Tag: hiking

Top 3 Things I’m Looking Foward to in Zomba

June 1, 2018

Big news! I’ve recently accepted a new position that will be taking me to a new country and part of the world. I will be a working at Art and Global Health Center Africa as a Communications and Resource Mobilization Officer, as one half of a Global Health Corps fellow pair. Next month, I’ll be moving to Zomba, Malawi and per usual, I’ve done a bit of research about my soon to be new home. Here are three things I’m really looking forward to in Zomba.

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Hiking in São Tomé’s Obô National Park

February 9, 2018

Of all the activities that I love to do when I’m traveling, hiking has to be near the top of the list. Getting to walk through the nature and natural beauty a destination has to offer can be a really special way to connect with a place. I try to incorporate hiking into all my travels.

When it comes to São Tomé and hiking, Obo National Park is the place to go. There are lot of different trails, all with varying degrees of difficulties and even an option for a multi-day trip.

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A Safari in West Africa: Mole National Park

January 5, 2018

When people think of Africa, big animals are usually what comes to mind. Think the Lion King. Being able to see those kinds of animals are typically associated with East Africa. While West Africa has significantly lower populations of those big animals, and some are extinct in the region, there is still a great place in Ghana for a wildlife experience.

Mole National Park is the largest national park in Ghana and one of your best chances to experience wildlife in Ghana.

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Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains

December 12, 2017

There are two things that I love to do when I travel: trekking and community-based tourism. So when I was planning my trip to Cambodia a few years ago, I was thrilled to find Chi Phat.

I was of course planning a visit to the Angkor Wat Historical Park and wasn’t going to pass up history in Phnom Penh. But I wanted something a little more special and off-the-beaten-path. When I found out about Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains, I knew that was where I wanted to go. Chi Phat is a community-based eco-tourism initiative there.

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Falling in Love with Hiking in the Columbia River Gorge

November 14, 2017

Last month, while I was back in the States, I had the chance to participate in Queer Adventure Storytelling. It’s a monthly event were queer people can come together to tell and hear stories about a variety of adventures. It’s hosted by Jenny Bruso, who started the Unlikely Hikers Instagram account and Travis Clough of the Venture Out Project. I told the story of how I came to consider myself a hiker, and I thought I’d share that here.

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View of a lake surrounded by mountains with a white house on the right. on the West Highland Way

A Walk on Scotland’s West Highland Way

September 5, 2017

A friend once told me, “You can tell that God loves Scotland, because he cut off all the tops of the best mountains, and put them there.” At the time, I was living in Michigan, decidedly devoid of anything close to mountains. Since then, I’ve lived in the Cascades, hiked in the Himalayas and Rockies, and wondered at the Alps. I can say that the Scottish Highlands can hold their own against these majestic ranges.

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A scene of dry forest plants with a short bush in the foreground

Hiking in Puerto Rico’s Guánica State Forest

February 12, 2016

Puerto Rico is known as La Isla del Encanto, or the “Enchanted Island.” No doubt, the beaches with crystal clear waters, gorgeous keys and small islands, and a mountainous rainforest, including El Yunque National Forest, are big parts of what makes Puerto Rico feel like an enchanted place. But I’d add the Bosque Estatal Guánica, or Guánica State Forest, to that list.

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View of the El Yunque Rainforest through an arched window of a tower

Camping in Puerto Rico’s El Yunque National Forest

February 5, 2016

As the fading light slipped through the spectrum of golden-yellow to cool-blue, the coquís began their daily symphony, starting with just a few chips and croaks that grew to a roar as darkness filled the corners in the rainforest. This is the heart of El Yunque National Forest, the only tropical rainforest that is a part of the U.S. Forest Service and one if the oldest forest reserves in the Western hemisphere.

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