The NEW Post Your Campsite/gear/knife/hiking/anything Outdoorsy Pic Thread!

[Galeocerdoshark]

I hear ya...

 

[OwenM]

Created in 1992 by a constitutional referendum that garnered 83 percent of the vote, Forever Wild is a program dedicated to preserving Alabama's most beautiful and environmentally sensitive land and water, all while expanding the recreational opportunities available to the public.
Forever Wild helps keep our water clean, protects our wildlife, and helps ensure that our children will have the opportunity to experience the natural wonders of our beautiful state.
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From Nov. 6, 2012:
From duck hunters to bird watchers, from anglers to mountain bikers, Alabamians overwhelmingly supported renewal of the state effort to buy up green spaces for wildlife preserves, hiking trails and public parks.
Alabama today voted to extend the 20-year-old conservation program known as Forever Wild "as is" for another 20 years.

Some lawmakers had contended that the state can no longer afford the conservation program. They argued the vote in September to allow the Legislature tap into the state savings account changed the financial outlook for Alabama. Even the sponsor of the Forever Wild renewal, Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Pike Road, said he was compelled to vote against the amendment.
But a vast array of supporters, from Alabama Power to the Alabama Wildlife Federation, raised more than $750,000 to campaign for the amendment. And those supporters say that the program not only brings together unlikely allies, such as the National Rifle Association and the Audubon Society, it also doesn't cost much.
The program, set up in 1992, runs on 10 percent of the interest from the $2.2 billion Alabama Trust Fund. That account is supported by royalties and payments from offshore drilling. The interest from investing oil money has helped pay for 227,000 acres of public land.


The Walls of Jericho, that I posted pics from week before last(and several times before) is a 16,363 acre tract, part of those 220,000+ acres that have been secured by Forever Wild.
Anyway, I needed a tag, and the heron kind of matched the color of my car
$42.50 of the additional $50 goes toward raising awareness of the program, and things like the campaign to keep it.

Meanwhile, the load of merino wool from the last week is drying.

I have a feeling that if I ever get married, I'm going to have to come up with a whole new system...

 

[lambertiana]

This is where I had breakfast:

I keep coming back to this...love this spot!

Pictures around Mineral King, Sequoia NP

 

[OwenM]

I keep going back there, too! Love your mountains, though. What spectacular scenery! It's awesome how far you can see out there.

 

[redsquid2]

I have a feeling that if I ever get married, I'm going to have to come up with a whole new system...

I hear ya!

 

[lambertiana]

It's awesome how far you can see out there.

More often than not, clear skies are found in the Sierras. It's not always that way, but it is the norm. Three examples:

In this, the middle peak in the distance (Mt Williamson, 14,375') is 12 air miles distant

In this picture, the ridge in the background (Great Western Divide) is 17 air miles distant

And in this shot (from Mt Whitney, looking north) the distant high peaks just left of center (Palisade Crest) are 34 air miles distant

 

[OwenM]

34 miles! We've got a few viewpoints where you can see maybe close to ten miles, even more on a clear day, but they're little breaks in the trees that you happen onto-nothing like that on a regular basis.

This is an off week for me, working my off night last night, and with a lot to do around home. I called my dad and asked if he wanted to take a ride with me today to one of the places I was reading about after getting interested in visiting more of the Forever Wild tracts. One was a familiar place that used to be, almost literally, a dump. Dad was born in a house within a mile or two of there, but said he hadn't been there in ~50 years. I hadn't been there in maybe 25 years, myself, and the creek was full of broken glass and trash then. People had dumped appliances, furniture, and household garbage on the shores and even in the water. I wanted to clean up some, way back then, but would have needed a front end loader and a dump truck.
It was disgusting, and I had never been back, since.
Forever Wild has it now. There are a few miles of trail twisting around and across about a mile length of creek, and into the woods on either side. Still some trash that washes down the creek, apparently, but they've done a tremendous job of cleaning it up, and the one way road that follows that section of the creek is now gated at both ends. They close it at 4pm this time of year, so we got run off before getting to look at most of it. I'll go back when I have time to walk around, do the trails, and follow the creek some...

Here's a few pics from what is now called the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve.

 

[OwenM]

I hear ya!

About the Nut House part?

