Your Top Ten Photos of 2013!

It's almost time to turn the calendar and turn to the new year, and it's a great time to reflect upon all of the wonderful places we've been in 2013!

Many of us take our camera along with us when we hike, and the quality of small cameras, and the accessibility to cameras has never been greater! The shots we take may be beautiful to all, and/or meaningful to us.

I invite you all to join me in looking through your photo vault this last week before the holidays, and post you top ten shots.

Perhaps include a nice blurb about what, where, and why too...


A little history, a little inspiration from past years:

2012:
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?47317-Your-Top-Ten-Photos-of-2012!&highlight=photos+2012

2011:
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?43179-Your-Top-10-Photos-of-2011

2010:
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38676

2009:
http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=33595

2008:
http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26831

2007:
http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19465


Note: As always when posting pictures here, please host them on a third party site, and post a smallish picture here!

2013 isn't over yet! I'm probably done hiking for the calendar year, but I haven't yet sorted through a bunch of photos I took last week. Chances are high that some of them will make my top 10. The one below happens to be one I've gotten online in the last few minutes; there are others I like better.

From Cannon Mtn


On Moosilauke



Pout Pond Bear!



Great Gulf from Adams



View south from North Percy



Taken on the Col Whipple Trail on the way to Cherry Pond



Bondcliff



Snake on the Algonquin Tr, NH



Up in the Kingdom


Barred Owl near Lovewell Mtn



One more because I am a rebel....Kibling Cemetery in Strafford, VT

Not sure I've got ten, but this is my favorite from the year.



Yay, team.

Here's a few I liked ...

High on Mount Hood:



Fort Mountain Summit Ridge:



Lake Willoughby, Vermont:



Illumination Rock, Mount Hood

I didn't get out hiking as much as I usually do this year...as my wife and I welcomed our first into the world, and I stayed closer to home in SoNH rather than go up to the mountains every weekend. In time, I'll return more often and look forward to introducing her to the hills!

Here's my favorite images, in chronological order...


January Thaw in the Glade by Jim Salge, on Flickr


Swift River Covered Bridge by Jim Salge, on Flickr


Sunset From Mount Pierce by Jim Salge, on Flickr


Bloodroot Trio by Jim Salge, on Flickr


Dusk in Sugar Hill by Jim Salge, on Flickr


Dependence and Connection by Jim Salge, on Flickr


Summer Morning Light by Jim Salge, on Flickr


Swamp Maple Reflection Abstract by Jim Salge, on Flickr


Ossipee Stream Swirl by Jim Salge, on Flickr


Blue Hour at the Deerfield Barn by Jim Salge, on Flickr

Our Emma, paw print on our hearts:


Zen moment: Sunset in the woods near home


Snowshoeing with momma


"I should like to come in now, please!"


"I love snow!"


Descending from South Doublehead


Covered in rime on Mount Lafayette summit #40 winter 4k


Snowdrop garden at Maudsley State Park


She loved Salisbury Beach


Paddling with momma at home


Pawprint on our hearts

KDT

Mr. Salge, your photos are outstanding.

Gorgeous photos as always Jim. Hard to pick a favorite, but I really like 5, 7 and 9. Congrats on the new addition to your family!

Nartreb, terrific picture - I like the clouds and the person in the composition.

Grouseking, some neat wildlife sightings and I like the snowy Moosilauke shot.

Mirabela, love the picture. How old is your daughter?

Puma, Mt. Hood - awesome! Like the illumination shot.

Those Emma shots are adorable!

Emma is a seriously photogenic dog.

Thanks, pudgy -- Isidora is ten now, nine in the pic.

Grouseking, puma, and Jim, your photos are amazing!

In chronological order

Sky over Framingham, Mass., September 3.




The Horn across Unknown Pond, September 28.




Unknown Pond. I have a slide from 1984 that I believe looks almost exactly the same, September 28.




Durand Ridge, October 4.




Above King Ravine, October 4.



Mount Liberty from Mount Flume, October 28.




Mount Flume from Mount Liberty, October 28.




View north from Liberty. Yep, same hike as last two, October 28.




Cairn at upper end of Red Spot Trail on Mount Monadnock, December 28.




Monadnock again, December 28.

Actually, I like this one, too, from last January 19. Flagg Hill Pond in Stow, Mass.

