Trail running, The Laurel Highlands

One of the red efts I find regularly on the LHHT - Route 31 shelters

My blogging has been slow since February of this year, actually nonexistent. Here's a little to fill in my gap... Ice season was pretty much a bust, but ski season was unbelievable. The Laurel Highlands got dumped on with an abundance of natural snow this past winter. Laura and I spent a great deal of time skiing at Seven Springs in their award winning, Terrain Parks. This type of skiing is well known for producing an abundance of injuries to its participants. Here's a couple of skiing pics...

Railslide - The Streets @ Seven Springs

Light pole bonk over the gap - The Streets @ Seven Springs

My injuries included (but weren't limited to) a broken thumb, Injured (most likely broken) ribs. A bruised hip (which prohibited any running until about 5 weeks ago) and a second injured shoulder that has severely restricted my climbing. Unlike last season, I'm slowly trying to rehab it back to health. For now, I can barely dead hang on it. On a positive note, my injured shoulder from last season can now support free hanging body weight. The path back to stronger climbing might be slow and long, but climbing less challenging routes will produce an abundance of fun in the meantime. Throughout the spring Laura and I spent a fair number of days at various local crags climbing, doing trail work, etc. Bouldering has seemed to be our most focused style this year.




With my hip feeling better, I've recently been working my legs back into running condition. For the first couple weeks, I'd been testing my hip and seeing if limitations existed. I started with short, slow, road runs not much longer than 4 miles. Usually a rest day or two between runs. I felt good, with a only a couple days where my hip showed any signs of discontent. After two weeks back, the hip pain seemed to disappear completely. I quickly started stacking on the miles and feeling positive that longer pain free miles in the woods lay ahead.

Trusty footwear, Altra Lone Peaks and Powersox get my thumbs up!

This past week I managed to log 83 miles of running. All of them on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. For those unfamiliar with this trail it's a 70 mile hiking trail that starts in Ohiopyle State Park and follows the crest of Laurel Ridge north to Seward. It's a unique trail due to the fact that it has numbered, concrete markers at each mile along its entirety (a great feature for pacing and location). Built as a backpacking trail in the 70's it was designed to be covered over a week long period. Adirondack style camp shelters with additional tent camping areas are located approximately 10 miles apart along the trail. This distance makes for easy hikes between shelters. Note: (reservations must be made in advance to stay in the shelter areas overnight). While designed as a backpacking trail, the LHHT is an amazing trail for runners. The whole trail is completely runnable single track that flows over the mountains through amazing scenery. Hardwood forests, rock outcrops, streams, lakes, and wildlife are the normal backdrop along this trail. I feel quite lucky to live and have grown up a short distance from the Rt. 31 trailhead (middle) of the trail. Starting from home allows easy access to either end of the trail. I must admit that I do spend the majority of my time on the southern half of the trail enjoying the larger elevation changes. Along with the LHHT, there's plenty of other great trails in our neck of the woods. Roaring Run Natural Area, Ohiopyle State Park and The North Woods are some of my other favorite trails to run.

Typical mile marker along the LHHT

Yesterday I completed my first half trail run since last year. Laura dropped me off at 31 parking lot and I went south passing a record (for me) 106 trail users along the way. Outside of the Laurel Ultra race day, I've never seen that many trail users on those sections. I stopped to chat with some of them. Here's just a few that I recall... I got a "nice beard" shout-out from a group of resting backpackers while crossing county line road. I met three trail runners from the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club enjoying an out and back run from the route 31 trailhead to Grindle Ridge Shelters. They were up for "Stills in the Hills" whiskey and music event at Seven Springs and decided to run a bit before the festivities. I met a nice younger couple that had their chocolate lab with them near route 653. They were heading in to Grindle Ridge shelters for the night. He was an experienced packer, but this was her first trip. She was smiling as she explained of her new pack and gear required to make the trip. Her excitement was quite infectious as I recalled how much I enjoy new "toys" as well.

