Circle of Friends

[DiscGo]

I was looking at the Circle of Friends on Climb-Utah, and I wasn't sure what to think. Are any of you guys members, and is it worth it?

[tanya]

I was looking at the Circle of Friends on Climb-Utah, and I wasn't sure what to think. Are any of you guys members, and is it worth it?

Yes, it is! :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: Shane has great beta and it's only a few bucks to help him keep his website up and going. He does not sell anything like most websites do so I think its great he even does it. His beta is wonderful too and he is adding new stuff all the time.

[Reedus]

Iceaxe has been a long time member, ask him. He'll give you an honest opinion.

[marc olivares]

i'm a member, and yeah. i'd say it's worth it.

lots of good info in there.

besides, Shane needs the money, being a fashionista is tough work and that Peter Frampton hairdo doesn't pay for itself :lol8:

[Iceaxe]

I consider the CoF to be one of the three best values I know of that are available to Utah Outdoor enthusiasts.

In no particular order I consider the three biggest bangs for the buck available to be CoF, Kelsey

[tanya]

[quote=Iceaxe]I consider the CoF to be one of the three best values I know of that are available to Utah Outdoor enthusiasts.

In no particular order I consider the three biggest bangs for the buck available to be CoF, Kelsey

[Iceaxe]

To Outdoor enthusiasts or those interested in canyons? Its a big outdoors and that's a bold statement. :popcorn:

For those that didn't actually read the whole entire post.....

"There is a lot of other good stuff, the three listed are just my opinion and opinions will vary greatly with interest."

:lol8:

So what are your three best values????


.

[tanya]

To Outdoor enthusiasts or those interested in canyons? Its a big outdoors and that's a bold statement. :popcorn:

For those that didn't actually read the whole entire post.....

"There is a lot of other good stuff, the three listed are just my opinion and opinions will vary greatly with interest."

:lol8:

So what are your three best values????


.


1. Men :Ahnuld:
2. Outdoor Men :Ahnuld:
3. Fit Men :Ahnuld:

[erial]

three best values to an out of stater:

southwest airlines

car rentals in vegas

lots of free camping throughout utah

[snatch]

3 best values
- experienced partners
- reliable partners
- accurate beta

...all of which you can find on uutah & climb-utah

[Brewhaha]

In no particular order:

uutah.com

This website is fantastic for discussing all things outdoor in Utah. I love the trip reports, the pictures, and the opinions of those who have already "been there". I feel confident that I can ask an opinion here about almost any kind of trip I want to take and I will get helpful information.


climb-utah.com

Although I am not a member I soon see that changing. For non-members there is still plenty of good information available (although this free info is probably more for the hiker than the canyoneer.) I am impressed by the quality of the information that is there and very impressed by the constant upgrading nature of the site. The fact that someone is constantly updating the site and is passionate about maintaining it is important. I would love to see more entries in the "weekend warrior" and "family fun" sections; however, I have seen an increase in these areas.

www.zionnational-park.com

Since Tanya is too humble to pimp her own site I will. Her site is very extensive and is a wonderful place for hikers and backpackers (first) and canyoneers (second) IMO. There is a great variety of trips and extensive information on each. Her site is like a guidebook on steroids. The pictures are fantastic as well. I would like to see more GPS coordinates and/or GPS tracks (like UMB). Also, I would like to see a Southeast Utah section covering Cedar Mesa and the likes.

www.utahmountainbiking.com

A fantastic site for mountain biking. There are tons of trails covered and I really like the techno-geek beta provided in the form of GPS tracks of all sorts. I do think that the trail descriptions could be a bit more informative (like those in C-U or ZNP mentioned above.)

For those running these sites: :hail2thechief: :clap:

[Iceaxe]

southwest airlines

Funny.... I usually consider Southwest a top value when I want to visit the Big City. :lol8:

Just got back from LA on a $59 ticket :2thumbs:

:popcorn:

[tanya]

In no particular order:


www.zionnational-park.com

Since Tanya is too humble to pimp her own site I will. Her site is very extensive and is a wonderful place for hikers and backpackers (first) and canyoneers (second) IMO. There is a great variety of trips and extensive information on each. Her site is like a guidebook on steroids. The pictures are fantastic as well. I would like to see more GPS coordinates and/or GPS tracks (like UMB). Also, I would like to see a Southeast Utah section covering Cedar Mesa and the likes.

