Wow. That's what I said nearly every day in Patagonia…"Wow!" Patagonia is an epic landscape, ripe with adventure. What was once the desolate and inhospitable end-of-known-land, filling the hearts of early explorers with trepidation, is today a wonderland of glaciers,...
Reposting with photos corrected... Spring comes, and I begin my regular pilgrimage towards the highest peaks on earth. About 35 hours from home on one side of the planet to a hotel on the other. Across the ocean, time pauses in Hong Kong airport. Layovers are like...
It's a whole new day. I cut further south to cross the Sierras on a more reliable road and return to the land of trees. In arid lands, they call this a tree: In lands abundant with water, we call this a tree: The transition between the two today is marked by a valley...
This is not good. This is a picture of little Santa Fe stuck on a patch of ice. After dark. In the Sequoia wilderness. In my defense, I wasn't careless in heading down this road. It was well-marked on the map, crosses through the National Forest, and had no signs...
People will tell you that the desert is alive--the biological life of the "crust", the reptiles birds insects, the essential scrub and cacti. That's true, and I appreciate the biodiversity, but Death Valley didn't get its name from being abundant with life. It's a...
America is gorgeous. GORGEOUS. I already knew that, but I'm refining my understanding. America's Southwest is nothing like the lush forests, soft beaches, and blossoming springtimes of the South and East, nor the silky golden grasses and misty redwoods of Northern...
Buying a car may be the best idea I've had in recent history. Not just because I haven't owned a car in 15 years (since I left to join the Peace Corps). Not just for all the things it will allow me to do (from trail running to easily getting home after a party). Three...
Part of our philosophy at Changing Lives Nepal is to find highly motivated and effective local individuals and support them in their efforts to create change in their own communities because they are committed for the long-term and are best positioned to have a...
More than 1000 guides nominated worldwide. Only 1 winner. Me? Me. #1 in the Wanderlust World Guide Awards!! Many thanks to Mark and the team at Mountain Madness in Seattle; to Kili, Sagar, Dawa and the team in Nepal; and to my clients who, in addition to saying...
Wow. WOW!!! I am thrilled to tell you that I am going to London as one of the top 3 finalists for the Wanderlust World Guide Award!!! I am honored and humbled by the outpouring of support from so many of my clients, who wrote testimonials about why they thought...
A funky cool mosaic in San Francisco airport, the familiar bowl of ramen in Hong Kong, the expansive arcs of Thailand's airport, and the disorder of Kathmandu passport control. After 27+ hours in transit, I sleep in a real bed for 15 hours, go out for an early morning...
In case you haven't been following Asian politics, Burma's military dictatorship has been relaxing its control over the last year. The government freed Nobel Laureate and political opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from over 15 years of house arrest, and it...