Mysterious Headlamps
10/8/13: A tribute to the fallen, a night hike for Timothy Fulkerson on Loveland Pass, CO
OCT 09 2013 BY JEFF WARNER
"As I was setting up my camera gear to try and capture the aurora last night on top of 11,990′ Loveland Pass, I heard voices off in the distance. Voices? I thought I was alone up there in the dark, 37 degrees, no moon or wind, just me and the stars (though I had noted that there was one car at the top of the pass when I arrived at 2130 hrs.). I looked across the valley to see several headlamps on the saddle, descending from the ridgeline above Loveland Basin Ski Area. I continued setting up my primary camera to start ‘looking around’ to see if the aurora borealis was out, though it wasn’t in any way obviously visible, though it seemed to me that the sky near the horizon had a very, very faint reddish hue, but I’d seen that before, given all the light pollution to the west.
What were they doing up there above the pass at night?
Since the aurora was not yet obvious enough to concentrate on, I started capturing random images of the Milky Way to the south, occasionally seeing the headlights poke up above the ridge line. I could hear them chatting and calling their dog, which at one point howled back at some coyotes off in the distance. Even though I knew the aurora was liable to be behind me to the north, I kept returning to the hikers on the ridge line, wondering what they could possibly be doing on this cool October night. I decided to set up my second camera body for a time-lapse of the Milky Way over the ridgeline they were on, hoping that they would return directly to my location, providing something unusual to see, given that it was nearing midnight.
They did.
Brennen Griffin, Matt Dolbec and Kevin Millonig were on a ‘tribute’ hike, in honor of their friend, Army Spc. Timothy Fulkerson, who died in the line of duty in Tikrit, Iraq on 10/8/06. They told me a bit about Timothy and how each year since, they had done a night hike on Loveland Pass on the date of his passing in his honor, even in near white-out conditions one year ago, in 2012. I showed them some images of them high up on the ridge with the Milky Way above, and they were quite interested in seeing the results of the night’s shooting. I told them how to get a hold of me, and this morning I received this email from Brennen, quoted here with his permission, as I cannot possibly convey the story any better:"
Hey Jeff,
This is Brennen Griffin. We met last night up on top of Loveland Pass; I’m the one that lives down here in Golden. Just wanted to shoot you my email and touch base with you about maybe getting a pic or two from you. I know I had briefly told you of what we were up to last night but if I may, I would like to tell you a brief story behind it, as I love to share short life stories of those heroes that are no longer with us.
The soldier we were honoring last night is named Timothy Fulkerson. You see, I was a Ranger Medic in the army for 6 years and Tim was a .50 cal gunner on my team. Our team was extremely close, as we were a counter sniper/counter IED team that operated only at night; hence the reason for why we do that hike at night. Tim was killed on one of our missions the evening of the 8th of October, 2006 in the city of Tikrit, Iraq. We’ve been doing that hike ever since. Our team suffered severe losses during our last deployment to Iraq, June 2006 to Sept 2007 and more specifically during the months of October, November, and December. Tim was the first teammate to fall, followed by nearly half of the other members of my 13 man team.
Tim was by far the most light hearted of all of us. He kept us laughing even in moments of pure terror. Our team had a very high operational tempo and we rarely had contact with our families but on the night Tim was killed in action, he had sent an e-mail to his parents reassuring them that we were safe and not in harms way. And in the purest Tim form, his last words to his parents were, “Mom and Dad, I do not want you to worry about me and my team. It’s not that bad this time over here. In fact, it is safer here than in Michael Jackson’s bedroom…” and in my opinion, that last phrase that Tim shared with his parents sums up his personality and the affect he had on all of us. In the face of adversity, and minutes away from departing for what he knew would be an intense and potentially grave mission, he still had it inside of him to reassure his family and one last time, make them laugh.
I appreciate you letting me share this information with you. As I said earlier, I feel it is my responsibility to share the lives of those individuals with others who may never know anything of their existence. Thank you for being there to capture a moment that means more to me than most will ever know. Your pictures you showed us were truly impressive, I hope you got some great shots last night.
Thanks again,
Brennen Griffin
"[Above] is the time-lapse that I felt compelled to create–for some unknown reason–despite my intended subject being behind me to the north. The sequence of 30-second exposures covers from 10:02 to 11:29 PM, when I packed up to head home. You can see their headlamps at the beginning of the video in the center, then a few seconds later descending the mountain to the saddle of Loveland Pass.
I was glad that I crossed paths with Brennen, Matt and Kevin, a chance meeting late in the night, high on top of a mountain pass that I once flew over often in the middle of the night, a place where I’ve spent a lot of time hiking in the winter. A chance to learn a bit about an American hero who died for his country, in defense of preserving the way of life that we all enjoy here in the United States.
