I haven’t done one of these in a while.  Good way to look back on a year in pictures, a photo from each month, one of the outdoors and one of people - that I selected from Flickr (where I posted 3275 photos for 2023!).

January

This is the very lush and verdant trail along the Middle Fork :  the middle of the three forks of the Snoqualmie River.  The Middle Fork’s headwaters start up a long valley at the Dutch Miller Gap - a pass between the Cascades peaks of Summit Chief Mountain and Bears Breast above Lake Ivanhoe.  I love the long mossy trails of the Middle Fork that offer a lot of solitude, fresh air and beautiful classic PNW scenery. 

Portrait of Henry and Shane Reckling from a night out eating dinner at DinTaiFung - good friends, good times and good food.

February

In April of 2020 we began the purchase of a Sprinter Van - just before the pandemic drove up demand - we took possession with it built out in Feb of 2021 and have taken quite a few roadtrips to Washington, Arizona and California.  I’m the one doing most of the driving and I’m always on the lookout for a scene along the way - sometimes I snap the photo while driving  and sometimes I pull over.  Pretty sure this was shot from the van while driving.

Our February travels took us to Arizona where we visited the grandkids (and Kiah and Ramon) and on a trip out to the park with them I made them take a seat and phone for a photo. Keita was not super happy about it. ;)

March

  I told Miles at the beginning of 2022, that if he graduated from High School we’d take a trip to Japan.  (Not that I ever doubted him, but as a bit of motivational reward).  Japan finally opened for travel at the beginning of 2023 and we spent a couple weeks at the height of the cherry blossoms (sakura) touring the main island of Japan. 

Miles and I in front of the Hiroshima Castle in Japan - we stopped at a new city each night - and in almost every city we visited we toured the traditional shogunate castles.  Interesting how on opposite sides of the world castles have the same basic defenses : huge walls, towers where you can look down the enemy, big gates and moats.

April

In April I made my first attempt at the Issaquah Alps local 100 mile route - that starts at the trailhead of a 3 mile 4000 ft ascent of Mailbox Peak.  We had a very heavy late spring snow and then unusually cold weather - and the snow hung on.  This was me on the top Mailbox peak with heavy wind blowing and icing up my beard.  The snow and the steep terrain (16,000 vertical feet in the first 32 miles) really slowed me down - and after 24 hours I called it having only completed 50 miles.  You can watch a video about that attempt.  That wouldn’t be the last time I’d take a go at a 100 miles in 2023.

Stacey and I took a mini-vacation in the van to the Olympic Peninsula and visited Sol Duc Hot Springs.  We paused for a portrait - a bit strange when you realize that all of a sudden life finds you on the second half of the journey in this mortal coil - the gray years when the wrinkles accumulate.

May

  On the tail end of a work trip to Wales, Stac and I spent Memorial Day week in Florence - hanging out in an old villa just outside the city.  We rented a car and one morning I got up early to hike up to the Michelangelo Piazza to see the sun rise over city.  Well worth carrying a big camera while running around the city for my morning exercise.

    Technically this isn't a portrait, but a photo of a statue.  When I saw Michelangelo’s carving of David - I was moved to tears.  It’s an overwhelming experience - to see such majesty (it stands over 17 feet tall) carved from stone with such grace and beauty was overwhelming.  And in case you want to compare your resume - Michelangelo carved this when he was 26.  And in the age of 2023 - when Artificial Intelligence (which is artificial but isn’t intelligent) hit the mainstream - this photo was manipulated in Photoshop using a generative model to remove all the people, and it also reworked the statue’s base and removed the bench that is behind it.  

June

As we left Florence - we drove north into the Dolomites - the Italian Alps. After a magical run on our 2017 visit, I was looking forward to going back and I had researched a loop around Cinque Tori and while Stac slept at the Airbnb I drove up to the starting point and set out.  While I felt pretty horrible almost the entire time (naseious and low energy), the views were amazing and I made it around the loop.  

Stac and I’s wedding anniversary is in June.  Sofi was working at the Salish Lodge and she got us a discounted room overlooking Snoqualmie Falls where we had a relaxing weekend. 

July

I have been dreaming of a traverse through the Pickets for the past 18 years and I finally got a chance for a Northern Pickets Traverse in July. 50 miles over rugged terrain - that included over the summit of Whatcom Peak, over Perfect Pass - across the massive Challenger Glacier and over Luna Pass and back out.  I’d told Stac I’d be back in 2 days but ended up texting her via sat phone at 11:30 pm on Friday night with about 10 miles left that I was tired and just gonna sleep on the trail and I’d see her the next day.   It was hot and humid and there were giant frogs every few feet when I lay down to sleep.  On top of that my sleeping pad went flat every 45 minutes - so I got to practice blowing it up a  few times before finally getting up int he 0:dark:30 and getting on with it; I felt satisfied having finally accomplished this goal. 

