Endless P Summer

Switzerland’s Via Alpina

Day 1…6/13/25…22.5 miles…8100 ft gain…Montreaux to La Lécherette

I don’t know much about Switzerland. Besides the fact that they’re historically neutral, their cheese has holes, and their army uses a versatile knife. I guess I do know a fair bit. I’ve also heard the Alps are cool, so I figured we’d try to walk across the country following the via Alpina. 

Yesterday we flew from Ajaccio, Corsica to Geneva Switzerland. We ran a few errands then took public transit out towards Montreaux and found a campground right next to Lake Geneva. This morning we had to take a bus about ten minutes and started our hike. 

The Via Alpina starts from the lake in Montreaux then climbs straight up. If you reached the Freddie Mercury statue you’ve gone too far. Almost immediately we were walking up this gorge that felt like a rainforest with a cascading waterfall running in the middle of it. We continued to climb along roads and trails up through little villages until we reached Rochers de Naye, a ski mountain with a restaurant and stuff. They even had a train that brought people all they way up there from Montreaux. Guess we coulda taken that. A little side note; on the way up we saw a guy, pants down, taking a shit right on the side of the road, not the trail, the road, emergency style. 

After lunch we did a little ridge walking, then dropped way down then had a very steep climb. It was hot too. I feel like we didn’t exactly ease our way into this trail even though I was expecting anything to be more chill than the GR20 that we just finished. 

After 8000 feet of gain and a bunch of descent we got to La Lécherette and found a little campground for the night. Hoping that wild camping is more of a thing in Switzerland than Corsica but so far it seems like all the land we’re passing through is for people’s cows and sheep. 

Day 2…6/14/25…25.5 miles…7200 ft gain…La Lécherette to Obere Lochberg 

For a couple hours we just rolled through meadows this morning and then we got to a cheese factory in L’Etivaz. Huge wheels of cheese in this place, yesterday I saw a dude wrestling a wheel of cheese into his car like he was moving around 45 pound plates at the gym. We bought ourselves a wedge and as we were leaving, a parade of kids dressed as shepherds were walking a herd of cows up into a valley. I guess they do this twice a year, up into the valley now and then it’s a big spectacle in October when the cows come home. 

After the parade we climbed straight up and then walked all morning. It was hard to tell what was a ski mountain or what was a dairy cow operation. Everything out here seemed to be one or the other but it was cool. We crossed over Col de Jable which is the linguistic divide here. To the west people speak French, to east people speak German. Just means I have to adjust my google translate app cuz I don’t speak either. 

We followed the trail steeply down into the ritzy ski town Gstaad. I don’t like this place. It’s wicked fancy, there’s Louis Vouiton and Coach stores and stuff. They did have a Coop grocery store so we got ourselves lunch and packed out a baguette and some hiker food to go with our cheese for dinner. 

This afternoon the trail climbed gradually up  a valley for about 7 miles until we crossed over Trütlisberg Pass. We’re camped about a mile after the pass. Pretty sure it’s legal where we are, above tree line and I don’t think we’re on anyone’s property. 

Day 3…6/15/25…13.8 miles…3100 feet…Obere Lochberg to Adelboden

We walked down about 5 miles from our campsite to the ski town Lenk. It started raining on us halfway down. In town the rain let up and the sun came out and from there it was a 3000 foot climb over 3 miles to the top of Hahnenmoospass. It was a stiff climb and it was hot out and my allergies were driving me bananas. Up the top of the pass were chairlifts and a bunch of people with remote control planes. I thought they were real planes flying around all crazy until we got close enough. This is basically a hot bed of remote control airplane activity. 

On our way down we had to make a decision. The next 3 passes are the highest passes on the route. There is supposedly some snow up there but it’s hard to tell how much since there are very few people coming our direction who have hiked over the passes. I don’t want to bust my ass to climb the next pass and then force myself to make a bad decision. What I mean is, if we get up there and it’s a dangerous situation, I don’t want to push through just because we don’t feel like hiking back down. Hiking around wasn’t exactly a viable option so we ended up taking a bus and a couple trains. 

It took a couple hours but we ended up in Lauterbrunnen on the other side of the highest passes, only about 20 miles as the crow flies. We’re camping in a campground, not my favorite, with a million other tourists. The wild camping situation is tough out here, hoping it improves. At least we have a massive waterfall above us. 

Day 4…6/16/25…21 miles…7,653 ft of gain…Lauterbrunnen to Grosse Scheibegg Pass

It rained overnight but I slept like a rock. We packed up our wet tent and walked out of town then uphill all morning. We got to a pass where we had views of Jungfrau and the Eiger. Just barely though cuz it was pretty cloudy. We waited at the pass for a bit and here and there the clouds would break and we had quick views of these magnificent mountains. The clouds provided a gloomy or dare I say moody atmosphere for this epic scenery. 

It was a bit strange because where we were, we could have just taken a train. These towns are super busy, then people take all these trains to the top for the best views, walk around a bit, then take the train back to town. Whatever. It’s been a different hiking experience here in Switzerland.

From the pass we dropped like 3500 feet to Grindelwald, another fancy Swiss ski town. QB and I got food at the Coop then spread out our stuff to dry and ate lunch on some steps as people were walking by to get some souvenirs. We packed out some meat, cheese, and bread for dinner. 

This afternoon we regained 3500 feet to Grosse Scheibegg Pass. On the way up we had the Eiger on our right hand side and then the Wetterhorn. I can’t really describe just how massive these mountains feel, you just have to see for yourself. We walked about an hour on the other side of the pass, sometimes on road, and sometimes on trail until we found a spot to camp. I’m not sure if this is exactly within the rules but there were established campsites next to a river across from this huge granite wall of a mountain. It’s late, we’ll leave no trace, and get out of here early in the morning. This is one of the most beautiful spots I’ve ever camped and neither one of us is passing it up in order to pay to camp at Disneyland in the next town. 

Day 5…6/17/25…20 miles…6250 ft gain…Grosse Scheibegg Pass to Tannensee

From our beautiful campsite we had a nice pleasant walk downhill towards a town. We walked by a super tall waterfall Reichenbach falls, famous from a Sherlock Holmes’ story. QB thought it was from James Bond, which it may also be from, but it’s definitely from Sherlock Holmes. I can’t believe she would get those 2 characters confused. 

We got into Meiringen and stopped at the Coop for our lunch and picked up a dinner. A loaf of bread, wedge of cheese, cured meats, and butter and that’s been our standard lunch and dinner. For dinner we’ll also pack out some instant noodles or something. Trying to charge our phones and batteries has been a bit tricky. The Swiss definitely aren’t giving electricity away. We really had to look around and when we did find an outlet we plugged some stuff in and camped out on the sidewalk eating or lunch. 

All charged up we had a 5000 foot climb over about 7 miles, not unusual on this trail. When we got to the top the trail contoured along a super steep slope for about a mile before turning into a more comfortable ridge walk. The contouring was more exposed than I felt like doing today, and although the trail was mostly solid throughout, there were a couple spots where it was a bit dicey. I didn’t love it. 

We did have incredible views all evening though. We’re way above treeline within a ski resort. There’s a handful of chairlifts on some steep terrain. No cows up here either. We put our tent down on a flat spot about a mile above the town of Tannensee. 

Day 6…6/18/25…10.5 miles…1420 ft gain…Tannensee to Engelberg

From our campsite we descended for a couple miles to the side of a lake. We then climbed over a thousand feet to the top of a chairlift and descended again, this time straight down 4000+ feet underneath a tram to the town of Engelberg. 