Thanks Brew :nod: --- that's because from my partners point of view canyoneering is all just hiking. One is with a rope and one is without. That's because he has been doing canyons in Zion long before the term canyoneer was made popular --- so we treat the canyons pretty much as we do hiking or climbing routes. And we stick to our area --- Zion, Bryce, Red Canyon, Cedar Mountain, North Rim Grand Canyon, Paria Canyon, Grand Staircase (Skutumpah and Cottonwood) and the stuff thats found between. [Everything that is close to the east side of Zion since Zion is our focus] We never get to places like the Swell, Moab or Cedar Mesa. We might branch out and do the entire GSENM some day, but we still have more things to do close by first.

[Brewhaha]

Tanya - I know you have to have limits and boundaries. I'm just jealous that the SW corner of the state gets your attention. Oh well....

[tanya]

3 best values
- experienced partners
- reliable partners
- accurate beta

...all of which you can find on uutah & climb-utah


There is nothing like having a great partner! I could never do the classes or the camps... its too much like school. --- But a great partner is awesome!

[tanya]

[quote="Brewhaha"]In no particular order:

www.zionnational-park.com

I would like to see more GPS coordinates and/or GPS tracks (like UMB). [/Brewhaha]

I talked to Bo about this. :ne_nau: Are you talking about having GPS coordinates that can be downloaded and put into a GPS to follow? If so it will be hard to get him to agree to that. He says that takes the adventure out of it. I have been looking around and it seems its the way things are going. :popcorn: Is it important to people to have those? Should I work on softening Bo? :mrgreen:

[Brewhaha]

Yes, coordinates that could be downloaded or manually entered.

I personally like them. Others may not. Just because they are posted doesn't force anyone to use them. If someone wants to maintain the thrill of the hunt then they can just ignore them. For me, I like having them "just in case".

I certainly understand not providing coordinates to the secret or special places. (We all have those kinds of places.) But for many hikes, I think that sharing of coordinates really adds to the beta.

[tanya]

Yes, coordinates that could be downloaded or manually entered.

I personally like them. Others may not. Just because they are posted doesn't force anyone to use them. If someone wants to maintain the thrill of the hunt then they can just ignore them. For me, I like having them "just in case".

I certainly understand not providing coordinates to the secret or special places. (We all have those kinds of places.) But for many hikes, I think that sharing of coordinates really adds to the beta.

I dont believe in keeping places secret. Can you show me a link of what you are talking about? So I know for sure? We do give GPS coordinates to key places along the hike?

[Brewhaha]

I think that the way Climb-Utah handles GPS coordinates is about right (at least in the free beta that I've read so far.) Coordinates to such things as key roads, intersections, turns, trailheads, junctions, sites, spur trails, etc.

If you really want to go crazy, here is a link the Utah Mountain Biking's beta on Moab's Slickrock trail. At the bottom of the page are complete tracks in a variety of formats. Fun for the techies, but not necessary.

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/slickrck.htm

[tanya]

I think that the way Climb-Utah handles GPS coordinates is about right (at least in the free beta that I've read so far.) Coordinates to such things as key roads, intersections, turns, trailheads, junctions, sites, spur trails, etc.

If you really want to go crazy, here is a link the Utah Mountain Biking's beta on Moab's Slickrock trail. At the bottom of the page are complete tracks in a variety of formats. Fun for the techies, but not necessary.

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/slickrck.htm

We have coordinates for anything that should need them? Look in the center column of the pages ... Here is an example:

http://www.zionnational-park.com/kolob-canyon.htm

I will look at the going crazy link :2thumbs:

[Brewhaha]

Perfect! I don't know how I missed those. I must have been distracted by all the pictures of the trails I was looking at.

