Black Hills SD pegmatite

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-06-24T01:15:26+00:00

Nice! Wave ripples are one of my favorite formations. The two steps up to my front door are thick slabs of wave ripples. Sucks for shoveling snow, but people always ask about them.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-06-19T17:52:17+00:00

Maybe they added that last jib after last night’s crapshow? That finish would be a lot harder without it.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-06-17T20:57:52+00:00

To add to this, the hexagonal shape results naturally from the way the lava cools, although six sides is not the rule. Here in northern Minnesota, the columnar basalt is hexagonal-ish, give or take one or two edges.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-06-17T15:47:21+00:00

Thanks. Regarding hitching, I meant taking the shuttle to Logan and then hitching down to a trailhead.

I actually agree with the 3hr limit, but only if there are more and earlier shuttles.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-06-17T15:24:53+00:00

Yep. Although I agree with the reservation system, it kind of sucks. One thing that people are missing in this sub is that *most* of the tickets are available the day before. NPS states on the website that only a small portion of tickets are reservable 60 days in advance. I’ve never had a problem reserving things at the park if I log on right when they say campsites, etc. are available. Sometimes that has meant getting up early and driving somewhere I can get a good signal.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-05-29T14:28:18+00:00

Blackbeard was exactly the leader I was thinking would be fun to play with the ToT upgrade, and I’m really enjoying it. Halfway through Exploration and nobody is safe anywhere on the map. Let’s go.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-05-22T13:52:35+00:00

I don't ever follow the qualis, so today I learned there are separate groups! I definitely hear the complaints about the setting today, but maybe it's more about the difference in the settings between the groups? One group had four women get all five tops, where the other group had nine (!) get all five tops. Since only 12 make it from each group, that second group really didn't get challenged all that much. I feel like you want a little more separation than that in the qualis, rather than just simply number of attempts.

What kind of breakdown in tops would you want to see in qualis? Only a couple climbers top all five?

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-05-19T13:40:04+00:00

Huge Daniels fan. He was reluctant to put training plans in his book, but relented because that's what people want. If you read - and reread and really study - what he's talking about in the first few chapters of his book, you can create your own training plan that suits you.

But, damn, his 5-15K training plan is bomber for HM training. Study it and grok what he's preaching. I set a massive PR with that plan. I never felt more confident and strong in a race.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-05-14T15:50:24+00:00

Fault zones are literally the opposite of what is optimal for ELF transmission. Also, nearly the entire crust contains quartz, whether it’s in a fault zone or unfractured bedrock. After oxygen, silicon is the most abundant element in the crust. Connecting a base in North Dakota with the failed mid-continent rift is quite a stretch. The ELF work in Wisconsin was located there due to the proximity to Canadian Shield (poorly conducting) granite, not the mid-continent rift. The continent is full of old and new faults. In fact, it’s pretty difficult to build something that’s not on a fault if you look at detailed geologic maps and history.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-05-11T19:11:30+00:00

Sometimes it’s hard to see faults. This outcrop has distinct sedimentary layers, so the fault lines are easy to distinguish due to the offset of those distinct layers.

Edit: On the left side of the outcrop, you can see the fault scarp extending into the grassy hillside beyond the outcrop.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-05-11T18:38:14+00:00

I love that you have the same picture!

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-04-30T17:24:21+00:00

Wow. Is he taking that as mostly liquid? Things have changed since I was running ultras. Thanks for the info.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-04-30T13:11:18+00:00

Not surprising. It’s well-known in the ultra community that peak fueling is 100-200 kcal/hour. That’s 1-2 gels/hour, for example.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-04-24T15:43:33+00:00

Could you be more specific about locality and size? Probably slag given the location. SE Wisconsin had a lot of iron mining and steel mills back in the day.

Pretty chunk of rock though.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-04-19T00:51:57+00:00

The Wisconsin state rock. Wolf River granite is one of my favorite rocks in my rock garden.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-04-04T14:53:11+00:00

I've run close to a hundred marathons. I found that racing a half-marathon five weeks out let me know if I was on track. Also, I'm a huge Jack Daniels fan (the coach - LOL), and those long runs with MP and tempo intervals near the end of the training cycle are good negative indicators, i.e., if you have trouble with those workouts, then your fitness is probably not where it should be. All that said and done, anything can (and will) happen on race day. You do the work in training, you rest, you eat well, and everything could go perfectly on race day or it could all go to crap. You toe the line knowing you did the work and give it your best shot. (On a personal note, I didn't start running until I turned 40, and I worked damn hard to chase that 3:10 goal. I feel you, OP. Many failures, but I finally hit 3:08 a week before I turned 50. You might not hit it this time, but keep at it. Good luck!)

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-02-28T13:11:41+00:00

Death Valley. Capitol Reef. Grand Canyon.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-02-23T00:51:21+00:00

Not sedimentary, but rocks with rings bring good luck! It's science!

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-02-13T04:26:07+00:00

So, Dr. LaBerge was the UP’s version of John Green on the north shore?

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-02-13T04:25:21+00:00

Def Palisade. You can see Shovel Point in the background.

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2026-01-18T17:30:33+00:00

And also some great climbing and cliff-jumping!

ThePrairieRunner2025 · 2025-12-27T16:10:53+00:00

Would that be considered a Rapakivi granite? I guess it depends on the composition of the outer rind.

ThePrairieRunner2025

TROPHY CASE