Category: Hiking
Sun sets particularly late in this part of the world and year. Seeing daylight at 10PM threw our rhythm off, but the extra hours allowed us to see and do more in the face of spending an inordinate amount of time driving from one point to another. Plan A was to wake up at 5AM … Continue reading Canadian Rockies – Banff National Park
It’s been a while since my last entry. After more than 2 months in Asia, we’re back in North America, and to be honest this is where my heart is. The beauty of North America’s natural landscape is far from unique, but it is the diversity of the western region that is unrivaled - from … Continue reading Canadian Rockies – Yoho National Park
Tajikistan, about the size of New York State, is 93% mountains. Their mountains top out at 24,590 ft, making our Mount Whitney look like a toddler. One thing that Tajikistan has a lot of that its neighboring countries don’t is water. All that glacial melt is the source of its hydroelectric power. Glaciers on towering … Continue reading On the Road to Iskanderkul Lake
Kyrgyzstan is 94% mountains, so a trip to the country would be incomplete without going for a hike. It is also nice to get out of the city and away from the fumes for some fresh air. Ala- Archa National Park is a short one-hour drive from Bishkek, so we booked a tour through Viator … Continue reading Ala-Archa National Park
Behind Washington State, Oregon boasts the most waterfalls in the US making it a waterfall chaser’s paradise. The Silver Falls trail near Silverton brings you to 10 waterfalls if you walk the entire 6.5-mile Canyon/Rim loop. Unfortunately quantity does not equal quality, as the majority of the waterfalls are quite underwhelming, and only 3 - … Continue reading Silver Falls State Park
Crossing the US/Canada border at Osoyoos is a much more pleasant experience than crossing the border closest to Vancouver. Instead of a half-hour bumper to bumper traffic, there was only one other car crossing the border with us today. The drive through the interior of Washington State isn’t the most scenic, as it’s mostly through … Continue reading Wahclella Falls Trail
Our road trip across British Columbia had us going from Vancouver to Jasper and Banff National Parks with a short stop in Kelowna in between. The sunny triple digit temps in Kelowna kept us indoors for the majority of the time, and I was finally getting excited about our upcoming outdoors trip in Jasper and … Continue reading Wildfire Evacuation at Jasper National Park
Vancouver is known to some as having the best Cantonese food outside of Hong Kong. In fact, some may argue that its food is even better after a lot of the top Cantonese chefs left Hong Kong for Vancouver after the handover in the late 90s. So naturally, Joe wanted to make this trip up, … Continue reading Stawamus Chief Trail
When people mention Yosemite National Park, the Half Dome comes to mind. The famed 16-mile Half Dome cable hike is a bucket list item for many hikers, but securing a permit is not easy. Luckily, there are other challenging trails within the park such as the Upper Yosemite Falls hike and the Four Mile Trail. … Continue reading Four Mile Trail
I did it again. I hiked to Havasupai for a third time in less than a year. This time, however, I went with 2 other hiking buddies - Michelle and Jeannette. Hiking with others offer opportunities not readily available for a solo hiker - one being hiking in more remote areas. The hike to the … Continue reading Confluence Hike
Other than the Formosa Cypress, the Alishan area is also known for its wasabi and high mountain oolong tea. As a coffee drinker, I cannot speak to the quality of the tea. Tea plantations dot the mountainside on the way to the park. Taiwan cherry blossoms begin to flower in January. Other Sakura species bloom … Continue reading Alishan Park
To truly appreciate the beauty of Taiwan, one needs to venture outside the cities. There are a few places around Taipei but the real beauty is in the central part of the island where the mountain ranges course through. At 7,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level, Alishan (阿里山) isn’t the highest mountain in Taiwan. … Continue reading Alishan – Tashan (塔山) Trail
My last visit to Havasupai was cut short by a day due to potential rainfall on my last day. So there were a few places that I didn’t get a chance to check out. Hidden Falls is one of the least visited waterfalls due to its relatively hard to find and hidden location. The fact … Continue reading Unfinished Business
Shortly after returning home from my last Havasupai trip, I found myself looking for another hiking permit. This year may be the only year where permits are easy to obtain, and I reckoned that it would be foolish of me not to take advantage of this. There’s no guarantee that I will be lucky enough … Continue reading Second Time Around
One of the most visited National Parks in the US is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park is huge with trails galore. Had we traveled here by ourselves, I’d have schedule back to back to back hikes. As part of a party, I needed to be considerate of others who may not regularly … Continue reading Mount Le Conte Trail
There are 3 major mountain ranges in the US. On the West Coast, we have the towering Sierra Nevada and Rockies reaching elevations of over 14k feet above sea level, and on the East Coast, the Appalachian scraping close to 6.7k feet above sea level and stretching from central Alabama all the way up to … Continue reading Looking Glass Rock Trail
I had one more day in camp but decided to leave a day early because of an incoming storm. My biggest concern was the dry washes becoming impassable during monsoon flooding. Hiking in the rain generally isn’t ideal for me, so it was another alpine start the morning before. Woke up at 3AM, broke down … Continue reading Solo Backpacking
After breakfast in camp I made a beeline for Havasu Falls to try to get a clean shot of the place. These travertine pools were full of people yesterday afternoon, but early morning offers a chance at solitude. The waterfall from a different perspective. I took advantage of having one other person there to snap … Continue reading Beaver Falls
There are several hiking permits in the US that are generally hard to secure. You have lottery systems for Yosemite’s Half Dome and Grand Escalante’s Wave, and others like Havasu Falls that require you to have fast internet connections to purchase permits. Permits for Havasu Falls for the entire year generally sell out within 5 … Continue reading Havasu Falls
We started this trip chasing waterfalls in New Zealand 3 months ago, so it’s only fitting to conclude it with a waterfall hike. Mount Field National Park is an hour and a half from Hobart, and has a trail that winds past 3 waterfalls - Russell, Horseshoe, and Lady Barron. The trail starts at the … Continue reading Mount Field National Park Waterfalls
If I had a chance to redo our itinerary, I’d definitely allocate more days in Tasmania. On the map Tasmania looks like a tiny island off the Australian mainland. But, my mistake was underestimating the size of Australia. Two weeks in Tasmania can superficially cover both the northern and southern parts of the island. With … Continue reading Wineglass Bay Walking Track
After the three incidents in Perth a few weeks ago, I had real reservations about Australia and was close to canceling the rest of our Australian itinerary. Luckily, I gave the country another shot, and I am happy to say that what happened in Perth were unfortunate. The people in the rest of the country … Continue reading Cape Raoul Walking Track
Back in Australia, and the experience so far is a bit more positive than the last time we left it. People in Cairns (pronounced “cans”) are friendlier than those in the Perth area. Cairns, known as the gateway to the rainforest and Great Barrier Reef, totally reminds us of Hawaii, with the palm trees, green … Continue reading The Search For Cassowaries
Following our 2 hour visit to the Sekumpul area waterfalls, we set off for the waterfalls in the Banyu Wana Amertha region. The nominal entrance fee ($3 pp) nets you 4 waterfalls. This hike is a bit shorter than the hike in Sekumpul, but at an incline on the way back in 85°F and 60% … Continue reading Banyu Wana Amertha Waterfall
For any waterfall lover, Bali is heaven on earth. Like New Zealand, waterfalls are plentiful. What’s different is the environ. While New Zealand’s waterfalls are commonly seen cascading down sheer rock formations, Bali’s waterfalls are ensconced in lush green tropical forests. Northern Bali is where the biggest and prettiest waterfalls are, and getting there from … Continue reading Sekumpul Waterfall
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