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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
1/20/2015
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Last minute decision to go for a solo backpack trip that was a big loop thru the Tierra Blanca & Sawtooth Mountain ranges. This was an area I had not been to before and was on my todo list. I hiked close to 20 miles total in a day and a half and saw lots of great stuff, definitely worthy of another trip. I have been trying to use just my little Canon S100 camera lately and it takes great pictures when there is good lighting but fails miserably in low light and for star shots. Even with the CHSDK installed it still just cannot handle low light photography well.
On my drive out I stopped at the wind turbine in Ocotillo that recently caught fire
They say a picture is worth a thousand words..so here are a few thousand in no particular order of the trip...
Ocotillo Wind Turbines at night from the top of the Sawtooth Range
Big Prints
Little Prints
Big & Little Prints collide
Drainage I took down into Inner Pasture
Found the jet wreckage that I believe goes with the ejection seat I found on this trip
I saw footprints from 3-4 people that looked like they went up to Red Top, if that was you let me know!
Total Mylar Balloons this trip - 3
A selfie, not sure what inspired this but there you have it....me....only took 20 minutes of fiddling to get that damn camera to balance on a rock just right
More photos in my gallery here
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
1/20/2015
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Cool man. How far was the wreckage from the ejection seat, roughly? (if that doesn't give away too much info). The lighting on that first glimpse into IP is awesome. I've poked around that rim of IP up a particular drainage, but don't think I got as far into "no man's land" as you appear to have gone. Did you venture to the 'spring' area just about due N of Red Top that you checked out on a previous trip?
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
1/20/2015
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Jim (ziphius) wrote:
Cool man. How far was the wreckage from the ejection seat, roughly? (if that doesn't give away too much info). If you were up in a plane high enough you could probably see both....
Jim (ziphius) wrote:
The lighting on that first glimpse into IP is awesome. I've poked around that rim of IP up a particular drainage, but don't think I got as far into "no man's land" as you appear to have gone. Did you venture to the 'spring' area just about due N of Red Top that you checked out on a previous trip? That was early morning after the sunrise photos and yes, it did look that cool in person also, I liked that view a lot! I did go near the spring, that is where I saw all the foot prints going up/down to red top and back thru inner pasture. The BP was crusing the whole valley on Saturday quite intensely via helicopter, I watched them for about 30 minutes from up on the ridge line as they hovered around the valley floor searching every boulder pile.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
1/20/2015
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Again, that light is amazing. Bummer that the quiet of IP gets interrrupted by BP. I gotta find a more remote hangout. (oh yeah, any evidence of water near the spring?)
dsefcik wrote:
Jim (ziphius) wrote:
Cool man. How far was the wreckage from the ejection seat, roughly? (if that doesn't give away too much info). If you were up in a plane high enough you could probably see both....
Jim (ziphius) wrote:
The lighting on that first glimpse into IP is awesome. I've poked around that rim of IP up a particular drainage, but don't think I got as far into "no man's land" as you appear to have gone. Did you venture to the 'spring' area just about due N of Red Top that you checked out on a previous trip? That was early morning after the sunrise photos and yes, it did look that cool in person also, I liked that view a lot! I did go near the spring, that is where I saw all the foot prints going up/down to red top and back thru inner pasture. The BP was crusing the whole valley on Saturday quite intensely via helicopter, I watched them for about 30 minutes from up on the ridge line as they hovered around the valley floor searching every boulder pile.
edited by ziphius on 1/20/2015
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
1/20/2015
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No water, lots of green.
Jim (ziphius) wrote:
Again, that light is amazing. Bummer that the quiet of IP gets interrrupted by BP. I gotta find a more remote hangout. (oh yeah, any evidence of water near the spring?)
dsefcik wrote:
Jim (ziphius) wrote:
Cool man. How far was the wreckage from the ejection seat, roughly? (if that doesn't give away too much info). If you were up in a plane high enough you could probably see both....
Jim (ziphius) wrote:
The lighting on that first glimpse into IP is awesome. I've poked around that rim of IP up a particular drainage, but don't think I got as far into "no man's land" as you appear to have gone. Did you venture to the 'spring' area just about due N of Red Top that you checked out on a previous trip? That was early morning after the sunrise photos and yes, it did look that cool in person also, I liked that view a lot! I did go near the spring, that is where I saw all the foot prints going up/down to red top and back thru inner pasture. The BP was crusing the whole valley on Saturday quite intensely via helicopter, I watched them for about 30 minutes from up on the ridge line as they hovered around the valley floor searching every boulder pile.
edited by ziphius on 1/20/2015
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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hikerdmb Posts: 423
1/21/2015
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Beautiful pics again.
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AdventureGraham Posts: 170
1/28/2015
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Another great trip! Nice pics! You think those big tracks were mountain lion?
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rockhopper Posts: 668
1/28/2015
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Nice to hear you were able to cover over 20 miles with the short days. Great trail report and photos.
That jet crash site looks like they didn't salvage much.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
1/28/2015
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BorregoWrangler wrote:
Another great trip! Nice pics! You think those big tracks were mountain lion? I think so...and the smaller ones bobcat..but maybe kitfox...the big tracks I followed off/on for several miles in and out of a wash, the smaller ones were around a boulder pile with lots of bobcat scat.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
1/28/2015
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rockhopper wrote:
Nice to hear you were able to cover over 20 miles with the short days. Great trail report and photos.
That jet crash site looks like they didn't salvage much. This guy says it is one of the better sites he has seen so that probably says something, he seems to have lots of experience with them, I have only found a few.
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
1/28/2015
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Nice trip Daren. That canteen draped across your chest looks like it weighs more than the water/booze it was carrying 
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2609
1/28/2015
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tommy750 wrote:
That canteen draped across your chest looks like it weighs more than the water/booze it was carrying You'll see it Friday...it is not too heavy really, was trying out Gary's technique, I kinda liked it and it wasn't in my pack. It has some advantages, it is actually a bladder canteen, it squishes/collapses as it empties to keep it from sloshing around and making noise, you can drop your pack and go scout around with it and have some water, the carry bag is insulated and keeps the water cool.
Now that I sold you on it, you want me to stop by the surplus store on my way tomorrow to pick one up for you?? 
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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