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The Great Blue Heron’s of the CCC and Devil’s Lake

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By: Mark Poelzer

If you’ve ever parked near the CCC parking lot in Devil’s Lake State Park, or group camped in the same area around mid-March or April – you might wonder if sinister acts are taking place high among the trees. Bellowing grunts, shrieks and barks echo into the stillness and startle even the most stoic among us. The noises are terribly hard to identify. Was that a dog barking high up in the tree? Does Wisconsin have Howler Monkeys? Is this why they call it Devil’s Lake? (This could be the real reason: https://apexadventurealliance.com/legend-and-folklore-of-the-devils-lake-monster/ )

Every year during the spring we are serenaded at the CCC parking lot by the Great Blue Heron,(Ardea herodias). The stand of pine trees sitting around the CCC parking lot is a rookery for this species – a safe place to find mates, build nests and give birth. These birds find safety in numbers and altitude, nesting in tree-tops to avoid ground-dwelling predators. Their main enemies are other birds like eagles and vultures. Another commonly noted rookery in WI is located at Horicon Marsh – https://www.fws.gov/refuge/horicon/
A great blue heron can stand up to 4.5 feet tall and have a wingspan up to 6.5 feet! They fly up to 25 mph and hunt for things like fish and reptiles (even rodents) using their sharp beak.  They are often incorrectly identified as cranes or egrets (though egrets are in the same family – a second cousin). An easy way to ID a great blue heron from a crane is to look at their neck during flight. Crane’s hold their neck out straight while heron’s fly with their long necks in an S-shape. Also, heron’s usually fly alone while crane’s fly with partners.
This time of year, you’re bound to see professional and amateur photographers setting up tri-pods to catch a close-up picture of these winged-beauties Keep an eye out for these special animals as you travel around Devil’s Lake and the CCC parking lot. 

[Booty Rules] – Booty’d gear and the ethics of claiming it.

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By: Mark Poelzer – 5/16/19


Booty! The word conjurs many a feeling depending on who you ask. I know two pirates named The Brother’s Galahvan – I really do – and their “booty” comes in the form of anything pirate related.  Climbers can sometimes look like pirates out there, too: often dirty, bruised and battered, sometimes foul-mouthed – but we seek out safe passage through a different kind of ocean – a vast and vertical ocean of rock and uncertainty. And along the journey we sometimes come across treasures that lure us and call out like sirens on the high seas. Ahoy booty! That’s “Hello booty!” in Pirate…if you didn’t know Pirate. 
 What’s booty to a climber? What calls out so strongly to us that it could drift us so quickly off course, completely changing our plan of attack for the day? When it comes down to it, just like pirates, it’s all about the Benjamin’$ baby!  Booty is free gear we find out on that vertical ocean. Or, sometimes, resting on the ground at the base of the massive ocean that is El Capitan, like it did for me. That was some easy booty!
 But sometimes it’s not so easy retrieving that treasure you’ve spotted. And believe it or not, there are RULES when it comes to retrieving booty in the climbing world – perhaps this is where we stray most from our ruthless pirate brethren.
 There are no “official” rules, but Mountain Project highlights the big takeaways: #1 – Any gear that you leave on a climb due to lack of skill, persistence or courage is booty once you give up on retrieving it, and leave the crag for the day. You get a 12-hr reprieve if you announce your intentions to recover your gear, but you need to be at the base of the cliff at first light. Sleeping in will result in your gear becoming booty.  #2. Gear left due to inclement weather or conditions is booty as a lack of skill was involved in the decisions that you made. You were not fast or perhaps strong enough to beat the weather, or you made a poor decision regarding the weather or conditions. The mountain beat you and therefore your gear becomes booty.  #3 Any gear left in a rescue or accident resulting in real (not imagined) injury is not booty and shall be left at the rock/snow/IME, the Mountainere etc. to be returned to the proper party involved. The booty game is supposed to be fun. Once someone gets really hurt it is not fun anymore.  #4 If you lose booty do not be a whiny little ____ about it. Asking for your booty to be returned is very bad karma and results in a huge loss of face. If the booty hounds offer to return your lost booty and you accept you lose major face. The proper response is, “No, you keep it, you guys earned it.” If they offer to return the booty, and you refuse and offer to let them keep the booty, but they then insist, “No you go ahead and take it back we have plenty of gear” you may then accept the return of your booty gear. You will still lose some face but not too bad. At this point you need to offer them a libation or other form of good will to show your appreciation. 

