Outdoor Adventure
Henry Coe is one of the largest state parks in California Less than an hour from the South Bay Area, it’s a great place to get out in nature without having to drive too far. I often don’t run into more than one or two other hikers on a long weekend trip.
Continue reading “Backpacking to Pacheco Falls in Henry Coe”
In December 2017, I was talking with a friend in Finland about hiking, and he mentioned that he had hiked something called the Fjällräven Classic in Sweden. He had a blast and recommended that I check out the USA edition of the event that would be held in Colorado in June 2018.
Continue reading “Fjällräven Classic USA backpacking trip report”
The Trinity Alps are a spectacular wilderness area in Northern California, within driving distance from the SF Bay Area. They offer rugged alpine views with a lot less crowds than most places in the Sierra. This is a trip report from my 2-night backpacking trip along Stuart Fork in June 2019.
Continue reading “Trinity Alps backpacking: Sapphire and Emerald Lakes”
One thing I wanted to try out on my trip to the Trinity Alps was recording a trip video. You can find the route description and gear list in the previous blog post if you are interested.
Continue reading “Video: Sapphire and Emerald Lakes in the Trinity Alps”
I’m preparing to hike the John Muir Trail in just two weeks, and this was my last chance to dial in my gear and get some trail miles in. With the big snow year that we’ve had in 2019, I wanted to pick a section with a bit of snow so I could also verify that my gear worked well in that.
Continue reading “TRT section hike: Van Sickle to Echo Summit”
For me, the best way to learn new skills is to work with experts. Most of my backpacking has been on established trails until now. I wanted to learn the skills needed to safely and confidently start planning my own off-trail adventures. Andrew Skurka is one of the backpackers who I’ve followed online for several years. I’ve learned a lot from his insightful articles and videos, so when I saw that he’s arranging guided trips, I knew I wanted to go on one.
Continue reading “Rocky Mountain National Park backpacking trip with Andrew Skurka”
Emigrant Wilderness is in Stanislaus National Forest, North of Yosemite. Like Yosemite, it has towering granite mountains and spectacular alpine lakes. But it’s much less crowded than its neighbor to the South, offering more solitude for backpacking.
Continue reading “3-day spectacular Emigrant Wilderness backpacking loop”
It’s less than a month until I’m heading out to Patagonia for a 2-week bikepacking trip. Before heading out, I wanted to do a trial bikepacking trip to make sure my bike and all my gear work and to get a feel for where everything goes on the bike.
Continue reading “San Francisco Bay Area overnight bikepacking trip”
My friend Joonas and I had been planning an early June hiking trip to Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite. We had a permit for June 4. Unfortunately for us, they opened for backpacking on the 5th, which meant we needed to find an alternate trip.
Continue reading “3 days of awe-inspiring backpacking in Desolation Wilderness”
Last week my wife and I rented a cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills for our vacation. Of course, we brought with us our adventure dog, Nova.
Continue reading “4 dog-friendly day hikes near South Lake Tahoe”