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Beautiful pics
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Aug 20, 2018 14:50
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^^drat! Phenomenal shots from a phenomenal sounding trip! Do you use any kind of post processing lighting adjustments, and if so what do you do? I'm just curious because I'd like to start working with my shots like thatGeorge H.W. oval office posted:Just wanted to reminisce for a second on my favorite AT memory. This is amazing! I need to get up to the Northeast and do some backpacking... Moments like that are my favorite, early morning alone with a cup of coffee in some incredible wilderness... Splinter posted:That site was amazing. Thanks! We found dispersed spots in great locations every night we camped (which was every night except in Moab). Thanks for the trip report--Sounds like an amazing trip! Did you visit the fossil shop in Moab or the Old Hundred Mine tour out in Silverton? What were your favorite things that you'd recommend next time I go out that way? I didn't get to see much of San Juan national Forest... Would love to see any pics if you don't mind posting  You'll definitely have to hit up the Grand Canyon next time you're out that way, that's an experience in and of itself.
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Aug 21, 2018 14:44
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George H.W. oval office posted:Just wanted to reminisce for a second on my favorite AT memory. Ah, I wish my own memories of "Lonesome" Lake were as picturesque (the most recent one I have is of a loud-rear end family hiking behind me yelling "RUGER!!!" at their off-leash dog for half an hour straight). High altitude lakes as a destination are severely underrated, and there are a few other good ones off the beaten path in the Whites (Norcross Pond is a favorite).
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Aug 21, 2018 18:33
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Alright, we have a week in Utah (and a day or two in the Grand Canyon) next month and I'm trying to finalize the plan. Probably spending 1 afternoon/night/morning at each park and then driving to the next so we get a good afternoon hike, sunset, dinner, star gazing, and a sunrise hike at each. Going to do a mix of camping on BLM land, park campgrounds, and maybe an Airbnb or two. Any hikes/spots or recommendations welcome: Flying in to Vegas Grand Canyon Zion Bryce Capitol Reef Canyonlands Arches Red Rocks for an afternoon on the way back to Vegas.
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Aug 21, 2018 18:44
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Bottom Liner posted:Flying in to Vegas, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Red Rocks for an afternoon on the way back to Vegas.  holy gently caress. I love hiking/backpacking but thats intense.OSU_Matthew posted:^^drat! Phenomenal shots from a phenomenal sounding trip! Do you use any kind of post processing lighting adjustments, and if so what do you do? I'm just curious because I'd like to start working with my shots like that Thanks man. First off for equipment, I only brought my Sony RX-100 m2. Its a pocket point and shoot but it has a decently large sensor, shoots raw, and has full manual controls as well as manual focusing if needed. Its my go-to backpacking camera because of its size. I have a Sony A7iii and Sigma art lenses but those are too heavy to backpack with. I usually carry a gorilla pod with me but I forgot it.  For this photo, I was honestly mostly lucky and it was a perfect storm of conditions. First, smoke from the fires up in BC blew south to washington. We had clear skies and no smoke in our area but because there was smoke between the setting sun and our location, the sunset was very vivid. Next, clouds started to form as the sun was setting. 30 minutes prior it was a bluebird cloudless ski. It was cool seeing clouds coming over the peaks on the left but then the clouds started looking like cotton candy. The lighting was really soft and orange. It was surreal walking around what felt like another planet with soft orange and pink light. I metered for the sky so that it didn't get blown out. Shooting raw, I knew I would still be able to pull detail out of the shadows/rocks/mountain. I added some contrast, sharpened it slightly, and brought up the luminance/saturation a bit. One of my buddies thought i put a gradient on top for the orange and blue but thats just how it looked. If I were trying to make it look exactly like we saw it in real life, I would have had to do a multiple exposure because the rocks were much brighter but it would have looked like a garbage HDR photo.  This looks like I tried to do some sort of vsco filter but its actually smoke that makes it look so faded. I tried a levels/curves layer in photoshop but it looked bad so I just sort of left it alone. I added a little green and a little blue saturation/luminance to bring in the mountains in the background (could barely see them in the photo) as well as a slight sharpen but that was about it. I wish I had a wider lens but being a point and shoot, I was limited to what I had and the panoramas rarely look great.  I should have taken this on Friday because it was a clear sky but we were exhausted from hiking in and went straight to bed. Saturday was smokey so the stars weren't out and there was a pink half moon. I took this around 10pm so it was completely dark but the haze made it bright enough that there was soft moonlight illuminating the entire area. I think this one was a 15 second exposure at iso 800, f 1.8. I didn't have a tripod so I found a flat rock and propped it up with sticks. I used a 2 second delay timer so that I wasn't touching the camera or causing it to wobble. I really wish I hadn't cut off the moon but this was the best photo exposure wise of the bunch that I took so I used it versus the better framed version. These were all shot in raw and brought into camera raw for edits. I prefer camera raw/photoshop to lightroom mostly out of familiarity and editing power. I have a ton more photos but who knows if/when I'll get around to processing them.
