Wet weather walks

On Saturday we drove up to the Spenceville Wildlife Refuge and hiked around at random. We scrambled through a barbed wire fence, getting my knees and lower legs thoroughly wet. We hiked along an old dirt road and then went along a well used cow path that went uphill. It stopped being a path as we neared the top of the hill which was crowned with a fortress of upthrust volcanic rock. We amused ourselves scrambling on the rock and then followed a fence line downhill to another old dirt road. This followed an old water channel back to the car. I scraped my knee a bit on the barbed wire getting back out so I hope my tetanus shots are up to date.

Today we drove up to see Hidden Falls just outside of Auburn. It's a pleasant enough walk through the typical foothills poison oak, regular oak, scrub pine and brushy tick habitat. Commando couldn't be off leash the whole time. There was some sort of Placer County employee there (possibly a ranger), and then there was an open range (saw no cattle), and then there was another not too friendly dog. He did manage to be off leash for about 1/2 the time though and enjoyed the usual sniffing, digging, and hopeful chasing of imaginary animals.


I had thought about going to the snow in spite of the storm but decided I just wasn't ready to freeze and have no view. The snowshoes still wait in my car for suitable weather.

Washer and dryer now fixed

Finally got the dryer hose back on. It turned out to be easier than I thought. I did end up with a spare part, but I don't think it's important. After running through two folks at Home Depot that didn't know anything, I was finally turned over to a guy who did know about dryer hoses and he assured me that it was trivially simple and there was no need to obsess about it. Basically, it's just make sure that not much air and moisture leak out so duct tape and ducts and those circular clamp things are really all you need. I also bought a cool circular clamp with a big plastic turn key on it so I didn't have to find the right screw driver and seat it in the tiny hole and then lose all leverage as the screw gets tighter. Whoever invented this is a genius.

I would give this chore about 1/2 a screw driver for difficulty. Getting to the back of the equipment is mildly irritating and unscrewing and screwing the hoses was mildly irritating and there's the potential to cut yourself on the metal duct.

For those who might be cackling at my inability to fix a simple hose, keep in mind that I didn't own a dryer until I was in my mid-40's and there's no inborn genetic knowledge, that I'm pretty clumsy, and that I can't see things close up (like tiny screws) without my reading glasses. Okay, laugh away, I'll admit I'm lame.