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2 months ago
Hiking to Eiffel Peak Summit - Banff - Canadian Rockies on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Gorgeous fall hiking in the Canadian Rockies! It’s my favorite time of year when you get conditions like this. Larch Valley is an extremenly popular hike at this time of year when people enjoy the spectacular golden larches. That larch on the right will be golden yellow in another week or so. For a higher perspective “go left” and up that nice ramp to the summit of Eiffel Peak. It’s about 7 kilometers and 1250 meters of elevation gain with some moderate scrambling near the summit. The 360 degree views from this summit is one of my favorites (of about 40 peaks I’ve had the good fortune to stand upon). -
Notes: 3 / 2 months ago
The Big Scary Jump! on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Nicola psyches herself up for the big jump then lets out a piercing scream as she commits herself. -
Notes: 3 / 2 months ago
Exploration Above High Lake on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
This snow has lasted all summer up at these high elevations in this remote valley which is on the other side of the popular Rockwall in Kootenay National Park. -
Notes: 8 / 2 months ago
Backcountry Mountain Road - Kananaskis Alberta - Canadian Rockies on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
What if your commute to work was along this road? You would probably see all kinds of wildlife under many different weather conditions throughout the year. Instead of being part of a mad rush of humanity on busy roads you would have the scenes of nature charging your body with positive energy for the day. Sadly (for us) there are few jobs that would take you along this road… but lucky for this environment. -
2 months ago
Hiking to Eiffel Peak Summit - Banff - Canadian Rockies on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Gorgeous fall hiking in the Canadian Rockies! It’s my favorite time of year when you get conditions like this. Larch Valley is an extremenly popular hike at this time of year when people enjoy the spectacular golden larches. That larch on the right will be golden yellow in another week or so. For a higher perspective “go left” and up that nice ramp to the summit of Eiffel Peak. It’s about 7 kilometers and 1250 meters of elevation gain with some moderate scrambling near the summit. The 360 degree views from this summit is one of my favorites (of about 40 peaks I’ve had the good fortune to stand upon). -
2 months ago
Elbow River Sparkles With Mount Rae Watching - Kananaskis Alberta - Canadian Rockies on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
The crystal clear headwaters of the Elbow River sparkle in this warm autumn sunshine. Snow dusted Mt. Rae looming in the distance is one of the higher mountains in these front ranges and is a popular scramblers destination. This is day one of our intended 7-day backpack in this area of Kananaskis country and our destination is the Tombstone backcountry campsite which is about 7 kilometers from the Elbow Lake trailhead at Hwy 40. -
3 months ago
The Northover Crux on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
This is the point on the Northover trail that may challenge your sense of height exposure as the path narrows to about a foot wide with vertical drop-offs on both sides. Needless to say this requires extreme awareness and purposeful movement… especially while wearing a heavy pack!
The vertical exposure here is particularly revealed in the 3D version of this photo. The 2D photo just doesn’t show the nature of the vertical drop off which is another reason I really enjoy 3D stereoscopic photography!
This image is “Northover_062” in my 3D gallery here. I use the Stereo Photo Maker java viewer which can display 3D in many formats. I’ve set the default for red/cyan glasses. -
3 months ago
Palenque Gardens on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Palenque has a warm and inviting feel with wide open green spaces and a great variety of plants and trees which is probably why I liked it above most of the other Mayan sites.
I shot many photos from this trip in stereoscopic 3D using a simple technique with one camera which you can see in this gallery. I find the 3D version of images provides so much more information that it really changes the viewing experience for me in a positive way. A place seems to come more alive to me when I view it in 3D… kinda like real life! -
Notes: 2 / 5 months ago
Northover Lakes and Mt Joffre on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
The view near the southern end of Northover Ridge. Our desitination for this day is Aster Lake which is still about 5 km from this viewpoint and 500m lower. The trail descends out of view behind and to the left, then traverses near those two lakes along the gray talus slopes.
