The Estate of Dederick Hoffman :: Widow's Allowance

Dederick/Detrick Hoffman and his wife Susannah are my 5th great-grandparents. Descent is through their son John who married Catherine Coy and their daughter Susannah who married John D. Berlin.









Estate of Dederick Hoffman (Packet 805) Columbiana County, Ohio

FHL film 2032459 accessed June 8, ..

A Schedule of the provisions and other property allowed to Susannah Hoffman Widow of Detrich Hoffman late of Salem Township Columbiana County Deceased for her Support for one year by us the Subscribers duly appointed appraisersers to the Estate of the Sd Deceased to wit:

one lot of meat, one hog, a Small lot of Kitchen furniture, one Cow, twenty Bushels of wheat, five Dollars in money, eight Bushels of oats, three lbs of Wool, one bushel and a half of Salt, a lot of Soap, twenty lbs of Sugar, two twiled bags

We the Subscribers do certify that the foregoing is a correct Schedule of property allowed to the above named Widow given under our hands this 12th day of May 1826.

George Urick, John Yoder, Andrew Altman } Appraisers

Blewett Pass ..

Technically it is Swauk Pass. The old highway went over Blewett, and the name was kept when they rerouted over Swauk Pass. I headed out with the intention of seeing if there was any climbable ice in the area, but as best I could tell there wasn't any. It appears to me that the terrain is not steep enough, but there could be other issues as well.

I took the skinny skis out on the ungroomed forest service road 800. I have always stayed away from the Blewett Pass area because it is an area where snowmobiles coexist with skiers. This is usually not that pleasant, but I wanted to give it a try. After a few hundred feet into the woods, I could almost no longer hear them and I had stopped coughing on the two stroke fumes. Then it was a peaceful ski in. If I stopped, all I could hear was the snow hitting my body.

Peaceful skiing up the road

There are a few turns in getting to the correct road on the ridge, but it was fairly easy navigating. A group of three women started off long before me, so I had a decent track to follow, although with how heavy it was snowing, it wasn't obvious to me if they had been there the day before or not. (It wasn't until I caught them at my turnaround point that I could confirm they were there the same day.) I think they were following a track put in earlier in the week. Unfortunately I brought my track poles which were way too long to use efficiently when my skis were 4-8" in a trench. It really turned out to work my shoulders due to that fact. For future reference, I'll bring shorter poles in this type of scenario.

Snowing hard

This route would be fairly scenic if it wasn't snowing so much. But I did get some nice glimpses at the surrounding area. There isn't a whole lot of hills, and it made for a nice workout plugging along the road. Some of the downhills I could coast a bit, but mostly I had to keep kicking or double poling on the downhills as the snow was offering a little too much resistance to just coast every hill. At about the three mile mark or so I stopped to have a bite to eat and turned around. I wanted to get home to see Jennifer off to work, and hopefully eat dinner with her.

By the time I got back to the car it was covered in two inches of fresh snow. It was coming down fast enough that I had to scrape the windows three times before I eventually left the Sno Park. Then it was a slow ride down from the pass and out to I90. There were a few cars in the ditch on 97. From I90 things didn't get much better and I maintained a ~35mph pace from Cle Elum to Snoqualmie Pass. The area between Cabin Creek and Hyak was the worst. A plow hadn't been by in a while and there were stiff peaks of snow between the wheel ruts that made driving difficult. Heading up the hill from Hyak plows had recently cleaned the road, so it was much easier. Then everyone got stuck behind the plows on the downhill side and there were a few cars in the ditch near the big right hand turn before the Denny Creek exit. Soon after that we were low enough for the change over to rain and the speed picked up to near the limit. The forecast hard rain was being delivered, and I had to turn the wipers on high.

Being from the Northeast US, I had never associated insects with snow. Having lived in Seattle for a while now, I have learned to see spiders and insects on melting snow in the Spring and Summer. But now twice this Autumn I have seen this one type of insect on the snow. A quick search on the internet makes me believe it is a snow fly or winter crane fly. I have seen a bunch of these walking around today, and a few weeks ago with Steve at Hyak.

Snow fly?

Big Bend Revisited :: Chisos Basin

Thursday, February 28th - - It was about 180 miles from Seminole Canyon State Park to the northern entrance of Big Bend National Park. At 10:30 when I finally left Seminole Canyon, the temperature was 57 degrees with a few clouds, lots of blue skies and sunshine.



