[DIYSteve]

[Dane]

[Critter]

I'm an individual who prefers to get up close and personal with nature. I love to watch your planet's fury first hand. As a hands on storm watcher, I can assure you this jacket has kept me dry, all day, in severe weather.

[Dane]

[Critter]

It's not fair to say that what I'm doing is more dangerous than staying home. I could have come home and my house could have been smashed by a tree. The severe weather in Washington is lacking in my opinion. I've been outdoors through tornadoes, ice storms, and 100+ mph winds in other states(KS & TX). I've hiked in winds you wouldn't believe. I've had to crawl and find hand holds on the ground. I've seen a one inch wide ribbon of lightning strike a fence right in front of me. The city is far more dangerous than the backcountry for many reasons. You can't live your life in fear. Mt Rainier is the most severe weather I've found in Washington. Here's an old video. I was trying to make it sound like things were out of control, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the other guy in the video thought it was. ------------- This message has been Critter approved. I feel this post is honest, helpful, and not hurtful.

[Opus]

[Dane]

I guess it's hard to show humility and respect when you feel you have something to prove.

[trestle]

The man is just wearing his new jacket in a rainstorm, trying to enjoy his time off and pass on what he learns. Why has he been placed in the middle of a metaphorical battle? Has he been cast in a remake of a B-movie from the 70s? What is he trying to prove? Did I miss something?

[Critter]

This one is brutal. It's from before I had my Alpha SV. Edit: I like Johnson37's reply. We posted at the same time. I go out there to enjoy and witness nature. I come here to share the outdoors. I'm actually flattered that the big name guys, like Dane, are saying I'm bragging.

[DIYSteve]

[Dane]

I've seen a lot of people come down hard on Critter and I've avoided jumping into the pile-on. Whatever you think of him you can't deny he's a passionate hiker...and generates actual content to boot, as opposed to many who just snipe from the sidelines. The point I was trying to make is that his pride and confidence would be well balanced with some humility and respect for the forces of nature he enjoys throwing himself into. I'm not too worried about him...I tuck my tail and head for shelter in the kind of weather he seems to thrive in. But respect for the dangers of our mountains is at the core of my outdoor pursuits, so his apparently cavalier attitude is something I take note of and felt a desire to respond to.

[treeswarper]

rainsaw

This was not a nice day. It was maybe nicer than a few days earlier, when things were worse. I had to clamber up with this hooktender and check out tail trees up on a ridge. It was before I got my tin pants. We both had on the rubber overalls, which do not pump air as stated in another thread, and rubber rain coats. On the way up, I listened to the hooktender lecture about the need to embrace the weather this time of year. They were shorthanded because a crewmember could not embrace the weather. I should look up at the way the trees were swaying. I answered that it was too scary to look up and if I did, I might be inclined to run back down and leave. We hurried up and did our work, then came back down to the landing. I was soaked from rain going down my neck, both front and back. I get too warm to wear raingear snapped/zippered all the way up, especially when going up a steep hill. The rain was horizontal. At the landing, the loader operator, who was dry and in a T-shirt and regular pants opened his door and yelled, "You look like you been swimmin'." Then leaned back in and closed the door. There's just no way to keep dry on such days. No way would I wear a $700 jacket to work! But, if you want to, there's nothing wrong with that. Anyway, to make things worse, I left to go to another job and there was a tree across the road that I had to cut out. Whaaaaah. That was a very memorable fine and miserable day.

[DIYSteve]

Dane, I generally agree with you re Critter. He manifests a genuine passion for hiking and has breathed some new life into NWH, and those are good things. He does make some bold statements that invite counterpunching, but AFAICT he's game to mix it up. Anyway, you gotta give it up that his selection of an uberposer $$$hell is quite amusing.

[trestle]

Every brand is for posers. We're all posers of one sort or another Given the amount of thought he puts into his efforts, I'd say that Critter is far less cavalier than he might appear. One man's storm to avoid is another man's best choice for fulfilling his passion.

[ranger rock]

Admit it, this place is pretty much dead without Critter here to liven things up. Critter, I hope you get a SPOT Messenger, it's a good idea since you travel alone off trail. SAR won't know where to begin to search if you're off trail.