Posted by Kalin Wilson on February 21, 2008 at 2:15 AM
Anyone else get a kick out of this month's Outdoor Photographer article "Mountain Trek" about the Rockies?
I found the location of the Golden Horn "sandwiched in the Weminuche Wilderness" and Last Dollar road that "winds up the mountainside until you reach Wilson Mesa and Mount Wilson" kinda funny. I also like the description of the Blue Lakes trailhead as being "just off the San Juan Skyway"
Fun stuff.
Posted by Scott Bacon on February 21, 2008 at 10:46 AM
I haven't received mine yet, but it sounds like that article has some serious issues with accuracy. Written by an outta-stater, or just uninformed??
Posted by Joshua Hardin on February 21, 2008 at 11:47 AM
The great photography was done by James Kay who is a frequent contributor to the magazine and knows the region well, but the story was written by Adam Crawford. A Google search for his name and "Outdoor Photographer" only comes up with this article and one he wrote for PC Photo about monitor calibration. It looks like Crawford misunderstood Kay in his interview just a little bit.
Posted by Joshua Hardin on February 21, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Oh yea, here's another error. Uncompahgre Peak, not Mount Wilson, is the highest peak in the San Juans.
I'm not sure what you're all complaining about...Inaccurate information keeps the crowds down.
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 21, 2008 at 12:50 PM
I saw all that, too. It burns my butt when "outsiders" come into Colorado and end up writing know-it-all articles that are anything but. As much as I like Art Wolfe's stuff, for instance, his Colorado book is an atrocity. Nice photos, but mostly of about four different spots. These make-a-quick-buck projects are an affront to those of us who live and breathe Colorado.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on February 21, 2008 at 4:55 PM
I saw all that, too. It burns my butt when "outsiders" come into Colorado and end up writing know-it-all articles that are anything but. As much as I like Art Wolfe's stuff, for instance, his Colorado book is an atrocity. Nice photos, but mostly of about four different spots. These make-a-quick-buck projects are an affront to those of us who live and breathe Colorado.
I have this book. And if I could go out to California for 4 days or even a week and sell a million copies of a coffee table book, I'd be pretty stoked.
I have to agree. While I like much of Art Wolfe's style, I found this particular book to be a disappointment and probably not one of my best purchases. On first glance it looks like a nice collection of images. But on inspection, or maybe after you've flipped though a couple times, it sinks in that it really does look like it was shot over the course of four days.
Mel-
Posted by George Hager on February 21, 2008 at 7:25 PM
The Golden Horn is not located in the Weminuche.
The Golden Horn is not a glacial cirque - it is a glacial horn.
If you go up the Last Dollar Road you will not reach the Wilson Mesa which is on the other side of the valley.
Yankee Boy Basin road is south of Ouray and not north .
I believe Blue Lakes trailhead is about 9 miles off of Hwy.62 and not "just off" as stated.
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is 8 miles long and not 5.
The above road is not limited to small pickup trucks and cars. Full sized trucks (no RV's or trailers) may pass.
Tremont is not a town but a couple of buildings know as the Tremont Institute.
Greenbriar is east of Cades Cove, but it is on the other side of the freakin park and not "just east of Cades Cove". It is also not a town, but a campground/picnic area.
The article speaks as if the Little River and Greenbriar are close together - they aren't.
There, did I miss anything? Could be the worst, least accurate article I have ever seen. Should be interesting to see the letters to the editor on this one. Maybe the writer is trying to promote his new book - How to End Your Nature Writing Career In One Single Article. I found almost the same information as the article in online sites. Not word for word, but danged close. This is from a nps.gov site. Sound familiar????
"The observation tower on the summit of Clingmans Dome offers spectacular 360° views of the Smokies and beyond for visitors willing to climb the steep half-mile walk to the tower at the top.
On clear days views expand over a 100 miles. Unfortunately, air pollution often limits viewing distances to under 20 miles."
I found essentially the same thing written on many sites.
Too bad as both photographers very good. I'm sure they are feeling the heat.
Posted by George Hager on February 21, 2008 at 7:33 PM
The Golden Horn is not located in the Weminuche.
The Golden Horn is not a glacial cirque - it is a glacial horn.
