action packtion

been glaciating all week up in northern 'tanner. although i've been to the park several times now, it's beauty never ceases inspiring awe. aside from general QT with the folkses, we engaged in activities ranging from yard games to bear attacks, then mixed in a bit o' high adventure. hangin with the freshly extended clan was a friggin blast. never many dull moments, thoroughly represented by a solid lack of restful hours.

ladder golfin at the sweet rental spot. don't be deceived by the glare coming off my belly, i caught plenty of rays every day. the goal is basically not to apply sunscreen whilst bikin around the countryside. we'll see.

badass falls coming straight outta the rock face. this was two medicine creek, connecting upper and lower two medicine lakes. fishing wasn't so good, but when you're in a place like this, it doesn't much mattter.

me and my good buddy bolivar rockin it on the early morning WP*. niether of our best angles, but it's the only shot i got. she can pronounce duo-syllabic phrases and is fascinated when i eat grapes.

the marmot in it's natural setting. interesting how this little bastard inspired an entire line of expensive outdoor apparel.

widely known as "the ghost of glacier", the mountain goat is rarely viewed with such grace, seen here defensively rooting through the muddy grass. psyche, nah. they're all over the place up there.


THE GRIZ!!! double-psyche. 'tis but a black bear. still a great sight. we saw another one a couple days prior, but it was sprinting across the road about 200 yards ahead of us.

headwaters. this meltage forms the start of reynold's creek as it strives for the mexican gulf. quite nice, no? i wonder if maybe 10% will make it, with the rest watering lawns in desert cities.

yesterday a group of us decided to summit mt. henkel, roughly towering 8500' above the salty blue. it was easily the most challenging hike/scramble/climb i've ever attempted. in a word, i'd say incredible. this is the view from roughly the bottom. the peak we're headed for it out of sight, hidden behind the ridge in the foreground.

began as but a mildly strenuous hike through a flowery meadow.

soon we entered scramble mode, trying not to 'lanche the talus.

reaching the first ledge, figured we must have been damn close. clearly not so much. this is what they call the great red basin. we hiked up to the strata and began our traverse.

still an honorary member of team askew, big sis takin the lead. we were headed for the ridge line here.

sara again, scopin the coast.

lookin back across the traverse. peak is at high left.

glamour shot. one of the best views i've ever seen up there!

steady fifth wheelin' it at the pseudo-summit. we stopped here en route to the top, pretty much unsure of how to proceed. the 5 of us that made it this far collectively decided to not spend another three hours wandering lost at the top of a mountain. instead rocked a quick photo shoot, then descended to shotgun a beer in the parking lot.

*wildlife patrol