It is said that the earliest record of snowshoes goes back to several thousands years ago. For me, growing up in Quebec, they were simply part of the winter package. The snowshoes I had back then were not the fancy, technical ones found today, but instead the classic Native American model, made of wood and rawhide. My grandparents had a cabin that was easily accessible by car during the summer, but during the snowy season, we had no choice but to leave the vehicle behind and snowshoe our way in. One of my most memorable moments from those years was a night when we arrived way past sunset and found ourselves carrying our luggage, ankle deep in white powder with the Northern Lights filling up the sky. Liquid blues, greens, and reds were dancing in a magical way.

The winter holidays were just around the corner, and with no snow coming, or on the ground, I was getting the jitters and felt it was perhaps time to organize a trip to the mountains. If the snow wasn’t coming, might as well go seek it out!! A couple calls and a couple days of preparations and we were on our way to Mt. Rainier, Washington. More precisely to Ashford, were we would hike the snowshoe/cross country ski trails maintained by the Mount Tahoma Trails Association.

The MTTA is a great initiative. Roads and trails used by the Forest Service in the summer are open to the general public for exploration in the winter. It is a win-win situation. The Forest Service makes use of its land year-round, and the outdoor community has access to places that would otherwise be too complicated to get to. Over the years, with the amazing collaboration of countless individuals, an extended and incredibly well maintained network of huts and trails came to be.

Our itinerary for our 4-day trip was to hike to the furthest hut, the Yurt, spend a couple nights there, then hike back by way of a different trail, to the High Hut for one night. With some luck we would see Mt.Rainier. After taking the train from Portland, we drove from Tacoma to Ashford. The weather was not particularly promising. Even though it was raining on the coast, which it always does, by the time we arrived to the village, at the foot of the mountain, unfortunately, it was still raining. With the cloud ceiling hiding the peaks, we were not able to see if it was snowing higher up. We had to believe the clerk at the gear store who tried to reassure us that there was indeed snow up there. After getting the map and information on how to get to the snow park, we watched the rain falling on the windshield hoping for the best.

Due to the rain, the road had cleared up and allowed us to drive up to Sno-Park A, @3,400ft. The scene was not the one we wanted. It was pouring down. Needless to say, we were not here to turn back. So we geared up and started our hike. Good thing there was at least 5 feet of snow at the top. Even with the rain, we should be able to get the white scenery. But for now, there was no need for snowshoes. About a mile up, we came across a couple who was coming back from the High Hut. Bad news – it was even raining there!!! Well, not much to do, but cover up and continue. Shortly after, the snow became too deep to continue by foot, so we put our snowshoes on. Wet and heavy, we trudged along, our next three hours quite dreary. Our sight aiming down, the landscape became a messy mix of snow, mud, pine needles and branches. Even though we were dressed for the weather, rain managed to find its way in. It wasn’t long before we were all soaked. It took us four hours to reach the Yurt. I can’t imagine pulling out a small tent after such conditions. The hut looked like paradise. Nestled in a small valley, surrounded by pines, and shadowed by Mt.Griffin, we rushed the last few hundred yards.

To call this camping is a major understatement. The hut was pure back-country luxury: propane fireplace, propane oven, lanterns, mattresses, and a kitchen ready for the biggest of feasts! Not that it wasn’t welcomed, but we could not put away the thought that it was way more than we had anticipated. We dropped our gear, got out of our wet clothes and got the fireplace running. With the rain still drilling the Yurt’s canopy, we warmed ourselves with dry clothes and hot tea.

It rained all night. In the morning, it was still raining. By noon, the temperature dropped slightly and the rain turned into slush. With some luck, the temperature would continue dropping and we would have real fresh snow by the end of the day. We attempted to venture our way up Mt.Griffin, but the conditions were simply not pleasant. So we stayed inside. We found a cranking radio that we had to power up every 15 minutes. I have to say, shame aside, that it was really funny being in the middle of the wood, and listening to NPR. Snow really started by the end of the afternoon. That night, we went to sleep dreaming of a white morning.

