Here’s a goofy video for you. It’s pretty awesome how this guy Matt got paid to travel the world to do exactly this… read more about his adventure at Where the Hell is Matt?
Author: Jack Brauer
Moon above Hayden
The moon shines through some funky clouds above Hayden Peak, as seen from my front door in Ouray, Colorado.
Cow Creek Bushwhack
During the last three days, I bushwhacked through the Cow Creek valley, a rugged and remote mountain valley in the Uncompahgre Wilderness of the San Juan Mountains east of Ridgway. My original plan was to hike through the valley and continue up to the high alpine zone, where I would hike a high loop route around to Wetterhorn Basin and then take a trail back to my truck. However this plan was thwarted by geography – the Cow Creek valley is absolutely impassible six miles up, forcing me to turn around and bushwhack all the way back out the way I came.
This photo shows a sample of the kind of terrain and bushwhacking I was dealing with the entire time. There are many obstacles along the river which forced me to constantly hike up and down through thick bush and forest and along steep, loose, rocky slopes. Over the three days, I spent 23 hours of tough hiking to cover a mere 12 miles round trip, for an average of about 0.5 miles/hour! I can think of a few words to describe this bushwhack; it was brutal, tedious, frustrating, demoralizing, maddening, hellish, unrewarding, exhausting, etc, etc.
Below are some more photos from this fruitless exploration.
Dusk in Ouray
[+] Dusk in Ouray, Colorado as seen from the Sutton Mine Trail.
Ouray Water Fights
WATER FIGHT!!! This is a Ouray 4th of July tradition dating way back to the mining days, in which 4 people (2 vs. 2) blast the hell out of each other with fire hoses, for as long as it takes until the losing team falls down or just can’t hold on to the hose any longer. It’s a ridiculous mix of hilarity and brutality, and as I look at these photos I still can’t stop laughing.
This year I got right up along the ropes and snapped some photos while getting completely drenched. Good times! Check out all my battle photos below.
Potosi Peak
[+] Sunset behind Potosi Peak, 13,786 ft., as seen from the Hayden Trail above Ouray, Colorado. Although it’s only the fourth tallest peak in the Sneffels Range, Potosi dominates the southern side of the range, soaring 5,000 vertical feet above Canyon Creek and Camp Bird Road. It’s a forbidding seldom-climbed peak, surrounded by sheer cliffs and rugged canyons. Read more about Potosi Peak on SummitPost.org.
Sneffels Front and Center
On Saturday I camped up in Blaine Basin, with Mt. Sneffels towering above. That evening, I hiked up to the summit of Peak 12,910, which has an incredible vantage point directly facing the rugged north face of Sneffels. I’ve hiked to many different vantages around Mt. Sneffels, and I think this one is the best!
Sneffels by Moonlight
What an amazing hike this morning! After catching a few ZZZs, I woke up and got out of bed at 1am, hiked up Mt. Sneffels under a brilliant full moon, and topped out on the 14,156′ summit at 4:15am. The air was really calm and not that cold, and I had plenty of time to relax on the summit before the dawn light, enjoying the massive vista of moonlit peaks. Once the sun started rising, the photography was fast and furious, and I got some good large format shots with the 4×5. Now I’m off to Boulder for my friends Santos and Jill’s wedding.
Sunlight in the Pines
Sunset light in the pines near the Portland Trail overlook above Ouray, Colorado.
Fishing the Gunnison Gorge
Just got back from a three day rafting and fly fishing trip through the Gunnison Gorge, a 14 mile stretch of the Gunnison River downstream of the famous Black Canyon in Colorado. Due to this winter’s record snowfalls, the river was flowing at more than double the normal flow, and the normally emerald green water was a murky brown color full of silt. Also, we were too early for the famous stonefly hatch, which is unusually late this year. Unfortunately, these abnormal conditions put a serious damper on the fishing action. Despite the slow fishing, the trip was still fun just to raft through this spectacular canyon and to camp along the river with my dad and our buddies, with the deluxe camps provided by Rigs.
See many more photos from our trip below.
