2004 was a great year in the outdoors for me and my wife Martina, although it didn't include too many Marilyns. We spent six months from April to October in North America, backpacking, rock climbing, and sea kayaking in the fiords of Glacier Bay Alaska. We set off with two small boats, camping gear and food for 18 days in a impressively wild region - and with grizzlies, humpback whales, orcas, seals and porpoise sightings, we didn't feel on top of the food chain. We didn't climb that many summits, but Grand Teton and Pingora Peak in the Wind River range stand out, along with some spires in Utah and the mighty Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Of our backpacking trips, the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island provided a magnificent easy and enjoyable coastal walk; four days of beaches, rocky cliffs, forest, mud and swims (some photos at www.pbase.com/briansolar1).
I managed to squeeze in some Marilyns before and after the American trip, and returned to squelchy Scottish soil with enthusiasm - well, for a while at least. A crisp frosty day on Meall Tairbh and Beinn Suidhe (3C) provided great views and clear air. Morven in the far north near Helmsdale was memorable too. I passed halfway on the Grahams in December and hope to carry on with them in 2005, intertwined with more backpacking and climbing trips.
Devil's Tower, Wyoming (photo: Brian Dickson)
