TR - Twin Sisters Traverse - 8/27/18

I've got a huge backlog of trips to write reports on, but here's one from yesterday!  Here's just a bunch of photos, I put together a full TR on Cascade Climbers.

Overview

16.2 miles, ~7000 ft of elevation, and an incredible amount of scrambling

 

Maps

 

Detail Maps

Photos

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TRIP REPORT - Mount St. Helens - 3/11/18

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Today, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and decent snow conditions and headed up Mt St Helens.  There's a bunch of information out about the Worm Flows route so I'm not going to go into too much detail, but here's a basic trip report:

Mt St Helens

~5,800 ft of elevation in ~12 miles

Timing:

6:20 am -  leave car

7:40 am - pass treeline and start up steeper slopes

8:40 am - bootpack up ridge

11:30 am - reach crater rim

12:00 - summit

1:45 pm - back at the parking lot after a pretty relaxed descent

We slept in Olympia, and tried to get an early start, but apparently daylight savings skips from 2 am to 3 am, so none of our phones' alarms worked.  We woke up 45 minutes late, drove down, and left the car at 6:20 am.  After gently climbing through the dark forest for 2 miles (along a trenched trail), we started leaving the trees behind, just as dawn hit the mountain.  The trail is impossible to miss, as hundreds of boot/snowshoe prints mark the way.

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While it didn't get below freezing at the lower elevations, the snow above treeline was bullet proof, and we had a lot of slips and slides on our skis.  If you've got ski crampons, definitely bring them.  We ended up bootpacking up the middle, as all the tracks made it difficult to get traction.   We chose not to bring crampons or ice axes, but they wouldn't have been a bad idea.

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After that, it was just a long slog to the top as the snow slowly warmed up.  Once you get to the crater rim, the true summit is a bit of a hike to the west.  It only looked like two or three folks got up there before us, but it seems like most people just stop at the rim.  Be careful of the cornice, we saw a bunch of people standing on the edge for photos. 

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The true summit from the ridge to the east (with Isaiah for scale)

The top was pretty windswept and chilly, and we drank a quick summit beer before bailing off to find warmer temperatures.  Once we transitioned, it was a beautiful slushy run all the way to the base.

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All the dots on the left are people headed up

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Once we got back down to treeline, we cruised along the trenched trail back to the car, and in the slush it wasn't even so bad.

Once we got down, we crashed in the parking lot until we could rally enough for the drive home.

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crashing

TRIP REPORT - Tye Peak Attempt - 3/3/18

Skinning across Skyline Lake

There were three more deaths in the mountains today and I don't feel right writing up a whole  trip report, but here's a brief overview, some photos, and a map, because I couldn't find a detailed route description with a map. 

Even before we got back and learned about what had happened, today was about conservative calls.  Even though the avalanche danger was "only" moderate, there was a persistent slab issue lurking 3 to 5 feet down in the snowpack, so we made a conservative trip choice and then chose to stick to low angle terrain and ridges.  Our plan was to summit Tye Peak via its south ridge, but once we reached the saddle below the peak, we took stock.  Warming temperatures and direct sunlight were causing loose wet slough and roller balls, and cornices hung along the ridge towards the summit.  So we bailed and lapped the north-facing slopes, where shaded powder gave us great turns.  It was a beautiful day.

Tye Peak Attempt

7.7 miles total and ~3,600 ft of overall elevation

The red and yellow show slope angle - the darker the color, the steeper the terrain (up to 60 degrees).  The most dangerous avalanche terrain between 30 to 45 degrees (orange and red), and we tried to stay off it as much as possible.

Pinwheels and roller balls made it obvious how much things were warming up.

North face of the first ridge we crossed, where we lapped the low angle powder

TRIP REPORT - West Granite Mountain (and attempted traverse) - 2/12/18

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After a few weeks of rain, warm temperatures, and high avalanche dangers, a cold snap finally rolled in and the clouds were swept away.  The avalanche conditions dropped to low and we did our typical Sunday planning scramble.  Late Sunday, we decided to snowshoe West Granite Mountain (also called "Tusk O'Granite" on some maps), with the option to traverse across to Granite if conditions were good.

West Granite Mountain

Trail Stats - 6.5 miles and 3,700' of gain - though there are multiple options

Rough and steep approach with no trail (that we found), but heavily treed enough that it would be relatively safe in higher avy danger

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We got the West Granite/Granite trailhead early, strapped our snowshoes to our packs, and headed up in the glorious sunshine.