And so it was! The timing was perfect. On the ground was 5 inches of fresh snow. Our hike to High Hut was going to be magical! And it was! There is something incredible about being the first one to lay tracks on fresh snow, whether it be skiing down, cross country skiing, or snowshoeing. But the most amazing thing is to realize that you are not alone. What seemed like a quiet forest with only a few souls is transformed into a frenzy of tracks. Rabbits, mice, deer, birds, and many more, each leaving hundreds of prints. You realize that all this time, this place, that at times seems almost too quiet place, is filled with life. One of the biggest surprises of the day came from a particular set of tracks. For almost an hour and half, we followed a set of prints left behind by a couple of bobcats. Active at dawn and at dusk, bobcats will cover many miles every day, investigating their territory. This couple, which had recently paired up, would be mating in spring and later, would each go their separate ways. The female, would give birth sometime in April and raise her cubs alone. Mostly following the groomed trail, their tracks cut in the forest only to reemerge higher up. More than once, we came across urine marks and one time the bobcats had left their feces. It was like a glimpse into the life of a rarely encountered wild creature. You could see where they played, where they laid, where they rested. Most of the time they would follow each other almost too perfectly. Other times, one would wander out slightly and come back while the other kept a perfect line.

The landscape was beautiful. This was finally what we had come for. The sky cleared up and the contrast between the blue from above and green and white from below suddenly erased the last 30 more or less miserable hours. We stopped once for a quick lunch – hot chocolate, salami, brie cheese and apples. We certainly needed the energy since then we would go up 600ft in one mile.

Around the 4,500ft mark, the snow changed. Even the trees looked different. The snow was more … frosty. When we arrived at the High Hut, the scene was definitely not the same it had been at the Yurt. This was a cabin at the top of the mountain, exposed to the wind. Although much colder and buried in a whiteout, the rewards would come to be well worth it. Once again, the hut was pure luxury. Solar power supplied a battery, which generated the power necessary for LED bulbs inside. Propane oven and fireplace as we had found them at the Yurt. The face of the hut was made of 3 huge windows, which, on a bright day, would give full panoramic view of Mt.Rainier. We settled ourselves, made some tea and proceeded reading some left behind magazines from January 2009 and 2006. The sun went down without giving hope of unveiling Mt.Rainier. But late at night, magically, its peak pierced through and under a blanket of stars I was only allowed enough time to take one quick photo.

The next morning, we woke up to a total whiteout but within minutes, everything cleared up and out of nowhere, the most amazing sunrise rose. As if on cue, the fog lifted, and Mt.Rainier emerged triumphant. The sky filled itself with hues of pinks, oranges and blues. Rainier took an almost romantic pause, looking suddenly less threatening. For no more than five minutes, the world opened up and shined heaven. On the sixth minute, the fog took over and everything became nothing more than a vast white curtain. We looked at ourselves, feeling blessed, allowed to see the unseen.

As the morning proceeded, the fog came and went. Creating some really interesting play of light. Close trees were lit from one light, while the ones below received another kind of light. Looking at the photos now, it almost seems as if the two were manipulated through photoshop, but I can assure you they were not.

After breakfast, we geared up once again and headed down the mountain for our last hike. On the way down, we came across a couple in their 60’s, on their way for a quick snack at the High Hut. Three more ladies, this time in their 70’s, were also on their way up to spend the night at the hut. (You have to admire when people keep fit!!) Down at the snow park, the car was covered in snow, proof we had been gone for some time. We carefully drove down to Ashford and stopped at the Copper Creek Inn for a well-deserved juicy hamburger. Soooo good!

List of equipment for the hike

Osprey Aether 85L

Garmont Vetta Plus

Life-Link Teton

MSR Lighting Ascent Snowshoe

Brunton L3 3-Watt LED Headlamp

Brunton Bantam Liquid Fuel Stove

Spot Messenger

Spot Adventure

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After viewing the first exhibit of the Wild Image Project in New York City, the Head Consul of the New York Consulate General of Argentina offered to give me a show in October 2010 if I was willing to return to Argentina and photograph threatened and endangered species. He would ask the Fundacion Sylvestre and Parques Nacional to fully assist the expedition and would issue me a 6-month visa to help complete the project.

