Keremeos Columns Blues: Monday, May 2nd!

Man can be the most affectionate and altruistic of creatures, yet he's potentially more vicious than any other. He is the only one who can be persuaded to hate millions of his own kind whom he has never seen and to kill as many as he can lay his hands on in the name of his tribe or his God. -Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author (2 May 1903-1998)

At Victor Harbour. I am planning on coming to your place next weekend, just trying to secure a day off. I go back to work on May 9 so want to take the following Monday off. Corinne, marry me? :) Lots of love E August is our wedding month! What is Corinne's availability? That would be super cool. Must brush my lips, they are purple. Went to McLaren Vale, Bench, Shaw and Smith and Petaluma. got lost trying to find D'ArenburngNever found it but had fun trying. Love you lots E
 

Hello Lost Lush! Too, too bad you couldn't find d'Arenberg as it is one of our favourite wineries in McLaren Vale! On our first visit to this region, in 2000, we stayed in a fab campsite, in a cabin, just on the outskirts of the town and I used to run uphill to d'Arenberg and jog through and along some of their vineyards! 

Wonderful to learn that you will be returning to Penticton. Obviously, you have been doing your wine homework! Cannot speak for Lady Darjeeling, as I know you know, but I believe that she would be more than honoured and delighted to marry you, drunk or sober! You are more than welcome to stay whenever you toddle into town. Let us know what your schedule is and we'll plan accordingly. Must away as I'm off to hike the Keremeos Columns this morning. Take care of yourself, Aquitaine. Fondestos from Mme Coriandre, still abed. Love and Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: We were playing bridge, yesterday at a friend's house in Summerland.

Hi Elinor, I'm available any weekend except the August 19th one. Just let me know and I will send you the procedure through the company I'm working with,
Love Corinne
Hi Patrick, I talked to Jack B. last night. A few people goes today, they don't know where yet, but they will start at 9:30 from IGA in Summerland. There should be about 7 people: Jack, Judd and Luise, Ed, a lady I don't know, probably Jim Brian, and I supposed to go.  But I decided not to go yet being afraid it could be too long hike for me at this time. I will go just with my friend neighbor for a short hike instead, probably to Pinnacle Rocks (not sure about spelling :-) ).
 

I mention to Jack about you, so you are welcome to come, you know all people anyway. Unless you prefer to go with me and my friend, and in this case you are welcome as well. I will go probably around 10:00 for maximum 2 hours.
So choice is yours, and either way have fun. Thanks again for awesome evening, say hello to Corinne from me please. Cheers. Mike

Hi Michaelo! Thank you for wonderful afternoon/evening! Lovely, lovely time indeed. Will send along snaps once I've a minute.  
 

Thanks very much for hiking update. About half an hour ago Mary Lee called and I've decided to attempt the Keremeos Columns! However, I do appreciate you telling me about the other two options. In future, I may well join you if things work out. Sorry that you are not yet back to longer hikes but one step at a time! Thanks again, for everything. Will be in touch. Fondestos from Lady Dar, still abed! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hello Magic Flute People! Thanks to one and all, especially, Spumoni and Chuckerini, for organizing and leading such a sublime outing. Wonderful to see everyone and enjoy your scintillating company. Field notes, below, if you care to follow my misguided reconstruction of the day's wonderment. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Basalt Blues: Was up at just after 6:00 am, this morn. Hadn't set my alarm as I wasn't quite sure if I was going to join the regular Monday hike or not. Spumoni had told me, a number of times, over the preceding couple of days, that she felt the outing might well be too long and too taxing for me. However, I was most keen to see the Keremeos Columns so in spite of her efforts to dissuade me, (I should say, Dear Reader, that her reservations were only made out of concern.), I was leaning towards going. When Mary Lee phoned, about 7:30 am, to ask me if I wanted a ride to HH, that was all I needed and I quickly set about making my lunch, filling my camel pack with cask strength malt and readying my hiking gear.

My chauffeur arrived at 8:40 am and we were soon at HH saying hello and good morning to Spamela, Jimbo, (who'd been away for three weeks or so, back east visiting family), and Bad Boy who'd not been on last couple of hikes. Rest of Pentictonites started to drift in and it was with great delight that we all welcomed Gilliana and Fillipo, back after being away, for the winter, (in Sedona), and then a couple of glorious months in the Antipodes. Shortly thereafter the Summerlandians, such as the small contingent was, arrived and we hugged and greeted them before Chuckerini made sure the drivers of the three vehicles we needed knew where we were going to park to begin the hike.  

