojave CA 93501. Mail can be sent to me care of general delivery. I will be there in about three weeks.

Here is a picture of me. I am hiking hard.

Fifteen minutes of fame

Iwas interviewed by Rythem of zimwalk.org. He asked about the pie vault and my snack bag. Go take a look at the site it is a worthy cause. Documentary will be out next year.

Happy Birthday

Tim 5/10
Kim 5/11

Hiker Hugs

I got my first hiker hug in Warner Springs, it was not pretty but beautiful in it's own way. Imagine if you will, two large men wet from persperation, in clothes that have not been washed in days with smells from body parts best left unmentioned hugging. OK it is not for everyone but it is part of the community.

Happy Birthday Mom !
Happy birthday Jim

Cori's Poem

Heart Tastes

A cotton candy machine spins a sweet wind.
The pink sugar threads bunch together and wait
For the vendor to sell them to a sour child.
A girl who thought she would win first prize,
A girl who has learned the spicy taste of second.
The tunnel in the park is made of peppered black stone.
Sweet lovers pass under and smile inside,
Their kisses echo and so whatever felt sour
An hour ago fades as they pass the girl,
Happy with candy, they feel pink.
Beyond the tunnel, the bicyclists zoom past, doing laps,
Around this park, this candy-land, their bodies are sugared
With human spices, salt and sweat. They look at watches,
They time their lives by heart paces, curving the track,
The sweet lovers stroll past, they are the heart tasters.
Watching from the window that overlooks the park,
The old man is surrounded by art, the famous museum,
But the palette of the paintings pale in contrast to the crowd.
On this sweet spring day, the beauty of still life seems over-spiced,
Next to this real life, he wonders,
How he got stuck.

Happy Birthday !

I missed a few birthdays since I was rushing to get to the trail.
Tuna 4/19
Hans and Pete 4/22
Belle Starr 4/25

Aliens

In Campo CA there is a Border Patrol station. When I walked behind it I noticed about a hundred or so illegal aliens in a holding pen. One of the BP agents pointed the way to the trail and said " watch out for the aliens." So I responded "will they abduct me?" The agent had no sense of humor and said they might try and bum cigarettes off of me and a few other stupid things.

They just want to work. They don't want to hastle the hikers.

Well the next morning, as I was getting close to Hauser creek, I hear what sounds like a heard of horses coming down the trail fast. Remember the PCT is graded for horses. So I stopped and stepped off the trail to see five illegal aliens running down the trail in heavy work boots, jeans, and flannel shirts. At ten or so it was already ninety degrees or so. The men ran by covered in sweat, smiled and waved. They crossed the dry creek and disappeared into the underbrush like a flock of turkeys.

Welcome to America, I thought as I climbed out of the canyon.

In the beginning

I took a bus to Campo CA it is about a mile from the Mexican border. I got off the bus and started for the trail and a BLM manager gave me a ride down to the border. Trail magic before the trail starts! Got to love that. Also he was able to take my picture at the monument. He had just finished doing trail maintenance. So for the first couple of miles there were no foot prints. It was like walking in a freshly raked sand trap.

Stinkyboy rides again !

I am on the PCT. I have hiked about 78 miles so far. I have less than 2500 miles left. There are amazing views all day long but no cover from the sun. I am a little sunburned. I just got into my first town. Julian CA. I don't have much time today. I am hoping. to post a few stories tomorrow. For those of you that don't know I call my pack Stinkyboy.

More people need to read this !

Bottleofblog

Amusing

I just found this site through a link from girlhacker. It has great stuff like devil ducks, magic balls and a chef after he loves his beer action figure!

slow

Lord Knows

how blogger works

Why wont it post? arggg

posting

too late for pizza

Joe cartoon

Check this out.

Jello Biafra

Have you ever had a song in your head? Somtimes I get names in my head. Over and over again. I knew the name Jello Biafra but I did not know why. It turns out after the Kent State debacle he said "be the media" I love that statement. I want to say he was in the Dead Kenedies but I think I am wrong.

Tuna would not be happy with my facial hair

Hell I am not happy with it either!

I made the big time

The Calpundit adressed me by name.

Mona Lisa

I saw a lady tonight that had a certain je ne sais qua. She had a smile on her face the whole time she was in the bar but she never exposed her teeth. Wow, I was enamored. She was nowhere near a classic beauty, it was the damn smile. Perhaps now I understand the Mona Lisa.

HAPPY BIRHTDAY DREAMCATCHER

Iraq

Does anyone think things are getting better? The folks in Fulujah do not appear happy with the American occupation. I am not going to link to the nasty pictures. or articles. But damn when are they going to throw roses? Bring the boys and girls home.

Hikers smell


I just pulled my sleaping bag out to wash it. I smelled the wonderfull smell. I might wash it a second time.

LOVE HATE

Fennel. It is OK in small amounts but it can be over powering. I just had pizza with sausage and the fennel was overpowering. Damn!

National Park Crisis

I just heard a report on NPR that the National Parks are in trouble. The damn congress will not fund them! The congress will buy new nuclear bombs for more than it will take to fund the National Parks. Do we need more nuclear bombs? I think not.

Titanium Spork?

I think I have wanted one ever since Underdog told me he had one. They cost twelve dollars at REI. Is it lighter than my plastic spoon? I dont know.

PCT

Looking for someone to cut and paste e-mails. I want to keep the blog going on the PCT! I am thinking of getting pocketmail. We will see if it works out.

PCT

Been walking not bin Laden

my feets are tired but my soul is rested.

It is a small world but I do not want to paint it !

I have not told people I know about this site, yet my brother found out about it. He will be here tomorow. I will ask him how he found out.

BOC CHOY YUCK

I do not like boc choy. I made sakoba the other night and decided to use boc choy instead of cabbage. What a mistake. YUCK.

I do not know what happens to cruciferous vegatables when you cook them but I do not like it. I like raw broccoli but do not like it cooked. I am learning to eat cooked cabbage but it still tastes funny. I do not care what Frank says you can not put enough salt,pepper and butter on brussel sprouts to make them taste good. By all acounts they are verry good for you. They fight prostate,lung and breast cancer.

I think I scarred a young lady today. Now, I know I am not a pretty man. I am a big man,six-two about 240 or so with an ample beer gut. I have brown hair that spralls out of my watch cap and a bushy untrimed van dike ( mustache and gotee). I wear cheap sunglasses (so dark they wont even know my name as ZZ Top would say) But scarry damn! I geuss I am. I was walking down the side walk in the opposite direction and I could see fear in her face.

Now I want to bring joy into the world, at least more than I take out. Leave the world a better place if you can.

I am going to vote in a little while, will it be John Kerry or John Edwards. I am going to walk and snow shoe to the polling place at Donner Memorial State Park. It is certainly cooller than voting in the fire stations in Baltimore. Here is a picture. No on most of the propositions. If you want some thoughtfull opinions check out Kevin Drum here, here, andhere.

It seems that if you look in the corners there is a draft coming. Why wont The consevative media discuss this? Is it because the White House does not want to admit they have damn near destroyed the army? I am just asking.