Once you get to the entrance of Big Bend, it is another 30 miles to the visitor center at Panther Junction, then another 24 miles to the Rio Grande Village area in the eastern side of the park. The road to Rio Grande Village is mostly downhill - it takes you into the "lower" portion of the park - and the temperature went from a cool 60 degrees to a much warmer 69. Yeah, that was nice!



I picked out my campsite, which was to be "home" for the next four nights. The campground was not full by any means and there were plenty of sites to choose from whether you wanted one "out in the open" or more secluded along the southern section (as I did). As usual in most National Parks there are no hookups for electricity or water in the "main" campground. However, Big Bend does have an "RV" area with hookups but it is pretty much a parking lot.



Friday, March 1st - - It got quite cold during the night, as expected, and it sure would have been nice to have a little heater to take the chill out of the air. Instead, I just stayed in the sleeping bag a little longer than usual...



It was still chilly when I finally got up, but it was quite comfortable sitting in the sunshine and eating my breakfast. I decided to drive up to the Chisos Basin area, stopping along the way for some photos...






Looking to the West, from about 5 miles east of the Panther Junction visitors center.




Somewhere along the lower portion of the road to Chisos Basin. It's about 8 miles once you turn off the main road to Chisos Basin. The road goes uphill, winding its way through the mountains, gaining several thousand feet in elevation, and making several hairpin turns. The road is not recommended for vehicles pulling trailers longer than 20 feet or for RVs more than 24 feet long.





I don't think there have been any recent bear sightings, but mountain lions were seen in several areas earlier in February. One was even sighted along the Window View Trail not far from the visitors center and the Chisos Lodge.





Once you get to the highest point along the highway, you then start going down into the basin area. Hidden out of view are the campground and Chisos Mountain Lodge.





Traveling a little further along the road, the campground area comes into view. I stayed there for five nights on my visit in February ... The vehicles look so tiny compared to the mountains surrounding them.





The view through the "window" from the Window View Trail near the visitor center and Chisos Mountain Lodge.



My visit this year would be very different than it was in .., and shorter. My legs can't handle the long hikes as well as they did three years ago and I am pitifully out of shape. Nevertheless, the visit this year was very enjoyable and more relaxing, and of course, there will be more posts/photos to come. Below is a list of the posts from the .. visit I thought you might enjoy reading again (or perhaps, for the first time) - I was far more adventurous then!

• February 20, .. - Chisos Basin (posted March 10th)


• February 21, .. - Lost Mine Trail (posted March 11th)


• February 22, .. - Laguna Meadows Trail (posted March 12th)


• February 23, .. - Snow in the Chisos (posted March 13th)


• February 24, .. - The Window Trail (posted March 14th)


• February 25, .. - Rio Grande Village (posted March 15th)


• February 26, .. - Down by the River (posted March 16th)


• February 27, .. - Hot Springs Trail (posted March 17th)


• March 1 & 2, .. - Cerro Castellan (posted March 19th)


• March 1 & 2, .. - Castolon Homesteads (posted March 20th)


• March 1 & 2, .. - Santa Elena Canyon (posted March 21st)

Three O' Clock Rock Big Tree One ..

With Adam unemployed, we finally connected on a weekday outing. The original plan was to head up to Static Point, but this late in the season my inclination toward walking long distances diminishes. So we opted to go to Three O' Clock rock with its half hour approach.

Due to roadwork near my house, we got a late start. We finally got to the base of the route around Noon after taking a slight detour to check out the North Buttress side of the rock. It didn't take us too long to find the base of the route, but the beta said "wide crack" and the crack does not start until you are more than ten feet off the ground, so it was not immediately apparent. Since the third pitch was 5.8 and gear, it was decided that I would lead the odd pitches and Adam would lead the even pitches. That also meant that if we opted to, I could lead the fifth unprotected pitch.

There was a seep at the base next to a dirty corner. It was inevitable that one foot or the other would get wet/dirty. I chose the left foot putting it in the dirty corner while keeping my right foot dry on the rock between the corner and seep. There is no gear for the first eight feet or so before gaining the crack which made it a little more interesting than I was looking for. Once in the crack, I moved left to where it steepened. The first few moves on the steeper section was the crux of the pitch. There was a good fist jam, and then the crack widened to an off width that was difficult to jam. I placed a #4 cam and attempted an arm bar move only to slip off. It was barely a fall. I blame it partially on my ability to climb the crack, but also on the still wet/dirty left shoe I had. I eventually did a sort of lie back on the crack keeping my feet on the left side of it to get through the steep section. (one or two moves) The angle eases off after that, and I cruised up to a ledge below a finger crack. I climbed the slab using the crack for hand holds and gear. Once passed that I was at the belay.

