Greg doesn’t like to go anywhere in July and our White Rim experience brought back memories of backpacking in my 20s. So, I was inspired to find another multi day adventure out in the wilderness. I landed on an all women six day guided and supported hut to hut hiking trip with Viking Women on the Laugavegur Trail. This was my first big solo international trip. It was exhilarating, challenging, and so incredibly beautiful.

There were 12 of us plus our amazing guide, Anna. She truly loves her homeland and is so knowledgeable as well as fun and caring. We ranged in age from 29 to 64. There were three pairs of friends and the rest of us were solo travelers.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS LOOONG, BUT MORE PICS THAN WORDS

Day 1: Landmannalaugar to Hrafntinnusker

~7.5 miles  ~2,100 feet

This day had the most varied terrain and weather as the hut is located at the highest point on the trail. There were numerous fumaroles and various sizes of hot springs.

 

I stayed surprisingly positive through this section, but I really do wonder what it looks like in clear weather.

Day 2: Hranfntinnusker to Alftavatn

~7 miles ~1,100 feet *1 river crossing

The wind increased and the rain was hitting us diagonally. Anna captured it in the above video and the rest of didn’t even think about using our phones. The rain dripped its way down our rain pants into our shoes and many of us had wet socks. Several of us thought our rain jackets were keeping us dry but we eventually found out our next layer was slowly getting wet.

 

It became muddy and slippery.

Go down a ravine, cross a creek and go up the other side. Repeat. (That’s me on the left.)

The first water crossing and the only one with a cable for support. That water was COLD and moving quite fast. (I am the last one in the pictures.)

Somewhere along this portion I got myself a bag of black volcanic sand to add to my collection.

There was a nice boardwalk between the huts and bathrooms with showers! And beer for sale! I treated to myself to a shower and possibly more than one beer.

Day 3: Alftavatn to Emstrur

~10 miles  ~1,800 feet  *2 water crossings

We woke to cloudy skies but no rain, only some wind!

Clearing skies and another river. The shadow in the second picture is the bridge.

We walked up stream to cross this river where it was wide and not as deep.

This was the biggest river of the trip. Quite impressive.

The wind was kind enough to die down, but it was chilly as dinner was prepared.  Zoe and I became super excited when the clouds lifted and we could see the glacier. Many of the ladies loved that I brought my binocs.

After dinner hike

Anna took six of us to the canyon and it did not disappoint.

Day 4: Emstrur to Dorsmork

~10.5 miles  ~2,200 feet  *1 river crossing

Day 4 started out with the possibility of rain that thankfully never came. It turned out to be a perfect day for the last hike of the Laugavegur trail.

After crossing the river we hiked along side it for quite a while.

Looking back at where we came from.

Day 5  Tindfjoll Circle Hike

~7.5 miles ~1,700 feet

Day 6 Hike to Valahnukur Mountain

~4 miles  ~800 feet

I’m so grateful for this trip of a lifetime. ❣️

 

Here I am again extolling the virtues of San Diego County! It’s the most biologically diverse county in the continental United States. From our house the mountains are sixty minutes away, the beach twenty minutes, and the desert eighty minutes. Great weather year around and mountain biking trails right from our house! And the convenience factor is high. Within a three mile radius we have a Costco, Trader Joes, Sprouts, and Vons.

It’s so easy to get up to Laguna Mountain, and mid week there are no crowds, so it has become an annual thing. This trip was four nights. Amy’s dad, R, came up in his trailer for two nights. The guy is turning 80 in August and still hitching up his trailer and camping all by himself! He’s going to keep on doing his Agua Caliente camping routine until he can’t.

Usually we just mountain bike, but this trip we worked in a nine mile hike. Amelia is in training for her solo trip to Iceland in three weeks! She’s doing a hut to hut hike with a womens’ group. It’s six days, 47 miles, on the Laugavegur Trail.

 

No rattlesnakes this trip, just two gopher snakes. A big one and a small one.

 

 

 

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If you live in Southern California and have driven to Las Vegas, then you have seen Primm. The news is out about the demise of Primm and its three casinos. Once upon a time Primm was called State Line. I remember distinctly how excited Fralia and I were to cross State Line in the Summer of ’78. Back then the only casino was Whiskey Pete’s. It opened in 1977. Then Primm Valley Casino opened in 1990 and Buffalo Bill’s opened in 1994 and its big attraction was the roller coaster. Amelia and I rode it in ’98.

