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

[redsquid2]

Thanks for the pictures, redsquid2. Those packs looked extremely large and heavy, 10,500 ft with that load would have ended me. I think I recognize some of the folks in those shots, they look a lot like the people who pass me on the trail while I'm sucking air. That is a cool puukko too, what size blade is that?

It is a 95mm Lauri P.T. The handle is stabilized Karelian birch. The butt plate was scrap A2, or maybe O1. I have not used it much, but I have read good things about the Lauri P.T. blades.

I was surprised at the size of those packs, too. I have shed a lot of weight in my pack over the past few years, and I think most of the people in that group were tougher than me/smaller than me/carrying as much or more weight as me.

Warner B.: Nice pictures. Is that summertime?

There were no geologists among us, and we were all wondering how these rocks got these inclusions, and if "inclusions" is the right word.

 

[lambertiana]

There were no geologists among us, and we were all wondering how these rocks got these inclusions, and if "inclusions" is the right word.

That has to be the most dramatic example of xenoliths that I have ever seen.

Xenoliths form when rocks from the overburden break off into the intruding pluton, and don't melt and mix with the magma before the whole pluton cools and crystallizes. My guess is that this is right at the margin of the pluton.

Exactly where was this, as close as you can pinpoint it? I'd like to look up the location on the geologic quadrangle maps. You can do the same here, most of the sierra is available here:

http://geomaps.geosci.unc.edu/quads/quads.htm

 

[WarnerB]

I've been thinking about trying Whitney for awhile, but 14,500 is no joke

Yeah, it really is no joke. I trained/conditioned for it well in advance (including hiking Mt. Diablo summit a couple times) but it was still really brutal. The altitude screws with you pretty good. I actually only made it to about 13,500 ft. before I had to turn back due to hazardous trail conditions. The trail was iced over right at the edge of a cliff with no alternate routes, so it was no-go after that. I went up just a little too early in the year but it was still a great trip.
And thanks. I don't remember what aperture but I think the exposure time was about 2 minutes or so. You've got some awesome photos as well. :thumbup:

 

[WarnerB]

Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Trip

Very cool Yosemite series. Looks like an epic trip.

 

[redsquid2]

I can't seem to find it on your geologic maps. Our itinerary was in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. The trail head was about 30 miles up Beasore Road from Bass Lake. Then we followed a trail loop that extended northward from Clover Meadow. At the northern tip of that loop, we walked through these "xenoliths" climbing up to Post Peak Pass, and going over to Isberg Pass.

That has to be the most dramatic example of xenoliths that I have ever seen.

Xenoliths form when rocks from the overburden break off into the intruding pluton, and don't melt and mix with the magma before the whole pluton cools and crystallizes. My guess is that this is right at the margin of the pluton.

Exactly where was this, as close as you can pinpoint it? I'd like to look up the location on the geologic quadrangle maps. You can do the same here, most of the sierra is available here:

http://geomaps.geosci.unc.edu/quads/quads.htm

 

[lambertiana]

Redsquid - I found it in the Merced Peak geologic quadrangle. And it looks like my preliminary thoughts were not correct, although I have seen xenoliths similar to this on smaller scale. However, the geologic quadrangle map shows the Post Peak Pass/Isberg Pass area as undifferentiated metavolcanics, and mentions that some of it is derived from breccia. This could easily be metamorphosed breccia. Breccia is formed from volcanic rocks from the more explosive type of eruptions, where the deposits are a wide mixture of sizes, from ash to boulders. Those deposits eventially cement together to form breccia, and, in this case, they were later partially metamorphosed into the metavolcanics with an obvious breccia past.

 

[redsquid2]

Ansel Adams Wilderness, Aug. 3-10:

In these pictures, you may notice water levels far below normal. We saw trout in the streams, but I think a lot of them are not going to make it to next year.

Lots of big old pines. On one log, I counted 296 growth rings.

We camped near lakes almost every night.

Some things that caught my eye were this driftwood:

...a tree growing out from between the rocks:

...some very large fungi:

...and of course, lots of little flowers:

I did not get pics of every lake, but I thought this one was particularly charming at sunset.

There were such wonderful, sweet aromas wafting through the meadows, but those cannot be conveyed in pictures.

At this meadow, water was scarce. There were pools at the lower end of it, but they looked a bit too "mineral rich." We found a trickle flowing on a nearby slope. There, we were able to collect water, one jar at a time, at a rate of 43 sec./liter.