Adam at the finger crack

I brought Adam up who complained about the dirt and moisture. I told him it would get better the higher he climbed. Once at the belay he we exchanged the rack and we discussed the next pitch. He headed up and placed a nut behind a flake and then started toward the slab that is the main feature of the second pitch. There are two bolts on it, and it appears quite run out. Adam's head was not into making the committing move onto the slab and continuing up the run out. So he backed off and handed me the lead.

I started up and used the gear he placed and then ran it out to the bolt. It is probably over ten feet to the bolt from that first piece of gear, but the climbing is 5.5 or under. After the bolt, the climbing gets a touch easier with knobs on the slab for feet. I was able to sling a small tree, and get a small cam into an overlap before making a committing move right to reach the second bolt. After the second bolt it is a few friction moves up the slab before gaining a flake roof. Once at the roof the climbing was really fun. I placed a piece just at the roof, and then moved right around it the surmount it. A few more pieces, combined with some friction and stemming allow you to grab a nice hold and haul yourself onto a ledge above the roof. The ledge is a horizontal crack, which I followed to the left to get to the bolted anchor. I used the crack/ledge for feet, but I'm sure it would also work for hands. Although, if I had used it for hands, I would not have been able to protect the traverse, which was about 15' long. (I had used all my big gear coming around the roof.)

Once I got to the belay I started bringing Adam up while contemplating the next pitch. The opening sequence looked hard and I was sweating it. When Adam got to the belay, we re-racked and I got prepped for the next lead. From the topo, we knew the route went up a shallow left facing corner, and would briefly cross over before gaining another shallow left facing corner. It appeared steepest in the first 12' from the belay and then appeared to ease off. So my concern was getting through an overlap about eight feet up. My moves went smoothly and while I was concerned with the climbing I found it relatively easy. But due to my concern, I placed gear often early on. (Adam counted something like seven pieces in the first 20'!) I think that shows that I was mostly comfortable in placing gear and that the climbing was not too difficult. It also shows the head space I was in when leading the pitch. After the initial overlap, the route is somewhat of a lie back or contrapressure routine.

After the first corner peters out is where I found the crux of the pitch and therefore the route. There was a nice stance above a small bush with a small left facing overlap that offered more contrapressure climbing. The move from contrapressure to on top of the slab was a difficult transition. I initially went up to make the move and couldn't figure it out. I down climbed the move or two back to a good stance and surveyed my options. I also wiped the slab where I was going to be putting my feet as it seemed a bit dirty when I initially went for the move. I went back up and made the first move with my right foot on top of the slab. I felt in melting down the hold until it stopped, and I was in a good stance to continue on a few friction moves before regaining hand holds on the other side of the slab and into the next corner. With only one cam left that would fit the crack, I had to be creative, and run it out. This was really no issue as it is usually not too wise to maintain a lie back for long periods while placing gear. I headed up the final corner which was a perfect lie back while slinging a small bush, and placing a cam and nut. At the top of the corner, I slung another bush before moving right onto the slab to the anchor.

Adam about to go into the last stretch of lie back.

Adam came up and said he found it to be quite strenuous. Especially toward the end. For me, that was where I felt I was getting in the groove and was almost sad that it ended.

On the fourth pitch the topo shows three bolts before reaching the belay. I could see one bolt about 25' straight up, but there was a line of two bolts heading rightward. Adam agreed to lead this one which put him out of his comfort zone. He quickly got to the second bolt, but instead of heading to the other bolt in sight, (Which neither of us, especially me, thought was on route,) he headed to a depression and climbed straight up about 20' above the last protection. He found a decent set of bolts with old rap slings on it. He set up a belay, and I followed. Shortly after the second bolt I noticed the real top anchor and headed toward it. This is when we realized that the other bolt we could see was on route and about halfway between the second bolt Adam clipped and the chains. I got to the true anchor and belayed Adam over. We looked at the fifth unprotected pitch ending at a tree and decided it was not worth it. From the chains we made three raps to the base. There was no issues rapping and we were back to our packs in no time. We relaxed a bit and checked out more of the crag before hiking out to the car.

Adam heading into the unknown.

