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”

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)”

Shot of the Week: Almost Famous (Dolcenero Gallery, Mexico City, México)

Dolcenero Gallery: Milky Way photography by Ian Norman, Mexico City, Mexico

Dolcenero Gallery: Milky Way photography by Ian Norman, Mexico City, Mexico

I’m a little behind in posting our shots of the week, so this photo is coming at you a month late, but it represents a pretty exciting milestone for Ian as a photographer. It also proves why booking places through Airbnb is so awesome.

So why is this week’s shot of the week a photo of a photo (actually three photos)? Well, we met some seriously cool people in Mexico City last month. One of them, our new friend Rodrigo (whom we met through Airbnb), organized the printing and display of three of Ian’s Milky Way photos in beautiful light boxes — designed and manufactured by Rodrigo himself — in a lovely little gallery called Dolcenero in Mexico City. It’s the first time Ian’s photography has been on public display! This photo is from the opening day of the exhibit.

Note: The post date has been adjusted to appear in chronological order (by the date the photo was taken) on the blog, but I’m actually writing/posting this on May 10, 2015.

This photo was taken on April 12 with my Nexus 5 smart phone. Continue to view full photo and more photos from the exhibit.  Continue reading “Shot of the Week: Almost Famous (Dolcenero Gallery, Mexico City, México)”

Shot of the Week: The Photon Collective (Los Angeles, USA)

Shot of the Week: The Photon Collective

Shot of the Week: The Photon Collective

Aside from our smartphones, Ian and I were both camera-less for the first time ever last weekend. (Oh no!) As a result, this shot of the week is less a pretty travel photo and more about the gear we’re using for our travel photography. To prepare for our upcoming travels to Costa Rica and Mexico City (and to have new stuff to review for our latest web project), we swapped out some of our camera gear. (Very exciting!)

This photo of Ian with his new camera is one of the first photos I took with my new camera (with some Photoshop involved). And the text is part of our new logo for The Photon Collective — designed by Ian. What do you think?

So what’s this new web project and what new gear did we choose? Read on to find out more about our new and exciting photography endeavors!  Continue reading “Shot of the Week: The Photon Collective (Los Angeles, USA)”

Shot of the Week: Geminids Meteor Shower (Red Rock Canyon State Park, USA)

Geminids Meteor Shower Over Red Rock Canyon State Park

Geminids Meteor Shower Over Red Rock Canyon State Park

This past weekend, Ian set out for the chilly darkness of Red Rock Canyon State Park. He captured the stars and the Geminids meteor shower above the rusty red rock formations before moonrise. This shot is a compilation of four separate meteor photos he caught with his camera.

This photo was taken with the Sony a7s and Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 lens. Continue on to view the full image. Continue reading “Shot of the Week: Geminids Meteor Shower (Red Rock Canyon State Park, USA)”

Shot of the Week: Autumn Leaves and Starry Skies (Nevada, USA)

Shot of the Week: Autumn Milky Way on northtosouth.us

Shot of the Week: Autumn Milky Way on northtosouth.us

After a full evening of field work for our latest Lonely Speck production, the Milky Way floats above the yellow aspens and majestic evergreens of Thomas Creek in autumn in Reno, Nevada on October 22, 2014. The full image plus a video treat await those who continue to the full post.

The above photo was taken with the Sony a7s and Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 lens.  Continue reading “Shot of the Week: Autumn Leaves and Starry Skies (Nevada, USA)”

Arches Trail and the Milky Way at Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest, Utah

Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest, Utah on northtosouth.us

Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest, Utah on northtosouth.us

Between Zion and Bryce Canyon, we stopped in Red Canyon to set up camp on day 3 of Road Trip USA: Summer 2014. After having a hard time finding camping at Zion, we pulled into Red Canyon Campground around 3pm to avoid another after-dark search for camping.

Red Canyon is located near Panguitch, Utah, in the Powell Ranger District of the expansive Dixie National Forest. With a landscape resembling a hybrid between Zion and Bryce, Red Canyon is home to red sandstone spires as well as dense sections of pine trees.

Hiking Arches Trail, Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest, Utah on northtosouth.us
Continue reading “Arches Trail and the Milky Way at Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest, Utah”