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Aug 21, 2018 19:54
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OSU_Matthew posted:Thanks for the trip report--Sounds like an amazing trip! We camped 2 nights at Little Molas Lake (forest road 584 off of 550 a few miles south of Silverton). It's right on the Colorado Trail, so we hiked a bit of that one morning/early afternoon (like this, but there's no reason you have to turn around where it does on that map). It's beautiful up there: still tons of wildflowers in August. The campsite itself was just shy of 11k feet and the trail gains elevation from there, so you're really up there! Here's a few SOOC shots:    Didn't really do too much in-town touristy stuff this trip other than walking walking around the downtown areas and hitting a few breweries. Golden Block brewery in Silverton was great for both food and beer. They have a wood fired oven and the pizza and wings were on point. I have done the Grand Canyon before, but only the south rim. Definitely want to do Sublime Point on the north rim, but that's one of the reasons we didn't have time to do the north rim this trip (18 miles of slow going dirt road after you make it to the north rim). We're going to do another trip some day where we go farther south and hit North Rim, Page area stuff, Glen Canyon and Monument Valley. Splinter fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Aug 21, 2018 |
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Aug 21, 2018 21:06
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Eh, drat looks like my Idaho trip is getting called off. Some family health issues going on and doesn't make sense to go off into the wilderness with no cell service. This year has been kind of a bust for backpacking but that's how it goes sometimes I guess. Got in a few short trips, will try to plan something more exciting next year as I don't think I'll have any time to fit something in before the fall and winter storms start threatening the mountains around here. Can probably still do some camping through the year though
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Aug 21, 2018 21:42
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Bottom Liner posted:Alright, we have a week in Utah (and a day or two in the Grand Canyon) next month and I'm trying to finalize the plan. Probably spending 1 afternoon/night/morning at each park and then driving to the next so we get a good afternoon hike, sunset, dinner, star gazing, and a sunrise hike at each. Going to do a mix of camping on BLM land, park campgrounds, and maybe an Airbnb or two. Any hikes/spots or recommendations welcome: Bryce and Capitol Reef have free, easy dispersed camping right outside the park borders (before you even hit the surrounding town). The park visitors centers are usually happy to tell you about the dispersed camping in the area. In Zion, if you only do one thing you probably want to do the Narrows, but if you want to go deep up the canyon that can end up taking up most of your day. You could squeeze something shorter like Emerald Pools in afterwards. Watchman is a nice short hike to do that starts at the visitors center (no need to hop on a bus). Great option to do before setting up camp if you arrive late in the day. Angels Landing is the popular hike if you want to climb up the side of the canyon, but that was closed due to rockslide damage (as was half of Emerald Pools) when we were there a few weeks ago. If you're arriving in the mid-late afternoon, I'd recommend doing Watchman, camp, get up and do The Narrows and another shorter hike if you have the energy, camp again, then get up early and drive to Bryce. You can see most of Bryce that day, camp, then head through Grand Staircase toward Capitol Reef. In an afternoon in Bryce you could easily start at Sunrise point and do Queens Garden trail, then from the bottom cut over to Navajo Loop and take that back up to Sunset Point. If you get there early enough and/or hike fast and have a lot of energy, you could also do Peekaboo loop. Peekaboo + Navajo/Queens Garden is pretty much everything in the amphitheater. The only thing you'd really be missing is Fairyland (which we didn't do). Whatever you do, make sure you hit the Wall Street section of Navajo loop. Highway 12 between Bryce and Capitol Reef is an epic drive, especially once you get a bit past Escalante. Make sure you do this drive while it's light out. There's also some cool hikes you can do in Grand Staircase National Monument during this segment. We did the Zebra Slot hike. The slot itself was flooded, so we had to swim in to get to the narrow/beautiful section. Would've been cooler if it wasn't flooded, but it was still worthwhile. Tunnel Slot is also accessible from that trail. The canyon you hike through to get out to Zebra Slot is also pretty cool in its own right. There are a lot of great Grand Staircase hikes you can reach from Hole in the Rock Rd (BLM 200, just past Escalante) depending on how much time you have. E.g., Coyote Gulch, Peek-a-boo. Do some Googling. I'll definitely be back to spend some more time there. It's worth considering camping somewhere along 12 rather than at Capitol Reef so you have more time to do something in Grand Staircase. Then from there, drive to Moab and only stop for a few hours in Capitol Reef on your way. We didn't spend too much time in Capitol Reef and didn't feel like we missed too much. We just drove down the Scenic Drive, then stopped at the Petroglyphs and Hickman Bridge on the way through the park on 24 east. Hickman Bridge is definitely worth the short hike. It's actually bigger than a lot of the arches you'll see in Arches. Arches can mostly be seen from car pull outs and really short walks to viewpoints. The main spot to actually hike is Devil's Garden, which I recommend.
