First Backpacking Trip of 2021: Winter Summit of Mt. Ellinor

On January 17, Alex and I headed to Olympic National Forest to venture out on our first backpacking trip of 2021. We hadn’t been backpacking since early September and were eager to spend a night under the stars again. We didn’t plan on going so long between trips, in fact, this 4.5 month stretch might be the longest we’ve gone without backpacking since we started backpacking in 2015! However, poor weather conditions, moving to a new home, and other personal obligations piled up and our trips kept getting postponed and cancelled.

Olympic, Backpacking Trips, Winter TripsSonja SaxeJanuary 24, 2021 Comments

Backpacking the Spider Gap - Buck Creek Loop in Glacier Peak Wilderness

Labor Day weekend is usually one of my favorite weekends to head out into the depths of the backcountry. The snow has long since melted, the days are still long and warm, and the bugs usually have declined to manageable levels. While 2020 may have put a damper on many trips, we were still going to make the most of our Labor Day. We planned to complete a four day trip in the Glacier Peak Wilderness that we have been dreaming of doing for years—the Spider Gap - Buck Creek Loop.

Glacier Peaks Wilderness, Backpacking Trips, WashingtonSonja SaxeSeptember 21, 2020 Comment

Alpine Lakes Wilderness Two in One Backpacking Trip

In August 2018, Alex and I visited the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and backpacked to the impossibly blue Jade Lake. Unfortunately, during our time in the area, smoke from nearby wildfires blew in overnight and completely shrouded all of the mountains in a dense haze. The views were still beautiful, but we knew that we would have to return one day to see the area without its cloak of smoke.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Backpacking Trips, WashingtonSonja SaxeAugust 27, 2020 Comments

Over Ice and Tundra: 5 Days Backpacking with SEAG in Wrangell-St. Elias NP

In 2017 I visited Wrangell-St. Elias for the first time and was blown away by the scenery. The snowy peaks, lush tundra, and stunning glaciers seemed to imprint on me during my time in the park and the trip was cemented as one of the best backcountry trips I have ever been on. I wanted others to have that same transformative experience, so in early 2020 I teamed up with St. Elias Alpine Guides (SEAG) to put together a 5 day Women’s Backpacking trip through the park’s backcountry.

Wrangell-St. Elias, Backpacking Trips, AlaskaSonja SaxeAugust 7, 2020 Comments

Head in the Clouds: Backpacking in the Buckhorn Wilderness

On May 22, after nearly two months of being closed, Olympic National Forest officially opened their trailheads back up to visitors. Alex and I hadn’t left the few mile radius outside our apartment since early March and were looking forward to finally heading to the mountains again.

Olympic, Backpacking Trips, WashingtonSonja SaxeJune 1, 2020 Comment

The Colorful Coast: Backpacking Kauai's Kalalau Trail

Last month Alex and I finally backpacked a trail we have long been dreaming of: the Kalalau Trail. We got our first taste of the Kalalau Trail when we visited Kauai back in 2015. We had only been backpacking once at that point and the idea of hiking a route that regularly pops up on “the most dangerous trails” lists didn’t seem like the smartest idea, so we only hiked the first two miles to Hanakapi’ai Beach.

Hawaii, Backpacking TripsSonja SaxeFebruary 18, 2020 Comments

Fall Meets Winter in Sawtooth National Forest

I read the route description in the guidebook yet again. Douglas Lorain writes: “Ahead of you is one of the supreme alpine wonderlands in Idaho, and, in fact, it is probably the equal of any alpine area in the country—and I’ve been to most of them.” Lorain ranked the Big Boulder Lakes in Sawtooth National Forest 10/10 for scenery and his words in the book elicited imagery of sparkling lakes nestled beneath jagged mountains.

Sawtooth Wilderness, Backpacking Trips, IdahoSonja SaxeOctober 2, 2019 Comments

A North Cascades Beauty: Backpacking the Copper Ridge Loop

We pulled into the North Cascades ranger station in Marblemount at 5:00am, two hours before the office opened, but as our headlights swept through the dark lot we saw that we weren’t the first to arrive. There were already two people waiting at the front door, their headlamps illuminated a map as they talked over their options. I parked the car, turned off the engine, and walked over to join them. We were all here hoping to secure a walk up permit for North Cascades National Park over Labor Day weekend.

North Cascades, Backpacking Trips, WashingtonSonja SaxeSeptember 18, 2019 Comments