Nine flights and two boats for one of the wildest trips I’ve done, a through-hike of Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. After flying to Qikiqtarjuaq, we hired a boat to the drop off point and began a 9-day trek over Akshayuk Pass. Polar bears (none seen), icy river crossings (~12 crossed), weather, and carrying heavy packs over difficult terrain (glacial moraines, spongy wet ground, boulders, etc) are the main challenges here. Rewards include some of the best scenery on the planet – endless vertical rock, precarious glaciers, and iconic mountains like Asgard and Thor – the tallest vertical drop on planet earth. A grand adventure shared with friend Jacob Kallman.

I finally got around to making progress on my most involved mountaineering project, climbing all the P4ks in the lower 48 states (mountains with 4000′ of prominence), and this trip involved some great ones.

Mt Prophet, North Cascades (Phil Stinis joined to camp)

North Gardner, North Cascades (Phil Stinis joined to camp)

Mt Deception, Olympic Range (Phil Stinis joined to camp)

Mt Spickard, North Cascades (climbed with Tony Russo)

Spickard was a spectacular climb. We drove into Canada then crossed back into Washington on foot. Heavy brush, climbing wet slab to get around a massive waterfall, snow, and rock to get the highest peak in the Washington Chilliwacks – a premier sub-range lacking easy access.

Deception – I’d failed on this one a few years ago with icy conditions, I have a thing where I’ll use a different route on a 2nd attempt even if its harder or longer. This trip I took a rarely used route on the west side of the peak with little info. When I got to the base, mist and rain came in and I couldn’t see the route. I crouched under some boulders for a few hours sure that I would fail again. Eventually there was a clearing and I saw the bottom of the route, I went for it and got above the weather. Success felt especially sweet on this one.

Resurveys using LIDAR technology have been changing this list over the last year. It was thought that 142 peaks in the ConUS had 4000ft+ of prominence, but it is now up to 146. North Gardner was added, along with Ch-paa-qn and Holland in Montana, and most recently Toro in California. I’d set North Gardner as a target on this trip for that reason, the other three I have luckily climbed already. This brings me up to 144 of 146 P4Ks climbed, just two left.

There aren’t many places I’d go out of my way to visit more than once, but very Northern California is an exception. I’ve visited the Redwoods and the Lost Coast many times now, this time would be on a bicycle. Slow travel, being able to stop and camp where cars can’t, exploring nooks and crannies that otherwise wouldn’t be possible…this was one of my favorite trips here despite the difficulty. Long and steep climbs, few places to resupply, and dry camps made the Lost Coast especially challenging and rewarding. This is one of the most satisfying trips I’ve done in a while. Joined by Phiip Stinis, the trip can be broken down into three sections:

Yreka to Eureka (6 days) – along the Klamath River, side trip to near Cecilville, over the mountains and into Redwoods National Park, then down the coast into Eureka.

The Lost Coast, Eureka to Fort Bragg (6 days) – the Victorian town of Ferndale, big steep climbs and descents to black sand beaches, Mattole Beach, King Mountain Road to Chemise Mountain Road to Sinkyone State Park, exiting via the notorious and remote Usal Road to the coast highway. Few cars or people, violent ocean, lots of wildlife, this was a remote, lush, twisting route through the most rugged coastline in the Continental USA. I even squeezed in a few seldom visited brushy summits (while Phil preferred to wait). One highlight was setting up camp on an old abandoned road at the westernmost point in California, near the foundation of an old lighthouse that has since been moved.

Fort Bragg to San Francisco (4 days) – casual coastal miles to finish on one of the world’s most iconic bridges.

A beautiful bike ride from Fiesta Island to the Lighthouse on Point Loma, followed by a few days of hiking, biking, and camping in Pamo Valley, my favorite San Diego hidden gem.

On our way to Anza Borrego, Eris and I got stuck at the 79/S2 junction in a snowstorm. I had to use 4WD at 10mph just to get there, we spent the night in my truck and waited for the storm and roads to clear the next morning. I always wanted to see Anza Borrego with snow so this was really a blessing. We camped out for the weekend, did some easy hikes, and soaked at Agua Caliente before she went back to San Diego.

    With more weather coming in I flipped my plans and aimed for Kofa in Arizona – doing a rugged 3-day 125mi bikepacking loop, then meeting with friend Keith Winston to hike Signal Peak, the centerpiece of the range. Afterwards it was back to Anza Borrego to cycle a challenging 2-day 60 mile loop – Pinyon Wash to Split Mountain, returning along Kane Springs and Mine Wash. I hiked several summits in these few weeks, heading home thoroughly worn out, just the way it should be.

California: Borrego East Butte (repeat),  Agua Caliente Hot Spring, Arena Benchmark, Salton Sea camping (great on the east side), Cottonwood Mtn (Joshua Tree)

Arizona: Ibex Peak (nice scramble), Kofa bikepacking (included 3 peaks – P2760, Beehive, Lonesome Peak), Signal Peak (repeat, w/Keith)

Back to California: Micro Benchmark (w/Keith), ABSP bikepacking, misc peak hikes: P3001, P2684, P5868, Wooded Hill (a pleasant repeat)