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Shepherd Pass
“The sun is up,” Brad’s voice jolts me. I leap out of my sleeping bag, jump out of the tent, grab my wide-angle lens, and crank down the aperture. I race along the shores of Lake 11,400’, chasing the border where light meets shadow, trying to capture perfect sun stars. As I reach the southern…
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Forester Pass
Breakfast is the same, yet somehow it gets better each morning—hearty oatmeal mixed with honey, pour-over coffee, and scones that hit the spot. Sunbeams dance on the stream like shards of glass, casting shades of amber, emerald, and turquoise. The inlet at Golden Bear Lake flows stronger today, a subtle shift from yesterday’s calm. We…
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Center Basin
The lake is still, like a mirror in the morning light. Around dawn, I poke around with my macro lens to find suitable subjects, looking for details that often go unnoticed. Then, we have a simple but satisfying breakfast: oatmeal with honey , scones with pour-over coffee. I had made the contraption to hold the…
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Kearsarge Pass
At last, Brad and I are standing at the Onion Valley trailhead on this very overdue trip. Way overdue. We had talked about doing such a trip off and on over the years—for nine years, to be exact. Only now has it materialized.
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Cottonwood Lakes
The kids are getting more and more trail time. Two years ago, we did one uphill mile each day, with two miles hiking out. Last year, we did two miles with a lot of elevation gain. Now, we’re going to tackle more than five miles. The last week has been all about getting ready, both…
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Skin-on-frame Kayak
This started two years ago, when I first drew up the plans, since everything I found on the internet for skin-on-frame were single kayaks. Daphney wanted a tandem, so drafting was the only way. I modeled it after drawings of some fast tandems and tested buoyancy and stability curves on software. The project had fits…
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South Lake to Long Lake
Anticipation Excitement builds. Daphney and Jayden can’t wait. Last year’s backpacking trip felt like a proud accomplishment. This will be a trip bigger than the last, and this will be Myles’s first such trip. It’s Friday evening of Labor Day weekend. Yan and I are doing some final packing. “We’re going to wake up at…
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To Anchorage and Home
This morning, the kids gather sticks and cones during breakfast, anticipating another fire. We don’t have much time for a real one, so I douse everything with some leftover sanitizer and introduce them to the brief but huge flames of ignited alcohol. Down the road, we see a moose running in the brush. Yan and…
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Denali National Park
We have a hearty breakfast at Prey again, then we pack up everything to head into the park. Tonight, we’ll be camping. Arriving at the bus depot, we learn that the next bus availability is at 12:30, and it only goes to mile 43, since the rest of Park Road is closed due to mudslides.…
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The Interior
I’m the first to get up, just before sunrise, while the northerly summer pre-dawn sky glows orange and the distant mountains look purple. Breakfast is a combination of oatmeal with toppings and scrambled eggs for protein. Jayden devours the eggs, but Daphney laments that the eggs don’t taste as good as the free-range ones from…
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Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
To save driving time, this day is planned around the Whittier-Valdez ferry. We line up then make it through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel and arrive in town. I check in with the ferry, and after queuing up, we grab lunch at Varly’s Swiftwater Seafood Café. All they have is fried food: zucchini, onion rings,…
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The Kenai Peninsula
Early in the morning, we get breakfast at the lodge and pack up for departure. While no doubt the bear viewing and scenery are highlights of the trip, we are happy to leave this place infested with mosquitoes and white sock flies. After breakfast, we pack up and take the water taxi to King Salmon.…
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Katmai
We disembark onto a private bus. There are a few others with us. Making our way through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, we soon arrive at the Anchorage airport. I check the car seats and bags for city travel at the storage facility, then board our flight to King Salmon. There is no reception in…
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The Grand Princess
We are really rushed this morning: we swallow breakfast, pack, get to the light rail station, ride to International District/Chinatown, and transit to the King Street train station. The elevator is out of service, so we haul all of our luggage down the stairs to make it with only 3 minutes to spare. The Amtrak…
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ABJS Meeting in Seattle
This trip’s idea began a year ago, as 2023 has a milestone birthday for me, and Yan will finish all her training and begin work as an attending. Our calendars align the best in July and August. I started booking everything in the fall. On January 5, Yan and I both got on our computers…
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Scorpion Anchorage Excursion
This is Myles’s first camping trip, and also his first overnight backpacking trip. Seeing wildlife was the highlight of this excursion.
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Kayak Day Trip in the Black Canyon
Six buddies on a river kayak trip,Embarking from Hoover Dam with a skip.Paddling down the mighty Colorado,Excited for the adventures that lay below.Stopping at Sauna Cave, their first break,Hot springs for soaking, sore muscles to shake.Relaxing and rejuvenating, their spirits renewed,Ready to face whatever the river threw.The gale force winds howl, but they brave the…
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Snow in Loma Linda
It almost never snows here, but we were blessed with a large dump of snow. Coyotes came, and surprisingly, the ram chased them away.
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Long Lake to Mosquito Flat
This is our final day! The lake is like a polished mirror, and the mountain range stand like a boundary between the water and the sky. The two almost look indistinguishable. The kids stir and wake up. I go out for a photography session and fish while Yan makes oatmeal breakfast.
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Marsh Lake to Long Lake
Rock Creek is still singing when I get up. The clothes on the line are mostly dry. Soon, the kids stir. I climb the hillock nearby and shoot pictures of clear reflections in the lake as it stretches like a polished slab of glass dotted with marsh grass.
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Mosquito Flat to Marsh Lake
The trail rises gently out of Mosquito Flat. In contrast to the scorching hot week in Loma Linda, the air, scented with pine needles and sagebrush, is cool. I tell the kids a story about hiking in Kings Canyon to distract them from the mild uphill. Just before the trail junction to Ruby Lake and…
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Preparations for Little Lakes Valley
The anticipation began more than six months ago. After seeing the kids hike the loop trail in Pinnacles National Park, and after having abandoned their double stroller in favor of shoes, we grew confident that they will be able to go backpacking.