Keep in Mind – There are different rules for fixed gear on difficult routes, which is meant to stay there, and is not considered booty. Sometimes, one will find only a crux move to have fixed gear – leave it! Also, someone may be projecting a route and the rules are a bit fuzzy here depending on who you talk to. Bottom line, don’t be a thief – the booty game is meant to be a fun one.   https://www.facebook.com/whiteraven29/https://www.instagram.com/thebrothersgalahvan/   

Booty gear that has certainly passed it’s use by date. None of us knew exactly what type/brand of cam this was, but inscribed is “02/99”. Retrieved from West Bluff, Devil’s Lake State Park, WI
Top: a sling found at the base of El Cap – Yosemite National Park, CA. Bottom: A Rock Empire cam found on the West Bluff at Devil’s Lake State Park, WI

The Brother’s Galahvan; pirates for hire, and the author’s cousins. https://www.instagram.com/thebrothersgalahvan/

Common Questions of Climbers

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Devil’s Lake: a geologic wonder

Devil’s Lake is an endorheic (closed drainage) lake in south section of the Baraboo range. The lake is 374 acres and is no more than 47 feet deep at any one place. The water quality is considered moderately clear and is home to many fish species including pan fish, large-mouth bass, northern pike, trout, and walleye.  On a typical day, you’ll find a number of people fishing along the shoreline.

Devil’s Lake is a deep chasm with no visible inlet or outlet. The name, is really a misinterpretation of the Ho Chunk tribal name “Tawacunchkdah”, which means “sacred” or “spirit” lake. Tawacunchkdah is significant in Ho Chunk tribal culture because spiritual voices are heard during celebrations.

Devil’s Lake was once a part of the Wisconsin River prior to the Ice Age, more than 10,000 years ago. A large lobe of the glacier passed the Baraboo Hills to the south and deposited a terminal moraine on the south end of the river. Another moraine terminated on the north end causing the river to divert. The left-over water formed Devil’s Lake.

For more history on the area, visit these sites:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Lake_(Wisconsin)

http://pages.uwc.edu/keith.montgomery/baraboo/baraboo.htm

Climbing Movement: Smearing

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Want to learn better climbing techniques for out on the cliffs or at your local gym? Follow this 8 part series to explore helpful rock climbing movement tips and techniques, reasons for performing the climbing movement, and how to practice them for added rock climbing fun.  We will even include recommended Devil’s Lake State Park climbs to try your new found skills on.

You walk into a deli in New York and ask for a schmear of cream cheese on your bagel. No one thinks twice, that’s what it is. But did you know that several languages actually use the word schmear and it means smear. So if you want, you can call this move a smear or a schmear. You might get sideways glances by hoighty toighty climbers for the latter, but climbing is just about having fun right, so who cares!

Smearing is a pretty odd movement. One that takes some time to trust and one that is hardly ever done at Devil’s Lake State Park. You can read more about the Devil’s Lake Rock first if you missed that post… it might help inform you about what is about to happen next.

So back to smearing. First thing’s first, you need a bit of friction or else you’ll never trust this move. I just got back from a trip where we got the privilege of climbing highly textured granite. I came back without fingertips, but I also got to practice this great movement.

So once you’ve found some friction, you are going to place the ball of your foot onto said friction. From there, press down and your foot will stick. The odd thing about this movement is that you create a foot chip without the chip part. Thank back to putting a schmear on our bagel. The cream cheese glides (with some effort) onto the bagel and it sticks to the bread part and comes off of your spreading utensil. It’s friction, people! And it is weird! I’m not very scientific, so I can’t get too far into it beyond making the comparison and saying it is weird.

The wall is your bagel and your shoe is the cream cheese. If you trust in friction, the cream cheese is going to stick just find to your bagel.

Recommended Devil’s Lake Smearing Climbs: ????? Maybe something at Old Sandstone. Head on a trip to practice this skill. Red River Gorge, Arizona, Colorado…


smearing close up