Yetti’s Pacific North West Exploration & Expeditions Picture heavy

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

December, 2017, Colombia.

Worships still occur here weekly.

"In 1995, the new site of the Zipaquira Salt Cathedral was inaugurated, as the first mine was unstable. This new construction is 180 meters underground. To build it, 250 thousand tons of rock salt had to be extracted. This mine is the largest deposit of rock salt in the world."












^ Locked in.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

December, 2017: Colombia. “ The Salt Church”



Stations of the cross, all have been hand carved.


Its a big place, its also worth seeing.



Unless, or Until * maybe those missing gopro photos will show up one day.. I think this wraps up all I have from my long ago visit there. How can it seem like yesterday, and a lifetime ago at the same time?

I appreciate Kp and Taylor as they welcomed me with open arms to butt in on their trip!

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

First Aid Only contract, for small local event.

Should be an uneventful 6 hours, he types with baited breath.

Sent from my Titan using Tapatalk

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

It was an uneventful, event. Which is good.

Lots of directions.

1 bloody nose for a PT I never saw,

1 teenager who put his wrist band on too tight,

1 Band-Aid.



The most serious complication was the zipper on my bag giving up the ghost. That bag has seen some things, and is probably at least 10 years old.
They said about 1k people came through, it’s a calm demographic though.

 

[jgaz]

First Aid Only contract, for small local event.

Should be an uneventful 6 hours, he types with baited breath.

Sent from my Titan using Tapatalk

Ohh no! You didn't just say that before the event!?!
On my last day of volunteer trail patrols at the Grand Canyon I never say “I’ll be home for dinner”. Lol

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Ohh no! You didn't just say that before the event!?!
On my last day of volunteer trail patrols at the Grand Canyon I never say “I’ll be home for dinner”. Lol

Right?! I never say the Q word.

 

[jgaz]

Right?! I never say the Q word.

Yup. I‘ve been 5 min. from the rim and been asked to “expedite” back down trail to check on a situation or hiker in distress.

However, unlike yourself I’m sure, I can tell dispatch I’m smoked and don’t feel safe heading back down into the heat.
I never have refused but have the option.

The perks of being older and a volunteer I guess

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Yup. I‘ve 5 min. from the rim and been asked to “expedite” back down trail to check on a situation or hiker in distress.

However, unlike yourself I’m sure, I can tell dispatch I’m smoked and don’t feel safe heading back down into the heat.
I never have refused but have the option.

The perks of being older and a volunteer I guess

Well, not really. Depending on the circumstance. We have the “ability” to say, its not safe. However, the reality is, then there is no one else.

Some exceptions, like active shooter. Of if we request a LEO.
In the Urban setting, there can be more latitude. If the dept has heavy staffing or not that day. Which is pretty rare.
The remote contracts, not an option.
That hike to the bottom is no joke, people don’t take it seriously enough. I can’t even imagine how many people get pulled out in a year.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Well, Friday was an uneventful day for me. And most folks are gone for the holiday season. So I opened up my google maps & started looking at options to knock off my list. (It was only office staff any myself, all the field crews gone)

It did not take long to zoom in on “The Trees of Stone Interpretive Trail head”. It was only 2 hours away, and in an area of Washington I had not spent much time at. Was a bit of a grey day with showers on and off for my home location. The radar did not show any rain for the area I was headed.

The Trees of Stone Interpretive Trailhead · Ginkgo Petrified Forest Interpretive Trails, Ellensburg, WA 98926, United States

★★★★☆ · State park

www.google.com

The next morning, we hit the road by 8am. And got about 1hr in, when I got a low tire warning. These are still the OE tires, and I will need to replace them shortly. The tread life is not bad, but I do see some rubber cracks, and just age. It got to about 27, with the rest being around 33. I kept an eye on it, with no handling issues, and not dropping any lower. I kept going to the trail head. I have onboard air, and patch kits I am well versed with. So I made the choice to monitor and keep driving.






Not another sole in sight, I was struck by the beautiful old stone house built by the CCC. The work they did was outstanding, I could of spent hours just checking it out.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

On a side note. So much technology, just in case the dash cluster did not tell me. OnStar also sent me an email, and a txt about the low tire pressure. As well as the My Chevrolet app.

Various stats, the actual Hike recorded with my Suunto watch. The Garmin, was from the InReach Mini.

Even though I knew for most of this I would have decent service. I know myself enough to know that with loose plans, and a lot of cool geology, I could easily get distracted and go off on another route. + keeping my mind fresh with the equipment and gear I use.

( I did visually check the tire, for anything largely concerning) Grabed Mishka on her leash, and a Washington Discover pass at the kiosk and away we went.



The ridge trail was not well marked or traveled. I thought this gave a good comparison of my route when it disappeared and did not match the map overlay anymore. Its hard scrub ground, with a lot of basalt. I saw it followed the fence line, so did the same with Mishka happily on a sniff safari in front of me.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

The little house, was abandoned- or at least, not occupied. The only open room was down below next to where you go through the bottom like a tunnel. Sorry about the pics being a little out of focus, Mishka was still on her leash and in turn my hand.





Always take a picture of the map...




Looking back at it from another angle. It blends in so well.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I did not take any pictures of the ridge trail, the close portions, are well marked. With gravel and or paved sections. I am guessing almost no one does the ridge trail.

It, was pretty lackluster. Which is ok, I needed the cardio, and it’s always good to get out and explore. The petrified wood section was all well protected under concrete and steel grates/box’s.

Mishka was off leash for most of these at this point.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Its pretty obvious what part I found most interesting. I just could not get enough, I found it fascinating. And how well it’s still holding together after not much love. A few more cars appeared in the parking lot, but I still never saw another person.

In some of the pictures above you can see my red ZR2




In the kitchen, you can see how the cabinetry goes around the rock if you look really close. To the bench, I learned later. That they sanded the wood to get it to fit so tight. I did not get any specific dates, or history on what was added when.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

The next few pictures, well. They aren’t good. But it gives an example, of the construction they used here in the high desert. And some more of the CCC work


As you can see, once I got back. And the rubber had cooled down. I added air to the tire that was low. I actually got distracted looking at a solar tesla charging station, ( It was non functional) And ended up with 55 psi in the tire. That extreme outback magnum compressor is a amazing little thing. And then had to get my deflator, pull the valve stem and level it back out.


The ZR2, will actually honk when you reach a specific PSI, although I think its 35. I need to mess with that portion more. As well as it will turn on the blinker, next to the tire you are filling up.

I know here in the west the CCC work is everywhere, I dont know about it as much on the east coast, or middle states.

 

[AbleGuy]

Great reporting from the field, thx.

Since you’re kinda in the area and seem to enjoy geology…have you visited this place just SW of you? I think you’d really enjoy exploring it this time of year.

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org