Hummingbird in Snow

Most Germans think of hummingbirds as tropical creatures so its surprising to see them in Vancouver. Ever since I found out that some of them even stay here over winter I wanted to take a photo of one in the snow. During our Christmas visit in Victoria this wish came true. When I woke up on Christmas Day a white blanket of snow covered the garden I got my camera gear quickly ready before all melted away. And sure enough, hummingbirds were already up and busy at the feeder!

Mexico - Paragliders and Monarch Butterflies

This year we made the trek to Valle de Bravo in a group of 7 Canucks. We rented house with big rooms and a nice sundeck for great views over the city. A cool place to watch the fireworks for the Lady of Guadalupe festivities on December 12 (and since the Mexicans like their fireworks, they start a week earlier and nights are a bit noisy). Flying conditions were great and many hours of airtime and cross-country kilometers were accumulated, including to 'new -to-me' locations Los Saucos and the antenna spot. And it was nice too to meet our Norwegian friend again.

We took a day off from flying and visited the Monarch butterflies that spend the winter in the nearby mountains. When we hiked up the mountain in the morning most butterflies were still sitting on branches and stems of trees but as it warmed up more and more of them took to the air. We hiked back down in a river of orange butterflies.

Gharials

Since we finished the 3 passes trek in time we had a few extra days left before my flight was booked back to Canada. We weighed our options and opted for a visit of Chitwan park at the border to India. The bus ride there and back was excruciatingly long; it took the bus 8 and 12 hours to cover approximately 120 kilometer. I'm glad we took the tourist bus.

Chitwan Park was not quite as jungle-like as expected, but we got to see several rhinos, crocodiles, birds and two of the very rare Gavial (or gharial) - crocodiles with narrow and long snouts that are critically endangered. Tigers proved elusive although our guide pointed out tiger prints (rather small... could have been a mid-sized cougar) and a spot where a tiger attack had happened. It was fun to chat with our neighbors at the resort, a couple of bird watchers (or should I say: bird scientists) from the US.

Gharial

If they come run! That's what our guide said.

Nepal Khumbu - 3 Passes Trek

In October a friend and I hiked the 3-Passes Trek in the Nepal Everest (Khumbu) region. An amazing trek with stunning views of the world's highest mountains. I'm still procrastinating on the day-by-day trip report about all the impressions and sights, meanwhile some random notes and a table of our itinerary with elevation gains and hiking times.

We hired a porter/guide via an agency in KTM and hiked for 21 days, starting from Phaplu (jeep ride from Kathmandu) and flew back to KTM from Lukla.

Spending a lot of time in Kathmandu may not be for everybody, especially touristy Thamel with a lot of dust, crowds, traffic is rather tiring. Accommodation in the area near Boudhanath Pagoda is much nicer and quieter (and also relatively close to the airport).

Money: extra US cash is useful. ATMs do not always work (power outages, break down). Withdrawal amounts, fees and allowed frequency vary (max 35,000 rp, in Lukla only 15,000 rp, some ATMs only once/day). In Lukla only Visa cards worked. No ATMs past Namche.

Clothing and boots: Down jacket and warm pants were nice to have for evening photo sessions and mornings in the higher elevation tea houses. I was happy with my sleeping bag (rated -7oC, but for me only to good 0 degrees), others may be OK with a thinner bag and extra tea house blankets. I had runners and hiking boots and found the boots quite useful for the first three days from Phaplu to Lukla where the trail was muddy and rocky due to high donkey train traffic and for the passes. On the Annapurna Circuit I found that light runners were prefect for most of the trail as the trek starts much lower and it can be quite warm for the first days (+30oC). Waterproof heavy boots can easily cause blister problems.

Single accommodation can be difficult to find in high-demand places (Lobuche, Gorak Shep, Gokyo) and it may be best to pair up with another solo-trekker.

The early bird gets the worm: starting and arriving early (breakfast at 6:30, start hiking 7 or 7:30 AM) helps to get better views and better choice of accommodation. Clouds/fog often formed in the afternoon when we were there in October. Below Lukla it rained every day around 2 or 3 PM, it was nice to be already in the tea house when it starts pouring.

