The Basics of Ultralight Backpacking
An intro to ultralight backpacking, and some tips to get you started! By Lasting Adventures intern, Lindsey Skidmore If you’ve been backpacking, you are probably well aware of the feelings of bruised hips and aching knees after a few nights in the backcountry. Ultralight backpacking aims to remedy these problems through minimalism and the use […]
Building Lasting Adventures: An Interview With The Founder
25 Years of Passion: A Look Into The History of Lasting Adventures A quarter of a century ago, Lasting Adventures started as a Yosemite-based nonprofit youth summer camp with a mission to get more children outdoors. In the beginning there was just one employee—Scott Gehrman—Lasting Adventures’ founder and executive director. Scott guided every trip, as […]
Jumping Slugs! And Other Unique Animals of Olympic National Park
Fascinating Animal Species That Only Live in Olympic National Park By Nick Estrada Established in 1938, Olympic National park preserves and protects nearly 1,400 square miles of old-growth temperate rainforests, glacier-clad mountains, and over 70 miles of Pacific Coast line. Among the varied landscape of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula is an impressive measure of biodiversity in […]
Gallery: Magical Moments From Our 2021 Summer Camp Season
Unforgettable memories from another spectacular summer camp season Summertime at Lasting Adventures is comprised of countless invaluable moments shared among campers and outdoor educators in some of the most beautiful environments on earth. We spend the season tramping through national parks, guiding students through profound wilderness experiences and teaching life-skills, respect, and stewardship, using nature […]
Outside Yosemite: Hidden Gems of the Eastern Sierra
Yosemite is home to some of the Sierra’s most majestic sites. But outside park boundaries, hidden gems abound! There’s no debate—Yosemite National Park houses some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, let alone in the Sierra. But beyond Yosemite’s gates also exist hidden marvels that are well-worth exploring. If you’re planning your Yosemite […]
How to Pick A Pair of Trekking Poles
By LA gear manager, Will Heaps After two weeks of hiking the rugged routes of Camino de Santiago in the northern part of Spain, my buddy Will’s knees ached almost visibly. By that point, he’d been watching me and my wife tackle the same terrain with much less agony, courtesy of the aid from the […]
The Best Season For Visiting Yosemite?
Five reasons why Fall is the greatest season of all. When assessing the best time of year to visit Yosemite, a case can be made for every season. Waterfalls in Spring, alpine lakes in Summer, and snow-covered cliffs of Winter make stiff competition for Autumn, but any seasoned visitor may you—Fall is actually the best […]
Why Lasting Adventures? A Guide’s Perspective
A Guide’s Perspective on Yosemite’s Top Backpacking Summer Camp and Guide Service Matt Schilowitz first joined Lasting Adventures as an intern back in 2017. He’s come back every summer since, and in that time graduated to a guide, then a lead guide, and now a program manager. But it’s not the paycheck that keeps Matt […]
When Fire and/or Smoke Become A Threat In Yosemite
Throughout our history as a guide service, fires have not been a physical threat to our programs, primarily because we operate in higher elevations and alpine regions, which have thinner forests and lots of granite. Most major fires over the past 20-plus years have all occurred at lower elevations and in the drier foothills outside […]
Standing Proud | A Half Dome Summit On Opening Day
Everyone has people in their lives, places, and unique things about themselves that makes them proud to be who they are. For me, a recent experience guiding our first Half Dome in a Day hike of the season did just that. Arriving to Lasting Adventures for the summer, eager to check my guide schedule for […]
Ten Truths About Bears in Yosemite
Dispelling The Myths About Yosemite’s Bears by LA guide, Michael Misselwitz If there’s one thing we know to be true about the bears of Yosemite National Park, it’s that plenty of myths exist about them. As stewards of the wilderness, it’s our job as guides to dispel those myths, and after decades of sharing the […]
5 Tips For Your First Time Rock Climbing In Yosemite
Tip #0: Don’t start with the route pictured above. Photo of legendary El Capitan rock climbing kingpin, Tommy Caldwell, sourced from Facebook. A mountain guide’s tips for your first rock climbing experience in Yosemite. Words by LA guide and program director, Matt Schilowitz Since the inception of modern rock climbing, Yosemite Valley has long been […]
Understanding Altitude Sickness
Understanding Altitude Sickness: Causes, Symptoms, Preventative Measures, and Treatment If you travel to an area of increased elevation without allowing time for your body to acclimate, there is a chance that you may experience altitude sickness. Altitude sickness, also known as elevation illness or mountain sickness, occurs in areas with lower oxygen levels and can […]
Getting To Know The Trees Of Yosemite
Examining Yosemite’s diverse climate and its fascinating collections of trees Within the 747,956-acre expanse of Yosemite National Park, ground elevation varies from as low as 2,105 feet at the Merced River to a towering 13,115 feet at the peak Mount Lyell, Yosemite’s highest point. This drastic change in elevation taking place within relatively few miles […]
2024 Yosemite Reservation System Explained
As Yosemite continues to be one of the top-visited parks in the National Park Service, visitors and park officials have seen what happens without a reservation system. It’s ugly. If you visited this past summer, you saw what it looks like when 7,000 cars enter the park with only about 1,200 parking spots. If you […]