For the 4th of July we packed up the kids, rafts and dogs and headed north to Talkeetna to float the Susitna River from Gold Creek to Talkeetna. This stretch of river is 40 miles of mellow class I with nice gravel bars and islands for camping and an easy take out that’s within 1 mile of where you leave your vehicle. The best part? You approach by train. And not just any train – but the last true flag-stop train in America.  [ Read More ]

Photos from a week of climbing in the North Cascades with ascent of the Sulphide Glacier on Mt. Shuksan and the North Ridge of Mt. Baker.  [ Read More ]

Photos and notes from a 5 day kid float down Meander Canyon - the mellow 51 mile stretch of the Colorado River from Potash to Spanish Bottom.  [ Read More ]

The peaks above Crow Pass are perfect hikes for the shorter and cooler days of late summer. Fall colors, berries and zero bushwhacking make these fun mellow day trips. They're perfect easy sneaker hikes before the snow flies - and fun scrambles after snow coats the slick sharp rocks along the ridge. Below are some notes and photos from 3 early fall days of scrambling around these peaks.  [ Read More ]

The Southwest face of Triplemint begins with a rock gully that leads to a grass sidewalk. From this point on it's a series of grass sidewalks connected by short 3rd class sections of rock. Exposed, but never difficult, the grass sidewalks require a certain level of trust as we tiptoe across mud, tundra and lichen to short sections of solid, but wet, rock.  [ Read More ]

Our route first climbed to Albino Lake where we set up our tents near the lakeshore. West of camp was an easy route up the south ridge of Lonesome Mountain (11,399') and we spent a layover day taking turns hiking up the south ridge for a great view of the high lakes region. We followed this up with a short move over a pass to Jasper Lake where we camped in-between Jasper and Golden lakes and scrambled up the south ridge of Spirit Mountain (12,283').  [ Read More ]

Mid June and the forecast called for 2 days of perfect weather so Eric and I planned a business retreat and headed out to climb Vertigo and Soggy and talk about website redesign. We left town mid morning, were at Twin Falls by 3 and finally at the 3500′ rock campsite at the base of […]  [ Read More ]

Penguin Ridge is the roadside ridgeline you see above the Seward Highway stretching from Girdwood to Bird. For years I’ve looked up at the ridge and wanted to hike it, and for years people have told me it’s a wonderful hike, yet for some reason I’ve always made an excuse to find something else to […]  [ Read More ]

Eric on the West Ridge of Baneful Peak. Benevolent Point is the point directly above his head. Eric and I wanted to climb Benevolent (7126′). We biked out the Eklutna road, hiked 2.5 miles down the East Fork until we reached Tulchina Falls and then followed a narrow and overgrown hunter/climbers trail complete with fixed […]  [ Read More ]

These are photos from a 2015 Memorial Day weekend float on the Upper Nenana River from mile 17 of the Denali Park road to the Parks Highway (20 river miles). This is a totally mellow Class I float that is one of the better kid’s river in Southcentral AK. We left Anchorage early Saturday morning […]  [ Read More ]