Obsession, adventure, and terror in the foothills of Mount Diablo
February 1, 2021
I paused, staring into the black. The world stood still, the forest quiet. My heart purred steadily from the uphill trek. The mouth of the cave beckoned. It was so dark inside, as if all the light had been swallowed up. How curious.
As I stepped into the cave, a panicked voice, deep in the animal recesses of my brain, whispered at me to back. away. SLOWLY.
The hidden rock art of Anza-Borrego
January 22, 2020
Drops of water splash on my forehead, waking me in the dark. Through the mesh I see a mob of dark storm clouds. Rain.
Stumbling out of the tent, I throw the rain fly on, tightening it down against bursts of wind. My watch reads 5AM. The rest of the group isn't due at the campsite for another six hours. Time for a quick adventure.
A trip to the Sierra reveals masterful brushstrokes of color and form
November 4, 2019
Yosemite Valley welcomes me with pink dogwoods and sunny skies as I arrive on a Friday in October. The air is temperate and slightly smoky from a nearby fire. My friend James pulls up as I pitch the tent at North Pines Campground. He greets me with a smile; adventures are in store.
Volcanic & indigenous legacies in Northeastern California
September 18, 2019
Near Mount Shasta, in the northeastern corner of California, the activity of the Medicine Lake Shield Volcano has created a complex and storied landscape. Cinder cones dot the map. Glass and lava flows spill out from the ground.
A campground in the midst of this volcanic terrain is empty when I arrive late at night. The milky way passes by through the sunroof window as I fall asleep in the car.
Experiencing the vibrant rock art of the Chumash
July 15, 2019
At sundown I set out for the Carrizo. By the time my tires hit the dirt road to Selby Campground, it's well after midnight.
I take in my new surroundings. Forest fire smoke hazes out the stars in the moonless sky. Sleep comes easily in the empty campground.
In the morning, the colors deepen then wash out over the arid landscape. Shots ring out from some nearby hunters. Far away a herd of tule elk flee. Rumbling through the plain with the windows and sunroof open, I feel that wonderful remoteness.
Searching for ancient art in Southern California
April 4, 2018
For the past few months, I've been fascinated by Native American rock art. My curiosity started in Nevada; during a rock climbing trip to Red Rock Canyon I saw a small abstract etching on a boulder. It piqued my interest. I was determined to see more of the mysterious etchings and paintings tucked away in secret corners of California.
But I quickly discovered that most Native American rock art is hidden to the public, and for good reason. Too many popular sacred sites have been vandalized and burglarized in the past. GPS coordinates are tightly guarded, specific directions are almost impossible to come by.
A weekend trip to California's otherworldly desert
February 20, 2018
After hours of driving through the darkness, we finally spot the sign on the side of the road:
Death Valley National Park, Homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone.
I open the sunroof and poke my head out for a look at the sky. The stars look crystalline, immeasurably detailed. After a minute, I take the wheel from Brennan so he can get a good look. These city boys are impressed. It's good to be back in nature.
Tomorrow, we'll wake up early and head to the Badwater Basin.
Ephemeral pockets of gold in California's high country
October 20, 2017
Smoke fills the city, and Friday afternoon drags along. I sit at my desk, daydreaming, deciding if I should take an impromptu trip to the mountains. The answer is yes. It should always be yes.
Hours later I set off for the Sierra.
The Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017
September 19, 2017
On a Saturday afternoon, I cram my suit, my cameras, and my camping gear into a suitcase.
I spend less than twenty-four hours in Joshua Tree; watching my friend get married, silent disco-ing, stargazing, sleeping (barely), and hurrying back to the airport.
After a quick flight, I land in Bozeman, Montana, and meet up with my friend Brennan. From there we drive south into Idaho for a few hours, and soon enough, the whirlwind of travel comes to an end.
We set up camp on a farm in the path of totality, and check tomorrow's forecast:
Clear skies.
Escape to the Garden Isle
May 15, 2017
Waking up somewhere completely new excites me. It's a lot easier to get out of bed when you know that a day of fresh adventure awaits you. Today, I happily wake up on the island of Kaua'i.
Stepping out on the balcony, I'm greeted by a colorful sunrise over the ocean. I wake up Megan and we head down to the beach for a walk. Megan invited me along on the Clark family vacation with her parents, Mike and Sha, and her brother Ryan. It's going to be a fun week.
Discovering Death Valley during a rare wildflower event
April 13, 2016
The rain hits Death Valley hard in October. Back to back storms dump a deluge of water on the hottest, driest place in the country. Paul Forward, the Death Valley District Ranger, recalls seeing the vast accumulation of water firsthand:
“It started with heavy hail. Three hours later, the dry wash was transformed into floodwaters 100 feet wide with 20-foot waves. The air was filled with the sounds of massive boulders grinding against each other as they rolled down the canyon.”
