Forum Index > Trip Reports > McCall Mt (5760') via Napeequa Crossing, April 9, 2011
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honey badger
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honey badger
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PostMon Apr 11, 2011 1:14 pm 
McCall Mt (5760’) -skiing via Twin Lakes Trail at Napeequa Crossing, White River Road April 9, 2011 dicey & fwb
Weather – Sun, Mostly cloudy –blue breaks. Little to no wind… spring (temps 34 to 44F) Celestral - Sunrise 6:27a, sunset 19:42, moonrise 9:50a, moonset 1:20a 6 days since new moon Short of it Stefan had a great idea to do McCall Mt off the White River (behind Dirtyface). Family obligations kept him away from the last dry day of the small weather window. I wanted a shakedown trek of new equipment and decided upon a deviation from his route. Only one taker. We went on step at a time, understanding that potential weather and snow conditions could mean a turn around. We had clouds, sunshine, dramatic and sullen views –a good trip. If you want the rambling details read on, or just enjoy the pictures… What to do… Another week of rain with a two day window of clear weather. I missed Friday’s sunshine sitting on my fat butt in a boardroom. Very distracted sun streaming though the skylight of the atrium, my mind wandered. Prelim trip ideas took a wet turn with some having family obligations Saturday and planning for a Sunday trip. And others were silent. Stefan’s had a good idea of ascending McCall Mt from Napeequa Crossing on the White River road. Considerable studying of the map and sat imagery I wanted to try a slightly different route up a wooded ridge close to the NW end of the larger lake. I’d not hiked in from that area and was keen on seeing the terrain. A 2 ˝ hour drive from Seattle. Cloudy skies past Stevens Pass, small clearing patches as we turned off Highway 2. Passing Lake Wenatchee, a jog onto White river road and in 6ish miles Tall Timbers Ranch. We explored to the end of the road. The White river road is still covered with a couple feet of snow and not plowed past Tall Timber Ranch. We parked at the Twin Lakes TH across from the still buried Napeequa Crossing outhouses. Where’s the snow At the TH a nice hand drawn map of trails not on the other maps and a step by step on how to hike on the trails safely. Well informed we were again ready and off footing it up the snow and dirt covered trail.
TH map with bonus features
TH map with bonus features
Skis on the back and hiking at what now seemed a leisure hour of 8:20 (c1940’). I was wondered how far we’d be walking in with skis on our packs. At c2150 (.3m, 14m) a bump to the west signed as a “view point”. From here the trail began descending and soon the snow covering was more consistent and allowed for skinning on skis. Past two avy debris fields that had stripped to the ground. And dropping elevation to c2000 (.8m, 50min) we regained the valley floor and nice snow.
one of two avy debris fields
one of two avy debris fields
add dicey for proportion
add dicey for proportion
Up the valley and boxed in Past signs of beaver action and a slight rise to above a large swampy-pond area (1.2m, c2035, 1hr).
There be beaver here
There be beaver here
pond
pond
a cascade hike without a mylar balloon? Not
a cascade hike without a mylar balloon? Not
Wall of Grasshopper
Wall of Grasshopper
On the left the dramatic cliffy SE walls of Grasshopper and ahead the dramatic vertical face and gulleys of Crook. Skirting to the right and still following signs of trail and up through maple trees along a creek. Past the old log crossing, to crossing to the north side of the creek at a newly fallen double tree (1.5m, c2165).
old log crossing
old log crossing
better log crossing
better log crossing
The snow was slim pickings going up along the creek near.
dicey heading up along the creek
dicey heading up along the creek
Then a giant wall of debris in front of us (1.7m, c2365, 1h3m). A recent (this week?) avy had come down the gulley stripping it clean. With a creek on our right we moved left up through the debris pile climbing up over and across it.
Dicey dwarfed by Crook
Dicey dwarfed by Crook
And again by the size of the “snowballs” in the avy debris field
And again by the size of the “snowballs” in the avy debris field
The gulley this had come down was from Crook Mt and we turned SE (right) upward traverse til alongside Twin Lakes Creek. Easily entering a very windy box canyon at c2740 (2m, 1h56m). Following occasional signs of a trail staying on the east side of the creek traversing the steep canyon walls.
traversing the east sidewall
traversing the east sidewall
heading up the canyon
heading up the canyon
slope up Dirtyface ridge
slope up Dirtyface ridge
a plastering of rabbit tracks
a plastering of rabbit tracks
The canyon was pretty and inviting to come back in the summer and see what it looks like. c2900 the canyon started to flatten and open and numerous rabbit tracks. Creek changing from a cold windy roar to a soft slow calm. As I was thinking what an ideal fishing spot… a sign magically popped up bursting that dream (“Closed waters to all fishing…”). I wondered why?
