T-1 week!

 After almost 13 months of counting down, we are just a week from our great big polar bear adventure. By my own assertation, one of the most ambitious items I have ever put on my Bucket List and to some friends, a trip that is quite unnecessary with all its "guaranteed discomfort" and "danger of being eaten by a hungry bear"! LOL

The last year has seen preparations for this trip in ways that were similar to Antarctica though. YouTube vid's of white-on-white photography, countless testimonies from past travelers, polar bear behavior and conservation classes, packing lists, a new much longer lens (600mm) and so many little photography escapades to get used to the shear weight of the camera and lens. Natural Habitat gave us all manner of info too, from a photography guide to a pre-departure briefing long enough to take up most of the 13 months! :-)

I plan on taking 2 camera bodies - just in case - but with no reason to assume camera 1 will fail (EOS 6D Mark II) the second is packed out of an abundance of caution and it would be a shame not to put it to better use than as insurance in my camera bag. Mark is stepping up! With one super crappy lesson taught by yours truly under his belt, he volunteered to accompany me to RMNP to practice a little before being faced to face with a priceless polar bear subject and tasked with recording memories too.

The highlight of this post is obviously not my words; it's always the photos:

First, the "getting there" pics. Beauty before we even enter the park at Lake Estes. 

Inside Rocky Mountain National Park:

On the way out of town we happened upon a herd that stopped traffic; complete with bugling, dueling males, moms and their babies and ... tourists getting WAY too close for a vital selfie!

Not to be outdone by elk... this young deer staying above the fray, like me!

Walker Ranch Loop Hike

My last hike was a fairly easy 6.5 miles. During which, my foot did really well and the arch pain that had plagued me 2 weeks, seemed resolved. Time to put that to a bigger test!

Walker Ranch is a beautiful 30 min drive from home. The Walker Ranch Loop, supposedly 7.9 miles long, was going to be more like 8.5 miles... cause all the hikes are .5 - 1 mile longer than All Trails claims. (I guess pee breaks, photo detours and walking a crooked line up the steep parts takes its toll.)

The day was warm and clear... well, it promised to be for the first half anyway. 

Downhill to the river... 

Through the woods and into Eldorado State Park for a bit. Up and over...

Back down to the river - which included a steep staircase and let me tell you, I was delighted not to be the guy with the mountain bike lugging it up stairs past me!

Then up the hill (which was apparently never-ending by mile 7) to return to the car back at Walker Ranch.

Walker Ranch trailhead reached just as the sky clouded over, rain threatened and the wind picked up. That's apparently how I roll!

I was impressed my foot was doing just fine and even more impressed that I knocked out 8.5 miles in well under 4 hours - with stops. 

Ooh... oooh.... almost forgot! On the way out of Walker Ranch on Flagstaff Rd, I came upon a herd. So sweet. The icing on the cake.