Additional 2000 rupee ‘community development’ fee was charged just before entering Namche.

Kala Patthar: lots of people go at sunrise but I think afternoon and sunset is better for photos. The sun rises behind Everest/Nuptse, so the walls are in the shade in the morning.

The Everest base camp trail was the most crowded section of the 3 passes trek, Gokyo was a little less crowded and equally scenic. Least crowded were the Chukung and Thame/Lungden valleys.

Flying vs Jeep. The good: longer acclimatization (3 or 7 days, Phaplu or Jiri), avoid problems with cancelled flights to Lukla. The bad: jeep ride as sketchy as the flight into Lukla, the trail is in marginal shape due to more rain and lots of donkey trains (comparable to a rough hiking trail on the Vancouver North shore, rocky and muddy) and takes more time.

Booking flights to/from Lukla: best to book early in the day (weather can get worse during the day, later flights are more likely to be cancelled).

Drinking water treatment (pump, uv, pristine etc) is preferable to buying bottled water as there is no recycling and plastic bottles are often either discarded or burned in open fires.

With increasing elevation prices for accommodation, food, showers, charging of electronics, bottled water increase. Solar charger and/or battery packs and means of treating water treatment are useful. There is no free Wifi after Namche but Everest Link service is available 200 Mb for 600 rp.

Spelling of place names varies widely.

Day 

0 - Kathmandu sightseeing

1 - Jeep to Phaplu/Salleri - 2300m, 11h driving, bad road
2 - Nunthala (2200m, 7h) via Traksindo La (approx. 3050m), trail muddy with loose rocks, lots of donkey trains,

3 - Bubsa (2050m, 6h) via Dud Koshi (1500m), same trail conditions,

4 - Surkhe (2300m, 6h), same trail conditions,

5 - Monjo (2850, 6h) trail in much better shape but many trekkers from Lukla

6 - Namche (3360m, 3h)
7 - Namche (3360m), rest day, hike to Kumjung (Monastery with Yeti scalp) and Everest View Hotel (3800m)
8 – Tengboche (3800m, 5h), Monastery, monks prayer in the morning and evening
9 – Dingboche (4300m, 4h)

10 – Chukkung (4730m, 2.5h)
11 - Chukkung (4730m), rest day, Chukkung Ri (5300m, 3.5h)
12 – Lobuche (4930m, 6.5h) via Kongma La (5535m)

13 – Gorak Shep (5020m, 2h) and Kala Patthar (5544m, 3h round trip)
14 – Dzongla (4800m, 5h)

15 – Dragnag (=Tagnag) (4700m, 6h) via Cho La (5400m)
16 – Gokyo (4900m, 1.5h), fourth lake (2h)
17 – Gokyo rest day, hike Gokyo Ri (5400m, 3.5h)
18 – Lumbden (4500, 6h) via Renjo La (5480m)

19 – Namche (3360, 6h)

20 – Phakding (2785m, 4h)

21 – Lukla (2850m, 2.5h)

Looking down valley from Kala Patthar, the glacier is Khumbu, pointy peak on the left Ama Dablam

Gokyo Lake from Gokyo Ri

Add caption

Chilko Lake Grizzlies - September

A photo club friend and expert bear photographer allowed me to tag along on one of his bear trips. Although I just had time for a couple of days between all my other travels this year and the drive was long, it was totally worth it. My usual bear encounters happen when hiking or driving and the bears almost always disappear more or less quickly. Which really is a good thing! I wouldn't be very happy about a curious bear inspecting me or my tent. But in fall in the Chilcotin mountains the bears feast on salmon and don't have much interest in anything else. It was amazing to watch these big animals for a long time and from a relatively close distance.

You are in my way!

Chilcotin River near Farwell Canyon

Euro Travel Tips and Surprises

Some things we discovered this year:

- The Lufthansa 'Fly and Rail' program offers reduced prices with flexible train tickets when flying to or from an airport in Germany. I found out about it well after I bought the flights but with a phone call still got 50% off the tickets from FRA to LEJ.

- A passport must be valid for 90 days after the return date. I thought it was 2 months. But this varies by country and of course also changes. Better check well ahead of every international trip.

