Author: Matt

In this second part of our mini-series about floating the Colorado River in a small wooden dory boat, we share stories from our second trip through the entire length of the Grand Canyon. We describe some of the breathtaking places along the river that we didn’t see on our first go around, as well as our runs through two of the most extreme rapids in the country. If you haven’t already listened to Part One of this series, you might want to start there. In that episode, we discuss the logistics of a Grand Canyon river trip and what it’s like living on the river. Spoiler alert: both of these trips were adventures of a lifetime. Your bucket list will get longer after listening. And at the end of the episode, we answer a question from our mailbag.

Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:

• We start the episode talking about Karen’s idea of what a bucket list is, and some of the adventures still in our bucket. (This sentence will make more sense after you listen to this episode.)
• What it was like to float the entire length of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon
• Descriptions of our day hikes, including Elves Chasm, The Patio, Havasu Creek, and more
• Floating down the Little Colorado River wearing oversized diapers
• Our impressions of running two of the biggest whitewater rapids in the lower 48: Crystal Rapid and Lava Falls
• How the beach below Lava Falls got its name

Links to more information:

• Where to get a copy of our book by the same title: Dories, Ho!
• List of concessioners who run commercial boat trips
• Photos from our trip
• Where to learn more about our books and travels
• Join the conversation on Facebook – we want to hear from you!
• Check out our Instagram account

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For years we’d ask people who’d traveled the world, “What’s the best outdoor adventure trip you’ve ever taken?” To our surprise, the same answer came up time after time: floating the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. That’s all we needed to hear. So, with a dry bag filled with a few changes of clothes and a toothbrush, we set off down the river with fourteen of our closest friends for a six-day adventure. And, of course, we had a ten-person team of experienced guides with us, along with four wooden dory boats, three support rafts, and many cans of beer stowed below deck somewhere.

Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:

• What a dory is
• What the heck Dories, Ho! means
• Preparing for our trip down the Colorado River
• What it’s like living on the river for six days
• The thrill of running whitewater rapids in a tiny wooden boat
• And, would we do it again?
• Tune in to part two (released Dec. 10) to learn the answer

Links to more information:

• Where to get a copy of our book by the same title: Dories, Ho!
• Must-see video about Martin Litton and dory boats
• List of concessioners who run commercial boat trips
• Photos from our trip
• Where to learn more about our books and travels
• Join the conversation on Facebook – we want to hear from you!
• Check out our Instagram account

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No state in the Union has more public space than Alaska; nearly 90% of the land is owned by the state or federal government, and amongst the vast, untamed lands are eight national parks. Lake Clark National Park, about 120 miles southwest of Anchorage, is one of the most remote. It’s also where one man spent three-plus decades living as one with the wilderness in a small log cabin he built himself on the shore of a magnificent mountain lake. In this episode we talk about our experience in the park and visiting Dick Proenneke’s cabin; the man who documented his wilderness experience and became an advocate for preserving Alaska’s pristine natural places.

Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:

• Where Lake Clark National Park is located
• How to get to the park
• Where we stayed when we visited the park
• How we got to Twin Lakes, the site of Dick’s cabin
• What it was like to see the cabin in its restored condition
• Meeting the volunteer rangers who now care for Dick’s cabin

Links to more information:

• One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey book on Amazon
• Alone in the Wilderness video on Amazon
• Click here to see photos from our visit to Lake Clark NP and Dick’s cabin
• NPS site about Dick Proenneke
• One Man’s Alaska documentary
• No Place Like Twin Lakes video
• Sign hanging in Dick’s cabin
• Where to learn more about our books and travels
• Join the conversation on Facebook – we want to hear from you!
• Check out our Instagram account

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Brilliant, breathtaking, and magnificent are just some of the words we would use to describe the scenic drives we discuss in this episode. That is if we had consulted a thesaurus before recording our discussion about these spectacular drives. But spectacular they are, regardless of how many times we used the word. One of the great things about visiting our public lands is the roads to and through them make the journey worth the trip even if you don’t get out of your vehicle. Here, we talk about a few of our favorite drives that we’ve discovered during our travels and give some tips and history for each.

