Hiker's Blog

Austria / Italy Alps Hiking

In August Bianca and I rented a VW camper van and drove south to the Austrian / Italian Alps for two weeks of hiking. Below is a day-by-day summary and attached slideshow with pictures of the highlights from our trip. Some details may not be as interesting for all, but are included for my own reference later. Skip to the end for the slideshow and best results :).

Hornstrandir Solo Backpack

(Summer 2019)

My third week in Iceland was spent on a solo backpack trip to the remote nature preserve of Hornstrandir. The entire Hornstrandir peninsula has been without permanent residents since the local fish population hit a significant decline in the 1950s. There are no roads, no stores, no permanent settlements, and only a few sparsely located historical buildings that are still maintained for use in the summer months. To get there requires first traveling to Ísafjörður, in the remote north of the Westfjords, and then chartering a 1hr ferry to bring you out to the peninsula. Once on the peninsula there is no returning until the ferry is scheduled to pick you up, and even then bad luck and rough seas can prevent it from making the trip. And unless you are standing on top any of the tallest peaks in the area, no cell reception. A true out there experience.

End of year elevation gain hikes December 2020

It’s getting toward the end of the year and I needed about 6,000 ft to make my goal of 75,000 ft elevation gain and Uwe needed about 8,000 ft to make his goal of 100,000 ft gain.

Blue Sun Pictograph Hike November 2020

Quinn and Ken came to visit over Thanksgiving. Ken had never been to the Anza Borrego Desert so a road trip and hike to the Indian Hill area was in order.

Lily Rock October 2020

On October 29, Jack, Uwe, and John set out to scale Lily Rock. This was the last peak in the San Jacinto Range of the Sierra Club Hundred Peaks Southern Section for Jack.

Italy Pass Backpacking

Looking for something new to us in the Sierra Nevada I found Italy Pass. It has everything I was looking for: Lakes, streams, small forests, and of course some peaks to climb.

Baxter Pass and Peak

Among the passes into the Sierra Nevada from the east are 4 that have a reputation as being more difficult than the others. Mostly because of the elevation gain from trail head to pass ( >6,000 ft). Terms like “nasty four” are used. The passes are Shepard, Sawmill, Taboose, and Baxter . I had hiked the first 3. Time to check out the forth.