Mt Whitney in 3 Days: A Totally Reasonable Trek to the Summit

Hiking Mt Whitney in 3 Days: A Totally Reasonable Trek to the Summit -- on northtosouth.us

Hiking Mt Whitney in 3 Days: A Totally Reasonable Trek to the Summit -- on northtosouth.us

“You can summit Mt Whitney in a day,” they said. “It’s a class 1 hike,” they said.

Add to that the claim that it takes 10 hours to hike up at a “slow” pace, and you may start thinking the Mt Whitney hike is downright easy. But “easy” isn’t a word I would use to describe our hike to the tallest peak in the contiguous U.S. this July.

Want to know how long it really takes to hike Mt Whitney? — at least, if it’s your first time and you want to have some sort of enjoyable memory from your trek? — Read on for the scoop on our entire experience, from (finally) getting a Mt Whitney Trail permit to planning and executing our highest-elevation hike to date. Continue reading “Mt Whitney in 3 Days: A Totally Reasonable Trek to the Summit”

Big Island Diving with Kona Diving Company (Kona, Hawaii, USA)

Diving on Hawaii's Big Island with Kona Diving Company

Diving on Hawaii's Big Island with Kona Diving Company

If you’re a diver or if you’ve ever looked into getting certified, then you’re well aware that diving is an expensive hobby.

And since we’d been on a strict budget for a year after quitting our jobs to travel, we hadn’t been diving in two whole years! This being my first visit to Hawaii’s Big Island, I was absolutely dying to do the manta ray night dive. But first, it was time for a refresher.  Continue reading “Big Island Diving with Kona Diving Company (Kona, Hawaii, USA)”

Cliff Jumping at South Point (Big Island, Hawaii, USA)

Cliff jumping at the southernmost point in the U.S. -- South Point, Hawaii's Big Island

Cliff jumping at the southernmost point in the U.S. -- South Point, Hawaii's Big Island

I’m afraid of heights, so when we started talking about visiting South Point, I didn’t think I’d be jumping off any cliffs. I just wanted to see the southernmost point of the U.S.

But one thing led to another, and the next thing I knew I was splashing into the water. It was absolutely terrifying. But also exhilarating. And I don’t regret it one bit!

Thinking of trying cliff jumping yourself? Find out what you’re in for here!

Continue reading “Cliff Jumping at South Point (Big Island, Hawaii, USA)”

10 More Reasons I’ll Never Regret Quitting My Job to Travel

10 More Reasons I'll Never Regret Quitting My Job to Travel

10 More Reasons I'll Never Regret Quitting My Job to Travel

Last year I reflected on Ian’s and my decision to quit our jobs, kiss our ‘normal’ lives goodbye, and embrace the unknown as traveling entrepreneurs. The outcome of that reflection was 10 Reasons I’ll Never Regret Quitting My Job to Travel. Since then, we’ve collected another year’s worth of destinations, travel experiences, and business experiments which have all contributed to our ongoing happiness and success as nomadic business partners. This lifestyle has also resulted in positive health and happiness effects on me as an individual. So now, another year older (and wiser), I can add even more reasons to our original list.

After 1 year and 10 months of nomadic bliss — gosh, has it only been that long? — below are 10 additional reasons I’ll never regret taking the leap! Continue reading “10 More Reasons I’ll Never Regret Quitting My Job to Travel”

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Seven (Wyoming to Alberta)

North to South U.S. road trip recap week seven

North to South U.S. road trip recap week seven

Week seven was by far one of the most memorable weeks on our road trip. I can’t believe how much we saw in one week! Oodles of wildlife, gorgeous sunrises, and even the Northern Lights — all the way down in Yellowstone National Park (they’re not usually visible so far south).

Somehow we managed to visit FOUR national parks all in one week. And despite late night Milky Way photo sessions, we managed to wake up before dawn TWICE to witness the gorgeous sunrises Yellowstone has to offer. If you’ve never seen Yellowstone yourself, add it to your bucket list NOW. And in the meantime, you can drool a bit over these photos!

Note: I’m still catching up on our weekly road trip re-caps! This one covers June 20-27.

Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Seven (Wyoming to Alberta)”

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Weeks Four, Five & Six (Illinois to South Dakota)

North to South U.S. road trip recap weeks four, five and six

North to South U.S. road trip recap weeks four, five and six

After completing our third week on the road in the U.S. this summer, we decided it was time for a little breather. We departed St. Louis at the beginning of week four and then pressed the pause button when we reached Chicago. And there we stayed, visiting my twin brother, for the first two and a half weeks of June.

Despite growing up in St. Louis, I’d never visited the nearby Windy City ’til now. And what an awesome place it turned out to be! So much so that we decided we’d return to Chicago for an even longer break after our upcoming national park loop. We finished off this three-week period in Badlands National Park, where we found unique erosion-formed landscapes, plentiful prairie dogs, and the craziest (and unexpected) storm we’ve ever experienced! (You don’t want to miss that video.)

Note: Since we paused for so long in Chicago, this recap covers weeks four through six of our U.S. road trip. And I’m still catching up on our weekly road trip re-caps! This one covers May 30 – June 19.

Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Weeks Four, Five & Six (Illinois to South Dakota)”

North to South’s Ultimate Road Trip Planner: Packing List — With Free Download!

North to South's Ultimate Road Trip Packing List

North to South's Ultimate Road Trip Packing List with free printable PDF download

The open road. The fresh air. The opportunity to freely blast and belt out your favorite tunes as you explore lands previously unknown… The road trip is an experience everyone should have at least once in their life. And the effort you put into planning yours will greatly impact the memories you make.

If you’re like me and heading out Kerouac-style isn’t the approach you’d prefer — planless, penniless, thieving, and hitchhiking (yikes!) — then you should absolutely start with a list. Continue reading “North to South’s Ultimate Road Trip Planner: Packing List — With Free Download!”

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Three (Louisiana to Missouri)

U.S. Road Trip Week Three

U.S. Road Trip Week Three

After crossing the big wide state of Texas in week two, this week started with an epic day of gluttony in the New Orleans French Quarter. We filled our bellies with pralines, boudin and beignets and then turned north so Ian could experience the best baseball in the country and what I think is one of the most unique state parks in the entire U.S.

For the third week in a row, here is a photographic recap of our spring and summer road trip across the U.S. This week we’ve got a balance of city and nature, with lots of delicious food and wonderfully varied weather in between.  Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Three (Louisiana to Missouri)”

U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Two (Arizona, New Mexico and Texas)

U.S. Road Trip Week Two: The American Southwest -- Arizona, New Mexico and Texas

U.S. Road Trip Week Two: The American Southwest -- Arizona, New Mexico and Texas

Two more National Parks and three new National Monuments, including the most beautiful (and surreal) place I’ve ever seen! Week two of our summer road trip took us all the way from Arizona to Texas, with a scenic desert drive through New Mexico on the way.

Below is a photographic re-cap of our second week of road-tripping across the U.S. in our little red Yaris. Read on for beautiful white sand dunes, cacti that actually look like the ones you drew when you were a kid, and a couple of neat ruins speckled about the American Southwest!  Continue reading “U.S. Road Trip Re-Cap: Week Two (Arizona, New Mexico and Texas)”

Shot of the Week: Wanderlust and White Sands (White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA)

Shot of the Week: White Sands National Monument sunset hike

Shot of the Week: White Sands National Monument sunset hike

Roaring wind. Rippling sand. Rolling dunes. All were present on the night we backpacked out to our backcountry campsite at White Sands National Monument. As luck would have it, we’d gotten the last available site. And we were grateful. Otherwise we’d’ve had to backtrack 30 miles toward Las Cruces and the nearest campground.

Up and over and in between the dunes we hiked, each carrying our backpacks, cameras at-the-ready. It took us 45 minutes to get to our campsite, racing the setting sun. We set up camp, took off our boots, and set out barefoot for the top of a neighboring dune, getting in just a few more photos before darkness and the evening wind settled in. We’ve now completed week two of our cross-country U.S. road trip, and White Sands stands out as one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen. It was magical. Enchanting, even. If you’ve never hiked over sand dunes before, add it to your bucket list. It’s surreal.

This photo was taken on May 18th with the Sony a7 II and Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 Heliar III lens. Continue to view full photo.  Continue reading “Shot of the Week: Wanderlust and White Sands (White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA)”