backpacking, camping, caving, high pointing, hiking, hot springs, mountaineering, skiing and more!
October 6th after work we dropped off the 4Runner at the Concrete Beach at Magnuson, and then loaded the canoe on the hilariously small Crosstrek to drive the few blocks down to our local Lake City Beach Park for a one-way paddle. This was the first year we paddled anything from Lake City, and the … Read more
Got a couple days of “SDP” in last week on Lake Washington! The winds had some waves going so there was no way I was going to try to stand up, not to mention having a 70-pound DEG on the boat with me!
Here’s an alphabetical list of some airports that are potentially great for camping in the PNW. In addition to those, I leave you with a list of ones that are less desirable and the reasons I think as much, in case you’re wondering. In all cases, get yourself some earplugs from Loop, you might need … Read more
I bought a canoe! $150 for this old 17-foot Coleman! I’ve only been on a canoe THREE times in the last 25+ years since leaving Missouri where we used to go canoeing in the Ozark’s almost every weekend. Just a few days later we took it for its inaugural trip on the Lake Sammamish “River” … Read more
Katt and I last did “the Puyallup” soon after we started dating over a decade ago, and we went back in 2025 to check it out!
Technically our third ski and soak vacation if you include our honeymoon to Iceland, we skipped last year but were back to our old tricks, this time in central Oregon. The first night we stayed with Lizommy in Cottage Grove, and… This year the ski and soak trip started with soaking at McCreedie Hot Springs … Read more
Katt’s earliest memories were as a toddler on Kodiak Island where her dad was stationed in the Coast Guard, but had never been back. We decided to “break the mold” by doing a four-day trip to Anchorage in February 2025. Anchorage – Day 1 On day one we flew non-stop on Alaska Air to Anchorage, … Read more
US Highpoint #38! I took advantage of a work trip to Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN to fly from MSP up to Duluth and then drive to the Eagle Mountain trailhead in January. Fortunately, the road to the trailhead is always plowed in the winter as there are a bunch of residents just outside of … Read more
If you didn’t check out my photos of the absolutely gorgeous Lodge at Mount Magazine, check them out here. The day before I hiked Magazine, I hiked to Driskill Mountain, the Louisiana highpoint. So after relaxing at the lodge all evening, I woke up to light, warm rain and decided to hike to the highpoint … Read more
Immediately following my hike to the Louisiana highpoint, I turned north and drove directly to Mount Magazine State Park, home of the Arkansas highpoint. On a whim I decided to see if the summit lodge happened to have any same-day reservations, and much to my surprise, they did! I had just spent $230 on a … Read more
In July, prior to my trip to Missouri, I decided to do a “twofer” type trip and knock out a couple of US State Highpoints on the way there. So, I flew American Airlines to DFW, then to the tiny Texarkana Airport. Originally I had planned to stay in Texarkana, the start of the challenge … Read more
Forecast for the weekend was pretty crappy for basically everything, but as soon as we saw the forecast for snow in the mountains, we decided to go for it! First trip into the Goat Rocks wilderness! Goat Rocks have been on my bucketlist since I first saw them while climbing Tahoma waaaay back in 2001. … Read more
Katt, Riley, and I did a “birthday tour” by climbing and skiing Naches Peak (~6360′) at Chinook Pass, WA on June 4th. Although the snow looked more like early July with all the suncups, there was plenty to go around and it was absolutely GORGEOUS up there! Best, Chinook Pass is the NE border to … Read more
Danielle, Katt. Riley and I skied Artist Point from Heather Meadows on May 20th. We camped in the valley the night before and cooked red pepper pasta for dinner, and a brisket and potato hash for breakfast. Yum! Unfortunately due to the unseasonably warm conditions, the snow hadn’t “corned up,” and to make matters worse, … Read more
Here’s Brian’s presentation at the 2023 AGM of our 2022 expedition.
One of our favorite places to ski is Blewett Pass / Tronsen Meadows, as there’s a network of cross-country ski trails, dry snow, and most importantly, hardly any people! Since it’s not hammered with tourons like Stevens and Snoqualmie passes, we can let Riley and Mickey run free and we’ve nary seen a soul out … Read more
Last year, my brothers Mike and Kev and I skied Hoodoo, which we determined to be our first of many annual “Ski Bros” vacations. This year we originally planned to Ski Bluewood, but Kev’s wife broke her leg just days before the trip so we reorganized and drove down to his place for a trip … Read more
This year we decided a mid-winter “ski and soak” vacation was in order. So we set out in early February to Montana! Day 1: Lookout Pass Ski Area I first skied Lookout Pass in 2000 when it consisted of a single lift and I could barely ski! This year we got to ski Lift FIVE … Read more
List of US State Highpoints that I have yet to complete. As of February 2025, I have completed 38. For a list of the US State Highpoints I’ve already completed, go here: US State Highpoints Number Elevation(feet) Peak State R/T distance(miles) Elevation Gain(feet) Notes Rank of these 1=hardest 1 14,505 Mt. Whitney CA 22 6148 … Read more
Just a few rando thoughts about what to do in 2023: Vacations: Backcountry Skiing: Frontcountry Skiing: Backpacking: Flying: Caving: Highpointing Hot Springs: