RHH's photos

While backpacking in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park we saw three different orchids. This is the Frog Orchid, Coeloglossum viride. When we saw it, there was not enough light for photos, so I've used and older photo from another nearby trail.

When backpacking in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park a few weeks ago, we camped at Lake Magog and while camped there day-hiked to the Niblet, a viewpoint on a low peak or ridge in the area. This was the view from the Niblet. Mount Magog is on the left with Mount Assiniboine to its right and Sunburst Peak dominating the scene. The lakes are from left to right, Magog, Sunburst and Cerulean. For those who do not comprehend why anyone would carry forty pounds (20 kg) on their back for thirty miles (50 km), this is the reason. On another note, we are in Europe, in Belfast, visiting our daughter and friends and attending a conference. We will be here the next three weeks and my posts, such as I am able to put up, will be earlier than usual. We arrived here in Belfast yesterday after a long and rather frustrating trip. We had to be rerouted and arrived eight or nine hours later than scheduled. It is good to be landed, however, and to have had a decent night's sleep, something impossible in an airplane seat.

While camped at Lake Magog in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia, we day-hiked to the Niblet, a viewpoint on a low peak in the area. This was the view to the west with Sunburst Peak on the left and Cerulean Lake below.

The photo shows the sunset from Mather Point in Grand Canyon National Park. Mather Point is on the south rim of the canyon near the visitors' center and a popular sunset-watching point. We were there in early May with our oldest daughter and spent a week hiking and backpacking.

On a recent trip to the Southwest we visited places in Utah and Nevada before meeting our daughter and going on to the Grand Canyon, where we spent a week hiking and backpacking. These photos were taken one of the first evening there from Mather Point as we waited for and watched the sunset.

In May we traveled through Utah, Nevada and Arizona and among the places visited, we saw Valley of Fire State Park In Nevada. We hiked a number of trails there, among them the Fire Wave Trail, which brought us to these striking formations known as the Fire Wave.

This is the Fire Wave in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. We hiked the trails in this area of the park before going on to Las Vegas airport where we picked up our oldest daughter for a week of hiking at Grand Canyon National Park.

These two photos were taken close together from a ridge along the Citadel Peak Trail. The inset looks back and this looks ahead to Howard Douglas Lake and Citadel Peak, the massive peak in the background on the left side of the photo. Our trail would take us down to the lake (where we replenished our water supply), around the left side of the lake, up over the ridge beyond the lake and then across the valley to Citadel Peak which we would skirt to the left before descending steeply into the valley beyond. At this point we were still in Alberta, but would cross into British Columbia at Citadel. The first camp on the trail is at Howard Douglas Lake but we would still have about 12 km to go and so we hiked on. Mount Assiniboine, our final destination, is visible on the right.

Taken on the first and most difficult day of our backpacking excursion, the photo shows some of the scenery along the Citadel Pass Trail (visible on the right) and looks back over the trail. That day was the most difficult with 19 km of trail and some abrupt elevation changes to navigate. Also we were adjusting to our packs and the two boys had never backpacked before.