by Tags These are all the tags used in my gallery. Have fun exploring. Waikiki SunsetA nightly ritual along the shore of Waikiki Beach.Swimming HoleNice place to clean off after a long day in the heat.Here They ComeIt's not clear how Torres del Paine will deal with this problem - too many people have this on their "must see" list. Is it really a problem? or just how things must be. There will always be more remote places of beauty, but if you visit one of the most well-known, unique locations on earth, don't expect to be alone.By the CampfireA perfect moment to roast some marshmellows.Surveying the SceneDennis and Liz are Wilderness Rangers tasked this week with surveying the landscape of the Lostine River valley and the people who visit it. A computer model spits out assignments like "go visit area x for y days", and the results help build a statistical model of wilderness usage throughout the area. They were also interviewing visitors about how they discovered the area, and wilderness more generally.Old WindmillOld windmills like this one are quickly becoming a thing of the past.Manuel Antonio National ParkIf this is your experience of a Costa Rican National park, you're doing it wrong.Cocoa CrackedInside the cocoa fruit, the cocoa seeds are encased in a sugary, slimy casing. The seeds need to be cleaned and dried.Cocoa to ChocolateAfter the seeds are cleaned, dried and roasted, they're ground into a powder. Then, it's just a matter of mixing together the other ingredients of chocolate... and yum!OtterI met Stephen "Otter" Olshansky along the CDT as he was thru-hiking northbound. He'd done the trail before, and I was happy to learn he was using my maps on this hike. Sadly, I found out that Otter died out on the trail on another hike a couple years later. He was in northern New Mexico, and got caught in a storm. I like to think he's still out there, easing on down the trail.Across Sand LakeCarrying all your heavy gear in a sled makes winter trips like this a lot more enjoyable.Clomp clomp clompAlong they go - snowshoers on the final few yards over Sand LakePlatformThe wildlife management agency has set up a staffed viewing platform along a section of the Atnarko river which is especially popular with the bears. Visitors can watch the bears from the safety of an electrified fence.A View SouthA couple hikers pause to admire a view of the Chiwaukum Mountains (part of the North Cascades, in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness) to the south of Rock Mountain. In the late spring before the snow has all melted, this upper part of the route is all covered in snow, and mostly cross-country. Aside from a short stretch of steep rock, the route is pretty straightforward.At CampStaying warm on nights like this is easier with the right company.Dinner Timeone nice thing about camping in the snow is you can quickly carve-out your own furniture. Here's a circular dinner table and seating for 12.Getting the ShotAnother perfect morning in the Sawtooth Mountains brings out all kinds of wildlife.After the RainsA bit of showery weather doesn't keep the people inside very long. This is a view down Buchanan Street, which is sometimes a purely pedestrian walkway.Old Town EdinburhPerhaps this isn't the best example of Edinburgh's old town - it's more interesting than this photo implies. But, there can be lots of people on a nice day. The architecture is mostly old, with a few newer buildings here and there.View from the CastleLooking north from the high walls atop Edinburgh CastleThe PhotographersThey attempt to capture the sky, but don't realize... they are the stars.Tour GroupThe national park now owns the property, and runs tours with guides in period dress, and period personas...Sunset MomentA couple enjoys a colorful, peaceful sunset on the Northern California Coast.As a VikingThe inside of the house is stuffy and dark... though warm. A open-pit fire in the center provides heat and light. Smoke is let-out through a vent in the roof. It's not surprising to learn that many Vikings suffered and died from lung ailments. A group of people dress in period clothing and tell an oral history of the place and the people who lived there.HraunhafnartangiAfter a couple days in Reykjavík, and a couple more on the bus, the immediacy of being "on the hike" was a bit of a shock. No longer was it something to plan for, it was something to do. Before we started hiking, I had a thousand little worries about equipment, weather, mail, food, feet, etc. But all that quickly took a back seat as the bus drove off and left us alone. Either we'd done our homework, or we hadn't. There was no point in second guessing at this point.The bus left us a couple km south of our official starting point - Hraunhafnartangi - the first of an endless string of unpronouncable hiking goals. Along the way, people would ask, "where did you start your hike". To this, I would pause a moment, then reply "Har-a-nar-far-na-tungi?", guessing at the correct sequence of letters. The Icelanders would usually reply, "Oh, near Raufarhöfn?"