Greenland Is Made of Puppies
- On October 20, 2016
- By Randall Tate
- In Arctic, Dogs, Trips
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It turns out that all puppies come from Greenland. Like the stork delivering babies, the ice delivers new born fuzzy dogs with enormous paws. They effectively rule the land, roaming freely and dispensing kisses everywhere they go. If you have any inclination of getting a dog and are trying to convince yourself not to, stay away from Greenland. It will ruin you.
A parting puppy
Admiralty Crossing – Packraft Style
- On August 02, 2015
- By Randall Tate
- In Alaska, Camping, Editorial, Trips, Wilderness
- 0
Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska is known as Kootznoowoo to the native Tlingit. It means “Fortress of the Bears.” It’s an apt title as the island holds the largest concentration of Brown Bears on the planet. Knowing that, you would think a rifle might be a better packing choice than a can of bear spray if you went for a visit. But in our experience, you would be wrong. Despite containing one bear per square mile, it was surprisingly difficult to spot one of these enormous creatures.
We paddled and hiked 36 miles of saltwater inlets, temperate rainforest and pristine lakes in the heart of Kootznoowoo and were never granted an appearance of Ursus arctos. Despite the lack of bears, the trip is incredible and makes for one of the best packrafting adventures in the country. A string of National Forest Service cabins make for some fantastic “glamping” along the way.
Boarding the ferry for Angoon
The man who picked us up and drove us to the other side of the island said we were the first hitchhikers he had ever seen in his 60+ years in Angoon.
Racing to inflate the packrafts and catch the flooding tide into Kootznoowoo Inlet
Having lost the trail and spent hours trying to find it, we decided to pitch our tarp and wait for the bears to join us for dinner.
Inside one of the cozy Forest Service cabins
Getting a little help from the wind
Couldn’t have said it better
Wild Blueberries
There is no time for niceties or a safety briefing when the tide is dropping. Just get in and go.
The Road to Hana – An Exercise in Yielding
- On December 30, 2012
- By Randall Tate
- In Traveling, Trips
- 0
When I first heard of the Road to Hana, I pictured a winding, muddy, dirt road that made its way through dark, forbidding, tangled jungle in an endless stretch of curves and bends. I had visions of landslides and pot holes that could swallow VW buses. People described it with such ferocity that I thought hapless tourists could die on it.
The only thing that was true were the curves. It has lots and lots of curves. In reality, just about every tourist new to the island drives the road at some point in their trip. Our rental car was testament to that fact. With a mere 15,000 miles on it, the Mazda sounded as if the suspension was made of bed springs and paper clips.
We did the trip in a day (as most first timers do), but we could have taken a week. Actually, we could have spent a month on the road, but that could have something to do with the organic farm we stayed at. Watching the moon rise from a hot tub looking out on a lush, forested valley that sloped down to the ocean certainly didn’t urge us to keep moving. But the thought of growing dreadlocks and starting to enjoy the scent of patchouli brought us back to the road. Returning to the convoy of rentals, we battled the crowds at the pullovers and yielded to oncoming traffic at every one-lane bridge. It turned out to be worth it, as the places we visited were windows into Maui’s rugged, remote and untouched beauty. Next time we’ll just take our time and eat a few more lilikois along the way.
Haleakalā – The House of the Sun
- On December 27, 2012
- By Randall Tate
- In Traveling, Trips
- 0
Maui’s Haleakala volcano looms high over the island. At it’s heart is a cinder cone filled crater that could hold all of Manhattan inside of it. A walk there seems like what a stroll on the moon would be like. In fact, Apollo astronauts trained there before setting off skyward.
Silversword – Found only in Haleakala Crater on Maui
Afternoon clouds roll in like clockwork
Maui – An Introduction to Hawaii
- On December 23, 2012
- By Randall Tate
- In Trail Running, Traveling, Trips
- 0
Hawaii was and still is, a mystery to me. Why is it part of the United States? Why are people so infatuated with it? How did all of this amazing diversity of life get there? What’s the deal with the “shaka”? And why oh why, do men insist on wearing tacky shirts covered in flowers?
I left having more questions than answers. These photos attempt to fill in some of the gaps. Beth and I didn’t go to Maui to make photos. We went to see the island, or as much as we could cram into 10 days. As the plane landed, I wondered if I would even take my camera out at all. That turned out to be a ridiculous thought as the photos ended up making themselves. Having a beautiful model as my tour guide didn’t hurt either.
Florida
- On October 18, 2009
- By Randall Tate
- In Trips
- 0
Luke and Sarah were gracious enough to put me up while I made a failed attempt at becoming a sailor in Florida.
Mongol Rally – London to Mongolia
- On September 02, 2009
- By Randall Tate
- In Road Rally, Trips
- 0
Jeep guts. Readying the chariot in England.
In July, over two hundred teams driving barely roadworthy vehicles departed London, England en route to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia as part of the Mongolia Charity Rally. There were no checkpoints, no backup, no designated route and no winner. The idea was to raise money for charity and have a unique adventure along the way. We were one of those teams.
The rules were simple. First, teams chose a vehicle that by all logic wouldn’t survive a trip that would span a third of the globe. The more dilapidated the car, the better. Second, participants were required to raise £1000 for charity before they even began the rally. Third, they had to agree to donate their car to charity if and when they reached Mongolia’s capital.
Read More»Denali
- On June 09, 2009
- By Randall Tate
- In Mountaineering, Mountains, Trips
- 0
This was Pete and I’s second attempt on Denali and we didn’t want a third. Thankfully the mountain gave us an opening at the right time and we were able to stumble up. 20,320′ over North America.
Basecamp
DC Reunited
- On April 16, 2009
- By Randall Tate
- In Traveling, Trips
- 0
Washington D.C. on a good day.
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