For this new expedition, I want to create an “adventure console.” This is going to be a place where viewers can get an instant view of what is happening on the expedition. I not only want people to see my work, but I want to increase the level of interactivity, turning the expedition into more of a social event that can be followed daily.

First, (1) at the top of the site, the header will feature a bank of images so that every visit offers a look at new photos from the Wild Image Project gallery. Social media (2) icons will link to my Twitter and Facebook accounts. Just below we find (3) a live feed from my Twitter account, which allows viewers to be constantly updated. Two banners (4, 11) will be given to the expedition’s main sponsors. A feed from Flickr (5) will show all new expedition photographs. A feed from my SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger tracking device (6) will show my location. A feed from Vimeo or Youtube (7) will feature the expedition’s most recent videos. An RSS feed (8)will show my most recent blog entries. The latest news and media coverage of the expedition (9) will be manually updated.  A Google search (10) feed will display the top “Wild Image Project” entries. All of these features will allow the viewer to discover more about the expedition and follow along in real-time. Sponsors and supporters will see their logos at the bottom of the window.

Andrew, at Periscope, has been working with me to build the site.

This trip will focus on the north and south of Argentina, with a couple of particular stops, one at the Volcano Lanin, where an in-depth reportage about the mountain will be done. A special visit will also be made to Monte Leon, owned by Ms. Kris Tompkins and the New Patagonia National Park, the second national park created by the renowned environmentalist Mr.Doug Tompkins. The expedition will focus on photographing endemic Argentinean wildlife species that are now either on the endangered or threatened species lists. I will also look at the migration corridors, an important and crucial part of the survival of many species. Below is the list of places where I will concentrate the expedition.

1. Mountain Jungle and the High Andes

2. Forests of the Chaco

3. Ibera Wetlands

4. Jungle of Missiones

5. Parana Delta and Grasslands

6. Volcano Lanin

7. Patagonia Steppe

8. Forests of Patagonia

9. Monte Leon

10. Future Patagonia National Park

11. Tierra del Fuego

The expedition is expected to commence in January and finish in June.

Stay tuned for more!

In 2008 I decided to combine my passion for photography and nature and created The Wild Image Project, an exploratory adventure to document some of earth’s most remote places.

I set out in January 2009 on The Wild Image Project’s inaugural expedition to Argentina, planning to paddle from Mar del Plata all the way south along the coast to Patagonia. Nature got the best of me, and because of an overwhelming amount of photo gear weighing me down in my kayak, I switched the original plan for a more stationary base camp in Peninsula Valdez. This allowed me to focus on the primary goal of the Wild Image Project: wildlife photography. I paddled, I explored and I spent hours with local wildlife, taking time to appreciate and capture every moment.

Upon return from my expedition, I focused my energies on marketing my work, and most importantly, inspiring people to rediscover the primal connection to nature that is so often lost in our modern society.

Throughout the expedition I blogged and developed video content as an Ambassador for Wend Magazine. A recap of my expedition was published in the summer issue.

Picking up on the environmental importance of the expedition, Treehugger put together a feature slideshow of my work.

Because of my work that combined adventure and activism, I was nominated Aquapac’s North American Outdoor Champion.

With the help of Aquapac, I also exhibited my photos at Summer Outdoor Retailer, the main trade show of the outdoor industry.

At Summer Outdoor Retailer I was also interviewed by Park City Television.

In Portland, Oregon, with the help of Pushdot Studio, I hosted my second WIP photography exhibit.

Ultimately the goal of the WIP is to catalog 100,000 wildlife photos and share them via traditional and new media outlets. WIP’s first expedition was designed into a coffee table book.

