ABOUT THIS BLOG

"In the adventure known as Life, there are those who live it vicariously, and enjoy the ride from the safety of an armchair. There are those who have a few chances to realize incredible and life changing experiences, and although they don't repeat them, they carry with them a growth and personal philosophy for the rest of their lives. And there are those for whom a taste is never enough. For whom the lust of adventure is insatiable. And if you add to that the overwhelming desire to create, and to share, then you get where I reside. Where the end of one adventure, only signifies the beginning of another." -Les Stroud

My name is Joe Whittle. I am a 35 year old single father, freelance photographer, and "everyman adventurer". I live in the beautiful Wallowa Valley of Northeastern Oregon, spending time in the wilderness, taking pictures that make me happy, and raising my wonderful daughter Mia.
This blog is an outlet for my passion. Since my first wilderness survival experience at 6 years old (blog post "Sawtooth Mt. Survival), I have been deeply in love with the great outdoors and the beauty of the wild. I would consider myself a moderately skilled adventure enthusiast, but you won't find me putting up a first ascent in the Himalaya or sailing around the world any time soon. However you will find me enjoying adventures that any of us with a little bit of motivation and inspiration can do. Things like backpacking, rock climbing, trail running, mountain climbing, learning wilderness survival skills, snowboarding, snow shoeing, snow camping, rafting, canoeing, fishing, biking, hopefully one day soon tandem sky diving, and just good old fashioned exploration of America's backroads, rivers, and trails! I am not an "expert" at any of these activities, but I invest enough to gain the knowledge and skill I need to participate and taste what the experience is all about. I believe anyone can find the time and motivation to do these things!
I hope that if I can photograph even one extraordinary moment during an "ordinary" outdoor experience, then perhaps I can inspire someone else to realize that they don't have to travel to the far ends of the planet or be a highly skilled athlete to live the adventure that life has to offer! Follow me on a personal journey as I explore the adventures found right here in my backyard. Let me share with you the inspiration I feel connecting to the wildness and beauty of America, (and perhaps a couple stories of bear encounters after dark, surviving in unexpected situations, or being followed by a cougar.) I want to promote appreciation and preservation of America's wildlands, and encourage people to go out and find the adventures hiding in their own backyards. These activities are an affordable and healthy alternative to the standard vacation, and they help sustain the rural communities that are closely tied to America's heartland. Most Americans are no more than a half day drive from a nature preserve or parkland. So why not hop in the car some weekend and check it out for yourself? If I can find these fantastic moments to carry with me the rest of my life just by exploring the land I live in, then so can you! Let's enjoy the greatest bounty our country has to offer; this beautiful land and its people!


Monday, August 30, 2010

Glassing For Elk And Wolves

















Watching a herd of about 60 elk, and for any wolves that might be hunting them. Jordan didn't have an "elk call", but was managing a pretty good call without one, especially with the spikes. (I think one particular spike developed a bit if a crush on ol' Jordan and was about to come pay him a visit). We were hoping to photograph some wolves, as is my hope pretty much every time I go to the Wallowa backcountry these days. Sadly unsuccessful again. But we enjoyed a conversation with some elk in the first snowfall of the season on Wallowa wolf country, August 29, 2010.

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