Salmon and Grizzlies in Hyder, Alaska

Alaska, Fish Creek, Hyder, salmon
Spawning Chum Salmon : Prints Available

Spawning chum salmon in Fish Creek, Hyder, Alaska.

After bailing from Jasper and the Canadian Rockies, three days of driving west and north through British Columbia brought us to the southeast tip of Alaska and the town of Hyder. At this point in the trip we hadn’t really done any planning or research beforehand, so didn’t really know what to expect as we rolled into Stewart and Hyder, two towns straddling the border of BC and Alaska. If driving through the nearly-vertical, glacier-clad gorge to get here wasn’t spectacular enough, we got to see some grizzlies feeding on spawning salmon at Fish Creek right out of town!

Alaska, Fish Creek, Grizzly, Hyder, bear
Stalking Salmon : Prints Available

Grizzly bear hunting for salmon.

Fish Creek was plump full of spawning chum salmon; you could hear their splashing before you could even see the river. There’s an elevated wooden observation path where you can walk above next to the river and watch as grizzlies occasionally come by to snack on salmon. I’m not really a wildlife photographer but it sure was fun watching the bear!

Alaska, Fish Creek, Grizzly, Hyder, bear
Salmon Lunch : Prints Available

Grizzly bear picks up a chum salmon to eat.

Interestingly, grizzlies usually just eat the skin and eggs of the salmon, leaving the rest of the fish to rot or be eaten by other animals. Sometimes the skinned salmon is still flopping around as the grizzly walks off with its skin!

Alaska, Hyder, Salmon Glacier
Salmon Glacier

Overlooking the Salmon Glacier.

After watching the bears for a while we continued driving up the road from Hyder. A long winding dirt mining road took us all the way along and above the giant Salmon Glacier, the fifth largest glacier in Canada.

Alaska, Hyder, Salmon Glacier, wildflowers
Fireweed and Salmon Glacier : Prints Available

Salmon Glacier.

Alaska, Fish Creek, Grizzly, Hyder, bear
Swimming Grizzly : Prints Available

A grizzly bear swims across a pond.

We drove down from the Salmon Glacier and stopped again at Fish Creek for one last look at the grizzlies, then returned to the Canadian side of the border, camped at a nearby little lake, and hoped that the grizzlies wouldn’t feed on us that night!

British Columbia, Canada, Clements Lake
Clements Lake

A quiet evening at Clements Lake, near Stewart, BC.

Dayhiking in Banff National Park + Bonus Rant!

Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Mount Temple, Pinnacle Mountain, hiking, panorama

A spectacular view of Pinnacle Mountain on the way up Mount Temple.

Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Mount Temple, hiking

Looking southwest from near the summit of Mount Temple. Pinnacle Mountain and Eiffel Peak are in the center, Deltaform Mountain is the triangular one on the left, Mount Hungabee on the right. The rugged peak in the left distance is Mount Goodsir. Not only area all these peaks around here incredibly rugged, but they have a very unique and attractive character as well.

Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Fairview Mountain, Haddo Peak, hiking

On the summit of Fairview Mountain (9002 ft / 2744 m), high above Lake Louise, looking towards Haddo Peak, Mount Aberdeen, Mount Lefroy, and Mount Victoria.

Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Peyto Glacier, hiking

Hiking towards the Peyto Glacier.

Towards the end of July after our fantastic trek in the Height of the Rockies Provincial Park we ventured on to Banff, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The Canadian Rockies are undoubtedly some of the most impressive mountains on the planet, like a mix of the rugged spires of the Dolomites and the wilds of Alaska or Montana. As you drive down the highways it’s just hit after hit, one awesome mountain after another. We had hopes to do some backpacking treks in Banff and Jasper National Parks, but unfortunately this proved to be nearly impossible due to a stifling new 100% backcountry reservation policy now in effect in those parks (read my rant about that at the link below). So, with no option to do any of the treks we wanted to do, we spent our time doing some day hikes instead before moving on.

