Around Telluride

by Erik Dalton

 

View towards Lizard Head The Hope Lake trail starts and ends in the Trout Lake area just southeast of Telluride.  I regard this hike as a classic in the fall because of the sweeping views it provides looking out towards the Lizard Head Wilderness and the Wilson Range of 14ers.  Hope Lake is also off the beaten path and a little harder to get to, so if you are looking for some solitude, it can usually be found in the high country surrounding Hope Lake.

To find Hope Lake trailhead, drive out Hwy. 145 past Ophir and turn left at the Trout Lake Road. You parallel the lake for a while before making another left on Trout Lake Road #626, which is well marked.  It's approximately a 10-minute drive from this turn to the trailhead for Hope Lake, which is easily found and marked with a large sign and accompanying map.  Be sure to bring a lunch or some snacks, as this hike is an out-and-back that leads you into the high country and offers some great spots for stopping to smell the roses – rather, wild flowers.

[click "Play" to hear Charlotte Jorgensen's conversation with Susan]

 

 

1__#$!@%!#__unknown October 7 marks the Telluride Council for the Arts & Humanities' final First Thursday Art Walk of the 2010 season. The popular day-long event is a chance for Telluride to flaunt its robust fine art scene. It is also a meet-and-greet for locals and guests: galleries, stores and studios stay open late until 8 p.m.

(The free Art Walk brochure is available at participating venues, hotels, and coffee shops and includes a self-guided map. Or go to http://www.telluridearts.org/humanities.html.)

by Erik Dalton

 

Wasatch Trail September 2010(70) Bear Creek is well known to most Telluriders. The popular hike to the falls has always been a great escape from town. Big trees, gushing creeks, and expansive views welcome hikers as they enter the canyon from the edge of town. The Wasatch Trail is essentially a continuation of the Bear Creek Trail, taking the hiker high above the falls, eventually cresting the high ridges surrounding the basin at 13,000 ft. Although the Wasatch Trail is not for the faint of heart, it is certainly a trail worth every bit of effort, especially in the fall when you can almost be assured it will be just you and the marmots up in the high country.

The Wasatch Trail is marked by a small wooden sign located in the last big flat area before you reach Bear Creek Falls. As soon as you turn right onto the Wasatch Trail, you immediately start climbing towards the cliff bands above, traversing numerous switchbacks as you work yourself high on the hillside towering over the falls.

by Erik Dalton

 

High Basin below summit-Sneffels Highline Trail The Telluride valley is surrounded by some great hikes, but none can compete with the few that take you up into the high country of our surrounding San Juan Mountains.  The Sneffels Highline Trail is one of these classics that can be completed as a loop right from town, and leads the hiker up through the pines and aspens into incredible high alpine basins and to some of the best views around.

The Sneffels Highline Trail is a 13 mile hiking loop that starts and ends in the town of Telluride, and can be accessed via the Jud Wiebe Trail at the top of Aspen Street.  The trail first loops through National Forest land on the north side of town as it climbs its way up towards Pack Basin, eventually topping out just below Mount Emma at 12,200 ft. in the Sneffels Wilderness Area.  Although the climb up from town is steep, the trail is in great condition and the effort is well rewarded along the way with incredible views down into Mill Creek Basin and back towards the ski area.  The hiker gets the sense of traveling back through time as old mining cabins and the remnants of mines and equipment can be seen scattered along the landscape. 

IMG_7909 Telluride Inside... and Out immediately called Shlomi Eldar's "Precious Life" one of the most powerful films we saw at the Telluride Film Festival last month.

"Precious Life" is a documentary about a Palestinian family trying to save the life of their infant son in an Israeli hospital. Susan had only a few moments to chat with Shlomi after the screening, as he was being rushed off to another event. Shlomi promised to take some time after the dust settled (he was headed for the Toronto Film Festival immediately after Telluride) to do an interview with Telluride Inside... and Out. This article, conducted by email, is the result of that conversation.

S_1 Susan Viebrock: At any point in your life did you imagine yourself directing a major documentary?

Shlomi Eldar: I started this project only because I couldn't get into Gaza Strip after Gilad Shalit has been kidnapped and after the blocked of Gaza by Israel. I had to find new stories so when I have got the e-mail from Dr. Raz Somech I said to myself "let's try and make a piece about it, it might be interesting." Only when one single person donated the whole amount of money I found myself following the process and the journey of saving Muhammad. Something inside me told me that it can become a film. In short I didn’t think or mean to make a major documentary and I didn’t realized that I could take 3 years working on that film.

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Rachel Loomis Lee]

 

 

Abw_web Baby, we've come a long way, but women throughout the country, even in the Telluride region, generally a Shangri-La, are still dogged by challenges that we can't legislate or demonstrate away, among them, breast cancer and unhealthy relationships.

Nationally, October is Breast Cancer Awareness and Domestic Violence Prevention Month. Locally, in Telluride, to highlight these daunting issues, the Ah Haa School for the Arts has designated October "The Art of Being a Woman Month."  Throughout October, our community arts center salutes the courageous women of San Miguel County (and the organizations that support them ) by showcasing women in the arts. 

 This week's video from Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel gives us a view of some of the criteria we should use in selecting a dog. You are thinking about getting a puppy. Have you thought about...

by Walter Wright

The Town of Telluride in cooperation with The New Community Coalition (TNCC) is hosting Fall E-Cycle – Regional Electronics Only Recycling Friday and Sat. Oct. 1-2, 2010.

Regional residents and businesses may drop items on Friday, October 1, 2010, 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.  and Saturday, October 2, 2010, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at 1370 Black Bear Road at the Public Works & Transit Facility in the Town of Telluride.