White Pine Lake Panorama

White Pine Lake: An alpine escape in the Wasatch Mountains

The spring snow-melt means more hikers on the trails and I find myself journeying higher and higher to find barely thawed trails with more quiet. Pondering my topo map, I spotted White Pine Lake sitting at nearly 10,000 feet of elevation, one of the highest in the Wasatch Mountains. Feeling confident that at least a small part would be covered …

Observation Point, Zion

Photo escape: Observation Point, Zion National Park

Zion National Park completely impressed me when I visited over Thanksgiving weekend. While there, I hiked up to Observation Point to take in one of the classic views of the canyon. By the time I arrived, the sun was directly in my face, so most of my photos could be better. However, in this image, the sun makes the canyon …

Mom and Dad's C-182

A wrenching goodbye aids African elephant conservation

The long fight to save wild beauty represents democracy at its best. It requires citizens to practice the hardest of virtues – self-restraint. ~ Edwin Way Teale Our family said a bittersweet goodbye recently. No, it wasn’t a funeral. My parents had to sell their Cessna 182, a four-seat, single engine plane with lots of memories. It wouldn’t have been …

Clean or dirty, the Omni-Freeze ZERO is my go-to outdoor shirt

Have you ever had a shirt that you can’t get washed fast enough to wear again? Or you just dig it out of the hamper and wear dirty because it feels so good? I never really did until now. Columbia Sportswear sent me a box full of goodies to test when they invited my to join the Spring #OmniTen Team, …

Five steps to making fitness a habit

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. -Jim Ryan Fitness isn’t about finding the right shoes, diet, or gym. While all of those things may be tools in your journey, the battle is won by creating a habit. New routines take time to become habits and feel right in your day-to-day life. Six weeks into …

Visitors look at a large Tyrannosaurus fossil

A museum on the trail: The Natural History Museum of Utah

Park once, take a hike, and then explore a museum. A hiking trail and museum may seem unlikely partners, but in Salt Lake City, the concept works brilliantly. Marking access to one of my favorite trail systems is the Natural History Museum of Utah. The location was chosen to highlight the junction of the urban and natural environments. I’ve used …