Road Ride Report: Mount Lemmon

The Mount Lemmon Climb is listed as the 33rd toughest climb in the United States in "The Complete Guide to Climbing (by Bike)." From start in the desert of Tucson at the bottom to the alpine forest at the end of the pavement you climb 6200' over 28 miles at an average grade of 5% through some of the best scenery in the Southwest.

Just past Windy Point.

I've had this one on my bucket list for quite a few years so I was pretty excited when I saw that the weather was going to cooperate and let me give it a go in March when it usually still has too much snow at the top.

I drove to the start with a great view of what was coming as Mt. Lemmon looms over the east side of Tucson.

As this was my first trip up, the only real goal I had was to be in the top half of the STRAVA leaderboard and pass more riders than passed me.

I ended up 110 out of 389 riders on the complete climb and passed 15 riders. The only rider that passed me turned around at the 5-mile mark so I'm not going to count him. It appears that quite a few people turn around at the ski resort and skip the last couple of miles (sissys).

The climb itself is amazingly consistent staying between 4-7% grade for most of its length. The angle does kick up at the end after you turn on Ski Run Road where it ranges from 8-10% with a couple of small ramps that went as high as 13% which is always fun after 25 miles of climbing.

The views were fantastic for the entire ride starting at 3000' elevation in the Sonoran Desert and climbing all the way up into the evergreen forest that starts around 5000' and goes to the top at 9100'. You will feel the elevation difference and thin air at the top.

This is easily in my Top-10 road rides in the U.S.. It's right up there with Crater Lake, Lake Tahoe and Big Sur and should be added to everyone's to-do list. Did I mention the 25-miles screamer of a downhill? Great stuff.

Mount Lemmon map and profile.

March has been one awesome month!!!

I would have a hard time remembering the last time I packed this much activity into one month (and it's not over yet).

Snow Canyon, Utah

The month started at Valley of Fire State park in Nevada and took me north to the St. George/Hurricane, Utah area, across northern Arizona to Page and then due south to Sedona. Along the way I shot at Valley of Fire SP, Snow Canyon SP, Quail Creek SP, Zion NP, Sand Hollow SP, Glen Canyon NRA and Dead Horse Ranch SP.

I thought about heading north from Page but wind and cold convinced me that south was the way to go. Since I had never really intended on being that far north this early in the year, this kind of puts me back on course.

I'm hoping over the next few weeks to catch any wildflower blooms that might be out there with the dry winter that we've had this year. I'm seeing a few patches here and there around Sedona so I'm hoping to catch something at a little lower elevation.

I've been putting some serious miles in on the mountain bike this month. This is primarily due to me being close to some of my all-time favorite trails. I've even found a few new gems along the way.

Riding in Valley of Fire

Some of the trails are well known like J.E.M., Gooseberry Mesa and the Sedona Trails but I also rode the St. George and Dead Horse Ranch Trails and found them to be as good as any of the rides at the more well known areas. St. George has done a great job at creating a huge network of trails that can be linked into some big rides.

The Dead Horse Ranch Trails were just a blast. I rode two days at Sedona where it was so crowded it was just annoying. I spent the rest of my time at Dead Horse and had much more fun.

Sunset at Zion Canyon

Monthly highlight:

The photo highlight for the month was Zion National Park.

Zion is in my opinion the most beautiful National Park we have. The dramatic red sandstone walls drop down to a idyllic narrow canyon where the Virgin River flows through cottonwood trees and desert foliage.

The park does get crowded even in the off-season but if you aren't afraid to walk a little you can ditch the crowds.

The other reason I love Zion is because it has excellent rock climbing, great mountain bike trails and one of the toughest road climbs in the country nearby.

The cycling highlight of the month was riding from Dead Horse Ranch SP to Sedona for a 60-mile enduro.

I think that my aversion to driving to trailheads has taken a whole new meaning on this trip. This is clearly illustrated by yesterday's twenty-mile ride to the Aerie Trailhead. Oh yes, a twenty-mile ride to the trail does imply a twenty-mile ride back from the trail. I have to say that it was worth it though. It was a great six hours on the bike, all on dirt and I got to finish with the great DH at Dead Horse.

Thumper Trail at Dead Horse Ranch SP

 It was also a great example of why I ride so consistently. I like have the base fitness where I can come up with a long ride like that on a whim and just go out and do it. No train up, no preparation, just a base level of conditioning that allows me to enjoy pretty much any trail. I don't want to "survive" the ride. I want to enjoy the ride.

It is also a way of being prepared for the worst. If you are going to ride alone in the backcountry, you need to be able to get yourself out of any trouble you may find yourself in. This means having the fitness to not just complete the ride you have planned but also the ride you don't have planned.

One mechanical, one crash and any ride can turn into an unplanned epic.

