After a year of planning and pouring over maps, we finally headed into the Wind Rivers mountain range in late July. Jim and I spent a few days driving to Wyoming trying to do as much activity as we could in a hope of starting the acclimation process. A few years back Jim heard of the…
The Northern Pickets is my favorite area in the North Cascades. Actually, it is my favorite place period. To be honest, one of the appeals of the area besides the craggy peaks is the “price of admission”. It doesn’t cost money, it will cost you a bunch of sweat and a whole lot of discomfort. …
It was a busy spring. Jim and I headed to Slovenia in early May to celebrate my 60th Birthday. No backpack or climbing gear. We played tourist like normal people. Started in Ljubljana then off to Bled where I celebrated my birthday. We did do some day hikes as we circumnavigated the Julian Alps. We…
When Brooke announced that she was not returning to Washington until July, Jim and I decided to take the opportunity to meet up with her in Mexico. We had so much fun hiking and rock climbing, we decided to meet up in Monterrey, Mexico, again next year. We began our trip by meeting Brooke in…
A year ago, Sarah and I were made aware of a Celebrity Cruise which included 3 ports in Vietnam and 2 ports in Thailand. I have wanted to experience Vietnam since Brooke visited it back in college. She couldn’t say enough positive things about the culture and food. For those that are thinking, a cruise?…
Back in the spring, we planned a hiking trip to Lake Louise and Banff with our friends, Sarah, Jim, Nancy, and Bob. Jim and I decide to take a few days to drive to Lake Louise so we could do some fall hiking along the way. Our first stop was Needle Peak in the Coquihalla…
For this years Golden Larch trip, Yoko, Brooke, Jim, and I did the classic traverse from Carne Basin to Leroy Basin. We added in a side trip to Ice Lakes. Last time, Jim and I camped in Ice Lakes we experience the worse blizzard in our backpacking careers. We were both hoping to avoid a…
Over the last several years, Jim, Fay, and I have been climbing peaks in the Cheam Range in BC, Canada. As of 2018, the three of us had summited 5 of the 7 peaks in the Cheam Range. Our last two peaks, Lady and Cheam, have been on hold due to injuries, surgery, forest fires,…
In late August, the smoke / weather forecast created a perfect window for Jim, Brooke, Andrew and I to do the Buck Creek Pass / Spider Gap loop. I have been wanting to climb Fortress Mtn since I first saw the north face of it from Suiattle Pass 6 years ago. We have been trying…
For a 15-year Wedding Anniversary you are supposed to give each other crystal, instead Jim and I gave rocks. This year, our anniversary fell on the day after some heavy rain which typically clears the air of smoke. We took this opportunity to do a 2-day climb in British Columbia. Mt Lindeman is very close…