The day had two objectives: Make the drive from Butte to Glacier and enjoy the Lake Macdonald Lodge. Check and check. The highlight of the drive was a stop for huckleberry ice cream cones. Delicious! 🍦 🫐 Several weeks ago I overheard Zak telling Ellie about our cabin at Lake Macdonald. The snippet of the […]

Read More Day 52: Butte to Glacier NP

I’m leaving a lot here at Glacier: blood, sweat, tears. But I’m taking so much more: the feelings of accomplishment, closure, and perseverance. Our three day, two night backpacking trip was anything but easy. We did it though. The first day was only a little over 5 miles, mostly flat, and along a series of […]

Read More Days 53-56: Glacier NP

Today was our scheduled rest day and we took full advantage. I started with a trip to the local urgent care to have my ankle checked out. Turns out it is not broken. Yay! I’m in a sturdy brace, on steroids, and am using a otc cream that says in big, bolded print: USE ONLT […]

Read More Day 51: Idaho Falls to Butte

Author’s Note: This trip was a doozy and we cut it a night short for the reasons at the bottom of the post. I wrote this first part after hiking yesterday. We started this backpacking trip with a tense stop at the visitors center to pick up our permit. The heavy traffic got us into […]

Read More Day 49 and 50: Grand Tetons

We just finished our first ever two night backpacking night. We’ve backpacked plenty, but have always had the promise of a shower after one night of camping, the guarantee of a cold beer no more than a day away, a good supply of toilet paper with a nice porcelain throne tomorrow, and the knowledge of […]

Read More Days 46-48: Great Basin National Park

Several years ago, on our very first ever backpacking trip, we were disappointed to find the campgrounds at Great Basin National Park completely full. We drove to the tiny town just outside the park, Baker, and hoped to grab a room at the only motel. They were booked for the night, but we decided to […]

Read More Day 45: Stargazer Inn and Kerouac’s

There is little doubt that today was the most physically challenging of the trip so far, and possibly of all the adventures we’ve had. But, I would argue, it was the best too. We woke up at camp at 12:30 when someone’s car alarm was going off, and 2:30 when a group of early hikers […]

Read More Day 44: Mount Massive

Today was a rest day. We usually fill rest days with driving, household tasks like laundry, or smaller hikes. We couldn’t do any of those things today, but spent the day in Leadville. It’s the highest city in Colorado at 10,000 some feet and full of cute shops, outdoor gear suppliers, and some real good […]

Read More Day 43: Leadville

Five years ago we attempted to summit Mt. Elbert. We couldn’t. (Blog post from that day.) Today, five years later, we did. We woke up at 5 with chattering teeth and frozen toes. We had slept in our hiking clothes with the hope of saving as much time as possible in the morning. We quickly […]

Read More Day 42: Mount Elbert

We’re at the end of two consecutive rest days, days that were needed after four backpacking days and with what the next few days will present. Yesterday was our anniversary and we spent the day wondering Santa Fe, hanging out poolside, sipping margaritas, and going on a date night to a renowned New Mexican restaurant. […]

Read More Day 40 and 41: Santa Fe and Leadville