Observations From Hadleyville: BECAUSE ITS THERE AND I'M STUBBORN

Saturday, October 4, 2008

BECAUSE ITS THERE AND I'M STUBBORN

Heading off to Yosemite tomorrow. This will be my third attempt at Half Dome in 15 months. The first two times I tried doing the 18 miles in one day. No go. This time my friend Rex and I will make it a three-day backpack trip. We'll drive to Sequoia Park on Sunday for a short, preliminary, MonsterQuest hike. On Monday we'll pick up our wilderness permit at Wawonna, 8:30 am and drive to Glacier point. Monday's goal is to hike the six miles to Little Yosemite Valley and set up camp. On Tuesday we'll climb the three+ miles up to Half Dome and back down to camp. On Wednesday we'll hike back out to Glacier point. For me the hardest part will be the 1.5 miles from the Illouite river back up to Glacier point at the end of the hike. However, there are switchbacks for the first 1/2 mile then a long gradual slope for the last mile.

Gonna do it this time, weather permitting.

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”