Alaska-geek

Our trip started off from the floatplane airport that's adjacent to the international airport in Anchorage. The first two days were beautiful in Anchorage (as you can see in the picture above from the dock), but low clouds in the mountains prevented us from being able to fly out until late the second day.  We were anxious and a bit frustrated at not being able to go according to our schedule, but once we saw the mountain lake, it was clear that the pilots at Trail Ridge Air had everyone's safety in mind.

Once we did arrive at Iceberg Lake, high in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge wilderness, we were awestruck with the beauty and grandeur. Our experienced pilot easily and gently touched down on the smooth lake and navigated to the shore to unload us and everything that we would need for the week.

After the plane left, we explored around the lake, and the nearby glacier:

To the left is a photo of all of us over looking the glacier near our first night's camp site

Every morning, we had spectacular views right outside the tent door.  What an amazing way to start the day.  We had a nice relaxing quiet time every morning in the seclusion of the remote wilderness.

We had three rivers to cross including the one in the picture below.  It was in a bit of a ravine, and we had to climb up that cliff you can see on the other side.  This is also where Patrick lost one of his hiking boots in the river!

Since there were no trails in this wilderness, we spend a lot of time walking through very tall grass, or fighting through dense alder thickets.  On the longest day, we only hiked a few miles, but it took us all day.  We were so exhausted when we finally found a flat spot to pitch our tents.

Where we did pitch our tents, we had a beautiful view of the opposite mountains that we'd just come from the day before. We even found a shed antler from a caribou!

Speaking of caribou, on the second to last day, several curious animals came close to our last camp site to check us out.

We were supposed to spend one more day in the wilderness to get picked up by the float plane on Friday, but on our way up the last ridge, the first of us made it to the meeting point, then the last two made it there, but the person in between was not there.  Despite searching for him all day, we could not find him. It was getting cold, dark, and very windy, so we got out the satellite phone and called for help. Boy did we ever get help! The Alaska Air National Guard's 212th Rescue Squadron sent SSgt Cody Inman, Captain Aaron Zamora and the rest of their crew to search for our friend and take us all back to civilization.  Their Pave Hawk came straight to our signal fire, they talked with us about where we last saw our friend, and quickly found him on a mountain ridge and pulled him up to the helicopter. Then they came back for the rest of us, and before long, we were dropped off at the hospital in Soldotna. I can't say enough about the skill and professionalism of these pararescue jumpers and their pilots!  Here's a link to the video of the extraction: http://youtu.be/P3-dd2YQCEg

This was by far the most challenging and exciting trip that we've ever been on.  The solitude was absolute, the terrain was as difficult as it was beautiful, and the excitement of the exit was way beyond what we expected.  We call these annual trips the "extreme getaway with God", and this was the most extreme that I can imagine.  I did a lot of praying and bible reading during the week, and have some solid plans for getting even closer to God and enjoying Him even more completely!

Family-Geek

Can you see the cigarette butt in the picture?

 (above photo from pictureoutdoors.com)

This is a picture of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. I stood on the shore of this amazing vista in 2005 during a backpacking trip and learned a lesson in perspective. Here's an excerpt from my journal: “We walked down to lake McDonald to a very beautiful view of the lake and mountains. There were a few cigarette butts on the rocky beach, and as I started to get upset about it, I realized that I was letting a very small detail spoil all the beauty around me...”

Here's a picture of me in the mountains above the lake the next day:

Today, I had to follow through on some promised consequences with one of the kids due to some recent results from school. When a child is so respectful and mature, and such an amazing creation of God, it seems like it'd be hard to get distracted by one small lapse in scholastic performance, but it's what happens sometimes. I know that discipline is an act of love and necessary for continued growth and maturity, but why does it have to be so hard?!?

My journal from that time in Glacier continues: “...God created [my Wife], and [my Kids] with even more love and care than this mountain. Do I see the vast beauty in them, or do I let small details ruin everything?”

I know that God loves me even though I screw up, and I try really hard to express to my family how much I love each of them unconditionally too. I hope they get it.

Backpacking-Geek

We made it through our very difficult 7-day hike in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Even though there was very little snow, and the absolute elevation was lower than our trip last year, this trip was at least as difficult. The longer days, and constant climbing or descending really took their toll on our joints and feet.
It was well worth it though because we got to enjoy a true mountain-top experience that few are willing to work hard enough to experience.
Here's a panorama that shows a full 360 degrees of awesome creation:
You can't get to a place like that without a little work to get there!

Backpacking-Geek
Last year, we did our annual backpacking trip in the spring, which turned out to be difficult due to the snow even in June in New Mexico's Pecos Wilderness.
So this year, we're planning a trip to the Bob Marshall Wilderness in the Summer.
Here's a picture of our planned route for the seven-day, six-night adventure:
We plan to hike almost 60 miles, which seems pretty aggressive to me, but with no snow and less elevation than last year's trip, it should be quite doable.
We've got about 8 guys going on this trip, with 5 of us returning from last year.
I fully expect that this will be another mountain-top experience in more ways than one. Another opportunity to minimize distractions and "Be still and know that [He] is God."

There and back again.
The Pecos Wilderness was better than I expected! It was also snowier than I expected.
Overall, it was a phenomenal trip. There couldn't be a better group of guys: sharing, encouraging, and adventurous. We couldn't have asked for clearer skies, the only precipitation we saw was a light snow as we reached the highest pass. It couldn't have been much more extreme without major injuries; we really really had to rely on God for strength and wisdom. He is awesome!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Backpacking-Geek
After taking last year off to take the big family RV trip, we're back to the annual men's backpacking trip! This year we'll be spending 6 days in the Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico.
Here is a map of the area that we plan to hike in:
Day 1 – Leave Michigan 9:00am
Day 2 – Arrive at the wilderness 24 hours later and start hiking.
1st night will be along Rio Santa Barbara.
Day 3 – Hike up above tree-line, past No Fish Lake and over to the South side of the ridge
2nd Night near Truchas Lakes
Day 4 – Leave camp set up, and go day hiking up to Truchas Peak, or just hang out in the quiet solitude near camp.
3rd night in the same location
Day 5 – Hike East along the ridge line
4th night near intersection of trails 26 & 36
Day 6 – Continue hiking along the ridge, heading North today
5th night near Jicarita Peak
Day 7 – Hike out by evening and start driving home
Day 8 – Arrive back home the following night

Please “...keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give [us] the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that [we] may know him better.” (Eph 1:17)