North Ridge of City Creek Canyon - February 4, 2023

[scatman]

After snowshoeing along the south ridge of City Creek last week, I was pretty much obligated to hit the north side this weekend. An inversion has set in here across the Salt lake Valley, so it was nice to get up above it for a few hours at least.


Sheila joined me on this one


Passing Ensign Peak


Heading to the top of the ridge.

You'll notice at this point that there is a squiggly little line in my shots. I think it might be one of those Chinese surveillance balloons. Not the round kind, but more like the party balloons that folks with some talent can make animals out of. Why would the Chinese want to follow me? I am pretty sure that @Rockskipper put them up to it.

I must confess at this point, that I didn't have my camera on the maximum resolution setting, and I forgot to auto rotate my images, so I had to go in and rotate all the verticle shots. And it might pay dividends to clean the lens before heading out! Geez! I'm going to have to have @TractorDoc slap me around a bit to get me back on the straight and narrow. We can't have these kind of mental breakdowns along Thorofare Creek, or going over Majo Pass, or heading down Turner Fork!

Okay, back to the report.


Old sunflower?


Still trying to get that perfect picture. It would probably help if the settings were correct.


A couple more hills to climb


Hill climbing. The Oquirrhs in the distance across the hazy valley


Wind swept ridgeline


Elk scat. I can't believe all the elk sign in the foothills this winter.


Good shot of the inverted valley with the Oquirrhs in the distance



Hill number three.


Taking in a gorgeous view of City Creek Canyon


Time for the snowshoes


Sheila, inversion, and Lone Peak


Snowshoeing along the ridge

These next shots are views from where we stopped to eat some lunch





Lunch shot


Antelope Island above the inversion


Heading back down


Moose tracks - quite the gate.


More moose tracks coming off the hillside - maybe the same moose.


Trail through the scrub oak


The End.

 

[kwc]

Looks like a great day for a hike in the sunshine! It’s finally gotten above zero here this evening. Our overnight low with the wind chill was -42.

 

[Bob]

And thats good for shin splints?

 

[Rockskipper]

Scatty, you've heard of snow snakes, well, those are a similar creature called sky worms! They're pretty rare and I won't tell you what they eat, because you'll never go out again if I do. @TractorDoc knows, he's encountered them, I'm sure. I've had them follow me all over the place. You never know about them until you get home and see them on your photos, they're that hard to spot and elusive, but something about the resolution of pixels on high-powered cameras are more apt to capture them (and dirty sensors and lenses attract them, too).

 

[scatman]

Looks like a great day for a hike in the sunshine! It’s finally gotten above zero here this evening. Our overnight low with the wind chill was -42.

Wow, that's cold! Once we got above the inversion layer it was a spectacular day here in Salt Lake.

 

[scatman]

And thats good for shin splints?

Absolutely not.

 

[scatman]

Scatty, you've heard of snow snakes, well, those are a similar creature called sky worms! They're pretty rare and I won't tell you what they eat, because you'll never go out again if I do. @TractorDoc knows, he's encountered them, I'm sure. I've had them follow me all over the place. You never know about them until you get home and see them on your photos, they're that hard to spot and elusive, but something about the resolution of pixels on high-powered cameras are more apt to capture them (and dirty sensors and lenses attract them, too).

@TractorDoc has a job to do now Skipper. He's got to whip me into shape before August, my mental edge is fading, sky worms or no sky worms

 

[TractorDoc]

You'll notice at this point that there is a squiggly little line in my shots. I think it might be one of those Chinese surveillance balloons.

I'm not sure that is a weather balloon. or a sky worm (but more likely). I think you managed to capture the trail of that green comet I've been trying to see for the past two weeks. The sky has been too cloudy to see much of anything. . . and now the full moon overshadows the night sky. Why didn't I think to look for it in the middle of the day?

@TractorDoc knows, he's encountered them, I'm sure.

Now that you mention it, I have encountered my share of sky worms. I believe I've come across plenty of pixel mites, sensor spiders, and lens lice too. It might be time for @scatman to treat his camera for parasites.

@TractorDoc has a job to do now Skipper. He's got to whip me into shape before August, my mental edge is fading

I need to whip myself into shape first. My current training regimen of painting walls and installing electrical fixtures is not going to help me ascend to 10,000ft. You better plan on taking a lot of sunscreen breaks. . . or bring along a rope that I can attach to your pack/my belt so you can drag me along.



