2017: A Year in Review

  From the southernmost country in the Americas to northernmost state, 2017 has been a busy year for me. Heidi and I started off the year by sipping Malbec in Argentina and finished with expecting our first baby. In between I have been running the expedition side of Alaska, British Columbia, and Hawaii adventure cruise trips with UnCruise. Sprinkle in a few trip to Savannah and Vermont, along with some private guiding tours, and you have a pretty packed 2017.

This will be the 8th installment of my 'year in review' posts. My first being from 2010 which you can check out here.

Perito Moreno Glacier

Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse

 Argentina

So lets start from the beginning. Argentina was a wild ride. We started in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in South America. We cruised the Beagle Canal, hiked to amazing glaciers, went bird watching in Tierra del Fuego National Park, and started our Argentina adventure. The photographic opportunities were incredible, and you can see some of my best here.

Heidi with Mt. Fitzroy in the background

Iguazu Falls

    Next up was Patagonia. Here the hiking continued, with breaks for malbec wine and amazing food. We spent all day at Perito Moreno Glacier, and broke in our hiking shoes at the beautiful town of El Chalten. I was blown away by the wildlife and the landscapes, and was glad that we were in good hiking shape. We finished off our Argentina time by visiting the tropical northern part of the country and the famous Iguazu Falls. The boardwalks here give you some amazing views of the falls including looking right over them.

Hawaii by Small Adventure Cruise Ship

Waimea Canyon on Kauai

Even though Heidi and I had given up our place in Maui for this vagabond lifestyle, I still had to get my Hawaii time in. I continued working for UnCruise as an expedition leader aboard the 36 passenger Safari Explorer. I helped run trips from the Kona coast of the Big Island, to Maui, Lana'i, and Molokai. There have been highlights from every week and every trip, but I will list some of my personal highlights here.

Humpback tail with the Safari Explorer

Lau Wiliwili Nukunuku Oi'Oi Ele'ele

Breaching humpback whales and brand new humpack calves, Hawaiian cultural immersion with Uncle Polipo in Halawa Valley on Molokai, kayaking up to blowholes, through lava tubes and sea arches, swimming with a hammerhead shark, surfing Honolua and Dumps, secret surf stealth missions, searching for chameleons with Heidi, finally seeing a sea horse in Hawaii, surfing Hanalei Bay with Laird Hamilton, and revisiting Kauai while leading a private multi-island tour.

Humpback whales....

... Putting on a show

  Hawaii never fails to impress and entertain. Each island is so different than the others. It has been pretty fun following the whales here during the winter and then back up to their feeding area during the summer. Which brings me to our next destination, Alaska.
  

Alaska: By an even smaller adventure cruise ship

This is Alaska

Bear antics at the waterfall

The 2017 Alaska season turned out to be an incredible season for self learning, wildlife encounters, and photography. I switched boats this year from the 70 passenger Wilderness Explorer to the 22 passenger Safari Quest. Now instead of being in charge of 5 guides and spending hours working out the matrix of who will do what activities the next day I led the small groups myself with help from the hotel and deck staff. It meant that I needed to get way more 'on the ground' knowledge of all these places, especially the diverse flora that we come across during our hikes.

That looks refreshing

Bubble Net Feeding Humpbacks

  I continued my streak of doing every polar plunge, including the ones right in front of glaciers with ice floating by. I enjoyed being more active although I did miss the expedition team vibe that you get on the bigger boats. Having a much smaller crew (10) meant we couldn't drive through the night. At first I thought this would be very limiting, but instead it opened up a lot of cruising time during daylight hours which provided the opportunity to see more whale action. Chatham Strait seemed to be the place for whales this year. I was also able to jump into the small boats and see bubble net feeding humpback whales from a whole new perspective. It was absolutely amazing to drift silently nearby, while listening to the feeding screams of the bubble netters through our underwater hydrophone.