calmer creek
calmer creek
no fishing
no fishing
Lakes and what is this Less than 2h20 min from the car the canyon opened and we were on the NW edge of the smaller Twin Lake. The lake was covered in snow and the edges thawing –a no go on short cutting across it. A view of the ridge we planned to ascend.
aour intended route
aour intended route
thawing lake
thawing lake
We skinned left (CW) up and away from the lake to avoid a cliffy area.
steps
steps
over the cliff bump
over the cliff bump
Traversing to the second lake ahead the roof of a nearly buried building (3.2m, c2940’, 2h50m). Around the front it was well locked up.
mostly buried cabin
mostly buried cabin
Oh, a “spawning station…”
Oh, a “spawning station…”
with a view
with a view
On the front, a large sign read “1949, State of WN Dept of Game, Twin Lks Spawning Station”. That answered many of my questions. If I feel the need to spawn, I know where to go.
larger Twin Lake from the NW end
larger Twin Lake from the NW end
the weir
the weir
At the NW end of the lake a good spot to sit for a break and take in the views. A weir across the opening between the lakes was a good distraction. Sun breaking through in places and pleasantly warm, we left the station at 11:36a Over the gulleys and up the ridge… Angling along (SE) and up-ish from the lake, across a small gulley and then a large open gulley, it was time to take a left and head up the ridge (3.9m, c3250, 12:00p). The trees were spaced wide enough for skiing down, maybe not spaced far enough for those timid of tree skiing. The snow was a nice spring corn texture not sinking in much. A pole probe showed boots or snowshoes would have gone much deeper. The pitch below 4000’ increased to above 30degrees.
up the ridge
up the ridge
view of Grasshopper
view of Grasshopper
getting steeper
getting steeper
The only discouraging thing was continually walking out of the ski binding (no pictures of that joyous fun). At 4000 the steepest pitch for 3-400 feet around 40+ degrees. At c4950 (4.5m, 1:30p, 5h10m) the trees thickened and the snow was mushier. Wandering left the trees opened and snow was better. In another 500’ the pitch started rounding off. On our right were gulleys not safe for starting an early traverse. To our left the trees opened with views to the clouded top f Crook Mt. BTW, the maps have the wrong peak for the summit of Crook. I’d been plugging away not in my usual good spirits. Looking at the map, thinking, darn, Crook is close (.25m) and easy to get to. Looking at the map I could see the ridge kept rising for another half mile. Visually it also looked like the map. The true summit was not as marked and another 1300’ vert along a heavily corniced ridge.
Crook in the cloud
Crook in the cloud
is this Jonathan?
is this Jonathan?
Looking up to Old Gib, Chile and South Spectacle poking up
Looking up to Old Gib, Chile and South Spectacle poking up
The cornice ridge of McCall
the ridge : )
the ridge : )
skinning the ridge
skinning the ridge
ridge view SE
ridge view SE
On the ridge crest now bathed in sunshine my spirits lifted. Up to a knob (pt5657, 4.9m, 6h7min) a break in the trees revealed the Minnow ridge, Old Gib, Chile, the tip of S Spectacle all sun bathed with a dark cloudy backdrop. Turning clockwise a view of the ridge to McCall, then the NE of Dirtyface, peak-a-boos of Whittier, Jonathan and the impressive north faces of Grasshopper.
following the martin tracks
following the martin tracks
view to McCall
view to McCall
more tracks
more tracks
I’d no idea if we could attain McCall following the ridge, since ridge walking is a rough route. Elated with the uplifting views we set out south following tracks of a martin. Up and over bumps, down short hills, rising though a wooded section on the east side, then opening with a dramatic corned ridge view to McCall and Catkin seeming so far away.
more route to the summit
more route to the summit
View looking down a 2700’ avy gulley
View looking down a 2700’ avy gulley
figure it out… heads or tails… optical illusion… hint, it’s looking down.
figure it out… heads or tails… optical illusion… hint, it’s looking down.
Could we pass the cornices safely? Progress started out well, skirting to the west (right). Up a ledge next to a tree and leaving the skis (5.3m, c5776, 6h44m). The steep ups and downs were not good skiing and a slip would not be good. Past a giant cornice staying on solid rock on the west (cornices hung east), down, up, down. The final stretch up a long shallow widening ridge was tougher by foot. Darn, skis would be nice now. Sinking in knee deep I worked carefully past trees, everything else was lower and down. I stood on an ambiguous feeling highpoint that must be the summit (5.6m, 5760, 3:25, 7h5m).
looking back
looking back
very dramatic looking Grasshopper
very dramatic looking Grasshopper
Crook
Crook
Twin Lakes and the valley we came up
Twin Lakes and the valley we came up