Seven Springs Mountain Resort, the highest point on the LHHT

I was met by Laura sporting the mobile aid station at Maple summit parking lot. She provided some love and a water fill before the last stretch into Ohiopyle. Our plan was for her to park in Ohiopyle and start hiking north until we met. That way we'd get to enjoy a little trail time together. Ohiopyle was packed due to the beer and gear festival being held Saturday night. Please note this was the second booze and bluegrass festival along the trail... All kinds of partying going on in the Laurel Highlands! Laura decided to park up at King Mountain trail head and avoid the congestion. Laura was sore from previous runs this week and decided to carry a large backpack to remove the temptation of running. While she hiked north, I managed to float the flatter miles from Maple Summit down to milepost 8 to begin the "hilly" section of the LHHT. As I ran by the 8 mile marker, missing paint on the number 8 had me do a double take out of confusion. This quick glance over my shoulder was enough for me to snag a toe and go airborne, I tried to recover, but my efforts were futile. Head first into the woods Ughhh, I landed with a thud! Quickly I sprung back up and moving again checking for any blood or pains. Slightly dazed, but unscathed. Yep, got my attention and milepost 8 was still 8, not an imaginary 9?!?!? I proceeded to bomb down "heart attack hill" more alert to my footing as a stumble like minutes earlier would surely produce a less funny story.

The view after ascending from Bidwell

I cruised along finally meeting my sweetie just before milepost 3 I was heading uphill and she was coming down. I slowed to a hike at this point and we enjoyed the last several miles hiking back to the car together. We stopped at the 2.5 mile overlook for a few minutes enjoying what we usually pass by at a brisk pace. The additional 1400' of elevation gain at the end hiking up to the trail head produced more heavy breathing and I officially stopped my watch at 6:26:55. Quite a bit slower than my personal best for this run, but still a respectable time given my "casual" approach. I'll wait a little while and do this run again and see how much I can improve on this time.



Upon reaching the car we unpacked the mobile aid station and set up our chairs. Laura had packed a primo after trail picnic for us. We proceeded to kick back, eat turkey sammies, and drink chocolate milk while listening to the sweet sound of live bluegrass music coming from the festival below. What a great end to another day on the LHHT.

Laura and the mobile aid station setup at the end of the day

More FOTR Rally

We are still enjoying the interaction with our fellow road warriors. We have plenty of planned activities to participate in and much down time to get to know each other better.





One of the families brought a big huge screen which made movies and Guitar Hero even more fun. We enjoyed watching a movie that the Evan's family made of all of our families. So far so good! The only thing I managed to snap pictures of was when we went to the beach to do relay races. And someone else graciously snapped these for me so I could play. I'm glad I at least remembered the camera here.





We also figured out how to get brownies today. It seems if you are simply willing to answer a few simple questions about what life on the road is about and let them look inside your house (RV), you can reap the benefits of a plate full of brownies. Who knew?!? And I don't mean brownies like Nathan made which didn't look so good, but really yummy brownies. Thank you to our future FOTR couple that gave us the treat. I won't identify you here unless you give me permission, but we really enjoyed our time with you and we have already polished off the brownies.



Oh, and if the relay race looks like fun, it is. However, finding it hard to catch your breath after your turn-not so fun. If you want to know how out of shape you are, running on the beach is a great test!

Trip to Virginia Complete With a Surprise Once We Arrived!

Nathan and I took our first no children with us trip since...well, ever! We went to Virginia to stay with his Mom. We headed out on Friday and ended up getting stuck in traffic on Saturday but still made it there in decent time.



On Sunday, we headed down to Daryl and Diana's where we saw their new barn.



We also met Dustin, Lauren's new horse, who was largely the reason behind the barn. I actually met Dustin once before, but got to spend more time really getting to know him this visit.



While we were talking horses, Josh came out to see what we were doing. And he brought some of the white stuff with him.




I'm not a fan of the white stuff. It cracks me up when people ask if we miss snow. I can't figure out what on earth there would be to miss. It is pretty to look at. If you are looking at it in a picture. While sitting in Florida! Beyond that, nope, we don't miss snow.



The chickens seemed to agree with me. They had ruffled feathers over the snow.



By the time we drove back to Mom's house, this is what it looked like:



I think it's time to hunker down and stay inside until the sun comes out and melts it all away again!




Living the life in cold VA!

Understanding Hills

Like Eskimos are said to have many words for snow, it seems to me that cyclists ought to have many words for hills. After all, what does it really mean when terrain is described as "hilly?" There are the short city hills that only seem like hills when I ride my upright 3-speed, there are the long and annoying false flats, the rollers, the twisty hills, the mountain passes.My perception of hills also changes over time. Rides I considered hilly a year ago, I now think of as "mostly flat," in light of some other hills I've ridden. And then I get annoyed at myself, because I remember when others described those rides as "mostly flat" and I felt bad, because to me they certainly seemed hilly. Hills are a fluid concept.