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We took a left at the Pratt Lake trail and crossed a few icy creeks before striking up into the undergrowth.  There are a few options (as far as I can tell) for getting to West Granite.

- Option 1 (which we took) - head upslope shortly after turning onto the Pratt Lakes trail, and head through the forest and undergrowth, before gaining the SW ridge of West Granite.  Top out Granita, and then continue to the summit.

- Option 2 - Take the Pratt Lakes trail around West Granite until just north of Ollalie Lake, then take the W Ridge to the summit. 

I'd read several trip reports that stated the top section of this ridge was extremely steep, so we chose to take option 1.  However, we met a group descending from Granita that had used option 2, so it looks like either one works.  There might be less bushwhacking on option 2, but I don't know.

After hiking through a pleasantly spacious old-growth forest, things got steeper, snowier (snow line is ~4,000'), and brushier.  We spent a lot of time pushing through bushes and trying not to slip down the hill.  We ultimately put our snowshoes on, which increased traction but made us even more ungainly.

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Fighting through the brush

Once we got out into the open, things got way more pleasant.  We'd been roughly following a single snowshoe track, and we came upon a far more trampled path as we approached Granita, which may be a better path than we took.  We didn't follow it down, and so have no idea where it goes.

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Finally some space to breathe

After summiting Granita, we followed the ridge line up West Granite mountain.  At the top, we got some of the best views I've had this winter.

View north off West Granite - Kaleetan looks especially gnarly

We still wanted to go for the traverse to Granite, so we set off east along another snowshoe track.  Most of the tracks curved south at the saddle, but we kept following one crampon track, until we got to the exposed ridgeline.

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Granite from the west, descending the ridge to the saddle

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The icy Granite ridge up close (from near the saddle), right before bailing

While we'd both been stoked on traversing to Granite, the W ridge made things obvious - we'd have to bail.  The snow was barely corning up, our snowshoes weren't penetrating at all, and without crampons or ice axes we were looking at a sketchy climb with a big slide if we made any mistakes.  We headed back to the saddle and then down the valley.

We ate a slow lunch in the warm sun and then started on the long way down.  Instead of traversing back to the ridge, we followed tracks down the open slopes, glissading where we could.

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Eventually, the trees closed back in, and we slid/fell our way through hundreds of feet of steep ice and slick roots. 

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This is the last photo from the trip because I was falling so much I put the camera away

We finally got back to the trail just as night fell (at 6 pm, at least the days are getting longer!)  and slogged back to the car.  Another glorious Monday!

Feel free to use our GPX if it helps

but I don't know if either of our routes through the "schwak zone" are worth following.  They're not very pleasant.

TRIP REPORT - Hyak Mountain Dawn Patrol - 2/1/18

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We never saw dawn, it just became light out at some point...

A last minute plan led to Robby, Zach, Lars (dog), and I heading out of Seattle at 6 am for a dawn patrol.  They close the East side of the Hyak resort during the week, which means it's a great place to get some easy turns in.

I was impressed - there were at least 4 cars up there when we arrived, which meant we didn't get fresh tracks on the few inches of powder that had fallen overnight, but we also didn't have to break trail.  

One lap is around 1,000' and a little bit over a mile.

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It's not a trip report unless there's a Caltopo map.  But this one is small cause I can't imagine it's helpful

It's pretty low-angle terrain, which makes it perfect in moderate avy conditions after a few inches of snow.  We got in 2 laps before heading back down to work.

It was lightly snowing while we were up there, but it warmed up shortly after we left, and looks like it'll be raining on the Pass all weekend.  Glad we got in a few turns before the rain set in!

Lars bravely breaking trail

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Robby shredding the low light

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TRIP REPORT - Hex Mountain - 1/29/18

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It's always worth it to get out, even if the forecast looks gross

"The Bottom Line: Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended as very large and destructive avalanches are expected. Rain falling on previously dry snow will lead to dangerous conditions on Monday. Identify and avoid traveling through areas with avalanche paths overhead." - NWAC, the night before

With NWAC forecasting high avalanche danger for all of Washington, heavy rainfall predicted for the entire state, and generally sloppy conditions expected, Becky and I did our now-familiar Sunday night scramble: "Where exactly are we going?"

We wanted to avoid the rain (as much as possible), avoid avalanche terrain, and stand on top of something (if at all possible).  Hex Mountain looked perfect (and it was).