The hiking here has been straight up thousands of feet, then straight down thousands of feet. Usually underneath a ski lift that’s operational for sight seers and sometimes mountain bikers. Or there’s a train to the top or we’re on roads with a little bit of trails. The last couple nights we’ve been able to wild camp but it feels like we’re breaking the rules or something. Encroaching on someone’s cow territory. The towns here are fancy ski towns. Yes, the views are stunning, but I think I’ve seen enough. 

Our original plan was to reach Lichtenstein, which would be about 4 more days but I’m not really feeling it. I got a good taste of what Switzerland is like and I’d like to go see some other parts of Europe. 

After lunch we walked about a mile and then I told QB I’d rather not continue. We discussed our options and ended up finding a campground in town where we showered, did laundry and crashed out for the night. On to the next thing. 

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 Posted on November 4, 2025 by

 Europe, hiking, Hiking, travel, Switzerland, international travel, Thru hiking, Via Alpina

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Corsica’s GR20 Part Deux: the North

Day 5…6/7/25…12.4 miles…5000 ft gain…Onda to Manganu…Stages 8 and 7

Today we did stages 8 and 7. The North really starts at stage 9 but for the sake of making it simple I’ll split these 2 posts right in half. Stage 8 was great, downhill from l’Onda and then cruised through a beautiful forest before a stiff climb up to Petra Piana. In the forest there was a handful of stone huts where you can buy cheese and charcuterie. Bummer we went through there so early before the cheese slingers were open.

We ate a bunch of peanuts and drank soda at Petra Piana before attempting the notorious Stage 7. This is one of the stages I’ve been pretty nervous about and it lived up to the hype. While it was quite intimidating to me, it was also incredible to be up in these gorgeous mountains. There was a fair amount of scrambling, some boulder hopping, and climbing with the use of a built in chain. A handful of times we had to cross snowfields, some spicier than others, and fortunately we’ve been carrying our micro spikes for this very occasion. I feel like some things look sketchier from a distance and when you get to it, it’s not quite so bad. Maybe just a little sketchy. 

It was a long descent to the refuge and it felt great getting thru a challenging section. There was a river with pools to swim in next to the camp so QB and I spent about an hour swimming and relaxing by the water. Seriously A++ for swimming holes on this trail. Dinner was a can of tomato sauce and a package of spaghetti that we bought here at the refuge and cooked with the stoves they provide. Took forever to boil the water!

Day 6…6/8/25…20.8 miles…5040 ft gain…Manganu to Tighiettu…Stages 6 and 5

Stage 6 was so cruiser, I loved it. Most of the morning we were walking thru lovely flat meadows and definitely earned it after yesterday. Felt like I was on some of the easy stuff on the PCT. After the meadows was little rocky ridge with some good views.

We stopped for lunch at a little store at Castel de Vergi at the bottom of a ski mountain. Ham and cheese and butter on a baguette, a French classic. After lunch we started on section 5 that was packed with people cuz I guess it’s a Sunday? Also a very pretty area and there’s hiking and rock climbing and swimming and cheese for sale and what not. For most of the section we walked up into a really cool canyon. I swam in the headwaters of the Golo, the longest river in Corsica. 

Originally we had reserved a spot at refuge de Ciottulu. This was halfway through section 5 and we wanted to continue to the next refuge. No sweat, we checked in and they said that it’s fine to change your reservation. So if you’re reading this blog as a how to manual-just remember that. We continued to a pass and dropped down a steep descent, then got a 1 mile head start on section 4. The upcoming 4 and 3 have been looming over my head as the hardest parts of the trail. I heard there’s a lot of snow and they’ve got me a bit nervous. Fingers crossed it goes well. *Oh yeah, dinner was a couple cans of ravioli bolognese topped with leftover Corsican cheese from lunch and a bag of gummy bears.  

Day 7…6/9/25…8.7 miles…5572 ft gain…Tighiettu to Carozzu…Stages 4 and 3

Man, these are the days! I did not want to hike either of these stages, I also didn’t want to skip them, I just wanted them to be done. There is a fair amount of fear mongering about how hard and scary the north is. And it worked on me, but I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, “Never trust a southbounder.” Still it was maybe a little scary and definitely hard. The main reason we hiked north was QB’s strategic decision to give the snow a few more days to melt and it was genius. Everyone has been telling us how steep and how much snow we’ll have to traverse but it’s been really hot this past week and a ton is melting every day. It would have been much harder going with the herd.

The wind was howling overnight and I was not looking forward to being high on a steep pass in the blistering wind. It almost completely dissipated as we started to walk this morning. Then QB saw 2 feral pigs along a ridge across a ravine from us. These weren’t the same as the wild boar I saw back on day 2 but looked more like they escaped from a farm, far far away from where they live. I took this as a good omen. We then scrambled up slabs and reached a scree field where there was a pair of perfect wooden hiking sticks on the ground so we each took one. At the refuge we had even tried to buy a pair of hiking sticks to help with the snow but they were sold out. There would be barely any snow but the sticks helped us out a bunch on walking on the loose scree. 

We got to the top of a pass, Bocca Crucetta, then traversed up to the shoulder of Monte Cinto, the tallest peak in Corsica. The way down was super steep, but there was barely any snow and we just went very slow and carefully. There was hardly anything that was exposed or uncomfortably airy. It was crowded as we descended and we must have seen hundreds of hikers going up. 

About halfway down I saw 2 guys sitting on the side of the trail and 1 was taking his own pulse so I figured something was up. None of us spoke the same language, not even close, but QB and I talked to him with our google translate app and he was having chest pains and had an elevated heart rate. He was 73 and pretty uncomfortable, there was no way he was walking out of these mountains. QB climbed back up trail a bit to the next group of people and found someone to call for a rescue. I stayed with him and then the next woman to get to us was a french speaking cardiac nurse. What are the chances, including QB, 2 cardiac nurses show up while you’re in the middle of a medical situation? She took over the scene and by this time a handful of hikers had gathered. We transferred care and our job was done so after an hour of being on scene Sara and I were basically told we should continue down the trail. This was one of those too many cooks in the kitchen situations and after the guy took an aspirin he was feeling a bit better instead of declining and his heart rate was coming down. 

As we walked out we watched the helicopter fly up the valley then lower a couple of techs on a cable and eventually pull up the patient in a litter. He was in quite a precarious position and it would have been impossible to land a helicopter. Plus the whole scene unfolded next to a huge spire so it didn’t look like the helicopter could even get that close. They got it done though. Very impressive! It took me and QB another hour and a half to descend down a steep slope with a bunch of class 3 and 4 scrambles, some with built in chains. At the bottom of one scramble was a puddle of blood. We later learned someone made it into the refuge at the bottom with a head wound an hour before us. At the parking lot at the trailhead, the helicopter was unpacking the chest pain patient just as we were getting there so we checked in on him and he was doing ok. 

What a morning! We got sandwiches for lunch at the bottom of Asco Stagnu ski mountain and were on to our next objective: Stage 3. This was a 3 mile section that the book said should take 6 hours. It didn’t quite take us that long, sure was tough though. The first mile climbed almost 2500 feet and then we traversed a ridge and descended even further. I watched one guy fall right in front of me and crack his head, it didn’t seem so bad and he had a bunch of people around to hold his hand so we were dismissed quickly. Didn’t need to have 2 medical aids today. 

Finally made it to Carozzu which feels like the busiest and maybe the grossest campsite of the trail. We got the very last tent site down in a gully. If this were a rafting trip we’re in the groover spot. 

