Tag: backpacking
-
Capitol Peak – The Harder Way
Capitol Peak is widely regarded as Colorado’s hardest 14er. After summiting this beautiful and horrifying mountain and coming safely back to earth, I finally see why it holds that superlative. I wish this was a simple tale of taking the standard route, “only” a Class 4 scramble, but my friend Ryan and I chose to…
-
A Taste of Van Life: Climbing, Hiking, and a Desert Wedding
July kicked off with a bang! Three commitments lined up for an adventurous and fun filled week: a pair of friends were celebrating birthdays with a local climbing trip, our PCT friends were coming to Colorado to backpack, and a couple was getting married in the New Mexico desert. There was quite a bit of…
-
From the PCT to NM – The Pecos Wilderness and Beyond
On our first day of the Pacific Crest Trail, Maggie and I briefly met another couple, Bennett and Gina. We ended up leap-frogging each other all the way to Crater Lake, hanging out together in a handful of trail towns, and building a budding friendship. They even hosted us in Chicago when Maggie and I…
-
Rim to Rim to Rim – The Grand Canyon
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2026: Significant flash flooding in Bright Angel Canyon destroyed bridges which make R2R2R possible. See this NPS news release. Also, the Dragon Bravo fire of 2025 destroyed much of the forest and infrastructure on the North Rim. Check the NPS Grand Canyon website for the current status of closures before making plans to…
-
So Long and Thanks for all the Adventures, Salida
I could see my time in Colorado coming to a close. I had received a job offer to return to Los Alamos National Lab. I tried to avoid this possibility, but it was a job I knew I could do which came with benefits and a good salary. After six months of job searching, I…
-
Old Stompin’ Grounds, New Adventures – New Mexico
Maggie and I explored a good portion of New Mexico in the three years we lived there. Even so, it is thrilling to look at a map and find there is yet more to do. Fired up by the recent backpacking trip in Montana, I felt compelled to get out and explore new places in…
-
A Glacial Confluence – Glacier National Park
I was hoping to have a job by July or August, but despite my job hunting efforts, I was still drifting through the summer. Maggie and I talked on the phone almost every night. As it became clear that my job prospects were still months out, Maggie convinced me to fly up to Montana for…
-
Dune Cool Stuff With Cool People – Great Sand Dunes National Park
1 June 2023 It’s hard to express the bond formed between thru hikers. Even though Maggie and I rarely spent more than a handful of days with the friends we made on the PCT, there is something special about the shared experience. When I got a text from Noodle that he was passing through Salida,…
-
The Gravity of Canyonlands
In our down time this past spring, Maggie and I decided to sign up for a Wilderness First Responder (WFR, or “woofer“) course. Maggie needed to renew her WFR certification ahead of starting a ranger position with the National Park Service, and I had been thinking about taking the course for quite some time. When…
-
Taking it Easy & Hiking Hard – Torres del Paine Day 5-6
At Camp Grey, Maggie and I only had 31 miles of trail left on the O circuit. Our itinerary split that nicely into two halves: seven miles to Paine Grande Camp, followed by twenty four miles to the car. We leaned into the relaxation on our easy day, then pushed hard to finish the trek…