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Post by Babu on Aug 21, 2022 11:22:58 GMT -5
In Parga, Greece for a week.  Our balcony was actually massive, especially compared to the tiny studio apartment itself, as the balcony stretched all around every part of the corner apartment's outer walls. View from the balcony:  It's a very cute town, and there are so many incredibly cozy alleys and streets.  Even the busiest, most bustling streets are still charming, cute or beautiful.   And of course there's the typical touristy fascination with cocks.  Very picturesque looking town. And honestly it doesn't feel as hilly as it looks. Impossible to navigate through though. Both my gf and I have terrible sense of direction and it's like a big labyrinth. On the left is some old venetian castle  We wen't up there. Very cool.  To my surprise there weren't any fees and not even any rules saying you couldn't enter certain rooms or go certain places.  There were quite a lot of rooms you could enter, and honestly most places would've charged you and/or prohibited you from going to some of them.   You also got some stunning views from there as well.   Today is only our first day though and we've got plenty more in store. We'll see if I'll ever get around to posting whatever pictures I'll be taking then. |
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Post by greysrigging on Aug 21, 2022 20:33:12 GMT -5
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Post by Steelernation on Aug 21, 2022 21:49:31 GMT -5
Climbed Mount Yale yesterday morning, my 7th 14er. Distance: 9.0 miles Time hiking: 6.5 hours Trailhead elevation: 9,900’ Summit elevation: 14,200’ This one was far away near Buena Vista so I camped at the trailhead the night before. Got an early start at 3:55 AM, was drizzling and saw some fresh bear shit so I wasn’t really feeling it. Caught up to another hiker though who I climbed the peak with, made me feel a lot more comfortable with the pitch black. About 2 hours in, we’d gone a few miles and made it above treeline when it started to get a little lighter. By 6:30, the sun had risen exposing beautiful views:  Up to this point the climb was pretty gradual and easy but after a bit more climbing above treeline, we had to climb very steeply up to a saddle, everyone says this is the most difficult part. You can see the saddle in the middle, then climb along the ridge to the right where you can see the peak. >  < After gaining the saddle, I was at 13,900’ with just the scramble along the ridge. The rain had stopped awhile ago but there were light snow flurries at this point. Going directly on the ridge was class 3, one of the only ways to do class 3 with no exposure, while the standard route skirts the ridge to the right where it was only class 2. I started on top of the ridge and it was super fun but unfortunately it was really slippery from the morning rain. About halfway through it got too slick to be worth it so I bailed and took the easier route to the summit. Pic of the ridge with the false summit in the middle, the real summit is peaking out to the left: >  < Summit had panoramic views, the thick overcast didn’t block anything: The way down was a breeze, took much less time than going up. Low clouds rolled in which looked cool: >  < Descended through a lush subalpine forest with tons of wildflowers: >   < This slope is covered in aspens, would be absolutely stunning in fall: >  < |
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Post by greysrigging on Aug 22, 2022 1:23:29 GMT -5
Climbed Mount Yale yesterday morning, my 7th 14er. Distance: 9.0 miles Time hiking: 6.5 hours Trailhead elevation: 9,900’ Summit elevation: 14,200’ This one was far away near Buena Vista so I camped at the trailhead the night before. Got an early start at 3:55 AM, was drizzling and saw some fresh bear shit so I wasn’t really feeling it. Caught up to another hiker though who I climbed the peak with, made me feel a lot more comfortable with the pitch black. About 2 hours in, we’d gone a few miles and made it above treeline when it started to get a little lighter. By 6:30, the sun had risen exposing beautiful views: Up to this point the climb was pretty gradual and easy but after a bit more climbing above treeline, we had to climb very steeply up to a saddle, everyone says this is the most difficult part. You can see the saddle in the middle, then climb along the ridge to the right where you can see the peak. > < After gaining the saddle, I was at 13,900’ with just the scramble along the ridge. The rain had stopped awhile ago but there were light snow flurries at this point. Going directly on the ridge was class 3, one of the only ways to do class 3 with no exposure, while the standard route skirts the ridge to the right where it was only class 2. I started on top of the ridge and it was super fun but unfortunately it was really slippery from the morning rain. About halfway through it got too slick to be worth it so I bailed and took the easier route to the summit. Pic of the ridge with the false summit in the middle, the real summit is peaking out to the left: > < Summit had panoramic views, the thick overcast didn’t block anything: The way down was a breeze, took much less time than going up. Low clouds rolled in which looked cool: > < Descended through a lush subalpine forest with tons of wildflowers: > < This slope is covered in aspens, would be absolutely stunning in fall: > < Does altitude sickness get you at all ? |