Day 8…6/10/25…12.8 miles…3823 ft gain…Carozzu to Calinzana…Stages 2 and 1

GR20 wasn’t letting us off the hook easily, Stage 2 was rugged! We slept good in our little hobbit hole then climbed out of the tent and then thousands more feet directly up a steep mountain pass. From the first pass we had to traverse along a rocky ridge with lots of little scrambles up, down, over, under and around rocks. We got to another pass and began a long and tedious descent towards refuge de l’Ortu and the end of the segment. This was basically slower than 1 mph territory. 

We had crepes for lunch at the refuge and then were on to finish this thing. Stage 1 isn’t ‘easy’ for us but if we were going south it would be way harder. It’s a massive effort because you’re basically climbing up 5000 ft in 7 miles, into the mountains from near sea level. For us it was all downhill. Still kinda tough though. There was about a mile of it that was lots of downhill scrambling, some with chains for assistance. What didn’t help was we had to keep waiting for people climbing uphill. Watching these people going uphill on their day 1 was like watching lambs going directly to the slaughter. I felt bad for these suckers, some of them just didn’t have a clue what they were in for. People kept asking us how long until the top, in French. A long way baby lamb, a long way. 

Next there was about 3 or 4 miles of dusty trail downhill to Calinzana. Other than being exposed to the hot sun it was easy walking. At the bottom we passed through a gate and into the town of Calinzana and that was that. No fanfare or nothing. We walked through the town, stopped at a little store which is basically where everyone starts from and started hitching. Quickly we got 2 rides and got into Calvi on the northwest coast of Corsica where we’re staying for the night. A well deserved nice meal, shower, laundry, and a bed. Couldn’t find any of that wild boar stew though.

Final thoughts:

The GR20 was tough! I was in good shape going into it but other than that I didn’t really know how hard it was going to be. I would say the terrain isn’t that far off from doing a high route in the U.S. Logistically it was easy to get food, but I’m not a fan of having such limited camping opportunities although I understand why this system exists. Water was easy. Swimming was excellent. Everybody showers and does laundry here daily-I’m not doing that. I take baths when I can and put on the same smelly clothes and wash them at the end like real hiker trash. Anyway I recommend this trail if you’re in for a challenge but maybe not before early June.

Thank you for reading! Make sure to go back to the first half if you haven’t already

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 Posted on June 12, 2025 by

 GR20, Hiking, Thru hiking, Uncategorized

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Corsica’s GR20 Part 1: the South

Day 1…6/3/2…8.4 miles…3573 ft gain…Conca to Bivouac de Paleri…Stage 16

QB and I started the day at our Airbnb in Bonifacio, a true gem of the Mediterranean (from what I’ve seen of it, which isn’t much). We took two buses and got to Sainte Lucie de Porto Vecchio. From there we walked about a mile with our thumbs out and got picked up by Florence who drove us the next 3 or 4 miles to where the trail starts-basically in her backyard. 

The first mile was a stiff climb and then we were in the mountains. Granite peaks all over the place, it’s been really cool. At 3 miles in there was a series of waterfalls and pools, perfect for a dip. The rest of the walking today was challenging especially with the heat. Not the hardest thing I’ve ever done but it wasn’t cruiser. Short mileage but a fair amount of elevation gain. 

Wild camping is forbidden in Corsica. I guess if it was allowed then people would be absolutely everywhere since this trail is packed. So every night we have to camp outside of Refugios at a cost of 9€ pp. It’s double if you haven’t reserved it ahead of time and more if you want a bunk inside. We can’t just go as far as we want and throw down a tent wherever, Because of all that we scheduled an 8 day hike and today is a predetermined short first day.

The adjustment to this style of hiking will take some getting used to. For instance, everybody here is showering and maybe even washing their clothes? Seems odd to me. 

Day 2…6/4/25…19.2 miles…7,995 ft gain…Paleri to Usciolu…Stages 15, 14, 13

Got an early start today and we’re walking before 6. We had to cover a few miles just to get to the end of stage 16. The GR20 is broken up into 16 stages and is designed to be done in 16 days. We’re attempting to do it in 8 days which we thought beforehand would be reasonable. And most people do it north to south, we’re walking south to north and the guidebook and most info is based on hikers walking south. So everything is in reverse therefore stage 16 is stage 1 for us. Since yesterday was a short day, today and is gonna be a fair amount beefier. Anyway, we walked into Bavela around 8am, the real end of the first stage and took a quick break. We picked up a couple ham and cheese baguettes here to eat for dinner tonight.

From Bavela we opted for the alpine variant for stage 15, a spicier line than the regular trail that goes out and around. This variant brought us way up into some really cool mountains. It was steep up and down, even descending with built in chains at one point, but nothing too airy. Just before we got to the end of stage 15, I took a dip in a river so I got my “shower” out of the way early. 

We ate a few snacks at refuge d’Asinau then began a rigorous climb up Monte Incudine. It was seriously difficult, has me doubting a bit if we can complete this thing in the time we gave ourselves, especially since everyone is warning us the north is supposed to be more difficult. After the peak we had some cruiser downhill and then some pleasant miles through something of a plateau. I spooked a wild boar, never seen one before. I know they’re out here because wild boar stew is a famous Corsican dish but not sure how rare they are-I’ll let you know in a few days. 

I thought we were home free this evening but the last 3 miles were along a spine of a few mountains, nothing too crazy just slow going. Got into refuge d’Usciolu just before 7 and wolfed down our sandwiches. We hiked for 13 hours today and covered only 19 miles. That included stages 13,14, and 15, as well as finishing stage 16. The footing is difficult and there was some serious elevation gain which I don’t think is out of the ordinary. Definitely feeling like maybe we bit off more than we can chew. We’ll see. They say it’s the most difficult trail in Europe and so far I believe it.

Day 3…6/5/25…19.4 miles…5,314 ft gain…Usciolu to Capanelle…Stages 12 and 11

Ran into our first Americans today(besides each other) a father and 2 sons from Tennessee who have previously hiked the AT. This trail is crowded and it seems like everyone is speaking French. The language barrier is more challenging than I anticipated, I mean most people can speak some English after you ask them but my French is abysmal. Working on it. Mastered “merci” and “bonjour.”

The walking today was chiller than yesterday. Stage 12 started uphill and then was slow going as we walked back and forth between mountain peaks along a ridge. After a few hours we dropped down and it was more mellow. We stopped at Col de Verde for lunch. I asked for 3 ham and cheese sandwiches, 1 to split now and 1 each for tonight. Then I asked the waitress for 2 of them to go. Now these aren’t your typical ham and cheese sandwiches, they’re aged cheese and cured meat on foot long baguettes, plus butter. Absolutely delicious. She brought me 5 of these things. Sadly I had to send 2 back after we cleared up the confusion. 

This afternoon the trail was really chill. Actually had 2 perfect swimming holes and I couldn’t help myself and swam twice. Never showering again. We got in to Capanelle at the base of a ski mountain and paid 20€ to tent here. Then we ate our sandwiches. 

Day 4…6/6/25…17 miles…5000 ft gain…Capanelle to l’Onda…stages 9 and 8

Did stages 10 and 9 today. 10 was cruiser, nice trail brought us mostly downhill all the way to the town of Vizzavona. This place is basically the split between the north and the south sections of trail. There’s a train station here so you can access the start of either side, or you can bail. For the sake of splitting this blog post into 2 North and South, I’ll include stage 9 in the South although it’s technically part of the North.

They have a couple restaurants in Vizzavona but we got here around 10 and they don’t start serving food until 12. Like, doesn’t anyone around here know how to make a euro? Instead we bought all the makings for ham and cheese baguettes at a little shop and picked up a few snacks for the rest of the day. 