I’d hoped upon a 3:00 turn around. It was now 25 minutes past that and time to head back. My figuring was it could take up tp 5 hours to get back, putting it a just getting dark finish. The going back along the ridge wasn’t any better with the soft snow. Seeing the cornices from this side I gave them even greater leeway returning. Gathered my skis and skinned back catching p with Dicey before Point 5657 (6.2m, c5648, 41min from summit). Some food and water and last look at the views. We guessed some of the peaks, this view was very different and a new “look”. Going down, down, down A little more ridge and started descending. Assured no more up, we de-skinned (.8m, c5618, 46m fom summit). The way up had been “hectic” my new rig had been very sub-par. The new “Speedskins” were speeding right off with the rubber end unhooking form the tips. Worse was the often walking out of the binding toe at inopportune times. One slight move and I was walking sans ski. Aaarrrgghh! I checked for snow/ice under the toe springs, points firmly in, tab pulled up... Later found out I needed to pull up with much more force to get a good click (or 2). Okay, I’ll leave the rant. The scenery was great and Dicey patient. At c5165 a little to the north of our ascent route we crossed a very fresh deep (1-2’) set of bear tracks, in the mush, heading downhill toward our up tracks. Hmmm, the tracks went left. Not wanting to catch up to the bear (s) we cut left and in another hundred feet to a shallow wide open gulley and nice smooth spring corn skiing (sinking in a few inches : ).
wide open corn field
wide open corn field
Narrowing to some brush dodging, escape from the partially covered debris field, hugged the trees for smooth snow and back onto the shallow (~20+25deg) field.
dicey showing grace in a creek crossing
dicey showing grace in a creek crossing
and another even better corn field
and another even better corn field
about to drop into the halfpipe
about to drop into the halfpipe
We worked north, crossed over a gulley, another sweet snow field to a half-pipe looking trench at c3200 for a few hundred and then a skinned traversing through the woods back toward the smaller Twin Lake. The sun breaking through the semi open forest and brush buried under snow made for a peaceful trek. More tracks, this time of Bobcat. The glue of the new skins would not stick to even a dry ski. Heck, the glue wouldn’t stick to itself… what the heck? Blah, Blah, Blah…
oh, the joy of glue that won’t stick
oh, the joy of glue that won’t stick
At the NW end of smaller Twin Lake I de-skinned (3.3m, c2905, 6:11, 2h43m from the summit). Dicey kept skins on not having the similar issues. Boxed, logged and ponded Back into the box canyon, peaceful and a breeze again. Memories of scrambling and bouldering in little canyons in the ONP as a teen and the feel of the glide had me forgetting about the skin issue.
re-tracersing out the box canyon
re-tracersing out the box canyon
nearing the end of the box canyon
nearing the end of the box canyon
Exiting the box, dodging trees in nicely textured snow. We tried to go down the skiers left of the creek to be cliffed out. Climbed back toward the bottom of the giant avy debris field and walked across the creek (4m, c2390’, 3h14m from summit). The gentle slope to the log had a few thin spots we dodged. An easy log crossing of the creek (c2140’) and low angle pleasant glide to the pond (4.5m, c2068, 7:05p 3h37m from summit).
root in the air creating natural art
root in the air creating natural art
From here, going out would be an up and down. I tried to use the skins to great exasperation. After falling off every 100 feet I threw one over my shoulder. A challenge going up and even the down with one ski skin and one bare. Up from the c2000’ valley past “private Property” signs and “<-- Trail” signs. The skin tracks from a few days earlier went down the valley, we went up following our track in. Skis off past the first avy field we’d passed in the morning and a high point next to the “view point” (5.3m, c2175, 4h25m from summit). The occasional posthole and extra work of the snow walk was reminding me of the feeling of a long day. A few steps on firm dry ground brought a lightness to my pace. Hmmm, summer trips will be an ease, my mind wandered as it does on the walks out. Dicey was silent; looking back it was hard to watch a she was obviously quietly suffering a painful boot issue. Forward and down the hill saw lights of Tall Timber Ranch and a car going down the road. And poof, the trailhead, the car and still some dusk light out (5.7m, c1926, 8:05p, 4h37m from summit). A thinning slice of moon above, darkness fell as we made our way to the Headwaters for refreshments and burgers. I’d started the trip as a shakedown of the new equipment. Not thinking I’d go as far as the ridge with the amount of winter and snow mileage. Saw beautiful scenery in an area new to me. Good and some challenging skiing, great patient company and a light early season sunburn. Another outing to remember with a smile. Happy Trails! fwb Stats: In: 5.6m, 7h07min, 4212 ascent Return: 5.7m, 4h37min, 385 ascent Total 11.3m, 11h44min, 4567’ ascent Animal sign –Beaver, rabbit, martin, black bear & bobcat (oh, and a giant Grasshopper)