The more hills I ride, the more I realise that steepness and duration alone are not what makes them easy or difficult for me. More than anything, the pattern of grade change can make all the difference between enjoying the challenge of the climb and hating it. On a hill with a consistent grade, I can "settle into" the climb, whereas a hill with erratic grade changes drains my energy much faster. In the picture here I am standing atop of a relatively mild, but much despised hill after just having climbed it. It's hard to explain why I hate this stretch of incline so much, but it messes with my head. Starting immediately after a traffic light near the center of Lexington, it initially acts like a normal hill and as I near the top, I feel a sense of accomplishment: almost made it. But just as I reach what appears to be the crest of it - and this gets me every time - not only does it continue, but suddenly it becomes steeper. That last stretch, usually with my gearing already maxed out, just always manages to drain my morale. By comparison, the nearby Page Hill is a more significant climb. But I find it easier to handle, because the grade transitions it goes though somehow feel more logical.



Lat week I got a new computer and it has this feature that shows the grade percentage. This little toy has made me ridiculously excited and I am finally getting a sense for what different grades feel like. It also allows me to quantify my suffering. A climb starts to feel effortful at 6%, difficult at 10% and when I got the "Mommy can I go home now?" feeling I glanced down to see 14%. I was also surprised to learn that the "flat" Minuteman Trail reaches a 4% grade in a couple of the false flat stretches. Are you falling asleep yet at this fascinating information?



I am told that lots of cyclists start out hating hills, but then grow to enjoy them more and more. It could be that I am in that category... how else could I enjoy making a game of guessing the grade?

Huntington Beach State Park

Across the street from Brookgreen Gardens is the Huntington Beach State Park. We had visited one state park this week so I didn't expect this to be much different. As soon as we walked out on the beach area though, I saw it was very different.







I said, ahhhhh....this is more like it.







Notice the lack of tall commercial buildings here? It makes all the difference in the world to me. Here I can simply focus on nature. I can focus on the huge fluffy clouds that so nicely offset the ocean below.







We walked and walked here, snapping pictures along the way.



If we make it back to Myrtle Beach, this is where we want to stay! They have a full service campground that was quite nice. They have a store and they offer wi-fi. That and the beach is all we need!



Living the life in NC!

Cape Blanco

Monday, September 27, .. - - Cape Blanco State Park, eight miles northwest of Port Orford, Oregon.

Looking South from the top of the bluff.
This is why it is called Cape Blanco. As I drove up to the park, the sky changed from a beautiful blue to white and the temperature dropped eight degrees.

Within two hours the fog completely blanketed the area...

Saltwater and Rust

Both this summer and in previous years we've brought our bikes to the coast, we've noticed rust forming alarmingly quickly - even with the bicycles kept indoors. The chain is usually the first to rust, with the various bolts that hold components together shortly following suit. Even hardy powdercoated frames are not immune to this: We noticed rust spots on the Co-Habitant's pale blue Surly at the end of our first week here. I am curious how those who live next to salt water year-round take care of their bicycles. If the rate of rust formation we are seeing is any indication, it seems that bikes kept near salt water are liable to become rust buckets in no time.



On the other hand, I recall that my parents - who live around the corner from a marina - have always kept bikes in the garage, which was left open more often than not. These included my old mountain bike - which was stored in this manner for 15 years before I retrieved it, and the vintage Raleigh we later restored - which must have been kept there for over 20 years. Neither of these bikes show any more rust than is typical for their age. Could it be that bicycles were somehow rust-proofed in the past, and that this is no longer done? Or does rust formation slow down after an initially vigorous attack? Insights from coastal dwellers appreciated!

A serious question about Arcteryx insulation?

I am sitting at my desk with a ton of information at hand. But nothing on the Arcteryx ThermaTek or Coreloft that I can verify. I asked Arcteryx directly twice but didn't get an answer. I want to make an informed decision on a jacket purchase and this isn't making it easy. When the jacket is $699 retail one might pause before "jumping in".



