Another year means another Ice Fest.  For the past four years we have been going to Munising Michigan and the Pictured Rocks National Lake shore to attend this awesome weekend of ice climbing.  This year was especially good as we have had a great winter for ice and I have been getting out climbing quite a bit.

Hannah and I drove the three hours down to Munising on Friday night. We intended on getting down there with enough daylight to put in a few short climbs on the lakeshore but you now how those things go.  Packing took for ever and then a few things came up and all of the sudden we were rolling out of town at 4PM with only a few hours of daylight left.  We pulled into Munising just as they were starting the nightly presentation and hurried to get some food and spot to sit and watch.  It seems like there are more and more people every year and this year was no exception. Sydney’s Restaurant, the perennial host of Ice Fest, was bursting with people.  The presentation by Sam Elias was pretty good. It was a little too much rock climbing for the ice fest but it was definitely cool to see a Michigan climber present.

After the presentation we hung around in the warmth of Sydney’s and then went out to find a good campsite because we couldn’t afford a hotel room.  Being broke tends to help lend to memorable experiences. I have spent a lot of nights in hotel rooms for work and never really remember them, they all blend together and become pretty generic. Camping on the other hand, is always unique and while not always great, it tends be at least memorable.  We drove down to the public boat launch and the summer location of the ferry dock to Grand Island. We threw the tent up in the bed of our truck and settled in for the night. The weather was warm. Really warm. After a few minutes I checked the thermometer on my watch and saw that it was above 40 degrees in the tent, making it only a few degrees colder than our house in Calumet. Crazy. I slept so well.

It was tough getting out of bed on Saturday morning becuase I was so warm and comfortable. We met up with our old friend Jarrod and new friend Chaz at Hardee’s for a bit of breakfast. They had camped in the Hardee’s parking lot. The weather was perfect with a bit of sun and the temperature hovering right around freezing. The ice falls on the shoreline tend to get a bit crowded on Saturday and we wanted plenty of time to climb so we were looking for a bit more remote real estate. We parked at the boat launch and trekked off over the ice toward Grand Island. Grand Island sits in Munising Bay about a mile off shore. Sometimes the bay freezes, sometimes it doesn’t. There was open water nearby but a few locals had given us positive ice reports so we decided to risk the crossing.  There was plenty of half frozen slush sitting on top of the ice and we got pretty wet on the walk but no one fell in so I’ll call it a success. We crossed the narrow bit of land that separates Murray Bay from Trout Bay and headed to the east shore to find our climb. There was plenty of ice dripping from the cliffs and we set up on climb called “Glad She’s Fat”.  It is a classic Munising Pillar. It is a forty foot tall column of ice hanging over the sandstone into an amphitheater.  It had a big hole in the center that split the ice into two columns near the top. The belay was on a narrow shelf of ice that was mighty close to the open water of the bay. The four of us climbed for about 5 hours until we were all sorts of tired. It was a fun piece of ice that offered up a lot of options. The walk back was exhausting and wetter than on the way out but I was feeling good about the day.

We grabbed some dinner at the surprisingly good Thai restaurant in town and went back to Sydney’s for the evening presentations.  Majka Burhardt and Steve House both gave awesome slideshows showing some amazing places and things I can hardly dream of doing.  It’s always cool to see slide shows from people who do this for a living. It helps us improve the ones we give and inspires us to keep reaching for bigger and cooler trips. After the presentations they raffled off an unbelievable amount of sweet gear. The last few years we have won big but we didn’t get so lucky this year. We ran into a friend after the raffle and he offered us the extra bed in his hotel room and we couldn’t resist. I love camping but the convenience seemed too great to pass up.

Sunday morning broke clear and warm, but we were inside so we didn’t really notice.  Hannah headed home to Calumet to get some things done at the the house and I stayed around to get some more climbing in.  Jarrod, Chaz and I headed out Lake Shore Trail in Pictured Rocks to a climb called Midnight Rambler.  I have been wanting to climb this piece of ice since I first saw it a few years ago but it is one of the more popular climbs and is always super crowded during Ice Fest. Sunday usually quells some of the crowds as most people make long drives home and when we got to the stream that feeds the waterfall we were the only ones there.  We rappelled down the 60 foot column and spent a few hours climbing. It’s another Munising classic that is almost a carbon copy of the ice we were climbing the day before.

