Rio Grande National Forest, September 21, 2020, Part 2

Demarcation. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

Continuing my morning photo shoot, I walked up FSR 250 towards my parking spot, using the roadway as a leading line.

The fall color development in the Aspens is not uniform.  It can be spotty, with whole groves of changed trees within a forest of trees that have not changed at all.  In the image above most of the trees on the right are well advanced in their fall foliage, while those on the left are just beginning to change.

Forest Roadway. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 200.
Fall Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/16, ISO 200.

The image above was selected for Flickr Explore and so far has received 234 faves out of 7124 views.

Aspen Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.
Aspen Fall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

The image above is not an inspiring one, but it is a realistic scene along the roadside.

After walking farther than I had anticipated, my vehicle came into view.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.

Even though I did not walk very far through the forest to intersect the roadway below my parking place, the roadway went much farther through the forest to get to the same point downhill of here.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 200.

Concluding my morning shoot along FSR 250, I drove westward, stopping at a pullout, that I had made note of my second day here, shortly before getting to the junction with FSR 380.

I walked past a metal gate into an open area scouting for a good vantage point from which to shoot a red top mountain with the forest in the foreground.  I had brought out my wide angle lens, but I soon decided that I needed to use a long lens to get the photo that I wanted.  Leaving my tripod on top of a flat top boulder in the open area, I retrieved my 80-400mm lens and walked back to the the tripod.

This photo is the final result:

Red Mountain and Red Aspens. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm @ 80mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 800.

It was not the best time of the day for the typical light that landscape photographers prefer, but it was overcast and the mountain top was occasionally highlighted in sunlight when there was a break in the clouds and I like the color layers in this image.

I continued to FSR 380 then to FSR 243 and to its end.  There were a couple of vehicles and a horse trailer already here, but no one around.

I was waffling about what to do this afternoon, but I was not very energetic.  After a light lunch, I read via my Kindle, then took a nap on the bench seat.

The morning had begun sunny and partly cloudy, but the afternoon became heavily overcast with intermittent light rain.

I heard another vehicle pull up, then I saw someone in hunting gear walking around looking at my vehicle.  I moved to the front driver’s seat, opened the door and chatted with one of the two hunters.  One remained in their truck, sheltered from the light rain.

They were from upstate New York and had been coming here for years during hunting season.  It seemed a long way to drive for a hunt, but I was told that there were no similar places for hunting in upstate New York.

The hunters eventually left and I lazed in my vehicle for the rest of the afternoon and camped here overnight, being greatly tempted to photograph the creek and waterfalls, that I had explored the previous day, the next morning.

More on that later,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 21, 2020, Part 1

After breakfast this morning, I decided to drive on FSR 250 back towards Platoro Reservoir.  I found a convenient pull out and entered the forest on the south side of the roadway.  I wandered around in the forest shooting photographs in the mid-morning light.

Performance Bow. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

The curved trunk Aspen in the photograph above appeared to be bowing to acknowledge its fall performance.

Forest Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

Forest are always good places to get a starburst effect through the trees, so I had to capture a few of these with the fall color.

Split. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 400.

This unfortunate Aspen shows damage from the violent storm that blew through here in early September.  Readers might also note many downed branches in some of my photographs in this area.

Quartet. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.

The tall, slender Aspen trunks always make good subjects.  It is not unusual to find a group of Aspens growing in a clump.

As I worked my way downhill from my parking place, I came out of this Aspen grove at a portion of the same road that had switched back below the hill.

Mountain Fall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 125.

There is a road sign in the bottom left of this image, indicating that I was very near the junction of two forest service roads.

At the edge of the forested area I found a large “hump back” Aspen.

Deformed Aspen. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

Rather than walk back up the hill to my vehicle, I decided to walk along the roadway.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.

Trees near the roadways are susceptible to having graffiti carved into them.

Tree of Declaration. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/80s, f/16, ISO 125.

The roadway made a great leading line, so I used that in a number of images as I worked my way back towards my vehicle.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, 1/160s, f/16, ISO 125.

The rest of the story later,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 20, 2020, Part 5

After my trip into Del Norte, I returned to the Rio Grande National Forest via FSR 380, having still not settled upon a campsite for tonight.  I had noted a number of sites, but all were either occupied or otherwise not a good choice for tonight.

