The Grand Canyon - South Kaibab - Bright Angel - Loop

   I completed an early December loop of the Grand Canyon, running 2 hours downhill to the Colorado River via the South Kaibab Trail, and then hiking 5 hours back up to the rim on the Bright Angel Trail. Unfortunately I was forgetful this day, leaving my food behind in the car. Luckily a couple of great guys loaned me an energy bar at Phantom Ranch located along the river, which gave me just enough fuel to hike back up to the rim. A quick review of the two different trails...Bright Angel is longer but less steep; the views seemed to generally be more sweeping and grand on South Kaibab; there are water oases along Bright Angel, such as Indian Garden; less people were encountered on South Kaibab, while Bright Angel was annoyingly crowded at times. I guess I would call this Grand Canyon hike a bucket list experience. However, I can imagine coming back to complete a rim-to-rim-to-rim all in one day...maybe next year.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

 I spent some time in Sioux Falls, SD during fall 2022. You wouldn't think it, but this is a great city. Not much terrain to explore, but if you are looking for quality of life, I don't think you could do better.

Grasshopper Mountain Fire Lookout - Humboldt County, California

 My second ascent to the top of Grasshopper Mountain in Humboldt County, California. This time a couple of CALFIRE employees were manning the tower, and they invited me to the top of the lookout. Great guys and great views of the surrounding terrain.

Women's TREX - Orleans/Klamath River California

 I had a great couple of days providing weather support for the Women's TREX burn operations in and around Orleans, CA along the Klamath River during early October. For more info on WTREX check out the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/WomensTREX/

Mount Niblock - Banff National Park

 Mount Niblock was a generally fun endeavor composed of sections of scrambling, a bit of exhilarating exposure, and an airy view of the surrounding mountains from the summit zone. The adventure begins from the standard viewing area for Lake Louise, which is an amazing sight in its own right. An hour or so of hiking brought Carly and I to the Lake Agnes Teahouse. We took a brief break at this spot, and then began making our way uphill through a glacially carved valley/cirque. Scree and boulders became more numerous, and steepness reached an apex at the base of a cliff band. There is a weakness through the cliffs, such that anything resembling climbing didn't exceed class 3, though there was mild exposure at times. 

After passing the cliff band, we traveled through a boulder field, and then began an ascent toward a ridge that towered above. Route finding was interesting at times on the way to the ridge, but nothing too difficult. After reaching the ridge, we turned right toward the summit of Niblock. This last portion of the route to the summit was mainly a walk, with a few brief class 3 obstacles. However, the exposure increases a bit more on the way to the summit, but again nothing prohibitive. And at last, we reached the summit block and encountered a pinnacle of small rocks that held in place a thin two foot long spire-like summit ornament. We then took our pictures, refueled, and began rock skiing our way back down the mountain. We rewarded ourselves with tea (Carly) and lemonade (myself) at the Teahouse. It was quite a contrast being alone on top of an exhilarating mountain summit just a few hours earlier followed by the safety and crowdedness of the Teahouse.

YouTube video is here. Google map is here.