Off To Glacier

Well, I am off to Galcier National Park for a much-needed 10-day holiday of hiking and climbing. I have been trying to get here all of my adult life and it looks as if I will finally succeed. From all that I have heard, it is backpacking's Mecca and I might just have so much fun that I won't come back;-) Watch for the pics in a couple of weeks...vertu svalur, vini minn;-)

A Fire In The Sky

I took advantage of a brief respite in the sultry summer nights of late and once more took to the hills at midnight, enjoying the first cool evening in over a fortnight. I eventually outran civilization, escaping the glow of the city and passing beyond the desert hills that normally hide the southern sky from my view. I found myself standing in awe at the vast expanse of starry sky that lay spread out before me, resplendant in a beauty usually reserved for the dark, cold nights of winter. There, center stage, lay Scorpio, menacingly poised in its eternal pursuit of the mighty hunter Orion, preceded in its traverse of the heavens by the brilliantly illuminated planet Jupiter, who seemed to pause momentarily before slipping out of view below the western horizon. The archer Sagittarius followed behind Scorpio, completing the procession of the prominent summer constellations that marched across the sky before me. As I stood there, I was enveloped in a cool breeze that momentarily caused me to forget the blistering heat of the day. But ere that memory was washed from my conciousness, my gaze was drawn to the center of Scorpio's wide expanse by an intense red glow in the heavens...Antares, a distant, yet massive red super-giant star, a red-hot ember that seemed to smolder in the darkness of the night, reminding all who viewed it that despite the refreshing coolness of the evening, the morrow would indeed witness the return to dominance of summer's province. It was under the baleful glare of that siren of summer that I turned homeward, knowing that when sleep finally o'ertook me, I would once again dream longingly of Father Frost's coming and welcome the passing of the season of the sun.

The Way To The Top

John and I spent our last day together climbing the snowfields up to Camp Muir. John has tried this exhausting hike before but has never been able to make it. The day broke out clear and calm, with those all-too-rare beautiful deep-blue skies that you only see in the mountains. The snow was perfect for climbing and we made record time in traversing the snowfields. As you might have suspected by now, we did indeed make it to Camp Muir and basked in the warmth of the sunlight as we lay on the rock slopes overlooking the encampment. The, it was off at a dead run back down, plunge-stepping and skating at breakneck speed until our legs were so exhausted that they threatened to fail us and send us out of control into the rocks bordering the snowfields. Then, too soon, it was over, we were back down on the civilized trials and heading back to camp. John left the next day, headed back to Texas, but carrying with him the satisfaction of having bested his own expectations for himself and standing in triumph at the pinnacle of one of the many personal acheivements that he will undoubtedly attain during his long life to come.

Camp Muir

John hjá Camp Muir

Friends of Ohanapecosh

We spent a delightful 4th of July holiday weekend at Mt. Rainier. The weather was perect, the snow pack still sufficient to offer some late season snowfield trekking and I thoroughly enjoyed the company of my son John as we took advantage of the opportunity to get out and spend some time together. We got to renew acquaintances with some old friends at the park and make some new friends in the process. So, we bid a hearty "Welcome back!" to Barret, Mimi, Sandy, and Renee and a warm "Welcome!" to our new friends, Lauren and Beth.

On the down-side of the trip, I finally started piecing together something that has been nagging me for some time now. The magnificent old-growth lowland forest in which the Ohanapecosh Campground resides is DYING!!!...and dying as a result of the human activity that has been prevalent there since it became a part of the Mt. Rainier National Park. More on this later, but I am determined that politics and bureaucratic stupidity will not be the reason that this unique natural resource ceases to exist. So, keep an eye out for a new website focused on bringing national, if not international, attention to this tragedy. But until then...vertu svalur, y'all:D