The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Traverse of the Picos de Europa

Last month I joined a KE Adventures guided group on a one-week hut-based traverse of the Picos de Europa, the highest and most dramatic mountain range of the Cantabrian mountain chain in northern Spain. For those who wish more detail about the Picos as well as its national park, I recommend this website.

This trek has been on my bucket list since before 2020, when it was cancelled due to Covid. Starting above the hamlet of Soto de Cangas, where we spent the prior night, the trek in general went from west to east. The first 3 days we traversed the Macizo Occidental (western massif) and the final three the Macizo Central. (The lower, eastern massif lacks much infrastructure and only occasionally sees overnight visitors). Our fun group of 7 clients and guide, Bruno, hiked almost 55 miles with more than 20,000 ft total elevation gain across some of the most rugged limestone peaks in the world. Enjoy the photos!

Map of the mountain ranges of Spain. The Picos de Europa are the highest portion of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain
Day 1. Landscape with huts above the Lakes of Covadonga, where we began our 6-day, generally west-to-east trek
European monkshood (Aconitum variegatum)
Large-flowered selfheal (Prunella grandiflora). While September is certainly not the best time to see wildflowers in the Picos, there were several species still in bloom.
Asturian Mountain cow. We saw numerous herds of this local bovine.
Heather, our guide, Bruno, and the Vegarredonda Refugio, our first night’s lodging on trek
Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) with griffon vultures soaring overhead. We saw so many chamois that, sadly, the novelty wore off.
A small limestone cave. Some of the deepest caves in the world are found in the Picos de Europa.
Either a vulnurable Iberian rock lizard (Iberolacerta monticola) or a common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis). Where their ranges overlap, the former is found at higher elevations. After looking at dozens of photos of each, showing widely-varying coloration, I’m still not sure which species this fellow is.
Eroded limestone rock formations, known as lapiaces. The Picos are almost entirely limestone.
An Asturian calf joined our group for a short while
View northwest from the Mirador de Ordiales
Some of our group at the Mirador de Ordiales
Climbing up to Pico Cotalba
Our group on the summit of Pico Cotalba. Bruno graciously shared many of the photos he took during the trek.
A chamois herd on Pico Cotalba
Day 2. Our group in front of an outbuilding of the Refugio Vegarredonda, where we slept the first night.
With Oliver and Peter, walking by a chilled sheep dog
Merendera, an autumn crocus (Colchicum montanum)
Bruno and a misty landscape
Our group descending to the Covadonga Lakes in the mist
Our group at Lago de la Ercina. Due to the geology, very few lakes exist in the Picos.
Another photo of some of the many Asturian cows (and a few bulls) we saw
An orograph at Cabeza la Forma pass, showing many of the nearby mountains, none of which was visible in the fog.
View of the Cabezo Llerosos group with cows
Day 3. The splendidly isolated Refugio Ario, where we stayed the previous night, seen in the morning light
Resting with Oliver and Peter (lower left) on the long descent to the Cares Gorge
Rebecca, seen here descending to the gorge, with a goat in the foreground
The Cares Gorge and path hewn out of the mountain. Although undoubtedly the most popular day hike in the Picos, the gorge didn’t seem overly crowded to me.
The Cares gorge with a tunnel and bridge
Bruno admiring the Cares Gorge
A portion of the Cares Gorge hydro plant
A goat in the Cares Gorge
Fringed pink (Dianthus hyssopifolius)
Now heading north after a rest stop at Cain at the head of the Cares Gorge. From here it is less than an hour to Poncebos, where we enjoyed a hotel for the night.
Goat and limestone formation

Day 4. This day we climbed from our hotel in Poncebos to the Refugio de Urriellu. More than 6000 ft vertical gain. In the rain. I took zero pictures. Bruno’s camera malfunctioned in the wet conditions. Therefore, no photos from that day are extant. I am also trying to erase it from my memory, but without much success.

