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Trip Reports
This page lists all of the 'major', larger-scale, or otherwise noteworthy trips I've taken over the years. The trips are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent trips at the top. If you are looking for a particular trip and you can't find it on this page, then it is probably a smaller trip - and you can find all of those on my outdoors image gallery page.
Another Superior Coastal Trail - Pukaskwa National Park
Returning a year later to hike another long-distance trail along the edge of the world's largest lake - The Coastal Trail in Pukaskwa National Park.   [ Read ]
Smoky Rockies
A trip to the crisp, clear Canadian Rockies for a week of early fall scrambling turns out to be a bit less clear than we hoped.   [ Read ]
A Superior Coastal Trail - Lake Superior Provincial Park
A week-long visit to a beautiful stretch along the world's largest lake - The Coastal Trail in Lake Superior Provincial Park (Now with video).   [ Read ]
Utah Fall 2019 - Willow Gulch and Death Hollow
Two very different outings, one easy and short, and the other long and arduous. But, both exceptionally beautiful.   [ Read ]
Volcano Quest III - Glacier Peak
Volcano Quest III: the detailed report of our third (and hopefully final) attempt on Glacier Peak. Come and read if Rosty and Brian and I finally make it to the top....   [ Read ]
Incontra i Parenti 2019 - Italy, Avellino, and the Perugini Family
My 95 year-old mom accepts a sibling offer to chaperone her over to Italy for a family visit.   [ Read ]
UtaHatkotastica 2019
Join us on a desert sojourn in the desert southwest with the Hatko family - A Utahatkotastic adventure!   [ Read ]
Destination GerM2ny: The Pickup
Luke and Andrew's fantastic trip to Germany to receive a new car via 'European Delivery'. Motorsports heaven then ensues...   [ Read ]
Brian's Reefy Retirement Adventure
This one's special.... A quick spring trip to Utah, dedicated to the start of Brian's retirement.... which, it so happened, began on the very first day of our trip!   [ Read ]
The Great American Eclipse Trip
A trip focused around the incredible experience of a Total Solar Eclipse - The Great American Solar Eclipse of August 2017. Also included are visits to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.   [ Read ]
Volcano Quest II - Glacier Peak
After two years, a return attempt to the Glacier Peak wilderness in Washington State, where we once again tackle the south ridge route to the top of this wonderful wilderness volcano!   [ Read ]
Intercanyonnect
Packing in four days of Southwest Canyon goodness around the 2017 Interconnect conference - it's... Intercannyonect!   [ Read ]
Middle Earth Meander - New Zealand 2016
Read the story of our journey to the island nation of New Zealand. A small but high-density destination, packed with all sorts of climate zones and landforms, we made the most of our time, enjoying the scenery on foot, on bicycle, by raft, by kayak, from the air, and by ferry. Even by luge kart!   [ Read ]
Roland and Stephanie's Semimoon
A trip to celebrate Roland and Stephanie's recent wedding. Usually a trip after a wedding is called a honeymoon, but that would be an incorrect characterization in this case, so let's call it a "semi-moon" instead. Highlights include the Cinque Terre, San Marino, Venice, Dolomites, Salzburg, Nuremberg and Rothenburg.   [ Read ]
Vancouver Island, tip-to-tip
Come Experience our traipsing across Vancouver Island, end-to-end, side-to-side, and back-and-forth. Including for your viewing and reading pleasure are mountainous backpacks, island-threading sea kayaking, fun scrambling, sun-swept coastlines, rain-pelted coastlines, canoeing, campfires, hugging (lots of hugging), flipping, and many other 'ings.   [ Read ]
Volcano Quest - Glacier Peak
A break in the months-long drought-like conditions in the Pacific Northwest throws a wrench in our attempt to climb Mount Baker. Cue.... Volcano Quest 2015!   [ Read ]
Desert Southwest 2014 - The Checklist Edition
A return to the US Desert Southwest to tackle a list of some long sought-after objectives: A Grand Canyon rim-to-rim traverse. Descending Zion's watery subway and scaling Lady Mountain. Objectives that, for one reason or another, had eluded us. How many did we manage to cross off the checklist?   [ Read ]
Astride the Divide - Rocky Mountains 2014
Ten summer days exploring a stretch of the Rocky Mountains along the height of land known as the Continental Divide, both on-trail and off, from Glacier National Park in the south through to Banff National Park in the north.   [ Read ]
Permits and Politics - Zion and the Escalante
The 2013 installment of our U.S. desert southwest adventuring. This time with the added spice of having to avoid park closures! Nevertheless, an excellent mix of scenic adventures - some encountered deep within the earth, and some on the edges of airy precipices.   [ Read ]
European Hopscotch
Miriam and Asmir invite us on a hopscotching adventure across Europe. From the snowy mountains of Switzerland to the minarets of Istanbul to an Italian boot factory, we packed quite a bit of diversity into seventeen days.   [ Read ]
Questione di Famiglia - Italy, Avellino, and the Perugini Family
