tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44573670343483676692024-03-20T21:55:17.429-07:00Hope for NourishmentT. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-23109075133469779142012-04-17T15:14:00.002-07:002012-04-18T23:27:38.051-07:00Disenchanted hipstersI've had to stop going to my favorite coffee shop because I loathe the disenchanted hipsters that work there. <br />
<br />
Their mothers must not have taught them manners.<br />
<br />
or the pitfalls of getting neck tattoos. Not to say I have a problem with neck tattoos.<br />
<br />
Get me a coffee, hold the attitude, room for cream. Thanks, bitch.T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-13187204732172036162012-04-13T14:34:00.000-07:002012-04-17T16:42:30.754-07:00Montezuma's Revenge<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bivy was cold, wet and, above all, unsettling. The silence was continually interrupted by
the thunder that boomed though the remote canyon. The echo seemed to carry right up until the
next shattering blast emitted from the clouds. Endless thunder. The darkness was broken every thirty seconds by lightning that had our
arm hair standing on end-- literally. The lightning seemed to linger in the air everywhere; not sorted and organized into the typical weather channel bolts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had forgotten my socks. The wet rope wrapped around my blistered, cactus mangled feet
kept the wind and rain from freezing my toes. "Fucking Mexico," I lamented. Clark suggested trying to lower. I’m
not sure if he was serious, but the thought actually frightened me. We were a thousand feet off the deck.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We put our helmets on.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It happened to be St. Patrick’s day, so I had hauled up a
small celebratory water bottle full of Crown Royal. This was the only
thing that truly mitigated our somewhat dire circumstances, and it allowed us some much needed
rest. We "woke up" at sunrise and
surveyed our situation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’re Alive,” said Clark. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I pulled myself upright, shivered, muscles screaming and stiff. “Fantastic,”
I muttered. The rope was soaked and we had more than ten pitches above
us ranging from 5.9–5.12a. Clark checked
our water reserves and we agreed that we had a satisfactory amount to make the summit push. We had hauled a second rope for faster
rappels and we opted to leave the wettest one on the ledge. We could pick it
up on the way down. I think we were both
waiting for the other to suggest bailing, but it never happened and sometime
around seven in the morning I put Clark on belay and we began the days climbing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was spectacular. If not for the actual movement, we were
positioned above low cloud cover that gave the impression that we were only a
couple hundred feet off the ground, not a thousand. I remember thinking this to be somehow eerie.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were in no hurry and making pretty good time. I think it was about noon when we started the
last pitch. It was a scramble along
precarious loose boulders with thousand foot drops on either side. We were clipped into a fixed rope that we
pretended was not core shot to shit. I
distinctly remember moving onto one of the boulders and it shifting to the
right. Normally not a big deal, but the
rope I was clipped into <i>was bolted to it</i>. Of the twenty four pitches of the route, this
was by far the sketchiest one. Once on
top we did the traditional victory photo shoot, flashing semi-fake smiles that
I would later convince myself were 100% genuine. I sat down slowly pulled the rock shoes off
my swollen feet, and spent some time taking in some of the best sights northern
Mexico has to offer. Then, after the
near hundred degree weather started leeching the fun of the moment, our
thoughts moved to the twenty four pitches we had to rappel. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most climbing accidents occur on the way down rather than
the way up, but of course this is something you never mention when you are
about to rap 20 consecutive times. “Most
accidents,” I cheerfully said to Clark as we were setting up our first rappel, “happen
on the way down you know!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We simul-rapped the pitches back down to the bivy ledge and
picked up the second rope we had left behind.
A few fast raps later I collided with a tree/cactus thing. Cursing, I pulled a few barbs out of my leg
and maneuvered around. We were on solid
ground now- a large ledge which we had to traverse to another section of five
or six pitches. Time had gotten away on
us and it was somewhere around four in the afternoon. With our double ropes employed we were only
three rappels away from enchiladas and a beer.
Our water cache was all but exhausted, but we were less than an hour
from the ground and the sun had finally relented, leaving us in the mercy of
the shade. With a double rope rappel you
have to make note of which side to pull down to avoid pulling the knot into the
anchors. We were climbing on a red rope and
a brown rope. To help our sun-stroked
brains we made up little phrases like, “brown is down, red you’re dead.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, I went to pull the rope and it was hard going. I bet it’s that nasty bush thing up there I
remarked. The other end of the rope left
the ground and began its journey up the wall to the anchors as we pulled on the
other end. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It never made it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many climbers have been there: the rope just won’t pull down
any further- dynamic rope stretching indignantly despite your hardest efforts. Clark and I were both pulling now, and before
to long it was obvious it was not about budge.
The other end of the rope dangled above us about fifty feet up and forty
feet off to the right of the route. The
paths of established routes in Mexico are often obvious in that the rock <i>off-route</i> is usually, a) ridden with
cactus, b) a disgusting choss pile, or c) all of the above. This particular pitch was in the latter
category. I have been in many moderately
sketch situations while climbing, and for some unknown, terrible reason,
getting out of these situations almost always ends up on me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I tied into the free end and Clark put me on belay. I climbed up, clipping the first two bolts as
I progressed. Luckily, the climbing
clocked in at moderate 5.8. But,
eventually I came level with the other end of the rope that was the object of
my quest. In between me and it, however,
was forty feet of loose limestone and unforgiving cactus. I edged away from the last bolt I would get
to clip. From here, every meter I
progressed equated to twice that distance in crazy-ass-pendulum fall potential. By the time I reached the free end of the
rope my arms were riddled with cacti, and in the event that I cased it, I was
looking at a fifty foot ground fall and almost certain death. I quickly tied myself off on the free end with
a clove hitch on a draw, and began whipping the rope up and down, side to side,
trying to free it from the shrub it was tangled on above. I wouldn’t be able to make it to the bush
without free soloing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I might have to go for it!” I called down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nobody has died yet,” yelled Clark, “let’s try and keep it
that way!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I continued struggling with the stubborn cord, and then,
finally, it swung clear. Success. I gingerly made my way back towards the route,
cursing as more and more cacti became embedded in my now savage looking
forearms. I made it to the bolt and
lowered.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was <i>so</i>
thirsty. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were <i>so</i> tired.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was getting dark.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the end, after a few long, meandering rappels by
headlamp, we touched down. It felt good.
