When I’m traveling anywhere, doesn’t matter where, I always bring two things: cosmetics and electronics. And those are two things that I’m really bad at keeping organized. Items always end up stuffed haphazardly wherever they fit or where I can easily reach for security checkpoints. For a while I was stealing my boyfriend’s Eagle Creek pouch, but he eventually wanted it back. When I discovered the Chums Latitude accessory cases, it was a match made in heaven.
Insulation is an important part of any outdoorperson’s kit. The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Down Jacket is an excellent lightweight addition to your pack.
After a couple months of non-stop craziness, I decided to take a few days off and enjoy my birthday in the quiet and solitude of the outdoors. Squamish and Crater Lake were close contenders but in the end, the Eastern Sierra won out because hot springs. Seriously, what better way is there to rejuvenate than in the mountains soaking in a hot tub? The first stop was Travertine Hot Springs.
Photo by Nelson Salvatera
Since moving to San Francisco, I’ve come to realize that space and storage is a premium. There’s only so many backpacks I can own in a space that’s sub 600 square feet. I find that solid, all-around backpacks are hard to find. Most only excel at one thing or another, resulting in a giant collection of packs that you use for one thing, maybe two.
This is where the Mountain Hardwear Scrambler 30 pack shines.
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is a beautiful park, but it’s a fairly small park. There is probably less than 15 miles of hiking trails, some connecting deeper into Ventana Wilderness like Sykes Hot Springs via the Pine Ridge trail. Some are gems like the Big Sur River Gorge and Pfeiffer Falls. Others are less so, but still worth checking off the list, just to say I did it. Buzzard’s Roost is one of those hikes.