Hell-Bent-for-Leather Hanneke was our Sterling Moss driver and, with five of us squished into her car, (Colonel Klink appropriated the front seat by virtue of her rank!), we held on, for dear life and pretended to enjoyed the wonderful morning, catching glimpses of ripple-less Skaha whenever we dared to open our petrified eyes, as we caromed, via 3A, at breakneck speed, swerving and slithering around tight curves, towards Keremeos, turning off at Liddicoat Rd to park near Pincushion Place, I believe. Breathing sighs of relief each and every passenger in the Batmobile kissed the tarmac once the car doors opened! 

Keeping an eagle eye on her charges, Obergruppenführer Krannitz made sure that her troop was suitably kitted out before she led the way, following the aforementioned Liddicoat Road for a short while, then heading cross-country, into the maquis, mainly sage, at this point, its wonderful, volatile fragrance, a mixture of camphor and turpentine, filing our nostrils as we brushed against and between the plants, working our way up, ever upwards! However, the footing was excellent, the low shrubs not at all impenetrable, quite easily negotiated, in fact, the bulk of the time, the omnipresent tufted grass and surrounding overburden of soil, softly cushioning our steps.

After following a very narrow, well defined path, sliced into the hillside, at times through a copse or two of pines, and up some pretty steep slopes we found ourselves back on Liddicoat Road, or at least a continuation of it, as the service track serpentines its way to the Columns themselves. Over the course of the hike we inevitably and invariably crossed it, on more than one occasion, following it, both ascending and descending, until it was determined that creative blundering would save us time, distance and energy. After the first, prolonged, fairly taxing climb, we stopped to catch our collective breath, on a small, flat clearing, off to the side of the road and then, almost immediately, had what little air we had managed to fill our lungs with, snatched away as we gazed, breathless with wonder, at the simply stunning views of much of Keremeos below, (the orchards and vineyards quilted beauties), the mountains across the valley, rightfully proud of their magnificently rugged cliff faces, exulting in their very own, spectacular stone spillways, two in particular, foaming Niagaras of rock fanning out into deltas of scree or talus, (depending on your obsessive-compulsive taxonomic bent of mind), at the base of these brooding giants.

Recovered and awed, we returned to the slog, keeping to the well-worn ruts of the road for a goodly time until Bad Boy sent us back into the hillsides of sage, following a well trodden animal track, cows or horses, I presume, at one point. Mary Lee and Olga Polga were right behind him, followed by me, I'm chuffed to report, Dear Reader, when we all heard the distinct warning of a rattler! Kenneth saw him slither off the track, where he'd been happily sunning himself, and then Rolly Polly spied him, coiled, in all his diamond-back glory, staring at her, shaking his tail-gourd angrily, from under a small sage bush. Mary Lee and I moved, quickly and warily, past the spot where he had chosen to set up his point of last retreat, the on-going rattles waning us not to tread on him or further provoke.



Earlier in the hike a fellow trekker had stopped to chat. Gerry, I soon discovered, lived in Keremeos, and this was one of his regular routes. We parted company, further along, to head cross-country, and he mentioned that we should be careful as there were rattlesnakes in them that hills! Truer words were never spoken. I knew this to be the case but, to date, had never actually seen such a reptile. Olga Polga had a good look at him, as had Bad Boy, but all I'd heard was the tell-tale rattle. Should be pleased, I suppose. Not long afterwards, back on the road, Chuckerini stopped me to point out a snake's imprint in the dust. Another sunbather, I presume.

By this time we had been on the go for almost two hours and there were angry grumblings, from many stomachs, about stopping for lunch. However, hard-nosed Obergruppenführer Krannitz would not listen to reason and drove us on, across more flatland and over slight rises, threading our way through the omnipresent sagebrush, me at least, ever alert for a snake in the grass! Back on the road, yet again, we passed through a barbed-wire cattle fence, Bad Boy acting as gatekeeper, and once around the next corner we caught a glimpse of the Columns, still a way above us but far, far closer, of course, than they'd been from where we'd parked our vehicles and had first spied them.

