CHIMNEY ROCK NATIONAL MONUMENT

Photo by duckandcover

On Friday, September 21st, President Obama added Chimney Rock to the list of National Monuments by utilizing the Antiquities Act. Chimney Rock National Monument is comprised of 4,726 acres and is located in southwestern Colorado in the San Juan National Forest. This area is extremely important to modern Pueblo Indians because their ancestors inhabited this land 1,000 years ago.  Some deduce that the Ancestral Pueblos peoples built their "great house" in order to get a front row seat for the major lunar standstill.  From the great room (built in 1076) the twin pillars of Chimney Rock frame a narrow piece of sky; every 18.6 years the full moon rises perfectly between the spires and is only visible from this vantage point.  Watch this video about the lunar standstill at Chimney Rock.

WHEN WERE YOU YOUNG?

When Were You Young? is a short film by Trevor Ware about exploring our beautiful country on his 1974 Honda CB550K for 3 years.  If this doesn't make you want to hit the road, I don't know what will.  Trevor also has an (inactive) blog but it's still a nice read.  Lastly, earlier this month Trevor was tragically hit on his motorcycle by a drunk driver and is now in a coma.  Friends and family started a hospital fund if you feel so inclined.

GLACIER GORGE TRAVERSE

Photo by Lynn

The Glacier Gorge Traverse (Rocky Mountain National Park) is an epic loop hitting 11 peaks and 12,000' of climbing packed into 20 miles.  The Continental Divide runs to the west and south of the basin and the Long's Peak massif to the east.  The gorge is decorated with enormous slabs of granite, canyons, waterfalls and tarns.  Anton Krupicka recently completed the traverse and wrote a fantastic trip report on his running times blog.  In fact Tony put up a new FKT (fastest known time) for this route.  Truly inspiring.  I hope to head out that way sooner rather than later.

NUMBER ONE YURT-DWELLING ULTRARUNNER IN MISSOULA

Check out this short film by Joel Wolpert featuring ultrarunner Mike Foote. Mike lives in a yurt out in Missoula, MT. His property butts up against the Rattlesnake Wilderness which provides ample trails for training. Mike grew up in Ohio but found his place in the mountains. He works at the Runners Edge in Missoula and coaches for the Hellgate High School Cross Country Team.

OLD SAYING IN SURVIVAL

If you don't have to stand up, sit down.

If you don't have to sit down, lie down.

If you don't have to be awake, sleep.

I cannot recall where I heard this saying but a similar version can be found in Murphy's Laws of Combat:  "Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can sleep."

HISTORY CHANNEL SERIES: MOUNTAIN MEN

The History Channel has a series out called Mountain Men, which I just learned about (better late than never). The show documents the lives of 3 men - Eustace Conway, Tom Oar and Marty Meierotto.  You might recognize a name or two from making your rounds on the outdoor blog circuit.  Make sure you stream the current full-episode at the History Channel.

NATIONAL PARKS AS SEEN FROM SPACE

Crater Lake National Park

Petrified Forest National Park

Death Valley National Park

Denali National Park

Photos courtesy of NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center and the Landsat satellite.