A bartender's guide to Glacier

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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by MarxMN »

Jay,

You certainly did get the light right on the dead tree picture. Those branches are glowing. Great job.

Pete may have told you that we ran into incredibly strong winds above Appikuny Falls last September - so strong that we turned back because we were afraid of losing our balance.

Nice trip report.

Bill
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by Jay w »

Thanks Bill. Yeah, Pete mentioned something about the hike and I think it must just be coincidence that we both had super windy hikes. (I remember reading your report, so at least someone's report.) BTW, I looked at the "next picture" after the one I posted, and it's sharper. Hopefully that can be seen.

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It's a busy month for me, so I'll try to kept trudging forward on the report.

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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by PeteE »

Jay w wrote:
After that it’s a little scrambling to get into the valley above the falls. Once up there, the wind was so strong that we were hiking through the low scrub brush just to find some shelter. It became clear pretty quick that the hike up to the peak was not happening today. At one point, we sat and grabbed a little snack and I found a wood tick on my leg. Pete popped up like bread in a toaster. “I hate wood ticks,” and he was 50 ft away in a New York minute. So we mulled around like cattle and took pictures.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...Farewell to Pete

We always enjoy Pete’s company, and we were fortunate to have spent a number of days with Pete this trip. Even with an Outback packed to the rafters, he still rescued us with a tarp, and brought a number of things we didn’t have, and of course made that resupply run. It still seems like we owe him. Of course it's his company that we enjoy. He has endless great stories, and not just Glacier stories. This isn’t the last we saw of him this trip. Hopefully this trip report will go long enough to include our last meeting.

-Steps: 21,070
-Wildlife: 0

Jay
Jay, it was all my pleasure doing the little I did to help out.
Y'all have no idea how much fun that two weeks was for me. :mrgreen:
You don't owe me anything.
However....I am going to have to improve my cribbage playing before you two get back!
:arrow: :arrow:

As for the Apikuni Falls...
I am determined to get back up there. That peak we were looking at doing has to have some great looks into Many Glacier.
Plus, as I say on the video clip...that little "valley" above the falls is a cool place.
It's a short but steep hike to get to the top of the falls--1300ft vertically from the road.
It would have been another 2000ft of elevation gain to the summit of that peak we were looking at.
So it''ll be a full day.

Here's a couple video clips from that day.
Hard to hear anything through most of it.
I do mention Bill and Tina and the windy day we had last year.

The wind would blow the water "falling" straight up at times.
By the way, that white(ish) rock is HARD and SHARP to sit on. 8)
45 seconds
https://photos.smugmug.com/Apikuni-Fall ... 1-1920.mp4

This was right after the "tick" incident. I almost choked laughing when I read:
"Pete popped up like bread in a toaster. “I hate wood ticks,” and he was 50 ft away in a New York minute."

And it was soooo nice sitting in that lil grassy patch out of the wind--until I saw that tick on jay :twisted:
3 minutes
https://photos.smugmug.com/Apikuni-Fall ... y-1920.mp4

Cheers and Hi to Ms Julie!!
:arrow: :arrow:

pete :wink:

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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by Badgerhiker »

PeteE wrote:Badger,

I spent a good deal of time watching and learning while watching Jay take his photos.
Weather be damned, Jay has remarkable patience. He takes his time moving around to get exactly what he wants.
If it's a tripod shot, again, Jay takes whatever time he needs to get the shot he wants.
One of my biggest "faults" is I lack patience, and not just with my photography :(


So NICE photography Jay!
I feel I learned a lot following you around, mostly that I need to be more patient with my photography.
A camera is just a "tool". The old saying about rifle shooting applies here: It ain't the gun, it's the gunner
Hey Pete,
I have the same problem, I'm to impatient with my photography. If I don't see an obvious shot right away I either take a bad picture or just move on. I am trying to work on that though. I agree about it being the gunner not the gun. A great photographer can use a cheap point and shoot camera and still get good pictures with it. I was just curious what other people use for camera gear since there's so many good choices out there now.
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by Jay w »

6/26/18 Tue, Swiftcurrent Valley

Thank you sir, may I have another

Out of the Rack

It’s tough to get out a bed early, so I got out of bed late (by photography standards) and went down to the Many Glacier turnout to take a few early morning photos. It was a pretty typical morning complete with wind.

I set up the Go-Pro on a short tripod (fully collapsed, so about 18” tall and leaning into the wind) and did a time lapse of the cloud movement.



Runs 19 seconds.

After fiddling with my camera for a while, I looked up and saw that the gusting wind was so strong that it knocked over the Go-Pro. Oh well, run with it…make it part of the video.

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Where to Now?

The trails have been getting busy, and it’s not even July yet. Oh how I think of the good old days where we drove back from Canada on about July 1st and got a great spot at many Glacier. No problem, no fuss. Today I wanted to take picutres, but I didn’t want to battle the crowds on Iceberg or Grinnell which is still a “half hike” due to the snow. I had good luck on Swiftcurrent the other day, so Swiftcurrent it is again today.

