Cabin Creek colors

Oops, I forgot to put the SD card back in the camera last night. No pictures today.  Yes, another perfect September day, clear skies, light breezes,upper 70s. The valley is smoky from a controlled burn on the Idaho side, also one on Ditch Creek, and the Bull Creek fire still going in the Hoback. We decided to head south into Alpine Canyon, and did an easy 10 mile out-and-back hike in Cabin Creek. Not a lot of elevation gain, easy walking, gorgeous aspens and mountain mahogany; pretty much perfect!

Red Mountain the long way

Yet another perfect fall day. Guy wanted to scout some moose hunting locations in the Big Holes west of Driggs, so we decided to go up Red Mountain but take the long way in via Dry Henderson Canyon and come back out Patterson Creek. A long hot day with some demoralizing ups-and-downs, but the views were spectacular. The trails up high are mostly used by dirt bikes and are in poor condition for hikers.


GPS info at EveryTrail.com

Paddling Jenny Lake

Too many chores, another late start on a perfect September day. We opted to take the sea kayaks out for a lap around Jenny Lake.  It's noticeably smoky from a forest fire over on the Idaho side near Darby Canyon, not too mention a couple of fires in the Gros Ventre drainage. Still, a great day in the Hole.

Munger Mountain

It's a gorgeous September day in the valley, sunny, temperatures in the mid-70s, almost calm winds -- time to get out and enjoy fall in Jackson. With a late start due to other commitments, we decided on a hike that neither of us had done. The aspens are just getting started with fall colors, so we hoped for some good views.

With a south-facing hillside, a sunny day, and no wind to speak of, it was downright hot on the climb up. Here's Jill about halfway up, view to the southwest...

And looking north from the summit (elev 8383), with South Park in the foreground and the Grand Teton in the background. A fire on the Idaho side is creating some smoky haze.

Looking northwest from the summit toward Teton Pass

2.1 miles and about 2100 vertical feet, not really a trail just follow cowpaths and bushwhack for most of the way.

Warming up to Ljubljana

I spent a few more hours in Ljubljana before taking the train back to Zagreb. I must admit, it is a prettier place when the sun is shining -- more people out on the streets, in the cafes, etc.  I went up to the castle and was surprised to see that there were mountains visible in the distance, although the haze (pollution?) made it a bit difficult to see them.

On the train back to Zagreb, there were many visible effects from all of the flooding. In the canyon, the river appeared to still be up about 3 feet above normal, and in some places there was trash in trees another 10-12 feet up in the air! Fortunately the railroad tracks were much higher...

Rental car weirdness

The first time I went to Europe, 26 years ago, we rented a little blue Ford Fiesta in Frankfort. Two weeks and 2800 km later we were driving the autobahn back toward the airport when there in the next lane over was another blue Ford Fiesta with the next consecutive license plate number. Weird!

So in Ljubljana I rented a red Mitsubishi Colt with 60 000 km on the clock. As the gents on Top Gear would say, it's rubbish. Worse yet, the left rear brake has a most extremely annoying shriek that sounds like metal-on-metal to me.

A day later and 100 km away I'm sitting in an outdoor cafe in Bohinj, a small resort village near the Julian Alps, enjoying an espresso in the sunshine. I heard that same shriek from the street, and turned around to see a red Mitsubishi Colt rounding the corner. What I could see of the license plate was the same as mine, because I had the keys in my pocket! This can't be good, but then again who in their right mind would steal a Mitsubishi Colt?!?! Nonetheless, after I finished my espresso I walked briskly back to the parking lot a half-mile away to find my red Colt sitting there undisturbed. What are the odds of that sort of thing happening at all, much less twice? (And it has never happened to me in the U.S.)

In the morning 36 hours later, l checked out of my hotel in Bled and walked to the hotel parking lot..

Mine's the one on the left

Lake Bled and the Julian Alps

It was still raining when I left Postojna on Sunday morning, but by the time I got to Bled 90 minutes later there were some patches of blue sky. Bled is a cute resort town up against the edge of the Alps, looks like any of a bunch of towns with lakes in the mountains except that there is a picturesque church on an island in the middle of the lake. I don't know the whole story, but it seems like that would keep attendance down.

The primary attraction here is doing the 6 km walk around the lake, and taking pictures of the church from every possible angle. Bled is very close to the Alps, and is the jumping-off point for a lot of adventure sports like river rafting, canyoneering, mountain climbing, etc.

My Slovenia photo album on Picasa