Good morning Mr. Otter

Calving at Dawes Glacier

   We had a few good calvings at Dawes glacier (watch the video here!), and way more opportunities to kayak around the ice. I got my best shot of a sea otter to date as it woke up, tangled up in kelp outside Takatz Bay. And since I was out in the field much more often I had way more bear encounters. Most of the encounters were from small boats, kayaks, or the big boat. Although towards the end of the season I had quite a few thrilling encounters on foot at Kasnyku, Robert and Crow, and Lake Eva.

Don't Fall on Me

Ice Caves under a Glacier

  I also made time to hang with Ben and Kim in Juneau and check out my favorite ice caves under Mendenhall Glacier. They were definitely different than last year, and the glacier had receded quite a bit, but still were pretty mind blowing.

Breaching into the sunset

  Ice gardens at Le Conte were a hit, with other highlights being sunset breaching humpbacks, glacier cakes, bears from a kayak at Pavlof, a black wolf, two moose, puffins, and orca chasing a stellar sea lion onto our swim step. We even got a chance to glimpse the fabled Northern Lights in August!

Safe from the Orca

  I have already signed on with UnCruise for the 2018 Alaska season so expect more pictures and stories to come from this amazing place. The wilderness is still alive and well here and this is such an incredible way to experience it.

  You can read about the sea lion escaping the orca here: http://daimarsadventures.blogspot.com/2017/08/escaping-from-hungry-killer-whale.html

Exploring British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest

  My time aboard the beautiful Safari Quest started and ended with trips through British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Running round trip from Seattle, these trips took in the First Nations culture in Victoria City, high tea at the Empress Hotel, hikes, kayaks, and skiff tours along B.C.'s Sunshine Coast, the San Juan Islands, and the gem of the tour, Princess Louisa Inlet.

Pacific White Sided Dolphin

   This was a new itinerary and new places for me so the learning curve was sharp. I always appreciate getting paid to learn. It keeps me growing and challenged, and it doesn't hurt that it comes with its own coffee shop onboard. This trip was a little more strict on where we could go, so I'm glad that I only do this during the shoulder seasons, but the places we do go can be amazing.

High Tea at the Empress

  Every week I would lead passengers on a walking tour of Victoria, B.C. which ended at the famous Empress Hotel for high tea. I certainly got my fill of caffeine on this day but I wouldn't miss it. From here the trip would get farther and farther away from civilization as we got deeper into the B.C. coast, until finally we would pull into the hidden gem called Princess Louisa Inlet.

Kayaking Chatterbox Falls

Skookumchuk Rapids, B.C.

  We anchor way back by a huge waterfall called Chatterbox Falls. It was almost always flat calm water here, thanks to the thousand+ foot walls of the fjord. This made perfect conditions for kayaking and stand up paddle boarding.

  One of my other favorite stop would be Skookumchuk, where a natural damn would force the rising or falling tide water to form giant standing waves and whirlpools. One of my favorite pictures from the year came on a day here where the wave action was so great it cast a low layer of mist as a lone hiker watched from the nearby rocky shoreline.

 Mirror-like reflections of the sand stone carved cliffs of Sucia island would mean the weeklong trip was coming to an end.

Fun Side Trips: Maine, Vermont, Savannah, and Rocky Mountain National Park

El Dorado Canyon

 I was lucky enough to squeeze in a few fun side trips throughout the year as well. I was able to get my Wilderness First Responder certification recertified while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. I had been here once before with my dad on a cross country drive, and I enjoyed being able to explore it a bit more in depth. I really enjoyed exploring El Dorado Canyon State Park as well.

Sunrise over the Bluff, Isle of Hope

 Heading back to Savannah allowed for some great family and friends times. It is always fun to go back and try to capture some of my childhood memories with my camera, while making new memories in the process.

Nighttime in Vermont

Fall Colors in Vermont

 I had multiple visits to Vermont which led to fun times with a new puppy, quality time at Stave, family time with the Millers, being able to experience the seasons, some legit maple syrup on my pancakes, and even some snowshoeing just recently.

Coastline of Maine

 And finally a road trip to Maine with Heidi meant knocking a new state off my list, getting to see some old friends, and enjoying some delicious seafood. Not to mention it was absolutely beautiful!