Tag Archives: Featured

Alps, Hut-to-hut walks, Italy, September, Switzerland

Tour of the Bernina

After hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc in 2018, we were eager to complete another long hut-to-hut circuit in the Alps. For this, we again prioritized fantastic scenery and comfortable huts. We also hoped to visit a quieter set of huts and trails than the Tour du Mont Blanc and to visit a different part of the Alps. After considering many routes, we decided on the Tour of the Bernina, circling the Piz Bernina massif on the Swiss-Italian border. We hiked our 90-mile route in 10 days.

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Square Top and the Green River
August, Backpacking, Wyoming

Exploring the Green River in the Wind River Range

On our 2020 and 2021 trips to the Wind River Range, we explored the central and southern ends of the range. For 2022, we decided to visit the northern end of the range. On this trip, we entered at the Green River Lakes trailhead and spent five stunning days on the trail.

The view over the Green River Lakes to Square Top is, for many, one of the four iconic views of the Wind River Range, along with Titcomb Basin, Island Lake and Mount Fremont, and Cirque of the Towers. Less obvious from those photos, though is that not far past the lakes, the trail reaches spectacular meadows and then climbs to a high country of equally magnificent alpine lakes.

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Crater and Jack Mountains from Devil's Dome
August, Backpacking, Washington

Devil’s Dome Loop, North Cascades

In August 2022, we backpacked a new part of the North Cascades for us: the Devil’s Dome Loop on the western edge of the Pasayten Wilderness. We hiked the route clockwise, from the East Bank Trailhead, taking four days and three nights.

This was a stunning loop that took us to parts of the North Cascades we had not visited. We enjoyed excellent weather and beautiful views.

Our total distance, including a side trip, was about 41 miles, and 10,800′ of elevation gain. Trail conditions made the route more difficult than the stats would imply.

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Kyle at Thousand Island Lake
Backpacking, California, Day Hiking, July, Oregon

A Cascades & Sierra Nevada Road Trip

One summer at Cold River Camp, another guest presented on backpacking the Muir Trail and through the Ansel Adams Wilderness. This presentation inspired our summer 2016 backpacking trip from Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley. The image that most stayed in my mind, though, was a sunset photo at Thousand Island Lake.

Kyle & I finally visited in July 2021, stopping at Newberry National Volcanic Monument and Crater Lake National Park on the way there, and Lassen Volcanic National Park on the way back. This made for a one-week road trip with three days of backpacking in the middle.

Compared to the photo that inspired our trip, the sunset over Thousand Island Lake sunset was muted, but it was still excellent.

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Sealy Tarns
Day Hiking, February, Hut-to-hut walks, March, New Zealand

Planning a Hiking Trip on New Zealand’s South Island

For the 2018-2019 academic year, I was on sabbatical. While I was still working, I had a lot more flexibility in when I could travel. New Zealand had been on our to-visit list for a while, but seasons and distance make it hard to visit during a normal year. We took advantage of my flexibility by planning a three-week trip to New Zealand for February and March — late summer / early fall.

Over the years of wanting to visit New Zealand, we had accumulated an extensive list of places we wanted to hike and explore. As we got into planning the details, we narrowed our trip to focus on hiking in the mountains of the South Island (Te Waipounamu). Just that easily filled three weeks.

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View toward Suilven and Quinag from Stac Pollaidh
Day Hiking, May, Scotland

Scotland: Hiking and Whisky

In May 2019, we had the opportunity to return to Scotland for a week of hiking and whisky. Starting in Inverness, we spent the first half of the trip hiking in the northwest Highlands. We then drove down the west coast, took a ferry to Islay, and spend three days visiting distilleries, trying whisky and exploring the island.

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Kyle stands in the pass, looking down at the trail, mountains, and valley.
Day Hiking, Europe, Hut-to-hut walks, July, June, Spain

Picos de Europa: Overview

In June and July 2017, we spent a week hiking in Spain’s spectacular Picos de Europa. The jagged limestone peaks, verdant green pastures, delicious food, and a pleasant stop in Bilbao made for a fantastic trip.

Read below for our notes on planning a trip, getting around, and where to stay, or jump right into our description of the trip:

  1. Bilbao and the drive to Espinama
  2. A three-day, two-night hike on the Central Massif
  3. A rainy stop in Covadonga and Arenas de Cabrales
  4. Hikes from Camarmeña, including the Cares Gorge, back up to the Central Massif, and a bit of the Western Massif

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Kyle and a succulent, with a vibrant pink bloom, along the Rota Vicentina.
Cities, Europe, March, Multi-day walks, Portugal

Southwest Portugal Coastal Hiking: Overview

In March 2017, we hiked the Rota Vicentina along the southwestern Portugal coast from Porto Covo to Carrapateira, via sections of the Fisherman’s Trail and Historical Way. This series of posts covers our travel and explorations between the starting point of Lisbon, and our endpoint of Lagos. The Rota Vicentina is a network of official trails that connect the historic fishing villages of the southwest Alentejo region and Vicentina Coast Natural Park.

This post covers the resources we found helpful for trip planning, while subsequent posts describe our travels.

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Copyright Sean Munson & Kyle Wright.