Hex Mountain

Trail stats - 8.2 miles and 2775' of elevation

- great option for a first snowshoeing peak or in high avalanche danger

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The yellow, red, and purple shading show the slope angle (and specifically avalanche terrain).  GPX available at the bottom of the report

We drove through the Seattle morning traffic, crossed Snoqualmie Pass through low-hanging clouds and dropped down to Cle Elum lake and the trailhead (which is across the road from the fire station and unmarked). 

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Getting geared up at the road

We walked alongside the road for a few hundred feet before coming to the turnoff and putting our snowshoes on.  The snow was so wet and heavy (and the trail was relatively well packed) that we didn't necessarily need them, but they definitely helped with traction and we were happy to have them on the whole time.

We began in the fog and clouds, but slowly the sun began to shine through, and we had a few hours of unexpected sunshine and views, even as we could see the storm hanging over the Cascade Crest.

The joys of being east of the crest (look at that dark cloud on the right)

Much of the trail goes through a burn zone, which was eerie in the quiet as the ash stained the snow beneath our snowshoes.

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Burnt trees tower over the final slope to the summit

After winding our way along forest service roads (which were totally snowed over), we followed the corniced ridge to the summit, where we could just see Stuart and the Enchantments peeking through the clouds.  No views of Rainier, but we hadn't expected any views.

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Stoked on the summit!

Just after leaving the summit, it began to rain.  I dug a snowpit to check on the snowpack, and the rain gradually picked up.

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Compression test!

The way down ended up being pretty uncomfortable, as the rain gradually turned into a deluge.  The snow underfoot turned into sloppy concrete, and we tripped and slipped our way back down.

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Smiling through the pouring rain

On our way back down the ridge, we passed a slide, where it looked like the cornice had fallen and triggered a wet slab.  We were happy not to be on any avy terrain.

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Wet slide

We got back to the car soaking wet and huddled in the car before driving home slowly back through the storm.  It was a great day out, and the few hours of sun and views were an unexpected bonus!

GPX track + waypoints

TRIP REPORT - Keith's Hut - 1/20 through 1/22

We had three days off and the avalanche danger kept stacking up in Washington.  Marc and I had been planning on heading up to the North Cascades, but the hut we wanted to use required skinning up an avalanche chute, which seemed like a bad idea with the forecast.  We spent a few days frantically researching alternatives before calling our friend Katrina, who sorted us out.  New objective: Keith's Hut in BC.  She even gave us a guidebook.

Keith's hut has it all - big objectives (Vantage Peak, Joffre Peak and Matier Mountain) for good conditions, and solid low-angle tree skiing (lower Vantage trees, Joffre Arm, east bowl of Chief Pascal) for bad.  If you're planning a trip up here, I included a .kmz file at the end with our tracks and beta.

Depending on the source, there's room in the hut for 10 to 20 people.  We were worried there wouldn't be room, so we woke up at midnight and left at 2 am from Seattle.  6 hours  (and one Tim Horton's breakfast stop in Squamish) later, we were at the trailhead, watching the sun come up.

We brought tents in case there wasn't room in the hut, but decided not to bring them when we only saw a few cars parked at the trailhead.

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Marc wishing he'd gotten less sleep

The skin up to the hut starts with a spicy creek crossing across a log.  It's not as bad as it looks...

Once we were across the log, it was only 3.5 miles up to the hut.  The track changes depending on avy and snow conditions, but it's well-traveled enough to be pretty obvious.  If it's totally gone, break your own trail - I've included our gpx track below.  It's a casual skin up, and ends up being pretty safe in high avalanche danger.  A few miles in, you'll cross the bottom of huge slide path off Vantage Ridge but it wasn't fully filled in when we passed through.

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Overview from above the trailhead, looking south

Near the top of the valley (once we saw the terminal and lateral moraines) we swung right and contoured along the terminal moraine, gained the ridge, and reached the hut.  

There were 11 sleeping bags upstairs when we arrived, and it was pretty close quarters after we'd added our 3.  After lunch and a taste of whiskey, we headed out to ski Joffre Arm, which stretches north from Joffre Peak.  It's a quick 20 minute skin to a knob on Joffre Arm, from which there are a lot of options. 