We headed home around 5PM and I immediately fell asleep in the car.  It was another great weekend in Munising.  A huge thanks to Down Wind Sports for putting the even on and to all of the sponsors for their support.  It is always one of the highlights of my winter. If you have never been ice climbing this is a great place to try it out. If you climb all the time this a great place to get on some really fun and challenging ice falls.  You can get more info and see more photos from the weekend at their website: www.michiganicefest.com

Check out more photos below.

I won an Osprey pack on their  Facebook during their big push to get 10,000 fans. I had no idea what it was going to be and I already have more packs than I know what to do with, but the overwhelming excitement of having won something kept me checking the front porch for a box every day for a week (like they were going to overnight it to me or something, geesh). After the first week, I gave up hope of being the one to find my box on the front porch and started letting Matt check for the mail. Well one day I came home after a rather stressful day at work and what was sitting in the living room…a box from Osprey! I tore into it and found a Hornet 24.

I’ve since put some miles in on the pack and here are my thoughts:
In general I think it’s a great bag if you’re looking for something small, light and unobtrusive. The Hornet 24 is ideal for day hikes (assuming you aren’t one of those people who brings everything you own – just in case) and seems well equipped for adventure racing with its compartment for a hydration bladder, pockets on the shoulder straps for gel, and awesome mesh hipbelt pockets. I can’t say enough good things about the hipbelt pockets – they’re just the right size for a granola bar/map/water treatment/headlamp or any of the other things that you like to have close at hand during a day hike. The compression system is pretty cool and works really well, but I think it could be more efficient – it feels a little bulky on such a small pack and sometimes gets in the way of the zipper. The size of the main compartment is perfect for raincoat, some lunch, a water bottle, etc. I wouldn’t want a day bag bigger than the Hornet 24 – Osprey really hit the size of this pack right on with just enough room for the essentials and not a lot of extra space and bulk. I took it out to go ice climbing and found the ice axe set up wasn’t as complete as I had hoped – the pack has a loop at the bottom, but it doesn’t have a convenient strap or daisy chain to attach the tool handles at the top of the pack. Also, I was definitely pushing the limits of the bag with a belay parka, extra sweatshirt, extra gloves, crampons, ice tools, climbing helmet, a sandwich, and a water bottle – but that’s way more than I expected to be able to fit in there, so I was really impressed. The fabric on the Hornet 24 is also really nice – it’s lightweight without being wimpy. I hadn’t thought about my ice tools scraping against the lighter fabric for 7 miles of snow shoeing and when I arrived at my climbing destination I was happy to find that there was no visible abrasion despite the harsh treatment. The mesh pocket on the front is one of my favorite features of all the newer Osprey bags, it’s a great place to stick wet stuff on the way home or, if you’re like me, it’s a good place to stuff in those extra layers that you didn’t really think about fitting in your pack until you got hot and took them off. All in all I really like the bag for day hikes, the only drawback being that the compression system sometimes gets in the way of the zipper. I’d like to see what the next generation brings for these packs because Osprey is definitely working towards a really nice super light pack – in the future I’d like to see Osprey be a little more conservative on the bells and whistles.

After a few months off we are back with a brand new look.  And to go with this new look we have a new trip planned! We’re going to Russia!

We are taking this summer off from big trips and focusing our efforts on planning and funding a trip to Russia to attempt a kayak circumnavigation of Lake Baikal. Baikal is the largest Lake in the world by volume as well as the oldest and deepest. We’re planning on going over there in June of 2012 and being on the water for a few months. It should be a nice sister trip to our 2009 circumnavigation of Lake Superior.  You can see more details about the lake and our trip in the “Lake Baikal” tab at the bottom of the page. Over the next year we will be posting about the planning process and our preparation. If you have any contacts in Siberia or know anything about Lake Baikal drop us a line. Any information is useful to us.

In addition to planning for our kayak trip Matt is preparing and training for the Leadville 100, a 100 mile ultramarathon held every year in Leadville Colorado. He should be posting about his efforts and about the race itself.

We know we have been pretty much absent for the last six months but we are back in full force now. The new website is just the beginning. We are going to add all sorts of new content from our daily adventures to new gear reviews. We haven’t just been sitting on our butts the last six months either.  We will go back and post about some of the trips we have done.

If you find anything on the site that doesn’t work, or have any good ideas let us know.

