At the end of the summer I road tripped through Yellowstone, the Tetons, and Utah with the intention of trail running, though the trip involved a lot more snow than I had bargained for in late September and meant that I didn’t get to complete most of the runs I had anticipated nor the backpacking trip I had planned for the Tetons. That being said, after seeing the Tetons for the first time I figured out why they are so famous, and know I will find a reason to visit again, so those adventures will be saved for another trip.
Backpacking in Oregon
Quick and dirty (photo) guide to three of the most popular backpacking trips in Oregon including the 50-60 mile Sisters loop (depending on your route), forty mile Mount Hood loop, and a choose your own adventure through the Eagle Caps.
Eagle Caps
The Eagle Caps are the least visited (and most beautiful) mountains in Eastern Oregon, hours away from any big cities. My best friend and I did a wonderful forty mile loop there this summer, and I’m excited to explore more of the hundreds of trails in the year to come! Sleeping at glacier lake and hiking up Eagle Cap were the highlights of our trip.
Running and Backacking in the Sawtooths: 120 Miles of Bliss
From La Grande to Astoria and What’s Up Next
It’s been a while since I’ve checked in so I figured I would catch y’all up on our last year since New Zealand before we begin our next cycling adventure through Oman in just a few weeks!
New Zealand: 3,400km of Photos and Logistics
New Zealand is beautiful; white sandy beaches, tall majestic mountains, and crystal clear rivers around nearly every bend, so, without further ado, here it is in photos!
Bike Rafting: The Freedom, The Solitutde, The Adventure
Fresh fish smoked over the fire and a sunset overlooking a huge lake in the Fiordlands turned out to be one of the most amazing evenings we have ever had.
After putting our bikes back together and strapping our Alpacka packrafts to the back we cycled away from the ocean along a quiet country road before arriving to the boardland road – a 50km gravel road which goes through the Fiordlands before ending at Lake Manapouri where we planned to put the boats back in the water.
A Photographic Journey Packrafting the Waiau
Packrafting down the Waiau proved to be the best thing we have done in New Zealand. We got to wild camp every night, enjoyed our long days on the water, and best of all, with our boats on our bikes and then our bikes on our boats we got to enjoy the self sufficiency and solitude we have so been craving. Somehow, the fine line between uncomfortable (wet and slightly cold due to our not so waterproof rain gear) and comfort (always having a dry warm sleeping bag at night) seems to be where we have the most fun.
Packrafting – “Roads? Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Roads”
Cycle touring opened a world of travel and exploration for us, and we can tell that packrafts – a magical little boat that fits in your backpack or on your bike and can be blown up and packed down in minutes – are going to open our world even further.
Sunsets, Steamboats, and Solitude: NZ Honeymoon
We strategically camped twenty kilometres away from Queenstown (in Arrowtown) where I was able to spend an evening trail running completely alone on beautiful trails before we rode a mountain bike route into town the next morning. We were able to get a boat ride across the lake – on a steam powered boat – right away, and so after just half an hour in the craziness of Queenstown we were able to escape to the other side where we found two days of solitude, dirt roads, and beautiful scenery.
Aspiring National Park: NZ Honeymoon
After a few nights in and around Wanaka we cycled up to Aspiring National Park, a one way 50km road which then led us to a 10km trekking path we were allowed to cycle on. The path lead to Aspiring hut, where forty people were packed inside the hut meant for half the number, and it also lead, two hundred meters away from the hut, to a quiet camp spot where we were able to enjoy a few nights as we hiked and I trail ran the surrounding areas. There were some impressive glaciers on the surrounding mountains, and, as always here in New Zealand, the rivers were simply perfect.