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View from above the hut, looking NE

You can either head back down to the hut (which is 300 vertical feet through low-angle trees) or drop off the backside (~1,200 ft of skiing) which offers open skiing for good avy conditions and nicely spaced trees when it's dangerous.  We skied two laps off the hut-side and then headed back to the hut.

Marc on top of Joffre Arm

Toby cutting a column test - if you look closely you can see the two rain/warm weather crusts, with over a foot of storm slab on top...

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Toby shredding down the low angle trees off Joffre Arm (hut-side)

Depending on who's in the hut, things can get pretty rowdy.  I definitely drank more than I'd expected to, but it was a Saturday night, so...

The aftermath (midway through the cleanup, and without most of the empties)...

It'd been dumping all night and we woke to however many inches of new snow (at least a foot, and it showed no signs of stopping).  Everyone headed their separate ways, with most people skiing different parts of Joffre Arm (though lower Vantage Peak apparently offered some good options).  Toby, Marc, and I decided to head off the backside of Joffre Arm and tried to stick to the trees.  Almost immediately, we remote-triggered a small avalanche on a slightly open slope, so we chose even tighter trees for the rest of the run (which kept things interesting with the tree wells).  Once at the bottom of the run, we had some trouble getting back to the hut skin track, as Cerise Creek is just wide enough to make crossing difficult.  After following some stray skin tracks (one of which turned out to have been the faster way back up to the hut - marked in the gpx) we found a snow bridge.  

Crossing Cerise Creek could get pretty frustrating

We got back on the hut skin track and the wind and snow had almost entirely obscured our tracks from the day before.  

You can just see Toby through the blowing snow

Marc gesturing at something

Once back at the hut, we ate a quick lunch before heading up for two more conservative laps off the hut-side of Joffre Arm.  The snow was piling up, and another snowpit showed that things were looking pretty delicate.  

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Digging a late afternoon snowpit

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Let's keep it low-angle for the rest of the day...

Everyone else left, so the three of us settled into the cabin for a night of sobriety and casual cards.  The next day, we woke up to even more snow.

We packed up and again headed off the backside of Joffre Arm, this time starting lower to avoid where we'd had the slide (the day before).  The lower trees were perfectly spaced, and we found our best turns of the trip there.  

Once we were down, we headed towards the east side of Chief Pascal, where there was supposed to be some more tree skiing (it's also on the way out).  We pretty quickly found ourselves traversing some pretty unpleasant slopes.  Don't try to skin up the south eastern part of the ridge.

Marc does not like my skintrack (which to be fair involved some balancing on logs)

After we found the proper way to skin up, we battled through feet of powder through old growth forest (and Toby's skins failed).

Skin failure isn't a big deal when you've got 10 ski straps

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NW View of low angle Chief Pascal skiing

But once we finally gained some elevation, we found some pretty sweet lines - still in the trees and low angle enough to feel good about.

By the time we finally got back to the car, we had just enough energy to dig the car out before heading home.

Toby is way too excited to be shoveling

All in all, it was a perfect trip, though we're already planning to head back when there's clearer skies and safer avalanche conditions.

MAP BETA (.kmz) - use in Google Earth or Caltopo

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TRIP REPORT - Skiing Great Scott Bowl - Snoqualmie Pass

Every first day of the season has to have some rough patches right?  Luckily, the day was glorious and the snow was deep, which helped me forget the bootpacking/powdercrawling... 

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Bryant Peak shines through the clouds

I overnighted in my car in the parking lot at Alpental to avoid waking up early, and got to see dawn rise over the resort, before meeting up with Mike and Dimas and heading up towards Source Lake.

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Alpental at dawn

It was wild to be at Source Lake in the winter - the last time I was up there I was scrambling over talus towards the Tooth, and the snow made everything way easier.  The Source Lake bowl was looking pretty thin, so we climbed up a steep skin track towards Great Scott Bowl. 

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Scoping out Source Lake basin - Mike's pointing up at some avalanche debris

Halfway up, my skins decided they didn't want to hold on any longer, so I took some tumbles and finished the climb in my boots.   

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This guy couldn't have been more stoked on the day - hopefully he finds this photo!

Luckily, I found Scott, whose skins were pulling the same shenanigans, and we took turns breaking trail for one another while the clouds cleared over Bryant Peak.  

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My  bootpacking compadre - Scott

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My skinning fiasco took up a fair while, and I didn't feel eager to get back on the bootpacking horse, so I packed it in and headed back to town for my afternoon shift.  But I can't wait to get out again!

