...where gringos dare

Starving for adventure after a painstaking summer of motorcoach driving, four young amigos: Ashley, myself, Seth, and the man who prefers Fernando to his real name, left the discomforts of their known worlds behind to travel South of America to... South America.

So... South America. More specifically Peru. Where we would spend the next three months doing and seeing various things. It was October 2010 when we arrived, so yes... the distant past, but I think it is due time to account for the trip. We flew into Lima, where we didn't stay too long, only a few days, but we all met up and went to the beach, which wasn't very beachy.

anyways an anonymous photo of the Fernando already sporting his peruvian beanie

I call this photo... Seth's future album cover.


Yeah so the beaches were rocky, and it wasn't very warm, but people were surfin.

It was never really sunny in Lima, always kinda hazy.

Anyways I didn't really take many photos of Lima. We did some stuff though. Walked around. Ate some Chinese food in Peruvian China Town, where I didn't actually see any Chinese people, although I've heard they do exist. We rode some buses (or collectivos), explored a little bit, and concluded that Lima was not the place for us. There was some good food, nice little Peruvians, and some cool old Spanish buildings and stuff but we had come to Peru for a reason... The Andes.

Whittier. Portage.

So I realize that the blogs have been backed up and I have been missing and presumed dead for almost a year which is both bogus and sad. Anyways here is the last post from summer '10 in Alaska. We had a pretty epic day in Whittier, that odd little town of secrets beyond the tunnel. The conclusion is that Whittier is pretty cool, and creepy.

We illegitimately entered the premises of the condemned old barracks dating back to WW2. It was big and creepy but despite previous claims we found no evidence of ghosts or murders.

Some of Seth's shenagins

The place was flooded and abandoned, and decorated with the symbols of teenage rebellion

Most everything had already been broken or defacated on, leaving only room for photos

From the outside, equally creepy

So... ninety times out of ninety one it is rainy down in Whittier, which is why the government made it into a secret base for evil experiments. Today on the other hand... I think a hike is in order.

"Wheeeeee!"

Yeah so we hiked over portage pass to the lake and the glacier by the same name. Seth in an act of hysterical joy stripped himself and did a bare-ass cannonball into the icy waters. I came around the corner just in time to catch the aftermath on film.

glaciers=cool

alas to taste the sweet glacial nectar

Just some action photos of us messin around with ice.

The return hike

Three amigos

Seth using his super sluething techniques to determin the unique characteristics of this bear feces.

Friends... with benifits.

More from the roof of the barracks. Out of order since this was actually the beginning of the day but... Some cool photos.

So it turns out that despite his many strengths, Seth is obnoxiously terrified of heights. Which Ashley finds hilarious.

And so the end of another summer begins a new adventure... South America... and beyond.

Fun Times with Old man Johnson and Marieke

So, Marieke drove up to Denali giving us the freedom to drive wherever we wanted and therefore... hike wherever we wanted. Anyways we drove like thirty miles and picked a random trail behind a pizza place. The red leaves were plentiful.

Nearing the end of Summer.

So our summer working for Royal Celebrity was a success. Living the dream as we like to say.

A little lunch in Talkeetna. With Denali in the backround.


The Great One.

I think I am allergic to mosquitos.

The Great One.

So my sister Kristen and her husband Spencer flew up to Alaska and we decided to go on an epic backpacking trip into Denali National Park. We got up early and drove the whole 200 miles up there only to find that the only areas open were on the far side of the park. 90 miles 10 hours on a bus. We went for it. The bus ride turned out to be very awesome. We saw about everything the park has to offer starting with at least most of... "the mountain" elevation 20320 ft.

Spencer was all tuckered out. decided to catch some z's on the ride. Luckily my camera was ready for the drool action shot.

The first rest stop. My sis and I.


Once again. Spencer in action.

Some pretty awesome scenery and not to mention... a wolf.

Into Denali

Some Dall sheep.

A pretty epic photo. If I do say so myself.

Tourists (head shake)

So we finally made it to our destination with a couple hours of daylight left. The appeal and challenge of hiking in Denali is that there are no trails. It is strait up and dirty wilderness as far as the eye can see. We had to make it a few miles before dark so with a quick glance at a map and a compass... we set off.

First off... a river crossing.

Having a good time despite dwindling daylight and no place in sight to camp. The first night was slightly sketchy. It ended up getting dark shortly after this photo was taken and we were forced to put up camp on the side of a mountain. But... when all was said and done we actually slept pretty well probably due to exhaustion. Also... the tundra is very soft and makes for a comfortable matress.

As many blueberries as you could ever want.

Kristen and Spencer.

As you can see, the fog set in soon after we hit the non-trail the following morning. With the fog came the rain, and with the rain came the cold.

We didn't let it get us down.

Kristen and myself. Brother and sister. And with matching rain covers, how precious.

a little romance on the tundra.

Kristen and Spencer were very good sports. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into upon embarkation and it turned out to be pretty intense. But they just kept on smilin'.

Ashley and I.

A stop for water.

Our campsite for our second and final night in Denali. And the rain finally let up.

The lichen froze to the bottom of our fuel canister.

Making a feast. Potatoes, gravy, and even stuffing. These two know how to rough it.

As we went to sleep we heard the soft pitter patter of rain on the tent, and we awoke to find that it had not ceased.

We packed up camp in the rain and set out to find the Wonder Lake campground, where we would pick up the bus back to civilization. We came upon this Carribou shed. Notice Spencer's look of disgust.

Alas after hiking through miles and miles of soggy, lumpy tundra, and thick brush, in the pouring rain, we finally get a sign of relief. This folks, was a glorious moment.

We ended up hiking probably about thirty miles or so through some pretty rough bush. It was very demanding especially with the rain and fog. Luckily we made it unscathed and without bear encounter. Special thanks to Kristen and Spencer. Had a great time and it meant a lot that you guys came.