 

[HikingMano]

Great stuff guys :thumbup: Ah, Whitney, one day soon...

Owen, you nut , you need one of those fold away clothes drying racks. My GF uses one, and I often commandeer it now that I have more picky-care clothing, haha. :thumbup: for Forever Wild, and great pics - 2nd from bottom in particular. It's cool that you kick it with your dad outside like that :thumbup:

 

[lambertiana]

34 miles is a drop in the bucket to the line-of-sight folks. I know that from the top of Whitney, on exceptionally clear winter days, you can make out San Gorgonio near the LA basin that is about 190 miles away. And there are other line-of-sight records that are farther than that.

 

[maethor]

 

[OwenM]

GBs are sweet:thumbup:

Owen, you nut , you need one of those fold away clothes drying racks. My GF uses one, and I often commandeer it now that I have more picky-care clothing, haha. :thumbup: for Forever Wild, and great pics - 2nd from bottom in particular. It's cool that you kick it with your dad outside like that :thumbup:

My dad is cool. Some of the high points of last year were hiking the Queen's Garden/Navajo Loop at Bryce, and up to Observation Point at Zion, with him. He hadn't "hiked" since '67 or '68 in Vietnam, but he does walk 3 miles on a treadmill every morning, and he toughed it out with no complaints.

I need a BIG drying rack! All my synthetics get dried on hangers, but the merino stretches, so I don't hang it any more. Been going through a lot of both, lately.

Oh, Christmas came again today, since I had a gift card. More likely to get used for mountain biking, work, and casual wear rather than hiking, but Capilene 3 is some great feeling stuff.
Was also really happy to finally get the protective panels on the insides sewn back down, and the patches stitched in place on my ID gaiters.

 

[HikingMano]

Yeah, that's true, I lay my wet merino on the rack top, and I never have as many drying at one time as you do.

 

[HikingMano]

A little trail running/jogging on this crisp day.

Frosty northern slopes, with brown ice on the trail... makes for interesting running...

Some views of the bay along the way:

Looking N towards San Francisco.

Looking NE towards Mt. Diablo.

Looking SE towards Mt. Hamilton.

 

[fujita yuji]

snowflakes. I've got snow today.

Stuck about six inches.

Overall looking of the backyard mountain.

Detailed bird face shots. a bull-headed shrike in my guarden.

 

[HikingMano]

Fujita, utsukushii! :thumbup: It's interesting that the Shrike has whiskers.

 

[fujita yuji]

Thanks, HikingMano.
As the Shrikes are predatory birds, maybe the whiskers are for butcher choirs to keep things clean.
I think the mandible side is also interesting as it is shaped to hook and tear animal tussue.

 

[HikingMano]

Very cool! :thumbup:

 

[Galeocerdoshark]

Last night it snowed all night. No sticky snow, only powder snow. This morning however, everything was covered under a nice white carpet. Had to take an exam before the noon, but afterwards I really needed to get outside, eventhough it was for a short walk of 3km only. I just needed some fresh air. Absorbing the nice snowy landscape is a plus, indeed.

I went to a place called 'Pelgrimhof' (translater this would be something such as Pilgrims court or Pilgrims courtyard), a protected monument and a remnant of older times. Records show that the domain has been habited for centuries. First records go back to the 13th century if I'm not mistaken. Families of nobility have lived there for centuries, and some rich fellow still does at the moment. The surroundings are accessible for the public though. The domain itself has known several buildings. Some were demolished, restored, rebuilt... You know the drill. The current building has influences of several centuries of architecture.

The first area you pass is a stretched beech lane with cobbles underneath (covered in snow now, ofcourse).

Then you arrive at the domain of Pelgrimhof.

It's surrounded by a shallow moat.

Up next is the tiny forest/wooded area. It's relatively young, has been planted only several years ago.

The filbert is already starting to blossom, he's always early.

We saw some tracks of a hare too. A few minutes later, the "culprit" fled right in front of us, crossing our path. He was to fast for pics though.

Eventhough the walk was short, I'm glad I was able to get out and get some fresh air.
Back to the books now

 

[HikingMano]

Gorgeous, J :thumbup: I'm glad you got out to take a break! What was that, 1/3?

It's nice to have such historic places surrounding you. I love the moat, and the shot of the young trees planted in rows.