Overall, I think we can all agree, it was a pretty good year

On August 31st, Rivers in Demand explorer and fellow Wend ambassador Andy Maser and I led a group of kayakers for a week long paddling trip on the Columbia River, from the Willamette Falls to the Pacific. The aim was to scout and investigate what would be needed in preparation for next year’s big event: bringing a large group of Disabled American Veterans on an unforgettable paddling experience. The event would be done in collaboration with Team River Runner, an organization that “gives military veterans and their family members an opportunity to find health, healing, and new challenges through whitewater boating and other paddling sports. The benefits of TRR have as much to do with social support, finding emotional strength and re-creating personal identity as they do with athletic activity.”

The other goal Andy and I had, was to see how we could maximize the use of social media tools to promote the importance of such event. It is one thing to do so at an event, on land. But when you are on the water, in a kayak, it is slightly different. It is common knowledge that connectedness nowadays happens everywhere – political and news events have seen their dynamic turned upside down with social tools such as Twitter. Would it be possible to do the same with an outdoor event and spread social awareness? We wanted to find out!

Real time reportage is coming of age, and to bring this new reality into this short expedition was for us an exercise on how to raise the interactivity both Andy and I seek with our followers and viewers. It is important for us to communicate this sense of adventure that drives us. For this to succeed, we brought with us the necessary communication devices. Andy was carrying a SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger, an amazing GPS tracking system with a great online structure that allows people to follow in real time ground progress. Our iPhones, protected by Aquapac waterproof cases, would allow us to post content on Twitter and upload realtime photos, while sitting in our kayaks. Our GPS coordinates were also trackable through iPhone’s Google Maps and my Suunto watch. Granted, for all these devices to work, you need to have cell phone or satellite coverage. But in a world where GSM coverage reaches 3 billion people in more than 212 countries, these new technologies bring a brand new dimension into content consumption. I wonder how Cousteau and Attenborough would have used them in their nature journalism?

The itinerary itself was a testimony to the nature vs. urban reality that our world faces. In our ever expanding number, nature’s necessity is constantly requestioned. To kayak from Portland’s industrial waters (Portland’s port is the largest in Oregon and the number one auto import gateway in the Western U.S) to the Pacific, on the the fourth-largest river in the U.S., the Columbia River, was for us an occasion to see first hand how the two worlds cope with each other. Was the river clean? It was important for us to see how bird and fish wildlife was adapting and living, or struggling in a natural world highly influenced by the industrial landscape.

On our first day, from Willamette Falls, we paddled 27 miles and established camp on Hayden Island. From the massive expensive houses on the river in Milwaukie, under the bridges of downtown Portland, to Swan Island industrial terminals, to under a long dock supported by hundreds and hundreds of cement pillars, our first stretch was straight through human’s industrialized achievement. Yet, in the midst of this urban world, we saw sturgeon breaching, salmon jumping, cormorants, Canadian geese, Pilgrim geese, Great Blue herons, ospreys and several species of ducks. We saw countless people enjoying the river banks and of course we saw a great number of motorized boats – but also many, many non-motorized ones. The Fire Department, in their red jetskis and red speed boats kept zipping up and down the river, keeping a vigilant eye, always ready to rescue, assist, or reprimand misuse of our precious river. Our campsite could have not been more anachronistic. Behind us was a wall of trees, with birds singings. In front of us, across the river, were eight giant cranes, at least 300 feet high, surrounded by a sea of lights, containers and cars. The site, which was lit up all through the night, was a constant reminder of the urban industrialized presence.

On our second day, we encountered a phenomenon that neither Andy nor I had ever seen before. Just before lunch, we came across a group of floating bees. Some of them were dead, but most of them looked like they had just fallen in the water. What started like one bee here and there rapidly turned into a massive number of stranded bees. Hundreds of them, scattered all over the water surface. It felt like we were going through a city that had just been bombarded and devastated. Not sure what to make out of all this, Andy and I started to scoop them out of the water, dropping them on our sprayskirts. At one point, I had more than 20 of them buzzing their wings around my torso, trying to dry themselves. I have been following the strange disappearance bees are going through right now (Colony Collapse Disorder) and honestly, I could not witness this scene without doing something. I am not sure if those 40 something bees we rescued that day from the water survived or will make a difference, but at least we tried. That evening, prior to joining the others at our next campsite on Sandy Island, Andy and I went to Kalama to do some work. After securing our kayaks at the marina, we walked to the little town, dressed in our paddling gear, and our laptops under our arms. Going down the main street – occasionally getting the double look from passerby, not too sure what to make out of us, we stopped at the Public Library, the only place with free wifi in town.

