Mike
We are only going down canyon, and then we hike out to where we are parked. Going up ropes is a different skill set, which I don't have yet
Tony, Warren and and Rod, thanks
Rod, don't look at this other photo

Peter

Really hot in southern Utah now 100 plus so we were in the La Sal mountains Saturday to hike up to Gold Knob which is just over 11000 feet. at least 20 degrees cooler but about a 1200 foot climb. Still some snow, but going fast.

Peter

Sooooooooooooooooo beautiful!!!! Thank you for sharing Peter!

WOW! Incredible!

Tony

Good to see you still remember how to make a snowman Peter after leaving PA. Thanks again for the adventures most of us will never see.
BTW, nice orange shirt. Where's the matching jewelry?

Peter

Thank you for the excellent photos. The one with you hanging in mid air; well you are NUTS, CRAZY, WACKO, JUST NOT RIGHT!!!

The sad part is, what if something happened to you and ALL those Ironwood handled knives became orphans. Bet you never thought of that did you?

Peter,

Your adventures have taken on new height and a whole nother' level. Wow thanks for the pic's.

Tom Flynn

Peter,

As always, thanks for sharing the photos of your adventures. Just gorgeous. That is some serious rappelling!

Are those trees in the first two shots (trail and view of Gold Knob) all (or nearly all) White Birches? If so, undoubtedly more than I've ever seen in one place, and they're looking remarkably healthy.

Unfortunately, the White Birch trees on Long Island seem to be undergoing a long slow decline; steadily dying off. I recently camped/hiked in Taconic State Park on the NY/MA border, and there were a fair number of White Birches. Sadly, most were dead or looked to be dying. Not sure if it's an air quality issue, heat stress, drought, or some other environmental problem, or if it's a heavier than usual infestation of the bronze birch borer beetle (or some combination of all of these).

Enjoy the summer hikes. Looking forward to your next adventure.

Bob

Thanks for all of the comments guys, I am having a great life in retirement.
Rod, the canyoneering is actually very safe if you are rigorous in your set up and equipment, and it doesn't matter if you are going down 20 feet or 200 feet. We can get to some amazing places you couldn't otherwise get to.

Bob, all of the trees you saw are aspens which turn a golden color in the fall. I don't know of any birch trees around here, but there may be some.

Peter

I may have posted some photos of this some years ago, but we went back on Tuesday. This is an incredible sight, and hard to believe until you see it. There is a large snake petroglyph up a canyon here, and on the summer solstice at about 11:10 AM the sun projects an arrowhead of light on the head of the snake for several minutes. It is truly amazing. How the snake was pecked in there is subject to speculation, but there is other ancient rock art in the area too. Too cool not to show you guys

Peter