“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.” ― Eudora Welty
We have to be ever vigilant against camera thieves while out and about with our gear. Seems the thieves are getting bolder! Read the whole thing here.
Update: Becky writes” I say you keep one hand on your lens at all time when your camera is not in use and you have it around you neck. They can’t get your lens if your own hands are on it at all times, it would be rather awkward for the thief to reach over and discover that he/she is touching your hand!!!!” Brilliant thought Becky!
August 2011 Hiking Report
August got off to a slow start. I got home from Glacier Nat. Park and was ever so lazy! Unpacking, doing laundry, catching up with snail mail, bills, and then work kept me off the trails, but I got back in the groove. The countdown to Clouds Rest began!
The month was fantastic. With not just one hike up to Clouds Rest but TWO, and I finished the month with a Backpacking class which was fun, and it’s something I’d like to do again in the future.
The photo above was taken on the morning of my second night hike up to Clouds Rest in Yosemite Nat. Park. I made it up to the top, and across the scary narrow span. Below I am looking back at the Narrow Span. I walked across this in the dark with only the aid of my head lamp and what ambient light there was at 4:30 a.m. Unfortunately, on this hike too I suffered from altitude issues beginning around 9,000ft, but they weren’t as severe as my previous hike up the week before.
Having safely crossed the Narrow Span and making it onto the somewhat wider slab I set up my camera to take a series of shots of the sky, and took a nap. I woke up right before the sun was about to crest the mountains and I was hoping for Alpine Glow. I moved my tripod and camera over to a place I would be able to shoot Half Dome lit by the morning sun and waited. In the very top photograph the sun had just lit up the tops of El Capitan, Sentinel Dome, and Half Dome. It was a gorgeous morning. It’s an amazing view, and as for me… I’ve never trained or worked so physically hard to achieve a goal like this before. It’s been an amazing journey. I cross this goal off my 2011 list with a heart full of thanks for those friends who hiked with me, supported me, and encouraged me all along the way. Especially Heman, who put up with me interrupting his sleep at ungodly hours as I got up to train or came in late from a night shoot, and being gone a lot. I couldn’t have done it without you! ♥
8/4-7.98mi, 1,962 ft, 3h3m, PG&E trail to Vista Point
8/8 -6.32 miles, 2,197ft 3h22m, Peak Trail- The Steep Route- o&b
8/8- 2mi, 20ft– W. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz stroll b4 dinner
8/10- 10.85mi, 2,252ft, 4h58m, Mount Madonna Several trails to make a loop
8/12- 4.30mi, 920ft, 1h36m, PG&E Trail to Wildcat Loop Trailhead & Back
8/13&14- 14mi, 3,099ft, 9h25m, Trail to Cloud’s Rest Yosemite Nat. Pk
8/17- 6.50mi, 2,169ft, 3h12m, Mission Peak-The Steep Route w/Seth
8/23&24- 14.2mi, 3,687ft, 12h30, Trail to Clouds Rest Yosemite Nat. Park
8/27&28- 10.83mi, 476ft, -REI Backpacking class Point Reyes Nat. Seashore Coast Camp
Total Miles Hiked- 76.98
Total Elevation Gain- 16,782ft
YTD elevation gain- 64,540! Can I make 100,000ft in 2011? Don’t bet on it! 😀
The Garden’s Court Stained Glass Dome, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
This beautiful room called Garden’s Court in the Palace Hotel in San Francisco was originally conceived of as the hotel’s carriage entrance – “a gateway to the splendors and remarkable innovations within.”
~The Palace Hotel-History
Today you can have Breakfast, Lunch Mon-Sat, Sunday Brunch, and Sat. afternoon Tea in this gorgeous room. They have a lunch tour I’m checking into. I’d love to do it.
Here’s the info on the lunch tour:
www.sfpalace.com/assets/u/HistoricMenuChandelier.pdf
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35@19mm| f2.8| 1/25 sec| ISO 400| Manual Mode| Tripod
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
I had read about this mission and wanted to visit it while on my July trip to Whitefish, Mt. It’s only 1.5 hours to the east of where I was staying. When planning things to do with my friend Big Jay who wouldn’t be doing the steep hikes with me I thought this would be a great outing, and we could continue our Mission series that we’d started in Northern California. When I suggested it I delighted that he was interested, and game to go.