A mostly family-oriented voyage to my Mom's home town of Avellino, Italy. Lots of pictures of aunts and babies in here... but for those of you so interested, we did get a chance to see, visit and hike a few beautiful nearby spots.   [ Read ]
A Tour of Elemental Iceland
A trip to the raw, hard-bitten land of fire and ice, vikings and sagas. A trip to the land of tens of trees, hundreds of hot springs, thousands of waterfalls, and millions of sea-birds. A trip to the nation of Iceland!   [ Read ]
A Hawaiian Kaleidoscope: From Rainbows to Snowdrifts
A hop-scotching visit to the four main Hawaiian islands. Plenty of tropical landscapes, as you might imagine, but also plenty of interesting personalities, foods, flora, and fauna. And rainbows. Lots of rainbows. And yes, we did manage to find freezing temperatures and snow.   [ Read ]
Southwestern Burnup Tour - Sierra Nevada, Buckskin Gulch, and Zion
A rare second trip to the desert southwest in the same year - courtesy of use-it-or-lose-it vacation rules. Highlights include a second attempt on the longest slot canyon in the world -- Buckskin Gulch, some mountain biking, and bit of the High Sierra.   [ Read ]
Overland to the Rock - A Road Trip to Newfoundland via the recently completed Trans Labrador Highway
My first ever trip to the Island of Newfoundland. We did it by a (so far) still fairly unique way of getting there - overland, via the Trans-Labrador highway...   [ Read ]
Mostly Escalante 2011 - Coyote Gulch, Harris Wash, Red Breaks, Bryce, and Zion
An intensive return to the Escalante region of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (with a bit of other stuff on either side). Jenn's dad joins us, we re-visit the wonders of Coyote Gulch, and visit a few new special places...   [ Read ]
Europe - Asmir's Wedding, Dolomites, and Italy
Asmir and Miriam's June wedding triggers a sooner-than-expected return to Europe. Follow along with the festivities and with the activity-packed vacationing that followed.   [ Read ]
Grand Canyon - Boucher, Tonto, Bright Angel
A moderate and extremely varied 5-day backpack in the Grand Canyon. An introduction for four Grand Canyon newbies. Wonderful Weather. Great Friends. A bit of Death Valley on the side. What more could one ask for?...   [ Read ]
Europe with Asmir and Miriam
Vacationing and touring Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Northern Italy, we pack in 2+ weeks of much variety, including good food, family and friends, culture, history, and [of course] a few hikes and climbs here and there......   [ Read ]
West Coast - Vancouver, Mt Baker, and Hidden Lake Peak
A roughly week-long trip to the west coast, where we experienced a bit of city touring, a bit of high-school reunioning, a few nice mountains, and a lot of hot, dry, sunny weather...   [ Read ]
Fine in 09: Packin' It In - Escalante, Capitol Reef, Leprechaun, and the Anasazi
2009's iteration of our classic Desert Southwest trip was a finely-tuned packed-in whirlwind, including excellent slickrock backpacking and canyoneering in the Escalante and Robber's Roost areas, and exploration of mysterious Anasazi ruins in the Cedar Mesa Canyons.   [ Read ]
Vancouver Island 2008
Hot on the heels of an east-coast visit, we jet over to the west coast for an additional helping of friends, family, and mountains. Highlights include a scenic three-peak Strathcona Park backpack loop, a scrambly traverse of Mount Arrowsmith, and visiting with Jenn's family on Gabriola Island.   [ Read ]
One Lap of the Maritimes
On this trip to the provinces of my youth - the Canadian Maritimes - a big mish-mash of all sorts of things: a bit of 4000-footering, lotsa ferry rides, some highpointing, some scenic hiking, some scenic driving, and lotsa visiting of friends and family....   [ Read ]
Eight in O-Eight: Gulches are Great - Utah 2008
A big group calls for some big Utah hits. Specifically, we're talking about canyons - also sometimes known as gulches. Included in this report is my first ever visit to world-famous Buckskin Gulch!   [ Read ]
The Dolomites and Via Ferrata 2007
A return to the unique and fantastic crags and spires of the Dolomites. And more Via Ferratas than you can shake a stick at! ...   [ Read ]
An aMAZEing Trip to Color Country - The Maze, Escalante, and Zion
To the remotest corner of Utah we went, to experience true desert wilderness and a true dash of [wet-n-wild] adventure!...   [ Read ]
Complete Mountaineering with the Canada West Mountain School
The great outdoors is our classroom as we take a week to learn and re-learn some basic mountaineering skills in the coast range of British Columbia...   [ Read ]
Java One, San Francisco, and Soggy California Hiking
A work-related conference brings us to San Francisco, where we explore a bit of the city by the bay and knock off a few Northern California hikes....   [ Read ]
Exploring the Escalante
A quiet, remote, and exceedingly beautiful stretch of land in southern Utah is our home for the week....   [ Read ]
Vancouver Island 2005
A foiled attempt to climb Mount Baker has us instead exploring the remote wilderness of Vancouver Island. And there is much to discover...   [ Read ]
Italy 2005
Tthe account of a jam-packed trip to the big boot. Included are almost 1,000 pictures of hiking, mountains, cities, via ferrata climbing, family pictures, modern art, classical ruins, twisty roads, and more...   [ Read ]
