November 2011

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [View Gallery] Yosemite Valley is recognized as one of the most popular climbing areas in the United States, and is heavily responsible for the development of climbing as a sport. Of the many sites to boulder in Yosemite, Camp 4 (where we camped) is probably […]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [View Gallery] Yosemite Falls is the largest two-tiered falls in North America, having a total height of 2425 feet (lower falls not shown). The upper falls is 1430 feet alone, and is the sixth largest waterfall in the world (shown above). After a cold night […]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] Driving to Yosemite in the early AM from Los Angeles allowed us to easily secure a campsite at the walk-in campgrounds (Tunnel View Lookout). However, this early arrival also allowed Luke and I to explore Yosemite by moonlight (Forest behind Tunnel View Lookout)… The camping […]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [View Gallery] After setting up at Campsite 4 on Day 1, we went to the visitor center to ask the National Park Service rangers about trails in the valley (since we did little planning prior to arrival). The workers were very friendly and provided us […]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] Yosemite National Park is one of the greatest spots in the Western US for hiking, climbing, backpacking / camping, or even just site-seeing. Barely remembering Yosemite as a kid, it was imperative that I returned to the national park to redeem my lack of memories […]

Lowe Trail and Echo Mountain are well known mountain trails in Altadena, CA. For those of you who are not familiar with this city, it is just outside of Los Angeles, north of Pasadena. The first of my California adventures this year; friends Luke and Merilee (new LA residents) and I packed for a short […]

After a great hike at Kaau Crater Rim, the Lost Trailblazers (Seth Eason, Jen Liu, Reanne Solomon and I) decided to check out the Mu Ryang Sa (Brokem Ridge) Korean Temple in the back of Palolo Valley. The Buddhist temple is located on 2420 Halelaau Place, just off of Waiomao Road, and is open to […]

Combining valley, waterfall, ridge and summit hikes into one, Kaau Crater Rim Trail is by far one of my favorite trails on the island of Oahu. There are a couple different routes you can follow to hike in Palolo. (1) You can either go up to the summit via the valley trails to the waterfalls […]

After seeing a plethora of waterfalls at Moole Valley earlier, the three of us (Baron, Justin and I) headed to Manoa Valley to complete the “Waterfall Marathon” we set out to do that day. The main waterfalls included Luaalaea, Naniuapo and Waikeakua Falls… all of which are located east of the well known, Manoa Falls. […]

With the increased frequency and duration of rains in the past couple of weeks, waterfalls have been popular trend in the local hiking community. Instead of doing a rain dance, Baron Yamamoto invited me to do a “waterfall marathon” with him and his friend Justin Chu. Despite not knowing what to expect of a waterfall […]