Trip Reports (Backpacking & Trekking)

Photo journals from some of my outdoor photography adventures.

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Backpacking in the Superstition Mountains, Arizona
Backpacking in the Superstition Mountains, Arizona
March 2018

After our time in the Kofa Mountains in March, we drove east through Phoenix and immediately embarked on a two-night backpack trip through part of the Superstition Mountains. We hiked a clockwise loop from the Peralta Trailhead around the prominent Weavers Needle spire via the Peralta and Dutchman's Trails...

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Kofa Mountains, Arizona
Kofa Mountains, Arizona
March 2018

In the remote Sonoran desert of southwest Arizona rises a rugged volcanic mountain range called the Kofa Mountains. The mountains are named after the King of Arizona mine located in the center of range, from which millions of dollars worth of gold and silver were extracted in the early 1900s...

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Salt Creek, Canyonlands NP, Utah
Salt Creek, Canyonlands NP, Utah
November 2017

In early November a friend and I backpacked about 30 miles through Salt Creek and the Peakaboo Trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. This canyon is renowned for its numerous Ancient Puebloan ruins and pictographs; in fact I've never seen so many ruins outside of the Cedar Mesa area!

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Highlights from 2 Months of Backpacking in Colorado
Highlights from 2 Months of Backpacking in Colorado
August/September 2017

For all of August and September 2017, my wife and I lived out of our truck and tent while traveling around and backpacking in our great state of Colorado. We did over a dozen backpacking trips in various mountain ranges throughout the state, including the Flat Tops, Gore Range, Sawatch Range, San Juans, Sangre de Cristos, and Indian Peaks...

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Autumn Backpacking in Northern Colorado
Autumn Backpacking in Northern Colorado
September 2017

In mid-to-late September we went on a bunch of short backpacking and camping trips in various central/north mountain ranges of Colorado, including the Sawatch Range, Gore Range, Indian Peaks, and Rocky Mountain National Park...

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Crestone Needle & Humboldt, Sangre de Cristos, Colorado
Crestone Needle & Humboldt, Sangre de Cristos, Colorado
September 2017

In late August/early September, we spent five days camped at South Colony Lakes in the Sangre de Cristo range in Colorado. Surrounded by three 14ers, including the rugged Crestone Needle towering directly overhead, this basin is supremely awesome -- one of the classic gems of Colorado...

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Hanging Around Huron Peak, Colorado
Hanging Around Huron Peak, Colorado
August 2017

In mid-August we backpacked around the headwaters of the South Fork Clear Creek near Huron Peak in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness and Sawatch Range of Colorado. The last time I hiked in this area was back in 2008, but this time we hiked the long way in here from the south from Taylor Park and Texas Creek, via the Continental Divide Trail and a high pass above Lake Ann...

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Exploring the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Exploring the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
August 2017

In early August we set out into the Holy Cross Wilderness (in the Sawatch Range of Colorado generally between Vail and Leadville) for a 3-night backpack trek. We spent our first night at the super popular Missouri Lakes then explored an off trail route over a high ridgeline to a remote and pristine lake where we spent the second day and night...

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Mount Powell, Gore Range, Colorado
Mount Powell, Gore Range, Colorado
August 2017

In early August we backpacked into the rugged north end of the Gore Range and Eagles Nest Wilderness for three nights. We hiked the Upper Piney River Trail for while, branched off on a faint boot trail then camped the first night in the high basin below Mount Powell and Kneeknocker Pass...

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Over the Dachstein, Austria
Over the Dachstein, Austria
July 2017

The final destination of our three-week northern limestone Alps tour was the Dachstein mountain range of Austria. Starting from near the Südwandhütte, above the lovely village of Ramsau on the south side of the range, we hiked for three days around and over the Dachstein to the famous village of Hallstatt on the north side, via the Hofpürglhütte, Adamek-Hütte, and Simony Hütte...

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Trek Around Watzmann - Berchtesgaden, Germany
Trek Around Watzmann - Berchtesgaden, Germany
July 2017

Berchtesgaden is a famous Bavarian mountain resort town in southeast Germany. If you look at a map of Germany, the Berchtesgaden area is the little protrusion at the bottom that’s almost totally surrounded by Austria...

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Wilder Kaiser, Austria
Wilder Kaiser, Austria
July 2017

After our trek in the Karwendel we took a bus and train to the town of Kufstein, stocked up on some snacks, and started hiking into the Kaisergebirge, a small but incredibly rugged mountain range that rivals just about anything in the Dolomites as far as sheer jaggedness goes...