I started out at falls near the Iceberg trailhead. I’m not sure if it’s named, but on my first trip to Glacier, I slid down the rocks into the stream and dunked my light meter. It dried out fine, but the meter was expensive and I didn’t bring two, so I was stressed out about the deal. Here’s a couple different renditions from today’s hike.

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Down the trail I ran into the same grove of aspens (I believe) that stopped me a few days earlier. Here’s a couple different renditions of that photo.

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Then it was back to the same area going up towards Shangri La.

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Bears in them Hills

As I headed towards Red Rock Falls, I kept hearing about the bears on the hillside. The comments came with specific directions on where to look and lots of excitement about “bears.” When I got there, 4 or 5 people were staring up at a mountain, and the only thing there were missing was a spotting scope. Yup, the bears were way the hell up there, and it was hard not to tell the story about the bears that were 50 years away just a couple days ago.

I started shooting pictures across the lake, and a group of people asked what I was shooting. “Oh, there’s a couple of orangutans in the trees above the falls.” The group was from the Netherlands and loved my comment. I added, “I’m still hoping to see some wildebeests this trip.” The two brothers brought their Mom, who is in her 80s, to Glacier for a holiday. We talked a bit about World Cup soccer and that Belgium was doing well and walked back towards the trailhead.

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I stopped to take a picture of a dead tree, and I was waiting for the sun to go under some clouds to reduce the contrast (it never did). A woman walked up to me and asked what I was taking a picture of.

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I turned around and spotting a crowd of people looking in the same direction that my camera was pointed. I responded, “The dead tree.” And then I said “Actually, I was going to say to you ‘the orangutans in the trees above the lake’ but you a little too sharp for that.” We laughed and talked a bit, and she went back and informed her group. That group left leaving a few people gazing at the trees across the lake. There’s always a few hold outs thinking there’s a bear or moose out there somewhere.

On the way back I headed back to the same falls at which I started, but this time headed upstream.

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Ok, a short report, but it took me hours to assemble.

-Steps: 20,410

Photos: 155
Moose: 0
Bear: 1
Orangutans: 0
Wildebeests: 0
Giraffes: 0

Jay
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by Jay w »

6/27/18 Wed, Trail of the Cedars, Beering Falls

Aka The East end boys and West end girls.

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The Karl Malden tree. I don’t remember who said it, but I love it.


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Views from the trampoline bridge.

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Two similar shots with one emphasizing the water.


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We stopped at a number of turnouts along the creek, but the light was hot and not particularly good for photography. So, back to the East side. Hello Logan Pass, goodbye Logan Pass.


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The last time I hiked to Beering Falls, there was no one on the hike. This day, the trail was like ants.

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-Steps: 20,130

Jay
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by teapot57 »

I’ve lost track of how many days you have left, but I’m hoping there’s more!

You have a real eye for photography.
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by Jay w »

Oh, a comment!

Thanks Tina. I'm working on some photos from Belly River. I'm down to about three days..which includes the "fish fillet incident."

Jay (not the filleter) W
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by paul »

Jay,

I'll add another comment for you! I've enjoyed your photographs especially the black and whites. I'm looking forward to see what you have for the Belly River.

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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by PeteE »

Yeah, nice work Jay.
I like all your images in this post. I love the "texture"? and crisp detail in the B&W close up tree shots.
You give me, and probably lot of us here, great inspiration and ideas for our own photography.
Thank you for sharing!

Your wannabe snapshooter friend...
pete :wink:
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by Jay w »

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments. It's slow around here, so I was wondering if people are logging on. I've processed all the shots from Belly River, including the brothel at the 6 mile mark. It so happened that Fire Ball was there giving away free shots and had a slip-n-slide. Big hit for the backpackers. :lol:

You know part of the photo thing is just playing around, both with shooting and processing. Julie just looked over and said, "You're not processing photos, are you talking to your girlfriends again?"

Ok, here's a little teaser for Belly River.

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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by Ear Mountain »

I check the site daily but don't often comment. Really enjoyed your trip report.
Text and photos Copyright 2007-2023.
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by Jay w »

Ear, thanks. Your site has some great photography. I threw a comment your way early trying to provoke a comment (just for fun), so it's good to hear from you. ND, sorry to step on your recent update.

6/28/18 Thr, Lee Ridge (to the Belly)

Ok, time for a hike. I know, when you think of the Many Glacier area, the top hike that comes to mind is Lee Ridge. Yup, and if you get there early, you’ll even beat the crowds.

We left Many Glacier valley and it was another crappy day in Glacier. Yeah, more blue skies and boring pictures with white clouds. Well, unless you like that sort of thing.