We soon came upon a gorgeous thicket of Trembling Aspen, growing near a lovely, burbling stream. A rancher, I assume, had fashioned a steel watering tank, fed by rubber pipe from the stream and a number of the overheated cooled themselves down with a splashes of the crystal clear cold water. A perfect spot for lunch but Krankenheimer Krannitz would have none of it and we were forced to march along, barely stopping in the inviting shade and coolness, to leave the road, yet again. Bit more creative blundering and we were more than rewarded with our first close-up of the Columns. Bad Boy and Chuckerin led us up a rocky outcropping and through the surrounding pines to a gorgeous gently sloping spot, at the very base of the Keremeos Columns, our goal for the day.

Having only heard about their very existence, a week or so ago, I knew nothing about them. Professor Google, aka Luigi, very kindly did a search on her phone and read out some of her findings, augmented by what Field Guide Fletcher contributed. Absolutely fascinating, especially when one is munching one's sandwich and gazing directly at these truly remarkable, natural monuments! For the benefit of those readers as uniformed as I was, here is a brief description, cobbled together from a search I conducted back home:

The Keremeos Columns are tall columns of basalt resulting from Volcanic activity, some 30 million years ago. This spectacular sight is 30-meters high and forms a 100-meter-wide cliff, with more or less regular fractures of basalt. These volcanic monuments of slowly cooled lava, with the characteristic vertically-hexagonal columnar jointing of basalt, loom out of the surrounding forest. This is the same geological phenomenon that has formed the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland and the Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.

Rocks are continually breaking off and falling from the steep walls. Rarely do entire columns fall, but on remote occasions, they do. Piles of rubble - broken columns, boulders, small rocks, and stones - lie at the base of the Columns, indicating that it was, at some time in the past, larger than it is today.

Yet another "hidden" treasure we've passed by, (The bluff where these Columns are situated is actually visible from 3A if you know where to look and what to look for!), countless times and only discovered, really, by virtue of my privileged membership in this unique group. While we luxuriated in the sight of these marvels, we chatted and munched, some in the sun, like rattlers, others in the shade, per esempio aloof Jimbo, in the shadow of a regal pine, his throne a large boulder amidst the jumble of others, not far from the base of the cliff. Quite a drowsy making stop, so quiet, so peaceful, only the chatter of the chatter-boxes, Mary Mary Quite Contrary and Rapid-Fire Robson, breaking the silence of the eternal moment.

Refreshed in body, enlivened in psyche, a few made closer inspection of the rubble strewn base, snapping away, before we slowly readied ourselves for the return leg. I set out first, just moseying along, following the road, as I knew the speedsters would soon catch up. Just a short distance from where we lunched I came upon long lost Colonel Klink and her adjutant, Boot Soldier Button, collared after going AWOL by Bad Boy. Takes a shirker to one! Pleased that her troop was now back to full strength, OberGruppenApfelEsser allowed the prodigals a few minutes to view the columns and then barked the order to fall out.

By this time, Rolly Polly had joined me and we strolled ahead, still on the road, almost lightheaded, so exquisite were the views of the few snow-capped peaks to the southeast and southwest of us, the dark blue of their slopes cardboard cutouts against the searing blue of an almost cloudless sky. The rest of the gang soon caught up and we made our way, ever downward, over small hill and shallow, scrubby ravine, then back on the road, to stop while Colonel Klink halted to retie her boots and then for the first official quasi-group shot, (Fatigued French lolled in the shade of a lone pine while Runners of the Silver Sage, [Luigi, Mary Lee and Bad Boy], were racing each other, cross-country, through the brush.), of the outing. This captured, we looked back towards the Columns to see a mini-Giant's Head, to the south, ahead to see the ravishing green of the patchwork quilt that was Keremeos below.

Not long after, the final descent began, back, more or less, over the same route we'd climbed earlier. Weary legs by now and with slightly trickier, looser footing, I was soon the last in line, most quite a way ahead. However, ever faithful Olga Polga stayed with me, my own tried and true Border Collie, shepherding me along the easiest and best paths, always complimenting my slow progress, urging me gently on. Still, a terrific last leg, the remaining views, always an eyeful, and we were soon back on the paved road. Shortly after we had reached the tarmac, Fleet-footed Filipo shot out of the sage above us, having chosen the way less taken. Still, his sudden appearance, coinciding with our arrival allowed me to I feel that I had not been an undue burden to the rest of the vets!