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TRIP REPORT - Snowshoeing Camp Muir

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Descending Muir Snowfield, with Mt. Adams in the distance

Basic Stats: 4,640 ft of gain, 9 miles, 4 hours up, 2 hours down

Yesterday, Becky and I took advantage of the inversion (and unseasonably warm weather) and headed to Mt. Rainier National Park for my first trip south from Seattle.   Since avalanche danger was low, we decided to go big and snowshoe up to Camp Muir!

We started out in beautiful 45 degree weather, wearing only sun shirts and light pants, using microspikes for traction.  We saw the avy debris on the west side of Panorama Point from a few days earlier (when two snowboarders had triggered a decent-sized slide) before heading up the steep Panorama Face (just below Panorama Point).

The skin trail was relatively obvious, and we followed it from the top of Pan Point.  Midway up Muir Snowfield an easterly wind started gusting, and we layered up as we worked our way higher.  We put on snowshoes to get better grip on the icy snow for the final climb, then enjoyed our lunch in the relative calm of the public shelter on top of Muir.

On the way down, the wind obscured the skin trail and piled snow in small heaps, and we worked our way slowly down the Muir Snowfield.  The sun slowly set and the ever-changing light on Rainier made it hard to tear our eyes away to watch where we were going. 

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But I kept us hurrying along because I'd been worried all day about descending the icy Pan Face.  We got to the top just after sunset but before complete nightfall, and it looked like what I'd expected - steep, tracked-out, and refrozen.  But the steep descent went uneventfully - we slowly picked our way down, appreciating the big teeth of our snowshoes.  At the bottom, we took a breath, then clumped our way down the final stretch to the parking area.

More photos:

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Climbing up towards Panorama Point, the trail is well packed.

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Panorama Face was almost too steep for microspikes, and on the way down we very carefully descended on snowshoes.  

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Heading up Muir Snowfield, the snow began to soften up in the bright sunshine.

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30 mph winds whipped us around at Camp Muir

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Looking up towards the summit above us

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Hunkering down in the shelter for soup and hot chocolate (with schnapps!)

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Beginning the descent with the wind gusting around us

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Almost back down, and ready to be back at the car for a celebratory beer!

TRIP REPORT - Pasayten Wilderness - 50 miles

In case you want to see it all on a map - Pasayten Loop GPX

Once I'd seen pictures of Upper Cathedral Lake, I knew I wanted to visit the Pasayten.  We planned a few approach routes, and ultimately decided to start at 30 Mile Trailhead.  We set off up the Chewuch trail in the blazing heat (there was a heatwave throughout most of our trip).  

The first 6 miles are through a burn, and there are no options to camp until just before the Fire Creek trail comes in (where there's room for at least a few tents).  We camped there, and changed our plans.  We'd hoped to go up to Windy Peak and Horsetooth Basin, but decided that due to limited water accessibility and the heat in the burn zone (the Windy Peak trail looked to have more burn along it), we'd go up the forested Tungsten Trail instead.

This proved to be a good idea, as the trail was well maintained, stayed mainly under treecover, and was lined by wildflowers.  We camped by the Tungsten Mine Cabin, where we found a somewhat maintained outhouse!  There's water access if you follow the wellworn social trail from the main cabin southwest (crossing the boundary trail) and then setting out across the somewhat boggy meadow (maybe a 15 minute stroll) to the beautiful little burbling Tungsten Creek.

The next day we followed the Boundary trail over Apex and Cathedral Passes, and got our first incredible views of the North Cascades.  We camped near Upper Cathedral Lake, where inquisitive mountain goats came to visit.  Turns out they really do lick the urine off rocks...

We spend our fourth day relaxing by the lake, visiting Lower Cathedral Lake (which seemed to be a lot less visited), and trying to summit Cathedral Peak (a bit too sketchy for us without gear).

View from our highpoint

Fifth day - we headed down to the Andrew's Creek trail, where we planned to camp near Airview Lake.  When we couldn't find a trail up to Airview (turns out it's a faint scramble through the burn zone), and realized that the rest of our trip would be in an unpleasantly hot burn zone, we retreated back up to Remmel Lake and found a beautiful campsite with a reflected view of Remmel Mountain.

Remmel Lake is worth visiting - and I want to climb Remmel Mountain next time I'm in the area

Sixth day - we headed back down to the junction of the Chewuch and Tungsten Creek trails, where we'd found a great campsite on our second day.  There's a perfect swimming hole fifty feet downstream of the creek confluence.  

