Last May, I set out to cross off a bucket list item of mine: hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back in one day. There's a reason it's called the GRAND Canyon: it's huge. Hiking all the way in and out is no small feat. The typical rim-to-river route covers over 17 miles, including 4780 ft down and 4380 ft up. Most one-day hikes are nowhere near this intense. Instead, most people ...
hiking
Hiking Upper Yosemite Falls Trail to Yosemite Point (in the Winter!)
Continuing my report on my mini getaway to Yosemite, today I'm sharing my recap of the Upper Yosemite Falls hike. As I mentioned in my last post, Yosemite Falls is the most iconic waterfall in the park--hence the name. Since the weather had been warm, there was a good amount of snowmelt, which meant the falls were roaring! The falls can dry up in late summer, so it was an ideal time to tackle ...
A Short Visit to Yosemite: Seeing The Iconic Sights
Well, I lost my resolve. I mentioned in my post a couple weeks ago that I was itching to visit Yosemite National Park, and I wasn't kidding. I'd been stalking rates and weather for a few weeks, finally found some inexpensive airfare and pounced. After 8 months of working long hours pretty much non-stop, I was more than ready for a little break. Our visit was during the first weekend in March ...
Rocky Mountain Winter Hiking to Dream Lake and Emerald Lake
Last month I took my first trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and got to go on my first hike in the snow. My sister was interviewing for some jobs in Denver, so I agreed to pop over and meet her for a long weekend. My family is almost all very far away, so someone coming within 800 miles of me pretty much qualifies "super convenient". Plus, I knew she'd be thrilled to have a partner in crime ...