"Fisson SL (76g) and a
Duelly (152g) of ThermaTek"



The question I want answered is: How does the



Arcteryx Fission SL, shell is2 layer Gortex, 76g g/m fill, weight27.6oz and $699 retail



compare with some thing like a



RAB Alpine Generator Hoody,shell is Pertex® Endurance, 100g/m fill, weight20.7oz and $235 retail










Or very close to the same if not equal warmth....below, the Arcteryx Atom SV Hoody, 100g/m Coreloft, weight 18.6oz and $259.00










I find the difference in retail pricing troubling and the extra weight even more so. Having both jackets here at hand makes a physical comparison easy enough. I might believe the Gortex Fission will bethe equal to the Generator for warmth. But theGeneratorand the SV both show more insulation thickness.The Rab version has more insulation and it's insulation is 5% better than Coreloft according to the Arcteryx source. Where does the high tech Polarguard Delta (aka ThermaTec)fit into that equation? Because 76g/m sure doesn't look very warm compared to 100g/m sitting here at my desk! ThermaTechad better be some amazing stuff. And if it is such amazing stuff as the price would indicate how come there is no comparitive numbers to show us?



What am I missing? Because it looks to me like any one of the 100g/m jackets will be warmer (although not water proof like a Goretex garment) and a LOT cheaper. Enough so you could easily still buy a Gortext or Neoshell and still be ahead with only a 8oz penalty on the FissoionSL (Super Light?).



I'd really like to keep the Fission SL. It is a nice jacket. Just wondering how that price point is some how justified. Anyone have an answer they care to share?



This is a letter from Arcteryx to a customer I have seen:



"Currently, Arc'teryx does not have a recorded clo value for Coreloft. Apparently, there are two standards for testing clo value when it comes to Coreloft and even these tests vary with weight. In some instances Coreloft was tested and found to have a higher clo value compared to Primaloft. Other instances, Coreloft was tested with a lower value compared to Primaloft. Overall, I was told

that the accepted standard is Coreloft falling 5% below Primaloft One when tested head to head.



With regards to Synthetic fiber fill there's two factors that relate to warmth.



One is clo and the other is loft.



Insulations with high clo values, like down, are very fast acting. A garment with a high clo value, once on, traps your body heat very quickly. In comparison, insulations with high loft, generally have a lower clo for a given weight. The higher loft takes longer to heat the insulation and feel the insulation warm, but there is the potential to trap a lot of heat. Down being the ultimate combination of both clo and loft.



Frequently, to make up for Primaloft having a higher clo, Coreloft has a little
more loft.



I was also informed that when determining the warmth of down,
knowledge of the weight is really important because the density of the down can
vary. However, synthetic insulation is different because the density does not
vary. When comparing 2 comparable synthetic down jackets, the higher the g/m^2
the warmer it will be."





More to the point I think depending on what is true and what is merely speculation on the author's part:



"This one is warmer and also will be way better at resisting any moisture pickup due to the totally waterproof Thermatek fill. Another consideration is the construction;the insulation is laminated to the inner shell so there are no cold spots from baffle stitching, and this also makes it's loft last longer.



Thermatek is the Bird's trademark name for taking Polarguard Delta insulation, and then dipping it in DWR, and then LAMINATING it to the face fabric. It's spendy because it's just as labor intensive as it sounds, and no one else does anything like it.



The ThermaTek uses a bit different construction so this will be equivalent warmth to the Atom SV.



Therma-Tek and Primaloft-2.7 (78gm)Thermatek and 133gm Primaloft offer the same loft"



This is a good read:



http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/gear/pl1-or-pgdelta.html



RYAN JORDAN is the Founder/CEO of Backpacking Light



More:

Polarguard is the most popular insulation for synthetic sleeping bags. It is an extremely long strand fiber, and it is possible that the insulation in a sleeping bag might consist of one continuous strand. This fact helps the insulation last longer, as the long strands are less likely to clump. Because it is comparably stiff, you don’t see Polarguard in applications other than sleeping bags very often. There are four generations of Polarguard out there, and you still see all of them floating around. In order of ascending performance and cost, they are: Polarguard, Polarguard 3D, Polarguard HV, and Polarguard Delta. Delta is the pinnacle of the Polarguard line, and consists of hollow fibers for the lightest weight and highest efficiency. You will see this fill in most higher-end synthetic sleeping bags.



