Hiking the Grand Canyon Story by Damian Koshnick

I came upon a story by Damian Koshnick describing his first time hike of the Grand Canyon. It is well written and perfect for anyone that entertains hiking into the canyon or other remote destinations. There are also the very well done photographs along the way.

Damian Koshnick seems to stand apart doesn’t he?

Some thirty plus years ago, I entertained doing the same thing. I was an avid backpacker. I had read works by other hikers that had traversed the Pacific Crest Trail and seriously considered doing the same. I even studied maps and the intersecting highways where food caches could be established.

But, also, I had read Colin Fletcher’s works on not just the Pacific Crest Trail but also the Grand Canyon. The adventure of it all was alluring. The solitude. The self sufficiency drew me in. I read every thing I could about both trips. I wrote Fletcher, but he never replied. He was probably standing naked (his normal hiking attire I recall) in some desert canyon.

Colin Fletcher

Suddenly, life got complicated and although it all begged escapism, I hunkered down, stalled out and the glorious plans evaporated. Later, I would re-emerge and continue to back pack but the wanderlust of a truly grand expedition gave way to the Cascades, Eagle Cap, the Strawberry’s…gentler yet still remote enough locations. Fishing became a pronounced subplot to hiking too.

I still enjoy reading about others who venture forth in varying degrees to any part of these systems. Damian Koshnick’s writing (“composing”) seems very interesting.

‘ns’…natalia sarkissian photography

I came across this dramatic photograph by ‘ns’…from there I traced ‘ns’ to ‘natsar’ and finally to Natalia Sarkissian. What beautiful work from this woman. A pleasant discovery…

Please visit the other work by Natalia Sarkissian

Fly Fishing: A couple distractions

Well, of course, the photograph is a distraction…right? Beautiful fish quickly brought in and released. The fish can be over taxed with long runs and thrashing about once netted or in the shallows. This Rainbow Trout was taken on a Green Cope’s Damsel. Below are two links: one is to Tony Bishop’s piece on how to play & land a fish and the other is to video by Jerry Criss re a Damsel pattern utilizing Arctic Fox. Both pieces have very useful information.

BISH FISH: HOW TO PLAY and LAND TROUT CORRECTLY

JERRY CRISS & THE DAMSEL FLY NYMPH AT THE WEEKLY FLY

Life Seeking Light by SwittersB

For the longest time, there was a pile, a very high pile of  ’stuff’ my Aunt accumulated that extended the long length of a fence line. Tarps, boards, garbage and hoarded stuff rose upward and crested the top of the eight foot high fence. That long pile of stuff is gone. Now light reaches the plank boards of the fence and beautiful bushes on the other side reach for the new found light.

Seeking The Light

Seeking The Light Too

Dogwood Flower & Dew (Hopeful Beauty)

A small Dogwood tree in my front yard is providing lovely colors right now. It is the third tree in this front yard. The first one, a Maple, became diseased. The second one, a Jacquemonti Birch, snapped in a heavy East wind while ice laden. This third, a Dogwood, is vital like the rest, at this point, and I hope weathers the elements over time.

Event Planning & Marketing Venue (Photograph)

I have been tending to one of those entrepreneurial events called a garage sale. Part of the marketing ploy beyond Craigslist is stapling and nailing your signage to a pole, which points the way to the place, time, and event. Sometimes there are so many nails and staples in the telephone pole that one can barely gain purchase when attempting to place your hand crafted cardboard sign. Oh, please don’t admonish me about the illegality of it all…

Marketing Venue by SwittersB

A Poppy That Survived The Beat Down

This photograph is not so great from a photographic perspective. Why I took it, is that after all the very heavy rains this past week all the poppy’s but one were beaten down to the flower bed. One survived and stood tall. I snapped a quick shot…a the ‘glass is half full’ shot. My Aunt died this past February. She so loved her poppy plant. 

A Glorious Trout: Olive & Red

You often see the photos of fish, the trophy fish. Impressive for sure. But some fish, less than trophy size, can momentarily make us gaze at their simple, yet  complex beauty. It is perfection when we can briefly glimpse all their beauty…a brief encounter. A trophy in a different way………………..

PHOTOGRAPHY: The Beautiful Efforts of Dmitrii Lezine

THE TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY OF DMITRII LEZINE

The Columbia River Gorge, the Women’s Forum Viewpoint and in the distance Crown Point. My backyard….less than a half hour from my driveway. Photo by Dmitrii Lezine.

“This blog is a labor of love. The photography hobby of mine is a labor of love. I try to post a new photo at least every other day, sometimes more, sometimes less. It requires a lot of time investment and unless I didn’t really liked to take photos and share them with everyone else, this blog would not be here.

So thanks for stopping by and taking a look at different places that I had a chance to visit. Every photo was taken because I thought it was cool and unique in its own way. You can look at different categories on the right side of the blog, pick your destination and see what I saw. I get a chance to travel only a few times per year, vacation is precious time, and I try to pick places where I have not been before or visit the same places during different season.”

Every Day in May: Shoreline…The Vantage Point

EVERY DAY IN MAY CHALLENGE TOPICS DAY BY DAY

GALVESTON, TEXAS ‘SHORELINE’

The ‘Shoreline’, the Sea Shore, the changing edge by the water…the water that rises and falls, scours, churns, smothers then recedes to reveal the new look….the new shoreline, like above (post hurricane).

But, the above shoreline is not as familiar to me as the river’s edge, the lake’s edge. These are the places I stand to assess the where, the if, the how….the maybe’s. The rocks, boulders, tall grass, the sand, the ice, the insects, the trees. Poison Oak, snakes, thistles, log jams, reeds and cat tails…all along the lapping water. Woody debris, twigs, mossy rocks, leaves collected in the trees and bushes at eye level from past freshets. The launch point, the take out. The shore lunch, the nap.

The shoreline…the ‘bank’. It is sometimes the place of comings and goings, where those pesky slips, trips and falls take place. I’d rather intentionally sit on my terms and smoke my briar or a fine cigar. Sometimes it is the best vantage point to study what is going on out there.

In this instance, I was at a perfect place. Close to the water’s edge, but sitting on a selcouth find….a bench.

TOMORROW’S EVERY DAY IN MAY WRITING TOPIC: LESSONS LEARNED