Around mid-morning I make my way to the Grand Canyon, about an hour-and-a-half west on the 40 and north via 64. I reach civilization in the form of some very generic restaurants and chain hotels that threaten to lead me into a tourist trap. There’s no hint at all that I’m actually approaching a gargantuan…
Tag: hiking
Road to the Grand Canyon (Part 2): Welcome to Arizona
Eastbound on the 62, back on one of those idyllic two-lane highways surrounded by nothing but sweeping desert and distant mountains. A butterfly flutters by—what is it doing here? There are no colors to attract them, no wildflowers to suck sweet nectar from, nothing to even pollinate. It’s just a wanderer. I could stay on…
Road to the Grand Canyon (Part 1): Gateway Into the Wild West
When I see the windmills, it finally feels like I’m going somewhere. Leaving Los Angeles via the 10 Freeway is a monotonous precursor to the road ahead. Windmills seem like a highlight—a break from the picture of outlet shops and fast-food chains lining an endless interstate. The landscape opens to arid terrain—the first intimation of…
The Insane Solo Patagonia Adventure That Changed My World
My first welcome to Chilean Patagonia is a rainbow over the parking lot of the utilitarian airport at Punta Arenas. The wind whispers a song that’s somehow evocative of the tune that loops on the ice cream truck that passes my home in Los Angeles everyday. I guess flying for about twenty-four hours straight will…
Journey to a Secret Spot on Catalina Island
We trudge along a steep incline with 20 pounds of paraphernalia strapped to each of our backs. Tents, sleeping bags, propane tanks, water, a kite, a frisbee, mason jars filled with cake, fairy dust – the essentials. The strain is relentless, until we reach a ridge, where the sea and sky coalesce into one infinite…
everything is nature 