Backpacking is hard work! Not only does it require good cardiovascular fitness, but you are also using your muscles: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, your abs, and of course, your back. You are also putting strain on your ankles, knees, hips, and maybe a little bit on…
Re-supply and food planning are some of the most stressful and time-consuming parts of planning a thru-hike! I generally try to avoid planning food (hence my PCT 2018 resupply strategy), but on the John Muir Trail, you can’t really resupply at grocery stores. Unless you…
John Muir Trail permits are pretty hard to come by. You probably know this, since you’re researching how to get JMT permits. I failed on my first lottery attempts in 2017. In 2020, somehow I won the lottery for a permit from Happy Isles (after…
Sometimes a last-minute planned trip doesn’t go the best, but we managed to pull this one off! A group of my co-workers happened to get President’s Day weekend off, so we headed up to Lake Tahoe for my second-ever snow camping trip. California’s snowpack wasn’t…
Every January, my co-worker and friend, Shaun, plans a fun birthday backpacking trip. Last year, we went snow camping. This year, we opted for something… warmer? But definitely not drier! Despite some day-of travel difficulties, wet weather, and an annoying hit-and-run that resulted in my…
I was first exposed to Havasu Falls, way before I self-identified as a “hiker”, when I saw some professional photography from there. At the time, I didn’t know where these waterfalls were located, or that “normal” people could go there. I was immediately entranced by…
