My Travels

Latest post

Thousand Island Lake at sunrise
  • Written:
  • Updated:
  • Read time: 13 min

2N/3D Backpacking in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, Part 1 (2024)

This was a backpacking trip I'd been looking forward to for a decade: camping at Thousand Island Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. We snagged some last-minute permits near the end of June and spent two nights and three days hiking over mountain passes and camping at beautiful alpine lakes (while battling some serious altitude sickness).

Posts by region

How I travel

My earlier years of traveling were always with family; for us, that meant going on bus tours with crazy schedules, e.g. visiting 12 countries in the span of 8 days (yes this one is real, we did one in Europe). Each time it was the same: wake up at 5am every day, sit on a bus for 8-10 hours, spend only 1-2 hours in the destination city, and scramble back onto the bus to reach the next town in the next country before dark. Though I fully acknowledge the privilege I had in being able to travel outside the state and the country at all, it was a stressful way to travel and I never felt like I got to enjoy what each place had to offer.

Now that I'm older and financially independent, I feel like I'm finally traveling in a way that makes me happy. I've found a pretty good balance between doing the touristy things and leaving space to appreciate and experience the local culture and get a bit off the beaten path. My favorite trips so far are centered around backpacking, hiking, and generally just being in nature. While cost and budget are my main priorities while trip planning, I still let myself splurge a little here and there on a nice hotel or experience!