Really, really good. We had left our approach shoes at the base of
the route and it seemed to me that I had never put on a more comfortable shoe. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Only a couple miles to the camp,” I said grinning widely.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We better get going,” smiled Clark. “They’re probably pretty worried about us.” </div>T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-13950530553029621572012-04-10T13:51:00.000-07:002012-04-17T15:18:27.171-07:00Song of Departure<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr. T nuggets aka Super T the wild man</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
fucking classic man!!!!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
talk about an almost cliche way to exit ehh,
completely loaded almost late for an international flight with a morally
compromised, partially clothed woman in tow....what could be better
....dude lol</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
i cant believe you took that girl to the
airport...10 to 1 odds say you dont rememeber her name... </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
im surprised you made it, billy aka "ken 9-5" said
that he left you at 4:45AM and you didnt seem ready to leave
anytime soon, i was about 80% sure that id be recieving a call from
you thatd go like this "hey its my last nite here we have to go
out tonite" i thought you missed it for sure </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
yeah i got the run down of how it all went down that nite</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAV4d1BV6eXJ9IeC61jJCPQ89kp7YGCWMOswCu9JHJOo0O_03IqtvuGhDdEWvXP7cj3BB_G00CfRgKzAqlRf4N8PrePrUzNF5EjhJMUzUsU3U_xCcoYa61Y_UPqaWcwZELpVHOv3K_aj4/s1600/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAV4d1BV6eXJ9IeC61jJCPQ89kp7YGCWMOswCu9JHJOo0O_03IqtvuGhDdEWvXP7cj3BB_G00CfRgKzAqlRf4N8PrePrUzNF5EjhJMUzUsU3U_xCcoYa61Y_UPqaWcwZELpVHOv3K_aj4/s320/02.jpg" width="320" /></a> billy said that you seemed to have a blast and were
like a kid in a candy store at the bar he said everytime he turned
around you were hustling a different girl, what i thought
was funnier though was that the bitch and wang lee went with...cant really
imagine that being anythng other than awkward....although i think its a
classic icing on the cake to that drama..... according to billy not
only did you blow the bitch off but so did wang lee, billy said he thought it
was hilarious, heres this girl that was invloved with you before and plans to
visit than brings her present boy toy without thinking it
would be out of place, than gets blown off by you for 3 weeks and argues
with wang lee the entire time, than on the final nite, she has to spend
it with both of you in bars and than watch both of you grinding and
making out with hot chicks in a disco...i dont think you could have
planned it any better than that...sometimes the impromptu approach works like a
charm </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
anyway i thought it was a fitting end to your time </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
even if i was sidelined </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
anyway as for me i did get sick not so bad as last time but
still feeling kind of shitty, little fever stuffy nose etc but really not so
bad itll be through in a day or 2 </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
from the sounds of your retunr back i can only
imagine how your sizing up your thankgiving and or xmas breaks...the
weather is choice here that time of year.....</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and im sure well all still be hanging around so... </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
anyway glad to hear that you made it back and didnt piss
yourself in your sleep on the flight back...thatd sort of suck,
but actually would seem even more fitting as a far as rounding out the
final nite, you step up to immigration in the us wreaking of booze having
pissed yourself in your sleep...somehow i think the officer would forego the
whole "so how was your trip" routine</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
anyway dude take er easy keep in touch </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
later ese </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
WookieMan </div>T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-29490862594568448602012-04-05T11:59:00.000-07:002012-04-17T15:21:04.755-07:00Climbing among the Samburu<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had spent nearly half of my time in western Kenya over 2009 and 2010. Now, I was back in Kisumu; a substantially sized, dusty city on the shores of Lake Victoria. There are several notable climbing destinations in Kenya ranging from reasonably well established sport to adventurous traditional climbing. Apart from a trip up Malawi's Sapitwa Peak in 2010, I'd had shamefully little time on rock while in Africa. Previously too bogged down with my PhD research, I was resolved to make more time to get out and climb over my six month research season in 2011. I had been in contact with a climber, Alex, I found through the Mountaineering Club of Kenya (MCK) in 2010, but we were never able to link up. In April, I got in touch with Alex again on the phone and we discussed our options. </div>
<br />
"Are you up for an adventure?" Alex asked tentatively. <br />
I couldn't resist grinning into the phone, "I'm up for anything."<br />
"Do you have a tent?"<br />
"No."<br />
"Sleeping bag?"<br />
"No."<br />
"How about a rack?"<br />
"Yes, I do have a rack," I laughed, "and a rope too." <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-- </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Two days later I was escaping work after organizing my field research team in the morning. I caught a ride from the Kenya Medical Research Centre to the bus station in Kisumu with my Ghanaian friend and colleague, Yaw. Bus stations in Kenya, or stages as they are called, are one of my least favorite places on earth. Dusty polluted tracts of land heavily spattered with tin kiosks and slam packed with commuters, pickpockets, vendors. Being the lone white person in the crowds can draw unwanted attention, solicitations, hassles. If you have been to Kenya before, you will know what a Matatu is- the public transport terrors of the roads. Large Toyota mini-buses outfitted to seat a dozen passengers, but frequently packed with twenty. I was going to be stuffed into one of these shuttles navigating deteriorating roads at dangerously high speeds the entire day. First, trekking east 4 hours to Nakuru City in the Rift Valley, and then another four hours to Nanyuki where we would rendezvous at a fellow climbers house.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsk1scw9woxJ7UzWy0H5idUQ6xr6RmfLvLnKYz_Vfoax5lETmFaR3CWbDA2XpaQn5kICRdmhKN89wK4PVgQGsS3UrIY0dgN9fhE2Tkg9sauC5CSucFXZSkh8xMi9MNBKAkzTAkOmL9hg/s1600/IMG_1717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsk1scw9woxJ7UzWy0H5idUQ6xr6RmfLvLnKYz_Vfoax5lETmFaR3CWbDA2XpaQn5kICRdmhKN89wK4PVgQGsS3UrIY0dgN9fhE2Tkg9sauC5CSucFXZSkh8xMi9MNBKAkzTAkOmL9hg/s400/IMG_1717.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matatus. Pubic transport terrors of the road. Matatus provide shuttle services between towns in Kenya.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ten o'clock in the morning and I was already sweating. There are no set times for when shuttles leave for their destination. They leave when they fill. Showing up to an empty shuttle can often result in a long wait, and I waited for about an hour there at the Kisumu stage. I passed the time making small talk with several conductors and pushing away panhandlers. Being in good spirits, I had fun talking in broken Swahili and trying to impress them with my vocabulary. Despite the bumpy ride, I was able to catch up on sleep along the way. When I woke up, we were already pulling into the stage in Nakuru. A few cigarettes later I was back on another shuttle that would take me to my final destination of the day. The ride was excruciating; packed in the far back row with four other men. The gentleman adjacent to me was a monster. We openly battled for leg room for three hours. