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Southwest Van Trip, Part 1: A 7-Day Desert Loop from LA in an AWD Camper Van

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Saturday, October 31 to Friday, November 6, 2026 Seven days, one rented all-wheel-drive camper van, and a loop from Los Angeles through southern Nevada, southern Utah and northern Arizona: the Valley of Fire, Zion, Bryce, Scenic Byway 12, Capitol Reef, Natural Bridges, the Moki Dugway, Valley of the Gods, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, Route 66 and Joshua Tree. It rained the first night and into the next day, the "mild" dirt roads weren't, and it was one of the best weeks I've had on the road. This post is the overview and the route map, plus Day 1: picking up the van in Hawthorne and the first night on BLM land by the Valley of Fire. The rest of the trip follows in six posts, linked below as they go up. Prefer to watch? The 10-minute film of the whole loop is at the end of the story. The trip in numbers: 7 days · about 1,680 miles, LA and back · 4 states (California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona) · 6 nights: BLM land by the Valley of Fire, Watchman Campground in ...
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Tour du Mont Blanc, Day 5: Villair to Plampincieux

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Wednesday, August 5: the Mont de la Saxe ridge, a lot of cows, and a bus that wouldn't stop Day 5 was our first full day in Italy, and the one with the best seat in the house: a long, grassy ridge looking straight across at the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif, glaciers and all. It ended with a fight against the local bus schedule, which we lost, and an afternoon in Courmayeur, which we won. This is Day 5 of ten on the trail; the overview and the all-days map are in the trip summary post . The day in numbers: 7.2 mi / 11.5 km · 3,125 ft / 953 m up · 2,475 ft / 754 m down · 6h25 on the trail, 3h51 moving · high point 7,690 ft / 2,344 m on the Mont de la Saxe ridge · Villair 1,396 m to Plampincieux 1,593 m (watch). Up out of Courmayeur Breakfast at the Hotel Triolet was a quiet little buffet, with an excellent made-to-order caffè latte from the proprietor's son. Italy! A taxi ran us up to the trailhead at Villair, 1,396 m, and we were walking at 08:17. The climb goes ...
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Tour du Mont Blanc, Day 4: Ville des Glaciers to La Visaille

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Tuesday, August 4: over the Col de la Seigne and into Italy Day 4 was the day we walked from France into Italy. One big climb up to the Col de la Seigne, a border on the top, and then a spectacular descent, with the glaciers of the Mont Blanc massif spilling down right in front of you. This is Day 4 of ten on the trail; the overview and the all-days map are in the trip summary post . The day in numbers: 9.3 mi / 15.0 km · 2,526 ft / 770 m up · 3,031 ft / 924 m down · 6h22 on the trail, 4h11 moving · high point 8,268 ft / 2,520 m on the Col de la Seigne · Ville des Glaciers 1,838 m to La Visaille 1,683 m (watch). Back up the valley Buffet breakfast at Base Camp Lodge in Bourg-Saint-Maurice was a bit of a zoo, so we took ours out to the patio. The patio at Base Camp Lodge in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, first thing in the morning Then we mustered for the taxi back up the valley we'd come down the night before, past Les Chapieux and on to the end of the road at Ville des Glaciers. The...
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