Hiking/Camping Archives - The Weekend Abroad

A Weekend in Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks

This weekend at Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks marked my third and fourth national parks visits for the year following Pinnacles and Joshua Tree, and I think they might be my favorite of 2018 so far! Living in the Bay Area, we are fortunate enough to make a weekend trip out of the expansive parks with them being just about a 4 hour drive from our front steps. We left on a Friday right after work and stayed a couple nights in the nearby town of Fresno since all the parks’ campgrounds were booked when we decided to go. It was 48 hours of worthwhile hikes, gorgeous views, and lots of neck craning to gaze up at the towering sequoia trees. If you’re hoping to visit (or just curious about the area), here are recommendations and a look at what we did on our weekend in scenic Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks.

A Weekend in Chico, California and Beyond

Chico, California is certainly not a top travel destination in California, and admittedly not somewhere I had considered visiting before. However, Roger had a workshop at Chico State University this spring so we decided to make a weekend trip out of it! The college town, located an hour north of Sacramento, completely took me by surprise with its quaint downtown area and outdoorsy offerings. Hands down, the highlight of our stay was the few hours we spent at sprawling Bidwell Park. A trek to the surrounding towns proved very worthwhile as well with nearby Table Mountain providing one of the most breathtaking views I’ve ever seen. Here is a look into our weekend in Chico (and beyond!).

A Cave Crawling Weekend at Pinnacles National Park

It was two days before the long weekend in January when I found out we also got the coming Monday off. The forecast called for dry weather and I figured it was another great opportunity to see more of what Northern California has to offer. Roger had the great suggestion of driving a few hours south to Pinnacles National Park, which is the country’s newest national park, having just been designated in 2013. I immediately took a look at the Airbnb’s in its surrounding cities, but actually found that the hotels in the area were more competitively priced. Because I already had local plans on Saturday, we ended up driving down to Pinnacles early Sunday morning and spending the night in the small town of Hollister (no association with the clothing brand). Our weekend at Pinnacles National Park was incredibly worthwhile. Its vast network of deep and winding talus caves and towering volcanic formations are not to be missed for locals and California tourists alike.

All About Cotopaxi Questival 2017: San Francisco

It’s been two years since my friends and I competed in our first Cotopaxi Questival and a lot has changed about the 24 hour “scavenger hunt” in just a couple years! Within two years, the San Francisco race jumped from 218 teams to 480 teams and they made a number of valuable changes within the Questival app. What hasn’t changed about Questival is its ability to push you as an individual and group beyond your limits to tackle dozens (or even hundreds) of experiences you never thought you could do within a day. All while laughing through hilarious blunders and unexpected situations.