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When we were nearing our destination, Alex called and informed me that his car had broken down and I would have to talk to the driver in order to get off of the shuttle early "at the bottom of a large hill." Alex put his emergency flashers on so we could spot him. However, there was a wall of humanity between me and the driver making it something of a task to communicate the pertinent information to him. I'll remind you that it is quite irregular to have a white foreigner in one of these shuttles in the first place. Within ten minutes I had the entire passenger load on board the cramped Toyota mini-bus actively (and enthusiastically) looking out for my friend on the side of the road. I have deeply loved the time I have spent in Kenya, and this can be attributed foremost to my interactions with the local people. Somehow I have the ability to seemingly fit it well among Kenyans. In a place where I should feel most alien, I have felt more at home than almost anywhere. In the next few minutes we did eventually come upon Alex and his vintage Subaru Legacy. The driver pulled over on the dark, dusty shoulder and I gave my appreciation and farewells. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcZ3Dx6KbgKmPu3ld82UX5fOJoDNowhKs2kloq8qAYfa81V2y2SsBHlup0uYtiQ-BzXb3hzM8b4bSXuc8zPsLH1P3jvEFlxca13Aybx6r5_ZpzxEG0VElbqp9vZ0I0EO8lCmOfdACRG0/s1600/fiksman.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcZ3Dx6KbgKmPu3ld82UX5fOJoDNowhKs2kloq8qAYfa81V2y2SsBHlup0uYtiQ-BzXb3hzM8b4bSXuc8zPsLH1P3jvEFlxca13Aybx6r5_ZpzxEG0VElbqp9vZ0I0EO8lCmOfdACRG0/s400/fiksman.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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A native of the ex-Soviet Union, Alex looks like and has an air of a man who has spent time in the mountains. Indeed, he has been guiding trips up Mt. Kenya and Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro since he relocated to Kenya in 1998. He has also established numerous rock routes throughout Kenya. As it turned out, his car was still running, but not well enough to come to town to pick me up at night. Driving in the Kenyan countryside at night in a vehicle that may break down is by no means safe. The rest of the car was a tangle of gear, so I stuffed myself and my huge backpack into the front seat and we sputtered down a rough road to Tom's house. After a short but exceptionally delicious dinner prepared by Alex's girlfriend and Tom, I headed to a spare room and collapsed.<br />
<br />
My room was actually a detached building from the larger house and I stepped outside at 5:30 AM and caught a beautiful view of Tom's property. Not a seasoned climber, Tom would come along with us and we would see what to do. Alex's girlfriend would also be joining us.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUt54MUtTb_KZvwf2yC1cICHN4s884_MnGxxYybbGDQPq-aWg1EAyoW-5XN4kwF3PLvXwmUan0j95M__FvXb_UhLFYNcBor8fgCiILlfKxWx9dOqgA5x1c87ab83FeUQ9cMoxgHvrghV4/s1600/alex" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUt54MUtTb_KZvwf2yC1cICHN4s884_MnGxxYybbGDQPq-aWg1EAyoW-5XN4kwF3PLvXwmUan0j95M__FvXb_UhLFYNcBor8fgCiILlfKxWx9dOqgA5x1c87ab83FeUQ9cMoxgHvrghV4/s200/alex" width="142" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYcj-EjSEw1pB2j0ARX5YwHwV-DNujpdqNiphKLfVyK4CbQdL4Z_iGY6DFTdSkjGKZyd1OEtZ95Viv0-Mj0b-mNacUkYoVeQlG4X57JhnHXUcTNFdfcaFPt9uL4SKRfrakzZjFqmHlRA/s1600/IMG_1058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYcj-EjSEw1pB2j0ARX5YwHwV-DNujpdqNiphKLfVyK4CbQdL4Z_iGY6DFTdSkjGKZyd1OEtZ95Viv0-Mj0b-mNacUkYoVeQlG4X57JhnHXUcTNFdfcaFPt9uL4SKRfrakzZjFqmHlRA/s200/IMG_1058.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRfehGuxsppmTyh9t3Q2wxcoF_13a4y6MfvH5t7V-2aNZdmCsqydz_h9gfbSTbPzNgSd_X39rkQgNRaKNvoFdXifxZzl1Taf3WSGlJ3cIr42B8_imB_te9ZPOyVqDIXIcEbPJ6SOpTUM/s1600/toms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRfehGuxsppmTyh9t3Q2wxcoF_13a4y6MfvH5t7V-2aNZdmCsqydz_h9gfbSTbPzNgSd_X39rkQgNRaKNvoFdXifxZzl1Taf3WSGlJ3cIr42B8_imB_te9ZPOyVqDIXIcEbPJ6SOpTUM/s400/toms.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the back door of Tom's house in Nanyuki, Rift Valley Province, Kenya</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
We prepared several batches of coffee on the stained stove top and packed Tom's Izuzu Trooper to it's fill. Two spare tires were tied to the roof and we ventured off to into the characteristically dry and barren scrub land of eastern Kenya. Stopped at the British military landing strip nearby Tom's workplace. Tom runs adventure courses for British troops that come to eastern Kenya for intense military training. We filled up jerry cans of rain water from a catch basin which Tom assured us was OK to drink. One more stop along the way in a desolate town choked by dust and burgeoning on famine. This is the land of the Samburu Tribe, a group related but distinct from the more famous Massai Tribe of the Rift Valley. The Samburus are a semi-nomadic tribe and commonly herd cattle and camels. Men from the tribe will walk for days to fetch water.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrvEkA6BOQFnlGPHLEaJwQ0Y14qOf18PKzma18bKE29gh1LMnkUEJpxmt9LFEvojul74hYy9jtH1fyx8Pb2uMdRpgTIGifReqeff1843tqk4wN3GrFvvXZ1xdpY1pj3-AiKhTZW68q8w/s1600/samburu" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrvEkA6BOQFnlGPHLEaJwQ0Y14qOf18PKzma18bKE29gh1LMnkUEJpxmt9LFEvojul74hYy9jtH1fyx8Pb2uMdRpgTIGifReqeff1843tqk4wN3GrFvvXZ1xdpY1pj3-AiKhTZW68q8w/s400/samburu" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samburu tribal dancers in Eastern Kenya. Big ups.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I waited alone by the car outside the market and watched a group of young boys pass a bottle of glue, each taking their turn to deeply inhale the toxic fumes. One boy was laid out, seemingly unconscious, across the walkway and people stepped over him without even looking. This is all to common of a sight in many cities, towns and villages in sub-Saharan Africa. A worn down man approached me, and through a tangle of broken and rotting teeth told me about how his camels had been stolen by raiders. I apologized and offered my prayers while refusing to assist him with the money he was asking for. It can be hard to deal with this day in and day out. Usually it I am able to disassociate myself somehow from the living conditions and nightmarish circumstances that some people are forced into, but on some days I get home, collapse into my chair and feel like crying. I suppose I should be able to take heart in knowing that my overall presence in Kenya is meant to improve the lives on a broader scale, but that really doesn't do much for me.<br />
<br />
We continued on into further isolation. Funnily enough, the road we were traveling on was easily among the best I have ever encountered in Kenya. Way out there, on a path so rarely traveled, the Kenyan government had decided to invest in a proper road system. There are many such "White Elephant" projects in Kenya. For example, in the late 1990's, an international airport was slated to be built in Kisumu, Kenya. The then president, Moi, not being of the Luo tribe indigenous to Kisumu, changed the proposed location to a remote area outside of the city of Eldoret in his home tribal area. The result? One of the best most expensive airports in Kenya receives some of the lowest traffic, while Kisumu, to this day, has only domestic service and no arrival terminal- you just get off the plane. Tribal politics are still rife in Kenya.<br />
<br />
Along the road we began to see spatterings of rock that Alex pointed out and commented on. It seems he had scoped out almost all of the outcroppings of rock. We had yet to see our destination, described as two large towers rising out of the African savannah: The Cat and The Mouse. Suddenly we came to a large bend and we sighted the towers in the distance. Along the road there was a large cliff band and we stopped to get a look through the binoculars. A huge arching dihedral had my palms sweating, but we continued on to Cat and Mouse. We still had to figure out how to get to them.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76LbNc9XlMA7OXTPkSnAqspb6wudOUIidPwa2y2SCZ6zttVFYs_sDV9uLLayWNSo1z0MeSR2Mj9-6dxl7oyjH56jINGA408mUDaBnRU8xJDG7w08UFt2NJFA31h7FKZJMG2vfeXIYxMc/s1600/binocs" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76LbNc9XlMA7OXTPkSnAqspb6wudOUIidPwa2y2SCZ6zttVFYs_sDV9uLLayWNSo1z0MeSR2Mj9-6dxl7oyjH56jINGA408mUDaBnRU8xJDG7w08UFt2NJFA31h7FKZJMG2vfeXIYxMc/s400/binocs" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scoping out some new lines in eastern Kenya. The dihedral in the shadow looked wild.</td></tr>