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iron
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iron
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PostMon Apr 11, 2011 1:36 pm 
this is your fastest turn-around-time on a TR in years! good work smile.gif sucks about the skis, but at least the overall trip was fun. nice shot of the weir.

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honey badger
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honey badger
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PostMon Apr 11, 2011 1:43 pm 
I'll not try to make it a habit of writing TRs so quick. I'm still behind about 20 from last year or so. Skis did great. Skins, bindings and boots were a pain in the A@&. Nothing some new Gold glue, and iron, paper bag and 8# double jack can't solve wink.gif

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Stefan
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Stefan
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PostMon Apr 11, 2011 2:58 pm 
Franklin, If you aint suffering, then you aint climbing! Stefan

Art is an adventure.
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Randy
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Randy
Cube Rat
PostMon Apr 11, 2011 3:01 pm 
I appreciate the effort you put into these reports. Nice work.

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dicey
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dicey
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PostMon Apr 11, 2011 8:41 pm 
I got spooked by the cornices on the ridge to McCall (huge!), so I didn't reach the true summit, but still had a good day! Skiing down was better than expected even with the brush/trees/creek crossings along the way. Didn't expect such a good weather day. Nice to explore a new area!
Taking the new skis for a walk
Taking the new skis for a walk
shiny ridges
shiny ridges
more debris
more debris
This was far enough for me
This was far enough for me
sunny skin track
sunny skin track
Chilly peak
Chilly peak
the light at the end of the day
the light at the end of the day
lower twin leaving
lower twin leaving

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/
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puzzlr
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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
PostMon Apr 11, 2011 10:47 pm 
Another TR up to your usual standard. So great that you lay it all out, I stay warm and dry and find out about a peak I've never heard of. Summer scrambling up.gif up.gif

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twodogdad
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PostMon Apr 11, 2011 10:48 pm 
As inspiring to read as it was exasperating to experience: perfect ski-mountaineering adventure. (I reveled in powder: you know where.) N

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joker
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joker
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PostMon Apr 11, 2011 11:38 pm 
Definitely a creative ski route. Your travails with the skins makes me happy I took Eric at Marmot's advice and got the Black Diamond skins instead of the Dynafit skins for my new skis. He was concerned about reports of them "wetting out" quickly in spring snow, leading to stretching and adhesion problems. There's nothing that can make you wish for a little extra weight on your feet like misbehaving skins! I've never had problems with BD skins in the past, and they were cheaper if heavier, so I took his advice and wondered if what he'd heard was in fact true. Did you manage to make the skins workable with some duct tape or some such? That seems to do the trick, at least until your edges cut through the tape (at which time you get to use more tape!). As for the toepiece letting your boot go - I'm wondering if you're certain that you had the toe lever pulled up to the top "locked for tour mode" position (I think it's typically 4 clicks?). You may well know all the Dynafiddle tricks, but one other nice one I learned after a few years on the bindings is that the toe pins are fluted, and if you swing your leg back and forth a few times so as to pivot the boot 90 or so degrees in the binding each time, you will tend to work any snow in the boot's pin holes out via the flutes (some folks carry a paper clip to pick the snow out before putting the binding on - too much gear for me, and Dynafit appears to have designed in a better way... hockeygrin.gif ). Our casual laps in soft snow in the north facing trees on Yodelin on Saturday seem quite mundane in comparison to your outing.

