40 miles in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. My first East Coast backpacking trip. Appalachian Trail beauty. Bears, centipedes, a snake and an endangered lizard. Lush dense forests and cascading waterfalls.
Continue reading Central District, Shenandoah National Park.
23 miles in 24 hours. A great ridge-top camp. If lady beetles have a mothership, I camped on it. A gorgeous sunrise and sunset. This tri-canyon traverse along the Great Western Trail (GWT) is a great workout with epic views.
Continue reading Parleys to Big Cottonwood, Great Western Trail
30 miles of adventure, dropping into and climbing out of countless canyons. Expansive rim-top views. Squeezing through a slot canyon. Did I take a wrong turn? This canyon wonderland doesn’t disappoint!
Continue reading Needles District Loop, Canyonlands National Park
A fun-filled 25 miles in the heart of Capitol Reef National Park linking Cohab Canyon, Frying Pan Trail, Grand Wash Trail, Lower Spring Canyon and the Sulphur Creek Route. This loop had a bit of everything: hiking ridgelines with massive vistas, walking dry creek-beds beneath towering sandstone walls, and splashing my way down a creek through a tight red rock gorge. Don’t forget to click on the image albums for bigger photos, there’s some beautiful shots from this trip.
My last days on the CDT for the year. Mixed emotions. One last bodily ailment. Celebration and reflection in Silver City. Thank you for your support. Elevated, over and out.
Continue reading Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, NM to Silver City, NM
Road walking, road walking, road walking. IT band issues. The *spectacular* Middle Fork of the Gila River. Water walking, water walking, water walking. Busted in the buff! Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.
Continue reading Pie Town, NM to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, NM
Picking my way through a giant lava flow. Camping at cliff’s edge on a mesa. Lots of road walking. Uber can’t beat 50c for 20 miles. A pie-eating, crazy-averting and very quirky experience in Pie Town.
100 miles through breathtaking desert landscapes. Water has become a scarce commodity. Summiting Mount Taylor. It’s hot and the spiders are big!
A short 50 mile stretch through the Rio Chama and San Pedro Wilderness areas. My first tarantula. A serene morning camped in a meadow. Do they breed dinosaurs in Cuba?
Wolves howling, coyotes yipping, elk screaming, owls hooting, rifle hunters shooting, a full moon, Ghost Ranch and not a single person anywhere this whole stretch, it must be Halloween and this is the CDT’s haunted house? Horse riding through Georgia O’Keeffe country. Loving the warmer temperatures in New Mexico!
Leadville, a roadtrip and Pagosa Springs. The beautiful South San Juan mountains. Snow detour. Snow ass-kicking. It’s really cold. Where is this damn trail? Coolest trail to town ride yet!
Continue reading Wolf Creek Pass (Pagosa Springs, CO) to Cumbres Pass (Chama, NM)
Beautiful Colorado! Two 14’ers. 10 summits. Sketchy ridgeline scrambling. Epic views. Ski resort row. Fall colors everywhere. Snow in the mountains, again.
Continue reading Berthoud Pass, CO to Tennessee Pass, CO… via lots of ski towns!
Lakeside hiking. Indian Peaks Wilderness and The High Lonesome Trail. Bailing from a snow storm down to Winter Park. This was a really short stretch…
Rabbit Ears Range. Never Summer Wilderness. Rocky Mountain National Park- wow! Stalked by a mountain lion? Grand Lake ice cream binge.
1000 miles and a thank you. Change of plan. A roadtrip. Steamboat Springs, Colorado! What’s next.
140 miles through gorgeous Wyoming! Yellowstone National Park. Snake River Valley. Whiskey with Hojo! The Parting of the Waters. A creepy cowboy. Victory over a tree. Green River Lakes.
Continue reading Yellowstone National Park (Old Faithful, WY) to Green River Lakes (Pinedale, WY)
800 and something miles down and I’ve finally made it to Wyoming! Centennial Mountains. A sheep experiment. Mack’s Inn. Yellowstone National Park.
100 miles. A roller coaster. A can of Coke. It’s really hot and dry! Am I nearly in Wyoming?
Continue reading Bannock Pass to 1-15 (Leadore, Idaho to Lima, Montana)
130 miles along the Montana-Idaho border in the Beaverhead (Montana) and Salmon (Idaho) mountains. Incredible vistas. Victory over thunderstoms. Body ailments continue. Passed my 600 mile mark. Rest in small town Idaho.
Continue reading Montanaho! (Chief Joseph Pass to Bannock Pass)
A cross between Little Cottonwood Canyon and the Uintas, the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness is totally incredible! 20,000ft of ascent and descent. 90 mountain miles. Wildflowers galore. The Idaho border! Trip odometer just shy of 500 miles. Great stretch, except the return of the blisters.
Continue reading Anaconda Pintler Wilderness (Anaconda to Darby)
50 miles in the Helena and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests. Big Sky Country. Amazing trail magic. A remorseless confession. 400 miles down!
Continue reading McDonald Pass to Four Corners (Helena to Anaconda)
65 miles. My first CDT cows! Remote road walking. Longer water carries. Private property to navigate through and around. My feet are now too big for my shoes.
Continue reading Rogers Pass to McDonald Pass (Lincoln to Helena)
An action packed 60 miles in the Scapegoat Wilderness. Incredibly scenic ridgeline walking. A grueling 18 hour, 33 miles day out-walking the arrival of a big storm. Navigating in dark. Give me back the bears, lightning is a thousand times more terrifying!
Continue reading Scapegoat Wilderness (Benchmark Ranch to Rogers Pass)
115 miles of total remoteness, the Chinese Wall, blister hell, blow-downs, thousands of stream crossings and a resupply at Benchmark Ranch.
Continue reading The Bob Marshall Wilderness (Marias Pass to Benchmark Ranch)
Well, I’ve hiked the length of Glacier National Park! The 70 miles from Many Glacier to East Glacier were certainly adventure packed: mountain passes with dramatic views, two super scary Grizzly encounters, getting stuck in a rain/wind storm on Triple Divide Pass and crossing snow on Pitamakan Pass. Continue reading Many Glacier to East Glacier
