Videos on YouTube

I post videos on YouTube: My channel is "Kaiyote Snow" and if you search for my channel you will find my videos.  Some are personal videos that I share with my friends and other videos are from my international tours and tours in Olympic National Park.  The quality is better on YouTube.

Most of the videos are too large a file to post on the blog. Below are a few short versions.

Puffins in Iceland 

Dynjandi Falls in Iceland

Skogafoss in Iceland

Driving in Iceland

Snowing at Lake Angeles in Olympic National Park

Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park

Summertime Snow in Olympic National Park

You will find more videos on the "Kaiyote Snow" channel on YouTube

Thanks for Watching!

Olympic National Park 2016

Please visit us in 2017!  

Click on the links below for details about our private and custom tours:  

Birding and Nature Walks     Hiking    Overnight Backpacking     Snowshoeing and Skiing

I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of the winter season. Here in Port Angeles and Olympic National Park, summer was so busy and wonderful, that I am now just sorting through all the great photos.  This past year was our busiest year on record and we have big plans for 2017.    We will be offering more tours and also offering guided fly-fishing for both day tours and over-night trips. We will have more info about fishing in January.  I have hundreds of great photos from 2016, I want to share a few to tell the story of outdoor activities for the past year on the Olympic Peninsula.  We met so many great people and had so much fun, we can't wait to see everyone again next year.  

Please email me at Info@KaiyoteTours.com or call me at 970-556-6103 for questions and to make reservations for Olympic National Park.

Click on the links at the start of the page for more info about all the different types of tours we offer in Olympic National Park.

Pictured to the right is your hiking guide and tour leader, Kaiyote Snow. The photo was taken hiking through the Seven Lakes Basin area in Olympic National Park in August.  This trail makes a great 20 mile loop through some very beautiful terrain in the Sol Duc Valley and High Divide areas.  We usually backpack this loop in 3 - 4 days, because we like to take our time to see it all, but the loop can be done in 2 days.  

The west side of the Olympic Peninsula is part of the largest temperate rainforest in the world.  The Hoh Rainforest within Olympic National Park receives 140 - 180 inches of rain a year on average.  Some of the largest trees in the world are still growing larger in the park. Summers can be dry and warm.  The best time to see the rainforest is during the rainy seasons of winter and spring when the ferns and mosses are green and shinny with fresh rain.  The rain is usually a soft misty drizzle and often the trees catch most of the precipitation.  The sounds of the dripping rainforest are wonderful!

The east side of the Olympic Peninsula is on the rain shadow side of the Olympic Mountains.  Port Angeles receives only 26 inches of rain a year and so we have lots of sunny days and with mild winter temperatures that rarely dip below freezing, there is great birding, hiking and backpacking year round.  Just a 20 minute drive from Port Angeles is the start of Little River trail which meanders through many habitats as it ascends through the lowland forest of ferns and mossy trees up to the alpine world of Hurricane Ridge. This beautiful eight mile trail delights as it passes waterfalls and cascades. We often see black bear and black-tailed deer in the upper basin of the Little River.  

Pictured above is a Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata).  These beautiful birds,weighing up to 2 pounds, with a wing span of 25 inches, reside only in the north Pacific. Puffins can live 20 - 30 years. They feed on small fish and can dive down 80 feet or more to feed.  They mate for life and nest in burrows, up to 5 feet deep, that are located at the edges of sea cliffs. The female lays one egg a year. There is a nesting colony of Tufted Puffins and Rhinoceros Auklets on Protection Island, just off the coast in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina): Females give birth to one pup a year, which is born on land and can weigh up to 35 pounds. The pups are weaned at 4 - 6 weeks. Harbor seals are very common in the Port Angeles waterfront area. We always use the spotting scope to get a good view of the seals when they are out of the water and resting on the harbor logs. 

