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Ausangate Trek

Ausangate Trek

  The highlight of my trip to Peru was the five day Ausangate trek. I signed up for the hike with a local trekking company called Apus Peru, joining a multinational group of seven, our guide Herbert and a team of muleteers. Over the course of the hike, we would trek deep into the Andes, circumventing the sacred Mount Ausangate — a 20,945 foot behemoth of glaciers and jagged peaks. It was an unforgettable adventure from start to finish.   Day 1: The Rainbow Mountain   After a three hour drive on twisting mountain roads, we arrived at the starting point of our trek: the entrance to the Vinicunca, the Rainbow Mountain. In recent years, Vinicunca has become a popular destination for tourists. Herbert noted that more busses came up to…
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Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park

The Most Repulsive Tree The legendary explorer John Fremont once described the Joshua tree as “the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom.” Another writer was struck by the tree’s “rigid, angular, grotesquely pointing branches.” Fortunately, the National Park Service felt differently about the peculiar tree-like yuccas, instead naming a national park in their honor. It’s true that Joshua trees are a strange sight. With their spindly branches and spiky leaves, they look like they jumped straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. But the plant takes on an otherworldly quality when paired with the stark beauty of the Mojave desert. Throw in giant mounds of precipitously stacked boulders, an assortment of cacti, armies of lizards and endless blue skies and it's easy to see why Joshua Tree earns its…
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A Land of Extremes: Three Days in Death Valley National Park

A Land of Extremes: Three Days in Death Valley National Park

  The Lost 49ers In late 1849, a group of wayward pioneers, seeking gold in California, descended into a remote valley deep in the Mojave Desert. Known as the Lost 49ers, the group endured one trial after another as they tried to cross the valley floor and scale the towering Panamint Range. Unable to cross the mountains, the group accepted a harsh truth: they would be spending the winter in this barren desert scape. As a Hail Mary, they sent two scouts over the mountains to bring help and supplies. After the new year, many members of the Lost 49ers likely lost hope. But the two scouts returned, and the party was rescued, suffering only one known fatality. When they finally crested the Panamint Mountains, one of the men looked back…
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