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Post by nei on Aug 22, 2022 1:29:17 GMT -5
Went hiking and climbed a couple 14ers on Wednesday. Distance: 7.0 miles Time: 5 hrs 50 mins Trailhead elevation: 12,000’ Highest summit: 14,293’ Got lost getting there and after navigating the rough dirt road I got on the trail at 6 AM. Very pretty sunrise looking back—especially the reflection in the lake. You can see the parking lot to the left of it.  Great views opened up in all directions which helped make up for the hike being am annoying slog. Steep and over talus although it was just regular hiking, no scramble at all. I got to the 14,155’ summit about 7:30 AM. Views from the top: After that, I descended back to the saddle and then climbed up Mount Cameron and reached the summit at 9 AM. Mount Cameron’s summit is 14,238’. those 3 views from the top have really good light, great photos. also beautiful sunrise photo. Democrat has an impressive spine. Did you go down that? |
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Post by nei on Aug 22, 2022 10:14:16 GMT -5
One of my favorite beaches on the island, is on the southern shore. Although these pics are from a small sandbar in the middle of the water. Temp and dew was 85/72 and windy. Perfect out there...didn't even feel hot. shallow water must be warm forest looks a lot like 2000-3000 feet in New Hampshire or vermont |
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Post by aabc123 on Aug 22, 2022 14:45:10 GMT -5
Some rather random photos from my area  Evening at 8 pm:   |
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Post by Steelernation on Aug 22, 2022 15:21:16 GMT -5
greysrigging Not much on the way up, just more out of breath than usual. I usually get a bad headache and sometimes even a fever though when I get back down to lower elevations, must have something to do with the rapid drop in altitude. nei in the picture of Democrat you can see the trail zigzagging off to the left of the spine. Above that, it’s not that narrow or steep, the other side is blocked from view in the picture I took. I agree it looks cool though.
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Post by greysrigging on Aug 22, 2022 16:45:21 GMT -5
Dangerous bushfire burning on the outskirts of Darwin yesterday ( pics by Damon Wagaland )  |
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Post by Babu on Aug 24, 2022 9:30:31 GMT -5
Went on a island hopping tour yesterday in the Ionian sea. Greece really has gateraid water. It's not even particularly turqoise, it's just an incredibly intense blue that I haven't seen elsewhere. Looks edited but is completely true to life.  The captain didn't like the blue color.  |
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Post by greysrigging on Aug 24, 2022 16:27:12 GMT -5
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Post by nei on Aug 29, 2022 18:33:13 GMT -5
failed summit attempt of Mount Marriott this Saturday in the Marriott Basin (northeast of Pemberton)  unlike most BC trails, the trailhead was relatively high up (4500 feet) instead of close to sea level. The terrain rises out of low level valley going north from Pemberton. Means more alpine area but peaks feel somewhat less big as the base to summit difference is smaller. we needed to scramble up to the ridge but we couldn't decide which route. so we went up one way turned around and tried another cause one member group wanted to follow the route described in her book  near when I got above treeline  some big glaciers in the distance  like the sky and green color of the peaks   scary feeling scramble to get up to here  stayed at this hut, warmer then camping and my sleeping bag is rated to only 45°F  clouds were low next morning  |
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Post by Steelernation on Aug 29, 2022 21:13:01 GMT -5
Beautiful photos nei, more impressive than Colorado mountains as they’re still snow capped. Not as dramatic as the others but that last pic is really pretty. |
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Post by rozenn on Aug 30, 2022 0:40:33 GMT -5
Yeah man this is just beautiful.
