Saturday, October 24, 2009

2,000 Miles of Mountains

Like it or not, there are indeed several thousand miles worth of rocky peaks in North America that you'll never see. The good news: there are several thousand miles of rocky peaks in North America that you can certainly feast your eyes, and perhaps even your boots, fingers, and kayaks upon. The even better news: these very mountains extend beyond this recent 2,000 mile trip. A few thousand more miles to the northwest, and about 10,000 miles to the south. Not a bad spinal column of jagged granite and crumbly feldspar. Whoever says that all of the "good spots" are overrun with people and infrastructure apparently has only visited the spots that are overrun with people and infrastructure. I will let one secret out of the bag, but not many more: Stone Mountain Provincial Park, BC. I've said too much...


After two straight weeks of rain, wind, and rainy wind in Windfall Harbor, we had a few hours of perfect weather for a celebratory final paddle at the end of the summer...



Our cook tent early in the evening, surrounded by the solar powered bear deterrant: an electric fence


Two days on the ferry to Prince Rupert and two more on the road through northern BC, just in time to catch a quiet alpenglow in Jasper, Alberta

Heavy skies following us in from the north



Chilly breeze blowin' off the Columbia Icefield