A group of us spent yesterday messing about with boats and practicing kayak skills in a safe environment. Always good to work on self-rescue techniques and honing skills at the beginning of the paddling season. Dry suits made it warm and comfortable despite the wet, cool Seattle March weather.
Thanks to John Ogden for lending his photographic skills to the mix when I was in the water thrashing about!
John Ogden Photo
John Ogden Photo
We spent last week in and around Bend, Oregon, which offers a diverse array of outdoor adventures. Mostly we were Nordic skiing with a bit of lift skiing thrown in, too, but on our last day we went hiking in Smith Rock State Park and it was stunning.
One of my photographic mentors was the great skier, alpinist and adventure photographer, Carl Skoog. I’m fortunate to have skied, climbed and worked with Carl. In 1996, as part of an Outdoor Research sponsored ski mountaineering trip to the wilds of the St. Elias mountains of Canada, I spent several weeks with Carl and two others, the late Ron Gregg and another friend, Bill Hartlieb. We had a grand adventure and Carl’s sheer joy at being in the mountains was infectious. Here are a few photos of Carl from that trip.
In 2005, my friend Renata Chlumska set out on a big trip. For 439 days she circumnavigated the lower 48 states of the USA by human power using a kayak and a bike for the most part. I was fortunate to shoot photos of Renata at several points along the way. Some of the photos are favorites of mine! Here’s a selection.
Yesterday’s sunset was cool, crisp and calm - pretty nice for January in the Pacific Northwest! These were shot from the east side of Bainbridge Island, looking at the Kitsap Peninsula and the Olympic Mountains, just after the sunset. As the sunset progressed, the light changed subtly and the alpenglow began to color the ridgelines. It was low tide and the gulls were hauling clams into the air and dropping them on the beach to crack them open. Other than their cries, it was quiet; a good moment on planet earth!
Mount Constance.
The Brothers.
Mount Jupiter
The summits of Mount Buckhorn.