Alone in the Grand Canyon - New Hance Trail - Tonto Trail - South Kaibab Trail
Alone in the Grand Canyon. Or at least that's what it seemed like: hiking for days without seeing hardly a soul. Join us on a fantastic journey through the depths of the Grand Canyon!   [ Read ]
Kilimanjaro and East Africa
A huge report covering a fantastic three-week long journey to East Africa - the highlight of which was a climb of the highest mountain in Africa: Kilimanjaro. That was by no means the only highlight, though: our safari through fantastic wildlife parks and our visit to the exotic island of Zanzibar were two notable others.   [ Read ]
Left n back Again - A Continental Road Trip
After seven years, Luke and I finally hit the road together again in another cross-continent, twisty-road finding adventure.   [ Read ]
Tragedy in the Torngats - The Search for Dan and Sue
Roland organizes an expedition to go searching for his missing friends. Amazing tales of beauty and tragedy from a wild frontier of Canada - The Torngat Mountains of Northern Labrador and Northern Quebec.   [ Read ]
EVCC Golden Triangle Cycle Ride
This year we return to do the excellent Golden Triangle Cycle Ride in the Rockies of BC and Alberta. The weather forecast looked horrendous. How did it turn out? find out...   [ Read ]
Katahdin, Great Mountain of the East
Finally.... an attempt on one of the most, if not THE most, interesting mountain in the east!   [ Read ]
A Rocky Road Trip
A road trip out west to climb pointy, rocky peaks ...and we certainly experienced a rocky ride (Especially Ewart)!   [ Read ]
A Climb of the Trap Dike on Mount Colden
My 3rd time up the classic mountaineering route of the Adirondacks. Not hard, but a very enjoyable scramble.   [ Read ]
Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour 2003
The OBC's Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour: Once more I subject myself to 354 kilometres of weekend cycling...   [ Read ]
Dad in the Desert 2003
Join my Dad, my brother George and myself on a journey of exploration to the magical lands of the Colorado Plateau...   [ Read ]
The 2002 Europe Trip
An incredibly diverse and eventful journey, taken by 7 intrepid adventures, through Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland during the last week of September and first week of October, 2002. Click on to listen, watch and read all about it!   [ Read ]
Northwest Washington and The Cascades
August 2002 sees Markus, Peter and I doing a thorough exploration of Northwestern Washington state. From beaches to the glacier-draped summit of Mount Baker, we visit it all (well, maybe not 'all'... but a week's worth, at least).   [ Read ]
The EVCC Golden Triangle Cycle Ride
Lorraine and I recently rode the world-famous Elbow Valley Cycle Club's Golden Triangle Cycle Ride. Three days and 330+ kilometres of cycling through (and up and down) beautiful rocky mountain scenery in Alberta and BC.   [ Read ]
Desert Southwest 2001
Yet another Desert Southwest trip with a group of friends from work, this time including some southern Arizona desert exploration, a very nice Grand Canyon backpack, more exploration in southwestern Utah and in Death Valley in California.   [ Read ]
Big Nerds on Rainier
Our first major mountaineering climb, done all by ourselves! Peter, Brian and I (all members of the mysterious organization known as "BNR", climb one of the largest volcanoes in North America! A tale of triumph over reluctant bodies and minds! (Note: this web presentation pre-dates my current web page design; you may find it a little.... antiquated)   [ Read ]
Desert Southwest 2000
A counter-clockwise 'Grand Circle' route of the best of the Colorado Plateau with Luke and Sophie and friends...   [ Read ]
Desert Southwest 1999
An account of one of the very few times we visited the desert southwest in the autumn. This was a very diverse trip, including: a long canyoneering adventure; backpacking at high altitude in the rockies; and jeeping in canyonlands national park.   [ Read ]
Mount Shuksan and Refresher Mountaineering Course with Alpine Ascents
Brian and I tackle one of the giants of the North Cascades - Mount Shuksan, under the auspices of our guide Tom from Alpine Ascents International. It's all part of our prep for our planned year 2000 attempt on Mount Rainier.   [ Read ]
North American Road Trip
My first cross-country road trip adventure. Lots of sunny driving on fantastic twisty roads; an endless stream of wonderful mountains, parks, and trails.   [ Read ]
13-Day Mountaineering Course with Alpine Ascents International
My first ever formal mountaineering training. Really good training, too, on all fronts. And, my first introduction to the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.   [ Read ]
California Ramblings
My first real sampling of the diverse outdoors of California. Join Andrew, Luc, Andree, Pat, and Markus for a quick look at some of what California has to offer.   [ Read ]
Eclipse Hike 1994
The Genesis. Discovery. Awakening. From Humble Beginnings. A detailed account of what I consider to be the first mountain climb of our little social circle's "modern era". The hike that started it all.   [ Read ]
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