If you’re looking to explore some of Olympic National Park’s rugged coastline, I recommend hiking to Toleak Point from Third Beach. It’s a moderately challenging trail that travels along beaches and across steep headlands. The area around Toleak Point is dotted with dozens of offshore islands and sea stacks, making it really picturesque. Plus there …
Backpacking
As a Leave No Trace trainer, I’m pretty passionate about teaching people the importance of keeping the wilderness wild and minimizing our impact. While I’m pretty well-versed in the theory behind leaving no trace while hiking with a dog, I don’t own a dog. So I didn’t feel qualified to write a post about how …
I’ve done a fair amount of backpacking, but I had some trouble deciding what to pack for my trip on the Berg Lake Trail in early September. The trail is at a high elevation in the Canadian Rockies, so I knew the weather would potentially be colder and wilder than I am used to. As …
If you head into the wilderness I’m sure you know to that if you pack it in, you should pack it out. But what else do you need to know to protect nature (and avoid being an a-hole)? Learn how to Leave No Trace when hiking and camping to keep the wilderness wild. What is …
There are so many moving parts to planning a backpacking trip: permits, weather forecasts, gear packing… And of course the meal plan. It can be tough to figure out what to eat in the backcountry. You’ll be exhausted at the end of the day and you want something delicious and filling. But how do you …
When most people think of Tofino, BC, they think of surfing or walking on one of the many sandy beaches. But did you know that by taking a short water taxi ride you can escape the crowds in town and hike and camp on a remote wilderness beach? Head over to Flores Island, just off …
As another trip around the sun rolls to an end, it’s time for my annual memories post! (If you’re new here, check out my old posts from 2014, 2015, and 2016). It was a tough year for my body as I battled a few injuries and didn’t get out as much as I wanted. But …
Trekking to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal was one of the highlights of my life. It was an amazing adventure filled with beautiful views, waterfalls, picturesque villages, incredibly tall mountains… And surprises like the gorgeous jungle and delicious momo dumplings. There were also some misadventures like getting heat stroke AND then food poisoning the next day. …
There’s something special about hiking and camping on an isolated west coast with nothing between you and Japan but the wild Pacific Ocean. Shi Shi Beach in Washington’s Olympic National Park gives you that experience, and it’s a short and easy hike to get there. I’ve made several trips to Shi Shi Beach since the …
I have eaten a LOT of pre-packaged backpacking meals in my days (and nights) on the trail. Unfortunately most of them are full of ingredients I can’t pronounce and don’t recognize. I have also tried my hand at dehydrating my own backpacking food at home, but that can be time consuming. (And despite my best …