Hiker's Blog – The part of life we really live is small.

395-Trip September 2026

We were meeting with friends for a long weekend in Mammoth Lakes. To make the long trip even more worth it, we drove up a week early for some backpacking.
From home we drove straight to Mosquito Flats and camped in the backpackers campground across the creek from the parking lot.

High Sierra Trail (variation), Aug. 2026

5 of us did a 9 day / 8 night hike starting at Crescent Meadow, the official starting point of the High Sierra Trail (HST), and exiting over Shepherd Pass. The official eastern terminus is Mt. Whitney, and most people exit through Whitney Portal. We wanted to avoid the busy/overrun Whitney Zone.

Basecamp DNT 2026

Every year the DNT is organising a summer camp in the high mountains. The tentcamp lies near the Leirvassbu, one of the biggest serviced huts in Norway. The camp is made up of multiple sleeping tents on wooden platforms and a couple of extra tents for different things. Also with a sauna tent next to the lake. We were 12 participants and 8 tourleaders, between 22 and 30 years.

Mount Stanford, Mount Morgan, Mount Gibbs

Quick trip between two monsoonal weather systems up to the Sierra for some peaks. 2 nights of backpacking in the Hilton Lakes area from Rock Creek Lake for Stanford and Morgan, and a day trip up Tioga Pass Road for Gibbs.

Hiking around the Hjorundfjord

A friend of mine from Germany was visiting Norway to fish here, and I decided to pay him a visit. He was staying in a nice hiking area, and I wanted to do a hike around the Fjord. Sadly, the weather forecast predicted a lot of rain for the hiking days, so I had to prepare for a lot of wet clothes and a wet trail.

Arctic Snowshoeing – Tromsø, Norway, March 2026

We were in Tromsø, Norway, to try to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). Since seeing the aurora is not a given, as it depends on cloudless skies and solar activity we went for a weeklong trip. So we had to fill the days with fun activities.

Fishermen’s Trail, Portugal, October 2025

We flew to Lisbon, Portugal, and after a day of checking out the city took the bus to Porto Covo to hike 9 stages on the Fishermen’s Trail along the Algarve coast.

Mammoth Lakes, Sept. 2025

A family vacation in Mammoth Lakes. My niece, with her family and Malte, were visiting from Germany. They wanted to some hiking in the Sierra, so we decided to rent a condo in Mammoth Lakes.

Shepherd Pass and Kern River Loop, September 2025

After last year’s Sierra backpacking trip, Malte wanted another one and came over in September. I came up with a route that gave us some peaks and great scenery in an area that was mostly new to both of us.

Kearsarge Pass, August 2025

I drove up to Independence and found nice spot around 5000 ft along Independence Creek. It was just a short distance on a dirt road from Onion Valley Road and the $40 for a campsite in Onion Valley felt too steep. The temperature was nice and I decided to treat myself to a burrito. So I went back down to Independence to the Taco truck.