Category: Hiking
Given Queenstown is the birthplace of bungee jumping, it was only natural that bungee jumping would be on our itinerary. Upon further risk/benefit analysis, I determined that the risk of suffering from a heart attack was greater than the benefit of 2 seconds of adrenaline rush. So I abandoned the activity at the last minute. … Continue reading Hooker Valley Track
Back in Queenstown but avoiding the town center because of the horrendous traffic. Instead, we drove back to Mt. Aspiring National Park for a hike. It’s a 2-hr drive from Queenstown, but a word of caution - the pavement abruptly ends and the last 25 miles or so is gravel road with 9 fords, so … Continue reading Rob Roy Glacier Track
One last hike before we board our overnight cruise to Doubtful Sound. I wish we had booked a longer stay in Fjordland National Park so that we could hit all the major day trails. Alas, I had to make a decision between the Kepler track and the Key Summit via the Routeburn track. The overnight … Continue reading Key Summit Trail
Our fourth national park in New Zealand, the Fjordland National Park, occupies the southwest corner of New Zealand. It is the largest national park in the country, and it is where we’ll be spending the next four days just scratching the surface of this vast and beautiful landscape. Before checking into the Te Anau Lodge … Continue reading Lake Marian Trail
The southern alps in New Zealand is where you used to be able to hike up to glaciers. As a result of global warming, the glacier terminal has retreated so far that it is no longer possible to walk up to it. Eighteen thousand years ago, the glacier reached as far as the Tasman Sea … Continue reading Franz Josef Glacier – Robert’s Point Track
The 2AM Cook Strait ferry crossing from Wellington to Picton was not by choice. We were lucky to have even snagged a reservation at the last minute (7 days in advance) as every other time slot was booked…for weeks! The last resort was to return the car in Wellington, fly into Christchurch, and rebook another … Continue reading Hokitika Gorge
The extra day in Wellington gave us a chance to do a short hike along the coast. The view isn’t dissimilar to what we get at home, but instead of the Pacific Ocean, we get a view of the Tasman Sea. The point to point Escarpment trail measures about 6 miles, and you can start … Continue reading Pukerua Escarpment Track
Continuing on with our Lord of The Rings circuit, we stopped by the Tongariro National Park for a hike. The most well known hiking trail in the park is the point to point 12-mile Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Unfortunately, the steep decent down gravel was not a good option for Joe’s ankles, so I mapped out … Continue reading Tongariro National Park
New Zealand consists of a North and South Island. Of the two islands, the South Island is reportedly the prettier one with all its natural beauty. We could have spent all 3 weeks in southern New Zealand, but it would have been a shame not to visit half of the country after spending all that … Continue reading North Island – Auckland Day Trips
Living on the arid mainland, Hawaii is a welcome change with its lush and jungle-like landscape. Hiking in Hawaii is perhaps my favorite activity. However, Joe isn’t a hiking fiend like me so we had to alternate our days between hikes and non-hiking activities. So on our fourth day, we decided to do some low … Continue reading Oahu’s Different Moods – Kaneohe & Koko Crater Trail
The Chinese saying「一言既出駟馬難追」means once a word is uttered, even a carriage drawn by four fast horses will not be able to catch it. Back in December, Joe, whether wondering out loud or not, asked if I’d wanted to go to Hawaii (if that’s not a rhetorical question then I don’t know what is). The next … Continue reading Oahu – Flora, Falls, Food, and Some Hiking
When people think of Taiwan, they think night market, building 101, high-mountain tea. But, once you scratch past the surface, you’ll realize how much more Taiwan has to offer, especially for hikers. The island is beautiful outside the city. No wonder the Portuguese called it ‘Ilha Formosa’ when they first set their eyes on the … Continue reading Four Days, Four Hikes
Given the desert conditions of SoCal, our national parks pale in comparison to the ones located further north in the state. One of the best and most well known national parks in California is Yosemite. Due to its popularity, visiting the park requires advanced planning to secure lodging, permits, and reservations. But that’s not always … Continue reading Upper Yosemite Falls Trail
It’d be a shame to come to California and not visit any one of the National Parks. So we dragged Angela to her second National Park during her monthlong stay with us. Sequoia National Park is famous for its gigantic sequoia trees. General Sherman being the largest tree in the world by volume. While other … Continue reading Tokopah Falls Trail
California is one big National Park. In total we have 9 National Parks with varying scenery, from the desert terrain of Death Valley and Joshua Tree, to the Giant Sequoias in King and Sequoia, granite rocks with waterfalls in Yosemite, volcanic rocks of Lassen, and the shores of Point Reyes and Channel Islands. Today we … Continue reading Redwood National Park
Wherever we travel to we try to imagine ourselves living in that place. At the end of the day, we always ultimately decide that Laguna Beach can’t be beat. We joke that in SoCal, the thing you can always count on are sunny days. That lack of precipitation is reflected in our brownish and not-so-pretty … Continue reading Multnomah Wahkeena Trail
My 6-week work stint lasted a grand total of 7 days! The ever efficient government VA failed to submit paperwork to request funding for the month of May. Finally government bureaucracy working in my favor. I am re-retired! How do I let my recruiter know that he can no longer make money off my back … Continue reading Watson & Toketee Falls
The big day is here. I had been thinking of hiking to the Wave for a few years, but never got around to entering into the lottery for a permit until this year. Tried the online lottery twice without success, and finally won the walk-in lottery on our first try. I will admit we were … Continue reading Coyote Buttes North – The Wave
We decided to sandwich an off day in between yesterday’s Angels Landing hike and tomorrow’s Wave hike. Nothing was really planned for today until the very last minute. I had initially thought about doing a short hike at Bryce Canyon, but we changed course at the last minute when we realized that Page is about … Continue reading Horseshoe Bend & Toadstool Trail
Angels Landing is Joe’s favorite trail, and a tie for second for me (the other being Bright Angels in Grand Canyon). Today is our third, and likely final, Angels Landing hike before the lottery permit system takes effect in 2022. It is unfortunate that a permit system needs to be implemented, but due to overcrowding … Continue reading West Rim Trail – Angels Landing & Walter’s Wiggles Viewpoint
We are back at Zion National Park. The thin November crowd makes the park visit much more pleasant. Here’s a view outside our hotel room. Before heading out for any hikes, we had to go to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Kanab to see if we could get lucky with getting one … Continue reading Our Happy Place
Having visited five cities and towns on this trip, I will say that Ronda is my favorite. I now understand why many authors are enchanted by this town. Listening to chirping birds and watching them soar across the deep gorge, inhaling crisp fall air in the peaceful morning, and enjoying breakfast with a view of … Continue reading Exploring Ronda
We scheduled the Beehive Trail for our afternoon hike on the last day of our trip. As we were making our way back to the hotel after lunch to regroup, I saw an interesting trail on Google maps. There’s a little hiker icon in the middle of the water! Intrigued, we made a quick detour … Continue reading Beehive Trail
Two of the most popular and challenging trails in Acadia National Park are the Precipice and Beehive trails. I decided to save the best for last, and did both trails on our last day in Acadia. First, the Precipice trail, a vertical climb of 0.9 miles to Champlain Summit at 1,058 ft, involves a lot … Continue reading Precipice Trail
With toddlers in tow, we opted for an easy family friendly hike in the morning. The Ocean Path is a 2-mile stretch along the northeast coastline of Acadia National Park. We probably only covered a third of the length in an hour and a half. Varied terrain made the path interesting A brave little 4-year … Continue reading Ocean Path & Dorr Ladder Trail
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