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Aug 21, 2018 22:28
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Splinter posted:Bryce and Capitol Reef have free, easy dispersed camping right outside the park borders (before you even hit the surrounding town). The park visitors centers are usually happy to tell you about the dispersed camping in the area. This is incredibly helpful since I've only done Arches/CL/Zion. Narrows will probably depend on temp and rain forecast, but it's on the list if possible, along with Angels Landing since my wife hasn't done it yet.
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Aug 21, 2018 23:06
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Seconding Narrows as a must-do if conditions allow. If the water levels are on the high side, and you want to go deep in the canyon (which I recommend if you can) a drysuit rental might be a good idea, although it isn't cheap. Either Angel's landing or Observation point are good short dayhikes with nice views if you have time (I actually prefer the view from the top of observation point but you don't get the woo-woo factor of angel's landing, which can be good or bad depending on your preference). If possible, being in the Narrows on a clearish day around late morning to early afternoon will get you some really spectacular lighting in the slot, it really does look like those fake looking photos. It's best to start early since the narrowest parts are a bit further in. The figure-8 loop is my favorite hike in Bryce. It combines part of the Navajo Loop (including Wall Street), Peakaboo loop, and Queen's Garden in one half-day hike,. If you do that + just drive around and view the canyon from various vantage points you can pretty much do Bryce in a day. For Arches, I really like the primitive loop trail. You can easily drive around and see a lot of the park, then park at the Devil's Garden trailhead and do the primitive loop in a few hours. It isn't much of a "trail" which gives it a fun exploratory feel, and at least when I've went it was much less traveled than some of the other trails that were jam packed walking selfie sticks. In Canyonlands, if you are short on time at the very least just drive around and see some the canyon overlooks, but if you have a bit longer the Needles is a really cool place to explore and has some good hikes.
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Aug 22, 2018 06:05
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Just a heads up, it's possible Angel's Landing may still be closed when you go. It sounded like the damage was significant, and there was no date set for it to reopen.
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Aug 22, 2018 07:12
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Verman posted:
Thanks for the trip report, it looks beautiful. How would the approach be from the south, i.e. scrambling up from square lake? All the trip reports I saw on WTA were from Tunnel Creek but I’m wondering if it’s possible to come from Icicle Creek.
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Aug 22, 2018 16:20
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Anachronist posted:How would the approach be from the south, i.e. scrambling up from square lake? All the trip reports I saw on WTA were from Tunnel Creek but I’m wondering if it’s possible to come from Icicle Creek. I'm assuming you're talking about hiking in from the Icicle Creek Trailhead. Its probably a possibility but I'm not certain if there is indeed an actual trail that goes from Icicle Creek to Square lake. It looks to be about a 12 mile one way trip just to square lake but relatively flat if you stay along the creek but then you have to climb 2k feet in the last half mile to get to square lake. Once up there you would still then have to climb another 1k feet to get to the lower Thunder Mountain lake and another 300 feet to get to the upper lake which is the best in my opinion. There were plenty of people visiting the lower thunder lake but most seemed to do so with day packs. The boot path down seemed pretty steep and sandy, parts looking more like a scramble than a trail. Once we were at the upper lake, we looked at the lower lake from above, looked at the trail and decided we would rather scramble all the nearby peaks than go down to the lake and explore around there. I can't say how either the lower thunder m. lake or square lake was personally. It seems brutal to me especially when a shorter trail exists (from tunnel creek or surprise creek trailheads). We chose Tunnel Creek because it was supposed to be mellower than coming from surprise creek which is shorter.
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Aug 22, 2018 17:09
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Thanks for the info. Sounds better to come from tunnel or surprise creek. I was thinking maybe it would save some driving from Spokane but it’d probably be too much extra hiking to make it worth it.
