We awoke on the shores of Tamarack Lake to a soft lapping of waves on the shore. It wouldn't be long before the sun was once again high in the sky, but for now, it was just peeking over the horizon. I'm not usually a huge fan of lakeside sites, but this was definitely a gem. The golden glow that last only a few minutes. With a full day ahead of us if we hoped to finish the route - which we did hope to do - we were thrilled to find the tent completely void of dew, even with…
5 CommentsCategory: The Long Way
Inspired by the Long Way series, featuring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, this path through the history of a Toyota Tacoma and its insignificant driver starts at the very beginning and includes every post I've ever made.
We didn't know it when we awoke to the beauty of Bluff Lake, but we'd end up at an even more beautiful location - Tamarack Lake - by the time the sun was setting again. First though, we had to get there. And that meant getting going toward our summit of the highest peak around, Mt. Eddy. First light. When you want to be on the waterfront. So peaceful in the warm glow before sunrise. With an eight-mile hike ahead of us, @mrs.turbodb got breakfast prepped - cereal and the last of our home-grown blueberries - while I put away…
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I never used to be a peakbagger. For a long time, I never even really hiked to the tops of mountains. And then, sort of as a joke, I built an entire trip to Death Valley's Owlshead Mountains to hike the Lowest Peak in the Park. Because if you're going to hike a peak, why not the lowest? That led to hiking the highest, and I'm now a little more than halfway through hitting the highest peaks in the Death Valley ranges. I'm still not a peakbagger, but I have found that I like a good summit. Today would be…
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Ever since we visited the Siskiyous back in 2023, I've wanted to return to explore the northern reaches of California, west of Mt. Shasta. This region - dominated by the Klamath Mountains - contains so many gems, including the Trinity Alps, Mt. Eddy, Tamarack Lake, Mt. Shasta, and a favorite that we've hiked several times: Castle Crags. @mini.turbodb enjoying herself in the granite wonderland of the Crags. After finding a route on Overland Trail Guides that Ben had put together - some 300 miles of backroads through this magical area - we pretty much stopped our "where are we going…
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TL;DR - After not having issues for years, I've been having trouble with my alignment for a while now. To resolve it, I installed some cam tab gussets that I probably should have installed a long time ago.
TL;DR - Thank goodness for good friends. Zane @Speedytech7 noticed this crack in the metal frame that secures the passenger front lower control arm when we were reinforcing my alignment cam tabs. I wasn't even sure I wanted to go to the trouble of upgrading the cam tabs; sometimes, we all get more than a little lucky. Got it welded back up as good as new-ish.
TL;DR - I've had a slow leak in one of my Kenda Klever RTs for the last two trips. With a bit of soapy water, I found the problem and got it plugged up.
TL;DR - This is a great tent for two or three people. Its freestanding nature makes it much more flexible than a semi-freestanding tent.
Our second visit - in as many days - to Telkwa Pass behind us, we raced down the valley that was shrouded in fog the last time we'd been through. Today, it was anything but, and soon we'd covered half the distance to the trailhead. It was time for a detour. We'd planned on running this trail on our way up the pass, but as we'd climbed out of the fog - and immediately into low clouds - we'd realized there was no point. Though we'd done no research on the availability of views from the top of this trail,…
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On our way south from the Salmon Galcier, our spirits were high. There were two reasons for this: first, we were headed to Telkwa Pass, and unlike our first visit with fog and cloudy skies, it was a blue bird day. Second - and I assure you, just as importantly - we'd overridden Google Maps suggestion and found a 4-miles-longer route back to Terrace, BC that was paved; we wouldn't have to suffer through the swiss-cheese-road we'd endured on the way north! We arrived in Terrace at almost the exact minute we'd shown up 24 hours earlier, and pulled into…
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We were already halfway through our day, so we hoped to make quick work of the pavement between Terrace, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska. We would be in the 49th state for only a few minutes - our actual destination was back in maple leaf territory - but it'd be the first time either of us had ever been to the largest state in the Union, so we were both looking forward to the opportunity to visit. First though, we had to get there. And getting there on BC-113 turned out to be more eventful than we'd bargained for! Right…
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We started from what was, essentially, the furthest north we'd ever been in British Columbia, and it still took us 10 more hours to reach the trailhead for Telkwa Pass. Having left our camp below Perkins Peak a bit before noon, it was dark as we positioned the Tacoma along the banks of the Telkwa River and at the terminus of a dead-end road. We were half a day behind schedule, and while that wouldn't normally be a problem, we'd been shooting for a reasonably small weather window when we'd planned our journey along what was rumored to be one…
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TL;DR - I've always just worn my "current old pair" of tennis shoes when I'm out hiking because I never liked hiking boots. They get beat up quickly on desert trails, and so I finally bought some purpose-designed hiking shoes. Wow, what a difference!
TL;DR - Hiking poles are really helpful and make hiking easier.
2026 in the Pacific Northwest has been a summer of smoke. With fires raging in eastern Washington, all of Oregon, and much of southern British Columbia, all the places we usually enjoy exploring during the summer have suddenly become... unpleasant. In fact, while we'd previously thought that a beginning-of-July timeframe for the Montana BDR was too early, it's now looking like the smartest move we could have made. And our escape to Bella Coola for a few days - while a little hazy from fire - turned out to be genius. And so, itching to explore - while being able…
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July 31, 2026. It's been a couple years since my last Gear Roundup. I can make all sorts of excuses for the long delay - the Tacoma living in Las Vegas during the winter, an overall setup that works so well that there haven't been many changes, the fact that we're spending more time on trips - but we all know the real reason: laziness. Still, I think it's important to take stock now and then, both to ensure that I'm purposeful about how we're camping and to share my experience on what works and what doesn't, for those who…
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While on our last trip to British Columbia, we happened to stumble upon a few petroglyphs, created by the First Nations, hundreds or thousands of years ago. They were so different than those that we've seen in the lower 48, and reminded me a bit of the style that found in Hawaii. Upon returning home though, I think it may have been the surfaces - ground-level rocks with petroglyphs on various faces - more than the actual figures, that seemed similar. We arrived at the stie on our way from one place to another. Getting there meant an enjoyable, short…
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Bella Coola is not the most accessible town in British Columbia. Our ten-hour ferry ride aside, there are - technically - roads that lead to this stunning valley, but that hasn't always been the case. Before the road, the only way in or out of the Valley was by boat, seaplane, foot, or horseback. A trip from Anahim Lake for supplies took three days and nights. Residents kept asking for a road, but the government said the grade was too steep. A road would be too expensive. It couldn't be done. On September 14, 1952, the Bella Coola Board of…
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After returning from Purgatory - not a statement one can make on a regular basis - it was time to consider our next move. There were three things that were competing for our attention: The weather. We'd been planning to spend at least three nights in the area, but in the week preceding our departure, the weather guessers suggested that four days of rain would start somewhere in the middle of our visit. Rain wouldn't be the end of the world - dark skies can make for some dramatic photos - but we wanted to get as many "big views"…
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We were both tired and stir-crazy when we finally got to Bella Coola, a full thirty-one hours after leaving home. The plan - given that it was already 6:30pm by the time we disembarked - was to head up a nearby Forest Service Road (FSR) to find camp. But then, as I maneuvered the Tacoma into position for a final shot of the Northern Sea Wolf, another truck - fresh off the same boat - headed up the same road! This immediately gave us pause - we're not generally keen to share the end of the road with other folks…
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