Things are starting to get interesting. Stay tuned.

Ok. So we have been home for like two months. But I am finally getting back to the website after putting it off.  My journal from the PCT hike is finished. I just need to put the photos into it but all of the photos are up as well. With any luck Hannah will finish her journal up tonight and we can finish up this whole trip.

The website should be back in full swing soon with regular posts and some gear reviews from our hike.

Since coming home we have laid low for a few months. We finally got our plumbing after over a year and a half and know we can take showers in our own house and have hot water. We have left the third world.  Hannah has started working as a bartender at the bar across the street and I settled in to a job managing a small lodge in Northern Wisconsin for a few months.

We have been out in the woods and on the water and will have stories to tell and we have started scheming about another big trip so stay tuned.

We are sitting in motel room and relaxing a bit so I figured I would post a short synopsis of our hike so far.

You can read my daily journal or Hannah’s daily journal to see the details of the the hike and how each day treated us.

Thus far the trip has been really good. Coming from the U.P. it has been a big adjustment period and a steep learning curve. The desert has been harsh but the landscape is phenomenally beautiful. Rumor is it has been cold down here, almost 15 degrees below in the month of May, and the heat has still been a huge challenge. We try, unsuccessfully most times, to get up withe sun and hike until around 11am when the heat becomes too oppressive and then rest until it cools down around 4pm. It really limits our hiking days and is a little frustrating for me. Finding shade most days is a impossible challenge. There are rarely plants that grow over my waist and none of them seem to offer any respite from suns endless barrage; plus every plant is covered in spines or thorns making the place feel angry and uninviting.

Water is another constant challenge. I would have never imagined that you could travel thirty miles without seeing even a hint of water. Back home you would pass two or three lakes and rivers in that distance; here you might not pass a dry creekbed. It leaves us carrying up to a gallon and a half of water in some areas which can add twelve pounds to our packs and takes a toll on our bodies.

But the trail isn’t always down on desert floor. We have spent plenty of time up in the mountains that punctuate this vast landscape. The peaks are often snow covered and offer a nice break from the heat. The snow brings other challenges as it obscures the trail and clings to some of the steeper slopes making climbing difficult. The trail isn’t so well marked and is often lost under feet of the white stuff forcing us to pull out our maps and just wing it. The mountain sides are generally flanked by forests of huge pines or twisted live oaks. It is nice to get back into the trees and makes the landscape seem a little less foreign.

We have seen tons of areas effected by fires and even had to do a terribly hot and boring fifty mile road walk around a section of trail destroyed in a huge blaze last fall. We have seen tons of wildlife on the trail. Mostly just the countless hordes of lizards and horney toads but also foxes, coyotes and snaked. About a half dozen rattlesnakes have scared the daylights out of us as we walked along including one I missed stepping on by a matter of an inch.

It has been really cool to see something so alien to us. Field of yucca and groves of Joshua trees are something you just don’t see back home and the U.P. doesn’t really offer the opportunity to climb up to 10,000 feet. Cacti and manzanita are a big change of pace from white pine and sugar maple. The desert has been a constant series of challenges but it has also surprised and delighted us. I have developed a love hate relationship with this landscape.

There are only about 140 miles of hiking until we leave the desert behind and climb into the rugged wilderness of the Sierra Nevada. I can’t say I am sad to leave this place.

Both Hannah and my journals are pretty much up to date so if you interested in reading about the daily details of our hike you can check them out. The journals get updated almost every night from our phones. We have posted a few pictures from our phones but haven’t gotten any of the good pictures on the site yet.

After the next few days our cell service might be a little sketchy so the updates might be more sporadic. But they might not. You’ll just have to check. But if we haven’t posted anything for a few days don’t worry, we’re still safe and the updates will come as soon as possible.

Please leave us comments, either here or on our journals. We love hearing from people and it helps us feel a little less disconnected out here. It really brightens our days to hear from anyone who is reading along.

I just wanted to write a quick update as we travel to San Diego to start our 3-4 month hike of the pacific crest trail. I am sitting in the Detroit airport killing some time before our flight leaves. Our daily blog probably won’t have many updates while we are out but if you are interested, we will be keeping journals of hike as we go. You can read both Hannah’s and mine under the pacific crest trail header in the navigation bar.