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After driving up and down the the stretch of road that appeared to be nearest to our destination several times, we chose what seemed to be the path of least resistance and plowed Tom's Trooper over a sharp thicket onto the dry sun-cracked savannah in the direction of the rocks. We stopped and tried to converse with some tribesmen who were evidently walking to town (which was at least thirty miles away). Unfortunately, they spoke very little Kiswahili and Tom's Samburu was not good enough to discuss a good route to the distant towers, which these men would certainly know. Five minutes got us nowhere., but on the up side the men never solicited us for money or a ride. This is more refreshing than you might think; the Masai tribesmen in the south would have shaken us down for every penny. The Samburu have tribes, not being associated with the tourist safari mecca that is the Masai Mara National Game Reserve, have not been conditioned to dependence on western visitors wallets.<br />
<br />
Within twenty minutes, both Alex and I were on foot; shirts tied on our heads to protect us from the sun, yielding machetes and cutting a path for the vehicle to pass. After an agonizing blur that spanned a number of hours we had progressed to a reasonable distance away from the rock. Deeming it impossible to press on, we began to set up the most remote, inaccessible camp I have ever passed nights at. Following a large dinner of mutton and rice I was laid out on the red dirt, totally exhausted. The heat in the night was still intense and with a stuffy tent as an alternative, Tom and I elected to lay our sleeping bags on the ground and sleep under the stars.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif21jrfgahsTUlPV8zZTDhKQCym4YjPB4PkLajZt2oUdhqFUH90THd_YKd-PirtpYYKG5GQ4NnyknGOLyPWT5Y7HNAhXvYl3fke8O_s23KMEByDoQEg8rErjd8eqDcUQpgqvnzAqsz2fc/s1600/path.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif21jrfgahsTUlPV8zZTDhKQCym4YjPB4PkLajZt2oUdhqFUH90THd_YKd-PirtpYYKG5GQ4NnyknGOLyPWT5Y7HNAhXvYl3fke8O_s23KMEByDoQEg8rErjd8eqDcUQpgqvnzAqsz2fc/s320/path.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting a road with machetes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7Gq-swP-pqgi95jbeujubty1DgXofKHHtoKIOsFL2x6y-R96uVYru7t6i3iSrB1Ex_bsI_uOu1izVWkhlgkDNFwlwsNa9sUy9tRy2j6QXAEmo9H7u6xawgJovngwgwA8gCXx8jIQBAc/s1600/path2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7Gq-swP-pqgi95jbeujubty1DgXofKHHtoKIOsFL2x6y-R96uVYru7t6i3iSrB1Ex_bsI_uOu1izVWkhlgkDNFwlwsNa9sUy9tRy2j6QXAEmo9H7u6xawgJovngwgwA8gCXx8jIQBAc/s200/path2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Towers on the horizon.</td></tr>
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<br />
We woke early. With the sun. It was already hot and my eyelids were plastered shut with dust excreted from the previous day, but I had slept well. When I looked at the two towers looming in the distance, I suddenly had to take a dump. Grabbed a machete and dug me a hole. Looking at large, scary rock climbs has always sent me to the bushes with a trowel... and I'm not sure why. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEVMxjSPTsEFSrqeeSrY4xrufMuwKxyuoHREOUVrgszW6ARBG_uZhwouxcQjnNPACXo2xE8BT14kTz1BJu0h2jfsFWxFbgAyQNolsqTEyA-5nzYtB1ljK_KurKMKm5fU3K7jD9GsTpFLQ/s1600/cat+and+mouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEVMxjSPTsEFSrqeeSrY4xrufMuwKxyuoHREOUVrgszW6ARBG_uZhwouxcQjnNPACXo2xE8BT14kTz1BJu0h2jfsFWxFbgAyQNolsqTEyA-5nzYtB1ljK_KurKMKm5fU3K7jD9GsTpFLQ/s640/cat+and+mouse.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat (right) and Mouse, Eastern Province, Kenya</td></tr>
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<br />
We had put together a rack earlier (a "rack" refers to climbing equipment), so we were soon walking in the direction of Cat and Mouse. While this place was obviously, perpetually dry, the native flora seemed to be something like Nature's caricature of a harsh-ass environment. Nearly every desperate piece of vegetation was adorned with hooked barbs. They joke among the Samburu that these barbs can pull an ear from a man's head. There was a thickness in the air as we set out that day. I know it wasn't the humidity, but a feeling of terror and elation. A hyperawareness.<br />
<br />
We had not gone far before we realized that getting back to camp might not be as easy as getting to the obvious, looming towers of rock. I think it was Alex who pointed this out. "Hmm, yes, indeed." He did have a point.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1DcI55I1omUIivMUSj_CuBYNb3bqWMXSoPdXhETVIi4eXMaPouaFizNUefjW2qdDd5OdCc9H6BNx9Gsl1TICZsXrODh6SHuOeatt8mCUEZXAoMAkqrApI9SR3ypdiW7FqQfCOiWGJyU/s1600/IMG_1163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1DcI55I1omUIivMUSj_CuBYNb3bqWMXSoPdXhETVIi4eXMaPouaFizNUefjW2qdDd5OdCc9H6BNx9Gsl1TICZsXrODh6SHuOeatt8mCUEZXAoMAkqrApI9SR3ypdiW7FqQfCOiWGJyU/s320/IMG_1163.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex gathering bones from a hyena den (center). </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_gTUoLN5sOsfipD8nO_FBKb1_xHncBiVHdmG32HwN69lp8uaaRfZtltL3qH52EGYYfS5VA9U-yaZZh5lfIAn86G7GvLiwRPzCx_ajY0M0waX0DnOWKIllUQ9mFsyzdpyKuNGXnYC_84/s1600/IMG_1133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>The solution?<br />
<br />
Ten minutes later we were all gathered back together with arm-fulls of bones. We were way out there. The entire area was littered with elephant dung. We gathered the bones of cattle that couldn't make the distance, and we made use of the assortment of bones outside hyena dens. As we walked we left a trail of bones that we hung in trees, and we dug our feet in the dirt so that we might be able to retrace our steps. I was especially aware of this process. It seems (and even seemed at the time) silly, but we had no idea of what we were getting ourselves into. When people ask me about conducting yourself in other countries, I often joke, "Just don't do anything stupid. But, if you are doing something stupid, be aware of the fact that you are doing something stupid."<br />
<br />
I was aware.<br />
<br />
It didn't take too long for me to imitate my friends by removing my shirt and tying it around my head so it fell across the back of my neck. It was hot. Dry heat maybe, but the temperature was pushing ninety and we were laden with large loads of climbing gear and water. The thickets varied in density necessitating the leaders to carry machetes to cut our way through. It seemed like every branch on every plant was armed to the thinnest tip with barbed thorns. Each one of us got caught at least once, and getting the curved spines out with out ripping up your skin usually required some help from another person. We finally reached a clearing like area where we would have to split off to either the larger formation on the right, Cat, or the small (200') but sheer tower on the left, Mouse. After a debate we angled towards Mouse. What seemed like a straightforward hike up to the formation soon became arduous. We were pushed back by steep terrain and impassable thickets. I had long since put my shirt back on to protect my thorn-scarred arms and chest. We ended up looping around the backside of the formation which involved several semi-sketch boulder problems on loose vegetated rock.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R_YD3-nWpOSWpueiq5Akxv6kMHeRApkR7PFQn9r4zPvmuXewKtR_K7a2vYver7wUaaRDKZgC5IRdXnhczYUK4xb09juoQfI2QK-W_hBUumo2itcwfb2yOUt_WnvPRJpRaTSRjA61JRw/s1600/cobra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R_YD3-nWpOSWpueiq5Akxv6kMHeRApkR7PFQn9r4zPvmuXewKtR_K7a2vYver7wUaaRDKZgC5IRdXnhczYUK4xb09juoQfI2QK-W_hBUumo2itcwfb2yOUt_WnvPRJpRaTSRjA61JRw/s320/cobra.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When we finally reached the tower at the southeast corner, it was clear that we would not be climbing either the south or east face; both were steep and mostly featureless. What features looked climbable also looked loose and foreboding. Of the information that Alex was able to dig up on these two formations, we found two notes dating to the early 80's on 1) an aid route/bolt ladder up the mouse and 2) an ascent up the less-steep backside of the Cat. We hiked up and around the south face and scrambled up to a thin ledge that spanned along the west face. Although still vertical it looked more promising on this side. I threw down my bag and took a measured drink from my dwindling water supply. Tomorrow we would have to bring more.<br />
<br />
As I sat down I did a double take-- a four foot long <i>fragment</i> of<i> </i>snake skin lay between the rocks I was about to sit on. As you might imagine, getting bit by a snake in Kenya is almost always terrible. I have had run-ins with spitting cobras at my research sites. Pythons are also common. This particular skin looked like it could have been from a cobra; although, who the hell knows. I shook off the feeling that crept up my spine and took another drink of water; just enough to wet my mouth.<br />