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By the time we got past the cows and cow sh1t, it was cloudy up at Chief Mountain (both the mountain and crossing). Perfect. I got out of the car and started moving a few items in the pack, and Julie complained that mosquitos were all over the car. Perfect. Man, this is just like home. Even time I come to Glacier there’s never any mosquitos and nothing says deep woods like Deep Woods Off. Of course the Minnesota purists would say you need to toughen up and skip the DEET, but I like the smell of napalm in the morning. I had Julie give me a few squirts on the back, and area I can’t reach with a pump dispenser, but I figured I’d wait before lathering up anywhere else.

So, for those interested in camera gear, I was carrying three small lenses, a Contax 28mm 2.8, a Contax 50mm 1.7, and a Nikkor 105mm. These are all old manual focus lenses “adapted” to a Canon camera and the lenses are sharp as hell…and not that expensive. So small, sharp and light. As the truckin’ song says, I have a long way to go, and not much time to get there, so I skipped a tripod. I think the hike is 17 miles, but I wanted to take my time and get a bunch of pictures.

Ok, I’m off like a prom tuxedo. The first part of this hike is through a mosquito sanctuary protected as a World Heritage site known as the Culicidae Territory. (Don’t believe me.) So I pulled off the wind breaker and gave myself a few squirts of napalm. A bit later I decided I better get a couple picture of the woods before I walk right by it.

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The best part of this hike is when you break out of the woods near the high point of the hike.

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I also like the hike down to the Belly River Ranger Station because there are quite a few deadwoods along the way. Due to time restraints, I didn’t feel comfortable stopping as often as I’d like, so I guess there’s a reason to come back next year.

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So far, I haven’t seen anyone on the hike. It was a great break from the crowds of people in Many Glacier valley where people march almost snout-to-haunches. Strap on a feedbag, and the picture is complete. At the ranger station, there was a ranger talking to a hiker, and that was it. So, still quiet.

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On the way back to Chief Mountain trailhead, I started running into camping parties. The most interesting one was a couple with a newborn that wasn’t happy. I’m not sure how old it was, but it was small, maybe 6 or 8 weeks. It was strapped to the front of mamma, and she had a very volumous backpack. I said something along the lines of “Wow, I am impressed” and got out of the way. Dad said, “Well, she’s not impressed,” and only a few more words were exchanged. They weren’t going to let a little thing like having a baby get in the way of a great permit. Tip-of-the-hat.

Of course that leaves a million questions. What kind of diapers, are they cloth diapers, are the washing out the diapers, are they packing out the diapers, who’s changing the diapers, how many diapers, do diapers attract bears, ….

It was about this point I started realizing that I was going to be early for my 5 o’clock parking lot rendezvous. So my GPS path started to resemble a drunken sailor. Oh, look at that stream over there. Oh gee, look at all the horse sh1t. Where’s the feed bag.

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On the long way up to the parking lot, I was leap-frogging a mother and son. I would take some pictures, and then I’d pass the backpackers since I had a light pack. The son was dressed up in long pants and a jacket and I asked if he’d like some napalm (since we’re in Culicidae Territory). His pack was off like a prom tuxedo and he promptly lathered up. Ironically, we only had about 500 feet to go.

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I include this picture because it was my favorite at the time I was talking the pictures. For some reason this field of thimbleberry looked really cool. As the mother and son hiked by, she commented that that’s a great picture. Sometimes a great looking scene doesn’t really translate to a great shot.

Back in the parking lot I had some time to kill. First I ate and then stretched, and then started walking around taking a few shots.

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First I found the source of the horse sh1t.

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Then the pickup truck was hard to ignore.

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Finally, I found a better shot of thimbleberry.

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Since I just got back from my 6 month post op appointment this afternoon, I figure I’ll throw out a few words on that. Last winter, my afib kicked in during ski races, and it lasted long enough, and was consistent enough that I was able to get a monitor and send data off to my EP (electrophysiologist). He has a conservative reputation, but at our first meeting in 10 years, he recommended an ablation. Basically a procedure to cut off electrical signal in the pulmonary veins from entering the left atrium. Think of like a welder making a seam, but the atrium has very thin skin so you have to be really careful. The Glacier trip was 3 months post-op and certainly no big deal physically. But about the time I was getting back to doing workouts, I was taking three weeks off to go hiking. So far so good. Various monitors are not detecting afib and I’ve been able to kick it pretty hard. The weight has been coming off slow, but a couple of months without eating should solve that.

Ok, dinner was at Two Sisters and yup, the car still had mosquitos.

-Steps: 19,130

Jay
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by PeteE »

Great images as always Jay!
I'm curious about the rock with the green(ish) and orange(ish) colors. What was that?

The B&W of the suspension bridge is cool. Ditto for the "dead" wood as well 8)

Also a little curious about that EKG strip? What was going on when you had it made? That section looks a bit "irregular".

pete :wink:
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Re: A bartender's guide to Glacier

Post by Ear Mountain »

Jay w wrote:Ear, thanks. Your site has some great photography. I threw a comment your way early trying to provoke a comment (just for fun), so it's good to hear from you.
Jay
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