Pictured above is 2nd beach located along the Pacific coast of Olympic National Park. This stretch of beach has great tide-pooling when low tide exposes amazing life in the inter-tidal zone. It is a great place for a day hike any time of year. The trail starts near the town of La Push and it is a one mile walk through the coastal forest to the beach.  

Deer Park Road, in Olympic National Park, is closed in the winter and makes for great hiking, snowshoeing and stunning views.  The Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center averages 20 - 30 feet of snow each year and offers great snowshoeing and cross-country skiing for both beginners and experienced outdoor adventurers who love snow.    Here on the Olympic Peninsula it is possible to spend the morning snowshoeing on 20 feet of snow and then drive down to the rainforest for a snow free picnic lunch surrounded by beautiful green ferns and big moss covered trees in the old growth forest of Lake Crescent. 

Pictured below is a Surf Scoter, Melanitta perspicillata; these sea ducks breed on fresh water lakes and tundra in northern Canada and Alaska. Many Surf Scoters of the , winter in the waters just off the Olympic Peninsula along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  They feed by diving for invertebrates in shallow waters. Scoters are a common winter visitor. 

Winter birding is excellent in the Port Angeles area as thousands of birds head south out of Alaska and Canada for the winter.  Many birds winter along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and shoreline of the north coast of Port Angeles and the Olympic Peninsula.  The Olympic Peninsula has very mild winter temperatures, which makes for great winter birding.

Pictured above is the start of the 9 mile Ozette Coastal Loop with beautiful falls colors. 

Although the lower elevations and coastal areas of Olympic National Park receive very little snow and sometimes none at all, the highest mountains in the park, might receive as much as 50 feet of snow and it sometimes takes until mid July for most of the snow to melt. On a warm July day, we are often hiking on wonderful snow!

Pictured to the left is the Blue Glacier and Mount Olympus.  Getting to this spectacular place can be a five to six day backpacking trip.  Starting in the Hoh Rainforest Valley, it is 20 miles to the top of the glacial moraine and overlook ridge. 

Pictured above is a Ruffed Grouse, Bonasa umbellus: The males are unique in that they "drum" by beating their feathers against the air to create a low frequency "drum" sound. This drumming serves as both a mating and territorial statement.  After hatching, the chicks can walk and feed themselves within 24 hours. (Photo by Ron Wheeler)

Pictured on the left, we are on our way to the alpine zone of the Blue Glacier. An evening campfire at the Martin Creek site, including hot cocoa and s’mores, it is always a pleasure to have a fire at night.  We also see a lot of stars at night!

Pictured to the right:  A campfire and a card game along the Hoh River after a long day of hiking. Whenever possible in Olympic National Park, we have campfires and it is always enjoyable and comforting as well.

Picture above: Backpacking the Seven Lakes Basin, including Appleton Pass, in August

Sea Stars and Anemone are predatory animals which have adapted to the ever changing tidal conditions.  Olympic National Park has nearly 70 miles of Pacific coastline and the tide-pooling is excellent. From shore we have seen whales, sea otters and sea lions.

Pictured to the left is the southern edge of Point of Arches near Shi Shi beach.  Great hiking, tide-pooling and birding at this location.  With beautiful rocky sea stacks this beach has some of the best sunsets too!   

Pictured above is the hiking trail leading to the High Divide with great views of the snow-capped summit and glaciers of Mount Olympus.  This is one of our favorite places!

Pictured above, winter camping along the Pacific Coast.  Winter often brings wind and big waves along the coast and we love being there for the excitement of a winter storm.

Olympic National Park has over 600 miles of hiking trails many of which follow along beautiful rolling rivers and waterfalls. From easy nature trails to steep and rugged mountain terrain, there is a lot to see and do and we look forward to more adventures.

The end of a great day: camping at the Happy Four site along the Hoh River in April.  It is always a good night's sleep while listening to the sounds of the river all night.

Thank you for a great and memorable year!

Nicaragua and the Power of Reputation

Say the word Nicaragua and mentioned that you have traveled there and the first response will be:  “Isn't it dangerous? What about the Sandinista and Contra war? Ah, the reputation continues. We all do it, we get an idea in our head and we are reluctant to ever change or to take the time to understand the situation from a new perspective or even find the truth. 

I first traveled to Nicaragua in February 2005; it now has been six trips over the past ten years for me.  On my first trip, everyone said I probably would never make it back alive….no kidding.  But I had done my research and I was an experienced traveler, so I had no concerns.  So what’s up with Nicaragua; a tropical paradise or a war torn country? 

Political History

First, let’s get the Iran-Contra incident out of the way because it is the most common question I hear.  The native people of Nicaragua were colonized by the Spanish, having been visited by Christopher Columbus in 1502. The beautiful and well preserved city of Granada, which now is a major tourist destination, is the oldest permanent settlement in the Americas having been founded in 1524.  In the year 1821 Nicaragua achieved its independence from the Spanish and life was good for a long time.  But in the early 1900s, economic problems created political turmoil and the United States sent help in the form of “boots on the ground” and U.S Marines occupied Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933.  The leader of the rebellion against the U.S. occupation was Augusto César Sandino (1895–1934), from who the Sandinistas get their name. In 1933 an agreement was met and a cease fire achieved, but in 1934 Augusto Sandino was assassinated by the Nicaraguan National Guard, which was the U.S. backed police force of the ruling Somoza family who ruled Nicaragua as a dictatorship from 1936 to 1979.

The beginning of the end of the Somoza dynasty started with a very powerful earthquake that hit the capitol city of Managua in 1972. Eighty percent of the city was leveled, leaving over 10,000 people dead. Millions of dollars in aid was sent, largely from the United States, but the Somoza family kept most of the money for themselves and spent little to help the Nicaragua people who had already been suffering under the Somoza regime for several generations.  This was the breaking point and thousands of young Nicaraguan men organized and fought to overthrow the government to achieve freedom and democracy. They became known as the Sandinistas.  In 1979, the Somoza family fled to Paraguay and "Tachito” Somoza was assassinated there in 1980. With the Somoza family gone, the Sandinistas were in power. 

Here is where the story of the “Contras” begins.  In opposition to the new Sandinista government the Contras were formed in 1979 with help from the CIA, which provided funding and training. The backlash the Nicaraguan people received from the Contras was severe and nearly 30,000 people were murdered in rural areas during the war.  In 1983 the United States Congress stopped U.S. funding of the Contras, but some within the U.S. military decided to proceed on their own by selling arms to Iran and using the money to continue to fund the Contras.  You know…like a bake sale for the military. It is now referred to as the Iran-Contra affair. In 1984 the Sandinistas won the general election and took power once again in Nicaragua.

I was in Nicaragua during the 2011 general election when President Daniel Ortega was re-elected for a second term in a landslide victory for the Sandinista party.  I can tell you that everyone was dancing in the streets and the party went on for days.  For those that do not like President Ortega, he is often referred to as a benevolent dictator, although every election meets international standards of fairness. 

Nature and Beauty

Nicaragua is nearly the size of the state of Washington and has a population of six million. It is the largest country in Central America and is bordered to the north by Honduras, to south by Costa Rica, to the east by the tranquil calm Caribbean seacoast and to the west by the strong waves of the Pacific Ocean.   One fifth of the country is designated as a protected national park or reserve and the whole country is located within the tropic zone. So if you love traveling amongst abundant pristine nature, Nicaragua is a wonderful option and has a lot to offer. For birders, there are over 700 different species of birds to find and observe. 

Western Nicaragua is located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and has forty volcanoes within in its borders, many of which are still active.  A visit to the top of the Mombacho Volcano offers great views of the Pacific lowlands and Lake Nicaragua. You can walk the trails at the edge of the crater and see and smell the beautiful tropical plants and flowers as hummingbirds zip past you.  Lake Nicaragua is the largest lake in Central America and is home to a population of fresh water “bull sharks” with lengths up to eight feet. I have gone swimming in the lake many times and I will admit it makes me a little nervous.  Along the west coast you will find migrating whales and if you time it right, you can watch thousands of Olive Ridley Turtles come ashore in mass to lay eggs. 

The rainforest of the Atlantic lowlands along the 120 mile long Rio San Juan River is spectacular.  Most of the Rio San Juan is the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.  There are no roads, only boats to get you up and down the river. In addition to an abundance of birds, amphibians and reptiles, you will find three species of monkeys.  In the Sabalos area, the Howler monkeys will sit in the trees above your jungle cabin and through the night they howl and call. It is an amazing experience to be awakened in the middle of the night to the songs of the midnight jungle. Any visit to the Atlantic lowlands should include a day or more at the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve.  The rainforest here is pristine and abundant with magnificent trees and a wide range of wildlife.  

The stunning central highlands of Nicaragua rise to elevations of 5,900 feet in the cloud forest, which is also the coffee growing region.  In some areas this is more of a deciduous dry forest with a thin understory.  The Peñas Blancas Massif is part of the huge Bosawas Biosphere Reserve and here the rainy season is longer and wetter and so you will find amazing waterfalls and tranquility.  This area has just recently opened up to tourism due to better road construction and there are already several eco-lodges and educational centers here. It is definitely worth a visit if you travel to Nicaragua. 

Culture

All my best memories of Nicaragua are of the people.  In the early days of my travels to Nicaragua, I knew very little Spanish and it was the local people who showed tremendous kindness in helping me as I traveled through the country.  The people I met were proud of their communities and eager to show me the beauty of their land.  They always fed me well and gave me great advice, although much communication was done via drawing pictures as I stumbled through my Spanish phrase book. 

The people of Nicaragua, also called “Nicas”, are a diverse group.  The population is a mix between Spanish and indigenous people.  Spanish is the main language, but there are four indigenous languages which are still spoken.  Along the Caribbean coast, many Afro-Nicaraguans speak English as their first language.  In the late 1800’s many immigrants from Germany and The Netherlands settled in Nicaragua.

Unlike most Latin America countries where soccer is the dominate sport, Nicaraguans love American-style baseball.  It is the country’s most popular sport and 12 major league baseball players in the U.S. have come from Nicaragua. 

Economy

Nicaragua’s main industry is agriculture with the main exports being coffee, bananas and sugar cane.  Logging is declining due to increased environmental concerns about destruction of the rain forests. Plans to construct a canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are in motion with a Chinese company as the contractor.  It is very controversial; many are concerned about the environment and that the economic benefits are short sighted. 

Tourism has become the second largest industry and increases significantly every year.  The increase in tourism has also brought more foreign investment to the country. Last year about 60,000 U.S. citizens visited Nicaragua. When I travel to Nicaragua I rarely meet Americans, most of the foreigners I meet are Europeans and Canadians.  I think it is unfortunate, but for many Americans, Nicaragua still has a reputation of being a dangerous war torn place.  One thing I love about Nicaragua is that the tourist infrastructure is still developing.  You can visit Nicaragua and still feel the culture and its natural beauty.  So let it go and think again:  Nicaragua is a wonderful place to visit.

If you would like to visit Nicaragua and join a tour, considering traveling with me at Kaiyote Tours.  You can check out tours to Nicaragua at KaiyoteTours.com.  

Of Fireworks and Elves

Six hundred tons:  that is the amount of fireworks that Icelanders purchase and legally ignite from their yard, their porch, the roof, in the middle of the street and in the middle of the crowd during the week long celebration of the New Year from January 1^st – 6^th and the proceeds from the sales support Iceland’s Search and Rescue teams across the nation.  On New Year’s Eve and the week that follows an Icelandic tradition says anything goes and no permission or permit from the government is needed to light a massive bonfire or ignite a colossal explosion of fireworks.  It is truly s site to see.  The week of New Year’s is a time to appease the natural world and to appease one’s inner soul.  This seemingly modern tradition of celebration dates back nearly a thousand years and has its roots in the belief of Huldufólk.  

Huldufólk are the little people of Iceland; little people, meaning elves.  They are miniature humans with all the talents and aches and pains and wants and dreams as humans.  They live and die; they face the same realities that Icelanders do.  There are good elves and bad elves.  They live in houses and move when they need to and they bravely face the elements and meet all the challenges one faces on this small and isolated island.  Most importantly, however, Huldufólk are successful and they survive.  They reflect the hopes and dreams of the Icelandic people.

Since the year 871, generations of Icelanders have lived, worked, loved and lost on a land that is constantly and quickly changing and forever unpredictable.  Underfoot is an earth that cracks open and oozes lava.  High above are mountain tops that spill glacial melt down the mountains, flooding everything below.  Volcanoes explode and earthquakes shake the ground. The ocean wind with sleet, snow and hail blows across the land and a winter’s night that lasts 20 hours can only make a person dream and wonder about survival.

Every single Icelander can trace their ancestry to the original Viking settlements.  They know where they come from.  Isolated from the rest of the world until recent history, they were on their own and they know the dangers of life on a moving, growing and changing island.  Icelanders are the descendants of those who traveled in open boats across the north Atlantic to call this small island home.  Dreams give you the faith to keep going and 55% of Icelanders believe in elves or some kind of spiritual entity that lives amongst them and only 20% of Icelanders completely rule out the possible existence of elves, dwarfs, light-fairies, trolls or “hidden folk”.  The Huldufólk are the heart of the folklore of Iceland, which give Icelanders the strength and courage to persevere. 

The Huldufólk sometimes live along the lava rocks of ancient lava flows, as do modern Icelanders and as recently as 2013, road construction was halted due to the possibility of endangering the lives and damaging the houses of the “little people”.  According to folklore, to have the Huldufólk live near you and to have the Huldufólk acknowledge you is the highest compliment an Icelander can receive.  If you are lucky enough to see and communicate with the hidden people, you are special because only the good of heart and mind are able to see the little people and this is the highest intellectual and spiritual level that Icelandic can achieve; to love  life and take joy in the beauty of a dangerous and ever changing landscape. 

New Year’s Eve is a good time to start “a new” and the Huldufólk like to move during this time.  The tradition of lighting candles is meant to help the little people find their way and encourage them to live near you for they will bring good luck throughout the year.  Bonfires are symbolic of burning the old and giving way and opening up to new possibilities and the regeneration of life.  Light a candle and light a bonfire to guide the little people and to guide yourself into the next year, says Icelandic tradition.

Today it is only a seven hour non-stop flight from Seattle to the Keflavik airport outside of Reykjavik.  When you walk on the land and cross the lava fields amongst glaciers and volcanoes, you will come to understand that there has got to be more out there than just rocks.  If you would like to visit Iceland and join a tour, considering traveling with me at Kaiyote Tours.

Amazing Iceland

Water is deceiving.  Clear and fluid, water can magnify or it can hide whatever may lie beneath.  Water will expand when heated and will expand when frozen.  At birth we are seventy five percent water; we are bound to it.  It is water that creates the illusion that the world is flat and for those who sail upon on it, water carries them around the world. It is the big blue reflecting seas that give shine to our small bright planet in the universe.

Removing all the water of the oceans would reveal the largest mountain ranges on earth, hidden below the surface.  From the southern tip of Africa to the Arctic Circle, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge breaks through the water surface in only eight locations.  One of those mountain summits we call Iceland.  The summit of Hvannadalshnjúkur rises to 6,921 feet above sea level on this small island.  The highlands of Iceland are massive glacial capped volcanoes, but the lowlands are green and stunningly beautiful; giving a rich life to those that live there.  A visit to Iceland is a serene and inspiring experience.

Two tectonic plates, a divergent boundary, spread nearly an inch every year.  At Iceland’s Pingvellir National Park you can walk in between the steep jagged edges of the European and North American continents as they shift and rise to the sky. Magma is close to the surface and heats the water below.  Hot water, much too hot to touch, oozes from the land. Icy glacial melt pours from the high mountains delivering cold river water and mixes with the hot thermals to create “hot pots”, as they are called in Iceland.  In the Haukadalur Valley there is a trail that meanders alongside open steam vents and turquoise thermal pools and here you will find the most perfect hot pots to sooth your mind and body on a picturesque mountain side after an enjoyable walk on the tundra. 

The first settlement of Iceland began 1,200 years ago and the Vikings and Scandinavians that followed created a unique and lasting culture that will treat you like family and leave you wanting to return not only to explore deeper into this fantastic land, but return to visit your Icelandic  friends. Iceland is a bit more than half the size of Washington State, but with only about 300,000 inhabitants you will find a vast untouched wilderness as wild as a new land can be and locals who are happy to greet you and welcome you to their amazing land. 

A visit to the highlands will bring you close to Arctic foxes and herds of caribou.  Pelagic birds, such as Atlantic Puffins and Northern Gannets nest by the thousands on the ocean cliffs of Látrabjarg and it is truly a site to see. The calling puffins sound like sputtering chainsaws and the mesmerizing sound carries over the ocean waves.  Icelanders love their boats, so it is nice to be able to take a cruise on the water to see the whales.  As you travel through the countryside, you will find the very sweet Icelandic Horse.  Stocky and strong these horses can carry you across the fields on a pleasant horseback ride to view the landscape and get a good sighting of a beautiful white speckled Rock Ptarmigan standing upon a black lava rock.  

Reykjavík is the capitol of Iceland. Neighborhood streets are lined with rows of colorful houses and the unique Icelandic architecture of modern high rise buildings, edges the downtown.  The oldest structure, built in 1762, currently houses a restaurant.  The food in Iceland is amazing and everything is gourmet and home grown.  For those that travel to Iceland for the first time, the “must do” tradition of eating a chunk of Hákarl (fermented poisonous shark) swallowed down with a good and necessary shot of Brennivín is an experience that will not be forgotten.  Brennivín translates as “burning wine”.

Iceland has a diverse economy.  Fishing, manufacturing, aluminum smelting, tourism and software development make Iceland one of the most productive countries in the world per capita.  Icelandic wool sweaters and a growing outdoor gear industry make for great shopping, so bring an empty piece of luggage for the return trip.

In the cold air of winter, water falls from the sky as glistening snowflakes with enough weight to compress into ice and slides down the mountainside carving the land like a sculptor, slow and easy. When the sky is dark, these ice sheets become blankets of brilliant color reflecting the green and purple glow of the aurora borealis streaming across the sky.  With massive glaciers melting every summer, the waterfalls of Iceland are stunning.  The Dettifoss waterfall, located in Vatnajökull National Park, is the largest waterfall by volume and at times can make the ground shake.  A waterfall called Seljalandsfoss, with a wispy 200 foot veil of water falling and a walking trail that sneaks behind the falls, is most beautiful of all. Water creates; giving to amazing Iceland.

If you would like to visit Iceland and join a tour, considering traveling with me at Kaiyote Tours.  You can check out tours to Iceland at KaiyoteTours.com.  You will see and experience amazing waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, whale watching, birding, eating at the finest restaurants in Reykjavik, off-road Super-Jeep exploring, walking the incredible landscape of this amazing island, soaking in natural thermal hot springs, sleeping at great hotels, snuggling in cozy cabins, Nordic shopping, Icelandic horses and charming Vikings!