Tips for hikers and backpackers:
Get a campsite reservation at a national park
Sierra Club trips
According to Tony Kuyper and Roy Harrington, Arizona Raft Adventures will take good care of you and your camera as you float down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I've taken my kids on a Western River Expeditions trip down the Green River in July--too tame--go earlier for higher water levels and a more exciting trip.
Durable, waterproof maps of nearly any national park and forest in the USA from Trails Illustrated--but you can usually buy them at the ranger station when you get your wilderness permit.
Terraserver shows you aerial photos and maps of most of the USA--printable.
Topozone.com has maps of places you want to go--you can print them if you have the patience and can tape things together where they overlap and if you don't intend to let them get wet.
Maptech, software for maps of places you want to go--print them but don't let them get wet.
When camping in the Sierra Nevada, you will either hang your food for the bears to find or use a Bear Canister to keep your food for yourself. If you wish not to run out of room in the bear can for food for extended trips, read my food efficiency page.
Bear can source:
Garcia Model 812, 2.7 lbs./$78 @REI.com, type "Garcia" in the box next to the "search" button and click on the "search" button.
The Bakepacker $20 lets you bake bread, pizza and cakes on the trail--a web search will turn up many enthusiastic opinions. Its rival, the Backpacker's Pantry Outback Oven, available in several sizes but the big one @~26 ounces and $52 at REI includes a teflon pan.
Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide
Michael's Ultralight Backpacking Page
BACKPACKING LIGHTWEIGHT Page
You can only take so many pictures next to the car, so herewith, more books:
Sierra South: 100 Back-Country Trips in California's Sierra
by Thomas Winnett,
Sierra North: 100 Back-Country Trips
by Thomas Winnett,
Hiking and Exploring the Paria River by Michael Kelsey--beware the hiking times given in Michael's books--the average person will spend twice as long as he did.
Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau (4th Edition) by Michael Kelsey
Utah's National Parks: Hiking, Camping, and Vacationing in Utah's Canyon Country--Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands by Ron Adkison
Canyoneering: The San Rafael Swell by Steve Allen
Canyoneering 2: Technical Loop Hikes in Southern Utah by Steve Allen
Canyoneering 3: Loop Hikes in Utah's Escalante by Steve Allen. I have this book--Steve gives accurate hiking times.
Outdoor gear and equipment retailersREI.com in Seattle Washington, Eastern Mountain Sports, L.L. Bean in Freeport Maine. In New Jersey Campmor sells a very lightweight 20 degree down sleeping bag for less than $150.
Eyeglass wearers who frequent wet canyons can find goggles with corrective lenses at Lane Four--also great for inexpensive quality swimwear.
Going to Toroweap
if you have to fly first to get there, try Cheap Tickets, which I've used, or Priceline?
Make your own Coyote Buttes Reservations. Wait! That link stopped working recently (Dec 2001), so you will have to try: Arizona Strip Interpretive Association at 435-688-3230. Once you have obtained a date, you will have to make a reservation and pay a fee (presently $5 per person). The application and fee should be mailed to Paria Permits, NAU, Box 15018, Flagstaff, AZ 86011. Or FAX with a credit card payment to 520-523-0585. You may also reserve a permit in person up to seven days prior to the available date at the Paria Ranger Station on Route 89, just west of Page, Arizona. Organized Groups:
Groups size is limited to six people. If you are leading such a group, you will have to obtain a special permit. Contact the Kanab Resource Area, 318 North 100 East, Kanab, UT 84741; 435-644-2672. You will have to fill out a special application (90 days prior to trip date), obtain insurance, and pay a fee based on 3% of the fee charge your clients or a minimum of $75.00. Rules may change in the future so check with the Kanab office for more details.
Hey! Skate! or Classic!
ZoneAlarm Pro firewall for Cable/DSL modem users.
Save 40-80% off retail at Overstock.com!
Great Buys at buy.com! Try to beat these prices.
| Photo information and merchandise websites:
Robert White, Camera World of Oregon, Samy's Camera in Los Angeles, B&H Photo in New York have competitive prices compared to anything local and a reputation to envy.
West Coast Imaging in Oakhurst, CA, scans images for digital darkroom photographers--look around for their recommendations on what you'll need.
Calypso will take care of printing, once you've done all you can for your image.
Autumn Color also scans, perhaps more handy if you live near Massachusetts.
