Rewind

A weekend or two ago Frankie & I went climbing in Mazama. It was a ton of fun, even though the first day we got rained on... but the second day we did an 11 pitch climb called Prime Rib (5.8 - 5.9) on the Goat Wall. it was a ton of fun, and it was great to get out climbing again. We had some amazing views of the Methow Valley, and I remembered some of the fun things i'm scared of: tiny ledges with big drops, cruxy moves with a gigantic drop below and super exposed climbs. Still working on my fear of falling... not heights, but falling. It's weird. Anyway, here are some fun shots from Frankies camera.

saturday smiles once it stops raining... and frankie leads a 10b

views from the sunday climb up goat wall

tiny ledges! this was not
staged, i really did not want to be any further from the wall

AHHHH!!! STAGED PHOTOS!!!

relief at the top!

the hozone

last week i spent a few days up in Hozomeen. We took the mule up for a three hour ride to the end of the lake, which sits right at the US/Canadian border. It was an awesome trip where I got to see a different aspect of interpretive life, where the US interpreter (mike) works very closely with his BC Parks counter-part (AJ). While up in Hozomeen we hiked 7.2 miles (round trip) to Hozomeen Lake and then I did cross fit with the Back-country ranger followed by a kayak trip up the Skagit River, which flows into Ross Lake. I also got to go trail running along the water front and check out the Obelisk that marks the US & Canadian boundary... oh, and i shadowed the interpreters and got to check out how they do programs up there. All in all, a great trip. Tomorrow I"m off to Stehekin for a few days followed by a bachelorette party in Chelan. hoooray!!! photo time!

Ran into an NC Wild Group while on the Mule. Just paddling right along.

Views from the Hozomeen Amphitheater where they do their programs

Mike & AJ with KIDS! (and a parent)

Kayaking up the Skagit.... later to fall out of the boat while getting out at the dock. idiot

Views of Hozomeen Mt from Hozomeen Lake. It was a cloudy day

boat trip!

Tomorrow I board the Mule (pictured below) to make the journey up Ross Lake to Hozomeen. I've never been there, so i'm pretty darn excited. While I'm up there, I'm going to shadow some of the rangers up there and see how their style of interpretation might differ from the Visitors Center. So, i'll be gone for a bit, since right when I get back, I re-pack my bag, and hike south to Stehekin to do the same down there for 4 days. So, i'll not really be around... and you're all probably getting used to the lack of post updates. I promise, once i get back, i'll have tons to post about. tons!

behind the times

This past week has been a whirlwind! Get back from NC Wild. Sleep. Spend some time with my red headed partner, then go right into park service work. all of which has been amazing!! but, first things first, this is how NC Wild went.

awesome! we had a great group of 9 kids all who now live in the Greater Puget Sound area. But, a lot of them were born elsewhere: Kenya, Ethopia, Egypt, Montana, Mexico & Nepal. Then, within the group there were 11 different languages spoken. So, the premise of NC Wild is to take these students, typically in the "underserved" category out into the national park wilderness for 12 days. For most of these kids, its their first time leaving a city or even seeing a tent. The goal of the program is to take them out into the woods and provide them with an amazing wilderness experience while also introducing them to stewardship and providing a sense of place in the outdoors. After the program is finished, we hope that the students will continue to be stewards in their local communities or come back to the park in the future to become a Student Conservation Association intern or Youth Conservation Corp worker and the list goes on.

Anyway, i'll stop yammering and i'll put up some photos.

We're on a boat!

Hiking down Desolation

learning about Seeds from Mike Brondi

Building a trail near Hidden Hand

Learning how to paddle!

anniversary

I'm a little late to this one... but over a year ago i quit my job, then started this blog, then started school, then moved up to the north cascades. A lot of things happened in a short time periods... so here are 12 of my favorite photos from the past year. Enjoy

June

May

April

March

February

January

December

November

October

September
August


July
June


my first day in bellingham in June of last year



doing it all for the kids

day 12 - exit strategy

last day in the field. expect phone calls to loved ones and long showers shortly

day 11 - Paddlel paddle paddle paddle

gotta go 8 miles south on Ross to get to our last campsite. wish us luck. The winds on this lake can be a real pain in the a*#

Day 10 - back to work

we get to spend our service work days with one of my favorite park employees - the lorax

Day 9 - A Day on the Mule

this photo was taken from a previous years NC Wild trip

Day 8 - climbing desolation

wish us luck


and happy 4th of July!!!

Day 7 - Service work with riparian Restoration

just use your imagination.

9 kids will be knee deep in reed canary grass, pulling it out and doing this alongside 6 people from REI.

hoooray!

Day 6 - paddle to Ponderosa, and stop at Devils Canyon

Day 5 - paddle to Big Beaver