This was a great outing. I don't know if it is because I hadn't climbed in three weeks, but I found the climbing really enjoyable. The guidebooks have this route as two stars, but I would say it is perhaps a three star route. While not particularly difficult the climbing on the first and second pitches is interesting and fun. (While surmounting the roof on the second pitch, I couldn't stop yelling down to Adam how much fun it was!) The third pitch was really nice too and for a brief while mimicked Diedre in Squamish. (Although it was facing the opposite way.) This was a nice outing, and one that can easily be combined with some other shorter routes at Three O' Clock Rock. While the air temps were warm (60°s) we were in the shade from the second pitch up, and subsequently wore poofys the rest of the route.

Big Bend National Park

Continuing on U.S. 90 from Seminole Canyon, there really isn't much along the way. Basically, 140 miles of nothingness. Well, not really nothing. I'm not sure I'd call it beautiful, but it was an interesting drive. And a bit eerie at times. So different from what I'm used to. There wasn't a lot of traffic either and the cell phone couldn't get a signal and I kept wondering how long it would be before someone came along if I broke down.

It wasn't totally nothing. The town of Langtry has a museum honoring Judge Roy Bean. But I didn't stop, the town looked so forlorn and desolate, with only a few cars around. Then there was Dryden, and Sanderson and finally, Marathon. Turning south on U.S. 385 at Marathon and driving another 40 miles through the high desert gets you to the northern entrance of Big Bend National Park. And then, another 30 miles to the Park Headquarters and Visitors Center in the middle of the park at Panther Junction!

Of the half dozen other campers that I'd talked with at Seminole Canyon, all of them were on their way to Big Bend National Park! And they had heard that there were no camping sites available, and yet they still came, as did I. The truth of the matter is that there are a certain number of sites that are reserved and others are first come, first served. There were no more reserved sites available but there were plenty of other sites, so it was no problem.

There are three main camping areas at Big Bend. The Chisos Basin in the center of the park (and in the middle of the Chisos Mountains), Rio Grande Village on the east, and Cottonwood in the south. My first choice was the Chisos Basin, since it was closest and it was early evening. I'd end up spending five nights at Chisos. It's an amazing place. Actually, all of Big Bend is incredible. There are so many trails to hike and so many “things” to see it is impossible to do everything.

My camp site at Chisos Basin. The “little hill” in the background is called Casa Grande and it dominates the southern view from the basin.

Shadows chasing the sun up Casa Grande Peak on my first evening at Big Bend, February 20th.

Leics Round 1 - Foxton to Bruntingthorpe

With Marta. Grey, but no rain. Chilly wind. Muddy in places. Lunch at Fleckney. Almost 10.5 miles.

Lock Keeper's Cottage Café Foxton

A great start to the day was coffee and a slice of fruit cake at Foxton Top Lock before we walked down to the canal towpath at the bottom of the flight of locks, and our official starting point for the Leicestershire Round.







Here's a link to some audio files



We walked over Bridge 62 and turned along the tow-path north, away from the Locks area. After a few hundred yards we crossed the footbridge, with its Leicestershire Round waymark and headed across the fields towards Gumley with the church spire and the tower of Tower House visible in the woods.

The path climbs up to the village and leads on to the Main Street, where we turned right and walked up past Tower House and St Helen's Church.





















We took the path by the church and near the wood, across a couple of fields to Debdale Lane.







We crossed this small road, going downhill quite steeply, then up again by a small wood called Smeeton Gorse. We arrived at the top of Smeeton Hill, where there is a bench. Today the views of Saddington reservoir were much clearer than in summer. The reservoir and channels were built to feed the canal.











A little grey, but lovely rolling countryside around Saddington. And yes, we had to go up to the village.



After going through Saddington we mad our usual mistake and ended up a little too far north, coming out near where the road forks to Fleckney on the left and Kibworth on the right. We walked a little way back to pick up the Leicestershire Round across afield to a gate part way along the hedge. From here you can see a clump of trees, hiding a pond. We made for the left hand side and then for the corner of the houses on the edge of Fleckney.



We decided it was lunch time, and walked an extra mile and a half or so to the Crown in Fleckney.



We returned and picked up the track we needed which turns southwest at the corner of the housing, and heads upwards. Once we joined the hedge we walked with this on our right for a while, and then on our left as far as the next road.



We crossed the road and walked straight ahead on a minor road for a short distance before turning on to the footpath to the left. For most of the way ahead the path is fairly clearly marked, and took us through various fields with cows and horses, before climbing up past New Inn Farm, and on to the A5199. We crossed this and walked along for a short distance to the road into Shearsby.

Shearsby church seen from the A 5199

perched on a hill

At Shearsby we took time for a mini-break, and a chat to a couple who have walked the Round before. There are convenient benches on the wide roadside verge.

