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The undulating track profile around the Te Awamutu-Ohaupo section of the NIMT is shown to good effect in this capture of a northbound freight train taken from the Ngaroto Rd over bridge.
EXPLORE: 10/29/11 #187
This is a shot of the Hagan Switchback, the only one still operational in the United States (at least so I've read). It is used to get the coal trains through the Hagan Tunnel that runs under Stone Mountain from Hagan, Va. to Loyall, Ky. This rail line is heavily used by CSX moving the coal out of eastern Kentucky into southwest Virginia. It is located just a few miles east of Rose Hill, Va. here in Lee County.
The DL-3 with the Erie Lackawanna pair drops down the switchback after working Plaskolite on the south side of Scranton. Soon they will be northbound on the Laurel Line, diving under the city by way of the Crown Ave tunnel, an hour prior to the start of trolley traffic.
Switchbacks on the Pikes Peak Highway just above tree line. We were going up to the summit when I took this. No guardrails here.
- www.kevin-palmer.com - I was almost to the top of Sacagawea Pass when I looked back to see this view. The Crazy Mountains are visible in the far distance.
H301 coasts on the bottom of C871 as they come into Smiley. Soon, the pushers will lead the descent down Hagans Switchback.
Pano view taken near the summit of the climb out of town (riding towards Lake Burbury). Lots of switchbacks and a gentle grade. The climb was enjoyable late in the day. Lower temps and low volume of traffic, yay!
At this scenic overlook a kind couple refilled all of my water bottles. They were motoring tourists and they felt sorry for me for some reason. Don't know why because I was really enjoying everything. Not to be outdone, a second couple (also motoring tourists) insisted that I take one of their unopened 1.5 L bottles of water. I gratefully accepted both offers. I didn't really need the water but I took it anyway because I know it made them feel good. It made me feel good too, meeting such generous and caring people. Plus it meant I didn't need to waste time and fuel boiling water for drinking. And it was almost all downhill to my planned destination for the night so the extra weight wasn't a problem.
If you look at the bottom left of the photo, you can see the trail snaking it's way down into the "hoodoo" ampitheater of Bryce. This was from our first night there, at twilight.
I'm still quite busy processing the thousands of photos I took while on vacation in Utah.
Thanks for your visits and comments - I do read and appreciate them.
Have you ever just gone to one of the middle pages of your favorites and started a slide show from wherever ?? It is just magical to go back and view my personal collection of your wonderful, amazing photos, my friends. . .
I also enjoy going to visit YOUR list of favorites - a pre-selected group that's better than Explore. If you are a photographer I admire, you also must pick great photos is my thinking. And I haven't been disappointed yet !!!
1k-1780_1_2_3_4 hdr lls
I took a long walk upon a recent visit to San Francisco. I walked to the top of this hill (yes that road is the only way up) for a unique view of the city. The Golden Gate and Bay bridge are typically visible I'm told but it was a little to hazy on this occasion.
Switchbacks at Tianmen Mountain, China
A bit of a funky composition as I took this shot through a moving cable car window as we headed straight to the top. I'll give credit to the Chinese passengers with me who didn't freak out as I stood in the rickety car about 2,000 feet off the ground.
After a 3 mile long death march, you get to this turn. And after this turn, things really start happening fast! The trail's grade switches to much steeper, and soon you go through a series of spectacular vista points, alder thickets and wildflower fields. Then, you get to the destination - Burnt Lake.
Bryce Canyon, Utah
As the sun rises, it lights up the formations facing east in the Bryce ampitheater, and that light is reflected into this canyon by west facing walls, bouncing back to my position in soft gradations of illumination. I watch as a hiker navigates the switchbacks down the Navajo Loop Trail, pausing ever so often to take it all in.
On the eighth day we moved from the Saint George area to Zion.
It'll be off season there we thought, so it won't be as ridiculously busy as usual... but that was not the way it worked out.
This is Pup Creek Falls. It's WAY out in Estacada, and by way out I don't mean it's too far away, I mean that it is not a 6 mile hike like we'd been told. It felt like 8 miles, and late last night Ara found confirmation that it is indeed 8 miles round trip to the falls you see here.
But let me go back to 4 am.
4 am...the alarm clock. Never a good thing on a Saturday morning, no matter how excited you are to go somewhere. Frantic doubling-up in the bathroom occurs, me in the shower, Patrick brushing his teeth, then me running the dogs quickly while they blink at me wondering why they're awake so early, and Patrick grabbing his breakfast. By 5:04 am we are on 5 south, with Ara at the wheel and Sara in the passenger seat.
We were witness to a brief, lovely, chilly sunrise at the Tulip fields, where we saw Dan, Russ, Chris, Bonnie, and other early risers. All of us hunkered down with tripods and lens hoods and various cameras, complaining about the stupid tent in the field next to Mt. Hood in our view finders.
