Climbing Grays, Torreys, and Kelso Ridge
With no full moon to light our way, Steven and I had no reason to set our alarms for 11.30 pm to leave by midnight for the trail. Instead, we decided to sleep-in until 2am. At 1am I was brewing coffee, and just as tired as if I’d woken at 11.30. So much for energy … Read more
Some Quotes on Preserving Language, Culture, and Place
“In our efforts to preserve endangered species, we overlook something equally important: To me, it is a sign of a deeply disturbed civilization where tree-huggers and whale-huggers, in their weirdness, are acceptable, while no one embraces the last spoken languages of our world.” -Werner Herzog from documentary film, Encounters at the End of the World “Ojibwemowin … Read more
Quandary Peak: The Quandary of Stewardship, Recreation, and First Ascents
One of my greatest fears when Fall semester begins is the inexorable aggregation of fat around my midsection and the phlegmy hacking that comes from unused lungs. Much of this is due to the lack of an active community who pushes the members to physical limits all year round. Thankfully, I met a peer who … Read more
Nine-Eleven: Remembering Terrorism at Home and Abroad
Today is nine-eleven. Week-long tributes will air on national television as well as, according to my mom who lives in Australia, there, too. It’s not only a day to remember, but an entire week. What is it exactly that we’re rallied to remember? What emotions are dredged up once again, like dusty Christmas ornaments that … Read more
A Road Less Travelled: The Flat Tops Wilderness (Wagonwheel Trail-Days 6-7)
Everything in the world is beautiful, but Man only recognizes beauty if he sees it seldom or from afar.-Vladmir Nobokov from “Gods” We left the Holy Cross area by mid-morning. Car after car cut through the cakey dust, sending helical plumes into the still air over Homestake Creek and onto it’s riparian shoulders. We left … Read more
Cost-Counting and the Delusion of Free Car-Camping (Night 5)
“If we make that shift toward a life simple in means but rich in goals, we are not threatened by plans for saving the planet.” -Arne Naess After leaving the South San Juan Wilderness, my wife and I went north to backpack in a less monsoonal climate. When we arrived at Minturn, hoping to camp … Read more
Cowshit, Hail, and Grizzly Ghosts: Elk Creek of the South San Juan Wilderness (Days 1-4)
When the rare opportunity to have six days for wilderness exploration presents itself, the hurried shot-gun trips to nearby areas are put aside, and we set our sights on further, harder-to-get-to areas. This time we chose the South San Juan Wilderness. Planning a backpack trip that satisfies both my wife’s needs and my demands is … Read more
glacial maws
Action drove me from my paralysis. Before that, there had been fear. It snuck up, gripped me by my throat, drummed wildly against my heart, and threw its dark magic into my eyes. It crowded the space in between my brain and skull, horror vacuii set in like Ooblek’s goo. I couldn’t move. I was … Read more
Llovía
As we sat underneath the tarp eating our dinner, it began to rain. By this time, we were used to it. This onslaught of water, this downpour. Our second semester in the Chilean Patagonia and we were no longer strangers to this element. I peered out from the blue tarp that was our kitchen, as … Read more
Snowshoeing Tanglewood Creek in the Mt. Evans Wilderness
Posted by sainteterre on November 6, 2011 · Leave a Comment
The Deer Creek/Rosalie/Tanglewood trails have been a go-to for my wife and I anytime we need a quick wilderness tour and don’t have a lot of time to travel. The view from Tanglewood’s summit yields unique views of the southern Front Range and the undulating expanse of the Great Plains. The trail becomes faint in … Read more
Filed under Prose, Review & Commentary · Tagged with backpacking, Climb, Environment, Fly Fishing, Photography, Prose, review, travel, Wilderness Areas