2003 was another year of trips and outdoor fun. Two major excursions this summer kept me busy planning for months - Bolivia Climbing and Alaska Canoeing.

In June, John Otter, Rena and I traveled to Bolivia where we ventured to the mountains in the infrequently visited Apolobamba region and did a high altitude trek. While Rena returned to the capital city of La Paz for a homestay to study Spanish (a long time goal), John and I stayed in the North and spent 8 days attempting to climb Chaupi Orco, the highest peak in the Apolobamba range. We settled for Angelicum, the peak next to Chaupi Orco, at 19,122 feet. We explored the region and had an amazing visit to a goldmine where miners were pounding gold-bearing rocks to powder by hand. Later, John and I summited Sajama, the highest peak in Bolivia, at 21,486 feet. I found the climbing to be quite strenuous and lost over 10 pounds during the trip. Rena and I consider Bolivia to be one of our favorite places in South America; this was our second visit. But you have to get used to the high altitude. The average sleeping elevation over our 30-day visit was 13,500 feet!

In August, I spent a month with John Otter and 2 other friends floating the entire 400-mile length of the Noatak River located above the Arctic Circle in Northwest Alaska. We flew to the headwaters of the river in a small floatplane carrying with us collapsible boats, 28 days of food, tents, clothing, emergency supplies and everything else we would need for a month's immersion in total wilderness. A trip report describing our encounters with storms, grizzly bears, other wildlife, and our experience in the largest undisturbed wilderness watershed in North America, can be found under "trip reports" at www.adventureplus.org. Also available there is the Bolivia trip report, plus many other reports of past travels and adventures.

In October, Rena's mother moved from New York to Torrance just 2 miles away. Rena has been busy helping her establish her new home. We are happy to have her nearby. We visited my brother in Illinois and spent time with my daughters, Andrea and Marla in Northern California. We enjoyed visiting Andrea and Rob and all their pets at their great forest hideaway. I joined Marla and Simon for a one-day ski trip; the first time I have skied with Marla for many years.

We filled up the rest of the year, as usual, with a continuous succession of outdoor activities, both nearby and at other places in the West. I kayaked the Salt River in Arizona, hiked "Dirty Devil North" in Utah, descended Hall Creek near Death Valley, and discovered that there is interesting canyoneering in the local San Gabriel Mountains, just an hour's drive from home. We spent a nice weekend in San Francisco at Fisherman's Wharf where we visited the standard tourist sites for the first time in many years. We attended the Telluride Film Festival for the 3rd time with our friends, Ron and Christine and also introduced them to river rafting. I unloaded my raft from my van at the start of a 10-day San Juan River trip, handed the oars to Ron, and said "Good Luck". We all survived. Rena even successfully kayaked Government Rapid where she provided entertainment for spectators several years ago. On the way home, Ron and I stopped at Red Rocks near Las Vegas and ascended Bridge Mountain from the East, a climb of which we can find no records.

I had 2 photographic exhibits during 2003. "Faces of Asia" appeared at the Palos Verdes Art Center and "Wild Places of the Americas" was exhibited in the Tang Gallery in Bisbee, Arizona. The latter exhibit will be on display at the Malaga Cove Library Gallery in Palos Verdes from March 4-30, 2004.

Rena spent many hours drawing for her art class at a local college. When not busy tapping into her unexplored talent, she can usually be found out hiking with the Sierra Club.

We will give a budget travel class again beginning Wednesday evening January 21 at the South Bay Adult School, so if you know of anyone who might be interested.. www.southbayadult.org.

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season and good luck in 2004.

    Rich Henke