The walk out of Vizzavona brought us along a river for awhile with some dope waterfalls! And there was a bunch of emerald pools below them perfect for swimming. Four days in a row now, still starting to smell a little funny though. After our swim we climbed steeply up onto a ridge and then down the other side. Most of our elevation gain was in the last few miles today and they were slow going. 

We got to refuge de l’Onda and set up our tent among a million others like we were at Woodstock ‘99. I took a little bird bath and scrubbed my Hawaiian shirt with some dish soap. QB cooked up the hiker trash special, ramen and rice. 

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the next post to read if we made it through the north or not…

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 Posted on June 11, 2025 by

 Corsica, GR20, Hiking, Thru hiking, Uncategorized

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Magna Via Francigena

This route is an ancient pilgrimage across Sicily, from Palermo south to Agrigento. It’s 130 miles give or take(I don’t care what the guide book says) and we did it over the course of five days. I walked with my hiking partner/wife, QB/Sara. The route basically goes from cathedral to cathedral and stopping at churches along the way is encouraged? Neither one of us is all that religious but nobody checks so we’re good to go. It’s both of our first “Camino” style walk. Anyway, here’s my account of the MVF.

Day 1…..5/23/25…..20.3 miles

Palermo to Santa Cristina Gela 

Last night Sara and I flew from Porto, Portugal to Palermo, Italy. From the airport we took a shared taxi 45 mins for 8€ pp. The owner of the AirB+B tried to tell us that at 8:30 pm you won’t be able to get public transportation and she would send us a private car for 55€. I don’t think so lady; there were plenty of buses, cabs, and trains. 

Our AirB+B was less than a mile from the Cathedral where this whole thing starts but first we had to run one little errand which added a couple miles. We went to the Casa D’Amici hostel where they have the passports. This is my first Camino so I didn’t know this. You take your passport with you to the different cathedrals along the route and they stamp it-you know, for proof.

At the Cathedral of Palermo we toured the ancient building from the 1100’s and went to get the MVF guidebook. The Liberia Paoline Bookstore across from the Cathedral is the only place that has it. Just go in there and tell one of the nuns what you’re up to and she’ll help you out. 

Now we were on our way. First of all, almost all pavement all day. It was a few miles of walking through the city of Palermo, it wasn’t pretty, and then we started to climb. We walked into Monreale and did a lap around  town before getting our passports stamped in a massive cathedral. 

From Monreale we followed busy roads down and then back up to Altofonte where we got lunch and met 5 other pilgrims or pellegrinos. I guess we’re in the bubble. I would say QB and I are doing this route more of a cultural experience since neither one of us is religious so I’m not super comfortable calling myself a pilgrim. Pellegrino is cool though, I like that. Dish of delicious lasagna for lunch, I like that too. Then we assaulted some stairs and walked roads the rest of the day into Santa Cristina Gela.

SCG is a little town. We rented a room for the night from this woman Sylvana for 50€. You really can’t wild camp in Sicily so I guess we’re renting rooms every night? We’ll see. So far it’s quite luxurious opposed to thru hiking. Dinner was bruschetta and heart shaped pistachio raviolis. 

Day 2…..5/24/25…..31.3 miles 

Santa Cristina Gela to Prizzi 

We dropped the keys off to Franco at the bakery and grabbed a couple pastries for breakfast. The beginning of the day brought us up out of town on some trails with views of Lake Piana. We then dropped down on an overgrown trail that had some tall hay or wildflowers or just general vegetation. Whatever it is, I’m allergic to this stuff and it was all over my arms and legs. I was covered in hives and itchy so I took a Benadryl and survived. As of now anyway. 

The route passes through the tiny town of Tagliavia where we stopped to check out the church and get our passports stamped and enjoy a quick espresso. South of Tagliavia, there was a little detour to Gole da Drago that I really wanted to see so we went out and back about a mile each way to see this series of waterfalls. They were cool, if not a bit tricky to find, and were helpful washing some of that stuff off my arms and legs. 

Next up, Corleone, of “The Godfather” fame. It seemed pretty quiet there this afternoon and the churches are closed on Saturday so we got our passports stamped at a local pizzeria instead. After splitting a pizza with anchovies, QB and I were on our way. *a bird shit on me in Corleone. QB had a bird shit on her in Lisbon last week so I guess we’re even. 

Because you can’t camp along this trail and can really only stay in town you can’t really fly by the seat of your pants. Most pellegrinos walk from SCG to Corleone and stop for the night. Since we only gave ourselves five days total we have to push another 12 miles or so to Prizzi. Typical. 

The rest of the afternoon was rolling Sicilian countryside to the town of Prizzi up high on a hill. We stayed at a hostel here where we met 2 other Pelegrinos, Daniel and Stella from southern Italy. Dinner was rigatoni licorice and spaghetti carbonara and ate at a nearby Trattoria. 

Day 3……5/25/25…..25.2 miles 

Prizzi to San Giovanni Gemini 

Tip-toed out of the hostel this morning so not to wake our Italian friends who were still sleeping. On our way out of town grabbed some ricotta filled pastries for our morning walk. 

Another beautiful day in Sicily. The path this morning was mostly dirt roads that brought us into a couple different forests, which we haven’t seen too much of out here. We caught up to an Australian couple Bob and Faye, veterans of Caminos all over Europe. They walked into Castronova de Sicilia with us and we found a spot for lunch that was open on Sunday. Pizza/calzone/rice balls or arancini if you were wondering. Castronovo is a delightful looking town carved right into the side of a mountain. 

QB(or Regina B in Italian) and I walked another 8 or 9 miles this afternoon into San Giovanni Gemini. It’s hard to tell specifically how far everything is until it’s done. The trail is well marked, however it’s in kilometers and even though the conversion to miles is no sweat, all the signs seem to be a bit off, as well as the guidebook. Anyway the walking was chill. There were some caves that are cool and Regina B stepped on a green snake, supposedly. According to her it slithered away unharmed.

We rented a room for the night in San Giovanni Gemini. It’s directly next to the town of Cammarata, high up on a mountain and a bit of a busier place than we’ve been used to. On the way back from dinner (pizza/panini’s/gelato)  we saw a ton of young people walking around wearing the same leather jacket. I felt like there was a flash mob or something-it was very strange.

Day 4…..5/26/25…..27.3 miles 

San Giovanni Gemini to Racalmuto 

Hot one today! Blue skies and sunny. We got pastries at a bakery on the way out of town, pretty much our standard breakfast. Today we passed through towns about every five miles.

First was Acquaviva Platani, we met Senor Federico there and he told us about his 11 years in England and how he made enough money to build 3 houses in Sicily. He sent us on our way to Sutera where the ridge walking into town was one of the highlights of the trail for me. Sutera is this town built around a mountain sticking right out of the middle of it-I’ve never been to any place like it. We ate some baked ziti there for lunch and moved on. 

As we were walking through Campofranco, Rosetta pulled us into her house. She and her husband Antonio filled our water bottles and stamped passports. (The people in Sicily have been wicked nice, always welcoming us and beeping and waving.) A few miles later we had to ford a knee deep river, not something I expected. We then crossed paths with multiple shepherds with their flocks and sheep dogs. These things are built to take down wolves. All they did was bark a little at us. We also got eyes on Mt. Etna today, far to the east, looks like it’s erupting. 

Tonight we’re staying in Racalmulto. Got ourselves a nice room with a balcony and everything. Like I mentioned earlier, luxurious living for thruhikers. Pizza with sardines for dinner. 

Day 5…..5/27/25…..26.2 miles

Racalmuto to Agrigento

Finito. Did the damn thing. It was another hot one out there today. I don’t think we realized how lucky we were the first three days that we had decent cloud cover, because today and yesterday were hot! With limited shade. Felt like the Mojave out there. 