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Post by nei on Aug 30, 2022 16:51:44 GMT -5
did a short evening bike ride within North Vancouver to a spot antares knows very well, then did a slow around the park around the river below the dam. The twin domed peak is called the Lions, rather iconic local mountain bunch is named after it here. last time i went there in 2011 there was a lot of snow around the top. maybe there was when I arrived in late july  when I left felt like the majority in the park were speaking Farsi. nice mossy forest despite very little recent rain   shame the extent of the logging here. would be beautiful wide trees with more interesting understory if it were old-growth. not like the east coast is any better but the trees were more impressive here  more moss in the rainless rainforest  evening light on the Lions, not particularly good as the sun is behind the Lions  [/spoiler[ |
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Post by antares on Aug 30, 2022 17:09:40 GMT -5
did a short evening bike ride within North Vancouver to a spot antares knows very well, then did a slow around the park around the river below the dam. The twin domed peak is called the Lions, rather iconic local mountain bunch is named after it here. last time i went there in 2011 there was a lot of snow around the top. maybe there was when I arrived in late july when I left felt like the majority in the park were speaking Farsi. nice mossy forest despite very little recent rain shame the extent of the logging here. would be beautiful wide trees with more interesting understory if it were old-growth. not like the east coast is any better but the trees were more impressive here more moss in the rainless rainforest evening light on the Lions, not particularly good as the sun is behind the Lions [/spoiler[ Got married at that spot in the first pic. I know that place very well yeah. Once saw a skunk rummaging around Cleveland Park on the opposite side of the main road there. |
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Post by rozenn on Aug 31, 2022 10:46:22 GMT -5
Rode by bike along an old canal last weekend. Corn fields are turning yellow:  Along the canal   Subtropique indice: 177359219812!  What are these white-trunked trees doing in my subtropical paradise? Go away!  Plane trees are surprisingly green. They're among the first to look shitty, just after chestnuts.  Water levels are very low. This is where Paris gets part of its water and the canal is the property of the city of Paris.  Sun still strong  Crossing the Paris-Strasbourg/Frankfurt/Munich train line:    Nice sight to wait for your train.  That tiny speck of a village is even noted on the Parisian rail transit map!  Shortly after there was a roadside dead badger. Sad.   Shades are getting longer.  Crossed the Ile-de-France border and now in the Province, aka barbaric lands.  Grove of dead trees on the other side of the canal. Who knows how many of these we'll witness in 2-3 years when this summer will have taken its real toll?  Arrived at destination, the ass end of both the canal and a suburban rural train line.  Peaceful geese. That's unusual enough to be noted.  Dammit they must've been hit by the mother of all storms for grass to be that green after this shithouse summer.  |
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Post by Milwaukee Mass Murderer on Aug 31, 2022 22:15:36 GMT -5
Two shelf clouds from mid summer. First one led to a good storm, the second just brought light rain.  A local trail last week (24th of August). Green leaves, but the grasses are turning brown which is different than mid-summer. Seasonal weather with a high of 83F/28C and dew point of 62F/17C.  Most of the forests around me look like this.  Large mushroom.  A few scenes that didn't look like that. Pines with sandy soil. This section was logged recently so the undergrowth is thin.  More pines.  More open here with more grasses than trees. The trail had a few sections like this.  The grass is more of a reddish brown here, with deciduous trees.  Got to ride on a boat near Eau Claire last weekend (Northwest of me, Alex's latitude). A few early trees can be seen changing early on the 27th. Weather was not good for boating or swimming, low 70's with rain. There were storms both Saturday morning and night to make up for it.  Lots of tiny islands, some with houses on them.   |
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Post by greysrigging on Aug 31, 2022 22:50:34 GMT -5
Sunset at Rapid creek, Darwin ( pic by Heather Donald )  |
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Post by nei on Sept 1, 2022 0:49:13 GMT -5
did a hike out of Whistler Aug 5-6. Took the bus in the morning, got there at 9:30 am. was told at the visitor center my intended trail was buried in deep snow. they were several weeks out of date, but I wasted 1.5 hours asking around for clarification. To have more alpine I spent $75 to take the gondola up to Whistler Mountain (7000 feet, town in 2000 feet). wasn't worth it, esp cause you can hike up on a not that steep trail and then take the gondola for free. otoh, got great views almost immediately  similar lake-less view  on a ridge with each peaks like "bumps". Trail was called the musical bumps trail. or second half of the trail  mountains near where I'd be camping  russett lake, where I'd camp for the night  zoomed in with the evening light  hung my food on the these metal pulleys i could raise to protect against bear theft. no that secure, bears are smart enough to figure it out, but no thefts from this spot. yet. I somehow left the bottom half of my zip off pant legs somewhere along the trail. since I'm not shalop I was cold with just shorts. fairly cold sleeping with a sleeping bag rated to 45°F. eventually put on a fleece, put the top of the bag over my head so I was completely covered by the bag, wrapped a light jacket over my legs. but didn't sleep well the first half of the night. felt cold air seeping thru the tent. temperatures way colder than where I camped in California and had bad luck, one of the colder nights of August. warm air was coming so it warmed up fast. 40 minutes before crawling in my tent  getting closer to sunset  went back up to the ridge (15 mins walk) but the sun had already set  really nice glaciated peaks. interesting how much they were compared to the ones to the north (and therefore south-facing ) of my campsite  next morning tried to climb whirlwind mountain and then eventually overlord mountain (which is behind). snow slope looked dangerously steep just below whirlwind  snow patches that were slushy the evening before were rock solid the next morning. thermometer by the hut at 7 am said 6°C but other spots were likely colder. didn't make the summit but got a marmot posing  |
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