Arizona

Vanlife diaries #10: Kanab, Page & North Rim

brooke brisbine·May 24, 2021

If you read my previous weekly update, you might remember that we were headed to the Grand Canyon...

Arizona N America USA Utah

Hiking Kayaking Antelope Canyon without a tour Page Arizona

Everything you need to know about kayaking & hiking to Antelope Canyon without a tour (post-COVID)

brooke brisbine·May 24, 2021

As the most photographed slot canyon in the world and one of the premier natural attractions in the...

Arizona N America USA

Saguaro National Park Cactus Forest Loop Drive Garwood Trail

The ultimate 1-day Saguaro National Park itinerary: 14 best hikes & viewpoints (Saguaro West & East)

brooke brisbine·May 14, 2021

Arizona has 3 fantastic national parks, but I’d be willing to guess that most people can name only...

Arizona N America USA

Petrified Forest National Park best hikes itinerary

Vanlife diaries #9: Petrified Forest National Park & Sedona

brooke brisbine·May 10, 2021

We hit the ground running this week, spending our first few days exploring a national park neither of...

Arizona N America USA

Superstition Mountains Phoenix Arizona Flat Iron Siphon Draw

Vanlife diaries #8: Saguaro National Park East & the Superstitions

brooke brisbine·May 7, 2021

With Dan sick during the first half of the week, we spent several days holed up in Tucson,...

Arizona N America USA

Desert Museum Arizona Sonoran Saguaro National Park

Vanlife diaries #7: Phoenix & Saguaro National Park West

brooke brisbine·April 27, 2021

Between deep cleaning the van, catching up on some work, visiting family, and adjusting to the blistering heat...

Arizona N America USA

White Pocket Vermillion Cliffs National Monument Page Arizona The Wave

The best alternative to The Wave: White Pocket & Vermillion Cliffs with Dreamland Safari

brooke brisbine·November 21, 2020

Of all Arizona’s incredible natural marvels and vibrant geological wonders, The Wave is truly one of the most...

Arizona N America USA

Rafting the Grand Canyon from Pipe Creek to Diamond Creek

brooke brisbine·July 7, 2014

After a year and a half in Australia, I finally came home for my first visit and my...

Arizona N America USA

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I first heard about Shoshone Falls in an Idaho tourism pamphlet that we picked up from a visitor centre during our drive. Alongside a spectacular photo of the gushing falls (more than enough to impress me), the editor described this spot in Twin Falls as the “Niagara of the West” and it was sealed— we had to make the detour 🚐 Not having seen Niagara myself, I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that comparison, but I can say this is one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve ever seen— dwarfed in my own memory only by Iguazú in Argentina/Brazil and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe/Zambia. The photo hardly does it justice. Even at low water levels (rare for spring, but everyone seems to be in a drought this year), Shoshone is a real gem state GEM 💎

5 hours ago

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Lakes on lakes on lakes 💦

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Bagging peaks together since 2000; the only difference is that now I have to carry the rope 🏔

4 days ago

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HIKING THE ENCHANTMENTS IN 1 DAY ✨ Located in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of Eastern Washington, the Enchantments is one of the most unbelievably SPECTACULAR (and popular) areas to hike in the state— it’s virtually impossible to score a backpacking permit these days, but you can actually complete the entire 20+ mile trail in a single day without ANY permit 😱🤩 🏔 TRAIL DETAILS 🏔 Trailhead: Stuart Lake TH to Snow Lakes TH (near Leavenworth, WA) Fees: NW Forest Pass, $5 for a day Distance: 20 miles (30km) Elevation gain: 4820ft (1470m) Trail hours: 12-14hrs, including breaks 🏔 HIKING TIPS 🏔 👉🏼 I’d suggest hiking up Aasgard Pass (from Sturt Lake TH) and descending to Snow Lakes, since you’ll do the steepest part of the hike as an ascent and the more gradual part as a descent (trust me, your knees will thank you). ALSO, since most of the lakes are clustered in the first 2/3rds, you get to spend the bulk of the day in the prettiest part of the Enchantments— and if you do have to hike the final miles in the dark, you really don’t miss anything! 💡 👉🏼 Park your vehicle at the Snow Lakes TH and then hitchhike up the road to the Stuart Lake TH to begin the hike. There are heaps of people headed that way— it took us about 3min to get picked up and then we ended the hike already back at our van! 🚐 👉🏼 You’ll need a NW Forest Pass, so if you don’t already have one, pop into the Icicle Quik Stop (76 Station) in Leavenworth and you can buy a single day pass for $5 to display on your dash! 🎫 👉🏼 Save yourself the weight of a heavy pack and bring only one water bottle (~1L)— there are literally HUNDREDS of excellent fill-up points throughout the hike and you’ll have no trouble finding cool water (filter optional, but recommended) 💦

5 days ago

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I spent 5 days last week on an amazing expedition through North Cascades National Park: trekking up to Sahale Arm, climbing Buckner Peak, carrying-over Sahale Peak & then descending the summit all the way to Boston Basin 🏔 As with all good adventures, it was wildly complicated by terrible conditions (a marine layer that reduced visibility to little more than 20ft on the glacier), miscalculations of time (canning Shark Fin Tower at the last minute), and near-disasters (slipping out of my steps on steep snow and frantically arresting before we all fell off the mountain ⛏)— but it was also amazing for many of the same reasons. Every trip like this develops my skills, builds my resilience, and pushes me closer to becoming ~a true mountaineer~, and for that, I wouldn’t trade any of the stress or ice-burns or moments of fighting back tears. I’m filing it all away and climbing up to the next peak stronger, more determined, and with a greater appreciation for these incredible mountains 💪🏼

6 days ago

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Fresh on the heels of climbing Mt Rainier, and I’ve already topped it in terms of difficulty (and terror) with this week’s ascent up the SW face of Buckner in the North Cascades. To be fair, the ‘ascent’ wasn’t actually the hard part— it was the descent, a white-knuckled 1500ft drop along an impossibly steep snow shoot with a runout that would have sent us all right off the mountain. I didn’t like the look of things as we started down off the summit, but the anxiety got a lot worse after I took (my first) fall on the ice, pulling our entire rope team off their feet before I could get my axe dug into the snow. Thankfully everyone emerged fine and we continued downwards, but it was enough to really shake me— an important reminder that climbing is no joke and every single move counts, both for you and your team. When we later reached another awful section of the descent and dad called down to me that this was ‘no-mistakes territory’, you better believe I took it seriously 😳

1 week ago

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Lost in the flowers 🌸🌻🌷🌼🌹

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🪚🦷

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Approaching Mt Rainier via an incredibly long and scenic route over Burroughs Mountain, down to Glacier Basin, up the Inter Glacier, and finally to our base camp at 9,400ft, Camp Schurman, gave me the greatest appreciation for just how MASSIVE this climb is. And for every ounce of physical exertion to get onto that summit, I expended 5x more mental energy just trying to make sure that I moved carefully & made no mistakes when it counted most— there were moments that a small slip could have cost us all our lives, and that reality was not lost on me. For that reason, the days leading up to our summit push were absolutely crucial. We hiked hard through the day to limber up and rested just as hard each night to recharge, particularly on the day leading up to our midnight departure. Roping on the Inter Glacier also granted me, dad & Dan time to learn each other’s rhythm and settle into the quiet solemnity that our impending climb demanded. As much as I just wanted to GET THERE at the time, I wouldn’t trade a single minute of preparation looking back. By the time we did leave Camp Schurman in the dead of night, we were a well-oiled unit who hardly needed light or proximity to communicate— and that’s the only way we made it to the summit. Slow & steady.

2 weeks ago

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