Sunrise on the mountain top over Burning Man

My favorite piece of dialogue from the film Lawrence of Arabia:

Bentley: What is it, Major Lawrence, that attracts you personally to the desert?
Lawrence: It's clean.
Bentley: Well, now, that's a very illuminating answer.

That thing in the desert is my favorite week of the year, and for the past three years I've led a sunrise climb of the nearby and iconic Old Razorback mountain (Mount Trego on old topo maps). Any sunrise in the desert is a sight to behold, but from 1500' above the vast, seemingly endless playa and a temporary city of 80,000 people, well, it's indescribable. 

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The Hilleberg Jannu on Black Sands Beach, The Lost Coast

The Hilleberg Jannu is perhaps the finest self-supported, all-season alpine mountaineering and expedition tent in the world. It sets up in under 2 minutes (in ideal conditions in my backyard), is bomb-proof, and weighs only 6 lbs. So why would I take it to the Lost Coast? Two reasons: gale force winds and miserable, driving rain. And it held up like a champ. In gusts over 60 MPH.

We stayed safe, dry, and warm, and even the single-entrance vestibule did a solid job of keeping our packs and boots dry. The linked inner and outer linings is a mark of design brilliance, as is the plethora of high-strength lightweight guy-lines. 

The one downside to the Jannu is that it only has one entrance. If you're not backpacking and are primarily setting up a basecamp in the gnarliest of conditions, consider the Hilleberg Tarra or Mountain Hardware Trango. 

Read more about camping at Black Sands Beach in the Lost Coast on The Outbound

Maxx Scarlett and the Venice Beach Skate Park

Sunset and the iconic Venice Beach Skate Park for a Maxx Scarlett promo. He flies, fearless, even when fucked up. In his words:

"When you boutta turn up but the big ass crack in the ground says 'bring that ass here Boi'. I legit did a nose slide fake mustache slide to forehead bonk to almost slept myself! Don't skate on the sidewalk after dark kids."

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The Annapurna Base Camp Trek

There are mountains and then there are the Himalayas. From jungles to glaciers to the Annapurna Base Camp ("ABC") high within the Annapurna Sanctuary, those who make the trek are rewording with standing in front of the 10th tallest mountain in the world, Annapurna 1 over 8K meters tall, looking up a 13,000' wall of granite over a glacial canyon 1,000 feet deep.

Given its proximity to Pokhara it's one of the most popular treks in Nepal but for good reason.

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72 Hours in San Francisco: Spring Edition

About a week ago it was 85 degrees in San Francisco. In April. And in two months it will be 50 in the middle of the afternoon. No-one knows who said “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” but it is as true today as it was then.

From June to September the blustery winds blowing Karl the Fog through the Golden Gate chills shorts-and-T-shirt-wearing tourists to the bone, leaving many wondering “just when do I get to see the beautiful city in all those movies?” As any local will tell you, San Francisco has two summers: a brief one in April-May just after the rains and before Karl the Fog arrives in force, and then another for six weeks beginning in late September and through October.

My personal favorite is our summer in May. The rains leave Northern California looking so emerald green it could easily be mistaken as western Ireland. The lingering clouds provide breathtaking sunsets and sunrises over the ocean. The rivers are full. Everything is alive.

It’s paradise.

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Alex Knob & the Big Agnes Fly Creek 2 Platinum

The sense that you're at the end of the world. Glaciers. Rain the never stops. The sandflies (oh, the sandflies). Expats and backpackers. The vastness of the Tasman Sea and Australia, some 1,400 miles away. The West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand is unlike anywhere else on earth, and a night on Alex Knob overlooking the Franz Josef Glacier and the Southern Alps is a great way to take it all in.

I went light and took my Big Agnes - Fly Creek 2 Person Platinum tent, weighing in at a whopping 28 ounces. It was rainy and foggy, and it took me less than 2 minutes from start to finish to setup. It can be a bit small for two people, but it stood up well to the wind and the rain, and is easily the strongest and lightest tent I've ever used and now my go-to for backpacking in almost any situation short of the dead of winter.

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Pyramid Peak via Rocky Canyon

Pyramid Peak is the tallest peak in the Crystal Range and the Desolation Wilderness, just west of Lake Tahoe. On a clear day it can be seen from the Bay Area over 150 miles away.

Named for its distinct shape, Pyramid is a massive heap of glaciated granite slabs and talus, and the Rocky Canyon route to its summit is the most direct and the most difficult climb in the Tahoe area, gaining 4100' in 3.7 miles.

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A recipe for happiness in the cool, grey city of love.

In San Francisco there is no finer view than that from its front porch: "Turtle Hill" to locals, or "Grand View Park" if you're checking a map.

If the North American continent is a ship then Grand View Park is the bow, giving epic, vast views up and down the California coast and of Golden Gate Park, the Marin Headlands, Golden Gate Bridge and Downtown. Sunset here is breathtaking at all times of year, but watch out for Karl the Fog crashing the party.

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