DVD
Adventurer
The idea started percolating last winter when a friend mentioned to my wife and I that 2017 would be a special year for all 3 of us. His birthday and our anniversary are on the same day, and he informed that this year we’d have a total eclipse to help celebrate. Hmmm our closest viewing would be in the northern Rockies, and we’d been talking about an offroad trip to that area. Combine these factors with our preference for August vacations to escape the Phoenix heat, and we were ready to go!
First of all, because it was an anniversary trip, I have to give props to my wife. Not many women would consider a nomadic vacation that consists of moving every day, setting up and breaking camp, often in remote locations, getting dusty and dirty on the trail, dealing with the inevitable mishaps, and putting up with me FOR OVER 2 WEEKS!
Beneath Upper Belcher Falls in Yellowstone
I’ll provide daily trail narratives later, in case it can help future travellers with planning, but first some overall description of the trip.
Anti-social aspect. Both my wife and I are outgoing, gregarious types, really. But we are both drawn to the solitude afforded by off-road travel. After a long highway trip to get to our start in Wyoming, a goal was to stay away from concentrations of humans. We traveled gravel trails and camped in solitary spots for the most part.
My kind of trail (High Ridge trail)
Eclipse. This really was one of those lifetime memories - enhanced by experiencing it in a place of exceptional beauty. We viewed the eclipse from Railroad Ridge, ID - a beautiful location and almost directly under the center of totality. I liken the experience to the Grand Canyon or Niagra Falls: you really can't describe it; it has to be experienced. But here are some photos and lame attempts to do so.
Our campsite on Railroad Ridge (9600 + ft elevation)
Beautiful sunset our first night on the ridge
Sunrise not bad either - here's the view looking out the back of our tent
Here’s the reason the ridge was fairly secluded - even for the eclipse
It was a legitimate warning. We came across a Hyundai SUV with a punctured fuel tank on the way down. The graded gravel trail ends at a trailhead just before this sign, and there must have been 100 vehicles and tents packed "cheek to jowl" to use the description of the Forest Service woman assigned to the area.
We spent the day before the eclipse exploring the area, including a hike towards Crater Lake, ID
Don't go over the edge! Exploring trails on the Ridge
It's underway! It took close to 1/2 hr from the initial occulation (that's an astronomical term I just learned
) to the total eclipse. And of course another 1/2 hr to un-occulate (ok, I just made that word up)
A friend suggested the spotting-scope projection. We had the glasses too, but you can't see any of the landscape with the glasses on. This set-up let us monitor the occulation while also looking at the landscape and sky.
We were surprised at how sharp our shadows were - even at 90+% occulation. It was also disconcerting to see how short they were. The sky was like dusk, but the sun was still relatively high in the sky, so shadows weren't elongated
Seconds before totality. It was also surprising that there was still a fair amount of light. Then when totality hit, it was like a curtain was drawn. No pictures of totality. I don't have the photographic skills/equipment. But the sight of total eclipse with the corona ring was unforgettable. You can look at totality with the naked eye.
360-deg sunset during totality. We had enough horizon to see mountains outside the totality zone
All done. Now the shadow is on the other side. As soon as totality ended, we joked, "all right, let's go." But compared to the excitement of increasing occulation and the experience of totality, we did get bored with this part and finished packing up camp
Camping. We interspersed a 2 motel/lodge stays during the trip, but otherwise it was a camping expedition. I was planning for mostly dispersed camping, but we stayed in designated campsites more than I thought we would. A few reasons for this:
1. Fire restrictions prohibiting campfires except in metal rings within designated areas. I don’t need a campfire for a good campsite, but it sure helps!
2. Campgrounds were mostly empty! Many of the campsites only had a few sites. In large part, this is probably due to the remote nature of the campgrounds. We were always pretty far in on fairly remote trails, and when it was time to start looking for an overnight site, we’d check dispersed sites and campgrounds. In many cases the campground sites were as scenic and solitary with the added benefits of campfires, tables and outhouses. There were 2 instances where 1 other campsite was occupied, but in both cases, the sites were so spread out, we couldn’t see or hear the other camper.
