Olympic National Park
After an overnight in the fairgrounds in Port Townshend, we drove across the peninsula to park at the Ozette Triangle trailhead. This would be the start of a...
#backpacking
Backpacking Gear list
Julie and I are planning a backpacking trip into Cedar Mesa for spring 2025 with some friends and family, and folks are interested in our equipment list. Her...
Chile and Patagonia Trip Summary
I took a trip in March of 2025 to Chile and Patagonia to enjoy some South American magic with friends.
Chileno to Torres to the End
Our last day on the O circuit at Torres del Paine was glorious.
Los Cuernos to Chileno
I feel like we are at the hub of Torres del Paine, camped at our final destination of Chileno.
Paine Grande to Los Cuernos
Let’s begin with the end.
Grey to Paine Grande
I’m in my tent at 7:44pm with moderate rain falling and ready to talk about another awesome day.
Los Perros to Grey via Gardner Pass
What a day! We are worn out, but in that great way where you’ve worked so hard to see so much.
Dickson to Los Perros
Not the most scenic hike, but still incredible for the payoff at the end.
About the Refugios at Torres del Paine
We’ve stayed at three refugios now so I can share some insights.
Serón to Dickson
I’m in my tent on Sunday night at Camp Dickson, listening to the medium heavy rain falling down.
O Circuit - Start to Serón
We finished our first day on the Torres del Paine O-Circuit, starting from the bus drop and hiking along the Paine River to Serón camp.
In Puerto Natales
We’ve arrived, I’m waiting for Karen’s plane to get here in the terminal.
Training Hikes
I head to Chile next week for a bit of tourism in Santiago and then a week of backpacking in Patagonia: the O circuit in Torres del Paine. Julie and I have b...
Philmont 2012 Trip Summary
Back in 2012 my family had a culminating boy scouts adventure to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM. I compiled a summary for future reference. Philmon...
Backpacking the Superstitions, Day 3
Breakfast at camp Back to the real world. After a windy breakfast we broke camp and finished our baby-rattle shaped trip with a new route back along the Du...
Backpacking the Superstitions, Day 2
Camp in the morning Today we left our camp setup and tidy and embarked on a 10+ mile hike around Bluff Spring Mountain.
Backpacking the Superstitions, Day 1
View of peaks near our campsite We are in the Tonto wilderness for a while east of Phoenix, returning to an area we enjoyed hiking to get a deeper look whi...
Escalante: Backpacking Coyote Gulch
We are in love with Coyote Gulch. This hike earned a “top 5 ever” list for us, and we were actually hard pressed to list four hikes we’ve done that were be...
Backpacking the Three Sisters
One reason I stopped coaching football this year was to open up some fall Oregon outdoor adventures that I've had to skip for the past 12 years or so. Th...
Grand Canyon Backpacking - Days 4 and 5
Our concluding days in the canyon were some of the most relaxing we've ever had. It was a short, mostly flat 7 mile hike from Cottonwood camp to Bright Ang...
Grand Canyon Backpacking - Day 3
Day 3 was our planned "big day": a day hike from Cottonwood Camp up to the north rim, then to the vacated Lodge, then back down to camp. By day hike I mean ...
Grand Canyon Backpacking - Days 1 & 2
Our five day Grand Canyon backpacking adventure began on the South Kaibab trail. We caught the 8am hiker express shuttle at the Backcountry Office where we ...
Backpacking Fish and Owl Canyons
Our first true backpacking trip on this long journey was at Fish and Owl Canyons in Cedar Mesa. We chose this because (1) new to us and (2) it is known to h...
Backpacking Halls Creek Narrows
Tuesday through Thursday this week we dropped into Halls Creek canyon along the Capitol Reef Waterpocket Fold. We hiked in the first day to setup camp, the...
Philmont 2012 - Planning and Getting There
This is the first in a series of posts about our trip to Philmont Scout Ranch this summer. We had an amazing trip -- a family adventure to remember and one ...
Off to Philmont
We are headed to Denver today to start our 95 mile backpacking adventure to Philmont. Two days in Denver then we hop on a charter bus down to Cimarron NM.
Backpacking the Four Lakes Trail
Last month we did our last training hike in preparation for 10 days / 96 miles at Philmont starting in late July. We had a small crowd this time -- only fiv...
Backpacking the Eagle Creek - Benson Loop
Last weekend about 19 of us from from Troop 224 in Sherwood, OR ventured to the Columbia Gorge for an overnight backpacking trip on the Eagle Creek / Benson ...