Primaloft has occupied the opposite end of the construction spectrum from Polarguard, with soft short-strand fibers made from microfiber polyester. Primaloft is highly compressible, very soft, and feels a lot more down-like than any other synthetic insulation. It also has remarkable water-resistance properties. The principle drawbacks to Primaloft are durability and price. Because of its short fibers, Primaloft is more prone to bunching and sees limited use in sleeping bags. While it is still cheaper than down, it is at the top of the price range for synthetics. There are a few varieties of Primaloft, but the most commonly seen are Primaloft Sport, the value option, and the higher-end Primaloft One, which features finer fibers and more water resistance. The newest material from Primaloft is called Infinity, and it is Primaloft’s entry into the continuous filament field. Look for it to compete against Polarguard Delta in sleeping bags.

Bicycle Trainers and Winter Withdrawal

[1884 trainer, image via Wikipedia]

I am curious to know how many of you out there use bicycle trainers. I am now seriously considering one, as mywinter roadcycling situation is truly dire. The frequent snow is making it impossible to plan rides, and all the muscle tone I'd built up over the Spring, Summer and Fall is slowly but surely disappearing. I am starting to feel lethargic and out of shape. There is a lot ofpininggoing on -and it's only the start of January!



Bicycle trainers are a new concept for me and I have no idea what to expect. To what extent does being on one resemble actual cycling?Can they be used with fixed gear bikes?Is fluid necessarily better than magnetic? I don't want rollers, I don't want the trainer to be noisy, and I don't want anything overly complicated - but otherwise I have no idea. Please chime in, and no doubt your comments will be useful to others who are considering this as well. A trainer cannot replace the thrilling experience of riding a roadbike on the open road, but it can at least help me stay in shape while still interacting with my own bicycle. It's going to be a long winter...

Life Imitates Art

I came across this scene in a local park and felt as if I had stepped into a Muntean & Rosenblum painting.

[image via Flickr]

Markus Muntean and Adi Rosenblum are a team of contemporary artists. Their illustration-style paintings depict lethargic youths arranged in bizarre postures. The paintings are captioned with nonsensical "deep thought" narrations, written comic book style ("They are not hungering for immortality. They will not have to prove anything by dying any more than they had to prove anything in living...").

Here is another snapshot, and another Muntean & Rosenblum painting ("We didn't make plans or talk about the future anymore..." ).

[image from re-title.com]
Muntean and Rosenblum are Austrian and Israeli, respectively, and I believe they live mostly in London. For more about their work, visit the Saatchi Gallery.

Winter Afternoon on Picnic Point

On Wednesday of this week Jessica and I took a day trip into Ontario to do a little afternoon hiking and to spend the evening at the movies. We hiked to High Falls on the Pigeon River via the trail at Pigeon River Provincial Park then went a little further up the road and hiked down to Picnic Point, a fantastic spot on the Lake Superior shoreline.



The Canadian shoreline is very different from the Minnesota shoreline. For the most part the Minnesota shore is straight with relatively few islands and bays. Once you cross the border into Canada, however, the shoreline takes on a totally different character. The islands and bays are plentiful, and both can be huge.



This view is looking east towards Thunder Bay with Pie Island sitting on the horizon behind the sunlit island, and Thompson Island running down the horizon along the right side of the photo. Our timing to this location couldn't have been better... when we arrived at the tip of the point the little island in the bay (not sure if it has a name) was bathed in sunlight. We found several fascinating pieces of ice along this shoreline as well. It was a great spot to spend some time on a mild (the temp was in the mid 30's) January afternoon.

Petzl ERGO

Ueli Steckon the m6 Direct Startto the Super Couloir.Jon Griffin photo and link here:



http://www.alpineexposures.com/blogs/chamonix-conditions/1438782-its-been-a-long-10-days



The original Ergo was one of the new tools that started the mixed tool explosion. That was several generations ago now and it is obvious that dbl handled tools are here to stay. Once thought an esoteric in design and for the specialists only it became a pretty common place design along with the BD Reactor and other newer tools from a few companies playing catch up.













Then the Nomic came out. Even more radical in design and appearance it didn't take long for almost everyone to realise just how good the Nomic was and how much easier it made ice and mixed climbing. The radical shaft shape and lack of hammer didn't stop the Nomic users from getting on everything from easy alpine ice to hard M8 all with the same tool. And amazingly almost everyone happy with it!



The newest Ergo is another big jump in shaft and handle design. You now have an extremely high clearance shaft and the option of three supported hand positions.





To be honest I am still learning how to climb on a Nomic after 5 seasons and figure I have yet to fulfill its potential.



