Seems like ive used up all the space available on this blog.

New pics can be found here

http://itssostupendous.wordpress.com/

Sunrise at home

Went to Holy Cross Wilderness.  Loved it.  Still not sure what the effin problem is with the pics not being able to blow up to full size..  (Also, when they are viewed full screen, they don't seem quite as dark)  Think it might be time for a new blog anyway.

       

Here are a few shots of our most recent trip to Maroon Bells.  We did the Four Pass Loop, which has become one of my favorite hikes of all time.  The incredible terrain pulled me along like gravity, and I just couldn't stop.  

The cool, cloudy weather was perfect for hiking, but not for photographing dogs that never stop moving.  So some of these shots are pretty dark, some are blurry, etc..  I have a feeling I will be going back to this loop again, or to some other part of Maroon Bells, so I'll try to get some more refined looking shots then.  

The dogs were apeshit out of the gate as usual, but they quickly settled into hiking mode and were perfect once they blew off a little steam.  Lily and Moose did such an incredible job on this hike.  They were careful around the exposed portions of the hike where a fall would have been bad, and they easily scrambled down a steep, rocky detour we took to avoid the cornice at Buckskin Pass.  They also rallied like champions to push hard over the third pass to beat the deteriorating weather.  The storm let loose as soon as  we reached a safer spot at tree line near Snowmass Lake.  The girls made an amazing hike even better.       

   

Crater Lake

Moose's tail is so fast its invisible.  

Lily and distant cascade as we approach West Maroon Pass

Once in a while I can catch their symmetry

Looking down Fravert Basin as we descend Frigid Air Pass

3 Cascades in Fravert Basin

I vingetted this pretty harshly because I wanted to draw some attention to Lily, but mainly to tone town the horribly blurred wildflowers, while still including them.  Ill probably do something different to this picture later (like deleting it).  Ive included it for now just to give some idea how incredible the wildflowers were on this trip.   

Columbines

Approaching West Maroon Pass

The dogs really seemed to enjoy the scenery

The girls in the incredible expanse of upper Fravert Basin.  The whole thing was carpeted in wildflowers.  

Looking toward the Northeastern terminus of Fravert Basin

Lily taking care of business on Buckskin Pass  

(for some reason this picture- and the last four of this group - arent blowing up to the size they should.  I'll get it figured out eventually) 

Moose needs an adjustment.  

Getting close to the end of a huge climb toward Trail Rider Pass

The trail heading up to Trail Rider Pass

Lily on top of Trail Rider Pass.  Its driving me nuts that this isn't blowing up to full size.  Bah.    

One of my favorite shots of the girls.  aaand its also not blowing up completely at the moment...    Anyway this is the view after we just came over Trail Rider Pass, looking down at Snowmass Lake.  We camped down at the East end of the lake alongside the lake's outflow which was great to listen to all night.

Another one of my favorite pictures of the girls.  Buckskin Pass.

The girls and I went to the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness to photograph this waterfall that pours into Lower Willow Lake from Upper Willow Lake.  Actually, I was the one who went to see the waterfall..  They went because they are into following me around because I keep giving them food.  

So, if you took high school spanish, or are just wikked smaat to begin with, you know that Sangre de Cristo translates into 'Blood of Christ'..  One version of the story is that the range got its name because the alpenglow there trends toward the reddish end of the spectrum.  Maybe the flat expanse of the San Luis Valley west of the Sangres (which is bigger than Connecticut) causes the relative angle of the setting sun to be lower, making it pass through more atmosphere by the time it hits the peaks, causing it to trend toward the red end of the light spectrum...  (my theory)  The other story is that some Spanish Priest got shot by an arrow in the mountains there and like in some Monty Python movie, exclaimed 'Sangre de Cristo!' (Im not dead yet...) as he lay there dying...  Whatever you want to believe, man..  I trend toward the alpenglow story myself.  Especially after seeing the rosy tones cast upon the lake and waterfall on what would become another stormy night in Colorado.                  

Cascade below lower Willow Lake.

I've been dragging this giant coffee table book of John Fielder's Colorado photography around for years.  My favorite shot in the whole book is of Cathedral Peak, and I have wanted to go there since I first saw it.  I've stared at that picture for hours.  Not kidding.  If I drop the book, it automatically opens to the two page shot of Cathedral with a fresh dusting of snow.  The other day I hiked up there in the dark, and slept in the pouring rain so I could see it at first light.  It was worth it.  The stormy weather started breaking at dawn and the light was constantly changing.  Great photography weather.               

Angles in Cathedral Lake

Was in a black and white mood when I was taking these flower pictures.

Ghost Flowers.  Or sea anemones?  Looks like the petals are moving in that slow eerie way that hair slides around under water.