Category Archives: Travel

Rafting the Tuolumne: “Each visit changes your life forever”

As we headed towards a raging Clavey Falls, I took a deep breath and gripped my paddle with white knuckles. During the biggest runoff in a decade on the Tuolumne, the steepest drop on the state’s wildest river looked like … Continue reading

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Peak-bagging, paragliding highlight Bavarian trek

Though we’ve climbed our share of mountains, we’d never ascended one like this. Instead of trudging uphill for days in boots and backpacks, my brother Dan and I didn’t even break a sweat in the hour it took to reach … Continue reading

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Walk back in time among ancient pines

A great attraction of touring the mountains is their sense of timeless beauty, offering visitors a window into the land’s distant past. California’s peaks and valleys have changed little since the United States annexed the future state from Mexico in … Continue reading

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Utah: Desert, sandstone, canyoneering and polygamy (sort of)

Zion National Park boasts awesome scenery, like Yosemite Valley painted cherry red. But for climbers, sandstone doesn’t compare to Sierra Nevada granite, and the desert sun burns hot enough to melt rocks. Share this:

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Cycling through snow in a Yosemite spring

Exploring Yosemite’s snowbound high country, quiet and deserted, richly rewards hardy trekkers who labor to reach it in winter. Though there’s also much to like about the easy access mountain roads provide in summer. These two elements come together for … Continue reading

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German mountains, culture reward visitors to Berchtesgaden

Even before the party started, our Bavarian trek was proving worthwhile. Few mountain ascents feature hot sausages and cold beer in a comfortable cabin, but my brother and I ordered just that on one of Germany’s highest peaks. Share this:

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Sea life attracts divers to Great Barrier Reef

Two gray reef sharks glided effortlessly across our path, their razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the beams of our flashlights. In that moment, nothing else was visible in our pitch-black underwater world. Share this:

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Avoiding epics from Yosemite to Mammoth

Four days into a 50-mile winter trek, our team reached a steep and formidable ice slope. We quickly recognized that this grade was our most hazardous obstacle so far, because to climb it, we would have to risk a wild … Continue reading

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