Thanks to Timothy, and to Brennen, Matt and Kevin for keeping his memory alive in a way that allowed me to share it with whomever might read this." ~ Jeff Warner
10/8/13: Hikers on Loveland Pass, CO beneath the Milky Way.
The Gringotts Dragon
Ukrainian Ironbelly
This dragon (more specifically part of the Ukrainian Ironbelly species) was used to guard several high-security vaults, including the Lestrange Vault, at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. It was encountered by Harry Potter and his friends when they infiltrated the bank in 1998, (in order to obtain a horcrux) although it is likely the dragon had been guarding the vaults for a long time prior to this. This dragon was trained to be tamed when he hears a sound in a way which Hermione thought was barbaric.
Early History
It is unknown when exactly this particular dragon was placed to guard the vaults it was assigned, but it is known that during this time it was trained to fear the sound of the Clankers as it expected pain upon hearing it, causing it to retreat and allow those with using the Clankers to access the vaults. This was most likely achieved using the process of classical conditioning. The dragon was aged and half-blind by the spring of 1998.
As Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione had been planning to break into the Lestrange Vault for a few weeks ahead of time, they fully expected to find the dragon and were able to use the Clankers (with the help of Imperiused goblin Bogrod) to drive it away and get into the vault.
After the goblin Griphook abandoned them and they were carried out of the vault in a cascade of treasure, Harry, Ron, and Hermione jumped onto the back of this dragon in desperation to avoid the charging wizards and goblins. Hermione severed the dragon's chains and used a Gouging Spell to help the dragon carve its way out of the tunnel and toward the surface, at one point it broke part of the mine rail causing a cart to go flying off killing several wizards and goblins in it at the time. The other two pitched in, and the dragon crashed through the Gringotts hall, out into Diagon Alley, and took off.
Later life
Hermione: "What’ll happen to it, do you think? Will it be alright?"
Ron: "You sound like Hagrid. It’s a dragon, Hermione, it can look after itself. It’s us we need to worry about […] I don’t know how to break this to you, but I think they might have noticed we broke into Gringotts."
— Hermione and Ron discussing the dragon after they jump off the dragon.
The trio soared on the back of the dragon for a while, but finally jumped off into a lake as the dragon lowered its flying height nearer to the water's surface to get a drink. Although Hermione expressed concern for leaving the dragon in the wild, Ron was confident it would be able to defend for itself without difficulty. It is unknown what happened to the dragon afterwards.
Physical Appearance
"A gigantic dragon was tethered to the ground in front of them, barring access to four or five of the deepest vaults in the place. The beast's scales had turned pale and flaky during its long incarceration under the ground; its eyes were milkily pink; both rear legs bore heavy cuffs from which chains led to enormous pegs driven deep into the rocky floor. Its great spiked wings, folded close to its body, would have filled the chamber if it spread them, and when it turned its ugly head toward them, it roared with a noise that made the rock tremble, opened its mouth, and spat a jet of fire that sent them running back up the passageway."
—Description of the dragon in 1998.
The dragon was a large, savage creature with enormous spiked wings and an ugly head with partially blind eyes a milkily pink colour. Due to being underground for so long, the dragon's scales were pale and flaky, and it bore the marks of its brutal treatment from goblins: scars on its face made by vicious slashes across its face from, Harry guessed, hot swords. Nevertheless, its scales were described to bear the consistency of steel. Prior to its escape, both of its rear legs had heavy cuffs on them with chains leading to massive pegs driven far into the rocky floor of the subterranean chamber. The dragon's roar was said to make the rock tremble, and it was known to breathe jets of flame.
As an Ironbelly, it had some difficulty escaping from the bank, and took some time to stay aloft in mid-air after it was freed from its incarceration there.
Behind the scenes
"If Charlie was here, he'd know how to deal with this."
—Ron on Charlie's skills with dragons.
This dragon's species was not identified in the novel. It was stated to be a Ukrainian Ironbelly in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, although the dragon's appearance shows great similarities to the New Zealand-native Antipodean Opaleye.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game) they use a Common Welsh Green to guard said vault instead of an Ukrainian Ironbelly.
In 1991, when Rubeus Hagrid talked to Harry about Gringotts (the first time), he told him rumours about there being dragons guarding Gringotts vaults. Harry, taking interest, tried to coax Hagrid to tell him more about the dragons. Harry also sees a flash of flame and leans out of the cart to investigate, but is hastily pulled back in by Hagrid.
Appearances
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Mentioned only)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Mentioned in Daily Prophet)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (First appearance)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (First identified as a Ukrainian Ironbelly)
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