Yesterday I went on a hike that was just going to be a little hour or so dog walk. When I got to the top of the Bridal Veil Falls, which is at the end of Telluride Valley, I just had to keep going. I was parked at about 9000 feet in altitude, and by the time I got to the top of the trail, I was at about 12,200 feet. This is definitely the highest Izze and Dusty have been, and I think it might be a winner for me as well.

There were some amazing waterfalls and wildflowers on the hike. Its amazing how climbing a mountain is as much a psychological experience, as it is a physical experience. The voice in my head was raging a battle like I’d never seen before.

“We’re almost there.”

“But my legs are tired.”

“We’ve come this far and you want to turn around?”

“I didn’t bring any food or snacks.”

“And your point is?”

“Can I stop and rest?”

“No. Keep going. It’ll totally be worth it.”

… and so the battle raged.

So when I finally got to Blue Lake, an amphitheater of gorgeousness awaited me, and we all took a power nap.

Click on the Image for a closer look at the panorama

On the way back down, which was much faster and involved far less inner bickering and more a conversation about what I should eat when I got back, I took this panorama of the Telluride Valley. The town of Telluride is just off center to the left.

Click on the Image for a closer look at the panorama.

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Castle Valley, with the Castle Rock Spire visible to the right of center.
Click on the Image for a closer look.

I feel that the 3 days I’ve spent in Moab won’t be enough. I think I’ll try and come back in the spring when the weather is a little cooler. It’s been in the high 90′s with no break. I haven’t had enough time to explore as much as I’d like, especially the mountain biking trails. I’m going to ride the Slickrock trail tomorrow, but there are countless others to choose from.

The scenery here is quite different than the other places I’ve seen. The sandstone is a burnt orange red that is like no other soil color i’ve seen. The soil is has a very distinct and saturated look and the cliffs only exaggerate the color into a vividness that is breathtaking.

The colorado river which passes near Moab. I'm camped not far from here.
Click on the Image for a closer look.

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Let me first say that I was mistaken in my expectations of Jackson Hole. I was assuming that since they are a world-class ski and snowboard destination, I expected them also to be a world-class mountain biking destination. Errrrrrr! Wrong!

The Teewinot Quad chairlift is the only uphill lift servicing mountain bikers.

1. The chairlift rises 500 vertical feet.
2. The trails serviced by this lift are either relatively flat out-and-back type or uphill and super-rocky.
3. The cost is $10.

1. This is an uphill ride of 5+ miles that you are not allowed to ride DOWN!?!
2. You must buy the Gondola pass ($19) to come back down.
3. A liftee told me last weekend they had a race up the Road that the winner road in 58 minutes! To get an idea of a similar climb- I climbed Sawtell Peak Road which was 10 miles and it took me 3 hours to get up it. The bonus was I got to ride down the same route! Imagine spending that much time and then having to sit in a gondola on the way down! 

1. This means that any trail that passes under where the Tram lines run is closed. WHICH IS HALF THE AREA THAT HAS TRAILS!
2. You can’t go over to the summit of the Tram even if you were to ride to the top or take the gondola, because it’s under construction.
3. I bet it would be fun – and I don’t know if they allow it – to take the Tram UP and then BIKE down. Check next summer – who knows?

I give this mountain 3 endo’s.

This is a sculpture, its pretty neat!
Click on one of the pictures to see details and purchase from the retailer.

So after all I’ve said, what did I actually do? I got the $19 lift ticket. I rode the Teewinot lift probably a dozen times, and tried every trail, although half were closed because of the Tram construction. I was done in 2 hours. I then went back to the parking lot, had some lunch, and then took the dogs for a long walk. I then went up the gondola with my camera gear.

This is the rose I found:

Click once on the Image to Activate QTVR (0.7 MB) - Quicktime is required to view.
Click and Drag to navigate the panorama. The Shift key zooms in, the Control Key zooms out.

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]]> http://www.nzaneproductions.com/2008/08/23/some-roses-are-hard-to-reach/feed/ 0 http://www.nzaneproductions.com/2008/08/18/horseback-riding-the-tetons/ http://www.nzaneproductions.com/2008/08/18/horseback-riding-the-tetons/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:24:33 +0000 Zachary Cole http://www.nzaneproductions.com/blog/?p=264 Continue reading →]]>

Click on Image to see a closer view of the Grand Tetons at 7am.

i really enjoyed my horseback ride today here in colter bay of jackson lake. i hadn’t been horseback riding in a while, so the 2 hour trail ride was the leisurely time I was looking for. I enjoyed the scenery, learned some things about moose, and saw some beaver lodges. cool stuff to just wander around on a horse. Rex (my horse) and I were a good match. he didn’t try and control the ride, but he followed along and let me tell him which way to go sometimes.

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first there was rush hour.

then the sky would not give me any sun, so my panoramic photos aren’t quite what i had imagined. i still like them, but if i had gotten any sun into those pools, they would have better. we’ll see if its better light on my way back through.

Click on the image to see a close-up view.

then several panoramic photos that I shot didn’t come out. motion blurred, out of focus, and under-exposed. yes sometimes photographers just have an off day. check this out – even yellowstone lake looked dreary.

and the forest was all burnt up!!!

the one good thing about that day was that dusty must have been feeling my vibe, and wanted to be close to me so he jumped up front into the co-pilot’s seat! isn’t he so cute!

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