Yosemite, land of rock and water, of towering trees and grassy meadows, of deep valleys and their surrounding mountains. It is my happy place. Unfortunately, it is also the happy place for millions of other visitors each year, who clamor to the California icon to hike, camp, and ooh and aah at the breathtaking scenery.…
Rolling hills with huge oak trees stretching up to the bright blue skies give way to mountainous forests of ponderosa pine. The largest caverns in California yawn their mouths at the biggest trees in the world. Rushing rivers feed alpine lakes, while kayakers and skiers vie for athletic supremacy. One place shouldn’t have all of…
Editor’s note: the US national parks system is truly diverse, ranging from awe-inspiring beauty to a more subtle wonder, like in this view of Amistad National Recreation Area by Christian, our resident national parks expert. For more of his experiences, click here to visit his index page. The Amistad National Recreation Area lies along the…
The pine forest passes slowly by me. Reclined on a log bench, I stare at the trees and the complex patterns of shade and sun they produce. Birds chirp, and here and there I can spot one overhead as the branches thin. The whistle of a steam engine breaks the forest calm, and all heads…
Editor’s note: sometimes it is the most unexpected places that end up meaning the most. In this wonderful story, Sam shares a spontaneous visit to a destination that he truly loved. For more of Sam’s adventures, click here to visit his index. When I planned my grand backpacking trip around the Balkans, my game plan…
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.Henry David Thoreau, Walden Sunlight trickles down, the huge branches of the…
At first glance, Glass Beach is just a small piece of coastline sitting along the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean. Rock cliffs sit at both sides, and at high tide it is impossible to walk from here to any other part of the coast without getting wet. And then, caught by a glimmer or…
Nature is awesome. Let’s just put that out there. We live on an incredible planet that is full of wonder and beauty, with new things waiting to be discovered by intrepid travelers. Nothing is more emblematic of the remarkable world than trees. I’ve written before about the world’s largest trees, the giant sequoias of California,…
Typical for a summer morning, the fog is thick - pea soup thick, London thick - as I drive down Sir Francis Drake Boulevard through Point Reyes National Seashore. The coastline isn’t visible, though small gaps in the fog give away where it should be. The only things I am truly able to see are…
In every walk with nature, one receives far more than one seeks.John Muir Just north of San Francisco, across the mighty Golden Gate Bridge, there exists a tiny sliver of a forgotten world. Here, primeval forest holds its claim on a small canyon. Redwoods tower, a brook babbles, ferns grow in all shades of green,…