top 10 tips for hiking half dome in yosemite

View of Half Dome from Glacier Point.

Summer might be over but it is never too early to plan a hiking trip to Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Planning well in advance will ensure that you can hike this beautiful piece of rock safely. It is beautiful up there. From the top, you can see the verdant Yosemite Valley. Plus, the trail allows you to observe the powerful nature of Vernal and Nevada falls. I have hiked to the top of Half Dome twice and, each time, I've been left exhausted but absolutely in awe of its beauty.

These are my tips for successfully hiking to Half Dome and back.

travel zen on tuesday - zion national park

Zion National Park

top 10 tips for hiking the milford track

View from Mackinnon Pass.

Someone once said that the Milford Track is the finest walk in the world. I don't know whether that is true or not, but I certainly enjoyed it. There are two ways to hike (or as the Kiwis call it, tramp) the Milford Track. The first is to do it independently, where you carry your own food and stay in shared accommodations with others. The second is to walk with a guide and stay in nice lodges with hot food and nice bottles of wine after the end of a long day. I have no specific tips for independent walkers because I did a guided tour with Ultimate Hikes, currently the only outfit that provides guided walks in the Milford Track. But, I have tips applicable to anyone hiking it.

top 10 tips for hiking mt. kilimanjaro

A view of the summit from Karanga camp.

Like many folks, I hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro because it was (and still is) very accessible compared to other hikes in the so-called "Seven Summits" (also known as the tallest peak in each of the seven continents). I didn't need any technical climbing experience, I didn't need to use a harness, and I didn't need to hike with crampons. Plus, Ernest Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" would likely (and sadly) soon be gone.

While its 5,895 meters (or 19,340 feet) height is not as impressive as, say, Mt. Everest, it is still pretty high up there and altitude sickness is a common affliction among hikers.  It may be an "easy" hike but the altitude could prevent you from reaching the summit.

If you plan on hiking Kili, these are my tips:

top 5 sights in yellowstone national park

Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone National Park is absolutely gorgeous. In fact, I feel compelled to emphasize that none of the photos in this post (or any of my posts, for that matter) have been photoshopped or filtered. The park is simply a home to so many vibrant colors and so many otherworldly (and worldly) landscapes. 

In addition to its beauty, Yellowstone has the distinctive honor of being the world's oldest national park. Mr. Sazy Rock and I had the pleasure of visiting Yellowstone this Summer. While the Summer crowds were no fun, the park's beauty still shone through. 

If you only have a short period to visit the park, which is a shame because there are a lot of beautiful spots in this very large park, make sure you check out my top 5 "can't miss" sights.

1. The Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring.