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Another year, another fall backpacking trip with Thom. This annual tradition stretches back into the mists of history, and it’s always a good time. This year we went to a place called Ice Lake, up in the North Cascades. Since I have commitments to seminary and the high-school debate team that’ll keep me pretty busy in October (the usual time we head out), we pushed up our trip to mid-September. That meant the weather was gorgeous for hiking.

One thing I love about the Cascades– and I’m sure Thom will back me up on this– is how the mountains are everywhere. They tower over you on the trail, they pop up at every turn, and they stretch off into the distance.

Although it was too early for the larch to be turning, the heather was a brilliant fiery red.

Let me say something about the trail. Our campsite was about eight miles into the backcountry, and the first mile of the trail was quite pleasant. We walked along the mostly level path through the forest, chatting about Thom’s new business idea. And then the trail started to angle upward. And that continued for… well, the remaining seven miles. Imagine, if you will, climbing stairs. Now imagine the stairs are either so dusty you literally slide down them while throwing up big clouds, or so rocky you have to pick your way along as the rocks slip beneath your feet. Got it? Now, imagine that for seven miles.

Thom is an accomplished mountaineer, so this was just a walk in the park. And although I’m an accomplished hiker, the trails I frequent are typically pretty flat. This uphill stuff kicked my butt. And then kicked a bunch of clouds of dust in my face, just for good measure.

So, yeah, it was a tough climb to our campsite. The advantage of a crazy trail like this, though, is that you get the whole place to yourself. Once we reached Ice Lake and set up our tent, we saw that no one was around… probably for miles.

The lake was a brilliant blue, with hints of green from glacial meltwater. Up close, the water is crystal clear. Beautiful.

As we did a day hike around the area, I was reminded of why I love the Cascades. What a view!

Since it’s autumn, the weather is always dicey, and sure enough, our hike back out was done in a steady 45-degree cold rain. Despite the crushing hike up, and the cold rain down, it was a grand time. I love this tradition and already look forward to another trip with Thom in a year.

One of the big stories of the 2020 (err, 2021) Olympics was Simone Biles’ withdrawal from the gymnastics competition. Widely regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, everyone was shocked when she bowed out for personal reasons. The vitriol was quick and plentiful. Her response, a few weeks later, is pure gold.

“This Olympics doesn’t erase the past accomplishments I’ve achieved, nor does it define who I am as an athlete. [To my detractors] keep talking, because I can’t hear you over my 7 Olympic medals.”

Well said, Simone. Well said.

Today marked the third time we were in Glacier in seven days. We had already done a few of the “classic” hikes, so we figured we’d go to the Many Glacier area for a change of scenery. Well, the weather was pretty cold and grey, and as we arrived at the entrance gate we learned that it was completely packed… the rangers weren’t allowing more cars into that area of the park. They suggested we turn around and park alongside the road and wait for a few hours until they could open it up to traffic again. A few hours? Nah. Glacier is big, so we decided we’d just go back to the “main” park and see some things we hadn’t on our previous visits.

We started with St. Mary Lake, which is always a treat.

The sky remained grey, which doesn’t make for thrilling photos, but at least it was warming up.

Since Pepper and her sister hadn’t seen St. Mary Falls, Virginia Falls, and all the falls in between, we agreed to hike that trail again.

I took some more waterfall shots; although they were the same falls as last week’s hike, I did my best to capture some different angles.

My sweetheart looks great beside a waterfall!

As the day waned, we all agreed it had been great to be in Glacier all these times. It never gets old. Also, we had dinner at my favorite pizza place on our way home all three days. You can’t go wrong with that.

What? Yet another sunset photo over Flathead Lake?

Yes. Yes it is.

It was another gorgeous day, so of course we headed northeast to Glacier. Our first target was Avalanche Lake. The parking area for the trailhead is notorious for overcrowding, so we’d need a miracle to find a spot. Well, miracles happen and we scored a nice spot. We really enjoyed the trail. It’s a great hike: not too short, not too long, not too steep. And the view at the end is amazing.

After some lunch at the lake and a leisurely hike back out, we trucked up to Logan Pass for a jaunt down the Highline Trail. Naturally we had to take a picture along the crazy cliff, hundreds of feet above the highway:

We went a few miles along the Highline before turning around. We weren’t equipped for the full 13 miles, and the ladies were getting hungry. We figured we’d be back in a few days anyway…

One of the many things that’s striking about Glacier National Park is how huge everything feels. The views of the mountains and the valleys are inspiring because they seem to stretch into the sky and off into the distance. Amazing stuff.

Today I spent the day with my brother-in-law Dave hiking around Glacier. We decided to hit some waterfalls, which means I decided to continue practicing my long-exposure photography. It was a lot of fun to capture all the different falls, with all the different lighting, in hopes of getting some nice “flowing” effects. Here’s what I ended up shooting:

So much water! It was surprising to see all of these falls so late in the season. And for good measure, here’s a shot of the crystal-clear glacial water that’s so amazing with the colorful rock bed:

This morning we received an alert from the security camera in our back yard. The footage was… interesting.

Yes, a bear cub actually ate our camera! He and his little buddy (who you can see briefly) were apparently bored on a Saturday morning and felt the need to grab it and carry it around the yard a bit.

We managed to find it later, and after wiping off the bear drool and putting the case back together, I was able to actually get the camera working again! Here’s what it looks like, cleaned up with the case back on. Notice the bear tooth mark on the front.

I have some issues with this brand of camera, but I guess I should cut them a little slack since their hardware survived a bear’s mouth…

I’m registering for an account on a web site, and something went wrong so I requested a password reset. This was the message displayed:

If that email address corresponds to an account, you will have been emailed instructions on how to achieve truth, enlightenment, and broader awareness of all that is just in the universe. Or, you’ve gotten a method of resetting your password. Gosh, what a disappointment if you only end up with the latter.

Clever! I love when web sites have fun with mundane things like password resets…

A few days ago, someone lost a nice hat at the bottom of our driveway. It’s in great shape, and it’s unclear exactly how it got there. Did it blow off someone’s head as they drove down the highway in a convertible? Did someone drop it out their car window as they sped past at 60mph? Did a bear eat the owner and just leave the hat?

We brushed it off and set it on our mailbox, where it’s clearly visible to anyone driving past. We left it there for a few days, but no one’s taken it. So Pepper has decided to claim it for her own.

“It’s adjustable!” she said with glee just now. So she cinched it down for her noggin, and maybe she’ll wear it on our next hike.