travel light, wake early, walk far
Santa Catalina Island is located just off the coast of greater Los Angeles and features a gem of a trail called the Trans Catalina Trail or "TCT" for short. You may have heard of Santa Catalina Island from the movie Step Brothers (queue the Catalina Wine Mixer memes). With the weather on the island usually... Continue Reading →
The first time I saw the Mojave Desert, it looked like an inhospitable wasteland. It was 2006 and I was on I-10, driving across the country with my dad from my college in Orange County, CA back to my hometown, Washington, DC after graduation. The barren, sun-baked hills and mountain ranges seemed like a good... Continue Reading →
Early this year, as a natural next step after tackling the King’s Canyon High Basin Route last summer (and also perhaps as a momentary diversionary cure for the dark cold nights of the DC winter), a few DCUL members turned their gaze further north: towards Yosemite, and the high route there. As winter turned into... Continue Reading →
All in all, it was a great and challenging route and one worth doing. My main advice is to make sure that you are comfortable and confident with hiking off trail and with using a GPS and compass to navigate.
With a trip like this, there are the moments that stick with you, the memories that you take along, and the individual challenges you struggle through.
DC UL Backpacking 