I had noted a place along FSR 380 that looked promising for late day photography, so I planned to stop there, since it looked like the timing would work for photographing there today.

I made a number of images at that location, shooting from the edge of the roadway, as the late day shadows moved across the meadow and up the mountainside.

Reclamation. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/10s, f/11, ISO 64.

The image above is the one that I liked best.  It took me a while to realize that the terraced landscape below the mountain peak is artificial and a result of reclamation of a mine site.

I thought about shooting from the roof rack on my vehicle to get a better view of the ponds, which reflected the scene behind them.  I rejected that idea, since it would involve not only awkwardly climbing up and down my access ladder with camera and tripod, but maybe having to move the vehicle multiple times to get the best perspective and having to repeat going up and down the ladder with my gear.  In hindsight, I wish I had taken the time to do that, since even the elevated view from my driver’s seat in the van gave a better view of the ponds.

After shooting here, it was getting late in the day and I really needed to find an overnight place to stay.  I continued along FSR 380, driving slowly due to the washboarded road.  I eventually ended up back at Stunner Campground, having found no other available place to camp.  The first pull through campsite and others were vacant, so I claimed the pull through site for tonight.

I had no plans for the next day.

Stay tuned for more,

Ken

 

Rio Grande National Forest, September 20, 2020, Part 2

I continued to work my way along Treasure Creek towards the first significant waterfall I had seen from a distance.

Cascading Creek, just below a waterfall.. iPhone photograph.
Wispy Waterfall. iPhone photograph.

After reaching the base of this waterfall, I retraced my steps a little to find a way to get above the falls.

Waterfall from above. iPhone photograph.

I then continued up the creek hoping to see an even bigger falls, stopping to photograph other scenes along the way.

Creek undercutting a tree. iPhone photograph.
Cascade and Mossy Rocks and Log. iPhone photograph.

I’m calling the many little waterfalls “cascades”, since I expect these to disappear, when the water in the creek is deeper and there are cascading rapids in their place.

Cascade and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.
Cascade. iPhone photograph.

I made a number of  various compositions of some of the cascades as the sunlight changed with intermittent cloud cover.

Cascade. iPhone photograph.
Waterfalls. iPhone photograph.

A little farther up the stream from this cascade a second significant water fall is visible.

Small Waterfall. iPhone photograph.

Working my way upstream towards the second waterfall, I had to cross the stream first, making the image above looking down on the cascade shown in the previous images.

No Name Waterfall and Treasure Creek. iPhone photograph.

The photo above shows the steepness of the gulley in which this stream runs.

No Name Waterfall. iPhone photograph.

Getting closer to the base of the greater drop waterfall, it became apparent that the clutter around the falls and the beetle killed trees are going to be a distraction to deal with in getting a good photo here.

Creek Debris, after recent storm. iPhone photograph.

The fallen and splintered trees along and in the creek bed beneath the waterfall reveal the force of a recent heavy water flow here, which I’m sure was an aftermath of the early snow storm a few weeks ago.

No Name Waterfall. iPhone photograph. iPhone photograph.

In this final photograph of this waterfall, I excluded some of the clutter on the edges and at the bottom, but still have portions of the unattractive, beetle killed trees along the top edge.

This concludes this portion of today’s exploration, as I feel great disappointment that I will probably not get back here with my DSLR.

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 20, 2020, Part 1

My son and DIL left early this morning to drive back to their home in the Denver area, since both had to report back to work on Monday.  They would return the following Friday, so I would be on my own until then.

I set out driving on FSR 380, hoping to find another good campsite farther to the west and stopping at opportune times to shoot a few photographs.

My first stop this morning was at the end of FSR 243, where I had seen indications of waterfalls or large stream cascades on a creek that crosses at the end of this road.

Google Earth Screen Shot.

The image above is a screen shot taken from Google Earth of the end of FSR 243 and the stream, which a newer version of Google Earth labels Treasure Creek. There was a strong water flow along this stream at the time this satellite image was taken.  There was not so much water flowing, when I explored this area and maybe had the water flow been much less, when the satellite image was made, I might not have paid it much attention.