[tanya]

GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
Garmin National Geographic Google Earth GPX


That looks like a lot of work.. maybe latter... :mrgreen:

We do have a map with each canyon/hike that would need one. That along with GPS coordinates and a trail description should do it.

I will try and get with the new stuff and learn how to make it so they can download coordinates right into their gadget. :cool2: Sounds hard!

[greyhair biker]

GPS coordinates would be easy to get even without going to the actual location and waypointing it from the location...all you'd have to do is take them from a topo map program that uses the actual USGS quads and put your cursor on the point or general area to look for and the location of the cursor would show up in a window or tool bar on top of the program and give you an exact Lat. & Long. to enter into your unit. - Not as fun as being there but it works for general locating. If you need to be more accurate you'd have to actually be there to locate down to 3 meters.

[bruce from bryce]

#1 Bargain - Southern Utah

#2 Bargain - Canyoneering with Ram as your tutor

#3 Bargain - All the websites with the great people willing to share their information

#4 Bargain - Shane teaching me how to rappel from the back of his truck and then taking me through my first two canyons. And Circle of Friends ain't bad.

[Windwalker]

I was looking at the Circle of Friends on Climb-Utah, and I wasn't sure what to think. Are any of you guys members, and is it worth it?

Well worth the money? Yes! My subscription to "Backpacker" and Climb-Utah came due within a couple days of each other this last week. I renewed Climb-Utah w/o any thought, didn't renew Backpacker. Climb-Utah is pure UTAH.. I don't dangle from a rope (technical) but there are more than enough Hardcore/Weekend Warrior hike/climbs to keep my weekends eventful. For me it's well worth the subscription price just for the GPS waypoints alone because I "do" use them.

JR

[DiscGo]

Well worth the money? Yes!

Thanks. I think I'll ask for a membership for Christmas. The GPS coordinates are huge to me.

[tanya]

Well worth the money? Yes!

Thanks. I think I'll ask for a membership for Christmas. The GPS coordinates are huge to me.



We always include them on any difficult hike/canyon along with a warning that GPS units don't always work in the canyons. Take a map along too guys! We rarely use GPS coordinates to find anything. We tried a couple of times and they were wrong... but we dug out a map and found them. But then we are usually off finding something that someone has just given us some coordinates rather than something published. I would hope anything published is correct.

I like your new avatar. I really like to see the face of who I am talking to. I thought your wife posted sometimes too with the same id. How do we know if we are talking to you or her. :haha:

[Windwalker]

Well worth the money? Yes!

Thanks. I think I'll ask for a membership for Christmas. The GPS coordinates are huge to me.



We always include them on any difficult hike/canyon along with a warning that GPS units don't always work in the canyons. Take a map along too guys! We rarely use GPS coordinates to find anything. We tried a couple of times and they were wrong... but we dug out a map and found them. But then we are usually off finding something that someone has just given us some coordinates rather than something published. I would hope anything published is correct. [

We've always been able to find & follow the gps coordinates you have posted with each hike, but as you advise we always carry a map and compass. We also print out the hike narrative and attached map or make one of our own with the POIs and waypoints so we can see the progress (or lack of) we are making in the overall hike.

Thanks for your efforts, it makes our hikes more enjoyable.

JR

[DiscGo]

I bought Utah Topo about a year ago and I find between the topo maps and the gps, I'm usually good. Thanks for the input.

[accadacca]

How do we know if we are talking to you or her. :haha: [/color]
Yeah, this is information that Tanya might need to know! :lol8:

[tanya]

How do we know if we are talking to you or her. :haha: [/color]
Yeah, this is information that Tanya might need to know! :lol8:


:mrgreen: :naughty: :cool2: :oops: :lobby:

[nelsonccc]

Shane's site is great. Everytime i've been to Zion for a canyon I've had his desription and his GPS points in my GPS. They make a huge diference. They've helped me out many a times, in particular, one horrible night coming out of the sneak and peak for Imlay. At night with clouds and rain, having never been in Imlay before (we came down from Potato) the GPS coordinates allowed us to pinpoint the right canyon to hike up and helped us gauge our progress back to the Wet Rim Trail. Definately worth the $.