If you go up the Last Dollar Road you will not reach the Wilson Mesa which is on the other side of the valley.
Yankee Boy Basin road is south of Ouray and not north .
I believe Blue Lakes trailhead is about 9 miles off of Hwy.62 and not "just off" as stated.
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is 8 miles long and not 5.
The above road is not limited to small pickup trucks and cars. Full sized trucks (no RV's or trailers) may pass.
Tremont is not a town but a couple of buildings know as the Tremont Institute.
Greenbriar is east of Cades Cove, but it is on the other side of the freakin park and not "just east of Cades Cove". It is also not a town, but a campground/picnic area.
The article speaks as if the Little River and Greenbriar are close together - they aren't.
There, did I miss anything? Could be the worst, least accurate article I have ever seen. Should be interesting to see the letters to the editor on this one. Maybe the writer is trying to promote his new book - How to End Your Nature Writing Career In One Single Article. I found almost the same information as the article in online sites. Not word for word, but danged close. This is from a nps.gov site. Sound familiar????
"The observation tower on the summit of Clingmans Dome offers spectacular 360° views of the Smokies and beyond for visitors willing to climb the steep half-mile walk to the tower at the top.
On clear days views expand over a 100 miles. Unfortunately, air pollution often limits viewing distances to under 20 miles."
I found essentially the same thing written on many sites.
Too bad as both photographers very good. I'm sure they are feeling the heat.
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 21, 2008 at 7:44 PM
The good news is, I can assure you that next month's issue just might have a more accurate accounting of Colorado's landscapes in it.
Posted by Jennifer Geck on February 21, 2008 at 7:53 PM
Wow, that's horrible! George, you should copy and past your post to OP. I'm sure you all won't be the only ones to point out the mistakes. Let's see what next month brings!
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 22, 2008 at 12:19 AM
Here's a note I just e-mailed to James Kay (the featured Rocky Mountains photographer), and cc'd to the editors at OP:
Jim,
I've considered you a fine photographer for a long time, but the article in the current OP really gets a failing grade. The writer did you no favors. As a Colorado photographer I tend to get a little twitchy when someone from outside the state does a drive-by article, but I've honestly not seen one with as many glaring mistakes as this one. Not knowing enough about the Smokies, I can really only list the mistakes in your section. They include:
1. The Golden Horn is just Golden Horn. Just like you wouldn't say The Pikes Peak or The Mount Whitney. It's just Golden Horn.
2. Golden Horn is not in the Weminuche Wilderness. It is not in any wilderness at all.
3. Golden Horn is not a glacial cirque, it's a glacial horn, hence the name.
4. Mount Wilson Peak? Try Wilson Peak and Mount Wilson, two separate mountains separated by Gladstone Peak in the Lizard Head Wilderness.
5. Mount Wilson is not the highest peak in the San Juans. That status belongs to Uncompahgre Peak at 14,309', 63' higher than Mount Wilson, and almost 300' higher than Wilson Peak.
6. Last Dollar Road does not cross Wilson Mesa. Wilson Mesa is across the San Miguel River valley from Deep Creek Mesa, where the road traverses.
7. The only way to get to the Elk Creek TH (it's actually the Elk Park TH, and no canyon in the name) is to either take the train or drop down the Molas Trail, a grueling drop to the Animas River before following downstream to Elk Park. The article makes it sound like you can just drive 5 miles south of Silverton and voila!, you're at the TH.
8. Yankee Boy Basin turn-off is south of Ouray, not north.
9. Blue Lakes TH is not "just off" Highway 62, but about a 10-mile drive on dirt road.
10. Weminuche Wilderness - "East of Telluride..." While technically correct, I might point out that Des Moines is east of Telluride as well. There's a whole lot of mountain real estate between Telluride and the Weminuche.
11. Yankee Boy Basin road takes off from Hwy-550, not Hwy-62.
Other than that it's an accurate article. I wish these were nit-picky things that could be ignored, but these are pretty substantial errors. I realize that some things get lost in translation between you, who experienced the places, and the writer, who is relating your experiences secondhand, but I'd be surprised if the writer took it upon himself to put Golden Horn in the Weminuche, or name Mount Wilson as the San Juans' highest peak. Beyond these issues, however, you were not represented well by the writer's extremely shoddy and awkward wording throughout the article. I highly recommend you bring this up to the editors at OP. Your mistakes should definitely be addressed, but I think Adam Crawford needs to find another line of work. From what I've heard from a friend in the know, his segment on the Smokies is equally riddled with mistakes.