... Yes!We walked over the tundra landscape, down an improvised 4-wheel drive path lined with old fish nets. At the lighthouse, a group of men were sitting nearby. They'd just finished re-painting the lighthouse, and were enjoying a lunch break. We headed beyond the lighthouse to the rocky north shore. After a quick dip of fingers in the chilly dark waters, we were officially headed south. And we were grateful that for now at least, the weather was great - light breeze and light cloudsTotalityIt actually happened. Just as predicted, the moon shifted in front of the sun, and we got night in the day. Break on through to the other side. It got as dark as 10pm at night, and dropped 15F - an incredible experience.Countdown on the SummitDozens of people congregated on the summit of Strawberry Mountain to watch the total solar eclipse.Fisk?As we headed down the dirt road south, we passed a man who was fishing in one of the nearby lakes. He'd already caught a bag full of fish, and as we chatted about life's philosophies ("all I need to do is this, it is my dinner every night."), he reeled-in another. He promptly offered us the fish to supplement our provisions of candy bars, nuts and noodles. But we had no way clean, store, or cook the fish. He seemed to understand this, and bid us farewell with a hearty smile.Nye Beach SunsetPeople enjoy the sunset at the end of sublime day on Nye Beach, Newport, OR.100 MetersA number of competitors race for the mens 100M.Alysia MontanoAlysia Montano blows out the field in the women's 800 meter race.Eaton into historyAshton Eaton sets the Decathalon world record at the US Olympic Trails in 2012.Admiring Nature's WorkWe walked through the maze, astounded by the massive formations all around. It was almost as if some gigantic force of nature had turned the earth inside-out. Or, perhaps Odin's horse was to blame...SnowpocalypseIf there ever was a snowpocalypse, the aftermath might look a lot like this.Black SailThe Black Sail youth hostel is about as remote of lodging as you can get in these parts. During the day, much of the building is open for use by passing travelers. It takes a good deal of work to get here, and the visitors are duly respectful. Tea and snacks are available, with payment by an honor system.Nice MorningMorning along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, under blooming cherry blossoms.Below Snow and IceHeading up the slopes above Paradise, and below the many glaciers streaming down from the summit of Mt. Rainier.At CampA fire helps dry things out... and keeps the bugs at bay!Spinning in the WindThese massive airfoils needed to be anchored to cars and trucks. With a little determination, they managed to get about 6 up together at one point.Team iQuadThese guys were pretty impressive - though, it's hard to see in a still photo. Basically, they were a six-person precision kite team, and I do mean "precise". They had a long routine set to music, and basically made the kites dance through the wind.Full SkiesThe Washington State International Kite Festival is week-long series of events held in Long Beach, Washington in August each year. The weather wasn't quite ideal on this day of the International Kite Festival, but the wind was blowing and the rain held-off... at least for a while. Here, participants in a Mass Ascension wait to be judged - everyone with a certain style of kite can participate, and the judges pick their 10 favorites.Smári and NínaWe soon arrived at the summer camping base of Landmannalauger. Back in Reykjavík, we had sent a box of supplies on a bus to Landmannalauger. Smári and Nína run a small, but well-stocked camp store there in a converted bus, and had our package. They also sold a number of fresh provisions that we purchased. They were both generous and friendly people, and greeted us with a warmth that we'd really needed after so much time alone in the highlands. They didn't seem at all jaded by having to deal with the throngs of miscellaneous tourists who passed through all summer. I lost count of how many times I returned to store to buy "just one more thing...".MeetingGood place for a discussion on the slopes of Mt. Rainier.ClickWe all stopped frequently, trying to capture the ambiance with our cameras. Of course, it can't really be done. As nice as a photo might be, there is nothing like experiencing the completeness of being in the moment, and at a location - the pure reality of the moment is something that can't be replicated, only remembered. Even after seeing so many mountains and natural wonders, I'm still not sure why they kindle such feelings of euphoria. But, I never tire of the views, so why question why?Don't Look DownEven the well-traveled route between þórsmörk and Skógar wasn't a complete cake walk. We were still in formidable mountains, where a slip or a bad streak of weather could be disastrous. We felt lucky to have a chain on this slippery section of steep eroded trail. Some of the rings had pulled-out of the mountainside, which made us wonder just how sturdy the chain actually was. Luckily, we never had the opportunity to test it.HolgerWhen we had checked-in with the ICE-SAR in Reykjavík, we found out that another person had left a few days before us, following a similar route. We only knew him as "the German", and spent some good bit of time wondering where exactly he'd gone, and if we'd catch him. At Asbyrgi, we heard he was about 3 days ahead, but we had no idea what route he was taking.