Choosing just ten is difficult! Here's some of mine, in no particular order:

Sunset at Balanced Rock in Arches National Park:


Turret Arch through the North Window at sunrise, Arches National Park:


Sunrise at Mormon Row in the Tetons:


Titcomb Basin in the Wind River Range, Wyoming:


Titcomb and Mistake Lakes in Titcomb Basin, seen from the Fremont Saddle; Wind River Range


Family shot at Wall Lake in the Wind River Range:


Malga Brogles (where we slept above cows and chickens in the barn) and the Odles in the Dolomites, northern Italy:


Steve and Norah and the Torri del Vajolet in the Dolomites. A historic snowstorm just before we arrived created winter hiking conditions.


Steve and Norah hiking in the Dolomites:


Bash Bish Falls in the Taconics:


Rocky Mountain Parnassian in the Beartooth Mountains, Wyoming:

^^^ very nice!

Sunrise from Liberty


Franconia Ridge from Liberty


Late afternoon and Bondcliff is deserted


Carrigain and Hancock from Bondcliff


Katahdin from Daicey Pond


Millinocket Lake Sunrise


Crossing the Knife Edge


Katahdin from Fort


Clay


Gryffin, Lake Sunapee


Gryffin, Mount Kearsarge

Tim

Tim. Is that someone running across the knife's edge?

It's Chris Dailey. I think it was a short burst.

Tim

Many, many of these are breathtakingly beautiful. Hard to select even a dozen of the best. The ones of Emma are beautiful and heartbreaking.

Thank you all for sharing. I love looking at these threads. 2013 was a great year of hiking.

Great shots everyone!

Mirabela - My 2 daughters are still under 3 years old, but I think I can get an inkling of the emotions of your shot. I was so proud of my then 2 1/2 year old walking halfway up Kearsarge South this summer. She says she loves hiking already!

Jim- Great shots all around, and especially good job capturing the tender moment in Dependence and Connection. Also perhaps your Swamp Maple shot could be the next $1 million dollar seller, like this reflection captured by Peter Lik in NH. I like yours better.

Kevin- Very nice, meaningful shots of your beloved Emma. The fur-sicles on Lafayette rival some of my winter beardsicle formations. My local stomping grounds are the Belknaps and I have passed by her cairn many times.

Pudgy_groundhog- I am jealous of your travel itinerary and photography as usual. Also inspired by what is possible for my little girls too. Will definitely have to get the Winds some day.

Tim- The ponds around Baxter are special aren't they? Loved your Knife Edge shots, conveys scale and movement so well.

Here are my 10 shots from this year:



1. Revelation

The first two shots in my collection almost never came to be. After driving up in heavy rain in mid-Sept, we cancelled plans to hike Carter Dome and instead opted to redline some of the little trails below tuckerman ravine. I walked away from the car with out my camera, but sprinted back to retrieve upon starting up the trail. When the weather looked better at the Lion's Head junction we opted to head for the summit on nothing more than faith there was something good we could not see. We got breaks in the fog when summiting and then descending Boott Spur. The was the clouds hugged the Washington that day were amazing.



2. Wild Clouds on Washington



3. Daily Sunrise Routine

Art, the man who hikes Major everyday seeing the peaceful, solitary side of this peak that most don't experience



4. November Alpenglow on Northern Presidentials, Pondicherry NWR mid November



5. Moonrise from Pondicherry (same night!)



6. Point the Way

A grey jay aligns its beak with rime covered krumholtz near the summit of Jackson on a cold February day.



7. Crooked Maple Reflection on Crooked Pond



8. Golden Hour on Golden Pond

Sunrise color bathes late autumn foliage from West Rattlesnake



9. Sunset at Sterling Pond, Long Trail, Vermont

My second daughter was born this summer, and a surprise visit from my mother-in-law allowed me to get a totally unexpected 40 mile Long Trail section hike in. Sterling Pond sits at 3100' and is just north of Mansfield (the ridge pictured). No tripod, so I used the roots of the dead tree in the pond to steady this 2.5 second exposure. It was a sweet moment, all alone, cooking dinner, tasting peace and silence that have been in rare supply with our (loud) little blessings.



10. Dwarfed

One of my favorite outings was up Moosilauke on Memorial Day in a foot of fresh snow!!! Its the kind of thing that isn't supposed to happen. The trees had already leafed out in summer foliage below, but were covered from the start. This shot captures the other feeling I had that day, being humbled in presence of forces and places bigger than me. I often hike solo, so it captured how I feel often. I felt the joy of child that day! In one day, I experienced everything that keeps me hiking!

Happy New Year!