ZapperZ's Great Outdoors Photo Contest

[Astronuc]

A risky pastime, but I have to do this some day.

Pioneering Climber Dean Potter Killed in Wingsuit BASE Jumping Accident

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-adventure/adv-beyond-the-edge-potter

http://www.outsideonline.com/1981591/dean-potter-killed-base-jumping-accidentRIP Dean Potter, 43, and Graham Hunt, 29, who both died from impact during a wingsuit flight from Taft Point in Yosemite National Park, just after 7:30 p.m. on May 16.

 

[nsaspook]

A risky pastime, but I have to do this some day.

Pioneering Climber Dean Potter Killed in Wingsuit BASE Jumping Accident

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-adventure/adv-beyond-the-edge-potter

http://www.outsideonline.com/1981591/dean-potter-killed-base-jumping-accidentRIP Dean Potter, 43, and Graham Hunt, 29, who both died from impact during a wingsuit flight from Taft Point in Yosemite National Park, just after 7:30 p.m. on May 16.

BASE jumping is illegal in all national parks, though according to those in the community, it happens often, typically at dusk or at night, when the chances of being caught by park rangers are lower. There were only four arrests for BASE jumping in national parks in 2014—coincidentally, one of those was Hunt, though the charges were dropped due to circumstantial evidence.

Gravity sucks when you break the law. I hope they put a lien on his estate for the cleanup. I feel sad for his family but not for him.

 

[nsaspook]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/investigators-helmet-camera-captured-deadly-base-jump/ar-BBjY2lV

 

[Astronuc]

A risky pastime, but I have to do this some day.

Pioneering Climber Dean Potter Killed in Wingsuit BASE Jumping Accident

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-adventure/adv-beyond-the-edge-potter

http://www.outsideonline.com/1981591/dean-potter-killed-base-jumping-accidentRIP Dean Potter, 43, and Graham Hunt, 29, who both died from impact during a wingsuit flight from Taft Point in Yosemite National Park, just after 7:30 p.m. on May 16.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/sports/dean-potter-final-yosemite-jump.html

 

[OCR]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Potter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingsuit_flying

 

[Astronuc]

It looks like they misjudged the notch below Taft point.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...-dean-potter-dead-yosemite-2015051-story.html

 

[Borg]

El Capitan street view. I'm getting dizzy just looking at it.

 

[Astronuc]

http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-trails/worlds-best-hikes-dream-trails/

http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-trails/worlds-best-grail-trails/

Capilano Suspension Bridge

 

[Astronuc]

More places to go or add to the bucket list

10 Tourist-Free Adventure Destinations
https://www.yahoo.com/travel/off-the-beaten-path-10-untouched-places-to-visit-123978782319.html

#Daydream: Yosemite National Park in California
https://www.yahoo.com/travel/daydream-yosemite-national-park-in-california-124019148432.html

#Daydream: Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park, Washington
https://www.yahoo.com/travel/daydream-rialto-beach-in-olympic-national-park-123991655407.html

10 Best Road Trips in the World
https://www.yahoo.com/travel/10-best-secret-us-road-trips-124620635737.html

10 National Parks with the Best Beaches
https://www.yahoo.com/travel/10-national-parks-with-the-best-beaches-125296553577.html

 

[Astronuc]

10 Great American Hikes That (Almost) Anyone Can Do
https://www.yahoo.com/travel/10-great-american-hikes-that-almost-anyone-can-127257480077.html

Hiking information

http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/mountsthelens/recreation/hiking

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3843476.pdf

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mountsthelens/recarea/?recid=41612

http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/PA_WIDCo...sumption&param2=STELPRDB5246982&param3=LoowitTrail#216&param4=/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/stelprdb5246982.jpg

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20150326-the-glacier-born-of-fire
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20150501-the-deadliest-volcano-in-the-continental-us

 

[Astronuc]

Kerguelen Archipelago (fr. Archipel Kerguelen) or Iles Kerguelen is one of the most isolated places on the planet.

http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Kerguelen.shtml
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/172118/
http://www.kerguelen-voyages.com/consulter/PagePerso.asp?LangueID=1&PagePersoID=256
http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/pro...nds-part-iii-iles-kerguelen-and-heard-island/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerguelen_Islands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerguelen_Plateau

Visit to Kerguelen in time lapse -


kerguelen islands images

Another interesting destination in the neighborhood - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heard_Island_and_McDonald_Islands

 

[Borek]

Our trip to Germany didn't go exactly as planned, but some views around Neuschwanstein were definitely worth the hike.

 

[PeroK]

Here's a shot of the North Face of the Matterhorn, taken from the summit of the Zinalrothorn:

 

[Astronuc]

Caribbean Vacations
https://www.yahoo.com/travel/hurricane-proof-caribbean-vacations-128515955147.html

 

[DennisN]

Beautiful photo...
Waterfowl Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta / Canada

 

[nsaspook]

Oregon Coast, today.

 

[nsaspook]

Otter rock looking down to Devils Punch Bowl and the beach to Newport behind the point lighthouse in the far distance.

 

[DennisN]

Kalapana, Hawaii where the sea meets the lava

 

[Borg]

Today's APOD is pretty spectacular.

