Mountaintop adventures
Jan 24, 2025
We arrived at Ecuador‘s Cotacachi-Cayapas National Park for a quick hike around the gorgeous Cuicocha Lake. We unloaded our bus, fresh from trundling up the hillside above Otavalo in the Andean Highlands north of Quito. The park was almost entirely empty on this drizzly Friday in late-January—quiet, moody, and ours to explore.
Continue reading “Cuicocha Lake Loop”
Jan 23, 2025
In January 2025 I joined a guided trip to summit some of the Ecuador’s tallest volcanoes. Typically, getting to a 19,000′ summit involves a lot of time huddled in tents, rehydrating freeze dried dinners, and staring at endless snow and ice. But climbing in Ecuador would not involve any of this “fun.” The benign climate of the equator meant we could acclimate in cities and relaxing haciendas at progressively higher altitudes. And we wouldn’t be dealing with any snow or ice until the “summit days” themselves.
Continue reading “Ruku Pichincha”
October 8, 2022
I arrived around sunrise at an empty Ketatahi Park and Ride. Several other hikers pulled in as I waited for our 7 am shuttle to Mangatepopo trailhead. But the massive car park would remain largely empty throughout the day. Early October was hardly “high season” for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. And shuttle service was still fairly limited.
Continue reading “Tongariro Alpine Crossing”
May 18, 2022
I drove into the Lake Myvatn area of northeast Iceland on a moody, mid-May morning. After touring some belching, sulfurous thermal vents, I headed over to Hverfjall Crater for the day’s only ‘proper hike‘.
Continue reading “Hverfjall Crater Rim Hike”
November 28, 2021
The United States has no shortage of amazing, beautiful volcanoes. And some of them, while dormant, are very much not extinct. Some have erupted within the past century.
All that said, you shouldn’t visit most of these places expecting to see a molten lake of lava. Unless of course, you are visiting Kīlauea! Kīlauea has been erupting, nearly continuously, for the past 40 years. As luck would have it, I found myself on the Big Island of Hawaii at an opportune moment to witness its fresh, spewing lava first-hand. (The name Kīlauea in fact means “spewing”).
Continue reading “Kīlauea Iki Trail (Hawaii Volcanoes NP)”
November 27, 2021
I arrived well before dawn at the Mauna Kea visitor’s center, roughly 9200′ above sea level. The complex sits six miles off the “saddle road” between the island’s two main population centers: Hilo and Kona. I parked in the empty lot, donned my backpack, and headed off for the Humu’ula Trail.
Continue reading “Mauna Kea via the Humu’ula Trail”
August 23, 2020, Sun Notch Trailhead
I spent a day last August exploring Crater Lake National Park en route to Bend Oregon. After a sunrise hike to Garfield Peak, I began a drive along East Rim Drive. A recent spate of wildfires had left the lake quite smokey, and sightlines would continue to deteriorate into midday. Beyond this COVID-19 had dashed any plans of taking a boat tour around the lake. But some other short hikes were still on the docket, including this little gem!
Continue reading “Sun Notch Trail towards Phantom Ship (Crater Lake NP)”
Aug 23, 2020, Rim Village
I arrived just before sunset to Rim Village, having driven that day north from the Bay Area. The summer and Fall of 2020 will forever be known for two things on the West Coast: COVID and fires. Evidence of the latter hung in the air over Crater Lake, which seemed visibly thick with smoke. I felt as though I were standing on the edge of a massive cauldron.
Continue reading “Garfield Peak (Crater Lake NP)”
August 22, 2020, Lava Beds National Monument
Imagine the state of California in your head. Picture its shape on a map. Now try to think about the corner of the state you’ve likely spent the least time even considering the existence of. Congratulations: You now know where to find Lava Beds National Monument.
Continue reading “Spelunking in Lava Beds National Monument”
July 12, 2020, Devil’s Postpile National Monument
I drove the winding roadway towards the Devil’s Postpile National Monument around the crack of dawn. I had spent Saturday mountain biking at Mammoth ski area, staying overnight right near the main base. As luck would have it, the roadway to Devil’s Postpile runs right past the base lodge, underneath the gondola. The road promptly narrows from a standard 2-way state highway to a winding, unstriped mountain adventure. And the views from this drive are nothing short of stunning. Jagged stone peaks rose up from the rolling hills of conifers, snowfields, and rushing waters—the Eastern Sierras in mid-summer!
Continue reading “Devil’s Postpile and Rainbow Falls (Mammoth Lakes)”