Jordan is one of my all-time favorite hot springs, and the hike within the Gila National Forest is top shelf,  truly gorgeous. I’d been in the area a few times and to Jordan once before and have been longing to return ever since. This trip I spent four leisurely days in the backcountry (pics 1-6), after which I picked Eris up in Albuquerque en route to Utah, the meat of our trip.

Cumulatively I’ve spent  many months roaming Utah, hiking summits, exploring canyons, and visiting world class archeological sites. I’ve made nearly 20 trips to the state now, 13 of which I’ve documented in albums linked HERE. Needless to say, Utah is one of my favorite places to explore.  This trip I picked out a few new sites and enjoyed taking Eris to old favorites. We explored ruins in Bears Ears, pictographs near Hite, Goosenecks State Park, Valley of the Gods, Muddy Creek and the Temple Mountain area, Circle Cliffs, Capitol Reef, and Kanab.

Most exciting on this trip was successfully locating an elusive set of ~1000yr old Native American ruins. Similar sites usually have some basic info available that makes finding them relatively casual, but this particular site was studied by archeologists in 1919 then seemingly forgotten, relatively unknown even within enthusiast groups. The only info I had was a 15 year old post with vague clues written by a man who passed over a decade ago. Last year, I came across a post by someone who had successfully located the site. Sensitive info was kept secret but I was inspired to give this a shot. Reaching the ruins required a long mostly off-trail hike to the upper rim of a large canyon, then locating the site in a rock alcove below without being able to see it until you’re close. When we reached the canyon rim I was surprised by how complex the terrain was and a feeling of doom washed over me. There were several minor and jagged fingers of the canyon, the edges were undulating and obstructed by boulders and brush, traversing along was rough and slow. Luck would be on our side though, and we spotted the ruins just 20 minutes before our turnaround time.  In its heyday, the site had about a dozen rooms and a kiva, much of which is still in incredible shape. Lots of pottery shards laying around, a testament to how rarely this site receives visitors. The last 7 pictures in this album are from this site.

The Klamath Range is one of my favorite areas in the country. Top shelf mountains, remote communities, and beautiful drives, I’ve been drawn to this area for some time. I’ve visited a handful of times for peakbagging and though I cycled through last year, I’d missed an area I really wanted to explore on a bike. I’d originally planned on a longer ride this trip but for various reasons settled on the core of my interest. I started a 100-mile loop from Etna, cycled downstream along the north fork of the Salmon River through Sawyers Bar, turned upstream along the south fork at Forks of Salmon, and looped back through Cecilville and Callahan. It was a peaceful and gorgeous ride, the biggest challenge being cold nights and two 3-4000ft climbs. A relatively casual and satisfying three days.

Before and after the ride I hiked and scrambled a handful of summits in the area, the most notable being Boulder Peak, Deadman Peak, and Monument Peak. I saw just one pair of hunters on Monument Peak but otherwise no one else. Great peaks and a nice time of year to be out here.

With the exception of 2024, I’ve made it to Montana every year since 2020, one of my favorite places. 2023 was an especially memorable year for peakbagging out there, and in 2025 I cycled through as part of the Great Divide. This year I had a quick outing in Washington before heading to the Bull River Valley to meet with friend Thomas Schaffnit. We’d met up at Bad Medicine campground before hiking Snowshoe Peak in 2021 and wanted to return. This trip we met up with other campers, hiked O’Brien Peak, checked out Cabinet Mountain Brewing and Kootenai Falls. I then hiked Berray Mountain before making the drive back to WA to catch my flight. Fingers crossed I’ll be back in 2027…

This was a 4-day backpack to climb Red Kaweah. At 13821′, Red Kaweah has been recently resurveyed as the tallest of the Kaweahs, a premier subrange in the Sierra Nevada. These peaks are not easy to reach, my route from Mineral King involved hiking over two passes just to get to the base, and required 32 miles and over 13000′ gain for the roundtrip. Originally I’d planned on a second peak but circumstances forced a late start my first day so I defaulted to breaking the approach into two days. Views of Black Kaweah made the trip worth it – shorter but more technically challenging than Red Kaweah, certainly of the most badass peaks in the ConUS.

This was a special trip to Utah to share some of my favorite places with my Mom. We visited Zion, Bryce, and Capitol Reef National Parks. She had no idea what to expect and was blown away by Zion. On the way to Bryce, she didn’t understand why we were going there, but once at the viewpoints she wanted to stay longer. Near Capitol Reef, we stayed at the Cathedral Valley Inn (a place I’ve wanted to stay for years) and went as far east as Factory Butte. Factory Butte is one of my favorite formations and I wasn’t sure what she’d think but she loved it. We picked apples in Fruita on our way back west and stopped in Vegas for dinner with my aunt and cousins on the way home. I’ve spent a lot of time in southern Utah over the years, sharing some of it with my Mom made for an extra memorable trip.