3. Outhouses. I have to hand it to my wife for enjoying an expedition vacation, but she prefers an outhouse to a hole in the ground. An aside on outhouses. For those who think the world is going to hell in a handbasket I have 2 counter arguments. As a bit of a geezer - we celebrated our 33rd anniversary - I can unequivocally state the outhouses and beer are way better today than in the good old days. Somebody was overlooked for a Nobel prize for inventing the vented outhouse. But the inventor of the oversized toilet paper beam that precludes the roll from rolling must have a special circle of hell reserved. I digress.
Motivation/Inspiration. I tried to plan for some additional activities on this trip - fishing and hiking. This part wasn’t a complete success, although it’s hard to imagine the trip going better. We got the lines wet, and it was a nice diversion, but it was kind of a lower priority that was frequently omitted or cut short. Also, we did plenty of hiking/walking (5-6 miles per day according to my wife’s tracker), but we never allocated a half day or whatever for a planned hike. Rather, we’d make frequent stops at a pass or interesting trailside attraction and walk around to check it out. Or walk the bank of whatever river/stream ran alongside our campsite. After giving it some thought, I don’t think I need to add activities for “while we’re out there.” It’s enough to enjoy the adventure of the trip, the joy of seeing new, beautiful landscapes, getting out the vehicle frequently to immerse, and snapping lots of digital photos on my little Nikon point-and-shoot camera.
Camping set-up. We’ve been doing this for a few years and have a set up that works pretty well for us.
Sleep in the back of the LR3. We were in some serious bear country, with some places prohibiting tent camping. My wife has a healthy aversion to bears, so we used our in-vehicle sleeping mode for this trip.
With the rear seats folded flat, an Exped Megamat Duo shoehorns in the back
My invention for getting the bear-bag-rope over tree limbs
Trasharoo hanging from tree
I picked up the Land Rover day tent on a good CraigsList deal a few years ago. It’s perfect changing room / day room addition to the sleeping quarters in the vehicle. There were a couple evenings with a lot of bugs or rain, and we could cook and eat and read and play backgammon in the tent.
Screens for day use
Panels down for rain protection / privacy
When breaking camp, I’d deflate and roll up the mattress, sheets and blankets into 1 big roll for travelling configuration.
Trail photo/narratives to come….
First of all, because it was an anniversary trip, I have to give props to my wife. Not many women would consider a nomadic vacation that consists of moving every day, setting up and breaking camp, often in remote locations, getting dusty and dirty on the trail, dealing with the inevitable mishaps, and putting up with me FOR OVER 2 WEEKS!
Beneath Upper Belcher Falls in Yellowstone
I’ll provide daily trail narratives later, in case it can help future travellers with planning, but first some overall description of the trip.
Anti-social aspect. Both my wife and I are outgoing, gregarious types, really. But we are both drawn to the solitude afforded by off-road travel. After a long highway trip to get to our start in Wyoming, a goal was to stay away from concentrations of humans. We traveled gravel trails and camped in solitary spots for the most part.
My kind of trail (High Ridge trail)
Eclipse. This really was one of those lifetime memories - enhanced by experiencing it in a place of exceptional beauty. We viewed the eclipse from Railroad Ridge, ID - a beautiful location and almost directly under the center of totality. I liken the experience to the Grand Canyon or Niagra Falls: you really can't describe it; it has to be experienced. But here are some photos and lame attempts to do so.
Our campsite on Railroad Ridge (9600 + ft elevation)
Beautiful sunset our first night on the ridge
Sunrise not bad either - here's the view looking out the back of our tent
Here’s the reason the ridge was fairly secluded - even for the eclipse
It was a legitimate warning. We came across a Hyundai SUV with a punctured fuel tank on the way down. The graded gravel trail ends at a trailhead just before this sign, and there must have been 100 vehicles and tents packed "cheek to jowl" to use the description of the Forest Service woman assigned to the area.