This morning our walk was uneventful until the trail was so overgrown that I couldn’t see my feet and suddenly fell in a hole up to my chest. WTF MVF? Lucky I didn’t get hurt. Besides that it was a lot of pavement and a handful of towns. The best part of the walking today brought us up on a ridge where we could see the Mediterranean Sea to the south. 

In Joppolo Giancaxio I got a sausage and onion sub for lunch. I’m telling you, it was so good. Sara got a chicken sandwich and I just know she had food envy when she tried some of mine. 

The last ten miles into Agrigento weren’t my favorite. We aimed for Cattedrale San Gerlando which we could see high up in the city on a hill. The destination of this whole pilgrimage. Overall I enjoyed this route and I definitely like Sicily. Walking into Agrigento was just kinda beat. We got to the church and they sent us around the corner to a museum to get our final stamp and ticket to tour the church. It was about to close for the day so we’ll go check it out tomorrow and celebrate with a victory pizza instead. Or pasta. 

 10 Comments

 Posted on May 30, 2025 by

 Hiking, Magna via Francigena, Uncategorized

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Wallowa Mountains

8/29/20…..6 miles…..Aneroid Lake 

I was first made aware of the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon when I was trying to hitchhike across the country a few years ago. I forgot all about them until a few weeks ago when Sara and I drove right by these snow capped peaks and figured we should probably check them out at some point. Our plans got rearranged a little as they do and after bouncing around Washington and Oregon a bit now was the time to do some exploring. 

Yesterday, after bathing in the Deschutes river, we drove west from Bend and last night we slept in the car in the Sheep Creek dispersed camping area outside LaGrande, OR. This was our second(and much better) choice after unsuccessfully trying to sleep at a busy rest area on I-84 near Pendleton. Today, from Sheep Creek, we drove through Hell’s Canyon, resupplied and did laundry in the towns of Enterprise and Joseph, OR. ***Joseph, Oregon named after Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce. The Wallowa Valley was originally their Ancestral homeland.*** In Joseph there was a car show going on right on the main drag through town. As our laundry washed we walked around and looked at shiny antique cars while their owners sat in lawn chairs listening to cowboy music and not wearing masks. Maybe ten percent of the people in Joseph wore masks. Other than that, Joseph was cool. I felt like the car show people didn’t accurately represent the town, I could be wrong though. And another thing, antique cars don’t really do it for me, unless you can sleep in them. RV’s, Vans, or cars and trucks converted to something of an RV are the only vehicles that turn me on.

A few miles outside of town is Wallowa Lake and a trailhead into the Wallowa Mountains within Eagle Cap Wilderness. We took our sweet time reorganizing our packs on a picnic table and didn’t get walking until after 5. It was 6 miles to Aneroid Lake and although the trail climbed almost 3000 feet we kept up a steady pace. At the lake we got a great spot and I had time for a quick swim before it got dark. I almost had a very unfortunate blunder while going swimming. As I walked down an embankment from our site to the water I dropped my clothing bag and watched it bounce right into the drink, luckily I scooped it out quickly and nothing inside got wet. 
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8/30/20…..24 miles…..Crater Lake
From Aneroid Lake this morning we climbed up and over a chilly Tenderfoot Pass. In the distance we could see 8-10 mountain goats traversing across the side of a mountain. For the rest of the day any time either of us saw a bright white rock on the side of a mountain, we’d both stare at it for awhile waiting for it to move. I do this all the time. They were all just bright white rocks. After Tenderfoot we climbed higher up and over Polaris Pass. On top of Polaris we could see into the Lakes Basin Area and all the surrounding granite peaks. This place is sometimes referred to as the ‘Oregon Alps‘ or ‘Little Switzerland.’ Although I’ve never been to Switzerland I think I know why. Going down Polaris Pass there was about a thousand switchbacks(maybe not quite that many), and the first few were just a wee bit sketchy with the combination of loose scree and steep slope. We passed Frazier Lake and then ate lunch at Little Frazier Lake across from a waterfall. 

After lunch we climbed switchbacks to the top of Hawkins Pass and then dropped into a valley following the South Fork of the Imnaha River. Looking out from both sides of Hawkins Pass was impressive scenery. We followed the Imnaha for about 5 miles then turned up a trail alongside Cliff Creek for another 5. We came across a few floating heads on the trail making animal calls and carrying crossbows. Shortly afterwards a big beautiful bull elk crossed the trail about a hundred feet ahead of me. Hopefully he goes undetected by the hunters. 

Tonight we camped at Crater Lake, not to be confused with Crater Lake National Park. There seems to be no inflow or outflow to the lake and it must have been caused by a meteor. Lots of fish though, there was a bunch of ripples in the water and just as I was about to go in for a swim we watched an osprey pluck a fish from the surface and bring it to a nearby tree for dinner, majestically.

8/31/20…..22 miles…..Blue Lake 
We started our day walking downhill from Crater Lake on the Little Kettle Creek Trail. This trail wasn’t my favorite but we did see a black bear. I heard some rocks sliding so I walked through a couple trees and looked up on a hill and saw the little fella eating berries or whatever. The trail switchbacked way down over 5 or 6 miles to the East Eagle Trailhead on the southern edge of the forest, there was lots of bear scat along the trail which makes sense. We took a right on the East Eagle Trail following East Eagle Creek back up into the mountains. I saw a bear on this trail too but probably within 10-15 feet of me next to the trail. When the bear realized I was there it quickly skedaddled, absolutely bolting downhill. 

We ate lunch at the creek after about 7 miles then took a side trail up to a couple of alpine lakes; Moon and Hidden. The trail ended at Hidden Lake and it was in something of a cirque(wall of mountains). After exploring for a bit we backtracked back to East Eagle Trail followed it for another mile then took a left up and over Frazier Pass. If you’re feeling froggy I think you could climb up and over a pass behind Hidden Lake and drop down onto the far side of Frazier Pass. There’s no trail but both sides look manageable to the naked eye.

Down the other side of Frazier Pass we took a right and followed the Minam River trail to Minam lake. There was a 1 mile dead end trail up to Blue Lake from here so we took that and have a beautiful campsite next to Blue Lake within another cirque of mountains. Amazingly there’s nobody else camped up here. We actually hardly saw anybody all day, besides a few cowboys and their horses camped down by Minam River. 

9/1/20…..24 miles…..Ice Lake 
While yesterday was chilly and overcast all day and threatening the r-word, today was absolutely beautiful; warmer, sunny, no clouds. I swam in 3 freezing cold alpine lakes today and that’s really all I can ever ask for.

We walked downhill from our campsite at Blue to Minam Lake then up and over Ivan Carper Pass back into the Alpine Lakes Basin. From here we walked past Mirror Lake and Eagle Cap Peak, which the wilderness is named for, to Moccasin Lake. We then took a little detour to do some exploring. We followed an out and back trail that went up Glacier Pass and then down just a little bit on the other side to Glacier Lake. This lake was absolutely gorgeous, my favorite lake in the Wallowas so far and worth the extra effort to seek it out. After swimming we retreated the same way we came, climbing back up Glacier Pass, then back down to Moccasin Lake. We walked a few miles through the Lakes Basin to Lee Lake where we ate lunch and swam again. This lake has a 15 foot cliff that I’m sure people jump off but I wouldn’t recommend, I actually talked to some kids who were just leaving there that said they did it. In order to safely do it you’d have to clear a 6 foot granite shelf at the bottom, definitely not worth the risk to me. I’m just not confident enough in my leaping abilities.

