Yesterday, Wednesday, I took a drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon again… but this time I was making a stop at the Red Pine Trailhead. I was looking on Google Maps, in the Terrain view, and noticed two lakes nestled up in the Wasatch Mountains. One was named Red Pine Lake, the other, well the other wasn’t named. So I’m just going to call it Upper Red Pine Lake. If you have a problem with that… well too bad. Anywho, I then did a little research on the Red Pine trail and saw some pictures of the lake, and immediately decided I wanted to hike up there to get some shots. So, I did.

Looking towards Alta Ski Resort

The trail starts off with a nice gradual incline in a beautiful setting with Aspens and Conifer trees. But then it starts to increase in elevation gain, making the midday hike a lot warmer than one would like. Thankfully though, there are plenty of trees to give you sufficient shade from the sun.

Aspens giving some much needed shade.

Once you get about half way, 1.75 miles into the hike (the hike in is 3.5 miles… if you’re not good at math, like me), the trail starts to become… a lot less noticeable. At least it was for me. Maybe I’m just not as observant as I used to be, or just wasn’t paying attention… but I couldn’t, for the life of me, follow the trail. I would find it, but then loose it shortly after. Finally, I just decided to go cross-country and follow the river up the mountain side. Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m all for Treading-Lightly, but sometimes… it’s either needed, or just worth it… which was my case this time.

Looking down towards Little Cottonwood

While hiking cross-country I looked to my left and noticed a deer starring me down, daring me to come any closer than I already was. Then… I noticed there was two of them! One laying down. So, I figured the one standing was protecting the one laying down. But, what do I know? Haha. It was a little eerie though, they never, not once, took their eyes off me. They never actually moved, either. After using their statue-like stillness to my advantage and getting a couple shots of them… I went on my way, letting them relax I’m sure.

Watchful Eyes.

As I continued on my journey, I saw this…

Massive waterfall coming down the mountain.

Finally after finding the main trail, for the tenth time, I followed it for a little while which led me to Red Pine Lake. Red Pine Lake is a beautiful blue lake that sits 9,800 feet up in the Wasatch Mountains. The crisp clean air, the beautiful blue lake, and the peaceful stillness was more than I could ask for. Especially after killing myself hiking up the trail.

Red Pine Lake

But, since I had already hiked 3.5 miles… what’s another mile, right? I decided that I was going to hike up farther above the lake to see what was up there. Along the way, there was this nice little creek that helped feed Red Pine Lake. I was also surprised at how much snow was still up there. My guess is that the snow up there, never melts fully. There’s probably snow up there year round. Which I find strange, coming from Arizona.

Little Stream

Then, not too much farther up, at 10,000 feet up, there’s this little lake, Upper Red Pine Lake. The massive boulders that edge the lake were amazing. I couldn’t pick just one location to shoot from. I would go to one location that I thought would be an amazing scene, but then I would look to my left and see something that could be just a little bit better. So I would get all set up there… but then get bored and walk around some more… only to find yet another location that could push the envelope just a bit more. So, I would clean up “camp” and move to the new location. I probably did this about 5 times before finally settling down on this location…

Upper Red Pine Lake at Sunset

And I’m glad I stayed with this shot. I like how it came out. I was the only person up there… and actually almost the only (visible) living thing in the area. The only other living creatures that I saw, were birds. One kept flying in front of me, going from one side of the lake to the other. My guess is she was bringing food to her nest. Definitely a busy little bird. After this shot I cleaned everything up and headed back down the trail, in the dark. The hike down was mostly uneventful, besides the pain that came with hurrying down the trail. About half way down, I was greeted by a deep grunt/moan as I passed by. I kept telling myself it was just a deer/elk letting me know he was there. I didn’t really want to think about if it was something a bit more… carnivorous. Haha. Like a bear. But, I made it safely to my car just before 10pm. It was a great hike, amazingly beautiful. But it is definitely a one time thing for me.

Thanks for reading and looking!

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

But then, all those lovely clouds everyone saw yesterday… decided to unleash their rage down upon me and completely soak me from head to toe. Normally, I love the rain and thunder/lightning. But… not when I’m at the top of the mountain carrying a bunch of expensive electronics. Haha. So, wasn’t one of my best hikes.

