- Backpacking (23)
- Day Hiking (7)
- Italy Via Ferrata (2)
- Minnesota Water Trails (11)
- Paddling (16)
- State high pointing (15)
- Ultra-light gear (4)
Making Good: Backpacking the Teton Crest Trail
This was supposed to be a post about how on our third attempt, after not even seeing the mountain from our approach in 2021 and then deterred by bad weather in 2023, we finally summited the Wyoming high point. But for reasons you’ll soon read, it didn’t happen. Our planned route was from the Glacier…
In Two Parts: Canoeing Minnesota’s Root River
The North Branch We paddled the North Branch back in 2015 (specifically 5/1/15 and 5/2/15). After driving to Chatfield and locking up our canoe and paddling gear, we drove to Whalen where we left our car and got on our bikes. For most of the Root River there is an accompanying paved bike trail. We…
Life is Like a Box of Chocolates: Canoeing the Red Lake River
The Red Lake River flows west out of Lower Red Lake in northwest Minnesota before turning south, dropping down lower into ancient glacial Lake Agassiz, and then eventually meandering northwest to meet up with the Red River of the North in Grand Forks. Three years ago we’d thought about paddling this river and continuing down…
A Different Kind of Adventure: A Hurricane and the Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia High Points
This year in my ongoing quest to combine state high-pointing and medical conferences, I’d decided on Asheville which would set us up well for a day-hike to the top of North Carolina and a backpacking trip in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to include Tennessee’s highest land. I was stoked for this trip until a…
A Return to the South Winds: East Temple Peak, Texas Pass, and Throne Peak
Nine years ago, in 2015, Erik and I had our first backpacking trip in Wyoming’s south Wind River Range. We hit all the highlights – Wind River Peak, Lonesome Lake and Cirque of the Towers, Shadow Lake, Washakie Pass, and our favorite – the Lizard Head Trail. Since then we’ve been to the north Winds…
A Wedding, a Funeral, and Canoeing parts of the Red, Pine, and Mississippi Rivers
Erik and I planned a late May canoe trip in Minnesota months ago in conjunction with a family wedding near Nisswa, Minnesota. We knew we’d canoe part way home from the wedding on a section of the Mississippi Erik had done twice before but that I’d never done. We had the week off before the…
Adventuring the Southwest: Organ Needle, Texas High Point, and Sedona
This trip was yet again inspired by combining a work conference and a state high point. We went back to Sedona, but given we’ve already done the Arizona and New Mexico high points, this time we were on to Texas. I’d had this idea back in 2019 when I attended a conference in Tuscon, but…
Back to the North Winds: A Primer on Tourist Creek, a lot of Disappointment, and a little Redemption
My obsession with Gannett Peak, Wyoming’s highest point, began after we climbed Granite Peak, Montana’s highest in 2017. Prior to that we’d been state high-pointing, but Granite was my first “technical” peak. This opened up a whole new possibility of completing the lower 48, if not all 50, with Denali of course being leaps and…
Backpacking the Eastern Uintas and Kings Peak
After our spring paddling trip, Erik desired something more chill so I came up with this 56 mile loop to do in six days in the eastern Uintas of Utah. The primary inspiration of the trip was to bag Utah’s highest point, Kings Peak. We started and ended at the Hoop Lake Trailhead which had…
Canoeing the Otter Tail River and the First Map of the Red
The past few springs we’ve set aside a few days to paddle some of Minnesota’s Water Trails. This year our initial plan was for the Little Fork, but alas the snow melted quickly, swelling the river, and then drought brought water levels to solid medium. There’s lots of rapids on that river and we only…
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Elspeth Ronnander 