I just want to thank our sponsors for the hike. Without them this trip would be a lot more difficult and might be impossible. We are super happy to be working with Headsweats and Downwind Sports again. Headsweats continue to be the best hats we have ever worn and we are really excited to be wearing them again this summer. Downwind was unbelievably helpful when it came to getting outfitted for the hike. We really can’t thank them enough. In addition to our past sponsors we are excited to be working with Superfeet Premium Insoles this summer. Both Hannah and I have been wearing them for years and love them. Our feet are probably the most important thing on a hike like this so we try to take really good care of them. Superfeet are a huge part of that. So thanks you guys, we appreciate all of the support.

Hope everyone will follow along as we hike and please leave some comments on our journals as we head north. We really appreciate hearing from people and it really helps us get through some tough spots.

Have a good summer everyone.

In preparation for our upcoming thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, Matt and I have been purchasing the last few items that we want/need to lighten up our packs and improve the overall function of our ultralight systems. We did a whole bunch of research on rain gear because we both desperately needed to replace our worn and battered rain coats. After much contemplation and weighing all of the options we settled on DWR treated windshirts rather than full on rain gear because we don’t anticipate much heavy precipitation during our hike.  Matt picked the mont-bell U.L. Wind Parka and I chose Arcteryx’s Celeris jacket. We put in a mont-bell order for Matt’s wind jacket and my down jacket (mont-bell’s Ex Light Down Jacket) and when we received the package we found that the wind shell (size medium) was way too small for Matt. In fact, the medium windshell was the perfect size for me and I am only 5’5″ and weigh about 120 pounds as opposed to Matt’s 6’2 and 165, so it became my wind shell. At risk of being a fashion disaster, Matt went on to order the wind jacket again in an extra large and a different color, so now we match. The XL fit him almost perfectly which goes to show that their sizing is a bit off.

mont-bell U.L. Wind Parka

mont-bell Ex Light Down Jacket

Based on my use to date, I would highly recommend both of these jackets. Right now they are both tucked away in my backpack waiting to hit the Pacific Crest Trail in 8 days. I’ll probably get back to you on their performance after 2700 miles of abuse.

Wow. Has it really been 8 months since we finished paddling?  Where did the time go? And more importantly, what have I been doing?  Apparently not a hell of a lot because we finally got our journals completely onto the website.  It only took staring down the barrel of another big adventure to give us the motivation.  The journals have a bunch of new pictures and cover every night of the trip.

If you have a few minutes please check them out. You can find them under the Lake Superior heading in the navigation bar or simply click the links below.

Hannah’s Journal and   Matt’s Journal

You can also see our photos HERE.

There is some more info about the paddle we would like to get up, a map, gear list and some stats, but that might have to wait until after our PCT hike.

Speaking of the PCT,  only 22 more days until we hit the trail. We should have our whole PCT journal set up launched in the next few days so please come back and take a look. The plan is to update the journals via our iPhones from the trail so if you aren’t too busy this summer we hope you will follow along.

If you do take a look at any of the content on the site please leave us a comment. We love hearing from people.

The weather in the Keweenaw has been awesome this spring. It was 80 degrees last week and my mind was long gone out on the water.  I heard my friend Greg Maino was looking to take a trip so I stopped in to see him at work at Downwind Sports.  After several iterations and a week or so of planning we finalized our plan to head down to Bayfield, WI and check out the sea caves in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  Hannah had some serious school commitments so she couldn’t come. Greg’s wife was out of town and we couldn’t really find any other friends who could come down so we planned it for just the two of us.

Greg picked me up at 6:30AM Thursday morning and I was painfully tired and cold as hell in the predawn darkness as I loaded my gear and boat into his car.  I was pretty stoked to be getting a tour in before Hannah and I leave for the PCT. I had written off my kayak season and this was a delightful opportunity.  Neither Greg nor I had been out into the Islands in the Apostles, though both of us had paddled the mainland shoreline.  When Hannah and I went through on our circumnavigation last summer we were too focused on getting around the lake to be able to get out into islands.