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Aug 22, 2018 20:05
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Any recommendations around Snowmass/Aspen for a half day hike this Friday? I’m thinking of going early early and seeing the Maroon Bells. Looking for 3-10 miles (depending on intensity) of pretty views and not a ton of tourists.
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Aug 22, 2018 20:35
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Splinter posted:Just a heads up, it's possible Angel's Landing may still be closed when you go. It sounded like the damage was significant, and there was no date set for it to reopen. Depending on where the damage is, if you're feeling saucy, you could take the West Rim Trail from the Lava Point terminus and get to it from there. But, they say Observation Point is still open, and that's honestly a better view I think, just doesn't carry the same I-did-it cachet
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Aug 23, 2018 02:02
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Did Mt Belford today. Fourteeners are stupid but it was pretty. This was also the only one I've done that I regretted wearing shorts on. poo poo got coooold.    
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Aug 24, 2018 03:48
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single-mode fiber posted:Depending on where the damage is, if you're feeling saucy, you could take the West Rim Trail from the Lava Point terminus and get to it from there. But, they say Observation Point is still open, and that's honestly a better view I think, just doesn't carry the same I-did-it cachet I did both twice this spring and the Ob Point is a great view but the hike for AL is great and way more fun. Going to hit all of them if they're open really.
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Aug 24, 2018 04:06
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Levitate posted:Eh, drat looks like my Idaho trip is getting called off. Some family health issues going on and doesn't make sense to go off into the wilderness with no cell service. Not Idaho but otherwise    Also Verman that first picture is awesome as hell and also my new computer background. Nice shot! Trail photography is something I kinda want to get into, but apparently not enough put in the effort to get started or overcome my borderline hostility to cameras.
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Aug 24, 2018 18:57
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DeesGrandpa posted:Fourteeners are stupid but it was pretty. Agree to disagree. I’ve only got 21(ish) under my belt but I will never get tired of the views. Granted, Grays/Torreys/Quandary/Bierstadt are conga lines. Did you do Belford + Oxford or just the one? Those photos are great.
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Aug 24, 2018 19:41
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Am I insane to switch shoes before a big trip? Previously I've been using a pair of Keen's I've had for eight years. They're getting pretty old, but I don't get out a ton so they don't have crazy miles on them. They were probably never sized correctly though and my feet aren't super comfortable in them. Everyone seems to be big on trail runners, and REI had the Lone Trail 3.5's on clearance so I grabbed a couple pairs (different sizes) to try on. Seem comfortable, and certainly lighter and better fitting then my Keen's, but doing a 30+ mile overnight in new shoes has me concerned. Thoughts?
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Aug 24, 2018 20:52
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Just try and make sure to try and break them in before you really get going. Although a properly fitted shoe shouldn’t cause any issues even when new.
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Aug 24, 2018 21:34
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Guest2553 posted:Not Idaho but otherwise Thanks! Let me know if you need a bigger version and I can send a full resolution. I'll be editing more from that trip eventually. I go back and forth with photography from time to time. Sometimes I'm really motivated to get good shots and actually go through later and edit. Other times I could give a poo poo less and they just sit on a card forever never getting retouched. Some areas are too beautiful to pass up just impossible to get a bad shot of. I stopped carrying my big cameras backpacking because of the weight and bulk. Only my rx100 now a days, maybe my A7iii for day hikes. Honestly my rx100 makes it stupid easy to take photos. When I'm hiking with buddies who are not photographers, I shoot in auto mode just to keep moving. Framing/composition is the hardest part. If you shoot raw you have so much control over the exposure that it almost doesn't matter anymore so long as its close and not blown out. I'm in the San Juan Islands of washington right now with both my rx100 and my A7iii so I'll be curious to see what I get and if I do anything with them. This is more of a snapshot type trip than something I'm expecting amazing photos from.
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Aug 25, 2018 04:59
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I'm fine with carrying a camera. I pack a full frame dslr and 2 primes (Nikon d750 20mm 1.8 + 85mm 1.8) into a small case logic camera pouch with 2 extra batteries and a lens wipe. The tripod is bulkier and heavier than the whole camera setup and I haven't found anything yet to replace it. Even the carbon fiber stuff isn't smaller or lighter once you figure in the heads. I'm close to just switching to one of those 6 inch table style tripods and just going for ground level shots most of the time for my star stuff.
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Aug 25, 2018 05:54
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I never shared a lot of the photos from my last trips to Utah, stoked to go back for my first fall visit. I have hundreds of these from Canyonlands, Arches, and Zion.         
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Aug 25, 2018 06:07
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Wow, beautiful pictures. This thread really puts me to shame with hikes and photography. Need to up my game.
