We finished our Leave No Trace/Subaru Zero Landfill Tour on Sept. 30 in Yosemite National Park, and even though Sept. 30 was only 19 days ago, it feels like 19 weeks! I figured I better post my Yosemite Wrap Up sooner than later (and full tour wrap up next). Everyone loves Yosemite. But as I…
Justin & I hit our 45th state high point on Oct. 1: Nevada’s Boundary Peak! Trip Mileage: 10.6 miles (roundtrip) Hiking Time: 8 hrs 45 min Elevation Gain/Loss: 4,200 feet Last year while driving from Yosemite, CA to Boulder, CO after the Zero Landfill Tour, we realized we were driving right by Nevada’s state high…
***Sorry for the delay! We were climbing to the top of Nevada (blog post forthcoming!)*** Currently living/working in: We just finished up our final Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Initiative outreach destination in Yosemite National Park and we’re in route to Denver/Boulder, where we’ll be for about 9 days. Then off to our new cabin…
Do you believe there are more than 800 miles of trails and 167 lakes in Yosemite National Park? It’s a freakin big park. We definitely squeezed in lots of day hiking while working here this month, which is always good, but backcountry exclusion is our happy place. Total Trip Mileage: 15.7 miles Elevation Gain: 2500…
We are already halfway through our last leg of the Zero Landfill Tour, in Yosemite National Park. But I couldn’t go without doing a wrap up from our time in Alaska! 34 days 26 events Mileage Driven: 5,250 miles Nights Camping: 6 Miles Hiked: 45.2 Miles Paddled: 10.5 Denali Sightings: 6 Black Bears Spotted: 3…
Last summer while we were working in Denali National Park for the Leave No Trace / Subaru Zero Landfill Initiative, Joe Lamp’l from Growing a Greener World asked us to part of his show and the premiere of Season 10 Episode 1 happened this month! To give background, Growing a Greener World airs on PBS…
Folks, take seat and a deep breath. We purchased a cabin in Healy, Alaska. They say, Alaska gets in your blood. When you leave, it beckons you to come back. And if you stay too long, you can never leave. Alaska immediately overtook Justin’s blood upon his first summer working in the state in 2003.…
Currently living/working in: We are in route to our next Leave No Trace outreach destination: Yosemite National Park. But actually, we have a few events before getting to there (e.g., Skagit, WA, and San Francisco). This route and these destinations are still part of the Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Initiative and we will be…
I once read that the cost to visit all 8 national parks in Alaska would amount to $10,000. Now that we’ve been to 5 of those parks over SEVERAL years—3 of which are fly/boat-in only—we can see how the dollars add up. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in south-central Alaska was this year’s splurge…
Because we drive around the country so much, we typically are visiting everyone in their homes, or at least their state. I’ve seen my mom a lot this year, but always in New Jersey. To change things up, she decided to visit us on the road while we’ve been in Alaska!! Her brother and his…
What now is a few weeks ago (I’m behind on posts!), we embarked on another backpacking trip deep into Denali National Park! Last year, we did Unit 9, and this year Unit 6. Total trip mileage: 18.1 miles Time Spent in the Wild: 2 nights / 3 days Elevation Gain: 1,850 feet As I explained…
Justin’s grandma, Barbara La Vigne, passed away this past week and I’d love to pay my respects to her by writing a little bit about our time on Earth with her! As soon as I met Grandma La Vigne and learned that she loved chocolate as much as I did, I knew that I would…
Currently living/working in: Alaska!! We’re still doing outreach for the Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Initiative, mainly in and around Denali National Park. It is fabulous to be back in Alaska; it just feels like home to us. We’ll be here until late August. Current mood: We seem to have a good handle on…
Hello from Alaska! Catching up on our drive through Canada first … When we found out we’d be driving up to Alaska again and going through the Banff/Jasper area, we knew we wanted to do more than stop at all the pull offs along the Icefields Parkway. I mean, don’t get me wrong, these roadside…
We just made it to Alaska, but before I get too behind, let me recap our first leg of the Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Tour in Wyoming/Idaho (Teton Valley). We really love this area—and are reminded of that each time we return—but our 3 weeks there went way too fast! Official Stats: 21 days…
Our work time in the Tetons went so quickly, and honestly, we could spend years and probably not hike every trail out there. And even though we didn’t have time to do an overnight backpacking trip this go-round, we knocked out 2 epic day hikes. Surprise/Amphitheater Lake Trailhead: Lupine Meadows Out and Back Mileage: 10.2…
Currently living/working in: We’re back on the road this summer (until Oct. 15) as the Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Team!!! So we’ve been in Teton County, Wyoming/Idaho since mid June (mostly Grand Teton National Park) and are leaving 7/5 to head up to Alaska, then will be in California most of September. Current mood:…
This blog post is overdue and happened what seems like months ago! We are currently back on the road for Leave No Trace/Subaru for the Zero Landfill Tour, so this recap is focused on April-June. Ready, rewind. (***Warning, picture heavy & long!***) Much of the last 8 years as nomads, it’s been for work—starting with…
Welcome to the7-design.local demos. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
Indiana Sand Dunes is the newest national park, designated as so in February. It used to be a national lakeshore. As a reminder, there are 419 “units” in the National Park Service and these units have about a dozen different names (monuments, historic sites, seashores, etc), with only 61 having the “national park” designation. We…