We got to Bayfield around 10AM and stopped at the visitors center to get a permit. The woman behind the counter seemed reluctant to give us one. We were the only back country permit out at the time and she seemed concerned for our safety.  The marine forecast was calling for 5-7 foot waves falling to 3-5 and 20 knot winds out of the North backing to 10 knots by afternoon.  We happily gave the 10 dollars a night camping fee, assured her we were prepared and headed out to look at the lake. The waves weren’t big enough to worry us but the wind was blowing strong and steady so we decided to wait a few hours to hit the water.  Around 1PM we went into the office at the Red Cliff Marina, paid our $5 launch fee and another $5 a day for parking and had them unlock the bathroom so we could change into our paddling gear.  It was still only 30 degrees and we were both hesitant to get moving.  We loaded the boats, wasted a little more time and settled on the fact that we had to get moving. Just as we took our first paddle strokes the sun broke through the clouds lending a bit of warmth to the biting chill of the wind.

We paddled along the mainland for about 3 miles, passing a handful of houses and a marina. There was a light headwind, which added just enough extra effort to the paddle to make me feel sluggish and just generally “off”.  I was only wearing a pair of thin NRS hydroskin gloves and after a few minutes they were soaked and the water combined with the breeze to steal all of the feeling from my fingers.  We left the mainland and headed to Oak Island. The brown sandstone cliffs that are the lakeshore’s signature feature started to make a strong appearance.  We ate a quick lunch on the North side of the island on a what appeared from the water to be a pleasant sand beach. The wind and cold shattered this facade and I was forced to take one of the coldest, most uncomfortable pees of my life. I can’t remember a time all winter where I was that thoroughly cold.  We left Oak Island in a frozen hurry after a quick glance at the map. This was really the turning point of the whole day.  We headed out on what we thought was a 2 mile crossing to what we thought was Otter Island but haste and discomfort kept us from consulting a compass and it was a pretty solid error. After 3 miles we hit the shore of  Bear Island, but we were totally unaware of our mistake.  We were confident we were in the right place, Otter Island, and if we paddled a mile and half around and did another short crossing we would land on Rocky Island where we intended on camping for the night and ending a solid 14 mile day.  We were starting to get sore and joking about the bad weather, sore muscles and cold water.  At one point one of us quipped about how glad we were that the other hadn’t suggested we go all the way out to Devil’s Island, our ultimate destination, tonight.  As we rounded what we thought was Otter Island we began to notice some discrepancies between our plan and reality; there were no islands where there should have been. No Rocky Island, No South Twin, just open water.  We kept going, always hoping it would be around the next point but with no luck. After we rounded the north side of the island we gave in to the nagging feelings that we had made an error and stopped to check the map.  It took about 3 seconds to figure out the mistake. How we made it I still have no idea but I guess that’s how getting lost goes.  We assessed the situation and conceded that there was only one reasonable solution: Go to Devil’s Island.  We laughed about the fortuitous and foreshadowing remarks from earlier and continued on. We were both beat as we started the three mile crossing.  My back was on fire and my arms were fatiguing quickly.  We landed at the dock totally spent.  It ended up being an 18.5 mile paddle with varying winds ranging from blowing stiffly in the face to gently pushing us along. The lake was never calm and, although the waves were never big enough to give me any trouble, they had slowly and solidly worn on me all day.

First thing to do after landing was to pull off my damp wetsuit and get some dry clothes on.  One of the worst feelings I have ever felt was pulling off my sodden rubber garb and exposing my bare ass the below freezing wind. It completely broke my spirit.  I put on every layer of clothes I brought and was only barely warm.  On a whim I packed my Patagonia down sweater and I could not have been happier to have it.  We set up the tent, ate some dinner and sat around chatting until after the sun set.  Neither of us were looking forward to putting on our wetsuits in the morning and the thought of having to do this for multiple days in a row fell heavy on us. We began discussing the possibility of heading back after only one night.  Our whole plan was three day paddle trip to circumnavigate Devil’s Island. We were going to do it in two and I felt a little bad about wasting the third day but I was really cold.

Friday morning dawned cold and sunny and I couldn’t bring myself to greet it. At about 9AM I dragged myself out of my nice warm bag and wandered down to the boats in the sub-freezing air.  The wind had died almost completely but there was a heavy coat of frost and ice on our boats and our wet clothes were frozen solid.  I moved them into the sunshine with the hopes they would be at least warm and wet and headed back up the hill to the campsite. We sat around cringing at the thought of putting our wetsuits on but by 11AM we could no longer avoid it.  I have to say it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had built it up to be. It was cold but not unbearably so. But you would have done the same thing if you would have been the one shaking the ice off of the only clothes you had for the day.

