Category Archives: Hiking

Overkill!

This represents the first ‘lengthy’ video I’ve done in quite a while. After roughly a year of considerable slacking, and the associated accumulation of interesting footage, I decided enough was enough. No point in owning two GoPros and two expensive point-and-shoots without ever doing anything cool with the footage. In the end, this video uses on the the Hero 3 Black and HD Hero footage – the rest of the stills I’m saving for subsequent projects.

One of my goals for this project was to collect up all of the clips which were cool but did not really warrant a standalone treatment. Additionally, I really wanted to focus on quality over quantity. I settled on a thematically appropriate soundtrack which was only moderately long and lent itself to the ‘story’ being told. With the intent of producing what is essentially a mashup of miscellaneous old footage, a moderately long soundtrack should let me cram in a lot of random stuff without feeling the need to add filler or fade out the music after I’ve run our of exciting footage. The numerous ‘false endings’ provide the ability to naturally segment the clips and offer some periodic changes in tempo. Also, it’s Motorhead. Seriously, there is not enough classic heavy metal in action sports or pop culture, or really anywhere…

Pemi Loop

Summer 2014 came and went with nary a rugged mile hiked the entire season! Not really sure what happened, but Kelly and I managed to get roped into everything aside from hiking. No regrets really – just no mountain climbing in 2014.

In May of 2105 we uncorked our bottled up zeal for arduous mountain adventure by doing what we do best: biting off way more than we can chew and getting ourselves good and committed. Of course we invited everyone we could think of (the final roster included Deb, Ruthie, Ben, myself and Kelly) and sallied forth into the Pemigewasset Wilderness armed with a smorgasbord of untested backpacks, unbroken boots, and ill-conditions legs.

Our original plan as proposed by Deb was to go summit Katahdin, but we learned at the last minute that Memorial day in Baxter closely resembles winter. Thusly, we aborted that plan and pivoted back to a known quantity: the Pemi Loop. We opted for a more ‘leisurely’ pace by splitting the circuit across 3 days and 2 nights. In hindsight I’m dubious that the 3 day pace is any easier than the overnight, simply due to the spectacular amount of gear that must be hauled to make multiple overnights comfortable. Anyway the hike was ultimately fun, if not a rude awakening for a first-outing-of-the-season.

The Crew

Day one was the longest and most difficult day: we walked from Lincoln Woods Campground, over Franconia Ridge, all the way to the base of Garfield where we camped for the night. Franconia Ridge was hallmarked by spectacular winds and beautiful, clear skies. On day two we dragged our achy selves over Garfield (I’d say we all had some choice words for that mountain – both up and down), and then up and down a whole bunch more gnarly mountains which finally taper into the plateau-ish Bond Range where we were able to skulk into camp at Guyot Tentsite. We were among the last to arrive that night and were relegated to the lean-to shelter. Tents were uncalled for, but earplugs might have been nice. Day three was by far the easiest. You ease into the day with a gentle traverse of the Bonds featuring spectacular views of the Pemi and Franconia Ridge and eventually begin the long slow descent back toward Lincoln Woods. The hike from the bottom of the Bonds along an abandoned logging railway feels simply interminable and the monotony steadily builds toward a bursting point when suddenly you waltz out of the woods and into the parking lot. We wasted virtually no time in trading our boots for flip flops and hastily made our way back to town for some non-freeze-dried victuals. The Woodstock Inn Brewery, pre-ordained about 3 miles after we started hiking on Day One satiated our respective hungers and thirsts as well as ever, after which we sleepily traipsed back toward home, leaving behind a Memorial Weekend well spent.

Classic White Mountain scramble

High on the ridge, the winds howl

Garfield Pond

Camp 1

Home sweet home!

So wait, what are we supposed to do here?

Seriously?

Spikes would have been nice…Garfield, grrrrrrr…

Camp 2
Photo Credit: Deb

Sunrise

This picture pretty much sums up everything about backcountry travel…

Photo Credit: Deb

Iceland Adventure

Catherine and I spent 8 days in Iceland, driving about 1400 miles on and around the Ring Road. We did some great sightseeing, hiking, and had time to unwind, all while enduring the unseasonably cold temps and winds. Catherine put together a video of the trip here. I took way too many photos, some of which I’ve put up here.

I’ll try to describe the trip from my journal notes while abroad. I’ve included a few highlight photos for your viewing pleasure.