There is an official trail into a wilderness area that starts on the south side of the roadway, but no trail to the north, which is the way I wanted to explore.  There was a faint trace of a trail, created by hunters and their horses, on the northwestern edge of the creek. So I hiked along that side of the creek.  The climb was steep and not knowing what I would find, I decide to travel light with no camera gear and no backpack.  I took one small bottle of water, figuring I would not travel very far from my vehicle.

I soon saw that the creek would be picturesque in many places, but getting to the best vantage points for photographing the creek would be challenging due to the steepness of the gully in which the creek ran and numerous back and forth creek crossings, balancing on rocks and/or logs.  I decided that I should make many scouting iPhone photos to be sure I captured some of this scenery, since I soon convinced myself that coming back with heavy camera gear, a tripod and backpack might not be safe to do alone and might be more strenuous of an undertaking than I wanted to do.

Light dappled creek details. iPhone photograph.
Mountain Creek. iPhone photograph.
Mossy rocks and flowing water. iPhone photograph.
Rushing Creek and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.
Small Waterfall Details. iPhone photograph.
Glimmering Water Abstract. iPhone photograph.

This stream presented so many compositional possibilities that I spent a considerable amount of time checking out many little details and points of interest along it.  I also extracted some of the flowing water details to make abstracts with the light refracting into rainbow like colors and other highlights.

An abstract of a portion of a small waterfall. iPhone photograph.

I made so many images along this stream that even presenting a selected subset of them will require multiple blog post to avoid overwhelming readers of this blog.

Colorful Moss on Rocks. iPhone photograph.

The moss covered rocks ranged from deep green to a golden yellow with the sunlight bring out the colors even in late morning; although, the iPhone does not handle strong light contrast well, so some portions of the images have blown out pixels.  One would have to be there in person to really appreciate the magical feeling created by the sound and color along this stream.

Creek Cascades. iPhone photograph.
Cascade and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.

Along the ridge above the creek I found a few tree stumps or portions of fallen, weathered trees with interesting texture and patterns.

Weathered Tree Stump. iPhone photograph.
Weathered Tree Stump. iPhone photograph.

After working my way slowly along the creek for awhile, I saw a wispy waterfall in the distance.

Below the Falls. iPhone photograph.

Encouraged by this sight, I was determined to continue this journey for awhile longer.

More on that in subsequent posts.

Thanks for following and be safe,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 19, 2020

On Saturday, September 19, 2020 we photographed just off of a roadway not too far from Platoro Reservoir. I made a few shots with the reservoir and mountainside behind.  This one is my favorite:

Aspen, Platoro Reservoir and Mountain. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/16, ISO 125.

It takes considerable thought making compositions within a forest.  Even though there is natural beauty all around, it is not as easy as one might think to make an interesting photograph with so much around that can be distracting or unappealing in an image and, after a while, one begins to think that the compositions are too common and repetitive.

Contrast. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/60s, f/16, ISO 100.

I found the contrast of the small evergreens among the tall, rugged Aspens interesting.

Fall Decor. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 800.
Fall Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/16, ISO 800.

And again I found boulders with fallen Aspen leaves decorating them in the forest.

Forest Boulders. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 100.
Aspens and Boulder. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 800.

Near the roadway I found a number of Aspens that had started growing horizontally, maybe from some early life damage, but that had turned to grow upward toward the sky.

Directional Correction. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/16, ISO 400.

As I later discovered, it was not unusual to find such curved shapes in the Aspen trunks.  I’m sure there must be a logical explanation for this unusual growth pattern.

I spotted a small shimmering Aspen tree that really stood out against the darker surroundings.  I included the small tree as a highlight in a wide angle image.  When reviewing that photograph, I decided to crop the image, making it more apparent that the small tree was the primary object of interest .

Shimmering Aspen. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 400.

I made a few close up images of the yellow Aspen leaves late in the day.  I had brought only a wide angle lens on this shoot.  The wide angle close ups always include much more than I wanted in the images, so I cropped them during editing to pick out the portions that I was trying to capture.

Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/4, ISO 400.
Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/2.8, ISO 400.

It was late in the day and the sun was rapidly sinking in the sky, but I managed to get a few images with weak back light, then a few more with dispersed light. The three presented here are the ones that I like best.

Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/640s, f/2.8, ISO 400.

More later,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 18, 2020, Part 2

Continuing to drive farther along FSR 250, checking out the scenery and possible campsites, I pulled off the road, when I saw this view of a red top mountain.