I look forward to much better articles by or about you, accompanied by your stunning photographs, in the future.
Todd Caudle
Pueblo, Colorado
*end*
I hope it's not too harsh. I admire the guy as a photographer in a big way, despite his propensity to turn the saturation in his images up to 11.
Posted by George Hager on February 22, 2008 at 1:21 AM
I bow to Todd - the master. I should have caught more. I am wondering if we aren't being sucked into an April Fools Day scam.
Posted by Bob Falcone on February 22, 2008 at 2:13 AM
Well written, Todd, and hopefully it'll get someones attention at OP.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on February 22, 2008 at 8:23 AM
Good letter, Todd. I hope the editors and James reply favorably. An article like this could lead to a little frustration for out-of-state photogs trying to plan a trip, or not planning and relying on that kind of info.
Posted by Scott Bacon on February 22, 2008 at 9:47 AM
Not harsh at all. If you're gonna write, publish and get paid for an article, you should check your facts. If you don't, expect to get called on it. Besides, For most of the blatant errors above, all he needed was a map and the internet. This is just plain lazy journalism. The blame lies not only with the author(s), but the magazine editors. Shame on them.
Posted by Rene Pirolt on February 22, 2008 at 1:12 PM
Well written, Todd! I’d love to see their response!
Discussion
16 repliesI found the location of the Golden Horn "sandwiched in the Weminuche Wilderness" and Last Dollar road that "winds up the mountainside until you reach Wilson Mesa and Mount Wilson" kinda funny. I also like the description of the Blue Lakes trailhead as being "just off the San Juan Skyway"
Fun stuff.
http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/content/articles/locations.shtml/
The great photography was done by James Kay who is a frequent contributor to the magazine and knows the region well, but the story was written by Adam Crawford. A Google search for his name and "Outdoor Photographer" only comes up with this article and one he wrote for PC Photo about monitor calibration. It looks like Crawford misunderstood Kay in his interview just a little bit.
I have this book. And if I could go out to California for 4 days or even a week and sell a million copies of a coffee table book, I'd be pretty stoked.
I have to agree. While I like much of Art Wolfe's style, I found this particular book to be a disappointment and probably not one of my best purchases. On first glance it looks like a nice collection of images. But on inspection, or maybe after you've flipped though a couple times, it sinks in that it really does look like it was shot over the course of four days.
Mel-
The Golden Horn is not a glacial cirque - it is a glacial horn.
If you go up the Last Dollar Road you will not reach the Wilson Mesa which is on the other side of the valley.
Yankee Boy Basin road is south of Ouray and not north .
I believe Blue Lakes trailhead is about 9 miles off of Hwy.62 and not "just off" as stated.
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is 8 miles long and not 5.
The above road is not limited to small pickup trucks and cars. Full sized trucks (no RV's or trailers) may pass.
Tremont is not a town but a couple of buildings know as the Tremont Institute.
Greenbriar is east of Cades Cove, but it is on the other side of the freakin park and not "just east of Cades Cove". It is also not a town, but a campground/picnic area.
The article speaks as if the Little River and Greenbriar are close together - they aren't.
There, did I miss anything? Could be the worst, least accurate article I have ever seen. Should be interesting to see the letters to the editor on this one. Maybe the writer is trying to promote his new book - How to End Your Nature Writing Career In One Single Article. I found almost the same information as the article in online sites. Not word for word, but danged close. This is from a nps.gov site. Sound familiar????
"The observation tower on the summit of Clingmans Dome offers spectacular 360° views of the Smokies and beyond for visitors willing to climb the steep half-mile walk to the tower at the top.
On clear days views expand over a 100 miles. Unfortunately, air pollution often limits viewing distances to under 20 miles."
I found essentially the same thing written on many sites.
Too bad as both photographers very good. I'm sure they are feeling the heat.
The Golden Horn is not a glacial cirque - it is a glacial horn.
