Copyright (c) 2012 Sunlight Sports All rights reserved. http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm Sunlight Outdoor Blog en-us Mon, 14 May 2012 11:14:01 AM MST 5 scott@richbank-studios.com scott@richbank-studios.com Richbank-Studios RSS Builder (http://www.richbankstudios.com) 75 75 http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm http://sunlightsports.com/images/rss_news.jpg http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=33 Wes Allen 33 Mon, 14 May 2012 We'll be having one of our super-popular Keen Trunk shows on Tuesday, May 15th.  See the entire spring line from Keen, meet the Keen rep and maybe even buy some shoes.  If you do buy a pair, you'll get 10% off and a new (free) pair of socks!Come down and see us - the trunk show lasts from 11 am until 6 pm. http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=32 Wes Allen 32 Mon, 16 Apr 2012 If you have been curious about getting into the shoes with toes, or if you have already found out how great Vibrams are and need another pair- boy, do we have a day for you!On Thursday, April 19th from 2 until 7 pm, the Vibram Five Fingers rep will be at Sunlight Sports with the entire array of spring and summer merchandise.  You can get measured and fit, as well as have all your questions about the benefits of barefoot running answered.  We will have product to give away, and special deals too.  Come down and see us!  If you need more information, call us at 307-587-9517, or email us at sunlight@sunlightsports.com. http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=31 Wes Allen 31 Fri, 11 Nov 2011 So it's time for the annual ski swap.  Details below the video.This is the trailer for the movie that we will be showing that night - tickets are $5, and everyone who buys one will be entered in a drawing to win a pair of 4FRNT skis. http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=30 Wes Allen 30 Fri, 27 May 2011 This a great re-introduction to Bobby's work. www.m-11.com http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=29 Wes Allen 29 Sat, 07 May 2011 So, here comes one of the biggest runoffs in recent memory.  While many of us (including yours truly) are experiencing some serious spring fever and are itching to get out on the trail, it's worth taking a moment and thinking carefully about how we are going to get across those waterways.  Oftentimes in high water the best choice is....don't cross.  High water levels often change familiar crossings, and make the stream bottoms slippery and unsteady.  Of course, just the power of quickly flowing water can make anything over knee height very, very dangerous.With all of that said, Trailspace has a great article on stream crossing....here is the link, followed by an excerpt.  You should go to their site and check it out.The Crossing Get moving to the other side. Trekking poles or a stick can help with balance. Face upstream. Facing upstream can make it easier to confront the force of the water and keep your balance. Rely on your trekking poles or hiking stick to brace your downstream side. Maintain at least two points of contact (preferably three) with the bottom. If you don't use trekking poles, grab a stout stick and plant it firmly ahead before lifting your advancing foot. A pole or stick also lets you determine the depth of the stream ahead before each step. If possible, don't lift your feet at all, but shuffle across. Groups might hold hands or link arms. Be careful on rocks and logs. It's tempting to rock hop to keep boots dry, especially if rocks are laid out as stepping-stones. But a fall from a slippery rock will soak all your gear, and put you at risk for a “rock to the noggin.” Trekking poles or a stick will help with balance. Use logs as bridges with caution, as they can be slippery or tippy. Wading may be the safest option. Watch for rising water levels, especially on longer crossings, which can indicate a flash flood or dam release upstream. If the water is moving fast, angle downstream and across with the current, instead of fighting it directly across. Prepare to fall. If you fall during a stream crossing, get out of your pack ASAP. If you can hold on to it by a strap without compromising your safety, do so, but do not risk drowning to save your pack. Point your feet downstream and aim for the bank in a diagonal direction. Don't try to fight the current straight across. Avoid ropes. Roped crossings are an advanced technique that has the potential to increase hazards if not executed skillfully. Do not attempt a roped crossing without training. If you lack the training to rig a roped crossing on a river that requires it, come home with a good story, and don't try to ford the water. Planning an advanced swim or float across a river? Read Colin Fletcher's "River Crossings" section of The Complete Walker. Don't be afraid to turn back. Crossings can deepen dramatically in the middle, where increased water velocity removes more of the stream bottom. Poke around to see if a there's a shallower spot close by. If all else fails, turn back. Coming back with a good story is better than not coming back at all. http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=28 Wes Allen 28 Sat, 09 Apr 2011 Kirwin, WY is an amazing place.  The combination of easily accessible wilderness, compelling history, and jaw-dropping scenery makes this area one of my favorite spots on earth.  