A Year in Pictures - 2019 was a year of traveling

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2019 was a pretty amazing year for travel. Roughly 23% of my year was spent away from home. I saw landscapes all over the world.

A view of Las Vegas from the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

We stayed in Las Vegas for a few chilly nights, enjoyed the wonderful outdoors during the day, and fine dining in the evening.

The Soups and I assuming an impromptu Joshua Tree pose in the Mojave Desert

We call ourselves The Soups. We all worked at a department store called Best Products in the late 80’s. On New Year’s Eve, 1990, we camped in Joshua Tree. With a two decade or so break in the middle, we’ve been camping ever since. This year, we all met in the Mojave Desert and had a great time. One of the many trips full of rain this year.

While not an overnight trip, I was able to go out hiking to False Sombrero Peak in Anza Borrego Desert State Park and was able to see bighorn sheep for the first time in the park. It was breathtaking.

On another day trip to the desert, I got sidetracked by the tons of snow atop Julian. I made a detour and went to Wooded Hill and Stonewall Peak, just so I could play in the snow. At 22F with a decent wind, I was only slightly underdressed.

Green Valley Sunset, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

Another friend, this time from the mid 90’s, came down to San Diego for a visit to Julian. We rented a cabin for a couple of nights and enjoyed the peace and beauty of the area, again visiting snowy Wooded Hill, and enjoying our time in the outdoors.

My daughter had a week off of school, so we headed out to Mammoth for a few nights, sneaking in a bluebird day in between major storms.

Another storm dropped some while fluffy stuff in the local mountains, so the PD and I strapped our skis and boots onto our backs and hiked into the Mount Laguna area, skiing on the way down. While the skiing wasn’t as epic as I had hoped, I can think of many worse ways to spend a day in the outdoors.

A week after that, the PD, McD, and I headed to Big Bear to hit the slopes there. Having honed my skills on these icy slopes, it was fun to get back on them.

Overnight on the Californian, San Diego Bay

I spent the night on a ship in San Diego Bay, as my daughter had a field trip to the historic Californian. It rained almost all night as the kids had to learn how to work on a 18th century vessel.

I spent a wonderful day with Jason of The Muir Project (who made the wonderful film Mile… Mile and a Half). We explored Anza-Borrego, looking for, and finding beautiful flower displays. It rained on us by the end of the day.

For spring break, McD’s family and mine visited Boston and Chicago. It was a trip packed with history, art, and great food. Plenty of rain.

The northern arm of Long Lake with Cloudripper peeking out from behind Chocolate Peak

Right after school let out, Soph and I headed to the Sierra for a backpacking trip to Long Lake. While we had to change our plans a little due to some heavy snow, we still had a great time exploring the area.

We then spent 10 nights in Iceland, exploring glaciers, rugged coastlines, towering waterfalls, and some of the best food we had all year. There was rain.

I took my dad to the same cabin in Julian and had some quality time hiking around Cuyamaca and Laguna. There were powerful thunderstorms and flash flood warnings. Luckily we were on our way back to the cozy cabin before they opened up.

A week after that, a few longtime friends and their families all met at William Heise County Park, where we rented 4 cabins and enjoyed our days on the trail and our evenings around the campfire.

The heavenly Summerland, complete with flowery meadows, crystal clear streams, and a view of glaciers on Mount Rainier

A week after that, I flew to Seattle to meet Jeff (The Socal Hiker) and Jason (from The Muir Project) for a 2 week thru-hike of the Wonderland Trail, a 93-mile adventure that circumnavigates Mount Rainier, climbing and dropping through many glacial valleys. It was a trip of a lifetime and has gotten me hooked again on longer backpacking trips. It rained.

Sophia and I took a quick backpacking trip on the north side of Palomar Mountain to Barker Valley. It was a nice way to get some time in the outdoors with my daughter.

Since my daughter was in Cuyamaca for 6th Grade Camp, my wife and I took the opportunity to date camp in Mount Laguna, cooking our food over the campfire and hiking to the top of Wooded Hill for a wonderful sunset. The next evening, we had dinner at the only Michelin-rated restaurant in San Diego. Quite the juxtaposition.

Nearly ten years after my last overnight trip to this part of Anza-Borrego, I made an attempt to summit both Villager and Rabbit Peaks in a day with the Gut Check Fitness crew. We camped the night before in a wash and had a great time in front of a campfire. Perhaps too good of a time? Unfortunately, my body wasn’t having it, so I only made it to Villager, which is still something. I plan on giving it a try again next year.

The PD celebrated his 50th birthday this year, so we went on a week-long road trip through the southwest. We camped almost every night and enjoyed such a wide variety of landscapes, food, wine, and beer.

The coast of Ireland on the Dingle Peninsula

Our final trip of the year was to Ireland. We were able to see a decent amount of the country, and once again learned a lot of history, had amazing food, and met some wonderful people.

As of now, 2020 might include a lot less traveling. We’ll see. I hope everyone had a great year and I wish 2020 is a great one, too.