A Red Top Mountain. iPhone photograph.

I made a mental note of this location, hoping to return here again, when I had more time to shoot with my DSLR.

Shortly after taking this photo, I came to Stunner Campground at the intersection of FSR 250 and FSR 380.  I was surprised to find that it was not only open, but free and no one else was there.

I pulled into the first campsite that just happened to be a  level, pull through site that would be perfect for my son and DIL’s small camper trailer.  This campsite came with a pair of hiking boots (image below).  I then staked out the next campsite just a bit more down the loop for my vehicle.

Abandoned or Forgotten Boots. iPhone photograph.

 

Stunner Campground Campsite. iPhone photograph.

Just up the hillside, on one side of my campsite, were tailings from an old mine or exploratory mine.

A few other campers began to arrive in the campground a little later with a few staying and a few driving on.

Since I had plenty of time before my son arrived, I did a lot of walking in and around the campground, scouting for potential photographic opportunities.

Stunner Campground, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado. iPhone photograph.

There were many large rocks and boulders scattered around the campground.  The rocks usually had splotches of lichen growing on them in interesting patterns.

Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.
Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.
Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.

I worked my down towards the Alamosa River that ran beside the campground.

Mine Tailings and the Alamosa River at Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.

The photo above was taken from atop mine tailings, looking down towards the river and across to a mountainside.  Notice that there are patches of good fall color, but most of the trees are still green or just showing signs of changing.

The beetle killed evergreen trees really spoil the scenery now all around the Rocky Mountains, but there are trees that either are resistant or maybe just not yet attacked by the beetles.

The soil in this area is mineral rich, resulting in an orange-red color in the water, staining the rocks and anything else in the water.  The water is acidic from the naturally occurring minerals and the mine tailing contribute even more to the natural elements in the water.

Mine Tailings above the Alamosa River. iPhone photograph.

There were numerous other indications of old mining operations around the campground and I even saw newish claim stakes in one location.

Stunner Campground View. iPhone photograph.

That little Aspen tree in the photo above really caught my eye, so I had to photograph it with a green evergreen tree as background.  I tried other compositions and close up views, but this one is most pleasing to me.

Mineral stained driftwood along the Alamosa River. iPhone photograph.
Alamosa River at Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.

When my son arrived, he said the fall color in this area was the best he had seen on his trip from the Denver area and that there was much smoke from forest fires visible during most of the drive.  There seemed to be little, if any indication of smoke in this area.

We drove around a little after they arrived to decide where to go for a morning shoot the next day.

This is open range country, so there were cows wandering around the forest.  A small herd of cattle moved into the campground during the night, sleeping in the open, grassy meadow of the campground.

Early morning frost and curious cattle in Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.

The darker spots in the grass of the photo above are places where the frost did not form, because an animal was laying there during the night.

Much more on this trip to follow,

Ken

 

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 18, 2020, Part 1

At sometime during my second day in Colorado, my son and his wife decided that due to the smoke from numerous large forest fires in Colorado, it would be best to come south to meet me in the Rio Grande National Forest.  So I needed to find a suitable campsite for all of us and scout the forest roads for potential photographic opportunities.

Thus Friday morning I continued to drive along Forest Service Road 250 and spurs off of FSR 250, looking for good campsites, stopping above Platoro Reservoir to shoot a few DSLR photos.

Platoro Reservoir. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/8s, f/11, ISO 64.

Much snow fell in this area during the early fall storm with much remaining on the mountain peaks and a few patches in shady, lower elevations.

Fall Rocks. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, 1/15s, f/16, ISO 64.

Walking up a hillside, I found large boulders with colorful lichen interspersed with the Aspens.

Scared. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/3s, f/16, ISO 64.

Aspen tree trunks often have interesting features, but this one, adjacent to one group of boulders, had a major scar.

Forest Boulders. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/3s, f/16, ISO 64.

Another view of two large, lichen covered boulders in the Aspen grove is above.

My main task today was to find another campsite, so I soon moved on to continue that search.

More later,

Ken

 

 

Colorado, September 2020

I had a small window of time in which to visit Colorado in September, 2020, hoping for good fall color in the Aspens.  It is always difficult to determine the best area to target for the best fall conditions with all of the variables that affect the fall foliage and the weather and/or other environmental conditions that may impact travel.  After much online research and consultations with others, I decided to check out the nearest area, Rio Grande National Forest, to me first, and if that did not look promising, to move on farther north into Colorado.

