Gary Aitken
For the curious, I was born in 1949, but still try to behave like it was 1969.
That gets harder every year, but I haven't resorted to playing shuffleboard yet.
I'm an outdoor-oriented person.
My favorite pastimes range across
horseback riding, hiking, and horsepacking in the mountains;
climbing;
digital photography;
cross-country skiing and snowshoeing;
kayaking and canoeing, white-water or flat-water;
sailing; fly fishing;
scuba diving; and
exploring odd places by about any non-motorized means.
I like bird and animal watching, if I can sit still and stay warm long enough.
I'm trying to play my banjo more.
I'm improving, but then, there's lots of room to improve...
I used to do a fair amount of
backpacking,
downhill powder skiing,
cycle to work,
and play tennis.
Used to because
my back is now somewhat trashed,
there aren't too many tennis courts around here
and I don't have a partner to play with.
I'm somewhat of a computer geek,
my profession since 1967.
There's not a lot here, and the layout stinks;
someday I'll have time to work on that.
A good rainy day project.
You'd think a computer geek would do better,
but there are way to many interesting things going on in the real world
to spend too much time punching keys on a computer anymore.
This site is primarily a means of distribution of photos to friends and family.
Latest Additions
- Grand Nephew Jack and I did some Exploring
- Crazy! We spent a month in Madagascar
- Exploring the Upper Missouri River
- Makoshika and Medicine Rocks State Parks
- We returned to Tanzania with family; it was a treat!
- We rowed the Hunky Dory down the White Cliffs section of the Missouri
- The Tree Platform is mostly done!
- Why one shouldn't buy double-drilled aftermarket wheels
- An Evaluation of the 2019 Subaru Forester
- I went fishing in the headwaters of the Stikine River in central British Columbia.
- We took Hlaing Hlaing to the Bison Range.
- The Humphrey Fellows came up for a day and we went boating on Brown's Lake.
- We took Hlaing Hlaing and Georges to Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge.
- I took advantage of great fall weather to climb with friends in Kootenai Canyon.
- Wow! We spent not enough time exploring Peru.
- My neighbor Tom and I climbed Shoshone Spire in Blodgett Canyon; I took a fall and got a bit banged up.
- We visited Uganda and returned to Tanzania to see Gorillas and Wildflowers and Hike in the Serengeti.
- We took a quick trip to Arkansas to celebrate Joe and Bob's birthdays
- Kurt and Dmitria and I spent a gorgeous fall day climbing at Mill Creek
- Claudine and I climbed Shoshone Spire in Blodgett Canyon
- Dona and I explored SW Australia and chased birds in Papua, Indonesia
- Kurt and I climbed Drip Buttress in Blodgett Canyon
- We marched by the thousands in Helena
- Dona and I explored New Zealand!
- Ian and Jenny visited with Autumn and Hayden
- My Aunt Lynn died
- My friend Claudine and I climbed No Sweat Arete in Mill Creek in the Bitterroot Valley
- I had a great trip down the Green River in Desolation and Gray Canyons with old friends, the Reese family
- Grand Nephews Jack and Sam Came for a Visit
- Climbing at Mulkey Gulch
- Climbing at Smith Rocks, Oregon
- It's been a long while since I took a Trip down the Smith River
- Slides from a Spring 1973 climb of Table Rock, South Carolina
- Slides from a 1972 trip to Table Rock State Park, South Carolina
- The ground just upriver from us was thinned to promote forest health
- Dylan had a soccer match
- Dona and I helped out at the annual Blackfoot Valley Trumpeter Swan release
- Wayne Trzyna and I floated Young's Creek and the South Fork of the Flathead
- We returned to Ecuador with Ram and Dawn for more birds, butterflies and cool stuff, and great soups!
- We visited my family in Colorado for Thanksgiving
- Wow! We spent the whole summer teaching in Namibia!
- We counted Sage Grouse strutting their stuff
- Dona and I went to Tanzania. Wow!
- Dona, Sid and I hiked up Lake Mt.
- The Ovando School had a great Holiday Play
- Aidan and Riley had a school concert
- March visit to Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska to see Sandhill Cranes
- A tree fell on the tree house...
- A Spring Trip to the Bison Range
- Bees, Sailing and Repairs in Belize and Guatemala
- I hiked up Napa Ridge to peak at the other side of Swan Peak.
- Dona and I went for a hike around Clearwater Lk.
- Sid came home on leave and we hiked up Sunday Mt.
- In May 2011 (yeah, I know, I'm slow...) we drove to the east coast
- We took part in the Ram and Dawn Wedding Games!
- Great Grandma Dorthy played in the Springs Kitchen Band
- A Float on the Blackfoot
- A Quick Tour of Belize with Sid
- Blackfoot Valley Swan Reintroduction 2013 Release
- The Ovando School had its traditional May Day Tea
- Sid sailed through Army Basic Training
- Fun Pack Trip in the Bob with Steve, Andrea, Adin and Zia
- We drove to Port Townsend, Washington, to learn something from our neighbor
- Dona and Sid and Max and I hiked part way up Ovando Mountain
- Whoooooooooooeeeee! We visited Borneo, Tasmania, and Hawaii
- It's snowing, and we needed a bridge across the river so we can ski...
- WooHoo! Pack Trip to the Sun River, Chinese Wall, and Prairie Reef
- Pepper Spray and Fatigue -- Comic Relief near Gray Wolf in the Mission Mountains
- Overnight Trip on Bowman Lake in Hunky Dory
- Installing radiant hardwood floors
- Wow! Birding in Ecuador with Ram, Dawn, Joe and Esther
- Spring Float on the Dearborn
- Sledding with Dylan and Mya
- Winter 2009-10 excursion to Honduras
- Pack Trip in Birch Creek Country along Corrugate Ridge
- Sambo's First Pack Trip
- Ride and Hike with the Portland extended family
- Ovando July 4 Parade
- Missouri River Breaks Canoe Trip
- Scapegoat Pack Trip
- Dona and I got married!
- Pictures of dad
- Winter Excursions in Central America (2007 - 2008)
- Looking for Wolves
- A Short Ski up the River
- Hiking in Glacier
- Ian and Trudy visit!
Bear vaults are sold as a great way to protect your food from grizzly bears in the backcountry.
The bears can't open them — great!
It's pretty dang near impossible for people to open them also ... not so great.
Here's how to save your thumbs and maintain wilderness silence by avoiding cursing.
In January, 2019 we bought a new Subaru Forester.
Here's my evaluation of it.
I discovered why one shouldn't purchase double-drilled aftermarket wheels for a vehicle.
When we built a riding arena 25 years ago, we made the mistake of having it insulated.
Here's why you shouldn't do that.
I've mixed ball and poppet style hydraulic couplers for several decades with no problems,
but I recently discovered a situation where ball type male couplers don't work
Pack trips, hikes and float trips in and around Montana.
A few interesting trips done in the past.
Sorry I don't have the good trip pix from the Koktuli, Ongivinuk or Nayorurun (Kashiak Cr.) up;
need to do scan the old slides.
I don't have an underwater camera, so don't look for much here.
Maybe one of these days I will get a housing and learn to take some underwater shots.
My professional life has consisted pretty much of computing,
if you don't count the time I was raising sheep.
But I was computing then, too.
Miscellaneous
Pictures of Dad
Pictures of Aunt Lynn
Pictures at Christi's after Rick died
