4th of July Trail Hike to Arapaho Pass and Lake Dorothy The 4th of July Trail is just a short drive from my hometown, yet I’d never experienced its staggering beauty until my recent hike exploring its wide-open spaces. Hiking the trail’s breathtaking Arapaho Pass to the pristine Lake Dorothy blew my mind at […]
Noel Krasomil
Carry-On Packing List for 2020: Pack Light, Travel Right
I’ve been traveling light and using packing lists for years, and I’ll never take for granted how good it feels to travel ‘carry-on only’. Because I’ve seen how miserable traveling with excess can be. But here’s the good news: Baggage doesn’t have to slow us down. Traveling light is a choice. We don’t have to […]
74 Hiking & Backpacking Songs: Unique Music for Your Playlist
I’ve been a little hesitant to share my 74-song playlist of hiking and backpacking music with the world. The whole idea makes me a bit uneasy. See, I’d love to believe that when I’m out hiking, I’m a purist who can walk alone in the wilderness, at one with nature and nothing else. There’s […]
Bukhansan National Park: Hiking Dobongsan’s Jaunbong Peak
Jaunbong Peak Hike in Bukhansan National Park I was bored and stir-crazy, itching for something new. The cramped and hectic streets of Seoul were starting to get under my skin. I needed a break from South Korea’s booming capital of 10 million people. It was time for a nature fix. A scenic hike up […]
5 Days in Hong Kong: My Spontaneous, Wild & Itinerary-Free Trip
My spur of the moment trip to Hong Kong was born from a late-night conversation with a travel-hungry friend 10,000 miles away. It was a wild, impulsive, and indelible adventure; a chance journey that wasn’t really meant to take place, but played out perfectly nonetheless. Our five-day meet-up was a blur of world-class […]
Paragliding Chengdu: Soaring Through Sichuan Skies
“Run as fast as you can. Go straight. Run fast.” Those were the only directions I got as I prepared mentally for my first paragliding ride. Was that really all there was to it? My stomach knotted and my heart began to pound as my instructor readied our gigantic nylon parachute. I clenched my […]
Backpacking Food: Meal Plan Tips & Ideas for Your Next Hike
Past attempts at organizing my backpacking food and creating meal plans were always a bit reckless for me. My old approach usually involved jamming a hodgepodge assemblage of hiking food into my over-stuffed bag and hoping for the best. Ensuing days on the trail were spent hiking around dull and nutrition-less food, falling short […]
My Chengdu Street Food Marathon: 32 Snacks in 10 Hours
Was I really going to eat 32 different types of Chengdu street food in just one day and live to blog about it? A gluttonous marathon to challenge both my stomach and self-control? Why would I risk such a culinary overload? There have got to be more relaxing ways to celebrate my birthday, right?! […]
Vietnam on a Motorbike: My 10-Day Road Trip (Route + Itinerary)
My plan for Vietnam never involved a motorbike. It also didn’t involve riding that motorbike 1600 kilometers for 10 straight days with someone I had just met. Crashes, break downs, and wrecked itineraries – those weren’t part of the plan either. I wasn’t supposed to get caked in mud, freeze my ass off, or […]
27 Tips for Motorbiking Vietnam: Getting Ready to Ride
Motorbiking the vast countrysides of Northern Vietnam was one of the most rewarding travel experiences I’ve ever had. Breathtaking vistas of layered rice terraces, wandering water buffalo, blissful and generous people, authentic local cuisine — it all felt too amazing to be real. I was living out an exhilarating and spontaneous dream, and each […]