For a brief period of about 6 months after I graduated college, I had big dreams of living out of a small van. I would envision scenes of a romantically grungy vagabond lifestyle where my boyfriend and I would roam around rejecting the financial and social shackles of...

Sitting here atop a mountain, legs emanating a warm fatigue, I hold a warm, cheap can of beer valiantly in my hand. I pop it open, and the sound is a sound of pure satisfaction. The warm bubbly beverage quenches my thirst beyond any classy glass of anything else cold a...

I got my extra-large, googly glasses when I was in second grade. Yes, they allowed me to see leaves on the trees outside, and that was pretty groovy. I was incredibly grateful for seeing a crisp, sharpened world, however, getting those glasses, the nerd's ultimate acco...

There I was, my last day in Bogotá, Colombia, gazing over dozens of beaded bracelets and parrot earrings at a touristy tchotchke shop in downtown. Aware that the months of galavanting around South America had ended for me, I surrendered myself to locking in my cultural...

I had no plans for the next destination. I knew I would head to Baños, Ecuador, from where I was staying in Cotopaxi, but beyond that, I had nothing planned, no place to stay, and no bookings for any of the many adventures around there. I wasn’t worried.

I was staying a...

Mompiche, Ecuador.It was gray and drizzling in this tiny beach town along the northern Ecuadorian coast, but being barefoot and already in a bathing suit, it didn't phase me. It felt refreshing. Plus I was hungry, so I was on a mission, but I didn't want to commit to a...

 I took this photo in Yosemite a while ago, when I climbed Half Dome after I graduated high school. This was a view from the top, granitic fields below a massive cotton-candy cloud. I remember thinking to myself that this cloud is maybe the most beautiful cloud that ev...

Have a day or weekend to explore Yosemite? Want a leisurely stroll through a golden meadow or a challenging hike to a panoramic view of the valley? How about a swimming spot, hey? Here are four very different day hikes that offer a variety of experiences, all with fine...

I've spent two glorious summers living in the Sierra Nevadas, and have only come to admire their mystique and grandeur more and more. Others have felt the magic of the mountains as well and have written more eloquent words than I can ever think of. John Muir sure had a...

Lundy Canyon is a hidden gem off Highway 395, which is currently my favorite highway. Stark moon-like landscapes and craggly white-capped mountains are the norm out here. Lundy Canyon is a magnificent piece of this landscape, with awesomely-jagged peaks with lines of r...