The new Ergo is a big step up on the Nomic's potential from what I first see, visualise and can act upon even now.



Another look at the new Ergo here with good pictures:



http://rafalandronowski.wordpress.com//02/12/petzl-ergo-at-haffner-creek/



More here from someone who can actually use the new Ergo as intended:



http://machavok.blogspot.com//10/petzl-ergo-mixed-climbing-tool-review.html



In the grand scheme of the Ergo I am a gumby climber. But then I am a gumby as well when you look at who the Nomic was designed for. It is a true stroke of genius to have a tool like the Nomic that climbers at any skill can take advantage of. The question is can a gumby take advantage of what the Ergo has to offer and will it up your game over the Nomic?























































For what it is worth the Ergo is an amazing piece of kit even for a beginner on mixed. Easy or hard terrain and with no concern for your climbing ability imo the Ergo is a rather big step up in performance over every previous ice tool I have used. There is little question it really excels on vertical terrain, mixed or ice. But you can just as easily climb Grade 3 water ice with the Ergo as you can with an original Quark or a Nomic for that matter. The more horizontal grip of the Ergo really has a grip strength advantage over even the Nomic'c excellent grip profile. Enough so that the Ergo's grip kept me on a climb that I should have and would have blown off an Nomic's grip when I popped both feet trying to get onan icicle while coming off mixed terrain.

The new grip angle is a big advantage on difficult terrain and doesn't seem to have any down sides or easy terrian that I can tell. It is easy enough to move your hands up the shaft as the terrian looses angle. The other big advanatge I see form the previous generation of Nomics is the serrated lower grip pommel. The serrated steel blade really does offer good bite on the ice and makes the tool much more stable. More so than I ever thought it would. Big plus here. Down side is the Nomic and Ergos pommel attachment design is seriously flawed and is prone to quick failure. Which makes the tool pretty worthless.

I really like this tool. Much more so than I had ever envisioned. It works very well on any mixed or pure ice terrain. Even the easy stuff and is exceptional on the vertical stuff. I can see this being the only tool many climbers will own and they will be satisfied by doing so.The only down side from a huge positive recommendation for a beginner wanting to climb harder and get better, tothe proficienthard core mixed master, is the poor pommel design that Petzl is obviously going to have to fix sooner than later.

But there is enough advantages to the new shaft design that I am going to figure out a away to make my set of Ergos reliable enough to take ontosome serious alpine mixed terrain.

(see the other post for the details on the Nomic Ergo"failures")

Eek! A Shriek!

Some bird nicknames are widespread -- most birders have probably heard the Yellow-rumped warbler called a Butterbutt. (Check the bottom pic here to see why.)

But I think it's fairly common for birding friends to invent their own nicknames too. Most of ours are silly mispronunciations... King Burger (Kingbird), Rose-Chested Goosebeak (Rose-breasted Grosbeak), Buffalohead (Bufflehead), Gerbie (Grebe).

Often the bird's sound, or its description, substitutes for its name: "Hey, I heard a witchety witchety!" (Common Yellowthroat). "Which Nuthatch was it, a yank-yank or a squeaky toy?" (White-breasted or Brown-headed).

Sometimes it's just the intonation. A Frigatebird is still a Frigatebird, but must be mentioned as though it's being yelled at top voice, in memory of a particular enthusiast who did that every time one was sighted.

When you're unsure of exactly which hawk it is way up there, it's probably the (non-existant but handsome sounding) "Broad-shouldered Hawk", originally an accidental mish-mash of the Broad-winged and Red-shouldered Hawks.

Once my sister's husband, a new birder at the time, was trying to call our attention to a bird he couldn't quite remember the name of. And that's how Shriek was born (for Loggerhead Shrike).

All of that to say...

The other day I heard a bird noise I wasn't familiar with. I grabbed the binoculars, and...



Eek! It's a Shriek!



A horrible picture in the bright sun, but a Shriek!

We used to see Shrikes all the time but this is the first one I've seen in years. They seem to be in drastic decline throughout their range. I hope this one will stick around and be a regular visitor to the yard. He's welcome to all the bugs, mice, and voles he can carry.

-----
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus).

My old birding teacher described them as looking like "Mockingbirds gone bad"!

-----
Updated:
My sister emailed to remind me that I had forgotten about the Shawshank Hawk! (a.k.a. the Sharp-shinned hawk, for the less cinematically inclined.)