We Take The Dance Away

I watch more documentaries and do more research on food and food production than is probably healthy. Along the way I try to figure out what the crux of the problem with modern agriculture is. It is easy to blame the human insistence on instant gratification, but that only really describes the necessity we created without explaining where it went wrong.

While watching Queen Of The Sun which is a documentary about bees it stuck me that there is a simple but perfect dance that nature - left alone - performs. The pollinators in a diverse ecology have food sources where they are needed to pollinate crops so that they produce.

At the heart of this dance is the bees who are responsible for over 4 of every 10 bites of food we eat - more if you eat like me. They currently need beekeepers to keep them alive thanks to our "conventional" farming which involves huge growths of one crop - monoculture. It has efficiencies for mechanical farming, but it leaves pollinators with no food source. It also provides for specialization of insects that are dangerous to that type of crop.

The answer to dangerous insects in this system is more and more pesticides and anti-fungals that are poisonous to the pollinators that are necessary to the food supply. This is a downward spiral of a system that is in too big of a hurry to harvest. It is the failure of fast food cultivation.

The process is like an arranged marriage where there is no dance and no romance. It is an unnatural transaction that requires unnatural inputs to keep it going. It is unnecessary to feed the world as the proponents argue.

A diverse ecology such as you see in good organic farming provides food for the pollinators and allows for the dance of nature to occur. It lets nature do what it does best - produce life. The biodiversity doesn't lend itself to pest specialization so insect control is a natural process where other insects and birds eliminate most of the pests.

This is a "slow food" system that requires more human input in sowing and harvesting, but it can be done without chemical herbicides and pesticides. The food has to be better for us with less chemicals on it.

That is why I choose to eat food that has had a chance to enjoy the dance that nature provides that not only feeds us, but the pollinators and humans and animals that have yet to be born. It is sustainable over the long run.

Be very well and more soon....

Indian Henry's Two Ways

We had a wedding reception Saturday - two actually but we couldn't go to both so we picked one and hiked on Sunday instead.

We had never done the hike to Indian Henry's from either direction so we chose the steeper, shorter route from Kautz Creek trail. The trail begins very flat and continues until you cross where the creek used to flow and then it climbs in earnest.





Our first time hiker posing with Mt Rainier.
 

 

This route is obviously less travelled. We passed a young couple early on and saw no one else until we reached Indian Henry's. Hiking this route requires you to check behind you regularly on a clear day as first Mt. Adams and then Mt. Hood appear behind you as you climb.

There were ripe huckleberries along the way and we did our best to pick some as we went. As you approach Indian Henry's this time of year a sea of wildflowers with Mt Rainier dominating the skyline welcomes you to your destination.

We spoke to some section and through hikers at Indian Henry's since it is on the Wonderland Trail that circumnavigates Mt Rainier in 93 miles or so. We ate lunch and decided to take our chances getting a ride from Longmire to Kautz Creek and opted to hike the 7 mile Wonderland trail route to Longmire down. The trail is less steep and in better condition so we thought it would take about the same amount of time and be safer descending.

I forgot to mention that we had a first time hiker with us. She was obviously very fit since she either set pace or followed the pace setter both ways. We all likely have sore feet after 13 miles, but she had a rock star hiking debut.

We arrived at Longmire and quickly found a Park Ranger who agreed to transport 2 of us to Kautz Creek to retrieve our cars. We elected to send the 2 youngest women as a treat to him.

All in all we ended up with right around 13 miles and 4000 ft of elevation gain on a spectacular day in Mt Rainier National Park. A useful day in the park for sure.

Be very well and more soon.....

Tolmie More About This Lookout

My family picnic was Saturday so Pam and I hiked today instead. We chose Tolmie Peak Lookout which is in the Mowich Lake entrance to Mt Rainier. You turn off of the road to Carbon River entrance and drive 16.5 miles - most of it on washboard gravel road - to the trailhead.

This isn't a difficult hike, but you want stiff soled boots and a decent first aid kit since the trail is not a perfect path, but instead has roots and rocks and all of the fun stuff. That being said, it is only 2.9 miles from the trailhead to the lookout and the entire out and back has only a little over 1600 ft of elevation gain in it.

This is a VERY pretty place. You begin the trail walking along Mowich Lake before you come to the trail junction to Eunice Lake and the lookout. We were lucky enough to have some friends on the trail just after the junction as a deer and her offspring were grazing in a switchback corner. we were glad to see them since someone had scratched the word BEAR in the trail just after the junction.

We cruised along and were at Eunice Lake in under an hour and made the lookout in 1:15. We might have stayed there a while to enjoy the views were it not for the mosquitoes, horse flies and a chipmunk who was determined to invade out packs if we walked away from them so we bailed after 10 minutes and made our way down.

Note the bugs on Pam's hat and in the frame.

There was significant traffic on the trail by the time we passed Eunice Lake. We would scream along until the next uphiking group and then take a rest to allow them to pass and then scream along some more. Luckily, there is some uphill to do on the way back so we weren't always the yielders or we might still be there.

Like every popular trail, the average hiker on this trail is totally unprepared and is wearing the perfectly wrong clothes. I get so I just try not to look.

We made the return trip in 1:05 and headed down the washboard for home. For a late start, we were back in Tacoma eating lunch after hitting a car wash at 1:00 PM so not bad at all. I would certainly hike this again though I would likely want to start a lot earlier. By the time we returned to the trailhead cars were spread a solid 1/3 mile up and down the road.

Be very well and more soon....

I Found My Thrill...

When Pam, Athena and I headed to the Upper South Fork Skokomish River trail Wednesday we had no idea we were actually heading to Blueberry Hill. We were happily surprised by more ripe wild blueberries than we could eat.

 

 

We had a hard time keeping moving, but we didn't need to eat anything we brought with us during the 10 mile hike either.

 

This is a pretty trail with only a little over 1600 ft of elevation gain over the entire out and back so It would be good for beginners on up. There are some log bridges and log crossings to negotiate, but nothing the intrepid Athena couldn't handle.

 

Even with the constant stopping to pick berries we managed the trip in just over 4 hours and walked away with 2 ziplocks full of berries for a prize.

 

 

 

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking except to point out that there is a tree crossing work around that you need to find at just over 1.5 miles. There is a horseshoe symbol on a pole that is too far so if you see it backtrack to a side trail and follow it down.

 

Be very well and more soon.....