"Wow, those are MSR Dragonflies."
"I'm sorry?"
"I said, MSR Dragonflies!"
"What?"
"I said,..."
"Hold on; let me turn down the stoves, so I can hear you!"

The Minarets, seen from Post Pass:

An hour or two later, we were having lunch. This spot was just over the border from Ansel Adams into Yosemite:

By the end of the trip, I was very good at devising anchors for my tent.

 

[Mastalerz]

Here's a little camping trip I took a while back up in New Hampshire during October, I really need to start bringing a camera more often. Most of these taken weren't by me.
Who doesn't love bacon in the AM?

Nice little hike right behind our site down to a river.

Here we are!

Time to head back for dinner! Lamb Stew!

 

[redsquid2]

Mastalerz, that looks like a really beautiful place to be. :thumbup:

 

[Mastalerz]

Mastalerz, that looks like a really beautiful place to be. :thumbup:

Thanks! That's my go to spot for campgrounds in New England. Planning on backpacking up mount Washington this winter I'll be sure to bring a camera and take lots of photos for you guys.

Your pictures were really nice too, some really beautiful shots!

 

[HikingMano]

Nice Mastalerz! Welcome! :thumbup: Love the foliage, and I, for one, love me some bacon when camping...

 

[abarnhart]

"Wow, those are MSR Dragonflies."
"I'm sorry?"
"I said, MSR Dragonflies!"
"What?"
"I said,..."
"Hold on; let me turn down the stoves, so I can hear you!"

Ha ha, that is so entirely true. And, the very reason I sold mine. Dinnertime was the most disruptive part of the day.

 

[plue]

Nice Mastalerz! Welcome! :thumbup: Love the foliage, and I, for one, love me some bacon when camping...

I was thinking the same thing, ever since moving out West my Fall experience is: mosquitoes, "oh hey it's one nice day!", 3ft of snow, -40*. It's one thing I hate about living here, Fall is my favorite time of year.

 

[Mastalerz]

Thanks guys. Yeah the fall is definatly a great time to be in New England, especially because nobody else is camping or anything. I know some people don't like campgrounds because they want their solitude, but if you get a campground up in New Hampshire and Maine during early spring or fall the weather is actually quite nice except at night and nobody is there.

Also there are little to no bugs that time of the year because its too cold, I never have a problem with Mosquitos. I'm planning another possible trip up there soon. I'll try to get some good pictures.

 

[OwenM]

I haven't been bothering to upload pics much lately, but had a lot of fun this week.

Scenic Overlook:

I camped at the Virgin Falls TH Tuesday evening. Intended to stay another night, but about 1.5 miles in, realized I'd left my wallet in my car in plain view, and was worrying over tempting someone to break into my car. Ended up carrying overnight gear along with a bunch of other stuff, only to hike back out this evening(yesterday, now).

Big Branch Falls

Below the cable crossing(edit: there is a cable at a creek crossing for when the water is high).

Above the cable crossing.

I spooked both a whitetail and a turkey on the way out, but this was my only close wildlife encounter with a cooperative subject.

A few cascades on the way in. Camera was already fighting moisture from getting rained on, and some of the pics are fuzzy. This would only get worse, which will be self-explanatory shortly.

 

[OwenM]

Big Laurel Falls

Sheep Cave Falls
This is out of order, as I skipped Sheep Cave on the way in, but stopped by while hiking out.
My camera is a tad waterlogged again...

What could be making all this mist?

Virgin Falls

 

[OwenM]

The cave that the falls originate from. I did not explore into the cave. Caves are closed due to white-nose bat syndrome, and...well, I was soaking wet, and was freezing just standing in front of the cave entrance, which was blasting cold air.

After only a short distance, the flow drops off a cliff.

I thought I might see how that felt...

It was quite refreshing

The sink where the falls disappear, seemingly falling straight into the ground.

 

[Galeocerdoshark]

Again, very nice pics guys. Too much to start naming favourites since there are many great pictures! Thanks for your contributions.

Owen, that is quite spectacular man! Who else goes rock climbing underneath a waterfall.:thumbup: Great stuff man, great stuff.

 

[redsquid2]

Beautiful pictures, Owen!

 

[Mastalerz]

Owen those are some real stunning pics, must have been crazy to rapel off that that waterfall!