I think I might have an idea that could work for both of us. I'll attach the rope as I just described. Then I'll hold a trekking pole over your head with a Circus Peanut dangling on a string just out of your forward reach. We might make it up the Thorofare drainage in record time.

 

[scatman]

Check out the flexibility while setting up for the lunch shot.

 

[Rockskipper]

Looks like you're also practicing for that bison shot when you get to Yellowstone (that has a double meaning, in case you didn't notice).

ETA: Looks like an SL3 - I love mine. How many cameras do you own?

 

[scatman]

Looks like you're also practicing for that bison shot when you get to Yellowstone (that has a double meaning, in case you didn't notice).

ETA: Looks like an SL3 - I love mine. How many cameras do you own?

I'm not sure I can answer that question at this point. Let's just say like kilts, tents and bicycle caps, I have a lot.

I have many point and shoots that I have collected (not sure that is the proper term) over the years that I bought, for fairly good deals, off of eBay. Usually they have been in the ten to twenty dollar range. Only two of them have not been as advertised, which considering how many I have isn't too bad.

I started off with a Canon PowerShot SD700 IS years ago, I think 2006, and I loved it. To this day it takes the best shots of any point and shoot that I have. The colors are fantastic. Unfortunately, back in 2015, I lost it on my off-trail excursion to Delusion Lake in Jellystone. A couple of my kilts have what I term a false pocket that the camera slipped through somewhere along Solution Creek. So after crying for the rest of the hike, when I got home I purchased another one off of eBay. I now have three of them, just in case, you know. After that, if I saw a camera that I thought was a good deal, I bought it.

I've begun a spreadsheet to keep track of what I have, but it is not complete yet. When I finish it, I'll let you know exactly how many I've got. At this point it stands at 29.

I'm trying to convince @TractorDoc that we need to move into the medium format world. At this point, he seems to be throwing up some resistance.



Shot taken of my supervisor with Canon SD780 IS Digital ELPH.

 

[Rockskipper]

I feel deprived. I only have 5 cameras, but one is an old Canon film camera, so that should make up for a dozen or so regular cameras. It still has a roll of film in it, but I'm afraid to get it processed. I invested in a nice medium-format camera a few years ago (Pentax) but it was too much to carry so I sold it.

My problem is sleeping bags. Every time REI has a sale, I get suckered. But I don't have 29 (yet).

Beautiful cat!

 

[Bob]

I have one camera....... When I want a newer one I sell the old one after I decide the newer one is better.

 

[scatman]

I feel deprived. I only have 5 cameras, but one is an old Canon film camera, so that should make up for a dozen or so regular cameras. It still has a roll of film in it, but I'm afraid to get it processed. I invested in a nice medium-format camera a few years ago (Pentax) but it was too much to carry so I sold it.

My problem is sleeping bags. Every time REI has a sale, I get suckered. But I don't have 29 (yet).

Beautiful cat!

I'm sure your five cameras are of much higher quality than all of my point and shoots.

I forgot to tell you "good eye" Skipper. That is a SL1 I'm shooting with. I think you guessed SL3, but that is close enough for me. I like it. It is very light, though now I'll have to take it out again since I didn't have the settings where I wanted them on this hike/snowshoe.

 

[scatman]

I have one camera....... When I want a newer one I sell the old one after I decide the newer one is better.

That's because you are more practical than me Bob. Those cameras needed a good home and somebody to take pictures with them, as they were designed to do. I try to rotate through them as best I can.

 

[Rockskipper]

I love my SL3. It's one of the more popular cameras in Japan, but hasn't really caught on as much here in the U.S. I've seen some beautiful shots taken with that camera by professional landscape photographers. Wish I was one.

 

[scatman]

I love my SL3. It's one of the more popular cameras in Japan, but hasn't really caught on as much here in the U.S. I've seen some beautiful shots taken with that camera by professional landscape photographers. Wish I was one.

You need to post more of your pictures taken with the SL3.

 

[Bob]

That's because you are more practical than me Bob. Those cameras needed a good home and somebody to take pictures with them, as they were designed to do. I try to rotate through them as best I can.

Lol.... Now ski coats are different story..... I have a closet full from getting a free cost when you work at pro alpine ski races... I've lost count.... They are too good of coats to give away.... Maybe soon some will go....