Spring Salutations
Aloha friends!
Welcome to the spring edition of your Peaks and Penguins newsletter! 🙂
This winter was one of the best of my life: filled to the brim with adventures! As a result, there’s not a ton of new stuff on the blog since the fall edition. However, I think you’re going to love the new stuff that is up!
New on the Blog
I’ve added a Hawai’i page which will be home to all of our local and interisland adventures! I’ve got a few to get you started: our 2019 trip to Kaua’i, Mt. Ka’ala – the highest peak on O’ahu, and a breathtaking bucket-list trek of the Kalalau Trail! Enjoy these adventures, and check back soon for more runs, hikes and island life! I’ll be doing a bit of a push in the next few weeks to get some of our very best local adventures up for ya.
If you haven’t caught up with our California capers, now is a great time – they’ve got a shiny new page for a home base as well, which I hope will make exploring the Golden State with us a bit more accessible. There’s lots of fun to be had there, particularly in awe-inspiring places like the Lost Coast and Mt. Whitney!
Additionally, there’s a brand new Ecuador page! So far, I’ve only detailed our Rucu Pichincha hike from December – but I am about to upload my dispatches from the Galapagos! Yes, we went to the enchanted isles – a lifetime dream come true! Our first date involved watching Planet Earth, in which the Galapagos features heavily. So it was only fitting that we planned this magical trip for our 10th anniversary, which we celebrated at the end of last year <3 In addition to sharing amazing animal tales and photos, I’ll also write up a bit about how we were able to do this with significant savings (hint: no cruising!).
Last but not least, the 2022 annual review presents some of the highlights from a truly spectacular year. I know I’ve said this before, but I really think last year is a strong contender for best ever. There were islands, there was lava, there was a baby hammerhead and just so, so much more! I loved every minute of it, and I’m seriously concerned that future years may have a hard time measuring up to this amazing annum.
Rockin’ on in the ROK
If you’re new in these parts, my guess is that you’re here for South Korea! Peaks and Penguins began by discussing the amazing national parks and provincial parks and grew to detail our unique 100 summits mission. The latter continues to be, by far, the most popular fare on the site. So South Korean summits are what you’re into, I hope you have a wonderful time in that most magical of lands – and feel free to reach out at: peaksandpenguins@gmail.com. I’m always happy to help with bucket list brainstorming and your active adventure planning!
Reading List
I’d also like to share with you a few awesome, recent online reads.
- The Little Known World of Caterpillars – by Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker: I loved the story of the passionate work of this one scientist to introduce humans to the magic of caterpillars, one life history at a time. Despite being an avid animal lover, I too have neglected these small but fascinating creatures. No longer: now I can start beating around the bush offline too!
- What Plants are Saying About Us – by Amanda Gefter, Nautilus: This one makes you think about the meaning (and location) of consciousness. From now on, I’ll be paying more attention to plants – and looking at them upside down!
- Suffering in Silence – by David Grimm, Science: There’s one story I’ve never told you, and it’s about why I quit academia 13 years ago. I was on a national scholarship and on track to get a PhD in neuroscience when I walked out of my lab, never to return. Though it was painful to read, this article made me realize that I was probably not, in fact, alone. After my experience, I saw the world as divided basically into two camps: animal-lovers and scientists. Reading this made me reconsider.
Coming up next
What’s next for Peaks and Penguins? On the blog, I’m definitely planning to add more adventures to the new Ecuador and Hawai’i pages, and update some stuff in South Korea – including trail maps. I have so many neat videos to share as well, so learning how to do that should perhaps be added to my to-do list!
I’m perhaps most excited about a plan to add a brand new section, which might be the best one on the blog. Keep your eye out for a dedicated area devoted entirely to animal adventures! This will feature some of the greats of the Galapagos, local loves here in Hawai’i and all kinds of other bird-nerding, whale-watching, puppy-patting adventures around the globe. I can’t wait to dive deep in the adventure archives and share some of our very best nature encounters with you!
Offline, I’m in a period of transition and working on where and what to explore next. Post-pandemic, I’ve found it a bit challenging to sit with uncertainty, and I always enjoy having something on my horizon. Although my day-to-day has been quite happy and healthy, it’s been pretty quiet – especially compared to the massive year that was 2022.
However, I’m trying to embrace this time as an important opportunity to revisit my priorities and take my time deciding on what path to pursue. Should I teach in the US? Should I volunteer for conservation causes I care about most? So many trails – and all with the potential to be tremendous. I can’t wait to see where life will take us next!
Where is life taking you next? Let me know what’s up at peaksandpenguins@gmail.com or by dropping by the website to let me know which articles and posts are most helpful/interesting to you. Or don’t bother with any of that, and just have a wonderful day, okay? It’s already time for April of Adventures – let’s get to it!