After lunch we took the Lakes Basin Trail down and out of the Basin to the West fork of the Wallowa River. This trail leads all the way back to Wallowa Lake and the car but after a few miles we took another detour up to Ice Lake. The Ice Lake Trail climbed 2300 feet over almost 5 miles but it was well graded and an enjoyable climb. It went past some awesome cascading waterfalls and from the trail we saw a mountain goat in the distance(I’m always pointing out wild animals to Sara or rocks that I think are wild animals). When we got to the lake it was still warm enough to go for a quick dip, so before we set up camp we quickly jumped in and out just as the sun was setting. Just like the name implies, it was icy cold. Beautiful though and a worthy side trip as it sits at the base of some of the highest mountains of the Wallowas. 

9/2/20…..7 miles…..Antelope Resevoir CG, Southeastern Oregon

This morning we backtracked down the Ice Lake Trail to the West Fork of the Wallowa River Trail that leads to Wallowa Lake, where we started, and out of the mountains. Shortly after picking up this trail we got caught up to by Aladdin. We easily picked up each other’s scents and recognized one another as fellow thru hikers. Aladdin had been in the Eagle Cap Wilderness for the last 9 days scouting out a high route which sounded pretty awesome. We talked of long distance trails the 3 of us had hiked and when and came up with a handful of hikers that we all knew. Oddly enough, about a mile before we got to the parking lot we came across 3 more hikers that we had met before but separately; Allgood, the Punisher, and Iron Mike. Aladdin had known Allgood and Sara and I had met the Punisher and Iron Mike briefly in 2018 while we were hiking the Arizona Trail and they were on the Grand Enchantment Trail. Even stranger, just minutes before running into them we were discussing with Aladdin the GET and that we covered some it where it coincides with the Arizona Trail. I just got done telling him we had met GET hikers while on this section. The very people we were about to run into. Hard to follow I’m sure and eerie I guess but not completely shocking. My life continues to be a series of bizarre coincidences. Sara tells me that it’s a small world, and the hiking community is smaller than I think. Besides the chance encounter these three were doing something really cool, literally just starting out on an obscure 600 mile new thru hike called The Blue Mountain Trail(I think). I was a tiny bit jealous. 

Soon Sara and I were out of the woods and back at our car. We took a bath in Wallowa lake, did laundry in the town of Joseph and filled up on burritos and Chimichangas. From here we’re heading south. We drove a few hours to the Snively Hot Springs on the Owyhee River and then a couple more to a campsite on Antelope Reservoir. 

I don’t want to blow this place up but since only my mom and a few of her friends are reading this I feel safe writing it here: the Wallowa Mountains and the Eagle Cap Wilderness are incredible. I recommend visiting and I definitely plan to be back to explore again. 

Check out our instas for more pictures and stuff: @endlesspsummer @sarahikes

 3 Comments

 Posted on March 18, 2021 by

 eagle cap wilderness, Hiking, wallowas

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3 Sisters Loop +South Sister

Day 1…..24 miles…..Near Scott Pass, OR

The 3 Sisters are three beefy volcanos lined up north to south within the Oregon Cascades. The loop we are hiking is roughly 45 miles with then another 10 or so to summit South Sister and back.
Yesterday afternoon we climbed the ski mountain Mt. Bachelor just south of the Sisters then slept in the car not far from the trailhead. We started this morning from the Devil’s Lake trailhead on the South Sister approach trail. This was a good climb for about a mile and a half until it intersects with the Moraine Lake Trail. We followed this for 3 miles until joining the good ol’ PCT. 
Going clockwise the next 20 miles was smooth sailing on the PCT. I didn’t think I remembered this section but as I was hiking it all became very real, I could recall people I met and conversations I had while walking this section of trail 5 years ago. Today we passed through the Obsidian Creek area which is very cool but does require some red tape. You’re supposed to get a permit to walk through at $3 pp. I didn’t remember doing this at all in ’15 but then Sara reminded me the PCT covered all these little permits. Anyway there’s some cool waterfalls, an excellent spring, and lots and lots of pieces of obsidian everywhere. Sara explained to me how obsidian is formed and if I listened more carefully I could relay that information to you. It’s basically when volcanic rock cools super quickly it becomes smooth and glass like, I think. Sure does look cool. We walked another 5-6 miles, passed through some lava fields, had great views of not only the Sisters but the other Cascades to the north and then turned off the PCT onto Scott Pass Trail and found a campsite shortly afterwards. Day 2…..22 miles…..near Moraine Lake


Very shortly after breaking camp the trail led us into a huge burn. Good thing we camped when we did, neither of us like to sleep in a burn when there’s a million dead trees hanging around waiting for a stiff breeze to knock them over. The burn lasted about 10-12 miles and the last 2 miles or so  we had a bunch of blow downs to navigate around. It wasn’t all that pretty. The rest of the day was nice though. We started on Scott Pass trail and soon took a right on Green Lakes Trail which we’d be on most of the day keeping North, Middle, and then South Sister on our right. Near the end of the day we took another right turn to get back onto Moraine Lake Trail which we had started on. 
For most of the day we thought we’d have a shot at summitting South Sister this afternoon but we ended up taking our time. Instead we swam in a couple beautiful mountain lakes opposed to crushing all day and hoping we had enough daylight. We found a campsite just past Moraine Lake off the trail up South Sister very close to where we started yesterday morning. The plan is to summit in the morning then make our way back down to Devil’s Lake Trailhead. 

Day 3…..10 miles…..car


In order to go light on our climb this morning we left our tent set up and our sleeping bags inside then crossed our fingers and hoped nobody would mess with our stuff. Nobody did. From where we slept it was 4 miles to the summit with something like 3500 feet or gain. The first 3 miles were a solid climb with relatively easy to follow trail until we gained the ridge. The ridge itself, if you didn’t know any better, may have appeared to be the top of the mountain. It wasn’t. From there you could see up another another 1200+ feet to the summit of the volcano. Looking up there was a massive glacier to the right and a gigantic slope of red sand to the left. There appeared to be a very thin steep trail dissecting these two sections of the mountain and then the trail cut left across the steep red sand slope. It was actually quite steep but nothing crazy.

We had small switchbacks all the way up until it cut left and it was much wider than it originally appeared. Once we crossed the red sand we reached the caldera and easily walked around the frozen lake inside of it to the summit of South Sister at 10,363 feet. From the top we had incredible views in every direction especially to the north where we could see the Cascades in a line all the way up to Mt. St. Helens. There was hardly any wind, not a cloud in the sky, and the smoke from nearby wildfires didn’t seem that bad. A beautiful day. On our way down we passed a million people so it seemed we beat the rush. There was even a wedding party climbing to the top where the couple was to be married on the summit. We gathered our gear that was untouched and walked two more miles back to the car. We drove half an hour to Bend with the gaslight on, ate burritos in town and bathed in the Deschutes River. 
This loop was pretty cool. A nice little backpacking trip. 

Undoubtedly the highlight was climbing South Sister. I remember when I hiked the PCT I heard some guys went and did this and it seemed like a fun side trip. Probably have to do it again next time I thru hike. 