On the third day, Andy went along with another kayaker to see a man on Puget Island, who lives directly across from Bradwood, where a Liquid Gas Terminal has been proposed. The issue has been extremely controversial. Beside the obvious problem of turning wild lands into industrialized ones, the project is filled with red flags. This plan is to facilitate the import of natural gas from around the world and to deliver it to the State of California. Previous attempts in Long Beach and Mexico have been refused and now Oregon would like to give it a go. If such project would go ahead, every house in the neighborhood would lose any value. Waters around the site would rise up considerably, disrupting the local fish life. The ships used to transport the gas are enormous and would require dredging the river even deeper; once again disrupting the fish life; today the majority of the new ships are around 120,000 m³ to 140,000 m³, but there are orders for ships with capacity up to 260,000 m³. Imagine a 1,120 foot long floating leviathan carrying gas, going up and down the Columbia River. Once in place, the plant, being a high risk location for attack, would necessitate high security both on land and on the water, disrupting all local activity. The topic is so controversial that Long Beach and Mexico have refused to have them in their backyard. A similar project is currently in the works in New York, but faces major opposition from the likes of Hillary Clinton and other New York Senators.

But back to the kayak. In the meantime, I had decided to paddle ahead and search for our next campsite. Along with another kayaker, we reached Eagle Cliff and to make sure the rest of the group would know exactly where to find us, I texted Andy our GPS coordinates taken from my watch. With them he was able to locate our position on his iPhone with Google Maps.

The next morning, we woke up at 5am. The full moon was in total display and the idea of paddling under the moon light was too good to resist. The river was like a giant mirror, with not even a ripple. Our kayaks slid on the surface like diamonds cutting glass. As the moon lowered over the horizon, the sun arose behind us. At one point, both sky and water turned into a metallic blue and suddenly, the horizon line disappeared; looking ahead of us, there was no demarcation whatsoever between what was above and what was below the horizon. The current and tide were pushing us downstream and in only three hours, we reached Astoria. We paddled a little bit more to Warrenton and after securing our kayaks at the marina, we walked over to the Serendipity Cafe for a well deserved American breakfast! Coincidentally, on the very same day, the local newspaper, The Daily Astorian, was running a story on myself, Andy and our paddling trip.

Driving back, Andy and I reflected on our original task – to see how we could use social media tools to benefit an outdoor event carrying a social cause. Not only did we feel that we succeeded – Century Paddle was featured on several blogs and in local news sources, and its Facebook page and Twitter hashtag both saw huge traffic – but we also felt that we had discovered a new way of sharing our expeditions. To get people to follow our adventures in the wild in real-time is for us one of the most intimate and efficient ways to spread our message. Someone that sees our videos, our photos, or reads about us, will have a desire for and connection to nature for a limited amount of time. With tools such as Twitter and Facebook, the same person is constantly reminded of the power and treasures of the outdoors. Therefore their desire is sustained. This will certainly become extremely interesting as both of us are preparing to leave in November for Argentina and Brazil.

Accompanying us on this little journey was Don Smith, Executive Director, Disabled American Veterans, Chapter #1 Portland, Sam Drevo, owner and operator of Northwest River Guides and founder of We Love Clean Rivers, Hayden Peters and Ralph Bloemers. You find more about information online by visiting the Century Paddle Facebook page.

Two of our iWend Ambassadors are currently paddling 130 miles of the Columbia River from Willamette Falls in Portland to Ft Stevens, where the Columbia flows into the Pacific Ocean, to benefit the Disabled American Veterans, Team River Runner and WeLoveCleanRivers.org. They’re taking detailed notes, as next year the goal is to offer a similar trip to a group of disabled veterans.

