Back to Yosemite
After backpacking through the High Sierra, we spent a few days exploring Yosemite, photographing sunset from Tunnel View, hiking to Vernal Fall, and chasing reflections and the last golden light on Half Dome.
Backpacking the High Sierra: Cottonwood Lakes to Whitney Portal
A backpacking journey through the High Sierra, from an alpine camp beneath New Army Pass to sunrise over Guitar Lake Basin and a crossing of 13,645-foot Trail Crest.
Turks and Caicos: Mornings on Grace Bay
A week in Turks and Caicos, with sunrise light, turquoise water, and beach life before the resort woke up.
What the Glacier Left
On August 13, 1961, Casey Kays hiked to Sunfish Pond for a family picnic and fell in love with a mountaintop lake he did not yet know had been sold to power companies. That first visit would pull a Warren County working man into New Jersey’s defining conservation fight.
The Friday Massacre
The lake was clear and full of breath, as it always had been. It was like every other…
Dam Nation
The urge to tame and control what is natural and wild has been a through-line in the history of American conservation battles.
Section 04: Long Cove to Mt. Ivy
A summerlike morning on Long Path Section 4, from Long Cove to Mount Ivy, brought quarried Palisades cliffs, dozens of vultures near the Tilcon Haverstraw Quarry, a climb to High Tor, views over the Hudson Valley, and the final visible curve of the Palisades ridge before it disappears below the surface.
A Sandhill Crane Comes to Rahway
Urban nature has a way of surprising you. This time, it came in the form of a Sandhill crane calmly strutting through a Rahway neighborhood -- and getting close enough to peck my shoe.
Section 03: Nyack to Long Cove
Section 3 is all about Hook Mountain, the hands-down highlight of the stretch. After a quick start through suburban edges, the trail climbs to a ridgeline with sweeping Hudson River views and dramatic cliffside stretches before dropping back down to Route 9W.
Yosemite Valley: A Temple of Granite and Light
Yosemite changed how I see the outdoors. I first visited in 2011 and have been back at least six times since — most recently in April 2026 — drawn by its granite walls, iconic views, and landscapes that keeps pulling you back.
