“After nourishment, shelter, and Companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world”
— Philip Pullman
Antarctica Part 5: Let's seal this deal
Back on the National Geographic Explorer, the staff organized an iceberg pareidolia contest. Rules were simple:, take a photo of an iceberg you think looks like something, then submit it to the staff with a creative title of your choosing. The contest allowed for two categories, one permitting photo manipulation with words or simple drawings, the second must be a stand alone shot. I entered the first category, Will entered the second….
Antarctica Part 4: A Whale of a Tale
Meet PAN-1772, a well traveled whale that has been sighted off the coast of three continents since 2007 - Colombia, Panama, and now by us in Antarctica. We know this thanks to a very cool citizen science website: happywhale.com. As it turns out, a whale’s tail or fluke acts as a unique identifier just like our finger prints. Get a good photo of the fluke…
Antarctica Part 2: Many, Many Penguins
The ship finally stopped moving both vertically and horizontally, and all human life was starting to emerge from their cabin bathroom floors. We were briefed on our inaugural landing at Barrientos, which is populated by two species of penguins. The excitement aboard was palpable.
Antarctica Part 1: Ottawa to the Drake Passage
As Michael informed us, we were’t about to get off easy. They were predicting impressive six meter swells (which he explained none to reassuringly is actually about medium range for the Drake). It was going to be a rough crossing.
Old Ghost Road Part 2: Sunshine, single track, rock slips and steep cliffs
When Will first pitched the idea of mountain biking Old Ghost Road during our trip to New Zealand, I said absolutely not, though I totally understood why he wanted to do it. Old Ghost Road is New Zealand’s longest stretch of single-track mountain biking, and one of the highest rated mountain bike trails in the world. This is our experience with Old Ghost Road
Old Ghost Road Part 1: The best ride in the worst weather
When Will first pitched the idea of mountain biking Old Ghost Road during our trip to New Zealand, I said absolutely not, though I totally understood why he wanted to do it. Old Ghost Road is New Zealand’s longest stretch of single-track mountain biking, and one of the highest rated mountain bike trails in the world.
Wilmington Whiteface and my First Season Mountain Biking.
Wilmington was a perfect mountain bike race for my novice level of experience, with more than 2700m total elevation gain mostly on gravel or paved roads, and a few short sections of not too technical single track.
Shoulder Season Hiking: Franconia Ridge, New Hampshire, USA
Over the last few years Will and I have ventured into shoulder season hiking, where you have more considerations, more preparations, and more gear to take, which means more can go wrong. In this post I reviewed our experience on the Franconia Ridge, one of the most beautiful day hikes in North America.
Shoulder Season Hiking: Franconia Ridge, The Gear
I have been caught off guard before on unexpectedly cold vacations, so when we arrived in Franconia Notch State Park for a mid November hiking trip and it was unexpectedly cold and snowy, we knew we needed to properly equip ourselves with alpine gear. In this post I review what we used, and what worked for us while hiking in these icy and snowy conditions.
Trans Rockies Classic: My next BHAG
BHAG stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal. With 550km and 15 thousand meters elevation from Fernie to Panorama, The Trans Rockies Classic is a …
Rwanda: Culture, landscapes and mountain gorillas
....We started climbing to the edge of the jungle up steep, rugged farm land – a far cry from the fertile prairie soils I grew up on. Here there is a constant struggle between preserving the jungle and expanding farm lands. Even with the current boundaries the gorillas will occasionally leave the jungle to feed on crops – posing a threat to both the farmer’s income and the gorilla’s lives. Clear cutting more of the jungle and encroaching on the gorilla’s territory only furthers the problem, though the farmers will occasionally ignore the laws and take the land expansion upon themselves. There is a real problem trying to balance the land to meet the needs of both species....
New Zealand the North Island: An oldie but a goodie
My travel blog went over so well last week I thought I would keep the trend going for a bit. Back by popular demand here is the best New Zealand video that has ever hit a physiotherapy blog.
