The bug for bigger mountains bit hard right after climbing Orizaba and Izta in Mexico. Before then, I hadn’t been above 14,500 feet — on the summit of Mt. Whitney. Doing Denali is still in my cross hairs, but there’s a lot of uncertainty about who I want to climb it with and how we’re…
We Upgraded to Oura Ring 4
My wife and I just upgraded our smart rings to the Oura Ring 4. After both of our Fitbits broke in 2021, we switched to Oura in 2022. Oura was getting rave reviews about their sleep tracking accuracy and I was super interested in this form factor. I did a whole writeup about my Love-Hate…
2024 Year in Review
2024 started out strong on the heels of a year where much had been accomplished. I was hopeful to keep that momentum going. It did for a while, but then balanced itself out with many disappointments. STATE HIGHPOINTS My 50 state highpoint project stalled in 2024 with nothing new from where I left off in…
Sorry American, I Booked My Flight With LATAM
Sorry American Airlines, you lost my business. Delta and United too. I booked my flight with LATAM! Consumer Fleecing I’ve been watching prices to Argentina for two months now, ever since making the commitment to climb Aconcagua. At that time, I remember seeing the best price to Mendoza on American Airlines at $1,473. I never…
The Only Thing Not Cool about KÜHL
I like KÜHL clothing. Not just for hiking and outdoor adventuring, but also for casual every day wear. As evidence of my liking, I have been a customer since 2019 with plenty of their products in my closet. This includes a Dillingr Flannel Long-sleeve (Damascus Steel), 2 Response Shirts (Smoked Paprika and something Blue), 4…
Senderismo a La Cruz de Alajuelita: Ruta Rompe Pechos
Hiking to the Cross of Alajuelita was added to my list back in 2019. At that time, the company I work for had moved their development team to a new office in Escazú and sent me down to see it. One morning, before another busy day got started, I wandered up to the radio towers…
Is Our Gear Really Poising Us Too?
This is a surprising find from the other day. While I am well aware of the many ways foods have been poisoning us for a long time*, I was shocked and disappointed to learn that our gear is guilty of this too. Thanks to people like this who ask questions, test theories and share their…
Aconcagua, Here We Come!
I just put down a deposit and paid the permit fees to climb Aconcagua in 2025! At 22,837 feet (6961 meters), this is the highest peak in Argentina and across the Americas. We will be guided by Inka Expediciones from Mendoza, Argentina. Everything I have read and seen about their operation so far has been…
Measuring VO2 Max with an Oura Ring
If you got here to save 10% on a new Oura ring, here’s that link through their Refer a Friend program. Otherwise, keep reading and I’ll explain more on that later. Oura recently introduced a new feature that provides a better view into our overall cardiovascular health. Your smart ring now estimates VO2 max, or…
How I Would Do Kings Peak in 1 Day
I was reading a FB post today about a guy coming to Utah this weekend to get Kings Peak in a day. He was looking for advice and guidance and even threw out an open invite to join him on this big attempt. The only catch is a flight he needs to make by 10pm-ish…