Southeast Alaska III

A fancy little multi-sport day a few miles north of Juneau: a bike ride through the old growth forest, catchin' a cool breeze in the hair, and a scramble through the alders and up newly exposed granite to the toe of this bad lookin' flow of ice...

Herbert Glacier presenting herself on a sunny day in the rainforest

Maneuvering around the bend to gain access to the big white ahead

An aesthetic gravitational equation: water + granite = cascades for days...

Old school forest

Derelictly photogenic

Mt. Juneau

A last minute decision to scurry up the slopes of Mt. Juneau with a pal from Idaho. Considering it was late May, the north-facing slope and all its corresponding avalanche chutes were piled high with heavy snow. I would be a cold liar if I told you those chutes didn't spook me...

Looking south toward Roberts Peak, Gastineau Peak, and the Gastineau Channel

Looking east toward Canada and Olds Mountain. More snow than I'd ever know what to do with. But I'm sure I could come up with a few good ideas...

Facing southeast at a nice view. Pretty significant snowpack and a few gnarly avalanche chutes on Roberts Peak, Gastineau Peak, and Sheep Mountain across the way

A couple three mountain goats enjoying a mile high breeze (note: we are not literally one mile high). These billies and nannies elected to give us more personal space than the goats near Sperry Glacier in Montana...

Cityscape of Douglas, Alaska, with Eagle Peak and Admiralty Island sneaking into view in the background

Southeast Alaska II

A pleasant 15 minute bike ride from my apartment will earn you access to this little trailhead.

The flow of the Mendenhall sliding its way down the granite slope at a glacier's pace

Sure-footed on the ice.

Glacial-blue ice caves tucked into the terminus of the Mendenhall

Stone chillin'

I challenge you to display a better picnic opportunity than this.

Southeast Alaska

Casey and I made our way over the White Pass from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory to Skagway. We stopped at the official tourism boundary between the Yukon and Alaska for a photo opportunity and a few declarative hoops and hollars indicating that we had finally made it after several dozen hours sitting on our cannisters in the Jeep. As we were stretching our limbs and preparing ourselves for an undeniably beautiful photograph in front of the Welcome to Alaska sign, a noisy, bulky, cock and balls motorcycle pulled off the highway next to us. A guy in a black leather jacket parked his bike, de-strattled it, and took a few steps to get a better view. Then he let out the most insignificant, infant-like cough you could ever stereotype. Almost as though he were apologizing for having a slight itch in his throat. It sounded as though it were equal parts pathetic sneeze, whimpy cough, and apology. Casey tried to maintain his composure, while I had a more difficult time and ultimately allowed my laughter to spew forth. I'm not sure if the motorbiker heard me laughing. But if he did, I'm not convinced he would have done anything about it...

The Lynn Canal and the Chilkat Range on a sunny spring afternoon

The Chilkat Range as seen from Point Bridget

Aforementioned beautiful photograph. And believe me, it felt as good taking the photograph as it does looking at it a few days later...

El Paso Blanco

If Joe Flannery were to describe this mountie, I'm sure among his descriptors you would find: Extra Long

Northern British Columbia and the Yukon Territory

If ever, Steve Sarles, you are looking at a map of northern British Columbia and you're wondering what rugged country can be found in that unadvertised portion of Canada, you can include these images. Oye! Es muy preciosa!

A solitary woodland caribou presenting me with a profile in front of the gorgeous landscape of Stone Mountain Provincial Park

The Yukon River in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. The fabled and infamous stretch of coldwater slicing its way through the town center. Complete with a nice running trail along the riverbank... Don't believe me, just ask Casey.

Feelin free, lettin 'er rip! In the cozy confines of our parkas on a lakeshore in northern BC... I believe our picnic of mac and cheese, dehydrated mixed fruit, and cold water couldn't have been better spent any place else.

Stone Mountain Provincial Park. Too good to be true. Yet it is indeed true.

An akward roadside celebration in the Yukon. I think Casey was looking for the hook and ladder, but it was too cold outside (despite the short sleeved t), so we didn't wait around

Canadian Rockies

A few words I didn't expect to be among adjectives I would use to describe a national park in Canada: chic. sexy. cosmopolitan. high class. muy, muy carro!

However, If somebody demanded that I declare my preference for either Banff or Jasper, I would select Jasper 10 times out of 10. Unspeakably beautiful, wide open, slow paced, cozy. Among my favorite places I've been to, for sure. Except for the Wapiti Campground on the evening of May 6 when, as Casey described it, Party Cove set up camp next to us complete with tiki torches, ignorant drunks, Kid Rock screamin' out of the speakers, and copious amounts of hard liquor to help encourage the noisy situation..

I think this could be accepted as paradise

Hanging glaciers and snowy and blowy ridgelines along the Icefields Parkway.

As Casey and I sat next to Lake Louise (quite near this very spot) contemplating the derivative of X vs. Y, we heard an Australian shout come from the ice wall behind us. I looked up to see about 80 vertical feet of a 100 foot ice wall crashing down with serious momentum. The climber was hanging halfway on the ice and halfway on the recently exposed granite wall, while the belay man was standing not more than 20 feet from where the pile of icy debris landed. In his charismatic Aussie accent, the climber shouted to his partner, "That was fucking massive, eh?" and started snickering. A few minutes later the situation sunk in, and the climber became sufficiently frazzled... Good thing that sitting a few hundred feet below them were an ER doc (Casey), and a park ranger (yo soy un guardabosque, ahora...)

The morning view from a bootleg campsite in Banff, where we were roused in the middle of the night by a car doing doughnuts in the parking lot

A cold lakeshore where Casey and I shared one refreshing cold one and waxed philosophical about the following topics: girls.