Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome to the newbies here, and hello again to those who have been here for many months. Regardless, thank you for reading and supporting this crazy job I have.

Here's a little recap of why I've been quiet this year. Unfortunately, my run of avoiding COVID came to an end on December 30 (it was fun while it lasted). It kicked my butt, even though I did get Paxlovid which is an anti-viral. I think it would have been much worse for my immunosuppressed self without the extra meds.

But now we're on the up and up and ready for a year without cancer, doctor visits, and chaos.

I hit the trails for my first hike of the year out to Wallace Falls State Park, an hour east of Seattle. The snow, frozen waterfalls, and fresh cold air were a nice change of pace from sitting inside. (I'll be adding snow photos to that blog this week.)

You Shouldn't Fear Half Dome or Angels Landing

Two of my favorite hikes of all time have been described in some variety of "America's Most Dangerous Hikes." While it might be true that hiking Half Dome and Angels Landing poses an increased level of danger to a hiker compared to walking around your local park, the danger has been highly blown out of proportion to many.

With serious drop-off locations, both trails require the hiker to be nimble on their feet, pay attention to the trail, and be smart. But the latter is the most crucial and easiest.

Simply use common sense on the trail, and you'll be fine.

While there are always cases of pure bad luck, most cases of injury and death on these hikes are from people getting too close to the edge and not being careful. Now, there are parts of Angels Landing where you are close to the edge, but you're never "in danger" if you stay calm and keep moving on.

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Great Adventure Documentaries to Watch

Everyone's seen Free Solo (if you haven't, you should), but for those who are looking for more great adventure docs, here are a few that I've really enjoyed. (I'll be writing a full article on this in the near future.)

• Deepest Breath: About the sport of free-diving. It's a bit unnerving with how long they are holding their breath underwater.
• 14 Peaks: A fantastic documentary on climbing the 14 highest peaks in the world. The views from these peaks are simply magical.
• Meru: One of my favorite mountain documentaries. It's a Jimmy Chin production, so you know it will be badass.
• Dawn Wall and Valley Uprising: Two Yosemite climbing documentaries. Highly highly recommend these!
• My Octopus Teacher: This one's less dramatic but is a really touching story of a swimmer who connects with an octopus.

Keep an eye out for my future article. I've got a long list that I will give you plenty to watch throughout 2024.

Recent Articles

I've been churning out articles lately and have A LOT of new ones on the website. But here are some you might enjoy!

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​Solo Backpacking: How to Safely Backpack Alone and Return Alive​

​Ultimate Guide: The 13 Best Hiking Watches of 2024​

​Ultimate Guide to Hike and Explore Smith Rock State Park​

​A New National Park in 2024? These 7 places could be next!​

​Potato Harbor: The Best Place to Watch Sunset on Santa Cruz Island​

​Zabriskie Point: Death Valley National Park's Best Sunrise View​

​Earth From Above: 11 Gorgeous Drone Shots to Change How You Look At the World​

​The 9 Best Santa Barbara Beaches To Explore In 2024​

​How to land a permit to hike Half Dome in 2024​

​How Many Days in Yosemite? Your quick quide to the park​

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PS: We just hit 2,000 newsletter subscribers. Thank you so much for supporting me. I'm brainstorming how to make this newsletter better for you all, so stay tuned for much more!