mother nature

From the thunderous Iguazú Falls on the Brazilian/Argentinian border to the Namib desert’s golden sea of sand, see natural wonders that will leave you speechless and in complete awe of our planet.

Girl laying in giant hammock Minca Casa Elemento Colombia

The best day trips & excursions from Santa Marta, Colombia

brooke brisbine·July 11, 2020

Situated between the balmy Caribbean coast and the soaring Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, you’ll almost certainly...

Colombia S America

Ruta de las Cascadas: biking the Waterfall Route in Baños, Ecuador

brooke brisbine·March 29, 2020

Situated in the misty foothills of Volcán Tungurahua, the jungle air thick with a palpable, infectious energy as...

Ecuador S America

View over pinnacle rock and blue water on Isla Bartolomé

A day trip to Isla Bartolomé, the most photogenic island in the Galápagos

brooke brisbine·February 26, 2020

Said to be the most visited island in the Galápagos, Isla Bartolomé is a barren and small but...

Ecuador S America

Rotto travel guide: the perfect day trip to Rottnest Island, Western Australia

brooke brisbine·February 15, 2020

With pristine white-sand beaches, tranquil swimming bays, vibrant reefs, and pumping surf, it’s no secret why Rottnest Island...

Australia Western Australia

The ultimate New Zealand travel guide

brooke brisbine·February 9, 2020

Welcome to Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud. Māori people originally used this word to refer...

Aus + NZ New Zealand

The best of Aoraki/Mt Cook: Sealy Tarns & Mueller Hut Track (updated 2020)

brooke brisbine·January 19, 2020

As we prepared for our trip around New Zealand and looked into the seemingly infinite number of incredible...

Aus + NZ New Zealand

12 best day hikes and multi-day treks in Peru

brooke brisbine·December 9, 2019

When people think of trekking destinations, it’s usually the Himalayas or the Alps that immediately spring to mind....

Peru S America

The ultimate Cusco travel guide: 25 amazing things to do in Cusco, Peru

brooke brisbine·December 3, 2019

Once considered the spiritual and political heart of the vast Inca empire, Cusco (meaning “centre of the universe”...

Peru S America

Huayhuash Circuit (day 10): Yaucha Punta to Quartelhuain via Rondoy Punta

brooke brisbine·November 27, 2019

After camping at Yaucha Punta last night, I’ve got some real ground to make up on today’s hike,...

Peru S America

Huayhuash Circuit (day 9): Huayllapa to Yaucha Punta

brooke brisbine·November 26, 2019

Hoping to get back on schedule after our short day yesterday, we set off from Huayllapa with the...

Peru S America

Huayhuash Circuit (day 8): Rasac to Huayllapa

brooke brisbine·November 25, 2019

Although today’s hike is quite short and lacks a lot of the previous day’s dramatic scenery, it is...

Peru S America

Huayhuash Circuit (day 7): Laguna Juraucocha to Rasac via Laguna Santa Rosa & Paso Rosario

brooke brisbine·November 24, 2019

Deviating completely from the traditional Huayhuash Circuit today in favour of a scenic side trip, we spend the...

Peru S America

Huayhuash Circuit (day 6): Cuyoc & Paso San Antonio to Laguna Juraucocha

brooke brisbine·November 22, 2019

Following a second ascent of Paso San Antonio for sunrise views, today’s hike takes us up and over...

Peru S America

Huayhuash Circuit (day 5): Viconga to Cuyoc & Paso San Antonio

brooke brisbine·November 20, 2019

Today’s hike from Viconga camp, up Punta Cuyoc, and down to Cuyoc camp is surprisingly spectacular, close glacier...

Peru S America

Huayhuash Circuit (day 4): Huayhuash to Viconga

brooke brisbine·November 18, 2019

Following a physically demanding day on the trail yesterday, we are all relieved to enjoy a relatively short...

Peru S America

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

2 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) 💦

3 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 💪🏼

4 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 😳

6 days ago

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Lost in the flowers 🌸🌻🌷🌼🌹

6 days ago

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🪚🦷

1 week ago

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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.

1 week ago

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Summer uniform (I promise I’m wearing shorts under there somewhere) ⛏

1 week ago

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THIS is what happy looks like: climbing the most glaciated peak in the continental US with your favourite mountain man and then coming back to ice-cold g&ts (made with Rainier gin, of course) in the garden. If I could bottle up this feeling… well, I’d probably be arrested. This kind of euphoria is Schedule 1, for sure 🥰

2 weeks ago

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