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The Loch

Hinge season in Colorado Rockies! Honestly, I usually have a tough time with the end of winter, but between the great hiking conditions and steep skiing opportunities, there’s not much to complain about.

A couple weeks ago Kelly and I shot up to RMNP for a casual hike out to the Loch. You depart from the Glacier Gorge trailhead off of Bear Lake road and follow a moderately ascending trail past numerous stunning vistas. Herein lies the magic of hiking in these parts: in New England (what I’m used to, and my point of reference for much mountain-sport), grand and sweeping views are usually only had at the top of a mountain. Out here, with the relatively thin foliage and close proximity to treeline, you quickly find yourself in the realm of the breathtaking. Thus, a casual stroll uphill terminating nowhere near the summit of anything can easily result in scenes worthy of Ansel Adams’ attention. It’s almost too easy!

So what do you get for 1200′ of climbing over ~3.5 miles? Behold!

#rmnp #mountains #timelapse #hiking with @kellyahowie

A post shared by Brian Sweeney (@briangsweeney) on May 14, 2017 at 8:26am PDT

That’s the frozen Loch where we had lunch and took in the view for an indulgent length of time: it was like 60 degrees after all! For the more ambitious, it’s possible to proceed up the ravine toward Sky Pond which is supposed to be equally beautiful, but we were satisfied our first hike of the season and turned around here.

My usual M.O. for drafting these posts is to present media in chronological order, or occasionally to organize photos and videos for maximum thematic impact. For this one, I have no such compunctions! Cutting to the climax, spectacular as it may be, was hardly culpable when viewed next to splendor, of basically the entire rest of the hike. Check out some highlights from the approach, below…

Notchtop Couloir

After over a year of ogling, I’ve finally managed to tick off a big line in Colorado. Various recon trips, scenic car rides, and guide books had stoked my fervor to get after some burly skiing, and with Kelly’s encouragement to go do something crazy without her, I started poking around on the internet looking for a backcountry shred crew.

The Boulder Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Facebook group delivered in the form of two dudes from Boulder, Joe and Aidan. I was lucky to have these guys along; they were experienced with the Colorado snow pack and pushed for an earlier start time than I would have guessed was necessary.

We hit the trail at Bear Lake around 5:30 AM, and summitted around 9:30 AM – not a moment too soon as the snow was quickly starting to warm up. No roller balls just yet, but it seems like things were going in that direction. The return trip was slow going due to the warm snow and the handful of sections of melted out trail close to Bear Lake, but it was worth it to be able to stand on top of a gnarly mountain and then fly down it!

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.

Back Two Backpacking

After a recent series of hikes, it feels about time for another post. We’ve been doing some “fun” backpacking trips lately, also known as hiking in, camping, and hanging out, rather than pushing all day until night falls and unpacking in the dark. There’s a time and a place for long grueling backpacking trips, and the past few weeks were not the time. We also did a great hike with some friends last weekend, which I’ve combined into this one big post covering the end of August and early September!

Summit Lake

Our first trip, a few weeks back now, was to head south towards the border of MRNP, and camp at Summit Lake. The trailhead lies more than six miles up and into the mountains at the end of a somewhat rough forest service road, though the rangers assured us it was ‘far from the worst’. Since dogs seem to be banned from campgrounds in the NP Summit Lake drew a lot of dog owners hiking in for the night. We made a relatively quick ascent, heard there was a sweet overlook campsite, and bee-lined for that.

The rest of the day was spent taking in the views of Mt Rainier, and hanging out at Summit Lake proper, lounging until a dinner of re-hydrated food. Mmmm. The evening and morning lighting made for even better photos.

In the morning we packed up, headed out and got a great breakfast nearby in an old Saloon.

Olallie and Talupus Lakes

The following weekend was labor day weekend, and after plans for a larger three day surfing trip fell through, we opted for another fun, easy backpacking trip, this time near Snoqualmie Pass. The forest road up was much smoother and the lake views were great, especially with some weather patterns moving through creating interesting clouds. Dylan joined us as well for the relaxing afternoon in the lake basins.

The morning fog rising off the lake was a nice treat. On our way back, we stopped at the Falls, since Dylan hadn’t been.

Heliotrope Ridge

Our friend Ian suggested we do a hike together, and because of his love for glaciers, opted for Heliotrope Ridge. After staring at topos all last winter, reading TRs and debating when the best time to ski it was, it was awesome to finally make a trip up from the valley that’s one of Mt. Baker’s main melt outflows. Ian, Tanya, their daughter Lily, Catherine and I all met at the trailhead and started up. It was a gorgeous day for hiking and sightseeing.

All in all an awesome day! Ian was a champ carried a sleeping Lily both up and down the trail. The trail itself was more taxing than one would’ve expected, moderately gaining elevation throughout, and included several fun creek crossings. I can’t wait to head back this winter. The trailhead is also the starting point for one of the main climbing routes, so we encountered more than a few mountaineers making for the summit.