Since it is a long road trip from my home in Texas to Colorado, I like to make it a two day trip to avoid very long drives.  A convenient stop over location for me is Lake Meredith National Recreation Area northeast of Amarilo, TX.  While I would  like to drive a bit farther on my first day, there are scant camping choices farther north in the Texas panhandle, without driving much longer than I would like.

There are several campgrounds around Lake Meredith, with only one having a few reservable sites.  If I expect hot weather, I will reserve a site so that I can have electric for running the air conditioner in my camper.  Otherwise, a free campsite is fine, since I can get by with my own water and battery power.  The campsite I target, also has nice restrooms and showers, which are available to all campers.

In mid-September the night time temperatures in this area of Texas are cool, so I took a chance on finding a free campsite, which I expected to be in plentiful supply in the middle of a week.  Friday and Saturdays are always busy here, but mid-week is usually not crowded.

When I arrived, there were plenty of free campsites available, but many of the reservable sites were filled.

Free Campsite at Lake Meredith NRA. iPhone photograph.

After settling in, I walked the loop around the camping area to stretch my legs, after the long drive.  One of the campsites on the opposite side of the loop had a group of 6-8 large deer grazing.  The deer seemed wary of my watching them, but they did not run away.

Deer in Lake Meredith National Recreation Area Campground. iPhone photograph.

I had only my iPhone with me, so I could not get good close up shots.  The image above is a zoomed in iPhone shot, so it is low resolution.

I had a long drive on the second leg of my trip, so I got an early start for the second day of my drive.  I was not sure where I would find a spot to camp on the second night, either, so I need plenty of time to search for a suitable overnight spot before dark.

My oldest son and his wife were also planning to meet me somewhere on the third day of my trip.  So I first had to not only verify the suitability of the fall color in the Rio Grande National Forest, but secondly to find a suitable campground for all of us, if we decided to stay in this area.  Otherwise, they would drive north and I would have to drive to meet them elsewhere.

I arrived near the edge of Rio Grande National Forest about mid-afternoon, so it was looking good for having plenty of daylight for scouting out a campsite.  On the discouraging side, I saw much freeze damage (brown, shriveled leaves), caused by an early season storm that came through a few days earlier, on the Aspens between Walsenberg, CO and my destination.

The drive became much slower, when I departed the paved route and went into the forest via Forest Service Road 250, which was rough, even though fairly well maintained.  There were also many downed trees from the strong winds that blew through in that early season storm.  The fallen trees had mostly been removed from the main portion of the road, but some still hung low overhead or protruded into the roadway and had to be avoided.  (I have a long superficial scratch, aka Colorado Pin Stripe, along one side of my vehicle as a result of moving over a little too far, to allow room for an approaching vehicle).

The fall color was spotty, with some good patches, but many trees were still green or just beginning to change.  I was not convinced that I would remain here.

Bad News? iPhone photograph.

After seeing the sign in the photo above, I was also concerned about finding suitable camping areas.  There are free, dispersed campsites in unrestricted areas, but these can be small.  So even though I might fit into one, my son might not be able to easily get his vehicle and trailer into one of those.

It was also hunting season, so many of the free camping areas were crowded with hunters’ tents, trucks, RV trailers, flat bed trailers, and horse trailers.  After much driving around, I finally went back to a dispersed campground off of FSR 247 past Platoro Reservoir that I had passed up earlier, where there was still some open space in the camping area.

Dispersed Camping, Rio Grande National Park. iPhone photograph.

This was in a high elevation area and it had become cloudy and colder.  I walked around the campsite, checking out possible photograph viewpoints, and began to feel the effects of the altitude.  So I decided it best to restrict my physical activity this evening and give my body more time to acclimate before moving around too much.

I believe that the mountain peak on the right side of the image above is Conejos Peak and this campsite is just before FSR 247 crosses the Adams Fork of Conejos River.

With no cell signal, I communicated with my son via messages on my InReach Explorer GPS device, expressing my concern about the suitability of this area for our purposes.

This post is getting lengthy, so I will continue later.  Stay tuned to see what evolves.