 

[Mark44]

Bull elk in the wilds of Olympic National Park, taken Thursday (9/15), on a four-day backpacking trip involving a cross-country traverse from one river valley to the next one over. After spotting this bull, we later saw that he had a harem of about a dozen cow elk. We camped just above the basin the elk were in, and we heard them bugling that evening and well into the night.

On our fourth day, clouds rolled in, with possible threatening rain. What would have been a short day over to a lake turned into a somewhat longer push. Virtually all of our traverse between the two river valleys were along elk trails, many of which led to dead ends, forcing us to backtrack and find another route. Here's a look back along one of the easier trails we were on. This part of the park is rarely visited by people, so this trail is mostly used by animals of the four-legged variety. Can you spot the trail?

As it turned out, getting out when we did was the right call. We had light rain driving home that night, and rain all day yesterday (Saturday).

 

[Mark44]

A couple more pictures.
We traversed this slope all the way over to the low point on the right skyline. It was very comforting to see that we had a track to follow. If you look carefully, you can see it in this picture. To get an idea of the scale, the "trail" is about a foot wide.

The basin where the bull elk and his lady friends were hanging out -- the name is actually Elk Basin. We camped just above the basin one night after spending the afternoon trying to figure out how to get up on the ridge behind us and to the left in this picture.

 

[Mark44]

Here's one taken Thursday, showing the area we were in. We had followed an elk trail that left us on a narrow ridge with no easy way of further progress, so we headed back down almost to the basin with the elk herd.

The next morning (Friday), we headed up to this ridge, making our way up the extreme right edge of the picture, and following yet another elk trail. The ridge was probably about 500' vertical above where we camped. For scale, the smaller of the two snowfields in the middle of the picture is about 100' long (total guess, though).

 

[OCR]

Can you spot the trail?

Looks like it might be here...?

 

[Mark44]

Looks like it might be here...?

View attachment 106217​

No, the one I meant is more in the middle of the picture, and two segments of it are visible. What your arrow points to could be a different trail, or it could be the start of a creek.

 

[OCR]

No, the one I meant is more in the middle of the picture, and two segments of it are visible.

Yeah, I'd thought about that, too... it's right about in the middle of that scree slope... ?

 

[Mark44]

Yes, and there's another segment that shows coming out of the strip of trees, and running into a shadow.

 

[OCR]

Yes, and there's another segment...

... I see that.

BTW, nice pictures... pretty rough looking country, too.

 

[Mark44]

BTW, nice pictures...

Thanks!

pretty rough looking country, too.

Yep. It was pretty challenging, especially since we're not spring chickens. I just turned 72, and my buddy Steve just turned 63, and had a hip replacement four years ago.

There were basically three sections: hiking up a trail for 13 miles, going from 800' to about 5000'; 5 miles cross country (as in the pictures); 4 miles hiking down a trail from about 5300' down to 1600'. The most challenging part was figuring out the best way to get up to the ridge that led us to our lake destination. Once on the ridge, it was relatively smooth sailing. Another difficult part was trying to follow animal trails though about a one mile section of forest that burned six years ago.

 

[Astronuc]

Nearly five years later since the last post.

http://www.rando-marche.fr/_f8262_561_escalade-pic-du-maupas-arete-ouest

http://www.rando-marche.fr/_f8262_561_escalade-pic-du-maupas-arete-ouest#gallery-3

Some spectacular scenery and hiking trails in the Pyrenees on the border of Spain and France.

This is near the area where experienced British hiker, Esther Dingley, disappeared. Her partner found her nine months later after a long search, called off during the winter due to heavy snow in the area. Dingley apparently fell.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/the-story-behind-the-disappearance-and-death-of-hiker-esther-dingley-who-vanished-on-a-solo-mountain-trek/ar-AANlhHJ

 

[Astronuc]

Hiking the three longest continuous hiking trails within one year.
https://www.latimes.com/california/...students-conquered-the-triple-crown-of-hiking

A thunderstorm in Colorado sent the two college students racing for cover down a mountain ridge. A black bear charged at one of them in Washington state. A wildfire’s flames spurred a harrowing escape in Northern California. And a raging infection waylaid the travelers for days in the Wyoming wilderness.

While much of the world was locked down during the first year of the pandemic, Jackson Parell and Sammy Potter were busy planning their escape. The Stanford University students had weathered shared Coronavirus infections and quarantines. And after spending months cooped up in online classrooms, they were itching to break free.

So they hatched an ambitious plan: to hike three of the nation’s most arduous trails — the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide — all in a single year.

 

[Astronuc]

Avalanche Awareness - mountain and backcountry safety.

Low-angle avalanche accidents like this require a convergence of snow conditions and human error, and they are common when there’s been heavy snowfall and strong winds after a period of dry and cold weather. In the Hoosier Pass slide, the hillside above the trail showed a layer of basal facets: incohesive snow that was formed early in the season. More recent storms buried that weak layer with feet of wind-deposited snow, and the conditions formed a huge slab on a leeward-facing slope above the trail.

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/avalanche-safety-hoosier-pass/