Thread: Some random scribblings

Originally Posted by Flavour of Night

:O 'tis amazing!

Originally Posted by Anonymoose

FIRST POST ON PAGE 6, I WIN CHRISTMAS!

In your sad 25 post per page little world...

Meanwhile, I've got it set for 10, so you're lost somewhere in the middle of page 13.

To everything thus far that I have not yet replied to, I love it.

And I have a Nikon D40, man. It's half of what makes me my living, and it's a good camera. No built-in autofocus, so older lenses that rely on the camera's autofocus won't have autofocus. Maybe that's why you ruled it out? Still a great camera, though!

The D40 I used had auto focus. Guess it had a newer lens? And yes, it is a great camera. Tres magic.

I'm starting the whole search over for the dSRL.

Before I destroyed my right shoulder, this was a great way to camp. The bonus was, I could carry more iced beer stuff, and I wouldn't have to carry it on my back. Santeetlah Lake is in Western North Carolina, close to the Smokies. From a scanned photo.




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Sweet baby Jesus on a flying kanagroo in space orbiting around MARS!!

I love kayaking and I've only had the chance of going twice in my life.
Over here in Vancouver we've got places that will take you on a 6 day kayaking/whale watching trip. We've got the biggest orca population in the world. AND GOD DAMN IT, I WILL GO ON THAT TRIP!

I've gone on awhile here and a to a few folks in chat about how I trashed my right shoulder. It was the first day of Summer 2002, and I was headed out a ridge to a campsite maybe 6 miles away. I'd gotten maybe a half mile from where I parked, and I kicked a root sticking out of the trail. I stumbled, and should have just gone down, but I tried to recover. This resulted in a 10 yard running stumble that ended with me finally going down with the momentum of my stumbling run along with my weight and the weight of my pack all going into the one spot where I hit the ground first.. my right shoulder. I couldn't feel my right arm, but I still finished the two night trip. So I spent the next year trying to work around whatever was wrong. It's amazing how much you can lift in a gym when you've got cortisone lying to you that everything is OK. The MRI couldn't pin anything down since the damage was hidden deep inside the socket, so it was off to the orthopedic surgeon. He knocked me out and started poking around in my shoulder. Then he found this:

Spoiler for Don't worry, no blood:

That's my socket (glenoid) and the white stuff is cartilage, it's supposed to be a nice smooth sheet covering the bone. Uh-oh.


Time to start ripping the confetti out of there:

Spoiler for Shredded:

So here I am, minus this:

Spoiler for I was using this.:

That's a lot of cartilage, 20 mm (almost an inch) across, I liked it better when it was on the inside, this stuff doesn't grow back.

Ten days after this little operating room orgy, I was back on the trail.

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Remember the pika from a bunch of posts ago?

I was able to snap another one a few days later. This shot didn't turn out as crisp, but it's pretty neat because you can see how well camouflaged he is.




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Double Island (aka Campsite #78) on Fontana Lake in the Smokies. The naming of this island might seem odd since there is only one Island. A look at the topographical maps shows two islands. So what gives? Back in the 1940's, when Fontana Lake was formed by the damming of the Little Tennessee River at Fontana Dam, the full pool elevation was defined as 1710 feet. With Fontana Lake at 1710 feet, the island gets split in two by a narrow and shallow strip of water that covers the low saddle across the middle of the island. This is the condition shown on the topo map. In reality, Fontana Lake is never filled beyond about 1703 feet. At this level, the saddle across the middle of the island is above water... and thank goodness, since this is the only decent camping spot on the island.






And one heck of a nice camping spot it is. My trusty Walrus Rapeede tent is pitched. I've had this two man tent for better than a dozen years; it hasn't leaked a bit in all that time. Not even half a foot of wet snow can bring this thing down... steep sides for great snow-shedding, but it does give up some shoulder room in the trade-off.




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It's going to be a Canon 50D.