Route from Dead Horse Ranch to the Aerie/Chuckwagon Loop at Sedona.

Do what you are good at.

Over the last three years I lost track of how many times I was asked what I planned to do when I finished my college degrees. It seemed that almost everyone was surprised when I answered that I would go back to working as a photographer.

Desert Garden is one of my most popular images.

For me, there was never any doubt what I would do because I really do love it. Traveling around the country documenting the world I see is the perfect job for me.

My love of photography may surprise many who know me because I really hate talking about it. I am not a techie, I don't care what kind of camera, lenses, tripods, etc... that people use to produce images. I only care about the final product which for me is the print. How you got from the shoot to the print is almost completely irrelevant and uninteresting to me, all I care about is how that image looks in its end state.

So, on what is almost the 20-year anniversary of my first image sale, I thought I might open up a little about what I really hate talking about.

One of my first published credits - Rock & Ice Magazine

A good place to start this discussion is to explain why I dislike talking shop. For me, that is easy. I do not believe that there is a right or wrong way to create something artistic. Like I said before, what matters is the final product and for me that is a photographic print.

I use Canon cameras and lenses, Epson printers and Moab papers. They work for me and I am comfortable with them. That is all that matters to me. I don't need the latest and greatest, I need a tool that will do what I need it to do. If you ask me for advice on what camera to buy, I probably won't have a clue. I don't really keep up on what is going on with the technology and only do research when I need to replace something. I use a 10-yearold camera with 15-year old lenses and as long as I don't see something that is exponentially better at the type of shooting I do, I don't see any reason to get something new just to have something new.

Too often when you talk to photographers, pros and amateurs alike, they have a workflow that they follow that they think is the best and they are insistent that their way is the right way to do things. I have no such illusions of grandeur. I have a workflow that works for me and it is quite simple.

Oxbow Bend - One of my favorite places.

 
I travel light in the field. I carry my camera attached to a carbon fiber tripod that I throw over my shoulder. I have a small PJ bag that will have one spare lens, two split neutral density filters, a brush to clean the lens and a spare battery. That's it. I see a lot of photographers out there with backpacks stuffed with every piece of gear they own. While they are playing around looking important, I am moving from shot to shot. I don't care if I look professional. I care about how many set ups I can do while the light is good. And for me, the light is only good for an hour on each side of sunrise and sunset. If it is overcast, I may do some macro shooting if there is something interesting.

For landscapes, I shoot in RAW, do an initial edit and conversion using Canon Digital Professional, open the file in Photoshop at actual size, check for dust and sharpness, fit to screen, unsharp mask if needed, check levels, insert file info, save at highest setting, done. That's it. My entire workflow in one easy process. Anything that needs more than that is more trouble than its worth and gets deleted.
I miss the days of film when it was so easy to put your slides on a light table and just trash everything that wasn't up to standard. Now there is so much temptation to try and "fix" those so-so images in PS. I would rather just go out and reshoot.

I have been doing my own printing since Epson came out with the first archival quality inks. I started with a 2000P and then progressed up to a 4000 for larger prints. I use Moab Entrada Paper because it fits the look I want for my prints. Some people like Canon, some like HP, I like Epson. There is no right or wrong, only taste.

Selling prints is an interesting business. It is a part of being a photographer that I both love and hate equally.

I love when someone buys one of my prints for the simple reason that they have seen something that somehow touched them and they have decided that they want to make it a part of their life by hanging it in their home. I cannot think of a greater honor as an artist and I really get upset with artists who somehow feel insulted if people don't buy their work. Just because you create something doesn't mean everyone will like it as much as you do. I have thousands of images in my files. Some of my personal favorites never sell. Some that I don't really like do. People have different tastes.

Rickett's Glen Cascade - Another favorite.

What I hate about selling prints is that sometimes it seems that people want you to sell them on why they should buy a print from you. I don't sell myself. I truly believe that that you should only buy art that you actually like. I would never hang anything on my wall just for that little name down in the corner.

All of my images are also available for stock licensing. I have an exclusive contract with Getty Images. I give them my images and they do all the marketing, licensing, collecting, etc... for me. They get their cut, I get mine. These are the images that are used for advertising, books, magazines, calendars, posters, etc... Most of my images are used in travel guides and magazines but I do find some interesting uses including the recent use of one of my bison images in Glamour Magazine. Over the years, my images have been used by National Geographic, Scientific American, Fodors, National Parks Conservation Association, U.S. Dept. of State and many others.

And this is what I love about my small niche in the photographic world. I am not the best photographer in the world but I shoot what I want and I am good enough to actually make some money doing something I enjoy. And that is something that I think everyone should try to do. Find something you like to do and figure out a way to make that your career.

Twilight at Jumbo Rocks - One of my newest images.