The storms cause extensive damage to a number of the park’s roadways and historic structures, but create an exciting possibility; the stage is set for a rare wildflower super bloom.
A few wonderful days in Buenos Aires & Uruguay
November 18, 2015
The past twenty-seven hours of transit have been an exercise in anxiety suppression. After flying SFO>DFW>MIA>MVD with several delays and quick layovers, I’m relieved to be done with airports for the time being.
But I’m only in Montevideo, Uruguay, and my destination is Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’m still a bus, a boat, and a taxi away and I don’t speak any Spanish. I wander through the bus terminal, lugging all my baggage and camera gear. Enjoying a bit of culture shock, I sit amongst the crowd in rows of colorful Eames chairs. My bus should be coming soon, I think. I’m not really sure.
Camping solo on my hometown mountain
August 18, 2015
It’s early in the morning of July 18th, 2015. I drive slowly up North Gate Road, curving across the ridges of Mount Diablo’s west flank. Wind blows through the car, and I crank up the music. After living without a car in San Francisco for several years, it’s a thrill to drive again. I sing along to whatever CDs my Dad left in his car and gradually motor my way towards Junction Campground, my home for the night.
A camping trip in Yosemite National Park
July 2, 2015
It’s late Friday Night when James and I drive slowly into the campgrounds. The entrance booth is closed, but a whiteboard covered in names and numbers tells us where we need to go: “OLLER - Site 56A”. James pulls forward and guides us along the bumpy dirt road to our campsite. Before unpacking & pitching the tent, I wander down towards a nearby river.
As my vision slowly adjusts to the darkness, a fantastic scene reveals itself to me: A massive granite dome, glistening silver in the pale light of the moon & stars. I’m reminded of the overwhelming nature of Yosemite.
3 days of outdoor adventures in the Rocky Mountain State
October 21, 2014
I flip through the old CDs that we grabbed from Sam’s parents’ house. We’ve been listening to a Van Morrison album on our way west from Denver along HWY 285 in the middle of the night. Now Sam turns onto HWY 8, which is really just a bumpy dirt road, and I start to catch the first glimpses of the grand landscapes we’ve been driving through in darkness for the past two hours. Crests of rock and snow seem to be enclosing us from all around.
Sam reaches for the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack CD and puts it in the player. The grandeur of the orchestra fits these mountain scenes. This is my first real glimpse of the Colorado Rockies.
A family vacation in Italy
September 10, 2014
Hot air rushes past me as I walk out the doors of the airport in Rome. I’ve just flown in from Edinburgh after exploring Scotland on my own for the past 9 days. After plenty of much-needed time alone in the cafés, boats, buses, hostels, and hills of Scotland, it will be refreshing to see my family. My sister Sophie and her boyfriend Sean meet me at our Airbnb in the heart of Rome.
My family is here in Italy to celebrate the landmark birthdays that my mother and sister are celebrating this year: 60 and 30, respectively. Italy seems a fitting destination for our family’s celebration, and Rome welcomes us warmly.
A Scotland Story
July 16, 2014
Outside my window, the sunset lingers for hours as the plane I’m on jets northeast along the shadow of the earth. A full moon shines on pale blue clouds out the window opposite mine. Slowly, the sunset turns to sunrise as we curve along the earth’s shadow.
I land in Glasgow. For the next nine days I will travel around Scotland on my own. As a traveler, I look forward to the time I’ll have to myself and the people I’ll meet. As a guy named Scott, I can’t help but feel excited to visit a place called Scotland, silly as that may be.
Examining the colors of Yosemite National Park
June 4, 2014
John Muir didn’t think that “Sierra Nevada” was the right name for the range of mountains to the east of the Central Valley in California. Instead, he preferred the name “Range of Light”:
“And from the eastern boundary of this vast golden flower-bed rose the mighty Sierra, miles in height, and so gloriously colored and so radiant, it seemed not clothed with light but wholly composed of it, like the wall of some celestial city…. Then it seemed to me that the Sierra should be called, not the Nevada or Snowy Range, but the Range of Light.”
An exploration of Mount Diablo & its foothills
March 4, 2014
Some of my first memories are locked away in this patch of wilderness. With my family, I’d hike through the foothills of Mount Diablo, passing herds of cows, skipping over small streams, and playing with frogs in the ponds. Nearly two decades later, I still experience nature with the same childlike sense of adventure. The open spaces of Walnut Creek, California shaped who I am, and made me proud of where I grew up.
When I hear the word California, I picture rolling slopes and oak woodlands stretching for miles.
Three weeks of eating, wandering, and chasing the light across Europe
December 9, 2013
Split by the continental divide, formerly Byzantium, formerly Constantinople, Istanbul is where I first meet up with Brennan, who will be my travel and photography buddy for the next 18 days. Brennan and I have travelled Europe together before, and we quickly fall into the same old groove of long walks, tea breaks, and the never-ending search for amazing images.