
Nick LakeExplorer
Hike Through History Along the Elwha River
6 mi
/ 600 ft gain
The Elwha River Trail cuts south into the heart of Olympic National Park along a densely forested valley, following the same route taken by some of the earliest explorers of the Olympic Peninsula at the end of the 19th century.Past Port Angeles, a...
Hike to Summit Lake
4.5
5 mi
/ 1250 ft gain
Summit Lake, nestled in a small basin just north of Mt. Rainier National Park in the Clearwater Wilderness, has everything a hiker could want in a day-hike or easy overnight backpack. The views, the well-maintained trail, and a perfect distance ma...
Backpack the High Divide and 7 Lakes Basin
5.0
18.2 mi
/ 3050 ft gain
A day spent plying the trails of the High Divide in Olympic National Park changes an outdoorsman. This moderate to strenuous loop boasts the best views on the peninsula, a chance to see foraging black bears and abundant deer, stunning waterfalls a...
Backpack the Chisos Mountains
5.0
13.9 mi
/ 2400 ft gain
Most people don’t know that there are 8,000-foot peaks in Texas, but in the exceptionally remote southwest corner of the Lone Star State, Big Bend National Park’s Chisos Mountains soar high over the Chihuahuan Desert. The South Rim of the mountain...
Summit Mount Ellinor
4.8
3.2 mi
/ 2400 ft gain
Hikers who reach the summit of Mount Ellinor are treated to a rarer view of Olympic National Park, one that is notably more immersive, rugged and dynamic than the common vista from Hurricane Ridge. Ellinor’s profile is, no doubt, familiar to most...
Hike to Blue Lake, WA
5.0
4.5 mi
/ 1100 ft gain
Blue Lake is a fantastic alpine lake along a moderate trail in the sawtooth North Cascades, featuring views of some of the most impressive peaks in the range. A 4.5-mile out-and-back gaining about 1,100 feet, the trail to Blue Lake Trail features ...
Winter Backpack on Mt. Roothaan
4 mi
/ 1200 ft gain
The Selkirk Mountains in northern Idaho don’t see nearly as many visitors as neighboring ranges in Washington and Montana, but it’s not for a lack of scenery and rugged backcountry. Mt. Roothaan sits along a jagged crest in the western Rocky Moun...
Backpack to Lake Angeles
5.0
7 mi
/ 2400 ft gain
Lake Angeles is, rightfully, a popular day hike and overnight backpacking option, as its one of the larger, more accessible lakes in Olympic National Park. It can be done either as a moderate day hike with a refreshing swim and picnic lunch or a r...
Backpack Spider Gap to Buck Creek Pass
5.0
41 mi
/ 7900 ft gain
Backpacking the Spider Gap to Buck Creek Pass Loop in the Glacier Peak Wilderness is no easy task, but yields some of the most spectacular views found in Washington. Plan for at least four days in order to stay fresh and to allow for extra time t...
Backpack to Grand Park in the Olympics
5.0
7.5 mi
/ 2500 ft gain
The beauty of many of the north coast trails in the Olympic Peninsula is that your car does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. This is certainly true of the Grand Valley Trail, which begins more than a vertical mile above the Strait of Juan de F...
Hike the Pipestone Canyon Rim Trail Loop
9 mi
/ 1700 ft gain
The Methow Valley in north-central Washington is magical for myriad reasons—the dry powder and bluebird days of winter, the hot high-desert days of summer, stunning views of the North Cascades Mountains to the west; the list goes on and on. Addin...
Adventuring in the Frenchman Coulee
5.0
Occupying a cluster of desert canyons and mesas perched atop the cliffs overlooking the eastern bank of the mighty Columbia River, the Frenchman Coulee is a rock climber’s paradise. Featuring dozens of world-class sport and trad routes, both singl...
Discover an Andean Playground at Tierra del Volcán
UPDATE: as of August 2017, Cotopaxi is open again to climbing.Though only Ecuador’s second-tallest peak, Cotopaxi (19,347 ft.), the world’s tallest active volcano, is certainly its most iconic. Visible from Quito, the near-perfect volcanic cone i...
Backpack to North Lake via Independence Lake
7 mi
/ 2200 ft gain
North Lake is everything you could want in a subalpine lake: emerald green hues, cold, clear water, lots of brook trout and far from cell-phone reception. This backpack is perfect when the weather gets hot and sunny, though it does reside in what...
Backpack to El Altar
4.5
8.1 mi
/ 4000 ft gain
Local Ecuadorian outdoorspeople constantly tout El Altar as the best place in Ecuador for outdoor adventure. Ecuador’s 5th highest peak, El Altar (17,451 ft.) is actually several peaks, the remnants of an ancient volcano that blew its top leaving...
Backpack the Cutthroat Lakes
4.0
7 mi
/ 2300 ft gain
Along the Mountain Loop Highway, past the crowds crawling over Mt. Pilchuck, lies the muddy, unkempt Walt Bailey Trail into a verdant subalpine basin speckled with tiny tarns. The Cutthroat Lakes are a delightful location to spend the night with o...
Ski Washington Pass
Because the North Cascades highway usually closes from November to May due to heavy snow and huge slides that bury the road, few people expend the energy to get there, meaning it's one of the only places where fresh tracks are almost guaranteed th...
Climb Volcan Cayambe
5 mi
/ 4000 ft gain
Cayambe is Ecuador’s third tallest peak and is often recommended as an excellent mountain for first-time mountaineers looking to gain glacier travel and high-altitude climbing experience. It’s also the highest point along the equator anywhere in ...
Hiking Patterson Mountain
3.7 mi
/ 1100 ft gain
The Patterson Mountain loop is the perfect way for a beginner to intermediate hiker to get acquainted with the arid eastern slope of the North Cascades. This 3.7-mile lollipop with about 1100 feet of elevation gain showcases the open country of th...
Hike to Humes Ranch
5 mi
/ 500 ft gain
When Whiskey Bend Road turns off of the fabled US-101 along the remote Olympic Peninsula's northern coast, it climbs along the Elwha River--an incredible testament to nature's restorative abilities. For a century, a hydroelectric dam blocked the ...
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