Tag Archives: Drone

Mar12

Backpacking up to the White River Glacier

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Friday and Saturday, 16-Feb-2024 and 17-Feb-2024


I really do stick to the spots I know, don’t I?

But why not, when the goal is just to get out of town and sleep on the glacier? I mean… the goal here isn’t to get crazy views (even though I like to!), nor is the goal to hike a ton of distance (though I do hike some extra miles when I can)… The goal is to get out of town, carve a spot into the snow, and appreciate the cold and solitude.

The white river glacier works well for that – I know it like the back of my hand, it’s not a long hike, and I can take my time on the drive out. I mean, I’ve never set alarms for days that I go up onto the white river glacier. I wake up slow, get brunch, then… take it easy. It’s nice.


This trip was no different from the others. I mean, I didn’t even get to the trailhead ’till 5:00 or so! And Sundown was 6:30!


But that’s fine – I know the path, I have headlamps, and…

Why was there a fire going near my campsite? Was there someone else in my spot?? For the first time in three years???

No, dear readers, thankfully I hadn’t been site-sniped. It was better… so much better. I’ve never seen any one else camping near my area, in the 3+ years I’ve been up that trail. Which is kind of strange, since I only found this specific spot because, when I went up in 2021, someone else had already carved it out from the hillside…

Anyways, I met a team of folks who were making fondue, and we shared fondue. It was delicious, and I very much plan on making fondue the next time I go backpacking. Also I plan on saying fondue as many fondue times as I fon-can. Do. Due.

In trade, I promised aerial pictures of their camp – I made sure they were okay with my flying my drone ahead of time, of course, and they were quite psyched for the opportunity, so… win-win, right? Heck yeah, right.


The rest of the trip was exactly as normal – quiet, relaxing, and exceptionally enjoyable. I adore the snow, the cold, and the quiet that I can’t ever seem to find in the summer. Something about the stillness of the air, maybe? Or where the world seems to be hibernating, and not expecting anything from us? I can’t say for certain, but I can say that I appreciate it.



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Jan15

Thanksgiving, 2023

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Friday, 17-Nov-2023 through Sunday, 26-Nov-2023


A few years back, I started up a rotation for Thanksgiving – Massachusetts, Arizona, Friends, repeat. 2020 was “Massachusetts”, in a virtual sense… 2021 was a flight down to Arizona for a lovely high-desert turkey dinner, and then 2022 found me driving down to Sacramento for a dinner that couldn’t be beat. This year, I flew out East for an equally unbeatable meal… combined well with a week of family and friends!


It’s hard to summarize an entire week in a blog, without rambling on too long or simplifying it to the point of missed joy… but I’ll try, keeping it short and sweet so as to not steal time and energy from the other posts and photos that deserve posting and attention.

So let’s see…

I flew out early – taking the full week to visit with everyone in Medway. I worked remotely, with many thanks to my sister for loaning me her work from home setup while she was in the office. It was lovely – and I definitely understand why so many people are so protective of their freedom to work remotely. On top of the joy of just relaxing and working all under the same roof… My friend Bri flew out to join us! This was her first year joining us, and it was awesome to be able to bring her along and share some of the Eigner family Thanksgiving fun with her!



I got to meet up with friends! Dillon and Liz, getting to have a lovely mid-workday lunch, and see their awesome new home, along with hitting my first climbing gym ever with Daniel and Bri! Turns out, the grades there are surprisingly similar to those in Portland… which is neat, since a few years back they were radically different. Advantage of a more interconnected world, maybe?



My Mom, Bri, Hannah, and I had a spa night! It was excellent, and led to some… slightly horrifying… group photos. No regrets, and they’ll make excellent Halloween decorations for next year.



Thanksgiving itself was in Amherst, at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. I got to spend some excellent time with my cousin and her kids, and even let him fly the drone around a bit! Amazing food, excellent times… It really was a gift to be able to see everyone in person and spend time just relaxing and catching up.



Second Thanksgiving in Medway was, also unsurprisingly, glorious! My sister cooked up a storm, with assistance of course, making a stellar second meal along with dangerously decadent desserts.



We took a hike to the Stoney Brook, the Audubon society camp where I spent summers for ages and ages. It’s just as lovely as I remember it being, and was a great walk (literally) down memory lane.


I brought the drone along! As mentioned, my cousin’s son has a blast flying it around… and it did a pretty good job of getting a few aerial photos of everyone!

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Jan10

Seeing the sunset at Elk Meadows

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Friday, 10-Nov-2023


As it should, our story begins with breakfast. Pine State Biscuits, fried chicken, and coffee.

We proceed to the trailhead, where once again it’s a Mustang… and a couple of huge, lifted, offroad doom-machines. I mean, sure. If you need a doom machine to drive in the snow… us New Englanders just drive. Not to brag or judge, of course…

Then, I dove into the woods.


It’d been a while since I’d gotten out into the snow, and this was just what I needed. Cold air, cutting crisply into my lungs, with that unique type of deep silence that only snowfields bring. 

While there were the two other vehicles at the parking lot, the trail held tradition and I didn’t see either group while I was hiking. I had the mountain all to myself, it seemed, and I took full advantage of that to soak in the quiet, take two quick drone-flights, and simply let my mind wander as long and as far afield as it felt the need.

I hiked back in the dark – night fell quickly, so close to the Solstice, but I didn’t mind. I had my headlamp, my warm clothes, and the emergency gear to see me home (or to stay safely on the mountain) if needed. I lived in my warm little puddle of light, illuminating from my headlamp, and forged my way back to the car.



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