Juneau didn’t give us whales — just eight-foot seas and a cancelled sightseeing tour — so we took what we had and headed for the Perseverance Trail. Kat told me about her recent climb in the Tetons, and honestly, she’s a baddie in so many ways. Walking beside her through moss-covered boulders and narrow caverns made the detour feel like its own kind of adventure.

We moved along the trail calling out “hey bear, bear!” every few minutes, half joking, half serious. It became part of the day's rhythm. We followed the sound of waterfalls, wandered off the main path, and stopped to photograph mushrooms tucked into the damp bark of fallen trees. Nothing rushed. Nothing polished. Just exploring because we could.

The people we met along the way added to it — two local guys pointing us toward hidden falls, an older man with his loyal hunting dog, each of them warm and genuinely welcoming.

These photos are pieces of that day: the detours, the laughter, the mist, and the quiet kind of adventure that stays with you.