<br />
Looking up, eventually we were able to spot a rusted bolt line. It looked awful. Really bad.<br />
<br />
"Mind if I take this lead?" I asked.<br />
"I was kind of hoping to get on it first," Alex replied, giving me a strange look. I don't think he had expected me to ask.<br />
"C'mon," I whined, "I don't want to <i>follow </i>my first trad route in Kenya." <br />
Mistake.<br />
"Alright, mate. It's yours."<br />
<br />
Fifteen terrifying minutes, fifty vertical feet, some fairly stout moves, and three 1/4" bolts with homemade hangers later, I was desperately trying to stuff a <i>tiny </i>cam into a crumbling seam [Read: detached, fragmented choss pile]. I fumbled with the cam, unable to get my sweaty fingers to work the trigger. I couldn't help but steal glances nervously back and forth between the fragile potato chip of rock that my left fingertips were latched on to and the comical "bolt" down beneath my feet. My left foot was flagging uselessly as if it was trying to carve footholds out with it's toes, and my right foot was shaking like Elvis on the very top of a loose column of rock the size of a refrigerator.<br />
<br />
I did not want to fall. <br />
<br />
The move in question did not appear to be overly difficult, but I would be yarding with my full weight on another huge, suspect feature that looked like it could get dislodged by a strong gust of wind. If anything came off, these were definitely rope-cutting size pieces of stone. I used a few intermediate holds to lower my center of gravity above the loose pillar. I awkwardly matched my hand and foot on top of the pillar, eased down a bit, and ever so slowly weighted the death bolt.<br />
<br />
TBC...<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-84955811072380647062012-02-15T10:35:00.000-08:002012-04-17T16:52:54.817-07:00Publish or Perish<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPVDg42hA2uNSGkJ3NptxX3xj-gvu8AMgc3JXXR_FUOXPuRXdAE38RtMM8ffy-jHsjCvuVBnH8zn5wf80MXovUef2FcY9ra9Q7HaDZtIZgmMjrsjYPoNnMvqVtOefuwWwFQZLhVI5Oak/s1600/1756-3305-5-33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPVDg42hA2uNSGkJ3NptxX3xj-gvu8AMgc3JXXR_FUOXPuRXdAE38RtMM8ffy-jHsjCvuVBnH8zn5wf80MXovUef2FcY9ra9Q7HaDZtIZgmMjrsjYPoNnMvqVtOefuwWwFQZLhVI5Oak/s320/1756-3305-5-33.jpg" width="246" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdGMG8Vn40EQDRBjzd9v0_D3lgZC38tkukl6AisU2pFF7k_IIt9f2SNNOXGEyRtIWiAoESJOlCBQT6uORDv5H5NuQiI5b2erxArfruqxPulcWwW9xLhGq74kddSRsNxFhHF14dlpp9FE/s1600/Wang2011.Dynamic+Gut+Microbiome+of+An+gambiae+in+Kenya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdGMG8Vn40EQDRBjzd9v0_D3lgZC38tkukl6AisU2pFF7k_IIt9f2SNNOXGEyRtIWiAoESJOlCBQT6uORDv5H5NuQiI5b2erxArfruqxPulcWwW9xLhGq74kddSRsNxFhHF14dlpp9FE/s320/Wang2011.Dynamic+Gut+Microbiome+of+An+gambiae+in+Kenya.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">2012</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/5/1/33"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">Effects of co-habitation between <i>Anopheles gambaie </i>s.s. and <i>Culex quinquefasciatus </i>aquatic stages on life history traits</span></a>, University of California, Irvine, USA</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUX2tMIkr_0b-jxlg8qcjNvlh5ANPWaaRrcrE4jB9oa1AsRzF2KPVQQtHamAqad_8pSom89y93tYanij0qPbTC95dLbTWmFc_-M4nnrlzf6teMoYuUUAM_LHZ_5JseVUlwy0-anNZnSKs/s1600/Kweka2011.Predation+p1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUX2tMIkr_0b-jxlg8qcjNvlh5ANPWaaRrcrE4jB9oa1AsRzF2KPVQQtHamAqad_8pSom89y93tYanij0qPbTC95dLbTWmFc_-M4nnrlzf6teMoYuUUAM_LHZ_5JseVUlwy0-anNZnSKs/s320/Kweka2011.Predation+p1.jpg" width="246" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWIijD3ysMd5kfYTTc4c9KJ0zVPmaEhFjcRFytflwnPEptLyvP31-JsbyEREM7OCYqmtHIXdkBjiIvbQ3Fu5-Ql0vgK_Uis_XUhK4MHYAoY4Kecx1csRQPcQR0vkoWjfXMjd-txVrTHs/s1600/Saenna2011.Actinomycetes+from+Starch+Wastewater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWIijD3ysMd5kfYTTc4c9KJ0zVPmaEhFjcRFytflwnPEptLyvP31-JsbyEREM7OCYqmtHIXdkBjiIvbQ3Fu5-Ql0vgK_Uis_XUhK4MHYAoY4Kecx1csRQPcQR0vkoWjfXMjd-txVrTHs/s320/Saenna2011.Actinomycetes+from+Starch+Wastewater.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>2011</b></span></div>
<h1 datatype="" href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text" property="dc:title" rel="dc:type" style="font-weight: normal;" xpathlocation="noSelect">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0024767" style="color: #9fc5e8;">Dynamic Gut Microbiome across Life History of the Malaria Mosquito Anopheles gambiae in Kenya</a>, New Mexico State University, USA</span></h1>
<h1 style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/4/1/128" style="color: #9fc5e8;">Predation efficiency of Anopheles gambiae larvae by aquatic predators in western Kenya highlands</a>, University of California, Irvine, USA</span></h1>
<h1 datatype="" href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text" property="dc:title" rel="dc:type" xpathlocation="noSelect">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.medwelljournals.com/fulltext/?doi=jm.2011.534.542" style="color: #9fc5e8;">Actinomycetes Community from Starch Factory Wastewater</a>, Mahidol University, Thailand</span></b></span></h1>
<h1 style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/4/1/110" style="color: #9fc5e8;">Evaluation of two methods of estimating larval habitat productivity in western Kenya highlands</a>, University of California, Irvine, USA</span></h1>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHjRaWcspWTjnSErFByDvjt7iTBjsCjyCYSnv7DC4zage6J13LG19_PLAqqlzYu-GKi20t2RrcSK_5wu20qIINdTRZlO68y3_5ZuLt2QoyUxVDmyIDKUjVgu4QUDR-x9gh84VoGNUajs/s1600/Kweka2011.Trap+Evaluation+p1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHjRaWcspWTjnSErFByDvjt7iTBjsCjyCYSnv7DC4zage6J13LG19_PLAqqlzYu-GKi20t2RrcSK_5wu20qIINdTRZlO68y3_5ZuLt2QoyUxVDmyIDKUjVgu4QUDR-x9gh84VoGNUajs/s320/Kweka2011.Trap+Evaluation+p1.jpg" width="246" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkeANAqPg12m6_Ull5j1meLrCuK8gYOPmM12Om66XtBqfH_Kp3NoEQYJFvtTLsqrOkYShIaPqAJXHxPsRv9ejQMuJFUauGolqkO3kW8dFsJ9kTOY2vOyajqcu3U2pzJZfcYoVp0FruZA/s1600/Kajla2010.Lysozyme+c-1+p1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkeANAqPg12m6_Ull5j1meLrCuK8gYOPmM12Om66XtBqfH_Kp3NoEQYJFvtTLsqrOkYShIaPqAJXHxPsRv9ejQMuJFUauGolqkO3kW8dFsJ9kTOY2vOyajqcu3U2pzJZfcYoVp0FruZA/s320/Kajla2010.Lysozyme+c-1+p1.jpg" width="246" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>2010</b></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096495909002978" style="color: #9fc5e8;">Characterization of expression, activity and role in antibacterial immunity of Anopheles gambiae lysozyme c-1</a><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA <br />
</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span>T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-49476615828921906942012-02-03T16:28:00.000-08:002012-04-17T16:59:23.577-07:00Worst headline of 2012February has just begun, but here it is: "Many Die at Sudan Peace Meeting." <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16873273"><span style="color: red;">Here</span></a> is the link if you want to take a look. I didn't even read the article very closely. I was in Kenya in July 2011 when the voting took place for Southern Sudan's independence.<br />
<br />
It was incredible.<br />
<br />
The lead up to the vote in Sudan had a massive following in the neighboring Kenyan media. It was a hopeful time for Sudan. Although in retrospect maybe we all knew what was coming.<br />
<br />
Sudan was a country that epitomized the colonization of the African continent. Colonists drew political lines intended to spur tribal conflict as a means to control populations. Much like Kenya, Sudan was irrationally formed and divided. To the north lies the Nubian Desert-- the traditional land of the Nubian people. To the south, wide swaths of savanna that give way to rich forests and swamps.<br />
<br />
ADHD<br />
ADHD<br />
ADHD<br />
<br />
