Weather:  Rainy, but no downpour.
Present were:  Mike, K7DOU; Gordon, K7HFV; Randy, KG7GI; Clint, KA7OEI; Tim, KK7EF
Destination:  Wasatch Mine, Mineral Fork of Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Comments:  Rain gear was put to good use.  Parts of the lower trail have turned to streambed owing to changing waterflows from the trail-crossing tributary.  We got to the mine - the first of us taking 90 minutes or so.
Question of the day:  "Which was better for this sort of weather:  Shorts or long pants?"  Long pants tend to get soaked when hiking in a rain, both by the falling rain itself and the wet vegetation one walks through.  If there's wind, however, they still offer a bit of protection...
Total distance:  Approx. 5.8 miles round trip.
Altitudes in feet ASL (approx):  Vehicles, parked on the road:  6720;  The split in the road/trail below the mine:  8180;  The Wasatch Mine portal:  8700
Elevation gain/loss:  1980 feet, approx.
Local sunset on this date:  8:58 pm

Images (300-900k each, .JPG):

• IMG00486 - View down Big Cottonwood Canyon from lower part of trail.
• IMG00487 - View up Mineral Fork toward Regulator-Johnson mine.
• IMG00488 - View up Mineral Fork toward Regulator-Johnson mine w/Randy Lawrence in the picture. The same picture as above, but with no brightness/color correction. (Just for comparison.)
• IMG00493 - At edge of clearing, looking up the canyon w/ Tim, KK7EF.  (One of several test images taken to see if a usable picture could be made from a scene of such extreme brightness contrasts.)
• IMG00495 - Mineral Creek at the log bridge, looking upstream.  Similar are #'s497 & 498.
• IMG00501 - Mineral Creek at the log bridge, looking downstream (slightly nearsighted focus) Similar are #'s 502 & 503.
• IMG00505 - View down Big Cottonwood canyon into the Salt Lake Valley.  (Handheld 1/2 second exposure, brightness stretched.  Image saved as 1/2 size.)  Similar are #a's 507 and 507_bw.
• IMG00510 - Experimental: View across canyon near 1st switchback at bottom.  (It was very dark by this time:  4 second exposure w/brightness stretching, image saved as 1/2 size.)
• IMG00513 - Experimental: View across canyon near 1st switchback at bottom.  (It was even darker when this was taken:  6 second exposure w/brightness stretching.  Color information was useless, so it was removed and the image was resized.)

GPS track of the hike.

Elevation profile of the hike.  Estimated elevation profile of the trail to the mine (one way.)

A more detailed GPS track - A more-detailed map with an estimated track.

Comments:

• These images are 300k-900k in size, .JPG and are in chronological order.
• No-one ever said that all of these images (or any of them) were good.  Some of them have definite focus/exposure "issues."
• EXIF data seems to have been deleted by GIMP even though I told it not to:  I'll have to figure out how to restore it.  If there are any questions as to precise time and/or settings for any picture, feel free to ask.
• All images taken using a Sigma SD-10 camera using the 18-50mm zoom lens.
• Except where noted, all images have been brightness/color corrected - albeit with some inconsistency.  Some have been rotated and cropped to compensate for tilted horizon.
• Images 494-503 were taken with long exposure times (1/3rd to 1/6th second, variously) bracing the camera on the log.  It was very difficult to focus the camera and/or hold it still.

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