Best prices for inkjet printers, cartridges and inkjet paper at Pricegrabber.com PrintPal.comand nextag.com! I found that some papers did not work with my Epson printer! ! See which by clicking here. Aftermarket inkjet cartridges: MIS Associates, Inc.--also sells archival inks for Epson Stylus Photo 1200--I haven't tried them yet, as I think I want an Epson 2000P pigment printer. Also Media Street.com,
quick ink.com
and Inkjet goodies.com
Inkjet art.com
CarrotInk.com
| No
more carts--the company makes a continuous feed
system for epson printers using archival inks from XtremeGamut. So
if you have an old epson 1200 printer, you can save big
bucks over the newer Epson 1280 and still get a wide
gamut of colors from this new system, per my source, Bill G. |
A guide to confusing paper sizes that you may see while surfing paper prices:
| A2 | 16.5" x 23.4" |
| A3 | 11.7" x 16.5" |
| A4 | 210x297mm
8.3" x 11.7" |
| A6 | 105x148 mm
4.1"x 5.8"
index card | |
| B | 11" x 17" |
| B5 | 182x 257mm
7.2" x 10.1" |
| super B | 13"x19" |
| Letter size | 8.5 x 11" |
| Legal size | 8.5 x 14" |
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Once you've made your print, American Frame sells quality metal and wood frames at very reasonable prices (up to 70% off the price of Picture Frames and Accessories compared to your local arts/crafts store).
35mm print film processing:- I take 35mm print film to Walmart to have it developed without prints--cost: $1.76. I can evaluate exposure and focus without paying for prints. I have a PhotoSmart Scanner (original version) which I can use to scan and print to my PhotoSmart printer.
- If you send your 35mm print film to Snapfish in their postpaid envelope, you will receive your developed negatives and prints--they will also upload your images to a password protected webpage--all for $4.97.
- Or, send your 35mm print film to Ofoto and you get a decent deal, too--click that link for details.
For 35mm slide film, SlidePrinter will develop your slides, $7 for 36 exposures, cardboard mounts.
If you have a large amount of film to develop, have no local Kodak Q Lab or don't need same day service, send it to: Color Services in Santa Barbara. They offer speed, economy and quality once they have your order. THE best prices on sheet film developing.
SlidePro if you live near Bozeman, Montana.
If you live in the Midwest or the Northeast, try: Boston Photo. If you live in or near Texas try Holland Photo.
Tripods have two parts, the legs and the head, to which you attach your camera--the tripods sold at Wal-Mart have a head on them already. If your tripod head doesn't have a quick release, you may have trouble attaching your camera to your tripod--causing you to:
- drop your camera,
- mess up the threads in your camera if you cross thread the connection
- lose the shot while you fumble around or
- not use your tripod at all.
Cure: either get a new tripod with a head that has one or learn about quick releases and camera body plates at Really Right Stuff or Kirk Enterprises--nothing beats a quick release when the temperature drops to where you can see your breath. I can't handhold a camera for a steady shot at a focal length of 90mm (35mm format), so I carry a tripod for sharp pictures. Ages ago, having a tripod made me look nerdy. I felt self-conscious pretending to know photography, when I really had no idea--now, as I view the tack sharp pictures I have shot, I don't mind the nerd look. |
Kerry Thalmann discusses large format cameras and carrying them about the backcountry.
Philip Greenspun's photo.net site one of the Web's best photographic resources
Visit the Photo Critique Forum--when do you ever tire of seeing good pictures?
Tuan Luong Large Format Homepage, an excellent resource for those new to large format photography.
Dave Payne's Large Format Webpage: tips on building Bender 4x5 camera kits as well as my own building hints.
Nunavut website--for people who wish to inexpensively develop black/white sheet film in the fashion of Darkroom Innovations.
Go to the US Naval Observatory website for information on when the sun/moon sets/rises and compass bearings. Click on Data Services
The U.S. Forest Service operates a Fall Foliage Hotline at (800) 354-4595. You'll find a detailed report on the Internet at http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/fall.htm. To discover why leaves turn color in the fall click here.
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| Saving Wilderness. If not for the efforts of the environmental groups advocating for wildernesss and wildlife, we would not have our National Parks and Monuments. I support them and hope you do, too.
Environmental Fund For Arizona
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| Soul food websites:
wouldn't you like to have some innocent, harmless fun with bumper stickers and SUV's? Find out how at Changing the Climate.com.
Did you ever think you would want to revisit Bill Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies and sonnets after you left English lit in high school? Well, then click on a link to surf the Bard!
I never tire of Groucho Marx quotes.
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©1998 Jeffrey Wong Send no $$
Shirley, you jest No? Yes!
Bob Marley Legend
getting into trouble while sailing
Calendar
About Copyrights. I found the following warning on somebody else's website,
"©1998 John Doe all rights reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means -- electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise -- without the written permission of the copyright owner. Any efforts of copyright infringement will be regarded by Mr. John Doe as a welcome new source of income, vigorously pursued by legal counsel. "
Some bucktoothed idiot wrote that and I don't believe it myself! You may steal my images for your webpages or your computer "desktop" wallpaper, but don't forget to give me credit and mention my name with my web address liberally. Here's how.
If you use my images to advertise or make money, you really should contact me for my permission. Your conscience will thank you. Now if you work for a really big corporation using my crummy pictures, then some GD attorney might help me pull your boss down to size--how about that? OTOH, who cares?
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