We’re very fortunate to live so close to Eaton Canyon. Only blocks from our home, we hike there several times each week and it has been our preparation spot for bigger hikes like Mt Whitney, Mt Shuksan and even the Himalaya of Nepal. One of the greatest adventures in our own back yard is canyoneering […]

Sometimes the most amazing adventures are found really close to home. If you live in LA, there are few more beautiful places to visit as close by as Santa Barbera County Wine Country. And there are few better ways to see it than by motorcycle. Santa Barbara is just a couple of hours away but […]

Mt San Gorgonio in the San Bernardino Mountains is more than the highest peak in Southern California at 3506 m (11,503 ft)…it is also also the 18th most prominent mountain in the United States. The peak is visible from great distances and nicknamed “Old Greyback.” It has the strange distinction of claiming the lives of […]

What do you think of when you hear “Birmingham, Alabama?” Do you think of the Old South and Steel Industry or do you instead see a city of rolling hills and great restaurants being remade in the model of New South? Birmingham is a surprise for those who haven’t been there. If you look around, […]

Few people come to the Hawaiian Islands to camp or hike, but we do both. Beyond the excellent outdoor opportunities, we were married at Secret Cove in Maui and come back each year to get married again by our friend, Pastor Dennis De Rego. What started as a romantic ‘mission’ has become one of friendship […]

Barely a month after hiking the Haleakala Crater to Paliku Campsite, we were back in Maui to hike the remainder of the trail that goes from Paliku Campsite down to the Kaupo Ranch Trailhead. The remaining distance was less than 12 km (7 mi) but a whopping 1800 m (5800 ft) elevation change over that […]

This is an extremely popular hike in the San Gabriel Mountains and one of the most popular hikes in Los Angeles and for good reason. The trail is easily accessed off the 210 Freeway in Pasadena by traveling north on Lake Avenue until it ends at a sharp left turn and becomes Loma Alta Avenue. […]

We have always heard great things about Runyon Canyon and know it as one of the most popular hikes in Los Angeles. Even with high expectations, we were pleasantly surprised by this fairly urban getaway. Parking is the biggest challenge since there is no specific lot and the street parking is competitive to say the […]

The following is a continuation of Hiking the Halemau’u Trail to the Paliku Campsite at Haleakala National Park. One of the best parts of camping is sleeping when the sun sets and waking when it rises. We were awake a little after 5am with the pleasure of enormous slugs crawling on the tent’s screen. It […]

The Halemauu Trail to the Paliku Wilderness Campsite is not a two-day hike for the casual hiker. Fortunately, we’re no casual hikers and were well-prepared for the altitude, wet, cold and 32.8 km (20.4 miles) round trip. We paid our $10 to enter the park for three days, and made our way to the Haleakala National […]