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honey badger
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PostTue Apr 12, 2011 11:16 am 
Hey Niko, hope one of these days you'll get out sking in these lowly cascades wink.gif Glad you got great pow up there. Joker and others... Thanks, we thought I had the lever all teh way up. I just tested and did find to pull hard and felt the extra clicks. I figured something was wrong even though it appeared to be in tehup/locked mode. So far I've not had issues with my BD or old Pomoca skins with the moisture or sticking. I called Marmot and they said the Speedskins should have no issues with wetting or stick. Wonder why different opinions from the same dealer? Dynafit customer service says they are designed best for maritime weather and it must have been too cold -LOL! Guess they don't know what wet is. The skins are like sponges. And once wet (skin and/or ski) the glue will not stick. Besides the fun of a heavy soaking wet skin to stick under your jacket -oh, yeah... Oh, and they are very fragile. One outing and already damaged. Maybe they will be better for winter. I'll try using the old Pomocas on next.

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joker
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PostTue Apr 12, 2011 1:12 pm 
Re: the toepiece lever, if indeed that was the problem, you're certainly in good company. I've been on more than one trip where someone was repeatedly losing a ski, swearing they'd pulled the lever up appropriately, and then someone else in the group demonstrated the additional clicks for them and wallah, no more trouble. I love the bindings but there's a reason folks call them Dynafiddles.
fwb wrote:
I called Marmot and they said the Speedskins should have no issues with wetting or stick.
I think Eric was relating some concerns he'd read on TelemarkTips or some such ski forum, and he said "I don't know if these are real issues or not" but he wanted to be sure I knew what he'd read. They have lots of staffers at the store, some of whom are quite knowledgeable and good, and sometimes I seem to get someone who wants to be helpful but strikes me as speaking beyond the limits of their actual knowledge. Not as bad on that front as the Redmond REI, but you get the picture. As a result, whenever I buy a new ski setup, I figure out when Eric will be on duty (which I think annoys him a little as others do this too and he wishes we could all just trust the entire staff). There are surely other equally capable staffers but I know I can rely on Eric and don't know who else fits the bill. Plus, I like him and it's always fun to catch up with him on the latest news about our mutual ski buddies. That sucks that the speedskis are already trashed from that outing. I had indeed wondered a bit about durability. Seems like a great skin for people who stick to powdery snow and don't skin over obstacles. And for randonee racers, which seems like the design center for the skin. Of course my BDs get wet too and would suck if I put them in my jacket at that point, but they keep performing well even when wet.

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Tangeman
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Tangeman
ride the storm
PostTue Apr 12, 2011 6:29 pm 
Tasty! There's a group of mountains that you don't see in TRs very often. I'll have to check that area out. Grasshopper looks fun.

"Civilization is a nice place to visit, although I wouldn't want to live there." My photos
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wildernessed
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wildernessed
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PostTue Apr 12, 2011 7:40 pm 
up.gif Nice as usual, I have to get up and do McCall and Crook, did Sylvester last year, looking at Bandit from Quads it looks like there should be a scramble route from the Napeequa side, after crossing over from the Chiwawa side, or fun finding a way up.

Living in the Anthropocene
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fwb
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fwb
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PostTue Apr 12, 2011 10:56 pm 
Wildernessed - Bandit can be ascended from Shaefer lake and a very prominent col on the east side. From the SW looked doable too. I found hte upper roick nasty and loose. Had a stove size piece pull off and almost everything I grabbed felt like it moved a little. If I were to re-do Bandit, I'd do it with snow. Take care with it.

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Get Out and Go
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PostWed Apr 13, 2011 5:57 pm 
As mentioned, nice under-reported area. up.gif I've been up to Twin Lakes a half-dozen times, but never in winter. It's a gorgeous fall hike. There is even a back way in to the upper end that can be combined with a mountain bike ride most of the way in off the Chiwawa Rd. Looks like you were in a safe window, but the narrow ravine just before the first lake was deadly in January 2001, claiming a life. Just a heads-up to anyone who might consider this trip in less than ideal winter conditions. suuure.gif Full report with the exact location of the accident 10 years ago is at NWAC: http://www.nwac.us/media/uploads/documents/accidents/2000_2001/twin_lakes_avalanche_accident_01-29-01.pdf

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
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