mountains

Glacier National Park

in

After Yellowstone and Grand Teton with friends, Ting and I drove north to Whitefish to tone down the camping aspect a notch, enjoy some time in a town (with showers), dining, shopping, and exploring. And, more importantly, making a day trip to Glacier National Park. It was a bit of a gamble, as we only had a day to spend in the park, but we decided to rise early to ensure minimal crowds. We had planned a couple of hikes, but despite the initially cloudy, rainy weather, lots were completely full even at 7am. We soldiered on through the clouds up the Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan Pass - Ting cringing with acrophobia - and managed to find literally the last parking spot at the Pass’s visitor center. Although our intended hike, to the Hidden Lake Overlook, was closed due to bear activity, we had the opportunity to hike the Highline Trail to Haystack Butte. I can’t say we were disappointed - Ting was once again apprehensive of the exposed cliff-edge hiking, but we were rewarded with breathtaking views as the morning sun partially cleared the clouds.

Tetons Deconstructed

in

The Tetons and the surrounding area was so spectacular, they required a second look. True in both the sense that we made two day trips there to ensure good conditions and in that I decided to shoot frames specifically focused on the incredible light and textures of the mountains alongside those highlighting the near-fall colors of my previous post.

Grand Teton National Park

in

It seems unfair that Grand Teton National Park is a stone’s throw from Yellowstone. Two of the most beautiful national parks in America in such close proximity - but we took full advantage, traveling there not once but twice. Of course, the first time we made the day trip down to the Tetons, the smoke was so bad, we literally couldn’t see the mountains. Still, that made the second trip all the more spectacular, as anticipation had built, and our desire to see the range and their surroundings was strong.

Yellowstone

in

Ting, our friends Chip and Miranda, and I all traveled to Yellowstone National Park for a week. We camped at Grant Village Campground, visiting West Thumb, Old Faithful, and the Grand Prismatic Spring, while casually exploring random other areas of the park. The weather was fantastic aside from some smoke, and the calls of the elk at night and close wildlife encounters will probably enter my dreams for quite a while. The bear you see below was captured at long distance; we saw him bare minutes after commenting that we hadn’t seen any grizzlies; almost immediately after, we saw folks stopped along the side of the road, looking into a meadow. We pulled over, and I grabbed the shot. I wish dearly I had a lens longer than 200mm…

Orcas Island 50k Weekend 2020

in

I ran the Orcas Island 50k in 2018 as my first ultramarathon. It was a magical weekend and it went spectacularly well, but the weather wasn’t great. This time, although rain of biblical proportions fell in the days leading up to the race leading to the wettest conditions on record, sun and scattered clouds made for beautiful views as my wife and I enjoyed ourselves on the island, the ferries, and at Rosario Resort.

Machu Picchu, Peru

in

As a little kid, I was obsessed with Machu Picchu for a while. My school had large, glossy, color picture books of Incan ruins, and something about the way the city looked like a castle or its unlikely perch on top of a mountain ridge captured my imagination. Brushing against the stones of this ancient place and gazing down into multi-thousand-foot valleys from precipices delivered deep joy.

The town of Aguas Calientes at the foot of Machu Picchu, despite clearly being the result of the booming tourist economy, had a few gems. First, traveling to the town is only possible by train - my favorite mode of transportation. The tracks cut right through one axis of the town. There were also a couple of very nice beer joints, including one at which we quickly became favored clients, knowing a thing or two about good beer and staying long hours to play cards and eat guinea pig pizza. We only stayed two nights, and despite the general touristy tone of town, Aguas Calientes had its own charm and didn't lack surprises.

Cusco, Peru

in

Although we spent one night in Lima, it was a very short sleep before heading back to the airport to fly to Cusco. The city sits near 11,000ft high in the Andes; airport billboards warn travelers (with images of puking gringos) to beware of altitude sickness. Coca tea, which is supposed to help, is abundant. None of us fell ill with altitude sickness, but we were all exhausted from travel, the lack of oxygen, and general excitement.

We left Cusco after one night to explore Machu Picchu and returned; we left again for a day to climb Vinicunca and returned to stay again. While in Cusco, though, we ate amazing food (Gaston's Chicha is fantastic; Bodega 138 has the best pizza; you can get street food - risky, I know - for 3 soles) and found the good beer spots (Cholo's is tucked away up a hill and has quiet, courtyard seating). We even found delicious breakfast (The Meeting Place - a Christian mission-based, not-for-profit, volunteer-run organization) with kittehs.