The drives we cover in this episode:

• Going-to-the-Sun-Road (Glacier NP)
• Beartooth Highway (Northeast of Yellowstone NP)
• Lamar Valley (Yellowstone NP)
• Needles Highway (Custer State Park)
• Badlands Loop (Badlands NP)
• Trail Ridge Road (Rocky Mountain NP)
• Million Dollar Highway (between Ouray and Silverton Colorado)
• Highway 24 through Capitol Reef NP
• Capitol Reef Scenic Drive
• The Burr Trail (Escalante NM, Capitol Reef NP, and Glen Canyon NRA)
• Skyline Drive (Shenandoah NP)

Links to more information:

• Click here to see our photos from these drives
• Video of engineers clearing snow from Going-to-the-Sun-Road
• Info about the Beartooth Highway
• Info about roads in Capitol Reef National Park
• More about the Scenic Drive in Capitol Reef National Park
• Info about the Burr Trail in Utah
• Info about the Needles Highway
• Info about the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway
• Info about Skyline Drive
• Where to learn more about our books and travels
• Join the conversation on Facebook – we want to hear from you!
• Check out our Instagram account

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Featuring a park in our home state of Washington on this episode, we discuss some of the highlights and must-sees at Olympic National Park. From the rugged coastline of the Pacific Ocean to the blue glaciers hanging off steep alpine cliffs, Olympic NP has something for everyone. Only a short day trip from the Seattle metro area, you can drive to many of the most spectacular sites within the park in a few hours. If you are a little more adventurous, backpacking through the park gives you a less-crowded perspective on the wild beauty of this “magical” place. We even give you a small peek into what it’s like traveling with us by playing an audio recording we made during one of our more challenging adventures. 

Some topics we discuss include:

• Yes? No? Maybe? Whether or not we plan to write another book
• Four seasons of fun up at Hurricane Ridge
• Where to go to see what’s left from the largest dam removal project in history, where you can peer into the canyon below at the newly-freed, rushing Elwha River
• The myriad of activities at beautiful Lake Crescent: in the water, on the beach and on the nearby trails.
• Our three-day adventure hiking the High Divide / Seven Lakes Basin Trail which started out with some wild weather
• The magic of the Hoh Rain Forest
• What we found–and didn’t find—during our backpacking trip along Shi Shi Beach on the coast of the Pacific Ocean
• And more…
• In the mail bag segment, we discuss some of our scariest hikes while traveling to all of the national parks.

Links to more information:

• Click here to see photos from our trips to Olympic NP
• Click here for updated information and park map
• Where to learn more about our books and travels
• Join the conversation on Facebook – we want to hear from you!
• Check out our Instagram account

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While visiting Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks in the winter can feel like stepping into a Christmas card photo, staying in a nearby Forest Service cabin with no electricity or indoor plumbing isn’t always so picture perfect. In this episode, we talk about many of our experiences in these two parks during the magical winter season, as well as the thrills and challenges of staying in rustic Forest Service cabins when the temperature dips well below freezing. Spoiler alert: walking through the snow to a pit toilet in the middle of the night with only a headlamp to scare away the bears is both a thrill and a challenge. 

Some topics we discuss include:

• Matt’s latest obsession with organizing all of our travel gear
• Our experiences snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park during the winter
• How Karen’s desire to get into the holiday spirit created our new tradition of visiting national parks every December
• How to find and rent a Forest Service cabin
• What it was like staying in a Forest Service cabin near Yellowstone with no heat, electricity or indoor plumbing, in December
• What activities are available in Glacier National Park in the winter
• Spending a few days in a Forest Service cabin near Glacier National Park
• Our snowshoe experiences in and around Glacier
• Would we rent a Forest Service cabin in the winter again?
• And in our mail bag segment, we answer a question about whether we ever practiced shooting our expired bear spray, and if so, what did we learn.

Links to more information:

• Click here to see photos from our winter trips to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks
• Recreation.gov listing for Big Creek Cabin
• Recreation.gov listing for Zips Place Cabin
• Where to learn more about our books and travels
• Join the conversation on Facebook – we want to hear from you!
• Check out our Instagram account

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