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  1. Mark Schaefer

    Action against an Invasive Plant

    WTEN TV, Albany NY, had a report yesterday on giant hogweed with an interview with a DEC researcher. The video is here.
  2. Mark Schaefer

    High Point in the Gunks

    Positioning the Acme map at the marked tower location, and converting the coordinates to d m s format yields: N 41 42' 29" W 74 20' 41". So the USGS map would appear to be quite correct. The photo in Martin Podskoch's book "Fire Towers of the Catskills" shows the tower and cabin on the edge of...
  3. Mark Schaefer

    High Point in the Gunks

    Nice photos, Tom. That is a very scenic area. That is a good question for which I have never heard an answer. I suspect one would need to climb (or more correctly visit) both to complete the various prominence lists on which the Shawangunk Ridge is included. I doubt either spot would have a...
  4. Mark Schaefer

    Signs Signs Everywhere a Sign

    An unauthorized summit sign that was placed in 2008 on Panther Mountain in the Catskills, on which the sign maker proudly displayed their initials, PWM. The sign was removed in 2010 by the DEC or perhaps a sign vigilante.
  5. Mark Schaefer

    misspelled summit sign! - MacNaughton

    Now, let's not get political. I am sure you would be happy to know that the Adirondacks have a Cheney Cobble on the Adirondack Hundred Highest list. This mountain was named for John Cheney, a very distant 19th century cousin of the former Vice President. John Cheney was an Adirondack Guide...
  6. Mark Schaefer

    46ERS New Book: Heaven Up-h’isted-ness!

    Yvon just beat me to it, so I will just a few of my own thoughts. For me the expression refers to a light-headed sense of euphoria I have when I reach the summit of a mountain and gaze out over the view from the top. It is a bit of a hiker's or runner's high combined with the sheer joy of...
  7. Mark Schaefer

    Macro photography on a budget

    Examples of using Extension Tubes with a Telephoto zoom lens One advantage in using extension tubes with telephoto lenses is that it becomes very easy to throw the background (even relatively close ones) out of focus to better isolate the subject. Here are some examples of using extension...
  8. Mark Schaefer

    Macro photography on a budget

    I concur with the use of extension tubes. Do you know whether the Zeikos extension tubes only work with EF-s mount lenses, or can they also accommodate the full frame EF mount lenses? I use an old set of Kenko extension tubes which is limited to EF mount lenses (which I had from the full frame...
  9. Mark Schaefer

    Least climbed 13-ers list

    Once data is in a database it can be sorted and categorized in a seemingly infinite number of interesting ways. The "least climbed CO 13-ers" would easily become a self-vitiating list given the roughly 600 CO 13er peaks and the relatively small sample size of ListsofJohn members climbing those...
  10. Mark Schaefer

    Stissing Mountain

    I agree we describing the same trail. The area along Hicks Hill Road is state owned and part of the Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area. The primary trailhead parking area is on the side of Hicks Hill Road, a short distance north of Cold Spring Road. The "jeep road" you encountered and which...
  11. Mark Schaefer

    The Hidden Dangers of Mt. Washington

    Nope. You must hike, snowshoe, and/or ski down for it to count. Riding down, flying, teleporting, and exploding off the summit are strictly verboten for peakbaggers.
  12. Mark Schaefer

    Stissing Mountain

    Actually I would say that the report is a very accurate assessment. The trail from Mountain Road has indeed been closed by the property owners at the trailhead on Mountain Road. That is a shame because that was an attractive, and easy to negotiate trail. The much longer trail from Hicks Hill...
  13. Mark Schaefer

    Stissing Mountain

    The southern access trail from Mountain Road has been closed and posted for about 8-9 years. The last I heard the long Hicks Road access trail is still open. It does cross private land, with no trespassing signs posted flush along the sides of trail in some areas for the adjoining lands...
  14. Mark Schaefer

    Snow waves

    Tom and Laurie, I like the image very much. There are a lot of nice elements within the image. The sparkling snow crystals are very nice accents throughout the image. I do agree in general with John's cropping. That portion of the image has the best and the most interesting defined details...
  15. Mark Schaefer

    Catskill 35 Most Prominent Peaks

    No, I am not a member of the LoJ site. I am a fan of the LoJ and Peakbagger sites because of their many lists. I now prefer to hike a la carte from the lists rather than endeavoring to complete any entire list. So I am not really interested in tracking my hikes online. I noticed the CHH list...
  16. Mark Schaefer

    Catskill 35 Most Prominent Peaks

    Nice bit of work. I did a quick look over the list. While I did not perform and exhaustive verification, the list appears reasonable in that it has the peaks I would have generally expected. Nice to see a couple little 1K's make the list (the South Hill near the Rondout Reservoir and Cairo...
  17. Mark Schaefer

    leaf gets ice.

    Your photos are like the icing on the cake to Blaze's fine images. Well done on the route and art.
  18. Mark Schaefer

    Lincoln and Lafayette, 11/6

    Awesome photos. The photos of the hikers against the clouds are amazing. The cloud bank and rime ice are also stunning. That camera of yours is the little camera that could. Of course, this is more a reflection on the photographer. :cool:
  19. Mark Schaefer

    B&H Photo in NY Times

    Thanks for posting, Mohamed. That is an excellent read on how this very well run photo store operates and maintains its high standing reputation. It is also quite refreshing to read that B&H does not buy into the PC attitude that "The customer is always right". A good salesman and store...
  20. Mark Schaefer

    2010 Fall Foliage thread

    I have not had time to get most my autumn photos sorted, organized, and online yet. I do promise to post more images later. But here are a few images from this past Monday in the Winter Clove of the Catskills. A TR is here :
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