je suis le precipitate.T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-14819639309576413432011-11-13T21:27:00.001-08:002011-11-14T10:38:21.714-08:00Playing video games is extremely weird. Really. But, I guess I don't have anything profound to say on the matter.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ru1heSe1BiaeZcDA8B4WVjA5rRXYowhbyFwq-p3iSkk4tvfUwn_1USUhRKlBfzpVSFPM95RvFP8C7ax7P59B-8RQztvnb6bQPfcJI6yx963RiqLjbpPgtZF2XJtuPSvclye6Y3AoxHk/s1600/Mario-dies-a-lot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ru1heSe1BiaeZcDA8B4WVjA5rRXYowhbyFwq-p3iSkk4tvfUwn_1USUhRKlBfzpVSFPM95RvFP8C7ax7P59B-8RQztvnb6bQPfcJI6yx963RiqLjbpPgtZF2XJtuPSvclye6Y3AoxHk/s320/Mario-dies-a-lot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You're dead.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-58715534842897972112011-11-02T16:55:00.000-07:002011-11-13T22:23:01.968-08:00Aristotle's EmpisIn 300 B.C., Aristotle referred to mosquitoes as "empis" in his
"Historia Animalium" where he documented their life cycle and
metamorphic abilities. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVNsWXfVXLiCF30tuQZpnIDapn4fI96AN5fX2Lr4h_17I63Df7ReuW3NwGbtw-2x9H_8aARxGsDcKDCDSY-ooUQGOxC9nj6Y1Sw2dMxTHkJsrSJKn5tBoLYku6OwsMyjSQQhUFN1Jgys/s1600/mosquito_life_cycle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVNsWXfVXLiCF30tuQZpnIDapn4fI96AN5fX2Lr4h_17I63Df7ReuW3NwGbtw-2x9H_8aARxGsDcKDCDSY-ooUQGOxC9nj6Y1Sw2dMxTHkJsrSJKn5tBoLYku6OwsMyjSQQhUFN1Jgys/s640/mosquito_life_cycle.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mosquito life cycle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"During the sloughing of the skin an inner layer comes
to the surface, for the creature emerges just as the <span style="color: white;">embryo from its
afterbirth. All insects that slough at all slough in the same way; as the silphe,
and the empis or midge, and all the coleoptera, as
for instance the cantharus-beetle..."</span><br />
<div style="color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: white;">
"...The cicada the moment after issuing from
the husk goes and sits upon an olive tree or a reed;
after the breaking up of the husk the creature issues out, leaving a
little moisture behind, and after a short interval
flies up into the air and sets a chirping."</div>
<div style="color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: white;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfocZIptU8zis8Iu9SdlgwOnsx7UMRsWg16G4QzpQeeh114VYiYHt80WGjb8xR87R74hzoI61JYLT0aQimcvQLYIKBINFu7tH2sj-_M2KjnD5CaJuioFgkk8SjVGeW3ju1mXLIfu7BK0/s1600/aristotle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfocZIptU8zis8Iu9SdlgwOnsx7UMRsWg16G4QzpQeeh114VYiYHt80WGjb8xR87R74hzoI61JYLT0aQimcvQLYIKBINFu7tH2sj-_M2KjnD5CaJuioFgkk8SjVGeW3ju1mXLIfu7BK0/s200/aristotle.jpg" width="148" /></a></div>
<div style="color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: white;">
Another nugget of Aristotle wisdom from Historia Animalium:</div>
<div style="color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: white;">
"All insects, without exception, die if they be smeared over with oil;
and they die all the more rapidly if you smear
their head with the oil and lay them out in the sun."</div>
<div style="color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: white;">
No matter what you say, that's pretty cool.</div>T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-77394443508679723252011-11-02T15:21:00.000-07:002012-04-05T17:11:16.464-07:00Joshua Tree: Top 15 Tick List<div style="text-align: center;">
I have been wasting disastrous amounts of time pouring over routes on mountain project. My hands are sweating. So, I've decided to put together a <b style="color: red;">Top 15</b><span style="color: red;"> </span><b style="color: red;">Tick List</b> for this 2011-12 Joshua Tree season.</div>
<br />
Here she be:<br />
<div style="color: black;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaz4yARL4b_NfS1LTI1Rc76goNo20859LUEcbwHXnmz0Pgoj15vld4sPWbWtw3nM7hluCFTEKAQHS9TlfEeJShpVUmJyXP1WRlcs6DFPxDeRJwIaFTMf2ydmmfWrHVS6Tws-CHG5t7jo/s1600/IMG_1984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaz4yARL4b_NfS1LTI1Rc76goNo20859LUEcbwHXnmz0Pgoj15vld4sPWbWtw3nM7hluCFTEKAQHS9TlfEeJShpVUmJyXP1WRlcs6DFPxDeRJwIaFTMf2ydmmfWrHVS6Tws-CHG5t7jo/s200/IMG_1984.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="color: red;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fen traversing the dike on Pope's Crack (Original Route)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #fff2cc;">1)</span><b><span style="color: #fff2cc;"> Damn Jam </span><span style="color: red;">tick!</span></b><span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: #fff2cc;">(5.6) Hidden Valley Campground <b></b></span></div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
2)<b> Bird of Fire </b>-- (5.10a) Split Rocks<b> </b><br />
3)<b> Solid Gold</b> -- (5.10a) Wonderland of Rocks</div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
4)<b> Popes Crack Direct -- </b>(5.10b) Echo Rock</div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
5)<b> Chemical Warfare </b>-- (5.10b) Barker Dam Area<b> </b></div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
6)<b> Caught Inside on a Big Set --</b> (5.10b) Wonderland of Rocks</div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
7) <b>Figures on a Landscape --</b> (5.10b R) Wonderland of Rocks</div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
8)<b> Clean and Jerk</b> -- (5.10c) Real Hidden Valley</div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
9)<b> O'Kelly's Crack</b> -- (5.10c) Echo Rock</div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
10)<b> Piggle Pug </b>-- (5.10c) Wonderland of Rocks<b> </b></div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
11)<b> EBGB's </b>-- (5.10d) Echo Rock</div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
12)<b> Imaginary Voyage </b>-- (5.10d) Lost Horse</div>
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
13)<b> Swept Away --</b> (5.11a) Echo Rock</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: left;">
14) <b>Coarse and Buggy </b>-- (5.11a/b) Roadside Rocks</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="color: #fff2cc;">
15)<b> </b><b>Hot Rocks</b> -- (5.11b) The Outback</div>
<br />
I will update this with the dates as these routes go down...<b> <span style="color: red;">so psyched!</span></b></div>
<b><br /></b></div>T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-81879140536496671942011-11-02T11:59:00.000-07:002012-04-05T17:11:56.316-07:00Mosquitoes Need More Than Hope<div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CTMGILB%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><span style="font-size: small;"><o:smarttagtype name="place" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="country-region" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype></span><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CTMGILB%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CTMGILB%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><style>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1hgxBkqiDjoo62MpMlOzoy7LwfUz-8z8-s0nOAZ_zL9KNQuiOAjIhQg-LiZS9JGXETjtk5RXdnb1LAZHjepEk2yctLrWib_ZEu4WjyK3TaeTCeVpDX_Jck5Cwknf_xg6fgpFFTCahEY/s1600/waiting+at+hospital.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1hgxBkqiDjoo62MpMlOzoy7LwfUz-8z8-s0nOAZ_zL9KNQuiOAjIhQg-LiZS9JGXETjtk5RXdnb1LAZHjepEk2yctLrWib_ZEu4WjyK3TaeTCeVpDX_Jck5Cwknf_xg6fgpFFTCahEY/s400/waiting+at+hospital.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Women wait with their children at a hospital in western Kenya</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Malaria is one of the major
public health issues in western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region></st1:place>
and 91% of the one to three million deaths due to malaria worldwide occur in
sub-Saharan Africa.
Considerable amounts of funding and research effort has gone into
malaria interventions ranging from vaccine and transgenic mosquito development
to bed net delivery to reduce malaria vector (mosquito) populations. It is becoming increasingly evident that
there may be no “silver bullet” for the eradication of malaria, and, regardless
of the success of other measures, sustainable means for malaria control will
only be attained in conjunction with sustainable malaria vector control.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbNFnaa43Tb4M1Iy7bWCPeJtoNh_X6m3ePZCWhJGgpWCxgVGdToEuN2Vri4Acf59Hfxsxpj7eepg3Hdz2oAnC-WuvaqIX_Y8nmNVMsHyTtVXHZOEInT6eur75WDjsZHxS6O4nMTEpcwM/s1600/Picture+029.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbNFnaa43Tb4M1Iy7bWCPeJtoNh_X6m3ePZCWhJGgpWCxgVGdToEuN2Vri4Acf59Hfxsxpj7eepg3Hdz2oAnC-WuvaqIX_Y8nmNVMsHyTtVXHZOEInT6eur75WDjsZHxS6O4nMTEpcwM/s200/Picture+029.gif" width="200" /></a>Since 1980, a series of major
malaria epidemics has occurred in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s western highlands.
The Kenyan highlands are the most
productive area in agriculture in the country due to abundant rainfall.