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Hut Trekking through the Karwendel, Austria
Hut Trekking through the Karwendel, Austria
July 2017

Over the course of 5 days in early July, we hiked from west to east below the jagged spine of the Karwendel range just north of Innsbruck, Austria - from the villages of Scharnitz to Pertisau, via the Karwendelhaus, Falkenhütte, Eng Alm, and Lamsenjochhaus...

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An Evening at Lake Blanche, Wasatch Range, Utah
An Evening at Lake Blanche, Wasatch Range, Utah
July 2017

In early June we did a quick overnight backpack hike from Big Cottonwood Canyon to Lake Blanche and Sundial Peak, in the Twin Peaks Wilderness of the Wasatch Range in Utah. Though the wind was relentless during our stay, we had fun exploring this lovely basin and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset and moonrise above the lake...

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Backpacking in Grand Gulch, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah
Backpacking in Grand Gulch, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah
May 2017

At the end of May we spent three days hiking through the upper portion of Grand Gulch, in Cedar Mesa, Utah. This was the third time I’ve backpacked in Grand Gulch, but the first since the area was designated as part of Bears Ears National Monument by President Obama in 2016...

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Mount Robson & Berg Lake, BC, Canada
Mount Robson & Berg Lake, BC, Canada
September 2016

The trek to Berg Lake and Mount Robson is one of the most famous backpacking treks in the Canadian Rockies, and one that was high on our backpacking wish list. But when we drove through Jasper on our way north in July, we were disappointed to discover that the backcountry permits there were 100% reserved...

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Backpacking in the Tombstones, Yukon
Backpacking in the Tombstones, Yukon
September 2016

The Tombstone Range is a small but spiky mountain range located in the northern Yukon in Canada, almost up by the Arctic Circle. I have been dreaming of visiting and photographing these remote mountains since I first saw some photos of them almost 20 years ago...

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A View of Denali from Kesugi Ridge, Alaska
A View of Denali from Kesugi Ridge, Alaska
August 2016

In mid-August after looking at rainy forecasts in Alaska for weeks, there was finally a one-day window of sun in the weather forecast. We high-tailed it towards Denali and went on a quick one-night backpack trip up Kesugi Ridge, in Denali State Park just across the valley from Denali National Park...

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Backpacking in Kluane National Park, Yukon
Backpacking in Kluane National Park, Yukon
August 2016

After hiking up King's Throne near Kathleen Lake, we were starting to get excited about the possibility of doing a backpacking trip in Kluane National Park. (Pronounced: "clue on ee"). Plus, we still had a pretty good weather forecast in the Haines Junction and Kluane area of southwest Yukon, while all of Alaska still looked rainy...

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Backpacking in the Height of the Rockies, Canada
Backpacking in the Height of the Rockies, Canada
July 2016

In July we drove over the border into British Columbia, Canada and headed east towards the Height of the Rockies Provincial Park in eastern BC. The trek I had in mind is a somewhat obscure one involving several hours of driving along dirt forestry roads to access a seldom traveled trail which eventually fades into a convoluted off-trail routefinding adventure, finally arriving at a spectacular series of high lakes in a rugged glaciated basin...

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Alpine Lakes Wilderness Trek, Washington
Alpine Lakes Wilderness Trek, Washington
July 2016

In mid July after having done two backpack trips on the Olympic Peninsula, we were excited to do some more in the Cascades; however, most of the treks we had researched in the central and northern Cascades were still snowbound on the higher passes and lakes...

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High Divide Loop, Olympic Peninsula, Washington
High Divide Loop, Olympic Peninsula, Washington
July 2016

Mount Olympus is the king of the Olympus Peninsula in Washington; laden with thick glaciers, the 7,980 foot peak soars above the surrounding rainforest valleys. Some of the finest views to be had of this remote mountain are from the High Divide trail which follows a high ridge opposite the Hoh River valley — that is, when the notorious Olympic Peninsula rain stops long enough to see it...

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Olympic Peninsula Coastal Trek, Washington
Olympic Peninsula Coastal Trek, Washington
June 2016

At the end of June we did a 4-day backpacking trek up the wild coast of the Olympic Peninsula from Rialto Beach to Sand Point, in Olympic National Park.  This was a fairly demanding hike with many rugged and rocky headlands that could only be passed at low tide, along with the ever present coastal fog and rain...

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The Cursed Mountains - a trek through the Prokletije, Montenegro and Albania
The Cursed Mountains - a trek through the Prokletije, Montenegro and Albania
July 2015

Forming a natural border between Montenegro and Albania is a jagged spine of mountains called the Prokletije in Montenegran and the Bjeshkët e Namuna in Albanian. Both names translate to “cursed mountains”, likely due to their foreboding vertical spires, deep winter snows, and inhospitable ruggedness...

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