Thanks for reading! To see more pics check out our instas: @endlesspsummer @sarahikes and feel free to follow this blog of course

Sent from my iPhone

 4 Comments

 Posted on March 7, 2021 by

 3 Sisters Loop, backpacking, Hiking, oregon, Pacific Northwest, pnw, Uncategorized

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Cohos Trail

Day 1…..28 miles…..Cherry Mountain Trailhead

The Cohos(pronounced co-os like the way you would say co-op) Trail is a 165 mile footpath through northern New Hampshire. The southern terminus is at the Davis Path trailhead in Crawford Notch and it stretches to the Canadian Border in the North. We’ll be hiking from south to north. 
Yesterday Sara and I finished Vermont’s Long Trail, drove my car back to Smuggler’s Notch to pick up her car, then drove both cars to the tippity top of NH and dropped her car off by Third Connecticut Lake. From there we drove south to Crawford Notch and spent the night sleeping in my car before setting off in the morning. Along the drive we cached food about halfway in Stark, NH off rt 110 where we hid bear canisters in the woods stuffed with 3 days worth of ramen and Mike and Ike’s. Living in Massachusetts I have always felt that New Hampshire pretty much ends at the White Mountains. Boy was I mistaken. There’s so much more up here in The Great North Woods, as they call it and I’m about to find that out.
This morning we rolled out of the Subaru, crossed Bemis Bridge and climbed up Davis Path towards Stairs Mountain. The Cohos Trail goes up and over Mt. Isolation then drops way down to the Dry River. Actually not dry, we crossed it in knee deep water. From there we climbed up over the Presidential Ridge near Eisenhower, took a left on the AT and followed that for a quarter mile then dropped steeply down Edmonds Trail. We finally had some easier walking on snowmobile trails once we got to the bottom. After passing the Mt. Washington Hotel monstrosity we went west on 302 for a bit. 
For dinner we grabbed gas station sandwiches and walked another mile before looking for a place to camp. The Cohos Trail runs along Old Cherry Mountain Road which has ‘primitive’ camping but everything was taken. These are sites carved into the woods with no toilets or electrical hookup. There were cars in every single one of them. Besides the primitive spots, the woods are so thick with brush it’s next to impossible to find a spot for the tent. We walked a bit longer than we would have liked to but finally found a spot in the woods right across from the trailhead up Old Cherry Mountain. A pleasant and productive first day on the Cohos Trail. 
Day 2…..25 Miles…..Mt Weeks Summit
Yesterday I forgot to dry out my sleeping bag. We got rained on at some point, my bag got wet and I forgot all about it until we set up camp. Sara and I made due with 1 sleeping bag for the night. Fortunately it wasn’t that cold out and we were both exhausted and able to sleep. From our spot next to the trailhead we walked up and over Mounts Martha and Owls Head(the other NH Owls Head). Finally seeing some Cohos Trail signs and yellow blazes we followed these down through a series of snowmobile and rail trails around Pondicherry wildlife sanctuary before doing a decent road walk on 115A. Before starting the road walk I think I saw a bear. I can’t confirm it, it was either a bear or bigfoot, but I think it was a bear.
At the junction of 115A and Rt 2 there’s a country store attached to an Irving gas station. This place has massive subs, both thumbs up, and good pizza. We took our time eating lunch, went back in to pick up a few things for a 1 day resupply then sat on the porch doing some housekeeping; organizing food and cleaning our feet and stuff. We had been there for about an hour and as I looked over towards the gas station I thought I saw my cousin’s husband pumping gas. As I walked over to get a better look, my cousin Kate walked out of the store! Kate, John, and their daughter Mila were up here on vacation and were coming from Santa’s Village. And it was Kate’s birthday! What a treat. I know we’re only 3 hours from the North Shore of Boston and to see someone from home isn’t outside the realm of possibility but at one of the only places we’ll stop this whole trail, and a first cousin, that was quite a coincidence. 
After an unexpected visit with family Sara and I walked up the Starr King Trail towards Kilkenny Ridge. A few miles later my back started burning like a son of a gun. It felt like somebody was simultaneously pulling out every single one of my back hairs. I took my shirt off and Sara wiped my back off, gave me an examination, and a diagnosis: heat rash. Neither one of us knew the cure. For the rest of the day I adjusted my pack so it wasn’t directly on my back and it seemed to help a little. We rolled along Kilkenny Ridge summitting Waumbek and a few smaller peaks before setting up on top of Mt. Weeks. My back seemed to get better for now which is a big relief. 
Day 3…..27 miles…..Percy tent site
This morning we continued on the Kilkenny Ridge Trail slowly for another 15 miles. We went up and down a few smaller peaks and topped out for the day at Mt. Cabot, the northernmost 4000 footer in New Hampshire. On the way up Cabot we met a pair of southbound Cohos Trail thru hikers, Goliath and Handsome Dan. Long distance hikers, if we didn’t know the same people we knew the same trails and traded info with them on stuff coming up.
Eventually, after what seemed like forever, we got off the Kilkenny Ridge trail and found ourselves at South Pond. This pond is at the northernmost part of the White Mountain National Forest. There’s a beach here and a swimming area. While the other beach goers did their thing Sara and I took baths washing off a few days worth of bug spray and B.O. It was extremely refreshing. 
Leaving the pond we had a few miles of road walking, crossing rt 110 then the Upper Ammonoosuc River and entered Nash Stream Forest. We located our hidden bear canisters with our untouched 3 day resupply in them and took a few minutes to organize our food. I think we have now entered the Great North Woods and virtually everything up here is uncharted terrain for me. I’m very familiar with WMNF but I’ve only been hiking north of Cabot once, it’s all brand new to me. Sara and I walked another 6 miles with the last 2 being extra grueling and got to camp at the Percy tent site. 
Amazingly today my heat rash on my back all but vanished. I did my best to keep my pack off my back and the weight of it more on my hips but other than that I didn’t do much to cure it. Had it been as bad as yesterday I would have considered getting off trail at rt 110 and figuring out how to get back to my car. 
Day 4…..29 miles…..Panorama Shelter
Today started off innocently enough. A nice 4 mile downhill to a waterfall with an excellent swimming hole. A cool dip was a perfect way to start the day. 
For the rest of the day we just walked. Here and there we find ourselves on decent trail for a few miles but I’ve noticed much of this trail is a conglomeration of snowmobile trails, road walks, atv or jeep roads, rail trails, and old logging roads. I don’t hate it, I’m enjoying myself, but it hasn’t been super scenic and the trail at times is just ok.
This afternoon we walked through the Balsams Ski Resort. I thought someone was supposed to build a big resort up here but this place looks like a thing of the past. There sure was a huge hotel in the distance though. We dropped way down to Dixville Notch, crossed rt 26, then climbed way up on the north side. Dixville Notch is a highlight of the trail (also the place where the first presidential ballots are cast every 4 years). There’s cascading waterfalls and great views from steep jagged cliffs on both sides. Sara and I had planned to camp once we got up the north side but there was nothing even close to suitable. Another thing about this trail, camping options are very limited. We had to crank out another 3 miles at sunset to Panorama shelter and got in just before the rain started. 
Day 5…..30 miles…..Pittsburg, NH 
All night it rained absolute buckets. Sleeping in the shelter the sound of the rain was amplified by the tin roof making it even scarier or more soothing. We were very lucky to push on last night. Had we set up it most likely would have been in an uneven campsite probably right in middle of the trail somehow and we would have got soaked. 
Although the rain had stopped this morning we still got soaked through splashing in puddles, mud, and walking through wet ferns. The trail turned to road after half a dozen miles and the skies opened up on us. We walked through an empty Colebrook State Park and then had a series of road walks for most of the day. Our goal today was Young’s Store in Pittsburg, 30 miles from Panorama Shelter. It was ambitious especially since it closed at 7pm but with about 20 of those miles on road or ATV road(this area is a hotbed for ATV and snowmobile enthusiasts) I felt pretty confident we’d get there. Since we were a bit ahead of schedule we both had enough food to only be a little bit hungry before finishing the trail tomorrow. By the afternoon we had moved fast enough that we had time for a nice lunch and quick swim in Lake Francis. 
We got to Young’s Store by quarter to 6, got subs, macaroni salad, ice cream and a little bit of food to supplement our bags for tomorrow. There’s cabins for rent across the street so we decided to rent one for two nights. This way we can slack pack the last 25 miles to the border then drive Sara’s car back here and totally relax for a night. 
Day 6…..25 miles…..Canada
Today’s hiking wasn’t great. Sara and I were both glad to be finishing up the trail but the miles today just didn’t have much going for them. It poured again overnight which didn’t help and when we got going at 6am it was already warm. The cloud we were walking through felt like a steam room and the overgrown snowmobile trails were muddier than usual. 
We spent all day within the town of Pittsburg, the largest town by area in New England. The trail parallels rt 3 and took us by 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Connecticut Lakes. These lakes are the headwaters of the Connecticut River that becomes the NH/VT border and flows all the way to Long Island Sound. Once we reached the Canadian Border the Cohos Trail takes a left for nearly a mile up through the clear cut which is the actual border. Don’t write off this last mile as easy clear cut walking. It’s anything but. After climbing about 500 feet the trail comes to 4th Connecticut Lake and does a small loop before returning to the clear cut then the dastardly mile back to the road. When we got back to the road we walked past the border patrol office then a mile south into the USA where we left Sara’s car by 3rd Connecticut Lake. We jumped in the water and washed off all our sins. Tonight we’re staying again at the Mountain View Cabins in Pittsburg. So rewarding and comfortable! 
Overall Sara and I had a good time out there. We beat the bag out of the trail and had fun. It was difficult but we kind of did that to ourselves. Had we slowed down and taken another day or two it probably would have seemed significantly easier. The weather however, didn’t make me want to stick around too long. I probably wouldn’t hike this trail again but like I said it may have been more enjoyable if we took a bit longer. Also just like the Long Trail, the time of year to hike probably isn’t the dead of summer. One other thing, it might be better to hike this trail south as it gets more mountainous in the south.

