Trip Reports

What better way to blow out the end of the season than backpacking with the man himself? I recently returned from a guided trip just outside the town of Escalante in southern Utah led by Andrew Skurka and Christy Rosander. Over the course of five days we explored the high desert, slickrock passes (slickrock being the sandstone equivalent of granite and not the least bit slick), and the massive slot canyon Death Hollow (quite possibly my favorite day of hiking ever). We also saw natural arches and bridges, native cave art and pottery shards, an assortment of waterfalls, incredible sunsets, [...]

Three weeks after an unexpected injury sidelined me from my initial attempt I successfully completed the loop around Mount Saint Helens. The Loowit Trail is a 30-mile loop around Mount Saint Helens, an active volcano in southwestern Washington State which famously blew its top in 1980. The northern half of the trail crosses the "blast zone", a slowly-recovering volcanic wasteland where off-trail travel and overnight camping are prohibited. No permit is required and the trail is indirectly accessible via several "feeder" trails, with most hikers starting from either the Climber's Bivouac or June Lake trailheads on the south side of [...]

An erosional canyon formed by the Muddy River The Loowit Trail is a 26-mile loop circumnavigating Mount Saint Helens, which famously erupted in 1980, in southwestern Washington State. It's been on my bucket list for the past few years and earlier this month I made my first attempt. Unfortunately it was also the first trip I've had to cut short in recent memory due to injury. The northern face of the mountain was destroyed in the eruption and the devastated area immediately north of it is known as the blast zone. Although slowly recovering, it is, for the most part, [...]

Oh My Goodness This trip was an astrophotography bonanza. Davis Peak sits just north of the intersection of the Cle Elum and Waptus Rivers, about a mile-and-a-half past where state highway 903 ends at the Salmon la Sac campground in central Washington. The 20%-grade trail switchbacks straight up the southern ridgeline for four miles before leveling out at the foundation of an old fire lookout. A short distance to the west lies a craggy central summit, past which progress can only be made by scrambling. I embarked on an overnight to take advantage of the new moon for astrophotography and [...]

Mount Stuart from Red Mountain Third time's a charm. After two previous forays along Red Mountain Trail #1330 I finally managed to reach the ridge and then followed it north to the summit. Approach valley The trail ascends a southwestern valley with a steep southern wall, meaning that it receives minimal sun exposure. As a result, even in early July there are still large patches of snow out in the open and there were still 2 to 3 feet of snow on the ground above 5,400 feet in the final climb to the ridge. The trail itself went from almost [...]

Diamond Lake Yesterday I went on a day hike along Polallie Ridge, which separates the Waptus River and Cooper River valleys in central Washington. The goal was to reach the site of an old fire lookout just shy of Waptus Pass and then try to summit Cone Mountain. I'd noticed Cone's formidable eastern face while backpacking to Waptus Lake. After examining a map of the area post-trip I noticed that the western side of the mountain wasn't even a face at all, it was a flat expanse filling the space between the summit block and Polallie Ridge. Although satellite imagery [...]