But, after looking at my shots (a grand total of 8), I decided that one of them would be decent enough to edit. So… here it is, in color and Black and White.

Thanks for looking,

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

(Note: It’s been so long since I’ve done this, I can’t remember how to do the pictures… so if they don’t work… it’s not my fault. )

Last weekend, Friday May 20th, I took a trip down to my homeland… aka Arizona. I went with a couple friends from here in Utah. We drove down to Havasupai in the Grand Canyon to do the hike. I have been wanting to get down there for 3 years, ever since the major flood in 2008. I had hiked it in 2007, so I was able to see how it was “pre-flood”… but I really wanted to see how much of a change there was. And let me tell you… the change was pretty significant.

The hike down was nice and relaxing (for the most part). Gentle 10 mile hike down… but once you got to the Supai Village (8 miles in), you really didn’t want to hike the other 2 miles to the campsites. But, once you got to the campsites… it was a total relief.

First thing I noticed… is Navajo Falls… is basically non-existent, compared to what it was. It’s pushed back from the trail by about a 1/4 mile. The first falls you actually see is “Rock Falls”, which is a temporary name until they can find a more suitable name for it. It’s a beautiful set of falls. The front-most section falls down gracefully, with a bunch of smaller falls (in true Havasupai fashion) behind it leading to Navajo Falls. Lots of green vegetation and the beautiful red cliffs as the backdrop.

Once you finally get to Havasu Falls, you’ll notice that it’s flowing at about half of what it used to. And, most of the turquoise pools that you see in all of the pictures… gone. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still amazingly beautiful, but… just isn’t like it used to be. I fully support the Havasu Tribe to “reconstruct” the old Havasu Falls. Haha.

Saturday we hiked down to Mooney Falls where it was pretty much the same “destruction” as Havasu Falls… still pretty, but just wasn’t the same. Then Beaver Falls, which I didn’t notice any difference… but I could have just forgotten what they looked like from before.

Sunday we left, but instead of hiking out, we took the helicopter out! It was fun. 15 minutes of flight time vs. 6 hours of hiking time. Haha.

After that, we stopped at the South Rim since the two that joined me had never seen the Grand Canyon. It was… Grand, as always.

Overall, it was a great trip. I’m glad I got to go down and see the changes and finally get to take some pictures.

Hope you enjoyed the “report” and pictures. Thanks for reading!

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

Havasupai Website

Also, you’ll notice that I have a new layout/theme for the blog. What are your thoughts? I’m still getting used to it, so if something isn’t working, bare with me as I get it fixed. And, also I don’t feel like editing the older posts (older than this page) so that the images show up… so you’ll just have to deal with it. Haha.

Hopefully once the weather warms up, I’ll be able to get back into the whole photography stuff. Till then… happy shooting!

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

Once I actually got up to Alexander Basin, it was fine though. It had just rained so everything was nice and freshly cleaned… plus it smelled wonderful. As I was getting my stuff set up a few hikers were coming down from Gobblers Knob, which then left me to be the only one on the entire mountain. It was awesome!

And then as I was getting ready for the following shot, I looked up to see a deer staring right at me. I stayed as still as I possibly could and the deer would go back to eating, but then snap it’s head back up to look at me. Just couldn’t quite figure out what I was. Haha. After about 15 min of the same thing… it finally bounced down the hill to graze elsewhere.

I didn’t quite get the shots I was hoping to get, but all in all, I’m pretty pleased with this trip. I don’t think I’ll be going back to Alexander Basin though, time for a new trail to explore!

Thanks for reading,

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

Last Thursday I went and hiked up Mount Air. The trail for Mount Air is nice and lush with beautiful green vegetation and a nice blend of wild flowers scattered about. It really makes a tranquil environment. Great for clearing the mind… which you need since you’re hiking up hill the entire way. Haha.

Yesterdays hike, up to Alexander’s Basin, was a lot like the hike to Mount Air but with a lot more green vegetation and wild flowers. And also a lot steeper. The hike to the basin is about 2.5 miles, one way, and literally up hill the entire way. The hike up is nice though, you’re almost never in direct sunlight which helps with the heat, but you’re still able to get a nice breeze coming up the canyon.

Once you finally reach Alexander Basin you’re greeted with a wonderfully thick forest of white aspens (I think they’re aspens) with beautiful green foliage hugging their trunks.