- Hertz car rental: This came as a bit of a surprise... the driver's license needs to show that the owner has had a license for more than one year. There is no info about when a license was first issued on the Canadian one, so if it was renewed less than year ago it is a problem. Chances are 20% since licenses are renewed every 5 years. Get an international license (but they are only valid for 1 year... although its not stated on the license). Keep an expired license and bring it?

- New rules to get a SIM card in Germany: a German address is needed. Before activating ID identification is needed which is possible at a Post office or by submitting passport info online. If you already have an European SIM card hold on to it! On the bright side; there are no more roaming charges within the EU.

- Blau Cell Provider. We bought a prepaid phone/data plan. The plan has to be activated. If you do the activation when not on WiFi it uses data which doesn’t leave enough money to get plan. Activate plan only via WiFi!

- Welcome to the future rental car (Ford Focus): 4 cameras in the front, one in the back, line assist, distance assist, automatic high beam, automatic windshield wiper, blind spot warning in the side view mirror, doors open when key is nearby, so you can't check if the doors are closed ;-). We also couldn’t open back door from inside even with key. First time I saw heat wires in the windshield. And the car would display speed limit signs on the dashboard (occasionally also the speed signs that are attached to big trucks).

Euro Trip Report 2017

Our first stop is the 2260 m high Kronplatz where strange sights greets us: North American tippis and Nepalese yaks. So we don’t feel so much out of place? The Kronplatz is an isolated summit with launch potential in all directions. But it was windy and the air rough so we boat around for one or two hours and then call it quits.

Next day Emberger Alm: Smooth thermaling, almost too smooth, but very nice after yesterdays rock-and-roll. Unfortunately big and black clouds develop in the afternoon and we thought it is better to land. Apparently this summer wasn’t great for flying in the Alps, almost every day overdevelopment and showers.

First day in Tolmin at the LZ; what a surprise that the first pilot we see is Ronny, a Norwegian XC tour guide whom we know from our Valle de Bravo visits. Unbeknownst to us we arrived one day before the Nordic Open Championships started. Lots of pilots in town and in the air. We meet Hans an Iceland pilot who (according to Ronny) looks the most ‘viking’ of all. He greeted me with a big hug (‘Vikings love women… and husbands too’). I have a great flight from Kobala. Low clouds on Stol ridge, cruising along (almost) without turning. My first border-crossing flight! I turn around at the gap in the ridge and made it back too. Good thing: getting back to Tolmin from Italy would have been a major headache. For some added excitement I pushed a little too far east beyond Kobala launch. Pete watched from above as I slowly make my way back around the corner. But I make it! Nice to start the week in Slovenia with a 100km flight!

On the second day it took me a while getting away from launch and then again from Kobarid. Later I joined one of the competition gaggles and thermaled up the steep west face of Krn. Wouldn’t have ventured there without the other pilots around. A very 'alpine' feeling!

Competition pilots in the air

No-fly weather in the forecast for our third day in Slovenia. So we have a rest day and hike for 8 hours. Climbed our first ‘vowel-less’ mountain: Krn! ‘Bright’ landscape with all the limestone. First world war shells, barbed wire fences and fortifications everywhere. Only very few people out but nice to chat with three young hikers from Jena and the girl up at the hut. Made it back to the car just in time before the downpour and thunderstorm starts.

Day 4: Parawaiting for the north wind to stop. We can see the clouds pouring over the ridges north of us. Still pretty rough air along the ridge but a nice climb above the old Tolmin castle. On to Kobarid, two attempts to get away from there again. I think I know every tree on the hill east of Kobarid! Finished with a second castle soaring session.

Day 5: First flight from Stol. I followed Pete across the gap in the Stol ridge where I turned around 3 days ago. We fly all the way to Gemona. The rough air at the steep face at the end of the ridge makes me wonder if this flight ends in Italy. But we find much nicer air over the smaller hills to the south. The rest of the flight back along Stol ridge, to Tolmin and back to Stol launch is much nicer. I get some cool photos of Pete on his red Taska. But it takes work to get up again at Kobarid and back onto Stol ridge at the end of the flight. It’s a 98.7 km out and return, but 108 km open distance … so I think I’ll count this as my 4th 100 km flight ;-)

Too much wind for Kobala so we checked out Lijak on day 6. The Nordic comp also moved the task to this site. Cool to watch the comp guys from above but when they joined 'my' thermal I leave to give them some room ... ;-)

Bad weather in the forecast so we drive to the Adriatic coast on country roads to avoid the Slovenia toll highway, swim in the Mediterranean, wander the narrow streets of medieval towns (Koper, Izola and Piran), eat nice seafood and watch thunderstorm and lightening over the sea from a rain-less beach.

