The Tall Book

The Tall Book: A Celebration of Life on High by Arianne Cohen


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Arianne Cohen has done tall people worldwide a service with this book. Collecting statistics and anecdotes on subjects ranging from salaries and health to dating and, well, just fitting into the world, she presents it all with unflinching honesty and humor. Wonderful book, recommended to anyone tall or anyone who wants to understand more about a tall friend.

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Spiders of Allah

The Spiders of Allah: Travels of an Unbeliever on the Frontline of Holy War by James Hider


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This isn't the kind of book I normally read, but it caught my eye so I gave it a shot. James Hider was the Times UK Middle East station chief, and he chronicles his experiences in both Israel and Iraq. Fascinating and terrifying.

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Boys Trip 2009 - Beartooth Range - Part Seven

Our last day's hike will be brought to you uninterrupted, as a string of pictures...

























Can finally see the end of the trail, here...



Where the ambulance and the van were waiting for us, all fixed up. From there it was back to Bozeman, get some guys to the airport, have a big pizza dinner, and head home the next day.

All these pictures and more are on my flickr set of the trip...

I'm Off Then

I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago by Hape Kerkeling


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Hape Kerkeling's account of his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago is a basic example of the genre - travel narrative mixed in with personal recollection and a very slight but of mysticism. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the translation was very elegant, more a literal rendering of the German. But still interesting..

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Boys Trip 2009 - Beartooth Range - Part Six

With just two days to go, we had to find a campsite for our last night as near as possible to the trailhead - which looked like it was going to be about halfway, or 7 miles.



Packed up and started hiking along the river that we'd be following all the way out.



This river was basically a long succession of waterfalls and lakes.







Eventually found a good campground, which was infested with friendly deer:







Played a little more mountain bocce...



And had some dinner. Stuffing burritos with mashed potatoes, gravy, rehydrated veggies and fried pepperoni. Leftovers, basically.



At this point our hair was getting out of hand...

One more post - the scenic hike out...

Boys Trip 2009 - Beartooth Range - Part Five

We had a layover day at this camp. Good thing, too - the fishing was decent, and we had the Boyz Trip Olympics to hold.

So, first: Fishing.









OK, enough fishing.

The Boyz Trip Olympics apparently started on last year's trip. Thsi year, it consisted of:



The Stone Throw...



The Football Toss...



The Slingshot...



The Blowgun...



And the crown jewel of the Boyz Trip Olympics: Mountain Bocce!
Balls were made out of wiffle balls, small rocks or dirt for weight, and covered with duct tape. The playing field was the whole campground.







Smitty was the eventual winner of the whole shebang. He got a badge and the title of King for the night...



More later...

Newton and the Counterfeiter

Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist by Thomas Levenson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A fascinating look at the strange episode in Isaac Newton's life when he became the Warden of the Mint, and was obliged to not only oversee the recoining of Britain's currency system, but also the prosecution of counterfeiters. The book follows the career of Newton and his main nemesis, a William Chaloner. The author, Thomas Levenson strikes a great balance of historical and biographical information and investigative and courtroom intrigue.

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Mile-High Fever

Mile-High Fever: Silver Mining at Comstock Lode by Dennis Drabelle


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting to read a book on Nevada history that wasn't written by a local. Drabelle presents an interesting, engaging history of the boom and bust in Virginia City, concentrating on the characters who made up the stories.

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Boys Trip 2009 - Beartooth Range - Part Four

The next morning...





The rainbow only stuck around for a couple of minutes, and there were only three of us up to see it, I think. Very nice.



Not long after, we saw these: Mammatus clouds, which Greg was happy to inform us is named after the latin term for breast...

Oh man, too many good photos coming up. Relax and enjoy a few, without commentary here:









In the last two, we're hiking off-trail away from our camp to join up with the main trail...



Right near the Continental Divide.



We had to climb up a little hill to get over 10,000 feet and take a group photo.



We then spent an hour or so hiking past Fossil Lake, a big sprawling lake that was highly recommended by the guides. Decided not to camp there, and started back downhill a little.



Had to take shoes and boots off for a stream crossing...

And eventually found a great camp on a lake that was labeled Dewey or Denney Lake, depending on which map we looked at.



Oh, this was my birthday, too, so we had a little toast. Canadian Mist. Mmm...

To be continued...