Every four years our church conducts a re-enactment of pioneers pulling hand carts from Illinois to Utah.  The kids are split into groups representing a family, with an assigned “Ma and Pa” adult pair and they pull a handcart loaded with their sleeping and cooking gear for many miles each day.  This is my 3rd time going as a Trek Photographer, and I love capturing the effort on the kids faces and the quiet moments in the evening as the sun goes down.  

August

We flew back down to Phoenix for Nev’s 8th birthday and baptism.  I worked for a week and we rented an Airbnb with a pool and I jumped in every single morning after my run.  By the end of our stay I was pretty well heat adapted - but man does that sun beat down on you!  This is a quick family portrait with Kiah and Ramon and the grandkids after church in a dirt lot.  Proving its the effort to do a group photo that is required not a fantastic location.  

Each year I try to get out on a mountain adventure with Seth, this year was compressed timing due to a move and everyone’s busy schedules.  This year Wright joined us again and brought his soon-to-be son-in-law with him (Wyatt) and we did a traverse loop in the Alpine Lakes, around Jade Lake and Mt. Daniel.  To avoid Lynch glacier travel we scrambled up to the top of Lynch Peak, where I had a scramble to the scare searching for the route and after topping out, my vantage pointed out that ridge line went easy over the summit. This was our morning view from our high camp of the sunrise with Mt. Stuart’s pointy profile on the far right, we had a true alpine adventure. 

September

This is from the summit of Putrid Pete's Peak : P3, with the ridgeline running behind me up to Webb Mountain. I spent a lot of time training in my local mountains this past year; preparing for the Bear 100 mile race at the end of Septermber. What I love about the Alpine Lakes Wilderness off of I-90 is that you can so easily and quickly get into the alpine wilderness and away from the crowds - if your willing to start early and put in some effort.

A very satisfied me - at the end of the Bear 100 mile race. The race starts in my home Cache Valley where I grew up as a teenager, starting from North Logan and traversing the Wasatch Mountains all the way to Bear Lake. The race has over 20K vertical feet and a 36 hour cut off. I finished in 35 hours and 54 minutes, I had 6 minutes to spare!  I had major sleep deprivation but somehow managed by a miracle in those last 5 miles to run so much faster than I had been.   I wrote a long blog about my effort and the things I did wrong and the lessons I learned and I also made a video.  

October 

 Fall in the PNW is a beautiful time, not only do we have our own version of color with the yellows of the Big Leaf Maple and the reds of the Vine Maple, but our best color is green - which burns bright and fresh with the refreshing and rejuvenating rain fall.  This is up the Middle Fork where solitude can be found on lush mossy trails. 

Jane and Sam - my wife's niece’s children (Megan oldest of Stacy’s eldest brother Craig) - we attended their Uncle Derek and Courtney’s wedding in Yosemite.  The ceremony was at Sentinel Beach on the Merced River - a lovely setting beneath the gaping walls of Yosemite Valley.  After the ceremony - while wedding photos were being taken, the kids ran around playing and I caught these two just coming up over a small hill.

November 

 

  I recovered quite quickly from the Bear 100 - and in October I decided I’d use my fitness to have a second go at the Issy Alps 100 mile route.  I picked a weekend in November that looked dry… and as the days approached there was a bit of rain a few days out.  I had support lined up with a pacer and “aid station” crew lined up - so I went for it.  This is the “start” of the route on the top of Mailbox Peak - 3 miles in and 4000 vertical feet.  I was on pretty good pace through mile 32 - when my feet started hurting and by the time I picked up Wright for night pacing duties I was soaked.  We headed off into the dark and the wind and I was doing ok on Saturday when he left me at 5 am - BUT - the rain started again and did not let up and I was struck with extreme sleepiness and I couldn’t sleep as it was too wet and cold - and I slowly ground to a slow crawl as my body got colder and colder from the rain.  And so I DNF’d the Issy Alps for a second time at 64 miles.  I’ll get it next year!  As per usual another race report gives out all the details.

December 

Family - at the end of it all this is what it’s really about - spending time with the ones you love. Holding them close, capturing the best memories together as life keeps on pulling us individually into the future. I a little wiser, a little older and for some us a little cuter.