>> SEE ALL THE PHOTOS AND EVEN A BONUS RANT HERE! <<

Backpacking In The Height Of The Rockies, Canada

British Columbia, Canada, Canadian Rockies, Height of the Rockies, Limestone Lakes, BC, panorama
Height of the Rockies Sunset Panorama : Prints Available

A spectacular sunset over some remote and pristine alpine lakes in Height of the Rockies Provincial Park.

In July we drove over the border into British Columbia, Canada and headed east towards the Height of the Rockies Provincial Park in eastern BC. The trek I had in mind is a somewhat obscure one involving several hours of driving along dirt forestry roads to access a seldom traveled trail which eventually fades into a convoluted off-trail routefinding adventure, finally arriving at a spectacular series of high lakes in a rugged glaciated basin.

>> SEE MORE PHOTOS AND THE ENTIRE TRIP REPORT HERE! <<

Onwards!

Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Slade Lake, Washington, tent

Camping at Spade Lake, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington.

Just as an update, a week ago we went on a 5-day backpack trip in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of Washington — a big loop to Spectacle and Spade Lakes. After that we had hopes for a sunny weather forecast and another trek in Washington, but alas the weather deteriorated and the forecast for the next week was rain, rain, rain. Also if we wanted to stick to our loose schedule for the summer, the mid-July date said it was time to move on. So although there’s SO much more I had wanted to do in Washington, we hit the road again and are now in the Canadian Rockies! We’re in Fernie at the moment and plan to work our way north through the range for the next 3 weeks or so, of course doing lots of backpacking and hiking along the way.

As we continue traveling and backpacking on our big summer road trip, I’ve realized that it’s unfeasible to keep this blog up to date with my photos and trip reports. So, unfortunately, just as we’re starting to get into the more exciting backpacking trips, the photos and reports will have to wait until autumn when we’re back… or perhaps until some long rainy down days… but hopefully that won’t happen too often!

Sauk Mountain, Washington

Sauk Mountain, Washington, wildflowers, sunset, July, Cascades
Sauk Mountain Sunset : Prints Available

Sunset from the slopes of Sauk Mountain, Washington – July.

Now that I’m back home from our summer road trip I’m finally able to process my photos properly on my big monitor, so in the coming days and weeks I’ll be posting photos and trip reports from all our adventures!

This one is from July, on Sauk Mountain, a small hike with a big view over the Sauk River valley in western Washington state. I hiked up here in the fog with little hope for light, but right at sunset the clouds parted enough to let some through! The next day we drove over the spectacular North Cascades highway then up into Canada. I felt bad leaving Washington since there’s so much more hiking and backpacking I want to do in the Cascades, but with a weather forecast of just more and more rain, we knew we needed to keep moving on. I guess I’ll just have to return someday!

Alpine Lakes Trek, Washington

Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Spectacle Lake, Washington, Cascades
Green Spectacle : Prints Available

A kaleidoscope of greens at Spectacle Lake.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Mount Daniel, Spade Lake, Washington, tent, Cascades
Spade Lake Morning : Prints Available

A fantastic camp site above Spade Lake, with Mount Daniel towering above.

In mid July after having done two backpack trips on the Olympic Peninsula, we were excited to do some more in the Cascades; however, most of the treks we had researched in the central and northern Cascades were still snowbound on the higher passes and lakes. We studied the maps looking for a trek we could do under 5,000 feet elevation and concluded that the Alpine Lakes Wilderness fit the bill. This area boasts many interesting lakes and rugged peaks, and is generally lower elevation than the more northerly ranges. Plus, I’d never visited here before and was eager to check it out!

I realized that we could probably connect two intriguing lakes with one long triangular loop circuit: Spectacle and Spade Lakes. We planned on five days: one day hiking up along the Cooper River to Spectacle Lake, a rest day there, a long day over Waptus Pass to Spade Lake, another rest day there, and a final long haul out the Waptus River back to where we started at the Salmon La Sac trailhead.