Since I had forgotten to turn off my odometere on the last few hikes, I had asked a number of my compatriots to remind me to do just that when we were back. They certainly complied and I was greeted with a loud chorus when we reached the cars. Thanking them, I was very pleased to do so as I really wanted to have a "true" record of this hike, given its very nature, relative to so many of the other, incredible outings I'd been on. While the wildflowers we encountered today were lovely, indeed, the real gems of this hike were the basalt columns, their flutes sculpted out of silent stone as opposed to being formed of ever so delicate, living petals. Jawohl Tatsächlich und Danke Vielmals, Mein Liebe OberGruppenApfelEsser! Stats for hike:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1151500337#.VyfTPAey3s8.email 

Holy Smokes over....DBJS What a way to spend the day;;;;;;;;And to actually spot the snake, before the attack......you folks are so observant.....pays to be....

And...wonderful pictures as well. Thanks for sending......A & S

 
Hello Coconut Oil People! Lovely to see Jossefoos yesterday. Thanks very much for the terrific invitation to SummerGate. We'd love to join you. We'll give you a call or send a message, in the next day or so, to arrange times, rides, etc. Had a grand hike today and hope to have the field report and snapolas edited tomorrow. Am planning to ride with Mary Lee, Colleen, et al, on KVR tomorrow, south from Penticton to Kaleden, I think, perhaps OK Falls. At any rate, I'm keen to get to know this route so looking forward to outing. Thanks again for invitazzzione spectaculare! Cheers, Patrizzio! 

Hello Sunday Bridge Players! Lovely to see everyone yesterday, including Tennis Woman, of course. Thanks very much for the terrific hosting, Michaelo, wonderful salad Spamela, bbq'd chicken Lady Dar andrtasty kartofellage and dessert, Michalovitch!

We had a grand hike today and hope to have the field report and snapolas edited tomorrow. Am planning to ride with Mary Lee, Colleen, et al, on KVR tomorrow, south from Penticton to Kaleden, perhaps to OK Falls as well, not sure. At any rate, I'm keen to get to know this route so looking forward to outing. Thanks again, everyone, for bridge afternoon/evening spectaculare! Cheers, Patrizzio! PS: Well played Sisterhood! Almost forgot to congratulate you and your table talk!!! 

Thanks Patrick, Indeed it was lots of fun to have such a game, and dinner. Corinne delivered as promised, salad was super, pictures tell the whole story.
See you all again. Cheers, Mike 

Sounds wonderful--we'd like to bring along some smoked salmon and cream cheese  with a loaf of rye bread (of course). And a lemon or two just in case.
Congrats! Nancy and David--  

Dear Patrick and Corinne  Thank you so so much for this wonderful invitation. We hope that you will celebrate in style. 40 years is an accomplishment. Unfortunately I am attending a conference on that Saturday in Richmond. Are you coming to Vancouver?? Please advise. Loved this beautiful invite. Many good wishes are sent your way. Jo-Anne and Colin

Hello All, I am so sorry for not saying good bye before leaving to join Jim in Bangkok. I have been so busy and still have a lot of unfinished business to clear when I am back in June. Below is a link to a big event that happened recently. Our youngest son Dean won this battle in Seattle on April 24th. He won a round trip to Europe any time this summer 2016. Check this battle out. You can see he is wearing his Pat of Hearts T-shirt and he said he would do this one for Pat. He has been going to this event for the last 5-6 years. Every year he gets into the finals and his friends say he should have won. Two years ago he was in the final round and it went to a tie twice before the other guy won. Dean was very disappointed. And last year he had no real motivation as Pat had just gone.

So this year he was ready mentally and just let the moves flow out. One of the judges told him later his energy never flagged. Dean also said later that it was a vindication of what he has dedicated himself to. He certainly has sacrificed a lot to get there. He also knows all the guys he defeated. This is a competition but it is also a small world of dedicated artists, and they in fact support each other. That's another reason why he can travel anywhere in the world and find some old friend whom he has met at one of the international battles over the years. It's also an additional reason why he wants to go and work in Japan. So do check this out. https://youtu.be/fwmEg5YqEEw

And that's not all: Dean's other group, the OURO Collective, will perform on May 5-8, 2016 This group is eclectic and has people from different kinds of dance, especially contemporary dance. We are very enthused with their work, which is like nothing we've ever seen before: it's dramatic and comic and very well choreographed. Check this out, and please forward to anyone you think would appreciate highly artistic adventures in combining different kinds of
dance. http://www.ourocollective.com/ Enjoy. Cheers! Jim and Tip