Back in the Alps again. The cold front brought the first snow. Hiking up to the 2600 m Kreutzspitze from the town of Kalkstein in the Villgratener Alps with some traces of snow on the ground. Even at the camp ground in the valley night temperatures dropped below freezing.

Kreutzspitze summit view looking southwest to some pointy Dolomite spires

One more flight at Emberger Alm, then a stop in Salzburg for coffee with friend from the olden old kayaking days. Another 5 hours of Autobahn driving to Frankfurt and then back to YVR again.

Usually we travel to Europe in fall when its too late for long crosscountry flights. But late August turned out to be an excellent time to visit Slovenia, with 2 of my 4 longest flights ever!

Slovenia Revisited - August 2017

Last year we visited Slovenia and enjoyed flying there (and even met some friends from Canada!) but after just two days the weather turned bad. So we tried again this year.

And what a surprise: the first person we met this year was a Norwegian paraglider pilot we know from Valle de Bravo. The Nordic Open were held at the same time we visited. This meant 140 extra pilots in the air but didn't cause us any problems since we launched before the comp started. And all the pilots in the air were great thermal indicators.

Slovenia is nestled in the south east corner of the Alps with white limestone peaks, towers and rock walls. The flying is centered around the towns Tolmin and Kobarid. Conditions were great when we visited in late August. Thermal strength and roughness was comparable to a strong day in the Fraser Valley and quite a bit mellower than Pemberton.

There are two main flying sites in the Soca Valley: Kobala near Tolmin and Stol near Kobarid. In Tolmin a van left from the main LZ around 10 AM (or whenever there were enough pilots to fill it). The main LZ is also where the site fee of Euro 4/day is collected (if there is someone on launch collecting the fee it’s more expensive). Getting up Stol is more complicated since only organized groups drive up. Contact for a ride up, accommodation or guided tours is Wolfgang at http://www.paragliding-adventure.com/en/index.php. There is also another paragliding outfit: http://www.jelkin-hram.com for accommodation and tours. For roughing it there are plenty of campgrounds around. We stayed at Kamp Siber near Tolmin.

The main flying route leads from Tolmin 15 km northwest along the Soca valley, crossing the valley at Kobarid to get on the Stol ridge. This ridge continues for 30 km into Italy. When flying to Gemona in Italy its better to make it back too as roads don’t continue through this valley and ground transport would take many hours. On our first day there were low clouds just below ridge height and we flew all the way to Italy and back with barely a turn. Another spectacular experience was thermaling up the steep west face of Krn, with 2244m the local high point. Out and returns of 100km are relatively easy. Longer flights are more difficult due to the terrain but pilots often add more zigzag legs to the route to extend the flights.

The launch sites in the Soca Valley don’t work in north or east wind, so we explored a third launch at Lijak. It’s the last ridge before the flats that eventually give way to the Mediterranean and resembles Bassano. There is a camp ground and a regular shuttle service up the mountain.

Pete returning along the Stol ridge and flying towards Slovenia

Tolmin with castle and paragliders

Weather: Dry Period Record Tied

According to Cliff Mass, the record for the longest dry period in Seattle has been tied.

"There has been no measurable rain at Seattle-Tacoma Airport for fifty-one days. This ties the record for number of consecutive days without measurable rain, which occurred from July 7 to August 26, 1951."

The same here in Vancouver. In addition to this our skies have been obscured by smoke from the wildfires for 2 weeks already (luckily after the Paragliding Nationals were over). Apparently the smoke helped to keep the heat in check. And due to the inflow from the ocean the air quality is not terrible in Vancouver. But I'm looking forward to the rain predicted for this weekend which should clear the skies!