Day 5. Morning landscape leaving Refugio Urriello. The weather steadily improved this day.
Some peaks of the Macizo Central
Some of our group descending near Tesorero and Peñas Urrielles
Mountain vista with El Naranjo de Bulnes (Picu Urriellu in Asturian) on the right
The Vagabond Hiker on the summit of Torre de los Horcados Rojos
A raven also summited
The unlikely Cabaña Verónica, a high mountain refuge. This building is an anti-aircraft battery, taken from the aircraft carrier USS Palau.
A view from Cabaña Verónica, above the clouds
Peter descending towards Hotel Aliva. Located at the end of a jeep track, Avila is somewhere between a refugio and a hotel.
Day 6. View from the Hotel Avila towards the Royal Chalet
Yet another goat.
The Teleférico Fuente Dé top station. According to Rick Steves, this cable car is the longest single-span aerial lift of Europe, with cable length of 1450 m (4757 ft)
Descent view from Pico Valdecoro to Espinama, where our final night’s lodging awaited us.
A magnificent Oak on the descent to Espinama

Following this wonderful trek in Spain, my intention was to complete another hut-to-hut trek in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, and then spend a week in the Portuguese Azores hiking around its main island from my AirBnb base. Alas, neither trip panned out the way I planned. As the scenery was spectacular, in a post next month I’ll share a few photos from some short walks I did in Slovenia.

Rather than bewail the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, however, I am now planning my 2.5-month winter trip to Rajasthan (India), Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, and Oman on the Arabian peninsula. The Rajasthan trip has large cultural and wildlife components as well as several day walks. Mountainous northern Oman has some amazing trekking, and my KE Adventures trip in late February encompasses many of the highlights. Lanzarote has long been one of my favorite winter destinations, and the subject of not one, but two blog posts from 2018 and 2019. I’ll probably take a break from blogging for those six weeks. . .

The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking California’s Eastern Sierras (and beyond)

Last month I returned for the first time in 13 years to what is without a doubt my favorite mountain range in the world: California’s Sierra Nevada. I have strong concurrence in my views from John Muir, who dubbed the Sierras the Range of Light, and with good reason.

Staying in Bishop, the largest town by far in Inyo County with a population of 3,500, was ideal for accessing many of the basins of the Eastern High Sierras, as well as the White Mountains to the east on the California/Nevada border, and providing some local walks on my rest days. Enjoy the highlights from some of my many hikes!

