A cave, a marmot, and a mountain

This weekend, Angela and I went spulunking in an ancient cave, saw one of the world's rarest mammals, and summitted two epic peaks.

Because that is just how we do.

This tight squeeze would have promised Gimli's girdle with a challenge

We bravely descended further into the abyss

When we broke out into the sunlight, on thing was on our mind - Marmots  - and their complete and utter visual slaughter.

With the help of Lena's pinpoint directions, we located a Marmot after 1 hour of searching

We rejoiced! We had just seen one of the world's rarest animals - there are only about 350 left! The Vancouver Island Marmot stunned us with it's beauty (see "Concerning Marmots").

Then we entered the Forbidden Plateau,  and set our sights on 2093m Mt. Albert Edward.

The path was set toward our goal

We scoured the tundra for Ptarmigans - yet again, none were found

FOR FRODO!

Then there was a decision: should we head back and make it a 31 km round trip as planned, or should we opt for the extra 10km scenic loop? Ange did not even hesitate. But it quickly became more challenging - and more epic - than we had anticipated.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

With blistered feet and crushed ankles and knees - we hiked the last 10 km in a frantic frenzy to reach the parking lot - then we saw it. 41 knee busting kilometers - we made it!