It was summertime and my roommate and I were about to embark on the trip of a lifetime. Ten days in northern Scotland, 16 hours of flight time, five modes of transportation to our arrival point, and, finally, countless hours to explore the best day hikes in Scotland. The trip took us through some of …
No day is the same as another on the John Muir Trail (JMT). But let’s take a journey into a day on a JMT thru hike and see where the trail leads today! Mornings on a JMT Thru Hike The first light of morning on the JMT begins to stream over the mountains, through the …
How was Lake Tahoe formed? It is one of the most common questions I have heard while guiding throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin. This question deserves an answer with depth, humility, clarity, and clairvoyance, like the crystalline Tahoe waters that bound to over a thousand feet. An Intro To ‘Stories of Stone’ Enter the School …
I’ve never been one to use vacation time to sip Mai-tais and work on my tan. I prefer to use that time to explore new places and push my physical limits. If you’re like me and you feel like your vacation time is best spent pushing yourself to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience, check out these …
Sometimes it’s hard for me to imagine paying for a guide when I can pop online to research trails, weather, and anything else I feel like I need to know before I go (which is one of the first rules of Leave No Trace ethics!). But when does hiring an adventure guide make sense? There …
Throughout my teens and 20s, I’ve found so much benefit in getting away from the house and spending time walking, sitting, swimming, and sleeping in the wilderness. So let’s talk about my favorite health benefits of backpacking and why you should give it a try! Disconnecting From Technology I’ve placed this benefit at the top …
So you want to get into sleeping elevated, do you? From experience, it takes some time and requires a degree of trial and error to dial in your hammock camping gear list and perfect your setup. Getting a good hang (as die-hard hammockers call it) takes some experimenting and can require different considerations depending on …
Hammock camping is my preferred method of sleeping for any trips under a week in length. If you’ve never tried it, you might be surprised by some of the awesome benefits of sleeping in a hammock. I even find myself leaning towards a hammock set-up that can function for even longer trips (like the JMT …
It’s never a bad time to invest in your personal health, but most of us don’t think about a hiking workout in the depths of winter. As the spring progresses, we naturally start to dream about summer backpacking trips or hikes with friends. With those dreams, though, comes the realization that it might take a …
There appears to be a long-standing divide amongst the hiking community about the pros and cons of hiking poles. In my own journeys, I’ve tended to err on the side of going without hiking poles. But as the miles start to add up, I’m forced to reconsider my former (dare I say childish?) ways. To …