As I sit down to write this, it's the Friday before the 3-day Memorial Day Weekend holiday. It's also the 65th day of California's Stay-at-Home order, so the days of the week and holidays don't seem to carry the same weight. Trails are reopening all over the country, and people are itching to get on them. We used to call it "spring fever" but the effects this year are … [Read More]
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How to answer the question “Is the [fill-in-the-blank] trail open?”
As hiking trails and parks begin to reopen, often with restrictions and new rules for social distancing and face coverings, the question on everyone's mind is "which … [Read More]
Featured Post
Trails are Re-Opening in Los Angeles (but not all)
Good news, confusing news. The good news? Many hiking trails are re-opening in Los Angeles. The confusing news? There are still many trails in Los Angeles County … [Read More]
Featured Posts
Hiking Bill Williams Mountain
Named after a legendary Arizona mountain man, Bill Williams Mountain offers a beautiful hike through pine and aspen trees. Spring and summer are great times to hike this peak, but it’s even more special if you wait for the leaves to start changing. No matter … [Read More]
Backpacking the Wonderland Trail
Backpacking the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park is a great way to test the thru-hiking waters to see if it's for you. Joan and I visited Mount Rainier National Park for the first time in 2018, as we were scouting trails for the Pacific … [Read More]
Essential Wonderland Trail Resources
If you want to hike the Wonderland Trail, it pays to do your homework. There were a number of resources we used help us plan, prepare, and successfully hike the Wonderland Trail. First up is the wonderful book Hiking the Wonderland Trail by Tami Asars. I … [Read More]
Mushrooms of the Wonderland Trail
I was amazed by the variety of mushrooms I saw on the Wonderland Trail. I know some of them are edible, but I've no idea which ones. Click on the gallery to view larger, and leave a comment on a photo if you can help me identify them. … [Read More]
REVIEW: The Healing Power of the Outdoors in ‘HIGHLINE’
The Highline Trail is a 100-mile trail through the little-traveled Uinta Mountains in northeast Utah. The Uintas are one of the few east-west ranges in North America. The are home to 13,528' Kings Peak, the high point of Utah. HIGHLINE is a feature-length … [Read More]
12 Outdoorsy Podcasts to Keep You Stoked While You’re Stuck at Home
Podcasts can be entertaining, informative, and educational. They are free to listen to, and portable. I like to listen to them on the drive to the trailhead. And they can provide a great mental escape when you're stuck inside. We asked members of the SoCal … [Read More]
COVID-19 Park and Trail Closures
A few weeks ago I was planning my training hikes for my Mount Rainier climb. Now I'm hunkered down and my "hikes" are limited to walking the dogs in the neighborhood streets. We don't live near any trails, so that will have to suffice for now. The spread of … [Read More]
Social Distancing on Public Trails
Editor's note: This is a guest post by Sarah Guillermo, a cardiac registered nurse and avid hiker. Nurse here: Can we please collectively check our vibe for a second? The collective panic is just as contagious as COVID-19. But you can choose reason over … [Read More]
Hiking During the COVID-19 Pandemic
UPDATE: This past weekend everyone who hasn't hiked decided it would be a good time to start, and many parks and trails were overrun with people. Some parks reported the highest volume of hikers they had ever encountered, making safe social distancing … [Read More]
Hiking Piestewa Peak from Dreamy Draw
Hiking Piestewa Peak is a famously popular Phoenix-area, StairMaster-like workout that can get really crowded. Most people take the short, direct route up Trail 300. For this year's Arizona Winter Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge, I wanted to explore a different … [Read More]
Planning an Ascent of Mount Rainier
Each year at our Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge Finishers Party, we do an exercise we call Your Next Adventure. We ask everyone to take an index card and a permanent marker and write down their big adventure goals for the year ahead. The simple act of committing … [Read More]
Hiking Volcan Mountain
The Volcan Mountains are a relatively small range about 13 miles long and 7.5 miles wide. Located east of San Diego, near the town of Julian, this hike up Volcan Mountain gives you a perfect excuse for a weekend trip rewarded with a slice of Julian apple pie. … [Read More]
Hiking Gray Butte from Smith Rock State Park
Gray Butte is not particularly rugged nor jagged. The soft-shouldered butte is home to a cluster of antennas and a utility road the climbs there. But this 13.3 mile out-and-back route begins and ends in beautiful Smith Rock State Park, taking you down across … [Read More]
8 Days Hiking the Arizona Winter Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge
2019 was the first year for the Arizona Winter Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge, featuring six iconic hikes based around Phoenix and Tucson. Until this past January, I had never done much hiking in Arizona. The challenge provided the perfect excuse to get … [Read More]
Backpacking the Red Peak Pass Loop in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park features some of the most beautiful backcountry in all of the Sierra Nevada. Surprisingly, however, most people stick to a few main trails – namely the John Muir Trail between Yosemite Valley - Tuolumne Meadows - Donahue Pass and the … [Read More]
What Makes People Go for the Fastest Known Time?
I've thru-hiked the John Muir Trail twice. The first time, back in 1980, I took 25 days to cover the 211-plus miles. The second time in 2010 I hiked it with my girlfriend (now my wife) over 22 days. If I could've taken more time off from work, I would have … [Read More]
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