Honestly Everest seems like such a vanity thing nowadays. Just looks terrible. That’s just my own personal opinion though.
this looks like a dream day minus the ankle roll, just out hiking with a dog at the lake and going for a swim. Wish I got to do this more in life.
I need to explore more of Idaho, always just been turned off by the chud horror stories. My buddy just moved to Spokane, maybe I'll visit him this summer.
Could be such an elite state. Much like Utah, Wyoming and Montana. Awesome nature but just not as fun to visit
I agree with wanting see more of Idaho. Been to the Sawtooths but I’d love to explore more there and see a place like Lake Coeur De’Alene My cousin lives in Sun Valley I have to assume there are pockets of Idaho like Oregon, Washington, and California that are blue rather than red.
Northern ID is great because there aren’t many people when you go hiking or camping . I came across one girl from New Hampshire and a local woman the entire day. The hiking is never an issue. You will shake your head at the people and places you drive by to get to a trailhead, but I have never had an issue with anyone on a trail. coeur d’alene and Sandpoint have a ton of money and affluent people both from western US and coastal regions and from Canada. Sandpoint actually somehow has a liberal mayor. There are plenty of non Covid spreader spots around. You will absolutely encounter chuds and Trump signs, but it’s not like you will get egged for driving a Subaru or wearing Patagonia gear.
I really, really question people that complain about Coeur d’Alene or Sandpoint as some redneck racist utopia if they ever been anywhere for a substantive period of time away from a dark blue bubble. I could live there but I don’t want to as well because of the people. I still visit multiple times a year if not a month because it’s gorgeous and always makes for a nice day trip or hike within an hour of there.
I'd been dreading Cormac McCarthy's death for a few years. And had been planning on getting out into nature at my earliest convenience after the news hit I left work early, ran home, ate 50 MG and took the bus over to Mt Elden. Brought my copy of Blood Meridian and read my favorite passages for an hour or so. Nice afternoon collecting my thoughts and a good way to honor his memory iyam Spoiler
spent the day reading and hiking at Petrified Forest National Park. Awesome badlands area. Geologic features on the Colorado Plateau >>> Blue Forest Trail was really cool. Heavy Blood Meridian vibes Spoiler
Cornelius Suttree how hot is it where you generally hike? Doesn't look like much, if any, water sources. Guessing if you backpacked you would have to bring a ton of h2o.
thankfully Northern AZ doesn't get as hot as Tucson, Phoenix or Yuma, which is part of why the day hiking is so great. It didn't get into the 90s once last summer in Flagstaff (#blessed). Sedona is consistently in the 90s from June-August and the sun is intense, but it feels incredible in the morning there. Hiking below the rim of the Grand Canyon can be suicidal during the summer if you don't have lots of water (many of the sources there are contaminated by like arsenic and uranium) since it often exceeds 100 down there. But at the rim it's normally the same weather as Flagstaff as far as American cities go, Sante Fe and Flagstaff have the best weather I've experienced outside the CA coast
I did 3 days/2 nights in Yosemite a few years ago in October, everything was completely dried up. Had to bring like 8 liters (two full platypus and two full nalgenes) and hiked the last 2 hours out the last day with no water. That weight was absolutely miserable. Best part about hiking in WA is you never have to bring water. Streams and lakes full of glacier water errywhere.
Summer 2020, when Covid first hit, was probably the best summer of my life. Spent pretty much every weekend in the mountains – there was a period of like 5-6 weeks in August-September where I slept more nights in a tent than in my bed. I’ve been chasing that high the past two years, but life gets in the way. Getting back to it this year with the summer I’ve curated in British Columbia. For the next 10 weeks, I have every weekend planned: Seven overnighters, three day-hike summit attempts. Will calm down in September-October once the weather starts to turn, but have some fun stuff planned then as well. Then leave on November 26 for four-weeks in Patagonia with a buddy, several multi-night treks booked. This will be the Summer of Nug: July 1: St. Mark’s Summit/West Lion’s Head, just north of Vancouver (day hike) July 7: Backcountry reservations at Watersprite Lake in Garibaldi Park, halfway between Squamish and Whistler (2 days/1 night) July 14 – 17: drive into WA for a golf tournament, camping with buddies in the North Cascades Saturday and Sunday night July 22: last weekend in Vancouver, something along Sea to Sky highway July 28: Wedgemount Lake/Wedgemount Glacier (last day hike) August 4: Brandywine Meadows/summit Brandywine Mountain/scope out Alcoholic Traverse (2 days/1 night) August 11: Backcountry reservations at Rampart Lakes (3 days/2 nights) August 18: Backcountry reservations at Russet Lake/summit Whistler and/or Overland Mountain (3 days/2 nights) August 25: Backcountry reservations at Garibaldi Lake/summit Black Tusk (3 days/2 nights) September 1 -4: Alcoholic Traverse, 4 days/3 nights mountaineering trek Buddy gets married in the San Juan Islands in mid-September and it will be a rowdy one. Then back to BC for the shoulder season and get a few more in.
That looks like a perfect itinerary. Have done St Mark's before. Extremely beautiful and well marked except for last mile where you can lose track in snow. Vancouver in the summer is like the most perfect place on Earth iyam.
From late June to early/mid October the entire Pacific Northwest is heaven. It's just such a small window.
