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…
With such close proximity to San Francisco, Mount Tamalpais and Marin County are super popular areas for city-dwellers to get outside and explore! The Steep Ravine campground, in particular, is very popular and difficult to reserve during the high season. I booked this camping trip…
This January I went on my first-ever snow camping trip! This is something I’ve always wanted to try out, but I was nervous to do it alone just because, well, snow and cold. Luckily, I have some pretty awesome co-workers at REI who are more…
Over the last few months, I’ve seen so many people ask some iteration of this request in Facebook outdoor groups: “I’m going to Yosemite for x days and need day hiking/ backpacking/ lodging advice!” I have a lot of thoughts and feelings and advice for…