Fixed Total Validity - PG Competition Scoring

Fixed Total Validity (FTV) is a scoring formula that allows dropping the odd bad day from the overall score, depending on the total number of days and validity of the task results (which depends on number of pilots in goal, distance and flying time). This makes the competition more interesting and encourages pilots to race and not hang back and follow others. Racing increases the chances of winning (more points) but also the risk of sinking out and not reaching goal (a lot less points). To alleviate this down-side the worst score(s) is/are dropped.

For a pilot with evenly good scores this means that more points are subtracted each day compared to a pilot who ‘bombed out’ on a task and received only a few points for it. So I was rather unhappy for a couple of days when I lost about 100 points each day shrinking the lead to the next pilot although I actually scored better on that particular day. But wait, on the last day I didn’t get far at all and suddenly this was the day that got scratched from my score and all my other points came back! And the third pilot didn't do so well either. Phew!

I still don’t feel it is entirely fair that someone with less total points (but one great day) can win over someone with constantly good performance. But hey, everybody is subjected to the rules… and they worked for me.

Fire Smoke in Vancouver, Aug 1

Wildfires happen every summer in BC but this year we have a particularly bad season. The wet and cool spring and early summer did surprisingly more harm than good since it encouraged the growth of grass and underbrush. After a stretch of hot and dry weather in early July the stage was set for big wildfires. At one time over 40,000 people had to be evacuated from towns as big as Williams Lake (10,000 inhabitants) in the Cariboo region of BC.

Wind directions changed to a northeasterly outflow and now Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are blanketed with the dense smoke of these fires. This makes for spectacular sunsets and prevented the temperatures to reach predicted record numbers. The North Shore mountains are obscured by the smoke and the setting sun has an eerily red color. But I'm certainly hoping for a change in wind directions to blow all this smoke away again!

Sunset at Lighthouse Park, looking across Howe Sound to Bowen Island

Sunset from the roof of our house (with a sunspot visible at 10 o'clock)

Satellite image of the smoke blowing out the Fraser Valley

Canadian Paragliding Nationals, July 22-29

What a fantastic week in Pemberton! A big thanks to Guy and Ricardo and the many volunteers who worked so hard to make this happen!

We had 4 tasks, the 3 other days were canceled because of too much wind. Two of the tasks were over 80 km with lots of valley crossings, including some flying north of the Hurley Pass. 86 pilots came to Pemberton, many of them for the first time. Lots of happy pilots in goal each day, thanks to the good work by the task committee. I really enjoyed flying with so many other pilots in the air (except for the start gaggle) as the many wings provide lots of indication which lines work best and where to find lift. But it was an eagle who showed me where the nicest thermal was - apparently these birds don't like rough air either.

Although conditions were typical for Pemberton (rather rough at times), there were only two reserve tosses, no damage to pilots or gear and both pilots got themselves back to civilization (one with the help of comp volunteers).

Both Pete and I had good success in the competition, placing second in Sport's and Women's class respectively. In addition I won a fantastic raffle price, courtesy of Jim Reich/FlyBC.

For more information on each day check out Nicole's blog: here.

Results: here.

CBC report: here.  Cool video shows +85 pilots launching.

First task of Canadian Nationals. It took me some time to climb high enough so I was almost last to leave launch. Watched the gaggles ahead race into the ground on the ridge to Copper. I almost did the same heading low into the lee of Pauline. Slowly ridge-soared my way up again from way too low with Christian. Lots of wind from the northwest so I didn't feel motivated to tackle the last into-the-wind leg of the task. Should have… could have… but surprise... still placed 1st in Women's class.

Second task. Must have been my fastest run to Copper and back (1:39 for 46 km on the scoring sheet, average 27.5km/h ... included in the Leonardo track are an additional 35 minutes waiting for the start). My first goal in a comp, with 64/85 other happy pilots.

Third task. Never done some much zigzagging across the valley …  worked surprisingly well. From Camel straight across to Locomotive. Strong headwind and blown thermals themals there and not easy to get to Zorah (last one before the North Creek crossing). Back to Camel and then Owl and then back to goal at the bottom of Camel. Arrived a 'little' too high over goal... 1000 meters. Guess I have to work on my racing strategy.

