It started with a dearth of snow. Booo! But that did mean we could wander the lowlands in search of mushrooms of so many weird and fantastical shapes. Don't get me wrong, there was snow, you just had to go look for it. Kind of like we were looking for control points in an adventure race. And we found snow up in the mountains, as you would expect.

But you know where we didn't find any snow? On Kiritimati Island about 1300 miles south of Hawaii. I even tried climbing the highest peak on the island and found no snow. I did find great bonefishing and time with Mr. Moosefish, Sr., though.

Nor did we find any snow in Fiji where Mrs. Moosefish and I celebrated 25 years. I mean, I suppose you could call the shaved ice in our drinks "snow," but it doesn't really count. Even when we ventured into the mountains to visit waterfalls, no snow. Alas.

The next few months blurred together. There were more hikes in the snow (naturally), bad choices were made (naturally), and we actually saw the northern lights (natural-- WHAT?). Part of this time was reminding Tinkham that she was supposed to obey me even though I'd abandoned her for three weeks while abroad. (Not that she ever did obey me to begin with, but I thought maybe those three weeks would have changed her.) (And don't even ask if the kids obey.) (Or Mrs. Moosefish.)

Suddenly, June. More of the mountains opened up and we took advantage. We visited our favorite places and saw our favorite things. Then work got in the way again, but this time it was a good thing.

Lilly and I spent a week on the east coast so I could attend a conference. Of course, we took advantage of the opportunity and embarked on another National Parks frenzy. This time it was 15 NPS units in four days before landing the relaxation of work in Baltimore for a couple of days. Phew.

July 4 is when summer really starts and we 100% got the goods on Mount Hood. We had the distinct honor of teaching our young cousin how to glissade and even though it was only Mt. Hood (Really? That's your state high point, Oregon?) it was epic.

More mountain hijinks and then disaster: I broke my butt. No, not really. But (ha!) I did bruise my coccyx ("Little Coccy" when speaking to Henry) right good while glissading in Mount Rainier National Park. With the benefit of hindsight I can recommend you should not injure your butt in any way! It turns out it's useful for many important things including sitting. (But if you are in the market for a butt pillow, let me know. Have I got a deal for you!)

Probably the worst thing about damaging the derrière was it happened right at the end of July and right before backpacking month. Not that I let it stop us. Nope. Not a chance. Not when Lilly decided it was time for her return to the mountains. We camped in the Mount Rainier National Park backcountry, crossed a glacier, and climbed to a spectacular peak about half way up Tahoma. Perfect weather, too!

And then, not two weeks later, I tried to repeat with Henry on the other side of the Mountain. The weather was not as accommodating. Nor was the saddle of my bike for the 15 miles we had to ride with 40 pound packs. It was still a fun trip, but probably more type 2 fun than I had intended.

And we completed more of the PCT in Washington. All those bad things I've been saying for the last 20 years about the trail south of Snoqualmie Pass? My bad. Either my memory is shot or time really does heal all wounds.

Summer came to an end and fall set in. Don't get me wrong. We had a great fall chasing pika, climbing on rocks, visiting other volcanoes (don't tell Tahoma), and making surprisingly good decisions.

November brought the pain. Ticks, late snowpack, long approaches to familiar places, Mailbox (yeah, that one), and disappointment in my fellow Americans for being so @#%^^@# stupid as to be conned by a sexual predator, proven liar, and truly evil person. Oh, they're not stupid? That's even worse. That means they are complicit. History will not view him or his enablers kindly. (Why didn't I write he's also a convicted criminal? Somehow that didn't happen until after the election.) It kind of made me not want to come home from a trip to Canada.

The end of the year was saved by magical trips close to home where we got above the clouds not once, but twice. The weather wasn't always my friend, but it can't be perfect all the time.

And lest you think Joe's Hill on Kiritimati Island was the only high point tagged, we visited the top of both Indiana an Ohio in all their glory. Pro-tip: Ohio is better when you're under the surface of the earth.

📍Each post includes a land acknowledgement specific to that location. We live on the lands of the Snoqualmie people. You can look up the ancestral peoples of anywhere on earth at native-land.ca.