trails

Hiking At Arapahoe Basin

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It's crazy to think that when I typed this (this past weekend), the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area got more snow. Although it doesn't look like it right now, the area is a great place to hike in the summer. These images are from last July (yes, I am that behind), on a hike that I took while Scott cycled up Loveland Pass. The mountainside was completely covered with wildflowers, of all different types. It was a beautiful, straightforward hike that lead to some amazing views. And the best part? The restaurant at the base was open, so we grabbed a beer afterwards, to reward ourselves for getting worked by the altitude. 

Next up: back to Lime Creek Canyon, for more images from our favorite getaway. 

The Blackhills 100 Mile Race

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So much for posting in a more timely manner; this summer has most definitely kept me busy.

I've decided to break from the order that I typically post in (chronological), to share the most recent adventure that I had the opportunity to be a part of. And brace yourselves, because this will be a long one. It was an extremely memorable experience, and although I'm not entirely happy with most of the images that I took (a severe lack of sleep may have played a role), I am extremely proud to share them because of how much of an accomplishment it was for my brother (or anyone for that matter).  

A few weeks ago my brother, Kyle, ran in the Black Hills 100, which is a 100 mile trail race through the Black Hills. Although the Black Hills are at a lower elevation, the race actually has more elevation change than the 100 mile race in Leadville, Colorado. The race is an out and back course, starting in Sturgis, SD and ending there as well. They started off on a Friday morning, and ran through the day with temperatures hovering around 100 degrees for most of the day. I worked until noon in Denver that Friday, and then drove six hours to meet Kyle and the two other members of the crew at the halfway point in Silver City, SD. 

Kyle had planned on being at Silver City by 7:30 pm, but because of the heat he, along with the entire field of racers, was well behind that pace. I spent the time waiting chatting up the women working the aid station, and then the other crew members as they began to show up. Kyle ended up getting in around 11:30 pm, and my crew duties kicked in. I mainly got him any food he wanted (which was ramen, lots of ramen), filled his water, and made sure he was doing alright. His friend Will also met us at Silver City, and served as his pacer for the last 50 miles, which made a huge difference for Kyle. 

Unfortunately I forgot my speedlight, and so was stuck with using an extremely high ISO in the images below, but I had to get at least some images of him during the night.

After Silver City I drove to the Pilot Knob aid station, where I met Will's brother, Michael, who crewed with me for the rest of the race. While we sat and waited for Kyle to arrive, I set up my camera for a brief time lapse. I didn't put a soundtrack on it, and as I said, it is brief, but I think it still does a nice enough job of showing the feeling of the aid stations at night. 

There was one more aid station in the dark, and then we drove to the Dalton Lake Campground to wait once again as the sun started to rise. It was such a welcome site to see the sun coming up for us crew members, and I can only imagine how it must have felt for the runners. 

I had been awake since 5 am the morning before (totaling nearly 30 hours awake at this point), and although I felt pretty great through the night, I started to crash after the Dalton Lake aid station once the sun was up. I was in desperate need of some sleep, and after slinging up my hammock I managed to get a light nap in this amazing spot while we waited for Kyle. 

We next saw Kyle and Will at the Elk Creek aid station, which was at mile 83. Another runner came into the aid station with some wildflowers that he picked along the trail for his crew members, which I couldn't resist documenting. One of the things that I loved about this experience was getting to know the other crew members. For the most part we saw the same people at every single spot, and by the end of the race it felt like we had known each other a lot longer than 12 hours or so. 

There was an aid station prior to Elk Creek that we didn't have access to, so the distance was about twice as long as when we normally saw the runners. This was the first aid station that Kyle started to show real signs of fatigue, and the first time I was even slightly concerned. His pacer was still full of energy however, and was excellent at keeping Kyle moving. 

The next aid station was the last before the finish, and like at Elk Creek, there was a station in between where we weren't able to see him. His wife and twin boys were at the last aid station as well, and as soon as Kyle saw them he visibly perked up. The boys saw him a ways off, and were so excited that they ran out to meet him!