If you go up the Last Dollar Road you will not reach the Wilson Mesa which is on the other side of the valley.
Yankee Boy Basin road is south of Ouray and not north .
I believe Blue Lakes trailhead is about 9 miles off of Hwy.62 and not "just off" as stated.
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is 8 miles long and not 5.
The above road is not limited to small pickup trucks and cars. Full sized trucks (no RV's or trailers) may pass.
Tremont is not a town but a couple of buildings know as the Tremont Institute.
Greenbriar is east of Cades Cove, but it is on the other side of the freakin park and not "just east of Cades Cove". It is also not a town, but a campground/picnic area.
The article speaks as if the Little River and Greenbriar are close together - they aren't.
There, did I miss anything? Could be the worst, least accurate article I have ever seen. Should be interesting to see the letters to the editor on this one. Maybe the writer is trying to promote his new book - How to End Your Nature Writing Career In One Single Article. I found almost the same information as the article in online sites. Not word for word, but danged close. This is from a nps.gov site. Sound familiar????
"The observation tower on the summit of Clingmans Dome offers spectacular 360° views of the Smokies and beyond for visitors willing to climb the steep half-mile walk to the tower at the top.
On clear days views expand over a 100 miles. Unfortunately, air pollution often limits viewing distances to under 20 miles."
I found essentially the same thing written on many sites.
Too bad as both photographers very good. I'm sure they are feeling the heat.
Jim,
I've considered you a fine photographer for a long time, but the article in the current OP really gets a failing grade. The writer did you no favors. As a Colorado photographer I tend to get a little twitchy when someone from outside the state does a drive-by article, but I've honestly not seen one with as many glaring mistakes as this one. Not knowing enough about the Smokies, I can really only list the mistakes in your section. They include:
1. The Golden Horn is just Golden Horn. Just like you wouldn't say The Pikes Peak or The Mount Whitney. It's just Golden Horn.
2. Golden Horn is not in the Weminuche Wilderness. It is not in any wilderness at all.
3. Golden Horn is not a glacial cirque, it's a glacial horn, hence the name.
4. Mount Wilson Peak? Try Wilson Peak and Mount Wilson, two separate mountains separated by Gladstone Peak in the Lizard Head Wilderness.
5. Mount Wilson is not the highest peak in the San Juans. That status belongs to Uncompahgre Peak at 14,309', 63' higher than Mount Wilson, and almost 300' higher than Wilson Peak.
6. Last Dollar Road does not cross Wilson Mesa. Wilson Mesa is across the San Miguel River valley from Deep Creek Mesa, where the road traverses.
7. The only way to get to the Elk Creek TH (it's actually the Elk Park TH, and no canyon in the name) is to either take the train or drop down the Molas Trail, a grueling drop to the Animas River before following downstream to Elk Park. The article makes it sound like you can just drive 5 miles south of Silverton and voila!, you're at the TH.
8. Yankee Boy Basin turn-off is south of Ouray, not north.
9. Blue Lakes TH is not "just off" Highway 62, but about a 10-mile drive on dirt road.
10. Weminuche Wilderness - "East of Telluride..." While technically correct, I might point out that Des Moines is east of Telluride as well. There's a whole lot of mountain real estate between Telluride and the Weminuche.
11. Yankee Boy Basin road takes off from Hwy-550, not Hwy-62.
Other than that it's an accurate article. I wish these were nit-picky things that could be ignored, but these are pretty substantial errors. I realize that some things get lost in translation between you, who experienced the places, and the writer, who is relating your experiences secondhand, but I'd be surprised if the writer took it upon himself to put Golden Horn in the Weminuche, or name Mount Wilson as the San Juans' highest peak. Beyond these issues, however, you were not represented well by the writer's extremely shoddy and awkward wording throughout the article. I highly recommend you bring this up to the editors at OP. Your mistakes should definitely be addressed, but I think Adam Crawford needs to find another line of work. From what I've heard from a friend in the know, his segment on the Smokies is equally riddled with mistakes.
I look forward to much better articles by or about you, accompanied by your stunning photographs, in the future.
Todd Caudle
Pueblo, Colorado
*end*
I hope it's not too harsh. I admire the guy as a photographer in a big way, despite his propensity to turn the saturation in his images up to 11.