We spent the day before the eclipse exploring the area, including a hike towards Crater Lake, ID
Don't go over the edge! Exploring trails on the Ridge
It's underway! It took close to 1/2 hr from the initial occulation (that's an astronomical term I just learned
) to the total eclipse. And of course another 1/2 hr to un-occulate (ok, I just made that word up)
A friend suggested the spotting-scope projection. We had the glasses too, but you can't see any of the landscape with the glasses on. This set-up let us monitor the occulation while also looking at the landscape and sky.
We were surprised at how sharp our shadows were - even at 90+% occulation. It was also disconcerting to see how short they were. The sky was like dusk, but the sun was still relatively high in the sky, so shadows weren't elongated
Seconds before totality. It was also surprising that there was still a fair amount of light. Then when totality hit, it was like a curtain was drawn. No pictures of totality. I don't have the photographic skills/equipment. But the sight of total eclipse with the corona ring was unforgettable. You can look at totality with the naked eye.
360-deg sunset during totality. We had enough horizon to see mountains outside the totality zone
All done. Now the shadow is on the other side. As soon as totality ended, we joked, "all right, let's go." But compared to the excitement of increasing occulation and the experience of totality, we did get bored with this part and finished packing up camp
Camping. We interspersed a 2 motel/lodge stays during the trip, but otherwise it was a camping expedition. I was planning for mostly dispersed camping, but we stayed in designated campsites more than I thought we would. A few reasons for this:
1. Fire restrictions prohibiting campfires except in metal rings within designated areas. I don’t need a campfire for a good campsite, but it sure helps!
2. Campgrounds were mostly empty! Many of the campsites only had a few sites. In large part, this is probably due to the remote nature of the campgrounds. We were always pretty far in on fairly remote trails, and when it was time to start looking for an overnight site, we’d check dispersed sites and campgrounds. In many cases the campground sites were as scenic and solitary with the added benefits of campfires, tables and outhouses. There were 2 instances where 1 other campsite was occupied, but in both cases, the sites were so spread out, we couldn’t see or hear the other camper.
3. Outhouses. I have to hand it to my wife for enjoying an expedition vacation, but she prefers an outhouse to a hole in the ground. An aside on outhouses. For those who think the world is going to hell in a handbasket I have 2 counter arguments. As a bit of a geezer - we celebrated our 33rd anniversary - I can unequivocally state the outhouses and beer are way better today than in the good old days. Somebody was overlooked for a Nobel prize for inventing the vented outhouse. But the inventor of the oversized toilet paper beam that precludes the roll from rolling must have a special circle of hell reserved. I digress.
Motivation/Inspiration. I tried to plan for some additional activities on this trip - fishing and hiking. This part wasn’t a complete success, although it’s hard to imagine the trip going better. We got the lines wet, and it was a nice diversion, but it was kind of a lower priority that was frequently omitted or cut short. Also, we did plenty of hiking/walking (5-6 miles per day according to my wife’s tracker), but we never allocated a half day or whatever for a planned hike. Rather, we’d make frequent stops at a pass or interesting trailside attraction and walk around to check it out. Or walk the bank of whatever river/stream ran alongside our campsite. After giving it some thought, I don’t think I need to add activities for “while we’re out there.” It’s enough to enjoy the adventure of the trip, the joy of seeing new, beautiful landscapes, getting out the vehicle frequently to immerse, and snapping lots of digital photos on my little Nikon point-and-shoot camera.
Camping set-up. We’ve been doing this for a few years and have a set up that works pretty well for us.
Sleep in the back of the LR3. We were in some serious bear country, with some places prohibiting tent camping. My wife has a healthy aversion to bears, so we used our in-vehicle sleeping mode for this trip.
With the rear seats folded flat, an Exped Megamat Duo shoehorns in the back
My invention for getting the bear-bag-rope over tree limbs
Trasharoo hanging from tree
I picked up the Land Rover day tent on a good CraigsList deal a few years ago. It’s perfect changing room / day room addition to the sleeping quarters in the vehicle. There were a couple evenings with a lot of bugs or rain, and we could cook and eat and read and play backgammon in the tent.
Screens for day use
Panels down for rain protection / privacy
When breaking camp, I’d deflate and roll up the mattress, sheets and blankets into 1 big roll for travelling configuration.
