Sepilok, Borneo, Malaysia!

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Hello! I know its been awhile (we bought a house, gutted it, and are still putting it back together), but here I am on another crazy trip and had some time to share. Like old times!
This exact trip in some ways I’ve been planning for 5 years. This was my next stop when I decided to ditch all future plans and go to Nepal is help earthquake relief efforts. I ended up meeting Ben (my fiance now), starting a non-profit (Casd USA), and changing my life because of that trip. BUT that doesn’t erase how …

Catalina Island

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I’m a government employee these days, but during the shutdown I was considered “critical staff” because part of my job is to manage active construction. Those projects didn’t stop so neither did I. But going into week #3 of being the only person in the office, I needed a break and asked one of my co-workers to take over. And then what did I do with that time? Went backpacking of course!
One of the magical things about California is camping on the coast in the winter. The temperature is great, there are no mosquitos, and… it’s the ocean! …

Channel Islands

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While the government is shut down and I’m only working part time (while so far not being paid) I thought I would take this opportunity to share some of the wonderful National Parks I visited in 2018!
For no particular reason I’m starting with the Channel Islands. I hadn’t heard about them until I moved to California, which is strange because of how interesting and beautiful they are. Technically there are 8 Channel Islands, including Catalina which is a rather developed resort island 22 miles southwest of LA. The rest of the islands are less developed, and …

Big Pine Lakes

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For the first time in my life, I had Columbus Day off and decided to go on a solo hiking trip for the long weekend. One of my most favorite areas of California is the Eastern Sierra – the valley between the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada and the White Mountains which run along the California/Nevada border. The area is beautiful; full of sage brush, aspen, hot springs and mountain views. There was one place in particular that I’ve been wanting to get to for a couple years and figured this was as good …

John Muir Trail – Day 7 & 8

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Our last full day on the trail was the one I was most excited about, and which others had been the most worried about. I was excited because we were heading out through the Dusy Basin, a place I heard was incredibly special and beautiful. We were also worried because it was the steepest climb of the trip – 2,400 ft in 2.5 miles – and when we told people we were going that way the reactions ranged from “Good luck,” to “I saw a mule fall off the switchbacks and get eaten by bears.” So, …