Then as you continue hiking up towards Gobblers Knob it’s nothing but thick green ferns with a scattering of beautiful wild flowers that adds a perfect accent of color. That’s as you’re looking up while hiking. But if you stop and turn around, you’re greeted with a magnificent view of Millcreek Canyon and the surrounding area. I wasn’t able to get any real pictures of those views… but I’ll hopefully be going back this Wednesday and I’ll get some then. If weather cooperates with me.

Thanks for reading and make sure to check back for some photos of the majestic views overlooking the canyons.

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

]]> http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/2010/07/alexander-basin-millcreek-canyon/feed/ 0 http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/2010/06/twin-lakes-big-cottonwood-canyon/ http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/2010/06/twin-lakes-big-cottonwood-canyon/#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:41:02 +0000 Jeremy http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/?p=277 I love this weather!! It’s been in the mid 80′s for a few days now… and has no signs of it stopping. I love it. Perfect hiking weather.

Saturday I was able to head up Big Cottonwood Canyon with my dad for a nice little drive. We were originally wanting to drive all the way to Park City… but the road is still closed at the top. So that was a bit of a bummer, but we decided we should do a small little hike. So, we went to Brighton Ski Resort and make the hike up to Twin Lakes.

Firstly, I didn’t know that it was a man made lake. There’s a huge ol’ dam up there! I had no idea. Secondly… the lake was still half frozen!! I was surprised at the amount of snow that was up there still. But it was still very nice up there.

It wasn’t even close to the best conditions, photography wise. But… we wanted a picture to prove that we were up there… for memories sake. So, I took a few shots and made it into a pano and also made a color and B&W version.

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

]]> http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/2010/06/twin-lakes-big-cottonwood-canyon/feed/ 0 http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/2010/06/city-creek-canyon-slc-utah/ http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/2010/06/city-creek-canyon-slc-utah/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:07:10 +0000 Jeremy http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/?p=266 Today I went and took a nice little hike up City Creek Canyon, which is where Memory Grove is located in SLC, Utah.

Memory Grove is a beautiful park dedicated to all those who have served and fallen in past wars, but resided in Utah. I noticed memorials from the Civil War to the World Wars. I didn’t see any memorials for the current wars, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. All of the memorials are well kept, and beautiful pieces of work.

City Creek Canyon is a natural preserve protected by the state of Utah. It’s very well maintained and all traffic is controlled. So it’s a pretty much guarantee that everything will stay in pristine condition. The actual hiking trail is for foot traffic only (which includes dogs). Up above the hiking trail is a paved road that is one way, for cars, and available for bicyclists also.

Farther up the canyon there are a couple lakes that I think would make for some excellent photo opportunities. I’m not sure how long the hike is though, but one day (hopefully soon) I will hike up to the lakes and see what it’s like up there. The water throughout the entire canyon is crystal clear and freezing cold. It’s actually a drinking source for SLC, which is another reason why the canyon is protected.

Anyways, here are two shots from the hike. I have more, but can’t decide if I like them enough to edit them.

Thanks for reading,

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

EDIT:: So, after further investigation… those “lakes” up there, aren’t really lakes. One is a reservoir and the other, I don’t even know what I would call it. The satellite picture of the reservoir shows it completely dried up. But with all the rain/snow we’ve been getting, I’m sure there would be some water in it. But I just don’t know if I want to hike to just see a reservoir. We’ll see.

]]> http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/2010/06/city-creek-canyon-slc-utah/feed/ 0 http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/2010/01/peralta-trail-superstition-mountains/ http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/2010/01/peralta-trail-superstition-mountains/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:10:07 +0000 Jeremy http://blog.sur-realphotography.com/blog/?p=165 It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here, so figured I’d put this one random photo up.

This photo was taken on the Peralta Trail that I hiked yesterday (Wednesday). If you haven’t hiked this trail, I really do recommend it. The hike is fairly easy, and it’s only 3-4 miles… round trip. So it’s a real nice day hike. The best times to hike it are between October and May. It was a bit warm yesterday while hiking. But it does cool down once you get to the saddle (Fremont Saddle ["The Top"]). So you will want a sweatshirt or something long sleeved.

Oh… and Happy New Year!! (7 days late)