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Aug 25, 2018 08:24
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Bottom Liner posted:I never shared a lot of the photos from my last trips to Utah, stoked to go back for my first fall visit. I have hundreds of these f rom Canyonlands, Arches, and Zion. Man those are amazing. What are the streaks in the sky in this one, planes? Satellites? And bloody-hell my newish leather hiking boots squeek something fierce, this is driving me nuts. I've used them enough I'd hoped they would stop by now and it seems like its getting worse. They're an older style boot, bought out of familiarity with the sorts of hiking boots I had when I was younger. Trail runners seem way more popular these days, I guess? Went on a three day hike recently and ran into this chlamydia ridden bloke  Also, meant to say thanks for the advice on the sawyer squeeze, Ruptured Yakety Sax fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Aug 25, 2018 |
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Aug 25, 2018 09:33
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What's a good way to rid my boots of tick nymphs? Like an idiot, I went bushwhacking in the Long Island pine barrens on Thursday, and got back to the car with my leggings crusted over with the bastards. I washed my clothes just fine, but my boots are sitting outside, still swarming with them. Would tossing them into a washing machine destroy the boots (or the washing machine)? They're Moab Ventilators, a few years old.
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Aug 25, 2018 14:24
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Ruptured Yakety Sax posted:Man those are amazing. What are the streaks in the sky in this one, planes? Satellites? Meteorites actually!
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Aug 25, 2018 14:30
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Bottom Liner posted:Meteorites actually! Wild! I don't really know photography and assumed for the long exposures of star shots meteors would be too brief. Looking to head to a place called Little Desert National Park this month, which will be my first time hiking in a sandy (semi-)desert environment. The camping sites are meant to be pretty sandy, generally speaking how useful is it to take sand pegs over regular tent pegs? I'll call up the local rangers for advise, but goon advise is
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Aug 25, 2018 14:51
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Time Cowboy posted:What's a good way to rid my boots of tick nymphs? Like an idiot, I went bushwhacking in the Long Island pine barrens on Thursday, and got back to the car with my leggings crusted over with the bastards. I washed my clothes just fine, but my boots are sitting outside, still swarming with them. Would tossing them into a washing machine destroy the boots (or the washing machine)? They're Moab Ventilators, a few years old. Maybe wrap them in a bag and throw them in the freezer? That's what I generally do with my shoes instead do washing them. Helps kill the bacteria that makes them smell. Maybe it will kill the ticks?
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Aug 25, 2018 16:38
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I have a permit for a day hike at Mount St. Helens tomorrow (8/26) and had planned to summit. The weather is looking pretty nasty with rain and snow lows in 20s highs in 38 zone. I'm still wanting to try though! I'll be driving in tonight to sleep overnight at the trailhead. Has anyone done MSH in poor weather? I'll take any advice or tips!
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Aug 25, 2018 17:21
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Obviously the best time to work out how to put up a new tent is at 3000m when the snow is starting to fall. Great view this morning though!
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Aug 26, 2018 21:00
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Internet Explorer posted:Maybe wrap them in a bag and throw them in the freezer? That's what I generally do with my shoes instead do washing them. Helps kill the bacteria that makes them smell. Maybe it will kill the ticks? Cold doesn't kill ticks (or bacteria, for that matter). Google suggests I can just starve the ticks out by waiting a couple weeks.
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Aug 26, 2018 21:26
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Can someone point me in the direction of a kayaking thread?
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Aug 27, 2018 15:04
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cheese eats mouse posted:Can someone point me in the direction of a kayaking thread? Probably your best bet https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3630620&perpage=40
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Aug 27, 2018 16:06
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Time Cowboy posted:Cold doesn't kill ticks (or bacteria, for that matter). Google suggests I can just starve the ticks out by waiting a couple weeks. According to this page, the dryer on high heat will kill ticks. Not sure I'd toss shoes in there, though. I guess good to know for clothes, maybe. https://www.outdoors.org/articles/amc-outdoors/like-to-kill-ticks-put-them-in-dryer I'm pretty sure permethrin kills them on contact, although people have different feelings about using that in general.
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Aug 27, 2018 16:44
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The problem with the dryer on high heat is that it will ruin a lot of thin technical fabrics and could possibly loosen up the adhesives on a lot of shoes.
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Aug 27, 2018 17:29
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Can't you just submerge the boots in water for a few days?
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Aug 28, 2018 00:10
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| # ? May 24, 2024 15:17 |
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move somewhere else and enjoy some relatively tick-free hiking until global warming makes the entire continent one big tick nest
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Aug 28, 2018 01:29
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