Sheer size, such ice

And now ... to get entirely out of sequence ... here are photos from our very first day in Argentina ... when we went to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier near Calafate. The Perito Moreno is impressive ... both in sheer size and activity ... we saw some major calving while we were there ... a relatively common occurrence for that particular glacier.

The first photo below is a bit of an inside joke (with myself) because when I was an exchange student in Argentina (10 years ago when I was a junior in HS) a taxi driver cussed me out one day for shutting the door with too much force. In Argentina you're expected to swing the door gently in, and then give it a nudge to latch it. So I was a bit amused to see the sign on the door of the taxi that we took to the Perito Moreno that read: "close slowly." And the best part is, now, with my much improved Spanish, I know exactly what the sign directs me, the passenger, to do. No more awkward taxi encounters for me ... at least not in Spanish speaking countries!

Tundra wandering

Joanna, Zippy and I left Monday for a "portable denning" trip. (Note: much the way a parent of a newborn starts to use baby talk, my vocabulary has taken on puppy overtones). We headed six hours north up to the Denali Highway and launched from a beautiful bluff named McClaren Summit.

We spent the next five days strolling over tundra covered with lakes and caribou. Glaciers spilled out of distant mountains, while nearby scree-filled peaks created a natural amphitheater. Sun and rain intermittently poured through fluffy, ominous, accentuated clouds - a playground straight from the divine.

(I accidentally uploaded photos in reverse order ... so the photos start with the end of the trip, and end with the beginning of the trip).

Ram to Rumble

Joanna, Zippy and I kicked off our Alaska adventure with a three day backpacking trip over a route practically out my front door. We headed up gorgeous Ram Valley, a hanging valley flowing into Eagle River Valley. We started on a lush, green, wildflower-covered trail, which quickly opened up into tundra and then glacier. We got onto Ram Glacier, scrambling over moraine, snow and ice until we crested Bombardment Pass. From Bombardment Pass we linked up with a goat trail that wound down to Peter's Creek. We set up camp on a tundra-carpeted knoll at the toe of Rumble Peak and at the headwaters of Peter's Creek. In full amphitheater style seven waterfalls cascaded down from glaciers past our camp site to the valley below. Talk about being lulled to sleep by the sound of nature.

On Day 2 we begged Rumble Peak, choosing to turn around about three quarters of the way up the 7,500-foot scramble over scree. Clouds socked us in, eliminating any chance of a view from the peak and we faced two long days ahead: a 22 mile bushwack out Peter's Creek valley July 17 and, for me, the 24-mile Crow Pass race July 18.

After another peaceful night in a tent, Joanna, Zippy and I woke up bright and early to begin our trek through braided rivers and dense brush. I had to be to at a pre-race meeting in Anchorage that evening, so we were on the clock and booking it ... it's a wonder Joanna and Zippy willingly went out into the backcountry again with me only a few days later. It must have been the jagged peaks, vibrant blooms and rushing water that won them over.