Day 4… canceled: Hiked on river right of Lillooet river to a view point over the Capricorn slide. Very impressive. And a great blue berry crop! On the way back we rescue a young couple with a blown tire and no clue how to change it.

Day 5… canceled: hiked Miller Ridge with Nic, Alex and Christian. Great flowers and lots of mossis. We take a dip in a tarn next to the last snow patches. Surprisingly warm water.

Fourth task. Looks like the easy valley crossings of the last task lured me into not taking this serious... left too low. Too impatient when strangely no climbs were to be found along the ridge to Owl. Bombed out! But thanks to the scoring system the worst day doesn’t count and I'm finishing in Women's second place... out of 9 ladies.

Manning Park Flowers - July 15/16

Alpine flowers are out so we spent a weekend hiking in Manning Park. On our hike along Heather trail to the First Brother Mountain we count over 30 different species of flowering plants and could name about 15 of them. The night at 2000 meter was surprisingly cold. Next day we hike Skyline trail. More amazing views and a few different flowers. Count is up to 40.

Blanca Lake and Elaho Wanderings - July 8/9

The ski bug got the better of me when I convinced Pete to carry our skis up to Blanca Lake in the Elaho valley. There was a post on FB about nice turns but that it took 1.5 h carrying skis to get there was not mentioned. I was quite excited after skiing Seymour a couple of days ago but generally we are not that excited about walking with the skis on our backs. Oh well, first time for us in a beautiful area worth visiting again in fall with all the colors.

I hadn’t been up the Elaho valley in many years so we went on an exploratory mission all the way to the end of the logging road.

The area around the last (north) 30km of the Elaho FSR (Elaho Main) have been heavily effected by the big wildfire in 2015. While large parts of the forest along the road and far up the slopes are scorched the fire stopped short of the Stoltman Wilderness/Upper Elaho Valley Conservancy … except for Lava Camp and the Elaho Giant (which is actually surrounded by clear cuts). Douglas Fir Loop with all its big trees is untouched. There are some signs (many fell off) and an obvious trail to Lava camp and Cessna Creek and a rather faint loop trail.

We didn’t explore far but from what I found online the bridges across Cessna and Marlow Creeks are still out so the Elaho-Meager traverse is not feasible at the moment. On our way back we found another washed-out bridge at Peach Creek at the start of G-main, the FSR west of the Elaho River – cutting off access to Sims creek and Mt. John Clark/Sun Peak. Two hikes I had on my to do list - too late now. Maybe eventually the bridges will be repaired.

Seymour Ski - July 7

A first for me: I never skied the Northshore mountains in July. I probably never skied in July at all.

With the amount of snow the coast got this season, there was enough left to ski down about 2/3 of the run on Seymour. And the snow was good enough for turns. Only draw back were the bugs... way too many of them trying to get into nose, eyes and ears.

Ben's photo

Lummi Island, July 2/3

Got our sea kayaks on the water again and paddled to Lummi Island, WA. Great campsite on the island with lots of Arbutus trees around. Next day we found a whale skeleton, skull over 3 meters long. Interesting story: the whale was found dead in Bellingham Bay in early May and towed to this beach on Lummi Island to decompose. Bellingham Herald article: here. Fortunately well away from the camp site.

San Juan Foxes - June 20

A while ago I saw a beautiful photo of foxes at a friends house. It was taken quite close to Vancouver on San Juan Island. So when the flying weather looked sufficiently bad I got my act and gear together and headed down to Washington and over to San Juan.

As most things, the approximate location of the foxes can be found on the internet, but I didn't expect I would be so lucky to pull up to the first parking spot by the beach and have a fox walk straight over to me. The little fellows are completely unafraid of people, mostly because they receive hand-outs frequently. The foxes were so close I didn't pull out my longest lens a single time. Over the next few hours (during solstice sunset) I had plenty of opportunity to fill my SD cards with photos. This was a perfect evening except for the foxes fondness to take a nap right on the asphalt (enjoying the warmth of the day or waiting for food?).

On the next day I toured the remainder of San Juan Island, saw some amazingly big Arbutus trees and explored the whale watching spot at Lime Kiln State Park but only one minke whale made a quick appearance.