Some interesting details of the place, but what’s more interesting to me seeing this image 3 months later is remembering the entire walk along the ridge and how the passage of time felt different or suspended somehow as my senses and spirit were fully engaged. A quote passed along from a Flickr friend (Vic) that has stayed with me… “time spent in the mountains will not be deducted from your life”.
See a slideshow of the backpack here. -
5 months ago
On Toward Northover Ridge on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
With bellyfuls of backpacker porridge we work our up up this peaceful trailless valley to gain the exciting Northover Ridge via the col on the right. This has been the primary target of our 6-day backbacking adventure and it looks like we’ve got a lucky weather day! We’ll be walking along the entire crest of the mountain in front of us (from right to left).
See a slideshow of the backpack here. -
Notes: 4 / 5 months ago
View From North Kananaskis Pass on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Day 3 of our backpacking trip takes us on a rough trail from Turbine Canyon in Kananaskis to Beatty Lake in BC. North Kananaskis Pass is about 3 kilometers from Turbine Canyon where we descend about 600m to the valley bottom and LeRoy Creek. The snow-clad Royal Group in the distance calls for a closer look… -
5 months ago
Mount Northover on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Expend the effort to see the rugged beauty of Mt. Northover and the remains of the Northover Glacier. The three kilometers of ridge-walking along Northover Ridge is one of the best ridge-walks in the Canadian Rockies. This is a prime destination in Alberta’s Kananaskis Country. Due to typically difficult weather conditions in this area the window of opportunity to see it in these conditions is only about 2 months — mid-July to mid-September. -
Notes: 1 / 5 months ago
Three Isle Lake Kananaskis on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Setting off in the morning on a beautiful day to hike along Northover Ridge to our next camp at Aster Lake. Across the lake you can see the South Kananaskis Pass where we had come from the previous day. -
Notes: 1 / 5 months ago
Backpacking Northover Ridge on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Two more kilometers of glorious ridge travel before we descend near Mt. Northover on the left. To the right is the snowy fang of Mt. Joffre. We are moving from Three Isle Lake to Aster Lake which is about 11 kilometers and 700 meters of elevation gain. -
Notes: 1 / 6 months ago
My Garden Tomatoes on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
This is my first ever harvest of tomatoes that I’ve grown myself. I’ve never really been interested in yardwork or domestic-type stuff. When I had time to be outside it usually involved some kind of adventure away from from my house, so that’s why I called my backyard “Darwin’s Garden”… until this year of 2012.
It started this spring while talking to Debbie in a coffee shop about how easy it would be to grow some pots of herbs in my back patio. On our walk back home from the coffee shop we stopped at Safeway for some groceries and on the way out noticed that by the door they had a stack of plastic flower pots with a sign that said “Free. Take some.” which was a rather interesting coincidence. So I took four pots and the next day went to the garden center to get some herbs/plants - oregano, dill, basil and a pepper plant. Shortly after this my cousin came to visit and brought some garlic plants for me to plant so I found a small area for those. That was easy! Feeling rather satisfied by that I decided to go a bit further and dig up about 12 feet of border along the back fence and plant some raspberries. In a couple of days that was all done. I still had some energy to do more, so dug up the rest of the area along the back fence and planted some sprouting potatoes that I had in my food cellar and some broccolli plants from seeds. After finishing that I still had the urge for some more and before I knew it during the next couple of weeks I had dug up 75 feet of border all around my back yard and planted 7 tomato plants, more potatoes, lots of beets, kale, swiss chard, lettuce, garlic, beans, sunflowers and other mixed flowers from seed. All of a sudden I had become a newbie gardener!
I had always admired gardeners and have appreciated gardens, and suspected that at some point later in my life I’d get involved with it… probably some time in my 60s. Well it seems to have come a dozen years earlier than I thought. It was very satisfying to be eating such tasty produce from my backyard!