On the other hand, human populations in the highlands have also increased
rapidly. Such a rapid increase in human population has caused
dramatic changes in the environment, and environmental change, together with
global climate change, have been implicated as one important mechanism for
malaria resurgence in the region. Environmental changes, such as
temperature, humidity and habitat availability can significantly affect
mosquito abundance, which in turn affect malaria transmission intensity. Recent studies suggest that land use changes,
such as deforestation, strongly enhance the productivity of malaria vectors,
and thus malaria transmission. This is because deforestation
exposes aquatic habitats to sunlight, resulting in</span><span style="color: red; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">increased
water temperatures. Further, exposure to sunlight may induce
changes in the microbial communities that mosquito larvae use for nutrition. Currently, there is little known of how microbial communities in aquatic habitats
are regulated by exposure to sunlight and organic nutrients, nor of how mosquito
larvae respond to microbial community changes in larval habitats. </span><span style="color: red; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOdxARfSwaaWLjwv4nLO062YIptZGmjI1771zLEs7mswRUAGOel3e_O90CB3MraDqUo11S_ndJ4s4wT7q-k1mFzUIKDf1VNSpr8HzyruTUj-RyMOgQ33XEHOTg2c9FvbjO-rYVuir4ZB8/s1600/hoof+prints.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOdxARfSwaaWLjwv4nLO062YIptZGmjI1771zLEs7mswRUAGOel3e_O90CB3MraDqUo11S_ndJ4s4wT7q-k1mFzUIKDf1VNSpr8HzyruTUj-RyMOgQ33XEHOTg2c9FvbjO-rYVuir4ZB8/s400/hoof+prints.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Surveying larval habitats in the western Kenyan highlands</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Understanding the environmental conditions of
successful mosquito development is paramount in establishing vector control
strategies to reduce malaria transmission. The microbial ecology of larval
mosquitoes is poorly understood, but it may play a vital role in mosquito
development. In my work, I examine how land use affects the microbial
communities in larval habitats and how microbial communities of aquatic
habitats regulate larval populations.
Understanding how land use affects microbial communities and mosquito
growth will help to develop rational agricultural and environmental policy, and
to develop compelling education programs to policymakers and community members
to adopt land use strategies that continue economic and agricultural
development while keeping malaria vector populations in check.<b> </b></span></div>T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-21680000230132462512011-10-31T17:44:00.000-07:002011-11-12T20:16:18.740-08:002011-12 Joshua Tree Season Begins!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5YinUIH5oMEAd_Kj5PaKE5t7wZB1jOEODPoNcbMR-S5RtXQSR9FqHHCPNEjeL2qNO6O_OxtxxBKkQO8wTuz9VYg121N7ibtZVv_g1yeDJvtVbBj-IihvCOIb0D2etyVRgqM0y17KnLA/s1600/bearded1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5YinUIH5oMEAd_Kj5PaKE5t7wZB1jOEODPoNcbMR-S5RtXQSR9FqHHCPNEjeL2qNO6O_OxtxxBKkQO8wTuz9VYg121N7ibtZVv_g1yeDJvtVbBj-IihvCOIb0D2etyVRgqM0y17KnLA/s320/bearded1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going for it on Bearded Cabbage</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwK5IyVHwBrgtTg9JsWh6ADAHEgYj2lLb8A2uMRCIul1zreQS3bCEtgulBJgsXGbH-rTz2DwJkgmrD33Iih4bXx5Z4ZYVENfqM5qqw366xE5R6c-SamcxW33MaWz9kEkl7S5BScNIo68s/s1600/fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwK5IyVHwBrgtTg9JsWh6ADAHEgYj2lLb8A2uMRCIul1zreQS3bCEtgulBJgsXGbH-rTz2DwJkgmrD33Iih4bXx5Z4ZYVENfqM5qqw366xE5R6c-SamcxW33MaWz9kEkl7S5BScNIo68s/s320/fall.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flailing on Bearded Cabbage</td></tr>
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<br />
Great season opener weekend at Joshua Tree! Good people and good times. I ticked a few new ones: Ball Bearing (5.10a, linked both pitches), Pope's Crack (5.9) and the iconic <b>Bearded Cabbage</b> (5.10c). I had been hesitant to get on Bearded Cabbage in the past, but Ben and I laid siege to it on Sunday. I thought I might send. Nope! On the first go I swung my hand over into the crack and thought "Oh, that wasn't so hard." A few seconds later I was dangling on the end of the rope. It's the transition of getting the second (right) hand in. On the second go I managed an insecure jam that got me in, but I pitched off again before I could get established. Finally, I fully committed to the jam and made a couple of semi-desperate jams to a great stance in the crack. Hard (burly) move, but I think I could figure out some alternative beta. After that the business is over, but don't forget to enjoy the moves because this hand crack alone would make for something of a classic...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HUwQYaP1eeKDshLyq-TgNi15I10vbMmD3hJb6htCLvz4bYEOX4Voc5ocDryNrYb2DQfqtaRslvL3sgF0ihyDEr9Io5ozNPcy_CpyFTyHVE2b2vaczuzInUoTyyKLTmcJbj6FosktFME/s1600/bearded+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HUwQYaP1eeKDshLyq-TgNi15I10vbMmD3hJb6htCLvz4bYEOX4Voc5ocDryNrYb2DQfqtaRslvL3sgF0ihyDEr9Io5ozNPcy_CpyFTyHVE2b2vaczuzInUoTyyKLTmcJbj6FosktFME/s320/bearded+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sending Bearded Cabbage (kind of)!</td></tr>
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I also repeated ascents of: Stichter Quits (5.7, Nathan lead), Touch and Go (5.9), Fote Hog (5.6, Nathan lead), Hobbit Roof (5.10d, Ben lead), and Toe Jam (5.6, Ben in approach shoes lead). Great weekend out!<br />
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<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-rygWVaKeFx023LVMpsp5L5t3zzo1TFzLyTy4VE_jnsOAXb1Nis02mo4vgsYTqzc1O-u7BAc_i67ywXs6WAXkxqP74NEwDfZfEMXFAIBT0JK6EYEj_OU7t0ARcssYz4_6ODIT-ZuS4s/s1600/nathan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-rygWVaKeFx023LVMpsp5L5t3zzo1TFzLyTy4VE_jnsOAXb1Nis02mo4vgsYTqzc1O-u7BAc_i67ywXs6WAXkxqP74NEwDfZfEMXFAIBT0JK6EYEj_OU7t0ARcssYz4_6ODIT-ZuS4s/s200/nathan.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathan firing Stichter Quits (5.7). 120', 4 bolts.</td></tr>
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<br />T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-53290372683418556732011-10-19T18:02:00.000-07:002012-02-03T16:35:35.454-08:00Tahquitz Season 2011<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiux9x0gUthc_pnxv9AQ7Rhd-3TIDfk9vRihwusLWTTNxx6Wq2gMkE8VFn51j2x_tR32w-2ndz_ijwq9fyut6r9U0t7RI01KZmKJOfdHh76jjRZhjWglbWoC-8BMPXmr4wowBrvRS3yvVc/s1600/dahlia2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiux9x0gUthc_pnxv9AQ7Rhd-3TIDfk9vRihwusLWTTNxx6Wq2gMkE8VFn51j2x_tR32w-2ndz_ijwq9fyut6r9U0t7RI01KZmKJOfdHh76jjRZhjWglbWoC-8BMPXmr4wowBrvRS3yvVc/s400/dahlia2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tecates for all at the Tahquitz summit</td></tr>
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It seems like the temps are really starting to come down in the mountains. With no upcoming prospects of getting back to Idyllwild's Tahquitz Rock, it may be the end of the 2011 Tahquitz season. But don't despair- J-tree is also cooling down and we should be seeing climbing temps in the next couple of weeks! Psyched!<br />
<br />
Let's look at the season rundown for Tahquitz. I got back to California in mid-September after six months in East Africa (~1 month ago).<br />
<br />
<b>Left Ski Track</b> (5.6, 3 pitches), Dahlia Midge and Elijah Whippsalm. DM lead all three pitches. Bravo. <br />
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<b>The Long Climb</b> (5.8, 6 pitches), Elijah Whippsalm* Great day out! Full value climb with E-dub!<br />
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<b>El Camino Real</b> (5.10, 3 pitches), Fen Beintzeig* Pitch 3 is a long, sustained layback. Excellent.<br />
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<b>Right Ski Track</b> (5.9, 2 pitches), Fen Beintzeig* Cool sequence when the crack runs out on P1...<br />
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<b>Super Pooper</b> (5.10a/b, 3 pitches), Fen Beintzeig* Froze my ass off.<br />
