Another weekend and another chance to bag a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near our home in Pasadena. This is one of the more popular hikes in Los Angeles, as it turns out. San Gabriel Peak was once thought the highest in the area close to Pasadena at 1878 m (6,161 ft) but is […]

In a recent post, Why would a blind person climb a 10,000 ft. Mountain?, we wrote about a group of blind Braille Institute students who climbed Mt Baldy in Los Angeles. It was a maximum adventure for those involved, both the students and the sighted guides. Just before they climbed the upper section of the mountain, […]

We had a great plan for our trip to Kaua’i at the end of August 2009, knowing that our true target, the Kalalau Trail, was closed for a goat hunt. We planned to drive to Kekaha, on the western (leeward and dry) side of the island to pick up a kayak from friends and paddle […]

I’ve heard it said that no Californian can call themselves a climber without reaching the summit of the highest peak in the Lower forty-eight. Mt Whitney, at 4421 m (14,505 ft), is not the most difficult peak to reach, but it is a long, challenging trail to reach the summit. We joined a group that […]

This is a continuation of Four perfect days in Kings Canyon – Roads End to Sphinx Creek. Day 4 – Roads End to Lower Tent Meadows After hiking on at least partially the same trails the prior two days, we decided it would be good to take a new direction from Roads End…to the north. […]

This is a continuation of Four perfect days in Kings Canyon. Day 3 – Roads End to Sphinx Creek An early start allowed us to park at Roads End once again and to be on the Woods Creek Trail well before the hot part of the day. This trail was the very same one that […]

Everyone knows Yosemite, at least by reputation, but far fewer people know the national park just to its south, Kings Canyon. It forms the northern part of Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, and even within this two-park system, Sequoia overshadows the other due to its world-famous, enormous trees. Adding to the obscurity, there is […]

If you’ve hiked very much in Southern California, you’ve come across poison oak. We’re ‘blessed’ with its presence from Southern California down into Baja. If you’re allergic like most of the population, you’ve dealt with the miserable itching, inflammation and blistering. What makes it so tough is that our most beautiful and drought resistant tree, […]

Just because we were on an island paradise didn’t mean we wanted to sit still.  We look for adventure everywhere we go and locals are often a great source of inspiration.  Within hours of our arrival we’d met Jason and Fermin at the Royal Hawaiian.  When we explained that we love to hike, climb and […]

Given an extra day on a business trip to Atlanta, what better to do as an unplanned adventure than to hike north from the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.  The 3,508 km (2,180 mile) trail officially starts at Springer Mountain, GA, but there is a great day hike that takes you up to that […]