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Awhile back I posted a shot of the summit of Roan Mountain on the Tennessee/North Carolina Border. This is a shot from the parking area at Carvers Gap. Head in one direction, you end up on top of Roan Mountain. Head the other direction, you end up on top of Grassy Ridge Bald. This scan from a photo shows the mountainside in the direction of Grassy Ridge Bald.




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Kids should stay this age forever, or as least a bit longer than they do.




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Roan Mountain in the background, me showing off in the foreground. Not the sharpest shot, but I still like it.





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Originally Posted by Flavour of Night

I guess I can slap up some photos too. I'm mostly an outdoor/nature shooter, but I've got a tendency to take a lot of my grandson too.. Of course, I like to combine the two and capture him interacting with the outdoors.

One of my favorites is this one.. Just shooting at the ground on Caldwell Fork in the Smokies (practically my backyard). The funny part was, just out of frame, you would find horseshit.



Makes me almost smell the season (aside from the horseshit, of course).


I love this one... and I've got it framed and hung. My grandson is the only other person in my family who has ever taken a real interest in the mountains. I started him when he was 3 in the Summer and this was from a half year later in Winter. It speaks to me of his surprising confidence in marching toward unknown adventure, small, but supreme in his confidence.



I've also got one of him on the same hike, peeing behind a utility box by the side of the road. His quote was, I recall, "When a guy's gotta go, he's gotta go".

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This picture is wonderful, and I loved what you showed us about cropping it. I also noted that there's a perfect heart just above the arch and to the right side of it... I remember seeing a whole collection once of natural hearts that someone photographed, and it was charming. I have one that forms from the dust in my driveway in a spot that's recessed just a tiny bit, I guess. I can sweep the driveway and it disappears, but it's back again soon!

wow.. cool, never noticed the heart!

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Originally Posted by Flavour of Night

wow.. cool, never noticed the heart!

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LOL... it's probably being so loved that gives him all his confidence! So the heart is perfect there!

wow you've got some beautiful photos there, also its good to see other BC ppl here.. you should come to van city and surrounding intereior area/ okanagan sometime, some shots to be had there, also much of it is camping friendly!

Dreamnoob, I've never been to BC.. but I'm not adverse to the idea.

yes theres some awesome sights here but you are a fair distance away, i should make a thread w/ my artwork and photography and drawings and such.. hmmm

Bobs Towers (13,060') from way up close. (At least I'm pretty sure it is. This would make the peak tucked in behind Miriam Peak). I wasn't going to get too much closer without climbing equipment and rock skills I don't possess.




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I'm not sure what that last one is anymore. I was all over the top of Titcomb Basin, and I guess I have an excuse to go back to Wyoming now and figure it out.

From a much greater distance, I can say with certainty, that from left to right, you're looking at Woodrow Wilson Peak, The Sphinx, Bobs Towers, and Miriam Peak. Gannett Peak, Wyomings' highest, is hiding being them. The relatively low Dinwoody Pass (12,800')(far right) is the gateway to Gannett Peak from Titcomb Basin).




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Take that picture, insert me riding on a bear (with antlers of course), and you have one of my most wanted LDs.

Originally Posted by Anonymoose

Take that picture, insert me riding on a bear (with antlers of course), and you have one of my most wanted LDs.

If you want to ride a grizzly, be my guest. I'll be somewhere else. No telling if he might still be hungry after he finishes with you.

I figured out where that picture I thought was Bobs Towers was taken. It was taken a mile roughly WEST of Bobs Towers. So sue me.

I can't find a name for the pair of peaks, but they're located on a ridge due north of Knapsack Col at the top of Twins Glacier, about 1000 feet along the ridge rising up from the col at elevations of ~12,900 and 13,100'. I'm sure they have names or a common name between them.

You really needed to know all that, didn't you? I might bore the hell out of you, but the next time you're lost in the wilderness with no damned clue where you are or whether you should shit or wind your watch, you'll be wishing you listened better!

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