Monument Mtn., Humbug Mtn., Spectre Pk + Agua BM – Joshua Tree NP

About 15 years ago I bought the book “Desert Summits” by Andy Zdon. It contains information about 334 desert peaks/mountains/benchmarks in California and southern Nevada. I have hiked some of them, but not as many as I liked. Time to check off more of them.

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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 :).

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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.

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