Alaska has been on my radar since I learned the place existed. It’s larger than life and has mountains. But it’s huge with infinite places to explore. In 2015 I saw photos from Gates of the Arctic National Park and decided we had to go there. After much planning and changing our itinerary, we eventuallyContinue reading “Backpacking and Packrafting Gates of the Arctic National Park”
Author Archives: Elspeth Ronnander
A Tour of Italy: Ferrata in the Dolomites, Cinque Terre, and Venice
In 2017 I was looking for some vacation inspiration. My list of places to visit is endless, but where to go this year? We had already settled on Banff and the Beartooths but were looking for another trip. While buying plane tickets for the Banff trip, an image of a quaint seaside village popped up.Continue reading “A Tour of Italy: Ferrata in the Dolomites, Cinque Terre, and Venice”
Backpacking the Beartooths: One Epic Loop Including Whitetail Mountain and the Montana High Point
Located in south central Montana, near Yellowstone National Park, the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in the Custer Gallatin National Forest is home to some of Montana’s highest mountains, including the state high point: Granite Peak. It’s also only a long day’s drive from the Twin Cities. In August of 2017 Erik, myself, and our friend Craig, headedContinue reading “Backpacking the Beartooths: One Epic Loop Including Whitetail Mountain and the Montana High Point”
Backpacking and Day Hiking Banff National Park
In late June of 2017 I had the opportunity to go to a medical conference at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Erik and combined this with a four day backpacking trip in Banff National Park before doing three day hikes in the afternoons after my conference. If there was any downside to this trip (andContinue reading “Backpacking and Day Hiking Banff National Park”
Backpacking a Giant Loop in Glacier National Park
After a few years of Erik telling me we should take the train to Glacier National Park, I conceded and so off we went, in a sleeper car from Saint Paul, Minnesota to West Glacier, Montana. Staying in a sleeper car was well worth the price. It was cozy and I got much better sleepContinue reading “Backpacking a Giant Loop in Glacier National Park”
The Colorado High Point and Four Pass Loop in the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness
We first learned about the Four Pass Loop within the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness in Colorado from a couple while we were backpacking in the Grand Canyon. Seeing as this loop would take us less than four days, we combined it with Mount Elbert, the Colorado high point, and a work conference for aContinue reading “The Colorado High Point and Four Pass Loop in the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness”
Canoeing Minnesota’s Rum River
Over the long Memorial Day weekend of 2016, (taking Friday off from work) my husband, Erik, and I paddled the 154 mile Rum River. Erik’s parents, Barb and Steve, helped us with a shuttle. The Rum has a special meaning to me because when I was a kid, we had a cabin on the riverContinue reading “Canoeing Minnesota’s Rum River”
Day Hiking Utah
In April of 2016 I found myself with more vacation time than my hubby and my best friend from elementary and middle school, Amy, ready to go adventuring. After not much debate given limited options in mid spring, we settled on Utah. We flew to Salt Lake City, rented a car, and were off toContinue reading “Day Hiking Utah”
A South Wind River Range Backpacking Loop with Wind River Peak
In August of 2015, Erik and I drove west to the Wind River Range. It was rumored the Winds backpacked like the High Sierras- immaculate trails, rare afternoon thunderstorms compared with the rest of the Rockies, and unprecedented views. We had to go check it out for ourselves. We started at the Bruce’s Bridge TrailheadContinue reading “A South Wind River Range Backpacking Loop with Wind River Peak”
Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim x 2 and Arizona’s Humphreys Peak
This would be the first of several combined work conference and state high point trips. Given that Arizona’s state high point, Humphreys Peak at 12,637 feet only takes a few hours, we added on hiking in the Grand Canyon. I wanted to go rim-to-rim in one day but Erik wanted to take two days toContinue reading “Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim x 2 and Arizona’s Humphreys Peak”
Elspeth Ronnander 