Snowshoeing with a Moose on the Loose

Jan and I had a day snowshoeing with good friend Annie. We left Rob listening to Derby on the internet radio, FA Cup replay with Leicester.

We're in Winter Park town, more of a village really, about 3 miles below the ski area. Rob and Annie have their own apartment here.

The weather wasn't good with winds forecast on the top ski area of 55 mph. We decided to snowshoe instead.

There's a good trail for cross country skiing, snowshoeing and walking to the ski area so we followed this, the Foster River Trail. You just have to avoid walking on the skiers prepared grooves.

After the first few hundred yards the trail dropped below the road and entered a forest area. We followed the trail beside the partly frozen river through the woods.

We hadn't gone far when the machine that had prepared the pristine trail surface that we were on stopped by me. I had stepped away from the trail as it completely fills it.

He opened his window and told me to keep an eye out for an angry Moose. A juvenile had been killed in an accident and the parent was angry and unpredictable. We were walking through it's main territory at the time. He said if you see it stop, if it comes towards you back off! Presumably back off is a local euphemism for run like hell! All of this not easy on snowshoes.

I thanked him and we carried on rather more vigilant of movement around us than we had been.

It was a beautiful trail. Lots of photos, some on my Mamiya 7 camera with Ilford 400 Delta film, some on the phone so they could be included here. We carried on to the ski area, a total of about 3.5 miles.

Tried to visit the Brewery but it was closed so went to the pub instead.

Not very cold over here, they're forecasting rain not snow.


I had another 7 images to add here but I am having problems with Blogger, both the app and the web version aren't letting me add them. I may have to find another way to do it as this wastes a lot of time.

Change in Temperature

Today we had our first walk around the countryside on the edge of the city of Boulder.

There was a big temperature change too, +15C to -11C. Lots of ice underfoot too, not a lot of snow. Had to use simple walking crampons to avoid slipping over. 

I was travelling light without my camera so here are a few phone photos to give you an idea of what it was like. Lots of frosty trees but warm enough while walking. Although it was a grey day I would have taken some photos if I'd carried my Mamiya.

It's also stout month at the Mountain Sun Brewery so we stopped off for a couple of beers and a snack before heading back to base. The Java Porter was still the best that I tried.

San Francisco to Denver

Today started with packing ready for travelling to Denver. Breakfast followed at our favourite San Francisco diner, the Pinecrest, about a 10 minutes walk from our hotel.

Everywhere was wet from the early rain and like yesterday it was a grey day. I didn't bother trying to take any photos in such poor light as I know I already have shots taken on much better days. You can see what I mean from the phone photos below.

Our taxi to the airport came on time. Unfortunately a 2.5 hour delay has meant that I now know every nook and cranny of the airport as I wandered around to try and save my bad back from sitting for too long. Now on plane waiting for take off. Fingers crossed for no more delays.

We were very well looked after on the United flight despite the delay. It was good to see our best friend Rob waiting for us as we came out of the airport. Tomorrow we walk around Boulder to get mobile again. Maybe I will get an odd photo or two.

San Francisco Breakfast with a Car

We're in San Francisco for a couple of days en route to visit our best friends in Boulder, Colorado.

Breakfast was interesting. We went to Loris' Diner just round the corner from our hotel. It was full of memorabilia from the 1950's and 60's. This included a huge car and a Wurlitzer juke box. Not your normal cafe decor!

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city, especially the coast around Fisherman's Wharf.

I already have lots of photos of San Francisco so I just ran off one roll of Ilford 400 Delta 120 (10 shots) in my Mamiya 7, all using the 80mm lens.

Here's a few shots from the day: