Fall E Newz, 2009

Visit our blog for Canyon Calling's latest adventures!

Weather on Trips
New Trip - Alaska Midnight Sun
Fall Trips 2009
Notes from the Trail
     Swiss Alps
     Canadian Rockies
     Tetons/Yellowstone
2010 Schedule

Weather on Trips
“Aren’t we lucky with the weather” is one of the most common things we hear from our customers.  Actually, we’re not lucky – we planned it that way!!  We travel at the most appropriate times to suit the destination and the outdoor activities.  New Zealand, for example, as an island nation is subject to very changeable weather but February is usually stable at 80 degrees and dry.  In the Canadian Rockies there is a six-week window between snowfalls and it’s most unusual to get rain in July.  On trips like Morocco and Costa Rica we schedule to catch the end of the spring flow to ensure great white water rafting experiences and this gives the added bonus of beating the heat and crowds in those countries. Australia is even more of a juggle.  We can’t go too early in the southern hemisphere spring as it’s too cold in Sydney, yet we can’t wait too late either or we’ll roast in the Outback.  Plus we have to beat the stingers to swim at the Great Barrier Reef so we’ve found that October is perfect.  Except for one unusually wet trip to Costa Rica in 2005, I’ve only needed to use my raincoat about eight times in the 110 trips I’ve led!  Many teachers over the years have asked me to offer the New Zealand trip in their summer holidays but a ski trip to New Zealand is not what we do!  We don’t offer trips to suit our schedule or particular customers or our guides.  You can be rest assured when you sign up for a Canyon Calling trip that you can count on quality – and that includes terrific weather.

New Trip – Alaska Midnight Sun
July 16 – 24 ensures the summer rains are over to enjoy our newest trip offering, Alaska Midnight Sun.  The Last Frontier is the ultimate multi-activity adventure destination!!  Everything here is grand – from the 5000 glaciers to having seventeen of the twenty highest peaks in North America.  The good news is that finding wilderness is easy and we’ve chosen the best adventures to enjoy the solitude and the magic of the wild.  We’ll hike a glacier, whitewater raft, horse ride, hike to see salmon spawning, ride the Alaskan Railroad, photograph wildlife, sea kayak a secluded bay, and canoe through icebergs at the foot of a glacier.  We’ll also explore remote towns with rich histories like Talkeetna, Seward and Homer.  You’ll see grizzlies, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, otters and more bald eagles than you can imagine.  There is no trip where it is more important to have a local in charge and our Alaskan guides do a superb job of keeping us safe and well informed.  Our trip encompasses the jewels of Alaska - Denali National Park and the Kenai Peninsula.  Our nine days are full on and you’ll leave Alaska knowing you’ve seen the best of the best.

Fall Trips 2009
There is still time for you to join us on the Sedona Sojourn trip, October 26 – 30 and the Costa Rican Explorer trip, November 7 – 14.  We’re experiencing an unusually warm fall here in Sedona and we anticipate temperatures being in the mid-70’s at the end of October – perfect for hiking.  By customer request, we’ve made a few changes to our Costa Rica schedule replacing biking with zip-lining, replacing the slower rafting day with a day to relax at a Caribbean resort and adding outrigger canoeing.

Notes from the Trail

Swiss Alps
This was out first Canyon Calling trip with all Westerners.  When you’re from Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, the cool mountain air of the Alps in June sounds mighty fine!  I can barely remember a more superb day of hiking than crunching across small patches of snow with the Matterhorn towering behind us.  Mary was a first-time rafter and baptized herself in the Inn River but we had her back in the boat in seconds! Carla, our new Swiss guide trained on this trip and what a wonderful addition she is to the Canyon Calling family.  It was sad to say goodbye to leading this trip but it frees me up to lead new trips, especially in the Southwest.

Canadian Rockies
Another sad goodbye for me on my last Rockies trip but what wonderful hands I leave this trip in.  Kym Putnam has worked for Parks Canada, built trails in the Rockies and has run her own adventure company so is perfectly suited to guiding our Rockies trips in the future.  Her wonderful stories had us all rollicking along. Joss shared some poignant moments, Dee demolished and rebuilt an Inukshuk, Hawaiian Irene fell in glacier water, Kerrie taught us the green tractor song, and we all got our “freakin’ paddles in the air!”  No one wanted to leave.  The Rockies touched us and we all touched each other’s hearts.  As Kerrie said, “This was BIG!”

Tetons-Yellowstone
Are you watching the Ken Burns movies about our National Parks on PBS?  It reminds me how much we have John Muir to thank for their very existence.  Yellowstone Falls is a scenic wonder and who knows if these falls would have been damned to a trickle if America’s Best Idea hadn’t happened.  There were no grizzly sightings on this trip but moose, bison, black bears and plenty of bald eagles entertained the eight of us as we wound our way through Wyoming.  Kayaking on Jackson Lake in the quiet of the late afternoon was idyllic and this contrasted with the excitement of rafting Lunch-counter Rapid on the Snake River.

2010 Schedule

Happy Trails,
Cheryl

Previous Enews:
     • Summer 2009
     • May 2009
     • Spring 2009
     • Holiday 2008
     • Fall 2008
     • Summer 2008
     • Spring 2008
     • Winter 2007-08
     • Fall 2007
     • Summer 2007
     • Spring 2007
     • Winter 2006-2007
     • Fall 2006
     • Summer 2006
     • Winter 05-06
     • Fall 2005

Great Weather!

Alaska

Alaska

Costa Rican Explorer

Sedona Sojourn

Carla

Hiking in Switzerland

Cheryl and Kym

Canadian Rockies Group

Paddles Up!

Tetons Group