And then...a thick blanket of cloud rolled in out of nowhere, accompanied by a swift drop in temperatures and an increase in wind. By 8:30 am we were frozen, starving, and pretty well "over" the excitement of the morning. We hopped back into the car, and were followed by Bonnie and Chris to Shari's up the road for a hearty breakfast and nerd-talk about cameras.
We said our farewells to Bonnie, and in two cars set out to find Fish Creek Road in Estacada, and trail 715 to the above waterfall. The trail started out with promise, what with it being so level and well groomed, we all stopped to check out a giant banana slug, flowers were growing in the woods. And before we knew it the trail was rising and falling up and down switchbacks, through ghostly sections of the forest that had been burnt out by forest fire, down to the edge of the river, back up to cliffs high above the rushing water, and through mossy, green lush areas with beautiful little water trickles we had to stop and shoot along the way.
We kept thinking, "is this it?" every time we found a creek, but none seemed big enough, none seemed to match the description of the spot we were supposed to go into the woods further. Until we met some guys with chainsaws, who told us we had to go another mile still ahead. We finally found Pup Creek, and up the trail, Pup Creek Falls.
It's beautiful. The air was hung with silver, the mist was cool and inviting and barely a nuisance on our lenses. A log had been cut into a bench for us to rest on, set our gear. But there aren't a lot of ways to shoot this fall, I am positive we all have very similar compositions. Ara hopped a downed log to see if she could get closer. Instead she came back with a case of mud butt, a dead battery, and wet hair, insisting it's just not worth attempting. When Ara says no, I listen.
The only real foolishness of the day was simply that we were all so exhausted from being up for 6+ hours when we got here and started the hike, and so excited to go see the waterfall, that we all neglected to grab our water or juice boxes. 8 miles is one hell of a hike, when all we had for snacks was my half-empty bag of Starburst fruit chews, or creek water for sipping. (Which we didn't, but it was tempting.)
When we made it back to the car 5+ hours later, we all sucked down bottles of water like we'd never seen a drink in our lives. Chris made his way back to Portland, my Starburst inadvertently in his pocket still, to a party he was late for. The rest of us found ourselves at the Spaghetti Factory, where we sucked down multiple strawberry lemonades, devoured the warm bread, and just about cleaned our plates. (Okay, Ara and I cleaned ours, Patrick nearly so, and Sara who had the largest meal made a great dent!)
I finally arrived home at 7:30, 14.5 hours after leaving, exhausted, full, and perfectly content. What a great day out with friends!
In the last rays of sunshine Norfolk Southern 8071 is eastbound with a unit grain train, slow on the hard climb to Elkhorn tunnel amid fresh blossom's enroute to Bluefield, W. Va. on April 17, 2015 .
CSX southbound loaded coal train T090-07 is working to bring all of its train onto the middle track of the switchback. The rails here are rusty, indicative of just how few trains actually run the switchback (the only mainline switchback in America) these days.
Great views, but a heckuva climb.
The guide book classifies trails by steepness levels 1-2-3-4-5-H. He doesn't say what H stands for, but this trail is one.
Along the trail to Angel's Landing in Zion National Park, Utah. There's a long way down and a short way down. The long way is less hurty.
It may be straight, but it ain't level! HST power car 43251 leads 1A12 07:00 Hull - London King's Cross as it approaches Gilberdyke on 23rd May 2013.
Canon EOS 450D f/11 800th/sec iso 400
At its eastern end the Burr Trail joins the Notom-Bullfrog Road. From a more topological perspective, as the the Burr Trail dives into the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park, it switches back repeatedly to descend a narrow and steep canyon. To the east a portion of the Waterpocket Fold can be seen; the Henry Mountains form the horizon.
A larger size will make it easier to locate and follow the Burr Trail. It appears in the upper left, runs a series of switchbacks through the canyon, and disappears in the floor of the Waterpocket Fold near the right edge of the photo
One of the coolest experiences from our recent trip was watching a train come up the Hagans Switchback tucked away in the far western corner of Virginia.
After showing up with the sun pretty much right down the tracks in a tunnel of trees, we knew we didn't have a very big window of opportunity before the shot wasn't going to work. A couple of minutes later the sound of the SD70MACs echoing in the mountains kept getting louder and we were in luck.
The show of horsepower and sand over the next couple of minutes while the train pushed/pulled over the west switch and quickly took off to the east was something you could tell had been orchestrated many times over many years.
The Handicapped Access Trails At Crotched Mt. ...
Are A Great Service To Those Who Struggle...
For Some Time In The Woods.
All Power Wheelchair Assessable.
Hot Wheels
No. 2/35 Highway 35 World Race Wave Rippers 2003
Woolworth, Trier, Duitsland
(date = date of purchase)
Harley davidson Dyna Switchback light painted with flashlight. Deep Deuce Oklahoma City. Canon 5dmk4