Teton Run

Last minute trip to catch Grand Teton covered in snow.

   This winter has been tough for me! Not enough snow to snow shoe and too much to hike, so I have just concentrated on photography and with that, I knew I need to add the Tetons to my repertoire! So, I formulated my plan earlier in the week and informed the wife, luckily for me she puts up with my addictions and quirks!

   Saturday I loaded a sleeping bag, my backpack, and camera gear into the truck while contemplating exactly how I was going to compose my shots. You can't call yourself a photographer without shooting the Tetons. My tentative plan involved covering the 250 mile, one way, jaunt to visit arguably one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. My plan was to shoot Schwabacher's landing, the barns of Mormon row, and the Milky Way, if possible.

   I departed my house around 1 pm and I was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming around 5 pm. I took the scenic route which was 40 miles shorter and half hour longer; well worth it, by the way! Schwabacher's landing's gate was closed along with Mormon row; so my only choice was to catch the sunset after I grabbed a quick bite to eat in Jackson and starts shooting when I returned to the mountain.

   Final Glimpse!

   Heavenly Light.

   Glacial Inferno!

   Blazing Teton!

   The below nightscape test shots, didn't turn out very well, but I froze my hind end getting them, so I'll share. I planned to sleep in my truck waiting for the Milky Way to make it journey across the sky. While waiting I did the research I should have done at home on my phone and I realized that it wouldn't be directly over the Tetons until after 5 am. So my new plan was check every couple hours and I was sure that I would catch it.  Just after 3 am, it was directly above me but really faint and at 5:42 am when I woke again, twilight had begun and it was not visible any longer, so I'll just have to head back another time when it will be visible earlier in the evening.

   3200 ISO

   6400ISO

   After missing my shot I decided to head for home and caught this at the last minute, just as the sun rose along the Snake river, it was hand held ,so it's not very sharp, but shows the scenery along the way!

Additional Pictures

Waiting for the snow to melt!

I know we need the water but I can't wait for that snow to melt! I look at the Wasatch front everyday dreaming about my next visit. In the interim, I have been taking and processing picture while waiting, here are some of my latest.


Midnight Elephant Parade

HDR, Fisherman's Friend

Single exposure, Fisherman's Friend

Bryce Canyon Sunrise

Beautiful!

   No hike again, but I had to post about the sunrise at Bryce Canyon National Park I witnessed this morning. I was up at five and had everything ready to go by five thirty. No one was manning the entrance to the park, but I have a pass, so I headed straight for Sunrise point. The wind was blowing and there was only one other person there, she to was waiting for the sun to rise. The trail to the top was a little treacherous and slick. The snow was deep, but frozen enough to walk on top of without sinking. It was a cold thirty five minutes waiting for the moment the sun was going to show itself. A steady stream of people began trudging up the slick hill to join us. Right before official sunrise the sun crested and I took this!

 

It may not be the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen but it's close!

Another shot from the same morning!

Arches and Canyonlands National Parks

Long over due trip!

I left Friday after work with my boy and pointed the truck south. I have been through Moab many times but never visited any of the sights. A nagging regret that needed to be satisfied! We arrived late and had an issue with hotel; my reservations were made two months prior but the National park service decided to do a free entrance weekend and every hotel in town was over flowing. Once settled in for the night we were up at 6:30 am and eating breakfast shortly after. I meet with a new friend and we hit Arches first. My original plans fell through and I had expected a few more people to join me so I made the best of it and we decided on visiting the Devils Garden and hunt for The Dark Angel! Arches is quite the large park and it takes quite a while to navigate through because of all the distractions along way. We started around 10:00 am at the trailhead and the first arch we ran into was Landscape Arch.

Next was Partition Arch.

Navajo Arch after.

Double Arch.

After Double O arch the trail verse to the left and you cross open desert to The Dark Angel!

A beautiful formation and a great place for a sun burst!

After visiting for a short time we headed back towards the trail head to see the rest of the park.

Double O from the north side.

There is a large fin in the middle of the trail that offers a incredible view of the Snow capped La Sal Mountains.

Landscape arch again!

We made it back to the truck after the 7 mile round trip and decided to visit Delicate Arch next.

This was the busiest Arch by far and it took quite a long time to wait for the selfie crowd to get out of the way long enough to snap a picture or two. I had to crop the above pictures quite a bit to eliminate the interlopers! Since we had to wait we decided to catch the sunset.

 

We hiked down from Delicate and headed for dinner; once dinner was out of the way we headed back into the park to try few star shots.

I was in bed just after midnight and planned on heading to Canyonlands to take the iconic sunrise shot at Mesa Arch.

After being squeezed between 30 or 40 other photographers I took a few shots and headed back to the hotel for breakfast. Soon after w were back in arches to see a few more arches.

Balance Rock.

Up close of Balance rock.

And my absolute favorite, Double Arch!

We left for home shortly after, a great trip was had by all!

Zion Trip Images