I'm not the only one...check out Bob Sihler's write-up on summitpost.orgBut Wyoming has another, greater trailhead--- Kirwin. Kirwin was once the site of a mining town, and remaining buildings and other relics attract visitors, but it is also the gateway to some characteristically big and spectacular Wyoming country. The trailhead is not as high (9200’) relative to timberline as the aforementioned trailheads are, and the drive there, though scenic, does not compare to the Yankee Boy Basin road, Going-to-the-Sun Road, or the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, but it is the heart of several arteries pulsing their ways into some of the highest parts of Wyoming’s wild, spectacular Washakie Wilderness in the Absaroka Range. On my Yellowstone Ecosystem page, there’s enough gushing about the Absarokas already, so here I’ll just say that this range has everything I seek in the mountains—deep ruggedness; the remoteness and vastness of true wilderness; dark peaks that tower and brood over the wonderland that is Wyoming and which are in places painted with the coloration common to mountains of volcanic origin; easily obtainable solitude; and the iconic grizzly bear and gray wolf. This range is my favorite among favorites, and my unsolicited opinion holds that the culminating effect of its many appealing traits is to make it a range without equal. Check out the rest of Bob's write-up here.... http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=27 Wes Allen 27 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 If you haven't seen tilt shift before, or you like skiing - check out this video from Tristan Greszko.  What a cool viewpoint on Wyoming's biggest resort, instead of the standard snowsports videos...do yourself a favor and watch this.A Tiny Day in the Jackson Hole Backcountry from Tristan Greszko on Vimeo. http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=26 Wes Allen 26 Fri, 01 Apr 2011 So here is what I suggest.  Sometime in late May or early June, plan on sleeping in a little.  Roll out of bed, and have a leisurely breakfast.Then get in your car and take the short drive from Cody, Wyoming to one of the best spring hikes in the United States.  You'll be on the trail way before lunchtime.We'll let the people from National Geographic take it from here...(this is an excellent post - you should click through at the bottom of the page!)“If I could only choose one sight, in the wonderland, it would be, by all means, that view from the top of Mt. Washburn for you see there the entire park spread out before you in a single picture.” -- Park Visitor, 1878 Living in Yellowstone, I have many rites of spring that help me celebrate the end of the long northern winter: searching for the annual influx of mountain bluebirds, awaiting the arrival of the adorable newborn orange bison calves, and watching as the snow slowly disappears from Electric Peak—which I can view from my kitchen window. But my favorite spring tradition is my annual trek up Mount Washburn, a hike that offers an abundance of rewards, from a vibrant rainbow of wildflowers, to remarkable encounters with bighorn sheep, to a spectacular 360-degree vantage point of the entire park. Even the drive to the trailhead provides breathtaking views when approaching from the northern part of the park. After passing through the rolling green hills of Blacktail Basin, and then by the imposing basalt column cliffs of the Narrows in Yellowstone Canyon, Dunraven Pass, usually awash with yellow flowers, lifts you into the sky and introduces you to Mt. Washburn as you meander up the pass. Dunraven Pass, 8,859 feet in elevation, bears the namesake of the Fourth Earl of Dunraven, an Oxford-educated man who was once guided in his explorations of the west by Buffalo Bill. Mount Washburn’s original name might have been Elephant’s Back, but in 1870 the Washburn Expedition named it for General Henry Dan Washburn, leader of “one of the most important early explorations of Yellowstone,” according to Lee Whittlesey’s Yellowstone Place Names.Wildflowers greet you immediately at the trailhead -- in July and August the bloom is at its peak and the area provides the best wildflower show in Yellowstone, not an empty boast for a park with a high standard. As the naturalist Enos Mills described in 1917: “The Yellowstone is a wild-flower garden. Wander where you will, you have the ever-new charm, the finishing touch, the ever-refreshing radiance of the wild flowers.” In the grassy hillsides, you can find the reddish-orange fire of Indian paintbrush, the dainty ethereal shooting stars, and the vibrant purple clusters of the lupine. Further up the peak in the alpine tundra, my favorite wildflower—the sky pilot—miraculously blossoms from rocky outcroppings, its blue-violet hues appearing like pieces of the sky that have fallen to the ground.Read more at National Geographic Traveler... http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=25 Wes Allen 25 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 With all of the snow that we have been seeing, and can expect over the next month, tree wells are a danger for all of you out backcountry skiing.As March and April roll through, the snow gets deep in the backcountry and gets people excited.  If avalanches aren't enough to think about, this is the time of year that our area starts seeing some danger from deep snow under pines.  Check out this video, and then remember to always get out with a partner.  Keep track of each other...and think about getting an Avalung.Anthony's fall into a tree well. http://sunlightsports.com/blog.cfm?item=24 Wes Allen 24 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 So, hibernation is over.Accoording to today's Billings Gazette...Jackie Skaggs is a spokeswoman at Grand Teton. She says people have reported seeing tracks in the Pacific Creek area. Grand Teton senior wildlife biologist Steve Cain says mid-March is a good time for people to start carrying bear spray again. Wildlife officers in Colorado have also reported that recent warm weather has prompted black bears in the state to start stirring from their dens earlier than usual.Time to start dusting off the pepper spray.  With the amount of snow in the mountains, nordic skiers might be the user group who want to be the most careful.  With the speed and relative silence of nordic skis, it would be pretty easy to surprise a drowsy, hungry griz.Full story here...