A lot of schedules and routines got jjiggered over the last couple weeks with the pre-mature birth of Inari, the new daughter of our nephew Christopher and his girlfriend Aidan.  Long story, but short version was that Aidan and my sister Donna were air-flighted to Denver several weeks ago, where mother and unborn Inari were ensconced in a high-risk unit in Denver’s premier preemie hospital.  Baby was born at 36 weeks and she arrived at 4 pound 2 ounces in good health.  Adding to the kerfluffle was they closed on a new Durango house (via FEDEX) while in Denver, and all the family and friends moved them into it in their absence.  Stanna had to rush her contribution off the loom in time for their return to Durango and the new crib. The super soft blanket was fashioned in green because she (and the parents) had no idea what color blanket would be appropriate.

I finally managed to slip away for a couple of single-day jaunts – a shake down bike tour and a trail hike.  The Shake-Down was a bike packing trip to check out all my gear for the Great Divide ride, and it proved worthwhile because I had a number of bike failures that I’d rather take care of locally than 1,000 miles away.  First the seat came loose from the seat post after about 20 uphill miles and then the bottom bracket started to make ball bearing grinding sounds as I reached the summit after the 4,500′ climb.  Thankfully there was still plenty of light and one Subaru high up on the pass, so I hitched home rather than continue with the overnight trip. It wasn’t easy climbing the last 2 miles out of the saddle, so I’m going to change out the seat post before I go out again.  (The bolt wouldn’t tighten enough and I didn’t want to strip it – I’ve already experienced a stripped bolt this year).  My nephew Christopher, the new father, will change out the bearings in the bottom bracket as soon as he settles into the new house.

And instead of waiting on the new house stoop with all the family for the baby’s arrival, I snuck away on a day hike with Kurt.  We cleaned trail 5 miles up Burnt Timber Creek for the Forest Service under the WIS program I’ve joined.

Saving the best for last, I got to set-up the latest Zpacks Hexamid Duplex tent I ordered for my riding partner on the Great Divide.  I’ll have to have one for next season as it’s only 1 ounce more than my current Hexamid and has lots more features I’m impressed with. I especially like the fact that you don’t need to place the poles inside the screen, the sewn-in bathtub floor, and the over-lapping double doors, plus the extra head room for the 2nd side.  For the sailors out there, this is all Cuban Fiber sail cloth fabric (total of 19 oz for two people) .