The Journey to the Teclanica River

On the flight out here, it was clear my dad's year-long battle with cancer was nearing its final stage. Luke and I decided to take advantage of Alaska's short summer and finally go on our honeymoon. The first day of hiking was a slow creep through willow shrubs and dwarf birches. We sang Harry Belafonte's greatest hits along the way because yelling seemed like a logical way to alert any nearby grizzly bears.