18 Adventure-Worthy Backpacking Trips for Beginners

18 Adventure-Worthy Backpacking Trips for Beginners | You may have heard me say this before, but it’s worth repeating: I believe that outdoor backpacking is the gateway into epic outdoor adventure. That’s why I’m really excited to share these 18 adventure-worthy backpacking trips for beginners with you. In this list you’ll find an assortment of backpacking trails including some easier international thru-hiking trails and easy 2 day backpacking trips that aren’t too far off from civilization. A bit of adventure for every comfort level! | shedreamsofalpine.com

15 Reasons I’m Excited to Hike the John Muir Trail

15 Reasons I’m Excited to Hike the John Muir Trail | Hiking the JMT has been a long-time dream of mine ever since I went on my very first backpacking trip up Half Dome in Yosemite. Before I officially hit the trail, I wanted to share with you my top reasons for being excited to hike the JMT. These are largely personal reasons, and I hope you enjoy getting to see a little bit more into my world, what drives me, and what I’m passionate about. | shedreamsofalpine.com

38 Miles Backpacking Lyell Canyon in Tuolumne to Devil's Postpile in Mammoth Lakes California

It's funny when you plan out a backpacking trip, you search the internet for details to make an overall plan and trip itinerary. You get your daily mileage and ascent all scheduled out, and you start to think that only bad weather can throw a wrench in your plan. However, over time, I've learned that I should always anticipate about +/- 5 extra miles to what I read online. That was definitely the case with this trail from Lyell Canyon to Devil's Postpile. All my research (reading online trip reports) led me to believe this trail would be about 31 miles and only 4,100 feet of total gain, and so that seemed like an easy 10 miles per day trip. We were slightly surprised when we found that the trail was actually about 38 miles and 5,000' of gain, and had to make up some extra miles in day 2 and day 3. It still was an excellent trip, and very doable in 3 days.

Winter Ascent Mountaineers Route to Mount Whitney, Highest Peak in the Lower 48

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Such is Mount Whitney. This mountain challenged me so much, that it has taken a little over a week now for me to spend energy writing about it. I literally took all of last week off to be lazy and even went to Vegas this past weekend for a complete change of pace.