Guides and Trips
Trips
Cloud's Rest via Cathedral Lake
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, California, United States
Backpacking | 18.6 miles
Backpacking | 18.6 miles
Three day short route from Cathedral lakes trail head to Cloud's Rest and out at Tenaya Lake. Trip started in Tuolumne meadows travelling south on the John Muir trail with a lunch stop at Cathedral Lakes on the first day. Continuing on, the snow shrouded most of the trail especially at Cathedral Pass, and we cross-country hiked through the valley to Sunrise Lakes and camped at the upper lake. The next day...
Devil's Slide via Grey Whale Cove
Half Moon Bay, California, United States
Mountain biking | 6.5 miles
Mountain biking | 6.5 miles
Quick ride at sunset. I wouldn't recommend this route.
More photos from the trip. We got up and headed into the valley. With snow on the ground, the scenery was spectacular, and a lot less people in the valley. The hike is a moderately difficult 3.2 to the top, and a lot of snow meant the pace slowed down a bit, but it was still fun. The view at the top was completely obscured, but it's ok, we had fun anyways:
Jo and I did a morning hike after watching the sunrise from the "Hall of Horrors" rock formation. The wind kicked up quite a barrage and the temperatures were low, but we had an awesome time.The hike is easy and the terrain is well traveled and well maintained. The scenery is a departure from the endless Joshua Trees and rocks of the rest of the park, but you can still see the beautiful formations everywhere.
Jo and I wanted to go hiking with friends, but on a Sunday, it's hard to rope in twenty-somethings to go on a day hike starting early in the morning. Most especially difficult when that morning is set 1 hour ahead by daylight savings time.But we got Chris and Ze! We started in the rain, having been very well prepared and well equipped with rain gear, and everything! (none of us checked the...
Starting at Alpine Road, following the ridge trail, diverting to the Oak Trail, and then Hawk Ridge, and back along the Ridge Trail, we took a little short loop and made a nice day of it!
Climbing with Andres and Antonio in Berkeley. Lots of great routes varying in difficulty all the way up to V10. The rocks definitely rip your hands up, so we could only climb for 5 or so hours.
First time I attended Critical Mass in San Francisco. Not sure about the exact route as it gets into the Castro, but its pretty much correct. I was with a smaller group that lost the rest of the mass when we circled around the museums in Golden Gate Park. All in all, I spent a good 5 hours on the bike this day. The most complicated part was attempting to photograph the...
For the holidays, my parents and brother all decided to do an easy hike in Point Reyes. The trip was easy and mostly through coastal scrub on wide fireroads.Starting at the Limantour Trailhead, we headed for Coast Camp. We had lunch on the beach, and then completed the loop, all in just a couple hours. The trails were quite muddy since we have been having quite a bit of rain lately, but...
This is the must see attraction of South America. The view is simply breathtaking, and the vastness and grandeur of the ruins is something you have to see to understand. From a trip I took through Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile early 2010, this is the one thing that I would have not missed anything for. The dawn is a must for anyone who wants to see the transition of the ruins through the day and...
Lake Tahoe: Echo Lake to Aloha Lake and Beyond
South Lake Tahoe, California, United States
Backpacking | 15.3 miles
Backpacking | 15.3 miles
A journey into Desolation Wilderness that started early in the morning on Saturday. With a lot less mileage than normal, we started off from the parking lot at Echo Lake in the direction of Lake Aloha. Unfortunately, there is no public potable water at the parking lot, so we had to start the trip with minimal water. Also, I had slept less than a couple hours the previous night, and I could immediately...
One of my college roommates finished a turbo journey across the country to end right in my backyard so we planned out a little weekend for half the Narwhal in Yosemite. We started by camping outside the park friday night, drove in, and started the hike at Glacier Point with the midday sun already beating down on this fantastic early summer day. My planned course went to Taft Point and then to Dewey...
After a complicated journey from Pisac farther up the Sacred Valley, Chris and I arrived in Ollantaytambo on the night of the 18th. We slept at a little family owned hostel down on the main street with a lovely positioned window that faced directly onto the only street in the town with traffic. The next day we got up to explore the Ollantaytambo Ruins on the hillsides of the valley we were in....
We got up in the morning to the sound of rain as well as the snoring of the other guests at the hostel we were staying at. It was a national holiday for the Argentinians and so the hostel's guests were half nationals, and half foreigners, most of the hostels were actually sold out.Unfortunately, since we only had the one day in Iguazu, we couldn't wait around for a sunny day. We...
Guided tour down Yungas Road, dubbed Death Road, The Most Dangerous Road, El Camino de la Muerte...From La Paz, there are several tour companies that will rent mountain bikes and drive you to the top of this road, and all you have to do is not fall off on the way down. Tommy, Ralph and I went with Vertigo Biking, being the cheapest with moderately reliable looking Haro's in service. Since I have...
Well, we arrived in Samaipata without a clue of what to do. Ralph wanted to watch a football match in an internet cafe, so Tommy and I left to check out "El Fuerte" even though we knew nothing about it.The day was misty, but we brought our jackets just in case the rain started coming down. We grabbed some yogurt and dry bread items from one of the local markets on the...
The town of Puno is on the shores of world famous Lake Titicaca and from there, you can arrange tours to the islands. Chris, Tommy and I took one that visited the Uros Floating Islands as well as Taquile Island.We woke up quite early, and unfortunately, I was having trouble with loose motion the night before and wasn't able to eat any breakfast. The lake is very calm and the boats are...
Tommy and I decided to do a two day trek through the Colca Canyon in Peru. The easiest way to get there and to explore the canyon is a guided tour through one of the numerous tour companies based in Arequipa. The canyon is supposedly twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, however it does not appear as dramatic due to the shape of the walls resembling a valley, as opposed to...
After a nice little almuerzo near the bus stop, we took a taxi to the entrance of the Pisac ruins area. The hike down was quite steep in places, and mostly stairs. This was our (Chris, Tommy, and myself) first stop along the Sacred Valley on our way to Machu Picchu, and what a place to start! The ruins were spectacular, and the hike was a beautiful journey amongst the towering mountains...
Took a short day hike with Vanessa through the Purisima Creek Redwood Open Space Preserve along the the Whittemore Gulch Trail and back along the Harkins Ridge Trail. We stopped for lunch along the ridge and had a tasty Avocado as well as a little bag of trail mix.
