Fiordland National Park is well-known as one of the gems of New Zealand's South Island. Teeming with day hikes and backcountry alike, beauty is tucked away in every turn of its untrammeled wilderness. Lake Marian is located just off the Milford Road, a bit more than an hour of gorgeous driving north from the town of Te Anau. The official distance for this hike is 4.4 miles with just shy of ...
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More Awesome Things to Do in Kauai
About half of my time in Kauai was spent backpacking the Na Pali coast, but when I wasn't there, I spent a good bit of time touristing around the rest of the island. We didn't manage any other hikes during the trip partially because we were pretty beat up from Kalalau, and partially because weather wasn't on our side. Here's the things to do and see that made the top of my ...
The Good, the Bad, and the Very Damp: Backpacking Kalalau Trail
I may have never been backpacking, but I wasn't about to go to Kauai and miss out on Kalalau Trail, the iconic Na Pali coast experience. After all, Hawaii seems like an awfully nice place to get your feet wet (literally, it turns out!) in backcountry adventuring, so I was up to the challenge. In the months leading up to the trip, I spent hours learning about the hike, reading backpacking tips, ...
Things You Might Not Expect at Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is a small park in southern Utah, not too far from the super-popular Zion National Park. I've taken a couple trips to Zion, but finally made the extra drive out to Bryce this past fall. Friends, Bryce does not disappoint! Things you might not expect at Bryce Chilly temps The elevation at the rim of Bryce Canyon starts just under 8,000 ft and goes up to ...
Carry-On Only Packing for a Week Overseas
I’m a big believer in packing light, no matter the trip. With long trips by plane, I’m even more ruthless with my packing strategy. Besides the money saved on checked bags (for some airlines at least), you save time by not having to wait at baggage claim and stress by not having to worry about lost baggage. Plus, I love being able to quickly and easily grab my things and go. I like the feeling ...
A Foggy Ireland Photo Journal
Day 1 | Dublin I landed in Dublin around 10 am local time after a grueling 20 hours of traveling (and of course, no sleep). The first of my friends wasn't due to land until nearly 5 pm and I had a ton of time to kill. For context: my international travel experience is virtually non-existent. My trip to New Zealand last year was the first time I left North America. I'd never been to Europe ...