Continue reading “Alpine Lakes Trek, Washington” →

Olympic High Divide Loop

Mount Olympus, Olympic Peninsula, Sol Duc, Washington, Olympic National Park
Mount Olympus Forest : Prints Available

Mount Olympus (7,980 ft / 2,432 m) as seen from the High Divide, Olympic National Park, Washington.

Mount Olympus is the king of the Olympus Peninsula in Washington; laden with thick glaciers, the 7,980 foot peak soars above the surrounding rainforest valleys. Some of the finest views to be had of this remote mountain are from the High Divide trail which follows a high ridge opposite the Hoh River valley — that is, when the notorious Olympic Peninsula rain stops long enough to see it. In early July right after our Olympic coast trek we spent 4 days backpacking a loop route from the Sol Duc valley via the High Divide in Olympus National Park, hoping to catch a view of Olympus.

Continue reading “Olympic High Divide Loop” →

Olympic Peninsula Coastal Trek

Olympic Peninsula, Washington, Olympic National Park, hiking

Hiking past seastacks along the Olympic coast, Washington.

Olympic Peninsula, Washington, Olympic National Park, hiking

A rope-assisted descent down a steep portion of trail over a rocky headland between remote beaches.

Olympic Peninsula, Sand Point, Washington, Olympic National Park

Panoramic view at Sand Point, Olympic National Park.

At the end of June we did a 4-day backpacking trek up the wild coast of the Olympic Peninsula from Rialto Beach to Sand Point, in Olympic National Park. This was a fairly demanding hike with many rugged and rocky headlands that could only be passed at low tide, along with the ever present coastal fog and rain. The tough hiking and weather was rewarded with secluded wilderness beaches, picturesque sea stacks, tidepools, and the company of seals and bald eagles.

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS HERE!

Up Through Oregon

Crater Lake, Oregon, Crater Lake National Park, lake

Overlooking Wizard Island from the rim of Crater Lake, Oregon.

In late June we visited my uncle and cousins in Ashland, Oregon for a few days, then made a quick drive up through the state. Our first stop on the way was Crater Lake National Park, where we hiked with my uncle up a crumbly peak to the high point along the rim of the crater. This spectacular caldera lake at over 6,000 feet elevation was formed when the Mount Mazama volcano collapsed about 7,700 years ago, and subsequently filled with water. The lake is the deepest in the United States — 1,949 feet at its deepest.

Mount Hood, Oregon, Trillium Lake
Trillium Fog : Prints Available

A quiet foggy morning at Trillium Lake near Mount Hood – June.

From Crater Lake we took a scenic route past the Sisters mountains then up towards Mount Hood where we spent a night near Trillium Lake. Early in the morning I walked to the lake, which was shrouded in fog. As I sat there peacefully at the calm and misty lake, a bald eagle silently swooped down and grabbed a fish out of the lake in front of me! The ease and grace of the eagle’s catch was awe inspiring… and then it came back a few minutes later and did it again, making it look like the easiest thing in the world. So magestic. Welcome to the northwest!

Mount Hood, Oregon, Trillium Lake, duck
Trillium Duck : Prints Available

A local duck swims in Trillium Lake with Mount Hood (11,250 feet) towering behind – June.

Later in the morning the fog lifted, revealing a glorious view of Mount Hood above!

The Redwoods

California, Founders Grove, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, redwoods

Hiking through the giant redwoods in the Founder Grove, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California.

California, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, redwoods, hiking

Hiking through redwoods in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California.

California, Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park, Stout Grove, redwoods

Giant redwoods in the Stout Grove, Jedediah Smith State Park, California.

After leaving Tahoe we drove west to the coast then spent several days walking and hiking in the magnificent redwood forests of Northern California. Words and even photos can’t really do justice to the sheer immensity of these giant trees and the raw feeling of power they emanate as you walk amongst them!