Forgot that July 4 was on a Tuesday. Going to wake up Monday morning and go 5,000 ft into the alpine for a one-nighter https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/golden-ears-trail?u=i LFG!!!
Brunswick Mountain at 5,800 ft. We basically parked at sea level so gained 5,500 ft over 6 miles Lots of scrambling, a pretty exposed ridgewalk for about 20 ft, gorgeous views. Spoiler https://youtube.com/shorts/MVysUmjS4yg?feature=share
Did this last night. Hiked in 7.5 miles and about 4,000 ft, slept at 5,000 ft. Sunset was unreal Spoiler Cool time lapse: I camped right below Golden Ears summit, the tallest peak in these photos Spoiler
Woke up this morning and summited, another 1,000 ft through a snow field and then a fun scramble to the top. A little hazy but still incredible. Spoiler Don't know what I did but this looks like a painting: Spoiler
Heading into the mountains again for an overnighter for what will be 5 out of the last 8 days in the mountains. First alpine lake of the season: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/watersprite-lake-summer-route?u=i
Easy Friday night trip. Drove into Squamish, got to campsite about 7, drank some beers and read until sunset. Spoiler Cornelius Suttree reading some elite fiction from lakeside Spoiler Woke up early this AM, did some yoga glamour shots, took a cold plunge, hiked out. Back home by 3:00 Spoiler
Pretty epic one this weekend, 3 days/2 nights. 1st night on the PCT, second day summited Mt Daniel and slept at a very remote lake. Hike into Peggy's Pond which sits under Cathedral Rock: Spoiler Wake up the next morning and go from about 5,400 to just under 8,000 ft: Drop packs and go to Mount Daniel, which is one of the highest peaks in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness - this bad boi: Spoiler Snow field we had to cross on way to summit: Spoiler 2nd night's lake and campsite: Spoiler
The above post is from July 2021, we summited the tallest peak in those pictures. Was a lot of scrambling, but not very exposed. Took about 2 hours, so much damn fun. Final push to the summit: Spoiler Some of the best pictures I've taken with my cell phone. Venus lake and Spade lake right below, Mt Rainier in the distance, Mt Adams to the left: Spoiler Mt Baker to the left, Glacier Mountain to the right: Spoiler You could see 4 of the 5 WA volcanoes from the summit:
Want to do a multi night hike in October for my 40th bday. Can't take off too much time at work so looking to stay close to NC area. Any suggestions? I googled "AT section hikes in NC" but didn't get good results. I've only done loop trails before and only experienced single nighters. Want to identify something that looks good to "tackle"
Have a friend that lives in Asheville (not Room 15 ) and am thinking about visiting her in the fall, found this trek that I'd love to do: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/north-carolina/art-loeb-trail--2
A lot of people emphasize it kicks your ass. I am kinda into that though because I want to feel like I'm still fit at 40. Thanks, this is pretty much what I'm looking for
I have not done it because I'm not a big fan of sleeping outside, but I have hiked up to most of the points of interest. The AT through Great Smoky Mountains NP is popular. You get to some real cool places like Charlies Bunion, Clingmans Dome, the actual Rocky Top, Spence Field, Gregory's Bald, Mt Cammerer, Shuckstack Firetower. I think it takes about five days. You would need someone to pick you up at the end or leave a car. One end is on I-40 very near the state line and the other is at Fontana Dam. You could also cut it in half and stop at Newfound Gap or Clingmans Dome.
The Foothills Trail is what you’re looking for. It’s in awesome shape and a “through hike” you can do in a week.
Go with someone who knows what they're doing and do all the training you can. Good idea is to try and do 10-15 miles on the treadmill, with incline, with 40-50 lbs, either in a backpack or weighted vest (assuming you can't hit up routes around you).
Another epic one in the books. Friday afternoon drove up to Pemberton, about 30-45 min north of Whistler, camped at the trailhead. Woke up and hiked 8 miles and 4,000 ft into camp, chilled Saturday afternoon into evening. Spoiler Woke up yesterday and did another 2,500 ft over a little under 2 miles, big time scrambling, mostly class 3 with some class 4 exposure in places. Was a blast. Had to go up a huge incline then across a huge boulder field for like 2 hours. Spoiler Final push to the summit. So much damn fun. Spoiler
Fucking terrible. The mosquitos in BC have been some of the worst I've ever encountered. If I'm outside the tent I'm wearing my bug net. It's the best $10 camping investment I've made in a while. If you're wearing this they're a bit annoying, but not too bad.
Worst bugs I've ever encountered were at an alpine lake in WA. Mosquitos and biting flies both. I still have the white long sleeve shirt they'd bite me through that has little blood stains all over it. Fuckers.
Love living in the mountains so much. "Taking it easy" or "being lazy" entails doing the same 6-10 mile hikes with several thousand feet of elevation gain without having to drive more than 15-25 minutes Been doing Mt Elden, O'Leary Peak and AB Young a bunch lately Spoiler Spoiler
Spoiler Highlight of the past month has definitely been Monument Valley. Easy to tell why it's so sacred to the Navajo Spoiler
Staying in town this weekend after 4 straight weekends sleeping in a tent, but did a nice hike up to the Chief in Squamish. 2,100 ft in about 1.5 miles, good burn. And the trailhead is a 5 minute drive from my place. Spoiler