Few pieces of gear are more important on a multi-day trek than a tent, and that’s why I put in a lot of research before choosing my most recent portable abode. While price is a huge factor for me, I also put a lot of value in durability, portability (weight and size), and the tent’s …
Hiking to North Butte in the Chuckanuts
Summer is really the best time to visit the PNW, with the weather as good as it’ll get and the trails open for exploration. The North Cascades have some of the best hiking trails in the PNW — such as Heliotrope, or Lake 22 — but there are other destinations around Northwest Washington with much …
Hiking Heliotrope Ridge
While Brandon, Sandy, and I drove up Mount Baker Highway, I was trying to figure out just how long it had been since I’d been on a proper hike in the Pacific Northwest. I was shocked to realize it’s been nearly 3 years since I’d done a hike in my home state! My last two …
Exploring Vardzia Like a Local
When my Georgian friend, Nino, was recommending things for me to do, see, and devour in Georgia, exploring the ancient cave city of Vardzia (ვარძია) was at the top of her list. Primarily constructed in the 12th century and the seat of power of the legendary King (Queen!) Tamar, Vardzia was abandoned during the Ottoman …
Rituals on the Open Road: Going Home
It’s always the greenness of the drive which gets me; after I’ve left the airport and merged on to I5, whether it’s northbound from Seattle or southbound from Vancouver. It’s so easy to take a color for granted, but such a concentration of it after an extended absence makes me realize what I’ve missed. The …
Hiking to Udziro Lake
My time in Georgia is drawing to an end. Three months, you might think, is sufficient time to spend in such a small country, but you’d be wrong. There are so many hikes I won’t have the time to do, so many places I won’t have the time to visit. All that means, though, is …
Trekking from Shatili to Omalo
Half of my initial attraction to Georgia grew from the pictures of mountains I saw — the regions of Kazbegi, Svaneti, and Tusheti. When I booked my ticket here from Korea, my ambition was to hike for months, exploring all the back-country hiking routes I could find and chronicling the experience. But life has a …
Omio App Review
Planning travel is one of my favorite aspects of a trip. As odd as it sounds, I love the process of sifting through information to figure out where I want to visit and in what order, then using the power of the Internet to find the best deals and most efficient transport between those points …
Climbing Mount Aragats
There’s too much snow. It’ll be too cold. The weather won’t be good this week. You’ll shoot your eye out… The reasons why I shouldn’t have gone to Kari Lake and Mount Aragats were many. All of the above (save one, can you guess which?) were offered up, and I was so close to scrapping …
Eating All the Things at the Tolma Festival in Dvin
There are few things which can make me so excited I get teary-eyed. Coming upon an epic view while hiking is one. Crushing a huge sale back in the day was another. But food? Food can get me just about every time. So when I saw a meetup on Couchsurfing to go to the Tolma …
Eating All the Things at the Tolma Festival in DvinRead More