Ken

 

Cathedral Creek Trail, Scouting Photographs, July 2020

I left Teal Campground, heading towards Del Norte, Colorado, expecting to meet up with my son somewhere in that area, after he drove down from Denver to spend a few more days with me in the southeastern portion of Colorado.

When I got back into a cell phone coverage area, I got a message from my son suggesting that we meet at Cathedral Campground north of US 160 between South Fork and Del Norte.

After driving miles on narrow, rough forest service roads, I arrived at Cathedral Campground, found a suitable campsite with an open site, which I claimed for my son, across the campground loop from my site.  It would be several hours before my son arrived, so I decided to hike a portion of a trail that went up the mountainside along Cathedral Creek to scout for possible sunset and/or sunrise photography locations.

Embargo Creek Crossing at Cathedral Campground. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I immediately had to cross Embargo Creek, which ran along the east side of the camping area.   A short distance along the trail, it intersected Cathedral Creek and continued to follow the creek uphill.

Cliffside alone Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

After hiking a fair distance, there were views of cliffs along each side of the trail.  So I began to look for good, unobstructed views of the rock outcrops and estimate the potential for getting late day or early morning light on those cliff sides.

A cliff along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

All of the views from the trail were obstructed to some extent by trees.

A cliff along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I could see the possibility of hiking through woods to maybe get beyond some of the near trail obstructions, usually requiring a creek crossing and/or new route finding off of the official trail.

Cliff view, Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

 

Cliffside, Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

The views to the west, like that above, might be good for sunrise photography.

An obscured view of a cliffside along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

There were many beetle killed trees, which spoiled the views, along the trail.

Cliffside, Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

It was a partly cloudy afternoon with more clouds building up, as is normal in the late afternoons in the mountains.  A late afternoon thunderstorm would not be good to be out in here.

Cathedral Creek, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

There were a number of creek crossings along the trail.  This one was the prettiest.  I took the above photo, while standing on rocks in the creek and the one below after crossing the creek.

Cathedral Creek, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I made an iPhone video of the creek at this crossing and it can be viewed here.

I failed to bring along my hiking stick, so I had to balance on logs and/or rocks at a number of creek crossings.  At one such crossing, I had to stoop over, putting my left hand on a small log for balance as I crossed.  After getting across, I noticed a young couple watching from just up the trail.  They congratulated me upon my safe crossing.  I decided that I needed to find a suitable stick along the trail to use as a hiking stick to balance myself at the crossings on the way back down the trail.

The couple told me there were views of cliffs a little further up the trail, but the views were from just below the cliffs and the views were all obstructed by dead trees.

I continued up the trail for a while longer, before deciding to turn back.

An obscured vies of a cliffside along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
An obscured view of a cliffside along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
A cliff along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I can see that one might cross the creek, hike to the west through brushy areas and maybe get beyond the major obstructions.  But these views were a long way up the trail from the campground.  The best views were to the west, which meant hiking up the trail in the early morning dark to be at one of these locations for sunrise.  The trail ran between two mountain ridges, so it was likely that the rock outcrops to the west might not get the golden hour sunlight.

The views to the east of the trail were not as good and the golden hour sunset light would be limited, at best, and one would have to hike back down the trail in the dark after a sunset shoot.

Wildflowers along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

There were a few scattered wildflowers near the creek.

An unidentified moth, iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I spotted this colorful moth spreading its wings on a plant beside the trail.  I tried to identify it, but I could find none that looked like this on a number of websites.  I submitted this photo to one site that supposedly would help identify moths and butterflies, but it has been weeks since posting and I’ve gotten no response.

As usual, the hike down took much less time than the hike up the trail and this time I used a stick that I picked up along the trail as an aid in balancing at the creek crossings, making those crossings much easier and faster.

I checked my GPS device upon arriving back at my campsite to get an estimate of the change in elevation from my campsite to the highest point I hiked to on the trail.  The elevation of my campsite was  9400 feet and the highest elevation I had recorded on the trail was 10,114 feet.  So I had climbed up at least 714 feet in elevation.

My son arrived soon after I returned to my campsite and after a short discussion about the photographic possibilities here, we decided to move on to another area north of Del Norte that my son had explored during an earlier visit to southeastern Colorado.

More on that later,

Ken