We then drove to the finish in Sturgis and waited for Kyle and Will to arrive. My nephews were loving my camera while we waited; their new (at least new to me) thing to do is to make silly faces constantly while I take millions of pictures, and they loved getting to press the shutter as well. 

Kyle and Will came running in to the finish just before 3:00 pm on Saturday.  We found out later that he managed to finish in 28:48:33, and was 9th place overall! It was so exciting to see him finish the race, and to finish it running no less. 

Crewing for this race was one of the coolest experiences I have had. Seeing my brother accomplish something so major, and getting to help him through that process in even a small way was an incredibly impactful and unforgettable experience. 

And with that, I will finally wrap things up. Hopefully some of you stuck through it all. Thank you for taking the time to stop by, and don't forget to share via the links below!

Flashback Friday: Red River Gorge (Part 2)

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The longing for a visit to the Red River Gorge continues. In fact, re-editing these photos has made we want to go back that much more. These images were from a separate hike from the last post, which ended up being kind of a unique hike with very diverse landscape types. There had been a fire on the ridge at the start of the hike, so the landscape there was a bit harsh and desolate. The branches were twisted, and almost grotesque looking at times. 

After hiking for a bit, the view really opened up, and things became green once again. The photo below isn't the highest in quality (these were taken back when I had a lower quality camera, unfortunately), though it does a nice job of showcasing the green landscape, and the vastness of the forest in the area.

The image below was a favorite spot of mine, and was one I photographed more than once. In fact, one of my favorite images from my undergraduate film photography classes was of these trees. I ended up making a large print in the darkroom, and one now hangs on the wall in my parents' home. Unfortunately I don't have quality documentation of it (scan or photograph), so this digital file will have to do for sharing.

After walking along the top of the ridge for a while, the trail heads down and follows the bottom of the gorge, providing a dramatic change in scenery. Trees towered over me; the leaves so thick that sunlight barely filtered down. The air was much cooler and more damp, and a creek flowed along much of the trail if I remember correctly. It was difficult to photograph without a tripod since there was so little sunlight there in fact.

This will likely be it for the Red River Gorge posts, at least for the time being. I hope to be back there for a brief trip this fall, so maybe new photographs will surface then. Be sure to click on the "Subscribe" link on the left to keep in touch, and feel free to share!

In the mean time, happy Friday! Happy Father's Day in advanced to all you dads out there, and have an excellent weekend!

Flashback Friday: Red River Gorge

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It has been a few (okay, more than a few) weeks since the last Flashback Friday post. But, I am hoping to get back on track with them starting this week!

Every so often I find myself feeling extremely homesick for Kentucky. I lived in Lexington for four and a half years while I went to school at the University of Kentucky for my bachelor's degrees. Lexington and the surrounding areas took a piece of my heart during that time. The feeling of missing that area comes in waves, but for the past week or so I have found myself deep underneath one of them; this post is a result of that. 

One of the (many) great things about Lexington is that it was only around an hour and a half drive to the Red River Gorge. The Red was one of my favorite escapes when I was feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or just needed a break from people and the city. It is such a large area that when I went on my hikes, depending on the trail I chose, I would rarely see more than one or two people, if any. That fact, combined with the tall cliffs, vast forest, and towering trees made me feel small, and often helped put things in perspective as I hiked. 

I was obsessed with the trails there, and ended up with enough photographs of them to do an entire (and lengthy) series on that alone. They were often narrow, and would twist and turn allowing me to only see so far ahead before it disappeared into the woods. Perhaps as would be expected, they were quite symbolic for me. 

It was almost always incredibly humid in the summer, which I normally cannot stand. However, the past few days I have found myself even missing that heavy, moist air that I was bound to encounter on my summer hikes. It was also always incredibly green in The Red during the spring and summer months. The light that filtered down through the dense leaves had a sort of green tint to it, and everything was lush and filled with life. Ferns and moss are some of my favorite plants, and there would be expansive areas filled with both of them, much to my delight. 

I have many more images of the area (both The Red and Lexington) that I will likely be posting in the coming Flashback Friday posts, so be sure to check back next Friday to see another piece of what I have been dreaming about lately.

And with that, happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!