The most striking thing to me about this Mission is how different its exterior structure is from the Missions of California. This one is made of brick and mortar, and has the familiar look of a mid-sized Catholic Church , and has no inner courtyard, and large garden verses the Missions in California that are made of Adobe or stucco, with wood beams, and the familiar Spanish arches, and an inner courtyard with a fountain.
Their small garden has a statue of Christ carved by Fr. Anthony Ravalli, S. J. believed to be done during his stay in St. Ignatius in 1863. The statue is next to the Original Log Cabin. The first home of the Jesuit missionaries, built in 1854. Today it’s a museum with a collection of artifacts from various tribes of the Northwest. The clothes, and dolls kept me occupied for sometime. There are several old photographs of the local Indians that would come to the Mission. The man in office was very friendly and shared some facts and stories with us about the Mission.
The chapel is wonderful. The colors are soft and peaceful, and the Frescoes are outstanding in their workmanship, and artistry. There are 58 murals, painted in the early 20th century by artist Brother Joseph Carignano (1853-1919), an Italian Jesuit. He was a cook, and handyman at the Mission. He had no professional training in art.
The paintings depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments, as well as some saints. Below you see most of the Frescoes that are painted on the North and South walls, and the Triptych in the Sanctuary which tells the story of “The Three Visions of St. Ignatius Loyola” the founder of the Mission. To the right of the Triptych is a large Fresco titled, ” St. Joseph and Jesus, and the large Fresco on the left of the Triptych is titled, ” The Immaculate Conception.
Below is a piece of statuary that rests next to the Altar, and behind it one part of the Triptych in the Sanctuary by artist Brother Joseph Carignano (1853-1919), to the left of that are two smaller round Frescoes, the lower one is “Jesus the Bread of Life”, and the one above it is “St. Luke Evangelist”.
Below in the foreground is the Altar with the depiction of “The Last Supper”. I really like the soft pastel color palette, and ornate wood carvings that frame it. Behind the Altar another view of the Triptych, and to the right the small round Fresco is “St. Peter the Apostle”.
The Fresco above the Triptych is titled “The Last Judgement”. To the right of it is a round Fresco titled “Moses receives the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai”,and to the left is a Fresco called “Manna and Water in the Desert”.
I shot the whole interior in Natural Light. None of the lights were on inside the chapel except those that lit the Triptych. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting this Mission. I would love to come back and visit it again. If you happen to be passing near here it makes a wonderful side trip.
For the Historians:
Mission St Ignatius, St Ignatius, Montana, USA
St. Ignatius Mission is in Mission Valley on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Western Montana, about forty miles north of Missoula. It is bounded by the Mission Mountains to the east, and the hills of the National Bison Range to the west.
The Mission and the town that grew up around it were founded in 1854 by Jesuit missionaries and named for their founder, St Ignatius Loyola.
The present day brick church was built in 1891 and is now a National Historic Site, along with two small cabins, the original homes of the Jesuit Fathers and Providence Sisters, and the present rectory. The church took 2 years to build. The Indians, and missionaries together built the church of bricks made from local clay, and trees cut in the foothills, and sawed at the Mission Mill.
The building measures 120 feet by 60 feet with a belfry reaching nearly 100 feet.
The majority of the facts and figures I gleaned from a pamphlet I purchased while at the Mission.
Nikon D90| Nikkor 17-35mm lens| Benro C1691 tripod| release cable
Scenic Point. (For a description of the photo above scroll down under the Hiking Stats.)
The highlight of my hiking in July was a trip to Glacier National Park. A beautiful and scenic wonder.