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 4 Comments

 Posted on December 4, 2020 by

 cohos trail, Hiking, Thru hiking, Uncategorized

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Long Trail: Smugglers Notch to Canada

7/19/20…..10.5 miles…..Bear Hollow

This will be my last installment of Vermont’s Long Trail. From Smuggler’s Notch(rt 108) to the Canadian border is my fourth and final section. 

If you’re confused reading these posts, note that I haven’t done the Long Trail in order. In 2015 I hiked the southern most section from Massachusetts to Sherburne Gap, then again while thru hiking the AT in ‘16 I repeated that section. In ‘18 Sara and I hiked from Lincoln Gap to Smuggler’s Notch and in ‘19 we hiked from Sherburne Gap to Lincoln Gap. 

Due to Covid-19 Sara and I figured hitching would be potentially unsafe and more of a pain in the ass than usual so we drove two cars, dropping one at Journey’s End road in Jay, VT then drove the other south to start our hike from rt 108. After about 5 hours altogether and shuffling cars around we started our hike steeply up through the Smugglers Notch Ski Resort. This trail is rugged! I’m reminded of that every time I come out and start on this trail. It feels like it’s always either straight up or straight down and packed with rocks, roots, and mud. Always mud. Unless we come across it in the next 55 or so miles there is very little cruiser trail out here. And it always seems hot and muggy and buggy. Section hiking is definitely tougher than thru hiking. There’s so much more logistics getting to and from trail and you’re always starting fresh. When you’re thru hiking you only have to start once and after a few days your body is conditioned for the next two thousand or whatever miles. But today my body felt good and we had a great day out here, just not my favorite trail. We topped out on Madonna Peak, the summit of Smugglers Notch ski resort and had an excellent refreshing swim in Sterling Pond. This evening we even got a nice mansplanation of every nook and cranny of the next 4 miles of trail trail from an adult wearing a gun on his hip in a camouflage holster. I spent those 4 miles wondering what that guy was so afraid of that he needed to carry a gun out here for.

We made it to a flat spot out front of the Bear Hollow shelter and had our dinner in the tent as it started to rain. 

7/20/20…..28 miles…..Belvedere Peak

Today was a banger of a day out here. Nothing like easing into the hiking season with 8000 feet of vertical over 28 miles on the Long Trail. Since shelters are gross even when there isn’t a pandemic going on we slept in our tent last night and got poured on. It wasn’t the best night sleep, it was wicked hot, then it poured. Luckily we had about 7-8 pretty chill miles right away. It was a very gradual way to wake up. Once the sun came out we stopped and dried out all our stuff from last night. The trail then went up and down all day in muddy, rocky, rooty conditions typical of the Long Trail. It was hot and humid, not quite as bad as yesterday but still, and it was buggy. Sara either wasn’t getting bit or was keeping it a secret because even with deet on and wearing a bug net I was still the object of the deer flies desire. Today also had some of the highlights of the whole Long Trail, especially the showers we took at a waterfall pouring over a cliff. Shortly after that I busted my ass in a mud puddle, but I guess that’s why they call it ‘Vermud.’ We also went through Devil’s Gulch which is a short chasm through big boulders, something like a miniature Mahoosuc Notch if you’re familiar. Tonight we’re camped in some trees just off the summit of Belvedere Peak which has some awesome views in all directions, some of the finest I’ve seen on this whole trail.

7/21/20…..21 Miles…..Shooting Star Shelter

Never have I spent more time walking and covered less ground than I did today. I smell like I’ve been out here for a month. The trail was extra slow today. Super steep climbs followed by steeper descents on slippery rocks were interrupted only with muddy flat sections that we had to tiptoe around instead of ending up knee deep in mud. There were no easy miles today and we were traveling at a warp speed of 1.5 mph. That being said, it was much cooler out and there were no bugs which was a big relief. The highlight of today was a climb up to the top of Jay Peak. I had planned on skiing Jay in March but the mountain(and the world) closed early due to Covid. At the top we had great views in every direction. We could see Lake Champlain and into NY to the West, North into Quebec, East to Mt Washington in NH and to the South back to Mt. Mansfield and beyond on the Long Trail. This evening instead of making it back to the car like we had hoped, we finished our day tenting outside of Shooting Star Shelter. 21 miles with 7000 feet of gain in almost 14 hours with very little dilly dallying.

7/22/20…..5.7 miles…..Canada

Done with the Long Trail! This morning’s miles were rather smooth and in a few hours we reached the clear cut through the forest with the monument symbolizing the end of the trail and the Canadian border. It’s actually quite a nice terminus as long trails go. There’s a view north into Canada and a boulder perched up above the obelisk looking down towards the clear cut border. Sara and I high fived, took a few pictures, and vowed never to step foot on this trail again(just kidding, but seriously). We enjoyed ourselves but the trail itself isn’t my favorite. I’m not sure how much I would recommend this trail to prospective hikers. Well let’s say this; maybe don’t hike the Long Trail in the dead of summer. Hiking the LT in the fall is probably much more enjoyable, not that I’ll ever know. And I think I’d rather hike it in one shot, I prefer thru hiking but since I live relatively close to the Vermont I figured I’d hike this trail in sections whenever I could fit it in.

Once we reached the border we took the 1.5 mile side trail to the parking lot where my car was waiting. Our plans were to shuffle the cars around and begin hiking NH’s Cohos Trail tonight but zigzagging up and down Northern Vermont and New Hampshire took a fair amount longer than we expected. We settled on a bath in a lake and a full night sleep in the car at the Davis Path Trailhead and starting the Cohos Trail the next day.

For more pictures of this adventure and others feel free to follow me on Instagram @endlesspsummer

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 Posted on November 13, 2020 by

 Long Trail, Uncategorized

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