Christmas in Sedona

So I spent the 4 days around Christmas this year camping and mountain biking around Sedona, Arizona. If you've never been there, words can't describe the spectacular beauty of the place. The contrast of red and white rock, against the green conifers turns every view into an aesthetic dream. Fortunately the only things better than the view are the trails, so I didn't take too many photos. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Enjoy,
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

Humphreys Peak Trail

I think I could spend a solid decade exploring Northern Arizona and still not be satisfied. Unfortunately it's located at a much higher elevation than Tucson(about 3000-4000ft higher), so I've been trying to get in a few trips before it gets too cold for my already thinned Tucson blood. This past weekend I decided to try to slip in an attempt at the highest peak in AZ, Humphreys Peak (12,600+ft) before I needed any gear that includes metal spikes of any kind. As luck would have it, it snowed on the mountain 4-6 inches the day before I was able to get up north. After receiving mixed advice from the guys at Babbit's, I decided it was worth a shot. I hit slush within the first half mile of this 4.8 mile one way trek. It only got whiter from there. Not expecting so much snow, I was only mildly prepared. I managed to huff it up to 11,800 ft, a saddle 3 peaks over from the big show, at which point the 30 mph winds and teen to 20's temperature made me turn around. Oh yeah and the fact that visibility was around 20 yards, it didn't seem worth the view. And anyway, I was already making tentative plans on returning on either skies or snowshoes in a few months.

On a side note: these photos were shot with a lower end point and shoot, so if there is some quality missing compared to my normal photos that is why. The hike was too beautiful not to share photos of.

Enjoy,
Tyler Gates
The Good Life Photography

Garden of the Gods Climbing

There has been some serious lacking of climbing in my life recently. And as I was laying in my bed thinking about this, I realized that I never posted photos from climbing in the Garden of the Gods.

I knew there was some good climbing in Colorado, and I didn't know how to contact any of the other bike mechanics I was going to be there with. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to find an awesome climber, named Patrick, in the Colorado Springs area on Mountain Project. I met up with Patrick twice while staying in the Springs, and both times we climbed in Garden of the Gods, which is really an obvious choice for any sort of geophile. If you haven't seen my previous post from the Garden of the Gods, get there. One night we met up with two other climbers, and spent the last hours of sunlight bouldering. The second time we went out for the day, on a crazy busy weekend. I've never told some many people how I got the rope up there. We climbed on a pair of 35 foot spires that I could belay from a sidewalk, it was an interesting experience to say the least. On the opposite of the spectrum, we hiked a mere 100 yards from the road and climbed an adventurous 3 pitch climb, and I felt like I was in the Cochise back country. The place continued to amaze me, and I'd go back in a heart beat, but I'd probably aim for a weekday.

Enjoy,
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

REI Volunteers with the SCC

So to help facilitate my outdoor adventure, and to supplement my photography income, I have taken a job at the local REI that is about to open. REI is a pretty impressive company for many reasons, one of which is that they pay their employees to help out with local stewardship causes. This past Saturday the employees of REI went out and helpws the Southwest Conservation Corps with a trail building project they've been working on for 5 weeks on Sentinel Peak, locally known as "A" mountain. The group helped move boulders, level trails, clean trash, and move around slash piles of brush. I was there to help and document.

Enjoy
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

The Grand Canyon

My first trip to the Grand Canyon was unfortunately so early on in my life that I have no recollection of it all. However, 19 years later I finally made another trip. Walking up to Mather Point on the South Rim and watching the huge expanse open up in front of me is something I will never forget. Since then I have gone back two more times, and I plan on going back as many times as I can. With it's endless trails, climbing, and beautiful scenery, I can't imagine ever getting tired of being there. In my dream of life after photography I'll make it a must on the list of places to be a campground host.

On a side note, I shot mostly 120 film up while up at the Canyon, with my early 1950's Ansco Deluxe. While shooting I couldn't help imagining a time when the park was filled with people shooting the same old bellows cameras and Kodak Brownies. I'm currently waiting on that film to be processed. But in the mean time here is a digital one to hold you over.

Enjoy
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography