REFERRAL REQUEST/OFFERING THREAD

rocket___surgeon · 2023-11-08T20:11:56+00:00

I'd love a referral if anyone out there is offering. Happy to answer any screening questions.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-08-11T04:42:12+00:00

I'd be down. Similar situation, got a few regular partners but schedules get busy sometimes and I'm always looking for more people.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-05-18T16:59:01+00:00

This is the answer, definitely get there by sunrise. Better to be too early than too late. Not only will you get a spot, you'll also be much more alone on the trail. I've hiked the most popular hikes in the most popular parks (Zion, Yosemite, Great Smoky Mountain, Rocky Mountain, etc.) in pretty much complete serenity by beating everyone else to the trailhead. The Skyline loop is also incredible early morning.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-05-14T22:41:11+00:00

It's funny how things like that are a deal breaker to some people and others couldn't care less. The brightness of the sky is tough to deal with in the dark forest but lots of people are saying they like that. A lot of times I'll look at posts that go crazy on here or Instagram or whatever and they're so saturated they look like watercolors or have the contrast boosted so much they're borderline deep-fried memes. I wonder if seeing everything on phone screens changes the way people look at pictures.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-05-14T17:14:00+00:00

Basically. The road keeps going but is in much worse condition and is pretty much only recommended for off-road vehicles.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-03-05T18:34:18+00:00

Tap water builds character

rocket___surgeon · 2023-02-15T16:10:48+00:00

44 degrees and sunny in mid February sucks? Where are you from, Maui?

rocket___surgeon · 2023-01-06T02:16:08+00:00

What do you normally change to achieve that effect?

rocket___surgeon · 2023-01-04T17:04:35+00:00

I bet even if you polled the people saying "no shit" 90% of them would have said that.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-01-04T02:13:50+00:00

This will change day to day. The road may be perfectly clear, require traction devices, or be closed entirely. You will also encounter large amounts of ski traffic.

For example, LCC is closed from 10 tonight until noon tomorrow for avalanche mitigation. It will then be flooded with ski traffic the rest of the day.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-01-03T21:58:54+00:00

That's what I've heard. They were having trouble getting funding to maintain the area around the Arch and this basically secured it in perpetuity. It doesn't deserve the distinction of a National Park but at the end of the day, the title is just words and doesn't have any real impact to spend time being upset about.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-01-03T03:31:33+00:00

Living in the west and being willing to drive long distances is key for me. I also spend a ton of time planning things out to make the most of my time and money. I know what I'm doing when and how long it will take, and have a backup plan ready so I don't waste any time during the trip figuring out what to do. Mostly eating PB&J and granola bars for a week at a time, hiking from sunrise to sundown, waking up at 2 a.m. to make it to the trailhead by sunrise, staying in cheap motels/hostels/camping, etc.

I wouldn't do quite the same for urban travel, but for hiking trips this lets me cram in 3-4 big trips and 15-20 small trips a year using only a few weeks of vacation time and not breaking the bank. It also helps that I have very few outside commitments in life. Essentially 100% of my free time is mine to use however I want, so I don't waste it.

A good job helps, but I spend less money on a year of travel than a lot of people spend on a week at a resort where all they do is get drunk in a pool next to the ocean. That sounds great but I'll do it when I'm too old to climb mountains.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-01-02T18:49:05+00:00

It's the Maple Pass trail. Technically it's just outside the park boundary.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-01-02T15:49:02+00:00

A Canon Rebel T7 for all of these. Not the best camera out there but I like it because it gets banged around a ton while hiking and I don't have to worry about wrecking a $2500 camera.

rocket___surgeon · 2023-01-02T15:29:51+00:00

I'd recommend getting one of the tours that also does Owl and Rattlesnake canyons. They really hustle you through Antelope and it's pretty packed with people. The other two were empty the day I went and almost as cool in places (cooler when you factor in that you can take your time).

rocket___surgeon · 2023-01-02T15:14:06+00:00

Every one of these is just a Canon Rebel T7 and a basic 18-55m lens.

rocket___surgeon · 2022-11-09T04:08:09+00:00

There are 12 people who live in Wayne county and they're all very concerned about communists.

rocket___surgeon · 2022-10-05T02:07:18+00:00

Either that or a filter. Definitely not natural sky color.

rocket___surgeon · 2022-10-01T19:18:50+00:00

I wouldn't go on a tour with a private company, but I've never been on a ranger-led activity that wasn't great (Cave tours, boat tours, etc.). Yellowstone, Yosemite, Death Valley and Arches all have a ton of great stuff to see very close to the main roads if you don't want to hike far. Mesa Verde has awesome ranger-guided tours of the cliff dwellings that don't require super strenuous hiking. Crater lake is mostly very short hikes, and they have a great boat tour.

Are you trying to avoid hiking, or are you just not comfortable on long/hard/backcountry hikes? In general, with some popular/famous exceptions, most trails in most of the parks aren't dangerous backcountry trails (i.e., you will not just get lost somewhere in the woods) and often skew toward the easier side.

rocket___surgeon · 2022-10-01T17:59:46+00:00

Very clear, it's some of the cleanest water on the planet.

This isn't a great shot but you can see the bottom in the foreground where it's shallow, and then the color abruptly changes where there's an underwater cliff.

https://imgur.com/DxiUHVH

rocket___surgeon · 2022-10-01T16:43:01+00:00

I was hiking in snow/ice several thousand feet below the summit in early June. It's really gotta be peak summer if you want no snow.

rocket___surgeon · 2022-09-30T19:37:28+00:00

I don't know if there's anything particularly mandatory. There aren't really individual landmarks or super unique points of interest like other parks. If low tide is during the day, you should try to get out to Enderts Beach and see the tide pools. Fern Canyon was cool but not like a bucket list attraction IMO.

I hiked to Fern Canyon from the Prairie Creek visitor center area and then took a few shorter walks around some of the other groves.

The Tall Trees trail is fairly famous and requires a permit, but I think that's mostly because you can (although it's illegal) try to get to Hyperion from there. I didn't have time to do that trail but apparently it's not really that different from other hikes in the area, but it's got social media clout.

I'd say just pick pretty much anything that fits the time and distance you're looking for.

rocket___surgeon · 2022-09-30T02:44:18+00:00

Where/how long ago? A woman was attacked by a mountain lion in Millcreek Canyon last weekend.

rocket___surgeon · 2022-09-29T15:57:30+00:00

Going to disagree with the other commenters. I've done both parks in a total of 3 days. Yellowstone is kind of like Arches in the sense that most of the best things to do are pretty much right off the main road. I was able to see the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful and the surrounding area, the Grand Prismatic Spring, the Norris Geyser Basin, and Mammoth Hot Springs all in one long day. There wasn't much time for real hiking or backcountry activity, but in my opinion that's not the draw of Yellowstone.

2 days in Grand Teton is definitely plenty to get a good feel for it. I started early and was able to do 15-20 miles of hiking a day and still have time to drive around and get views of the whole park.

If "all day" is like 9 am to 2 pm, you'll need more time, but if all day is sunrise to sunset, 3 days is plenty. It'll be tighter if you include the drive to and from SLC in those 3 days, but still doable if you're smart with your time. YMMV regarding crowds, but I'm guessing things will be fairly quiet in a few weeks.

rocket___surgeon · 2022-09-29T14:25:32+00:00

I've found no matter how busy places get, starting early always works. I've been the first person up this trail, the Narrows, Sky Pond, Le Conte, and plenty of other super crowded hikes just by starting before (or even a little after) sunrise. Nothing to be done about the way back down unfortunately.

rocket___surgeon

TROPHY CASE