July 2011 Hiking Report
7/2 – 4.8 miles, 500ft. 2 hours, Redwood Regional Park- Stream trail,
7/5- 7.98mi,2,347ft, 3h 2m – PG&E trail O&B
7/10-11 mi, 1800 ft, 4h40m– Woods Trail,Barlow Rd,Mt Umunhum Rd, Bald Mt trail- Out and Back
7/15- 7.90mi, 1,896ft 3h 00m – Vista Point Out & Back
7/15-3.6,mi ft.not much, time not long– Mirror Lake, Yosemite Nat. Pk
7/17- 3.35mi, 250ft, 1h– PG&E trail to Wildcat Loop-PG&E trail
7/21- 9.77mi, 1200ft, 5h– Iceberg-Ptarmigan Trail, Many Glacier,Glacier Nat Park
7/23-7.8mi, 2,853ft, 4h40m– Scenic Point, Two Medicine,Glacier Nat Park
7/23- GPS coordinates at Trail-head 48.480005-113.361676
Total miles hiked-
56.2 miles
Total ft climbed-
10,821ft- does not include any guesstimate for Mirror lake hike.
19 days to Cloud’s Rest!
Photo information
This is Scenic Point. I am on a ledge which is about 5ft wide seeking shelter from the wind along with my fellow hikers, and Pat Hagan our guide.
Looking this direction you can see the road into Two Medicine and above that Hwy 49 I believe. Looking further out toward the plains is where you’d find the towns of Kiowa, and Browning… I think.
I sat on this ledge and had a quick lunch. A Hairy Marmot peeked out of the rocks on the ledge and was hoping for his lunch too. I’m sure many people feed them, or just happen to leave big crumbs behind.
I want to come up here again. Hopefully, next summer. The deeper I hike into this park the more I fall in love with it.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35@ 28mm| f5.6| 1/200 sec.| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held
Here’s the Hoary Marmot
This is a ledge that I was sitting on just under the point up at Scenic Point in Two Medicine Glacier Nat. Park. I’ve cropped off the tip of my boot from this photo. The ledge was only about 5 feet wide. The trees you see down there…that’s 7,000+ foot drop!
While having lunch and resting from the climb up this Hoary Marmot popped out.
He didn’t seem too shy. I’m sure he’s quite used to people.
It was the first time I’d ever seen a Hairy Marmot or any other for that matter. He’s cute!
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35 @ 35mm| f5.6| 1/320 second| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held
“Remember the dreams you had as a child and realize it’s never too late to make them come true.” ~ Constance A. DeFlitch, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
I got to spend a full day with my friend Big Jay while in Montana. I had read about a Mission in St. Ignatius,MT and wanted to go tour it . Fortunately he was game. While in St. Ignatius we spotted this Barn and pulled over to shoot it.
I was busy photographing it when a young man drove up to the gate and unlocked it to let himself out. Big Jay asked if we could come around the gate to shoot the barn a bit. The young man was very sympathetic. He said he was a painter and was doing an acrylic of the Barn himself. He said he comes out to this very yard with his easel and paints. Wouldn’t I love a photo of that! I also wish I could paint like that. He left the gate open and told us to take our time, and have fun. We stayed about 30 minutes walking through many of the fields getting different angles and views of the barn. I liked this view with all the wildflowers growing over the fences.
Nikon D90| Nikkor 17-35@ 19mm| f8| 1/40| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Tripod| Self Timer
On a clear day…, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
On this Sat. morning I rose a bit later than usual and took a leisurely 1.5 hour drive over to East Glacier to meet Ranger Pat Hagan. Pat was leading me and several other hikers up the Scenic Point Trail.
Pat expanded on the trail giving us more of an idea of what we were about to take on going on this hike.
He said, “We’re going to be hiking up roughly 23 stories today, and, we’re taking the stairs.”
The trail has 16 switchbacks getting longer the higher you climb. Every 4th switchback or so Pat had a story. Most were about bears. Bear management, behavior, and safety which I found interesting, and educational.
I turned around to look back here. I’m about halfway to the top at this point. It’s windy up here, and worth the effort to get here. Look at this view! That’s Two Medicine Lake, and way down there by the waters edge is a campground where many of my hiking companions were camping, and about half inch above the Z in my signature in the right corner is the parking lot my Va-Va is parked in under a shady pine tree.
Hike details
7.80 miles rd trip
2,853ft elevation gain
5h57m total time
The trail is steep, but the switchbacks help make the going easier.
See my complete hiking stats here.
My GPS unit is this one here.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35@ 24mm| f5.6| 1/250 second| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held
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