We loaded our gear and headed out explore the sea caves that make Devil’s Island famous.  It was the whole purpose of the trip and we were not disappointed.  The northeast shore of the island is riddled with dozens of caves and arches, many of them reaching one hundred feet or more under the land.  The waves were rolling in at 2-3 feet making a thorough investigation impossible but we spent plenty of time racing around the arches, bobbing like apples in the amphitheaters and splashing about in the crazy confused reflection waves within the bigger caves.  Most of my photos didn’t turn out due the rolling and splashing waves and the ones that were decent don’t do the experience justice.  I used one of our Aquapac camera cases and it kept my camera dry and safe throughout the paddle. My little Nikon point and shoot camera is really sensitive to moisture, I ruined one in on the AT, so it is really great to be able to shoot photos from the water without worrying. I would like to get a waterproof point and shoot someday but it is pretty big investment and the Aquapac has been a great alternative.

After an hour or so in the caves we headed out and finished the 3 mile circumnavigation of Devil’s Island. We stopped back at the dock, rested, ate and planned our route back to the marina.  As we left the island the wind and waves died and we had a few miles of calm, sunny, nice paddling.  It made me feel bad about heading home when we still had another day to paddle, but we had done what we came to do and the cold and wet just wasn’t calling my name.  We rested for a few minutes on Oak Island after making a bee line down the channel and then paddled out toward the mainland.  The wind shifted around to the east and struggled headlong into light breeze of about 10 knots. It wasn’t strong but it was enough to slow me down and drain the rest of my energy as we neared the end of another long day.  We rounded Red Cliff point and got in lee of Basswood Island  to find some respite from the wind. The last 3 miles were an easy cruise and we arrived at the car around 8PM after 19.5 miles.

It was a long paddle for early in the season but it was well worth it. The sea caves were spectacular; definitely one of the coolest things I have seen on the Lake Superior shore, and I have seen a good chunk of it.

We stopped at the South Shore Brewery for a quick and delicious dinner and then made the 3 hour drive home.  I had a really good time out, despite the freezing conditions. This was the first cold-weather kayak tour I have ever done and, like everything, I learned a lot. It made me really want a dry suit.  I will give it another shot for sure and I am certain that it will just continue to get better. It was great paddling with Greg and he got some great images.  For the first time after a paddle with Greg I have my own pictures so I didn’t need to steal all of his. I only took a few. But he has a lot more and they are  better than mine so you should definitely check them out at Juskuz.com

The weather around here has been amazing the past few weeks; unseasonably warm and sunny.  The 4-8 foot piles of snow in our backyard in Calumet are nearly gone and there is grass everywhere.  It seems, at least for the time being, that winter has called it quits.  All this fresh air and sunshine and comfortable outside time has really gotten me motivated and feeling good.

I ran into Greg Maino at Downwind on Monday when we were picking up some Ice Axes for our PCT hike and we decided it was time for a paddle.  He is much more motivated than me and had already been out this spring but it was my first day on the lake and I was stoked.  We made plans to meet at McLain State Park on Tuesday when we got off of work and head out.  

I put the kayak on the van and loaded up my boat when Hannah got out of school but she wasn’t feeling well and opted not to join us. She did drive me down to the lake since I am far from proficient when it comes to driving and completely incapable of driving a manual transmission vehicle. The park was still closed and the road wasn’t plowed so we had to gear up in the parking lot and carry our boats down. Once on the water it was awesome. The lake was calm, the light was good and it was so nice to be back in the boat.  We headed south around the break wall and down the cliffs toward Redridge.  There was still some ice clinging to break wall and cliffs and it was really cool to see these gigantic chunks just floating feet above the water. The waterfalls were roaring with spring runoff and I got soaked as I paddled up underneath one. We were out for about 2.5 hours and it was a really nice paddle; a perfect evening.

I should say that this another post where I just stole all of Greg’s images.  You can check out his post about our paddle and the rest of his pictures at his blog: http://www.juskuz.com/?p=970. He does a really good job and I am pretty lazy so it works out well.  It is usually tough to find pictures of Hannah and I on our trips becuase we tend not to shoot them. Greg is really good at that and posted a buch of great pictures of me on his blog.  I really appreciate how good these images are. It is also really fun paddling with him.  I know I say this everytime I do anything with Greg, but you should really check out his site. He has some amazing photos on there.  www.juskuz.com