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<b>The Vampire</b> (5.11a, 4 pitches), Fen Beintzeig* Amazing. See previous post.<br />
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<b>Coffin Nail</b> (5.8, 2 pitches (linked to Traitor Horn)), Fen Beintzeig. One star in the guidebook? Really? <br />
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<b>Traitor Horn</b> (5.8, 2 pitches), Fen Beintzeig. I was scared on the traitor horn traverse, but my lead head is back now, I
think.<br />
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* first time up the route<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8N5YjIeTYJlSTy6oflpKoI9Q9mx1LqHzNU6GzkUdL45X2_QZEKebr3nTnAfGBTEnnSGeq-K74KF2Hmx70FkEy5UqSRPCuEwiuKdlTPfeW4-sGxbVT4tcFCl0OeEiKeJSPbeVYbXGqoDo/s1600/dahlia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8N5YjIeTYJlSTy6oflpKoI9Q9mx1LqHzNU6GzkUdL45X2_QZEKebr3nTnAfGBTEnnSGeq-K74KF2Hmx70FkEy5UqSRPCuEwiuKdlTPfeW4-sGxbVT4tcFCl0OeEiKeJSPbeVYbXGqoDo/s400/dahlia.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dahlia scopes out the ski tracks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-33821691931038020882011-10-18T14:01:00.000-07:002011-11-13T21:40:45.926-08:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Vampire</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Tahquitz Rock, California</b></span></div>
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Amazing position on Tahquitz Rock up the one of the most improbable lines. Ben Feintzeig and I got on it this past Sunday (Oct. 16th, 2011). Although we flailed our way up the bat crack it is, without a doubt, five star rock climb.</div>
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<b>Approach</b> (2 pitches)<b>:</b> From the base of the Trough head up and left to the large ledge with trees. Belay here. Then head up and left into a corner with several cracks (5.6) to "Vampire Ledge." You could easily simul-climb this whole approach.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9hDzWExXy1ESccr4FAeuZputBpNL0LYTkvMaPU_m36DyXZVmKdglABo_pnBQFYZ_3KynF8WRU5W1hz9FYFRPfqBQHJ19Z1lb23X824CgXJk8WW4WGEqfbEypNNYYkD7g11Im97n8LqQ/s1600/tahquitz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9hDzWExXy1ESccr4FAeuZputBpNL0LYTkvMaPU_m36DyXZVmKdglABo_pnBQFYZ_3KynF8WRU5W1hz9FYFRPfqBQHJ19Z1lb23X824CgXJk8WW4WGEqfbEypNNYYkD7g11Im97n8LqQ/s400/tahquitz.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The route. Straight up the guts of Tahquitz Rock. Look at it! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The first two pitches are approaches to P1.</span></span></td></tr>
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<b>Pitch 1:</b> The Bat Crack. We did the classic, non-direct start. The direct start does not increase the grade, but is more sustained (and we heard there is a lot of bat crap). Getting into the Bat Crack from Vampire ledge is certainly funky, and it requires a 10' down climb (a bit spooky if it's your first time, but it's all there).<br />
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If you want to place something when you get into the crack, you will need to walk up your gear (#1BD) until you get a little above your belayer in order to avoid rope drag. It's slammer hands for some way and then gets to fingers-- this is where the pump really begins to set in.<br />
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A fixed piton is found through strenuous moves before the 1st rest above. A short interesting section when the crack widens, and you're forced to clip a bolt off of two flat holds on the right side of the crack. The next sequence requires a semi-desperate move with a high step and a precarious left-hand finger lock (or jam). It seems that Fen always finds finger locks while I usually find jams.<br />
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Save some juice for the 5.10d mantle to the chains. Place something high on right to protect the move (#2 or 3BD works great). Pumpy, <b>awesome</b> pitch.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0mzNQTnmv71vV19irVWTn3legU8MQqK8sQLSOv60_lOV-t1iE7Zh1qJYLwEiTJ-osIvMwZu5AWLwyB43KYo0_srw7Mvkt6e9NpUfIbix_tBABFibaY614DDhCfz2lvGNJPOOkvzN3Cs/s1600/batcrack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0mzNQTnmv71vV19irVWTn3legU8MQqK8sQLSOv60_lOV-t1iE7Zh1qJYLwEiTJ-osIvMwZu5AWLwyB43KYo0_srw7Mvkt6e9NpUfIbix_tBABFibaY614DDhCfz2lvGNJPOOkvzN3Cs/s320/batcrack.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben starting up the Bat Crack</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQmGq0ggf5tt__OsDpx7YmLrkmUqF3CU5pl71sW9BWznFYvpMOFf6dPLx5tGPPoY82K0iQY4fDiGyyD5cqfJ6zc-aQjHSemdP0YmZsTJp_xuFW2krtAu5gBJaRbImmPFHfxchE8Ntco8/s1600/mantle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQmGq0ggf5tt__OsDpx7YmLrkmUqF3CU5pl71sW9BWznFYvpMOFf6dPLx5tGPPoY82K0iQY4fDiGyyD5cqfJ6zc-aQjHSemdP0YmZsTJp_xuFW2krtAu5gBJaRbImmPFHfxchE8Ntco8/s320/mantle.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protecting the mantle move (over the white streak)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0mzNQTnmv71vV19irVWTn3legU8MQqK8sQLSOv60_lOV-t1iE7Zh1qJYLwEiTJ-osIvMwZu5AWLwyB43KYo0_srw7Mvkt6e9NpUfIbix_tBABFibaY614DDhCfz2lvGNJPOOkvzN3Cs/s1600/batcrack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<b>Pitch 2: </b>A three or four move traverse sequence off of sharp crimps and friction footholds leads to a thin crack out left. I adjusted my feet here and slam dunked my right hand above my left hand onto the flake (jug). The sequence here is rated 5.11a and fall at this point would land you back at the belay (PG).<br />
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Now prepare yourself for some of the best, most exposed 5.10 flake moves you'll ever do. Gear and fun abundant. This pitch is <i>so very </i>good. Follow the flakes up until you can traverse out left on a hand rail to a bolted hanging belay. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ptrCQlGwgPGqc1Rx8ZKgofxf_CP2nK8X6J-79CGAdJrGvoxxeoeT5AGxciPcyVd-htu6ocKm59T9VxMFx227-mWmHf1kg9fCIyow0_Xj0uEoGz07_6-BufvRJBwu4nZh4uNAwnMZ8s0/s1600/flakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ptrCQlGwgPGqc1Rx8ZKgofxf_CP2nK8X6J-79CGAdJrGvoxxeoeT5AGxciPcyVd-htu6ocKm59T9VxMFx227-mWmHf1kg9fCIyow0_Xj0uEoGz07_6-BufvRJBwu4nZh4uNAwnMZ8s0/s400/flakes.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me nearing the end of P2. Exposure!</td></tr>
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<b>Pitch 3: </b>Head back to the flake and up a few moves to a bolt up on the right face. A short <i>steep </i>sequence on marginal crimps/scrimps (5.11a) brings you through some delicate moves up a lower angle thin crack. Continue up to easier terrain with good gear and a hanging belay in an obvious alcove.<br />
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This was the technical crux (I fell following this pitch), but my personal crux remains the endurance first pitch, The Bat Crack.<br />
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<b>Pitch 4:</b> Take the crack on the left up through two roof sections. Looks somewhat improbable from the belay, but turns out to be no harder than 5.8 to the top. I kept waiting for a heinous friction slab...T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4457367034348367669.post-62650937246832846912011-09-21T10:07:00.000-07:002011-10-27T10:51:00.052-07:00Just out: Profile of malaria mosquito gut microbiome<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigs_1w4uf33sMnSk-JJtKvROKUmPmBKdeBWqVfCib9f6ET-duZeYBF1HThYClJ5JawLUvp4IklzlTFtavcZUKYrEjoP4Q8wppVJ0TSHf0OjsqSNuVY1Qy2mDIqOQFIZFXqSGx2oR8sx48/s1600/Wang2011.Dynamic+Gut+Microbiome+of+An+gambiae+in+Kenya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigs_1w4uf33sMnSk-JJtKvROKUmPmBKdeBWqVfCib9f6ET-duZeYBF1HThYClJ5JawLUvp4IklzlTFtavcZUKYrEjoP4Q8wppVJ0TSHf0OjsqSNuVY1Qy2mDIqOQFIZFXqSGx2oR8sx48/s640/Wang2011.Dynamic+Gut+Microbiome+of+An+gambiae+in+Kenya.jpg" width="494" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Full article available <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0024767">here</a></div>T. Sigmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09227554943192480865noreply@blogger.com0