We just got back from spending a couple nights in Portland during spring break. On our way there we went to Silver Falls State Park. The forecast was for rain so the place was empty. The bit of rain that was falling when we arrived stopped so we decided to do part of the Trail of Ten Falls. We did the 6-mile loop section that includes seven of the falls. Two miles into our hike the rain started again, became really heavy, turned to hail, and we proceeded to become drenched. The last few miles weren’t so much fun at the time, but looking back it was a really good time.

Posted on March 28th, 2014 under Oregon. Tags: hiking, nature, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, Silver Falls, waterfalls. Comments Off on Lower South Falls in Silver Falls State Park

Photomerged panorama of the Shosenkyo hike

Hottest day of the year, hottest part of Japan, extremely humid, and I was going to go on a long, uphill hike. The good news was the hike was mostly in the shade. Most people drive up to Shosenkyo these days via a car or bus. Don’t do it. Walk up. It’s a beautiful journey that you will mostly miss in a vehicle.

Posted on March 18th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: arakawa, hiking, kofu, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, photomerge, shosenkyo. Comments Off on Hike through Shosenkyo Gorge

1 yen coins jammed into rock overhangs on Shosenkyo hike

I was surprised to not see more hikers on my way up Shosenkyo (昇仙峡). Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised given that it was a weekday and also the hottest day of the year (reaching more than 40 degrees Celsius). The top was fairly crowded though as most people drive to near the top or take a bus there. I took a bus to the bottom and walked my way up and down. The scenery was amazing. Along the way rocks created ceilings for part of trail and people had given up their coins to the cracks in the rocks.

Posted on November 12th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: hiking, kofu, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, shosenkyo. Comments Off on 1 yen coins (一円硬貨)

Signs in Mudeungsan National Park pointing hikers in various directions

My first time on Mount Mudeung was confusing, to say the least. I didn’t have a plan, and there were so many trails, taking me who knows where, that I knew I needed to come back with a better plan. Near the bus stop where Bus 1187 drops you off, you will see the above fork in the road. The trails are pretty well marked but for some of them they are only marked in Korean.

The map below can be viewed in much more detail if you click on the image. This large map with hiking trails and key locations clearly listed in Korean and English can be viewed near the bus stop as well.

Large map of hiking trails on and around Mount Mudeung (Gwangju, South Korea)

My plan for next time is to begin at Wonhyo-sa, climb up to Seoseokdae and Ipseokdae, pass Jeungsimsa (증심사) and Uijae (Art Museum), and then walk to the Hakdong-Jeungsimsa subway station (학동·증심사입구역). Supposedly this takes about six hours.

Note that guidebooks usually refer to Mount Mudeung as Mudeungsan Provincial Park, but the name was changed to Mudeungsan National Park in 2013.

Posted on July 9th, 2013 under Korea. Tags: directions, hiking, Mount Mudeung National Park, Nikon 24mm f/2.8 AF-D nikkor lens, Nikon D600, signs. Comments Off on Mudeungsan National Park (무등산국립공원) Hiking – so many choices…

View from Castle Lake Trail

More than three years ago I posted a photo on my other blog showing Castle Lake from near the parking lot. Today’s photo is from the other direction looking back toward where I took that previous pic. The season is a bit different as well. Today’s photograph is from August. The other was from late spring. If you were to stand in this spot right now (December) you would be in several feet of snow, the lake wouldn’t have any people in it (if you click on the photo for a larger view you can see several kayaks), and Mt. Shasta would be completely white with snow.

Posted on December 13th, 2012 under Other. Tags: california, castle lake, hiking, landscape, mt. shasta, nikon d7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Castle Lake and Mt. Shasta