Blue Lake, Lake Sabrina basin
Lake Sabrina. Several great hikes can be enjoyed from this trailhead.
Midnight Lake, Lake Sabrina basin
Yosemite Valley and Half Dome from Clouds Rest. This longish (12+ miles and 3100 ft gain) hike from Tenaya Lake was a reprise of the one I did with Clifford in 2010.
Bishop Canal view with clouds and Sierras. My apartment abutted open land and the main stem of the canal.
My backyard at sunrise, Bishop, with a view of the White Mountains. The near hummingbird feeder is the one I now travel with.
The Bishop Canal and path
Some wetlands along the Bishop Canal. I even saw a great blue heron one day, not something you would expect in an otherwise arid environment.
Ancient Bristlecone Pines (Pinus longeava) in the Schulman Grove, White Mountains. The oldest non-clonal tree in the world, at more than 4000 years, is within this grove.
An ancient Bristlecone Pine. I’m not sure whether it’s still alive or not, but it looks amazing.
Reflections in Long Lake, South Lake basin. Along with Sabrina basin, South Lake is easily accessed due west of Bishop.
Sierra beard-tongue
Chocolate Peak with Chocolate Lake reflection, South Lake basin.
Bull Lake panorama, South Lake basin. This is my favorite photo from this post.
My friend John, on our Treasure Lakes hike, South Lake basin
Sierra shooting stars. Most wildflowers were past there prime by mid-August.
Seep Monkey-flowers, always found near streams.
Davidson’s Penstemon
Gilbert Lake view on the Kearsarge Pass trail from Onion Valley, west of Independence, CA.
The view west to Kearsarge Lakes from Kearsarge pass (11,760 ft)
A Golden Mantled ground squirrel, not to be confused with the smaller chipmunk.
An ancient Foxtail pine, closely related to Bristlecone pines. It’s really hard to differentiate them, except that Bristlecone pines don’t grow in this area.
A Bristlecone pine and buck on the climb to Boundary Peak from Queen Canyon, White Mountains
Boundary Peak, looking towards the summit. At 13,147 ft, Boundary Peak is the highest in the state of Nevada
A healthy example of White Mountain buckwheat
The Vagabond Hiker on the summit of Boundary Peak, my first state high-point since 2016.
Boundary Peak summit view towards Montgomery Peak (near right) in California.
Box Lake, Little Lakes Valley. This popular valley is 1/2 hour north of Bishop.
Gem Lake, Little Lakes Valley
A pack train in Little Lakes Valley
Upper Tyee Lake, accessed from South Lake
An American Pika (Ochotona princeps) above Lower Tyee Lake
A much better photo of a pika. I saw this bold fellow in 2015 on Mt Ida in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies.
Clyde Spires and other peaks, seen from Big Pine Lakes. Big Pine is the next town south of Bishop along the Eastern Sierra corridor.
North Fork, Big Pine Creek
First Lake, Big Pine Lakes
4th Lake lunch view with Palisades glacier, Big Pine Lakes. Palisades is supposedly the largest glacier in the Sierras, but it seems just a pale ghost of its former self. (I think it’s the snow field on the far right here).
4th Lake panorama
Terrain near Moonlight Lake, Sabrina Lake basin. It might have been better to construct this post geographically, but it was easier to do it chronologically!
Hungry Packer Lake with Picture Peak, Sabrina Lake basin. This was another big hike to the uppermost lake in the basin. Consequently, I had this lunch spot to myself.
Route up from Green Lake to Vagabond Peak. I wanted to climb at least one peak in the Sierras, and Vagabond seemed the logical one!
Green Lake and Vagabond Peak (left)
Cushion buckwheat growing in granite
The final summit slopes of Vagabond Peak, 13,350ft (4070m). Another hour of class 2 bouldering remained from here to the summit.
A beautiful example of Alpine mountain sorrel
In honor of Clifford, some gorgeous rocks along the Vagabond Peak route
Summit view NW, Vagabond Peak. The clouds were moving in, and indeed there was a bit of rain on my descent, a rarity in the Sierras in August.
Summit view North, Vagabond Peak
Summit view East, Vagabond Peak, with the White Mountains in the background. The obvious high-point is White Mountain (14,250 ft), which I climbed in 2011.
The Vagabond Hiker on the summit of Vagabond Peak. The slightly higher Cloudripper is in the middle ground, but represented two additional hours to an already long day, so I saved it for another time.

I apologize for the unusual brevity of my photo captions, but I am heading out to the airport for my flight to London. Upcoming blogs starting next month will feature a traverse of the Picos de Europa in northern Spain, hut-to-hut trekking in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, and some day hikes on São Miguel island in the Portuguese Azores. Until then, take care and enjoy the autumn.

The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking and Botanizing in Southwest Colorado

After traveling abroad for the past two summers, this year I decided to stay in the western US mountains, dividing my time between the Durango area in southwestern Colorado and Bishop, California, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada range.

Other than a few days in the spring of 2013, I had never been in southwest Colorado and the opportunity to visit the San Juan Mountains, which contain some of the highest and most jagged summits in the continental United States, including 13 fourteeners (14,000+ft or 4267+m), was one I was eagerly anticipating. With a last minute decision, few homes or apartments were available in my price range, but I chose a house in a rural subdivision east of Durango, which turned out to be a great (if a bit pricey) choice. My brother, Mark, visited for 10 days, which made it even more special.

The end of June and July are perfect times to enjoy the wildflowers, particularly at higher elevations as the snow melts. I was able to identify around 85 different wildflowers, of which I included about 20 in this blog post. Even more than the landscapes, they were the stars of my sojourn. Enjoy!