On Monday the group kayaked from Willamette Falls to Hayden Island, managing to make their way through the urban waters surrounding Portland. They even spotted a sturgeon.

“The day was a nice combination of wildlife and surprising urban landscapes, mixed with an osprey catching fish, a rare surfacing sturgeon, a trout and/or salmon — I’m not totally sure — jumping cormorants, geese, ducks, etc… it is nice to see that even in industrial city somehow nature persists,” says Daniel.

Camping near Kalama, OR last night, today they will be making their way farther down the river. You can keep up with the trip via Twitter (@amaser and @kitsunekeimou) as well as track the journey live at SPOT Adventures.

Myself and Save Our Wild Salmon/Wend ninja Emily Nuchols went out to meet up with the team and take some killer paparazzi kayaking photos. Enjoy!

When Wend Ambassadors Andy Maser and Daniel Fox are not out exploring earth’s remote places, they try to spend as much time as possible in nature. On Saturday, the two of them teamed up with Save Our Wild Salmon’s very own Emily Nuchols and headed up to Eagle Creek, a popular trail in Oregon’s Columbia Gorge. You can check out the full route on Spot Adventure.

While at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, I was interviewed by Park City TV. Here I am, at the Aquapac booth, with my photos in the background. Enjoy!

Our iWend Ambassador Daniel Fox is in town this week prepping for the Portland exhibit of Wild Image Project: Works From Argentina, so we thought we’d give him a little kayaking time… but all we could find was this practice pool…

The Wild is often closer than we think. We often pass by it without seeing it,  but it is there – up in a tree, there by the pond, in the park around the corner or right behind your house in the courtyard.

Sunday morning we drove to the Laguna de los Padres, a small natural reserve, right outside Mar del Plata. The place was known as Laguna de las Crabillas (goat) during the Spanish time. It acquired its present name when the Jesuits evangelized the region.

Beside offering a wide range of engine-free nautical activities – it hosted the rowing events during the “˜95 Pan American Games, the lake thrives with life.

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I have been lying on the sand for 30 minutes, my eyes glued to the camera. My bones ache. My skin itches. My fingers are numb. I am starting to get cold. I am waiting. I am waiting for my subject to move. I am waiting for my shot. Most of the time, the shot never happens and those 30 minutes are added to the previous hours of waiting. The subject will not move in the way I want to. Not with the right background, or right light. I will wait for 30 minutes without a pause, and the second I break my stare, it is when it happens. And then I wait some more.

In our modern era, a person through the course of their lifetime, will spend approximately 3 to 5 years waiting – 35,000 hours motionless, expecting a desired outcome. We wait for the perfect moment. For the right woman, for the right man. We wait for the right conditions. We wait for the rain to stop, for the sun to come out. We wait for the bus, for the train, for the subway. We wait in traffic, at the bank, at the grocery store. We wait on the phone. We wait for a phone call. We wait for people. People wait for us. We wait for salvation, for forgiveness. We wait for the show to begin, for the commercials to end. We wait for dinner to be ready. We wait for a package to be delivered. We wait for inspiration to come. We wait behind the camera for the perfect shot.

Francois Rabelais said: ” Everything comes in time to those who can wait.” While Abraham Lincoln believed that “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustles.” Lenny Kravtiz has always waited for inspiration to write his music. Sean Lennon instead writes everyday convinced that inspiration comes with practice. Alexandre Dumas wrote that ” All human wisdom is summed up in two words: wait and hope.” At the opposite, W.M. Lewis said that “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”

Nothing would ever be accomplished if we just waited for things to happen. But again, nothing would ever be accomplished if we were not able to wait until completion. Some don’t wait to start, but have trouble finishing. Others can’t seem to find the will to start, but once they do, they will finish what they have started even if they have to wait a lifetime to see the results. You can’t wait for the right conditions. You can’t wait for things comes to you. But you must be able to wait for the unique to manifest. And when it does, all those minutes, all those hours, all those years waiting, suddenly are worth the wait.