We were in Ouray for Wayne and Laura's wedding, which went well. Ira invited me on an exploration - Wetterhorn Creek - presumably because he knew I enjoyed suffering -- certainly not for my uphill speed. Also on the team was Chris Hood from Salt Lake and Lori Shindel from Denver. We drove up the Cow Creek "road", which was an adventure in itself. Glad it was Ira's brand new well-insured Tacoma, rather than a lesser vehicle. Parked among the big trees at 8300 feet. From there, the trail went UP!
Read MoreWent down to Ouray for some wet stuff. Found it! Ouray has quite an amazing concentration of fun, wet canyons. There are only two problems with this: the season is short (typically "August"), and it is an 8 hour drive from my house. Spoiled I am, living IN canyon country, and I have gotten used to not having to drive all that far. Woe is me...
Read MoreThornton was the business. It was my favorite canyon of the trip, though some of the other festers would like to disagree. But let's be real, this thing has it all.
Read MoreSouth Fork Snoqualmie could easily be considered the "Pine Creek" of the Pacific Northwest. The similarities are striking. Easy access, densely packed with action, and fairly straightforward technically. What's more, they both have highways running literally on top of them.
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