Whiskey Pete’s closed in 2024. Buffalo Bill’s was shuttered in 2025. And Primm Valley Casino will be no more in July. I have no idea if they will be torn down or remain standing and covered in graffiti, much like the Rock-a Hoola Waterpark almost half way to Las Vegas on the 15. I still wonder what the hell they were thinking opening that waterpark in literally the middle of nowhere.

It’s always exciting to leave on a trip and always great to be back home. What a paradox. The drive home from Utah is always a tough one because we have to drive through the Inland Empire. Leaving from Hanksville we had a solid 12 hour drive in front of us so we were looking for a spot to break up the drive and spend the night. There’s a little BLM dirt lot far enough behind Whiskey Pete’s to not really hear the freeway. It was eerie driving through and around the closed casino. The gas station is still open, but barely. I went inside the store. It was sad and what few employees that remained couldn’t give a shit about anything. Behind the casino there must’ve been fifty semi-trucks parked all in a row. The truckers were all resting to stay within the limits of the federal Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. Past that is the BLM dirt lot where we stayed.

Interesting, really

 

Beyond us, off of the dirt road we could see a converted school bus. In the evening a young red headed girl left the semi-truck area and began walking towards the school bus. She was dressed like most kids, kind of showing off her body. I started fabricating a story that she was a truck stop prostitute. After a few minutes Amelia shut me down.

 

 

 

Unless you really know Utah, you probably don’t know Hanksville.

The night before we left Grand Junction we were still indecisive about what route to take home. Then we found out Amelia’s friend Jen’s Uncle Randy was in Hanksville. So why not spend two nights in Hanksville! We drove through the little town last year. The landscape was interesting to say the least. And Instagram’s algorithm has been feeding us a stream of Hanksville posts.

It was less than a three hour drive on the I-70, then west of Green River take Utah 24 southwest, past Goblin Valley (a favorite of ours) to Hanksville.

Right when we arrived at Duke’s RV park a huge dust storm and intermittent rain came down. The office was closed so we just went ahead and took the space next to Uncle Randy and checked in later. It was too shitty outside to unhitch and set up. The three of us walked over to Duke’s Slickrock Grill and had lunch. And that was it. It was so bad we all stayed holed up in our trailers the rest of the day.

The next morning it was absolutely gorgeous. What a difference a day makes. Randy was pulling out and heading towards Capitol Reef. We said our goodbyes then took in the sights.

 

Our first sight was Leprechan Canyon. From Hanksville it was a thirty minutes south on Utah Scenic Byway 95.

 

 

After a late lunch at the Airstream we drove west on the 24 towards Factory Butte and the Bentonite Hills.

 

Strange land

 

Hanksville is a little off the beaten path, but definitely worth checking out!

 

 

 

 

After Moab we made the short drive to Grand Junction to spend more time with the twins and Mike. It was their last week in GJ before heading back to Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts for the summer. It’s always an absolute delight to spend time with them. It’s been fifteen years, almost to the date since we’ve visited Grand Junction. We hit all the famous trails; 18 Road, Kokopelli, and The Ribbon/Lunch Loops and got in two hikes.

Warning! This video contains profane language.

 

On Saturday, our last full day with them, Chris flew home to Connecticut in the morning.  The four of us decided after all the riding we’ve done we would take a day off the bikes and go for a hike. A short drive took us to the Little Book Cliffs Wilderness Study Area. Folks do this hike to see the wild horses that roam the area. It’s never a guarantee you’ll see them, but we lucked out and did!

So cool

Wild Horse video

 

Let me tell you about a thrill, and not the good kind.  On the second night, all bundled up in a mummy sleeping bag and in a small tent, I got a massive cramp in my right hamstring. It was wild. When it happens at home I jump out of bed and try to walk it off. There’s was no jumping out of that damn mummy bag. I was thrashing around in crazy pain. It was quite a sight according to Amelia. I’m surprised I didn’t wake up the entire camp.

I can only speak for myself, but the last day had a sense of sadness to me. This wonderful experience was coming to an end. I was riding slower to savor it and take it all in. It was nothing short of a miracle that this group was able to all get together for three days and two nights. All but two of us are retired, but even in retirement people are busy. There was talk about what we’d all do next. The idea of doing The Maze District in Canyonlands came up, but the guides told us there’s a limit of seven people per trip. We’ll see what the next adventure is, but it’s going to be pretty hard to top this one and this wonderful group of people.

 

Day Three Stats

• 24.19 miles
• 1,869 ft elevation gain
• A tough climb out

 

The following day we took a day off of the bikes. Tony drove Dianni, Amelia, and me to the overlooks in Canyonlands National Park. We had our binoculars. It was amazing to look down on what we just did. We were able to basically see the entire trail and all the stops we made.