On our second day in Canyonlands and third day of our July 2017 trek through Utah, we experienced Candlestick, Wilhite Slot Canyons, Green River & Potato Bottom, Hardscrabble Bottom Overlook, Moses & Zeus Spires, and the Labyrinth Campsite. I will update this page with a more thorough account, but for now, enjoy the video log.
Adventure
Pine Springs Station, Carlsbad Caverns Nat’l Park, and Hunting [Butterfield Trail – Days 12-14]
As I left Guadalupe, it was fitting that my journey would have its celebratory end on an old homestead in vicinity of Army Engineer, General John Pope’s survey route from 1854, a major contributing source to the Butterfield.
Dog Canyon, Hueco Tanks, & Guadalupe Mountains [Butterfield Trail – Day 11]
I woke up in the ruins of Dog Canyon before heading a short sixty miles South, back to Texas. I rejoined the trail in the aptly-named ‘Butterfield, Texas’… and set off to Hueco.
San Simon & Doubtful Canyon Pass – [Butterfield Trail – Day 10, Pt. 2]
My descent from Paradise brought me to San Simon, where I’d rejoin the Butterfield at perhaps one of the most exciting regions of the trail. For starters, it was home to one of the most renowned stations, San Simon as it signified entry into Arizona territory. The reason it was such a relief to reach […]
Chiricahua Peak Run, Bootlegger’s Saddle, & Paradise – [Butterfield Trail – Day 10, Part 1]
Looking over the ridgeline and seeing the back side of the Dos Cabezas and the range I’d just explored, I decided to stop and reflect on closing the chapter in the Chiricahua mountains, a truly special place.
Up Dragoon, Apache Pass, Ft Bowie, Chiricahuas & Coronado National Forest [Butterfield Trail – Day 9, Part 2]
Unhesitatingly, St drew his revolver, and put a round in Pablo, who was later found dead in the desert. All three men cowardly ran into the night. Fearing death, Silas St. John transcribed a report of the incident, and stood watch over the post as the rest of the men became carrion to the environment.
Dragoon Springs Station and a What-Not Shoppe – [Butterfield Trail – Day 9, Pt. 1]
I enjoyed a quiet night sky, before sleeping in the stronghold of Cochise, who was, in the words of Tom Morello, “the last great American Indian chief to die free and absolutely unconquered,” The night he died, his warriors painted his body yellow, black, and vermilion, and took him deep into the Dragoon Mountains. They […]
Tucson, Saguaro, Cienega, & Tombstone – [Butterfield Trail – Day 8]
I gazed at the birds soaring above my camp in Tuscon Mountain Park and wondered if they were perhaps the same birds that greeted me the morning before, further back along the historic Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Route. As they moved on, I knew it was time for me to follow suit.
Ironwoods, Ghost Towns, & Picacho Peak – [Butterfield Trail, Day 7]
On any good adventure, when you come across ruins, you’ve got to explore them; so I decided to start my day with an unexpected detour.
Gila Valley Mesas, Petroglyphs, & Sonoran Mountains – [Butterfield Trail, Day 6]
The sixth day on the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Route began as usual, with a sunrise and a fresh cup of coffee. I’d spent the evening at the site of the Oatman Massacre, and was ready to move further down the trail. The trail originally took this route off of the mesa, but was far too […]
Overcoming Obstacles; Winch Recovery, Shoveling, & Oatman Massacre [Butterfield Trail, Day 5]
Today would be a day full of obstacles to overcome. This was my first day in extremely remote areas of the Gila River Valley, often with no cell service and little to no traffic.
The Center of the World to The Middle of Nowhere – [Butterfield Trail, Day 4]
After leaving the Border and surveying Los Algodones, I headed for my last stop in California… The Center of the World. It runs on an honor code, and is a unique tribute to the history of mankind. Jacques-André Istel and his wife, Felicity (who the town is named after) created this site originally as the […]
On The Border Near Algodones; The Wall, Plank Road, & Imperial – [Butterfield Trail, Days 3 & 4]
From Anza-Borrego, the Butterfield Trail dips briefly into Mexico, I couldn’t cross the border this trip, so I continued to El Centro, CA where I set up shop in the State Street Coffee house and confirmed the plans for my push towards Arizona. The 8 parallels the Butterfield Route in Mexico, without any of the […]
Goat Canyon Trestle, Canyon Sin Nombre, & Vallecito Wash – [Butterfield Trail, Day 2, cont.]
From the Vallecito Springs Station, I broke off from the Butterfield Trail, and headed towards Dos Cabezas in order to link up with a defunct old railway, leading to a special place I’d always wanted to check out in Southern California, the Goat Canyon Trestle. Built in 1932, The Goat Canyon Trestle is the world’s […]
Anza-Borrego: Font’s Point, Culp Valley, & Vallecito Springs – [Butterfield Overland Mail Stagecoach Route Expedition (Days 1 & 2)]
Driving, hiking, biking, running, and climbing my way across the storied American Southwest was an incredible journey full of challenges, unexpected turns, and extremely refreshing solitude.
The Final Days in Joshua Tree; Butterfield Stage Route Expedition, West to East (D-3)
After some needed traveling to Dallas and a nice California beachtown called Carpinteria, I came back to my home in Joshua Tree to put nearly all of my household goods on a moving truck and bid it farewell for the next few months. As my belongings clattered their way towards storage limbo, hammered into nondescript […]
Moab, Canyonlands, & Shafer Canyon Into the White Rim Trail [Utah, pt. 2]
The second day of our journey through Utah found us on the road, leaving the Toquerville/St. George area, and headed Northbound to Moab. Moab is a fascinating town, and a hub of sorts for unlimited adventure potential… whether you hike, climb, ride, crawl, or just enjoy the drive to beautiful and remote scenery, Moab is […]
Toquerville Falls, UT – Night Entry & Sunrise on the Falls. [Utah pt. 1]
For the months preceding our trip, my roommate Matt, my cousin Shane, and I plotted out our course across Utah, with the intent of spending as much time as we could off-road, over the coming 4th of July weekend. This video series is the documentation of that… In this installment, we begin our trek to […]
Journey to the Continental Divide Trail [Total Solar Eclipse Expedition 2017, pt. 1]
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. -Murphy’s Law We began our plans well in advance for this trip, plotting the exact routes on our Benchmark Detailed Roads and Trails maps, analyzing the time and space it would take to get to our remote destination of Whiskey Mountain, Wyoming to be in the path […]
To Plan an Expedition
“What better place than here, what better time than now?” -Zack de la Rocha Overview: Exploration; The desire to discover uncharted territories, conquer challenging obstacles, experience new and fascinating cultures, and experience breathtaking views of Planet Earth innately resides in us as humans as the want for growth and knowledge. For our team, the long-term sights […]
Encierro; After You Run with Bulls… What do you do, now? San Fermin Festival, continued.
“At noon we were all at the cafe. It was crowded. We were eating shrimps and drinking beer. The town was crowded. Every street was full.” – Hemingway With so much excitement from the run, it is easy to forget that it is barely 0830! The day evolves, the food and drink continue to make […]
Encierro; What it is like to Run with the Bulls, San Fermin Festival, Pamplona, Spain, 2016 (Part 1)
The things that happened could only have happened during a fiesta. Everything became quite unreal finally and it seemed as though nothing could have any consequences. It seemed out of place to think of consequences during the fiesta.” – Ernest Hemingway, “The Sun Also Rises” The warm beaches of Northern Spain greeted me from outside […]
Little Harbor to Avalon, the Springtime Backcountry of Santa Catalina Island; Thru-Hiking the Trans-Catalina Trail.. Day Two
Waking up after Day One, the second day of our Trans-Catalina Trail (TCT) journey began as we rose with the sun. Ocean waves collide with rocks, a JetBoil ignites to provide the precious dark, brown, caffeinated nectar of the gods that would fuel our bodies for a strenuous day of challenging elevation gains, and two adventurous souls […]
An hour-long ferry from L.A. to “Island Time”; Thru-Hiking the Trans-Catalina Trail.. Day One
As a preface; The second weekend of April we hiked the Trans-Catalina Trail (TCT) from Two Harbors to Avalon, while we did not have the time to complete the Starlight Beach and Northern portion of the trail, this trip was still extremely rewarding and a great weekend challenge. The beauty of this trail is that […]
50 Things to Take on a Springtime Backpacking Trip
“I’m ready to take on the [Trans] Catalina Wine Mixer Trail. I know what it entails, and I’m ready to nail it.” -Brennan Huff, Prestige Worldwide[wide-wide-wide] This weekend we will be doing a little over twenty miles of the Trans-Catalina Trail on Santa Catalina Island, California. One of my habits I’ve learned early on in […]
Other worlds within our own; Trona Pinnacles, CA.
The weekend of April Fools found us time for a day-drive to the mysterious Trona Pinnacles in Ridgecrest/Trona, California. Located a few miles south of the Panamint Valley and the entrance to Death Valley, the Trona Pinnacles are a quick drive from the Greater Los Angeles area, and truly a spectacle to behold. We approached the […]