Welcome to my adventure blog! I am a blueberry scientist and fruit enthusiast with a passion for looking over the edges of tall pointy things. I created this website to centralize all my journals and notes regarding backpacking routes, day hikes, and logistical questions (where to set up camp, where to backpack early season during a big snow year, is there somewhere to go when the rest of the Sierra is buzzing with mosquitoes?!). You might come to notice that I love spreadsheets.
RECENT POSTS
- Backpacking Sykes Hot Springs in Big Sur (2D/1N)
Backpacking in Big Sur through a poison forest to a geothermal hot spring reward. - Jessica’s 10 Best Books of 2025
Good for planes, trains, couches, beaches. Mix of nonfiction, adventure memoir, fanstasy, sci-fi. - Pasta and Peaks: Hut-to-Hut on the Alta Via 1
Five days of cushy gourmet hiking adventures in the Italian Dolomites. - Backpacking The Rockwall Trail In Kootenay National Park (4D/3N)
Imposing rock massifs, glacial lakes, and wildflowers on a 4 day backpacking trip through the Canadian Rockies. - Revealing the Mysteries of Booking Patagonia’s W Trek
Planning the logistics of the prestigious W trek can be very confusing. Do I hike E to W? Do I rent a car? Tents or bunks? Let me lay it all out for you! - Hiking The Lord of the Rings: One Dense Week in New Zealand
A one week itinerary of the best hikes in New Zealand, guaranteed to leave you feeling fully Middle Earthed. - Caterpillar Adult Science Camp with EarthWatch
December 31st 2022 In early December, I made the impulsive decision that I needed to use my annual volunteer hours (that do not roll over) to do some volunteer science somewhere warmer and drier than Santa Cruz. After scouring the internet for reputable companies, I … - How NOT to Visit Poas Volcano!
Girl impulsively purchases a caterpillar citizen science trip to Costa Rica but needs to see a volcano before she gets started with the sciencing. - Hut to Hut Adventuring in the Swiss Alps
A 4-day 3-hut hiking adventure in the Jungfrau region of the Swiss Alps, featuring musical cows, alpen mac, cold beer, and some handy logistical tips for planning your own hut-to-hut! - Duck Pass to Iva Bell Backpacking Loop in Mammoth, CA (3D/2N)
Natural geothermal hot springs and alpine lakes to soak in on this 3 day backpacking trip through some of the most beautiful trails in the Easten Sierra. - Hiking le Tre Cime del Bondone
In 2018 I got to celebrate my 30th birthday summiting 3 peaks in the Italian Dolomites before a European Blueberry Conference! - Mount Defiance via Old Mason Lake Trail, Alpine Lakes Wilderness
A ten mile day hike in Washington state’s beautiful Alpine Lakes Wilderness, in search of blueberries and inner peace.
GALLERY
All photos and stories are my own and are not to be used or copied without permission.
Map routes are a combination of GPS data and manually created waypoints and should be used for reference only! Always bring and know how to read a map!!!
This sounds like an incredible backpacking trip! Big Sur is one of my favorite places in California. I have always wanted to do the Sykes Hot Springs trek but never got around to planning it. Your detailed breakdown of the route is super helpful. How was the water level when you went?
Thanks, it was! If I remember correctly the water level was below the knee until the river crossing after the large camp, where at some point it hit thigh level and my dog had to actually swim lol.