Every once in a while, there’s a moment in life where a single choice will send you down a profoundly different path. One of these choices happened to me in Spring 2011. I received an unexpected chunk of change, and with all that coin burning...
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park boasts more than 800 miles of trails; 500,000 acres of land; and some of the largest stands of old-growth forest in the eastern US. And with more than 9 million guests annually, it's the most visited national park in the...
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Since December of 2014, I have been working on a full revision and update of Jerry Schad’s hiking guide, Afoot and Afield: San Diego County. Part of my revision included hiking every inch of those 1,420 miles to determine what had changed and what was new. From...
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Before there was Cheryl Strayed, there was Catherine Montgomery. In 1926, almost a century before Strayed’s best-selling memoir about her Pacific Crest Trail experience was published, Montgomery came up with the idea of creating a ridgeline track from Canada to Mexico. It seems fitting to pay tribute...
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Packing for long, strenuous day hikes is a balancing act. You don’t want to forget anything critical, but you also don’t want to carry any unnecessary weight. Packing for such a hike at 14,000 feet may seem slightly more stressful than usual. But fear not—the supplies you need...
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Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks offer the ultimate in natural and geothermal wonders, and the vast mountain ranges and steaming geyser basins make for thrilling hikes around every corner. But with more than 28,000 square miles (including all of the surrounding protected lands), how do...
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You have decided what time of year you want to summit Mount Whitney. You have applied for your permit. You’re growing excited. Now it’s time to start thinking about the task at hand—actually summiting the highest mountain in the Lower 48. Yikes! Hiking 21 miles is...
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The most likely stumbling point during the planning stage is getting a permit to enter the Mount Whitney Zone. Between May 1 and November 1, trailhead quotas are in effect and permits are required for both day hikes and overnight backpacking trips. The catch is that all permits for both...
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Most hikers look forward to unplugging on the trail. But there are times, especially on a thru-hike or long backpacking trip, that seeing a bar or two pop up in a remote area is a welcome surprise. It means we can call home and let...
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Happy 2017, fellow adventurers! Can we all agree to take a collective sigh of relief and vow to make this year better than the last? Breathe in the mountain air, breathe out the doldrums of 2016. If you haven’t already started, now is a great time...
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