Seventh day - woke up extra early and hiked out through the burn zone before it got too hot.  

Overall, it was a great trip.  We saw only a few people the entire time, hiked well-maintained trails lined almost entirely with wildflowers, and found incredible mountain views (and almost summited Cathedral!).  We'd gone into the trip expecting some pretty damaged trails (due to blowdowns in burnzones) but the forest service and horsepackers have done some incredible trail maintenance.  Every junction is signposted, and it's one of the best maintained wilderness areas I've visited, with gorgeous campsites everywhere you'd expect them.

More info in a trip report at wta.org

Too Few Days in Red Rocks

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I was lucky enough to join my brother and mom in Red Rock Canyon for a few days! It's just outside Las Vegas, but it's a whole different world.  Thousands of routes on beautiful sandstone.  I can't wait to go back - three days was definitely not enough.

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The Warren G Hardings!

So, out of nowhere, I got to shoot my first music video yesterday!  The Warren G Hardings sounded great and were phenomenal to film.  I can't wait to get the final audio and start editing!

Here's a couple shots from behind the scenes - 

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I love this shot

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Heath sitting down between takes

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This pretty much sums up the afternoon

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Listening to the last take

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Warming up

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this is my favorite shot from the whole day

Settling Down?

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One of my favorite parks in Colorado Springs - Stratton Open Space

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Hidden Valley, Moab

I just finished moving everything I own.  3,000 miles of driving, alone, through the American West, from Colorado Springs to Seattle.  

And I didn't take the direct route, but went out of my way to visit friends and my favorite places.  There was no way I was driving through Colorado and not getting to Crested Butte, or driving through Utah and not going trail running in Moab.  Some people might think that driving solo so far, through snow and rain and long hours, would be hard and maybe even not worth it. But it's like exercising - at a certain point, after a few hours, you lose sense of time and you're just in the drive.   Hours go by and you don't notice.  The miles ticking up on the odometer and the gas gauge going down - that's the only way to tell time is passing.

I've lived on the road, out of a backpack or car, for a total of two and a half years.  Traveling is my default.  In doubt? Travel.  Happy? Travel.  Sad? Travel.  For me, the hardest part of traveling is not knowing when to stop.  After a few months of living on the road, I'll start getting jealous of my friends with stable lives.  I'll wish I had a home, a regular bed, a dog.  I'll settle down somewhere. And after I've been settled for a few weeks or months, I start getting the urge to head out again on the next trip.

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When I've been traveling too long...

It's a crazy seesaw - I'm always pining after the next thing.  Now I'm in Seattle, and I'm hoping to be here a while.  Maybe I'll even sign a lease - which terrifies me! I won't stop seeing new things and going new places, but I want to adjust the scale of my adventures.  Instead of driving across the country, or flying to another continent, I want to explore the Pacific Northwest.  I want to start small. What can I find right here, near Seattle?  In between rainstorms, you can see Mt. Rainier looming on the horizon. Maybe trying to summit is a good next goal...

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Only a few days away from a stable life?

So, after solo driving 2,000 miles in a week and packing all my stuff, I'm a day's drive from Seattle, and potentially settling down for a bit.  This is surreal.  Looking back over the last few days helps me calm down.

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Of course, Colorado had to snow while I was cleaning my storage unit.

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Duke licking his lips at all the pow

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Sawyer and Moshup in Missoula!

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Goodbye Pike's Peak!

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A quick hike in Moab between drives

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Idaho

Life on the Road

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Coast Starlight!

After my river trip (check out "floating the border" if you don't know about it), I wasn't ready to stop moving.  So I hit the road and visited a few friends.  I drove from Albuquerque to Denver to Salt Lake City, flew to San Jose, and took the train (26 hours!) to Seattle.

A few days ago, my dear friend Kendall Rock recommended I start a photo journal.  So I figured I'd share a few of the things I've seen in the last month.

My biggest problem with the road is figuring out how to stop wandering!

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What exactly is unnecessary travel? Driving to Salt Lake City for a huge powder day?

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Benaroya Hall in Seattle for violin and piano sonatas!

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My beautiful girlfriend in the redwoods of California!

The view from Seattle towards Bellevue.  I love Seattle

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My favorite dog ever

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Snow in the Cascades

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Truth