Pelicans! (June 17)

Every flight brings new surprises. Yesterday looked cloudy and not very promising. But the day delivered lots of smooth lift until I got too cold after two hours of airtime. I also crossed flight-paths with a group of pelicans right over Eagle Ranch! Never seen these birds here before. I know they nest up in the Chilcotin (White Pelican Provincial Park) and they certainly don’t spend the winter there but I didn’t expect their migration route would lead them right over Eagle Ranch and Harrison Bay!

 Postscript: There are more posts on local birder forum on unusual pelican sightings. They are usually up north at this time of the year.

Pemberton - Again - June 5th

Not quite as epic as 2 weeks ago but still a respectable 75 km out and return flight and this time I took some photos of the impressive scenery. So much snow and ice, so many peaks and glaciers. That we get to do/see this with just 4 kg of nylon and a few strings never ceases to put me in awe.

Coming up to the Hurley Pass Rd. Goat peak just left of centre.

Pemberton Epicness

The end of May finally brings nicer weather and a great weekend in Pemberton. Lots of XC flying was done. I managed a new PB (personal best) - distance and time wise. 110 km and 5.5h. Could have done without the first 50 min I needed to get away from launch. I was going to turn around at North Creek (for an 80km out and return flight) but met Pete on his way back from Spindrift and he encouraged me to fly on. Great flight with Pete and Mike. Up at Spindrift the Lillooet valley is very narrow and almost everything one sees from above all the peaks is snow, ice and glaciers. What an amazing sight!

Unfortunately I didn't reset my camera from the star photo session the night before. No photos!

The track log instead:

Pacific Beach Hike - Shi Shi

I revisited the Olympic Coast to check out Shi Shi beach and Cape Flattery. The hike to the beach is just an hour so I took the opportunity to bring lots of camera gear. There are super scenic sea stacks and sea arches on both ends of the beach and the sunsets were well worth schlepping the camera gear.

I timed the tides and got to where I turned around on my visit last year coming from the south and Ozette Lake. While I didn’t meet another (human) soul during two days of my hike last year Shi Shi Beach was more popular and I had a couple of cups of tea with four fellows from Seattle.

Just like last year the noise of crashing waves only meters from my tent at high tide kept me awake and wondering. When ocean kayaking we always camp at calmer spots… it makes landing kayaks a whole lot less painful.

Shi Shi is accessed through Makah tribal land and there are fees for a recreational permit and overnight parking in addition to the National Park backcountry fee. Things to remember: map with tidal heights and ferry booking.

Winter is back - May 16th

Ooops, apparently winter is not over yet. 30 cm fresh snow at Cypress. Went up for a morning run. Snow was a bit heavy but I got some turns in. Still snowing higher up but rain lower down so I didn't go up for seconds.

Garden Birds

After several years with limited success this spring our hummingbird feeder is very popular with the little flyers! So far identified: Anna’s female and male and Rufous female. Its very entertaining to watch over breakfast and a good reason to have another cup of coffee later. Well worth boiling some sugar water once in a while.

Update May 16th: Mr. Rufous made an appearance too.

Every few years our cherry trees are infested by caterpillars having a good munch on the leaves. On the bright side they attract several species of warblers; MacGillivray, Willson’s and Yellow Rumped (Myrtle) warbler.

But it wasn’t just us enjoying the many songbirds in our garden. One day this Cooper’s hawk (or sharp-shinned hawk?) landed on one of our big Douglas Firs and had its lunch. Couldn't identify what sort of bird s/he caught, but it looked like a bigger one, maybe a Robin?

A while back I got some nice shots of a crow attacking a bald eagle that was resting on a fir in one of our neighbors gardens.

Tulips!

Finally got around to check out the Tulips in Abbotsford. Although all the plants and flowers are 3 or 4 weeks behind this year due to the cold and wet weather, some of the tulips were already being 'harvested'. Despite visiting on a weekday the fields were very crowded and lots of people were out enjoying the colors. I got a few 'uncrowded' shots of the tulip rows and then focused on close-ups. Unfortunately the sky was grey and uninspiring - no impressive clouds. Abbotsford also doesn't have the cool mountain backdrop like Seabird Island where the tulip festival was a couple of years ago.