Scott Stoll logo world traveler. A bicycle wheel and the globe symbolizes Scott's journey around the world on a bicycle.

Author Archive: Mark Loftin

Mark Loftin

Mark Loftin

Mark first became addicted to travel in his early twenties after exploring Europe and taking a few road trips of America’s Southwest. An avid hiker and mountain biker, he loves filling his weekends with new trails. Some of his favorite hikes are Mount Whitney, Zion’s Angel’s Landing, Yosemite’s Half Dome, Glacier’s Highline, and California’s Lost Coast trails, and a few of his favorite bike trails are the Downieville Classic, Sedona’s Cathedral Rock Big Loop and Lake Tahoe’s Flume. His other hobbies include playing the drums with various West Coast rock bands and hacking up golf courses. Mark spends his weekdays navigating the financial markets as a financial advisor in the Bay Area, California.
Exploring a moulin at Root Glacier Alaska
Guest Adventures

Glacier exploring at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 

Adventurer Mark Loftin explores the glaciers of Alaska, including climbing ice walls, rappelling down and sitting before the beauty of an ever-changing, surreal ice wonderland. It turned out to be an antidote to the information overload of daily life.

Thunder Mountain Trail, Utah. A hoodoo that resembles a statue from Easter Island.
Guest Adventures

Desolate Highways to Thunder Mountain and Beyond

It has been 20 years since adventurer Mark Loftin has contributed his first story to our website. Your future self will thank you for his insights and wisdom that you can apply right now to your travels. Besides it is a beautiful story about biking Thunder Mountain Trail and exploring the Extraterrestrial Highway.

Napali Coast by boat
Guest Adventures

48 hours in Kauai

Our adventure, Mark Loftin, books a last-minute, solo trip to Kauai, Hawaii, and avoids looking at pictures so the 550 square miles will be a surprise.

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park
Guest Adventures

Exploring Yellowstone, Hiking Glacier, and the Unexpected In-Between

A six-day road trip to Wyoming and Montana delivered much more than the landmarks… Editor’s Note: Before the word “blog” even existed, Mark Loftin was an adventurer and contributor to our website. 17 years later, I’m glad to see he hasn’t lost his adventurous spirit. In this post, Mark discovers an unexpected theme to his

An old-fashioned gas station with colorful signs.
Guest Adventures

Discoveries of American Highways

What begins as a 1-week family mission to drive Grandma across Texas to see a doctor, turns into a 5-week adventure across the American West and Deep South.

Downtown Havana, Cuba.
Guest Adventures

In and Out of Cuba

The risk of going to Cuba has an allure all of its own. Before Mark knew it, he booked an overnight stay in Havana that turns into a financial nightmare.

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