Food and Resupply on the tahoe rim trail

Bear Canisters: Hard sided bear canisters are now required along the whole Tahoe Rim Trail. It used to be only Desolation Wilderness that required it, but with the active bear population in Tahoe it is now required on your entire trip. Using a bear canister is a good idea not only for your own safety, […]

Everything I pack for a winter backpacking trip in the SoCal desert

One of the reasons that I moved from the East Coast to Southern California was the access to a diverse range of outdoor spaces; from sea cliffs and endless beaches, to mountains with alpine lates, and deserts with slot canyons and giant sand dunes. There are so many wonderful places to hike, camp, and backpack […]

Solo Backpacking in Saguaro NationaL Park

November 2024 I spent the morning organizing gear and packing my car, getting ready to head out on a solo adventure to Saguaro National Park. The plan for this trip came together very last minute, when I was researching over the weekend. As a school teacher, I am fortunate to have week long breaks from […]

My first solo adventure of the summer

Bee’s Trail Journal, June 2024 Day 1: Idyllwild My solo adventure began with a visit to Idyllwild, a quaint mountain town below San Jacinto, the mountain I planned to hike the following day. Idyllwild is a PCT town and depending on the time of year you will see dirty hikers and backpacks stringing the sidewalks […]

Backpacking on Catalina Island with new friends

Come along with me, 3 of my new friends, and a dog names Pickles, on a 2 night backpacking trip on Catalina Island. DAY ONE: We took the ferry out to Avalon and started our hike along the trans catalina trail toward Blackjack Campground. It was cloudy on the ferry ride and in the town […]

5 tips for beginner solo backpackers

How many of you discovered your love for camping and backpacking later in life? And how many of you want to start backpacking or camping but don’t have someone to go with? Well, you’re not alone! There are plenty of people who did not grow up recreating in the outdoors and who started to explore […]

Hiking Rim to Rim across the Grand Canyon, 30 miles 3 days 2 nights

My friend Taylor and I decided to hike the Rim to Rim trail across the Grand Canyon during the Thanksgiving holiday this year. We are both teachers making it the perfect time to squeeze in an adventure, and just in time before its too late in the season. Overall we had an amazing time with […]

Bryce Canyon National Park

My family and I spent one full day in Bryce Canyon National Park, here’s how it went! Itinerary: Thursday Friday Trail Journal: Bryce Canyon National Park October 28, 2022 I flew into the Cedar City Airport on Thursday evening, just before sunset. My parents and sister picked me up in a rental car and we […]

Olympic National Park

Day One: Lake Quinault I flew into Seattle last night and stayed in a hotel near the airport. After breakfast this morning I started driving towards the Olympic Peninsula. The drive got increasingly scenic with tall pine trees lining the highway, packed together and stretching tall, and the highway was lined with pops of color […]

Sespe Wilderness and Willett Hot Spring

March 2022 https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/california/sespe-river-trail-to-willett-hot-springs Itinerary: Park at the Piedra Blanca Trailhead Hike 11 miles to Willett Hot Spring Hike 6.5 mi back and dispersed camp Hike 4.5 mi back to my car Los Padres National Forest and Sespe Wilderness The beautiful thing about a National Forest is that you can usually camp anywhere you want! This […]