We walked through the village, along Back Lane and Mill Lane and past some cottages which look like the model for a jigsaw puzzle.



Just outside the village the Leicestershire Round path turns right into a field. We kept close to the hedge - it is the route, and kept us from disturbing the cows too. The path here was fairly muddy. In the next field we kept the hedge on our right, and turned slightly left when we came to a small wooded area. After this spinney, we crossed the hedge, which was now on our left. We went gradually downhill, and passed more trees on the left, before crossing a very big field - the line is marked by the signs. In the next field, the path follows the hedge and joins a clear farm track alongside another two fields, before curving to the left and leading into Bruntingthorpe via Little End.

1716 Tithe Barn in Bruntingthorpe

Next leg's starting point.

The evidence

Keep your fingers crossed that they're not aiming to turn the driveway into a beaver pond again.

Mouses, Mouses

Drats, we have mice in the hay shed, and storage shed. Again.

Pismo Beach

Pismo Beach, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Last night I watched the sunset over Pismo Beach, a community on California's Central Coast about 10 minutes away from San Luis Obispo. With offshore winds, the temperature was in the 70s even as the sun was setting, making for a great evening. Spring is here in California, what about your part of the world?

Autumn on Mt. Sophie

Mt. Sophie is probably my favorite place to view fall colors, and each year during the peak of fall color season I make many trips to this area to photograph the changing leaves. This year wasn't as "good" as most years, but was still quite beautiful. There is an old fire tower at the summit of Mt. Sophie which provides for some amazing view of Trout Lake, Swamp Lake and the surrounding Maple ridges.



During one of my morning ventures to Mt. Sophie I was accompanied by my friend Roger and his cousin from California. The morning that the three of us hiked up to the summit we walked through a beautiful light blanket of snow that had fallen during the night. The freshly fallen Maple leaves resting on the snow made for an interesting contrast in color.



(Above: Morning fog over North Lake)

(Below: A blustery, snowy morning over the forest)



(Below: Morning steam over North Lake as I drove up the road to Mt. Sophie)



(Below: "Sky-blue waters" - Clouds reflected in the waters of Trout Lake)

Seminole State Park :: Georgia!

Wednesday March 16, .. - - Because of “Spring Break” I decided to leave Florida. I had looked online and tried to reserve sites at several different State Parks but it seems that just about everything was nearly fully booked. There were sites available for one night at a time in several places but I just didn't think it was worth the hassle to have to move every night!



So, I found this lovely State Park in the southwest corner of Georgia, not far from the Florida and Alabama state lines. Since I was trying to find a place for the night and the next few days through the weekend I gave them a call to make sure they had sites available. Luckily for me, they did.



The campground is on the southside of a lovely lake, which I can see from my campsite, which is quite spacious. You can see your neighbors but they aren't right on top of you as in some places. It is really a very nice place. The temperature today was “unseasonably warm” in the 80s with lots of sunshine. Wonderful after a long, cold winter up north!



A trail winds through the pine forest, follows the boardwalk over the swamp and marsh area then on through the woods for about two and a half miles. The perfect ending to a long day of driving!

Birds

Remember the ugly ditch? We needed it cleared so the driveway wouldn't flood, but I hated removing the trees since there were always so many birds there.

Well the birds seem pretty happy about the ditch. In fact they love it.


Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina).

WHY didn't I have my camera when I saw the Scarlet Tanager?! A male was splashing around as a female watched from a nearby branch. In the past week I've also seen a Bluebird, an Indigo Bunting, a Blue Grosbeak, and a Goldfinch bathing there.

I can't believe I managed to get two bird pictures in one week.



This Green Heron (Butorides virescens) stayed put nicely while I ran inside to get the camera, but his/her mate got tired of waiting. I think they might be nesting somewhere nearby. They love this dead tree.

Edited to add:
Ever since one of the Dharma Bums told me about the Friday Ark, I've been hooked! Click over there to see links to many more animals. Thanks to that site for adding our links too.

Annual totals for registration

If you look at the past 5 years of registration on Mount Rainier, you'll notice that the numbers are declining, from 13,114 in 2000 to 8,927 in 2005. However, when you look at the trend over the past 15 years, 1998-2002 appear more as a spike. Certainly, the sport gained a lot of momentum during the 90's. Here are the numbers.

On a another note, Washington State D.O.T. have their hands full on highway 123 (that's the road between Cayuse Pass/hwy 410 and US 12 and the Packwood area). Access along the east side of the park may be delayed this spring if there is a lot of road damage; stay tuned...