Category: Trip Reports
“Center of Attention” (Sturtevant Falls – April 7, 2013)
The long flat stretch of hiking that Julie and I typically took for granted on all of our previous hikes now didn’t seem to straightforward as I was carrying an extra 30 pounds on my back…
“Cooper Canyon Retry” (Cooper Canyon Falls – March 17, 2013)
We followed this road until the pavement eventually looped into a little cul-de-sac with a picnic area, but then the road turned back up and there was no apparent trail to keep going…
“Special Event Status” (Yosemite National Park, CA – February 16, 2013 to February 18, 2013)
…I was sort of lukewarm to Horsetail Falls. Then, Julie showed me her photo on her iPhone. I took just one glance at it and I knew immediately that I had been in the wrong spot all this time!…
“Bottom Line” (Trail Canyon Falls – January 19, 2013)
I was a little disappointed that he didn’t mention our website, and the thought did occur to me whether I should tell him. But I wanted to ensure we stayed anonymous so I didn’t say anything about…
“Soldiering into an Old Haunt” (Soldier Creek Falls – January 5, 2013)
We did spot a couple of guys going the other way. However, their pants looked muddy and wet, and it made us wonder if we were in for something harder than we had thought going into this excursion…
“Three Tickets to Paradise” (Tahiti – December 14, 2012 to December 23, 2012)
After the second failed attempt at 2:30pm (in which there was some severe rocking in the plane resulting from the scary turbulence though Tahia seemed to enjoy the ride as indicated by her laughter…
“Mixing It Up In The Blue Grass” (Kentucky and Tennessee – October 21, 2012 to October 28, 2012)
Eventually, the trail started to hug some interesting cliff walls. But it was somewhere at this point that we spotted a deer carcass right next to the hiking trail. The carcass looked like it was…
“God Country” (Northern Georgia, Upcountry South Carolina, and Western North Carolina – October 13, 2012 to October 20, 2012)
While we were busy trying to figure out if we had indeed found the trailhead for Yellow Branch Falls, another vehicle pulled up into the lot. It was a lone man, and Julie was eye-ing him…
“Not So Great Expectations” (Solstice Canyon Falls – September 3, 2012)
So on this Labor Day, Julie insisted that we go out to a waterfall. I thought the idea was absurd since we had such a dry year and I was almost certain there weren’t any waterfalls worth…
“Le Tour de France” (Central and Southern France – May 10, 2012 to May 24, 2012)
…to my horror, outside was raining and there were clasps of lightning and thunder! If there was a discouraging start to the day (to do Gavarnie), this would be it!…
“Kid In A Candy Store” (Paris and Normandie, France – May 3, 2012 to May 9, 2012)
…as we were loading up the car with our stuff, we were dismayed to see that the car charger for our GPS was missing! I swore it was in my bag when we left home, but…
“El Escondido del Escondido” (Escondido Falls – April 14, 2012)
I couldn’t help but think how Mom and I missed out when we tried the scramble but didn’t quite make it three years ago. Still, Julie and I relished…
“Eese-ing Towards A Fun Easter” (Paradise Falls – April 8, 2012)
It’s times like these where waterfalling truly is a gratifying family activity. It seemed like everyone here was having a good time…
“Cooler Heads” (Eaton Canyon Falls – March 24, 2012)
it became apparent as we waited until about 9:15am that no HiPos from work were going to show up. I was a bit disappointed given how many other verbal commitments…
“Slim Pickings” (Monrovia Canyon Falls – March 10, 2012)
And so with that we finally completed our three-point turn and quickly tried to retrace back to the lower car park in search of this elusive parking spot…
“The Old Reliable” (Eaton Canyon Falls – February 4, 2012)
As we got closer, it looked like someone was getting a citation. And when a cop handed a lady a slip that prompted her to say, “Oh my gosh!”…
“Langa Dan Rope” (Jamaica – December 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011)
A local guide told us that it was only about 10 minutes walk so it didn’t seem all that bad we figured. But once we started hiking, it became real apparent that we were…
“One and Only” (Alaskan Cruise – August 28, 2011 to September 4, 2011)
And in this case, we saw a convergence of glaciers unlike we had ever seen before. Yet the beauty of this place and its more-or-less intact ecosystem could easily move anyone appreciative…
“Welcome to Paradise” (Seattle and Mt Rainier, WA – August 24, 2011 to August 28, 2011)
It was at this point that I gave serious thought to turning back rather than take the risk, but I knew that I might regret never seeing the waterfall the way it should be seen after having gone…
“The Twilight Zone” (Olympic Peninsula, WA – August 20, 2011 to August 23, 2011)
And so we were stuck at the Hilton with an increasingly fussy baby (she didn’t have a good rest and she was not comfortable with the unfamiliar surroundings and people) and time running out…