Day 1 – Keflavik to Selfoss

After worrying about our plane tickets, our flight went smoothly. Then, disaster struck when we arrived at 6:30am. It took us nearly two hours to track down the company in charge of our car rental, since our rental agency was actually a booking agency, but they’d never told us which company had our car.

Things started to turn around after we left the airport. We drove close to the city and had no issues buying groceries. We doubled back and were able up move up our Blue Lagoon reservation. Though man-made, it was unique and relaxing. We napped after a dip for a few hours, until we could check in at our hostel. On our way to Selfoss we saw our first sights, with Catherine in the driver’s seat. Iceland is barren! Lots of snow and rocky carved cliffs. Our guesthouse in Selfoss was well equipped and provided a great base to catch up on sleep.

Day 2 – Selfoss to Höfn

It was a big day. We started early around 7:30. First stop, Skogafoss, pictured above. It was icy and roaring. I ran to the top for some more photos. It’s also the start of a big hiking trail to Porsmork. Next was Vik and the black beaches. It reminded my of our first PNW trip. Afterwards came mountains. And more and more, endlessly. We skipped Svartifoss because the trail looked lame, and we’ve seemed a lot of falls, and instead drove to the glacier nearby. It was hidden just off rt. 1 behind a hill. I took over driving there. Onward to Jökulsárlón! I was rusty at manual, but no stalling, despite limited previous practice. At the lake we saw Marcus and his brother, who’d sat next to us on to plane, on a random embankment. Crazy huh? Our hostel was perfect. Very private and we were the first guests ever in a new addition. Our hostess helped us with laundry and we had a big breakfast!

Day 3 – Höfn to Berunes

We went into town for the morning. Then, nothing but mountains and coast on our drive along the fjords. We also found moon-like terrain. Very cold and windy all day. We stopped a lot and listened to powerful surf. Before Berunes we drove into town and found a store with dragon bones out front. There we played fetch, heard stories, and bought handmade souvenirs. The hostel had been run by the same family for 300 years. The old guy running it was awesome. We went for a frigid walk in the evening to the beach. In the morning we were served breakfast at our host’s house.

Day 4 – Berunes to Akureyri

Catherine’s birthday! Also, a long, snowy, whiteout drive. We passed Dettifoss and Mývatn since the visibility was so bad, but stopped at Godafoss. Akureyri was crowded, but our Airbnb was awesome. Lamb, Einstök beer, and Toblerone cake for dinner.

Day 5 – Akureyri to Reykholt

We headed to our last minute booking at Hotel A. The drive took us longer than we expected. We found Catherine’s mountain spire and a new falls. Lot’s of roadside photos. Hotel A was quaint and quiet. A herding dog befriended us and we spent hours by the fire sipping beer and reading.

Day 6 – Reykholt to Hellnar

We slept in, got breakfast and headed out. The assistant at the hotel pointed out some nearby landmarks and we were off. First to Barnafossar, above, then past a hot springs, and back to 1 and Arnarstapi. Great views on the way. We stopped at the black church in Búðir. We were relocated from Snjofells to Hotel Hellnar. After this discovery we drove down the coast to Lóndrangar, a sea stack alone on the shore that had drawn some climbers. We took a long walk there and in Arnarstapi. Mussels for dinner were delicious, and after we smuggled beer into our room while we played Rummy and read.

Day 7 & 8 – Snæfellsnes Peninusula to Keflavik

We had two nights in Hellnar, so the second day we drove the peninsula, soaking up views of the Snæfellsnesjökull, pictured above, which dominated the area. The glacier is said to be one of the seven power sources of the world. We climbed a volcano, walked around an ancient viking village, and found yet more waterfalls. The wind whipped at us in the open spaces, threatening to knock us over at times. We drove to Grundarfjordur and snacked there, before doubling back over the lower mountain pass. On our last day we tried to make it to an archway between Hellnar and Arnarstapi, but needed to hit the road to make our afternoon flight.

Iceland was stunning, and varied. I’ve never been to Hawaii, but it felt like the opposite of a tropical volcanic jungle. Iceland had the beaches, and active volcanoes but was certainly no tropical paradise. Our only regret was not seeing the green pastures and spring growth delayed by the cold.

See many more photos here! Thanks for reading.

From The Vault: More Winter Stoke

I was digging through the ol’ hard drive just the other day, when I came across a small collection from a winter hike in ’09 up the Flume Slide Trail. Lo and behold, a few of those shots were pretty cool. So why not have a look?