Red Creek-Missionary Ridge Loop, one of my first hikes. Here is a vista with Woods roses.
Woods roses. I’ve stayed with common flower names for this post, realizing some disambiguation may be necessary.
Richardson’s geranium
Blue flax
Scarlet gilia
A Horned Toad, seen on Missionary Ridge.
View from Baldy Mountain. The two hikes I did there were both from the nearby Sortais trailhead, just east of Durango.
A field of Showy fleabane and Rocky Mountain penstemon on Mt Baldy.
Rocky Mountain penstemon
Eileen’s Pond (my name – it’s actually called Lake Eileen). The trailhead starts at Vallecito Lake, only a 20 minute drive from my house.
Eileen’s Pond, six days later when I hiked with my brother; no threat of thunderstorms this day!
Gunnison’s mariposa lily, my favorite flower in this post.
Castle Rock vista. Highway 550, seen below, connects Durango and Silverton.
Whipple’s penstemon
Rocky Mountain columbine, my 2nd favorite flower!
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway train and vista. Mark and I did the touristy thing that day, taking the old steam train to Cascade Canyon, about 1/2 way to Silverton. We were perfectly located near the middle of about 8 cars.
Another view from the train, high above the Animas River
Mark taking a photo from the railway bridge in Cascade Canyon.
Animas River, Cascade Canyon
Engineer Mountain summit block. The NE ridge that we attempted became technical, so we only ascended to 12,500 ft on the 12,900 ft mountain.
Sub-alpine larkspur
Showy Jacob’s-ladder
Engineer Mountain vista NW towards the Twin Sisters and Grizzly Peak
Me looking at the vista from Engineer Mountain
Me on Engineer Mountain. Any climbing option from here was at least YDS Class 4; lacking equipment, we retreated.
We were definitely in a vertical world! (Photo courtesy of Mark)
Sticky polemonium, a high altitude denizen
Western paintbrush
Ledge stonecrop
Looking back on our route up to Ice and Island Lakes. The loop hike to these alpine lakes was my favorite.
Mark at Ice Lake
Ice and Island Lakes pano with Golden Horn, Vermillion Peak, and Fuller Peak (R to L)
Island Lake. My favorite photo. I rarely used my Olympus, so nearly all photos in this blog were taken with my Samsung Galaxy phone.
A verdant sub-alpine meadow
Sub-alpine paintbrush. It was lovely to see different species of paintbrush in bloom.
Mesa Verde petroglyphs, along the Petroglyph Point trail. Mesa Verde was only an hour west from my house.
Prince’s plume along the Petroglyph Point trail (photo courtesy of Mark)
Silvery lupine, seen along the Knife-edge trail at Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde Balcony House, seen on a (mandatory) guided tour. Now I understand how it got its name!
Another view of the Mesa Verde Balcony House
The Animas River, near Whitewater Park in Durango. I walked three different sections of the Animas River trail during my stay.
Everlasting-pea, along the Animas River in Durango
Rio Pinos Valley, at the start of an 11 mile out and back hike from near Vallecito Lake.
Wilderness Act, 1964. My favorite quotation from a legislative act! The Rio Pinos valley was largely in the Weminuche Wilderness.
Engineer Mountain, from the Crater Lake trail. The NE ridge we attempted two weeks earlier is clearly seen here.
Crater Lake, also in the Weminuche Wilderness, which is about 3/4 the size of Rhode Island.
Rocky Mountain fringed-gentians
Redpod stonecrop
The AirBnb rental where I stayed for nearly 6 weeks outside of Bayfield. It was a very peaceful location, which included a wonderful deck with a hot tub. At about 7800 ft elevation, it never seemed too hot. One caveat: a thirty day minimum rental is required.

For those interested, all 85 or so wildflowers I identified can be downloaded here as a pdf.

Currently I am in Bishop, California, on the East side of the Sierra Nevada. Having been away for 11 years, it feels like coming home to some of the most beautiful mountains and wonderful hikes in the world. Expect another post in two or three weeks, before I depart for Europe.

The Vagabond Hiker