Northern California

I just got home from a trip to Northern California. The first day was spent driving to Angwin, arriving quite late at night. The next day, we went with Auntie Plerm and Uncle Michael on different tours—The Castle, Sepay olive oil company, Budweiser factory, and Jelly Belly. After some shopping…

South Fork Trail

Starting from the South Fork trailhead in the San Bernardino National Forest, a group of us hiked up passed the meadow and up to the avalanche area. After that, we turned around and headed back down the mountain.

Mount Woodson

A group of us drove down to Poway and hiked up to Mount Woodson. Near the summit, there’s an outcropping called Potato Chip Rock, which is completely fitting for its name. We had a nice picnic lunch at the top. Then, we hiked back down, and a few of us…

San Bernardino Peak

We climbed San Bernardino Peak today. The hike started from Angelus Oaks. We left Loma Linda around 6:00 am, arriving at the 1W07 trailhead forty minutes later. It was cold, but I started out in shorts, a quick-dry t-shirt, and a beanie to prevent heat loss through the head. It…

Rainier’s Northern Loop Trail

I arrived in Seattle. The first part of the trip will be a backpacking excursion along the Northern Loop Trail of Mount Rainier National Park before joining the Western Orthopaedic Association. Sunday morning, Brad and I drove to White River Ranger Station to pick up our permits after having breakfast…

Forest Falls

It’s springtime, and a small group of us went to Forest Falls to enjoy the scenery. Also with us was Jun Jun Zhang from the Second Hospital of Tangshan. He will be visiting for a few months.

Grand Canyon

We’ve all been looking forward to the Grand Canyon hike. Very early Saturday morning, as the mercury plummets to below 20 degrees F, Todd and I pull into Mather Campground after a very long drive from Las Vegas, post AAOS. The frozen ground crackles under our feet as we step…

Angelus Oaks Snowshoe

This snowshoe trip was more strenuous than I had expected. Uncle Ben Vassantachart and I went up to Angelus Oaks and parked by the restaurant. We followed the trail up to the helipad and spent some time exploring. After getting to that plateau, we decided to come straight down the…

San Gorgonio Hike

Last Sunday, a group of us took an ambitious trip up San Gorgonio. The group I took consisted of Hasan (4th year orthopaedic surgery resident), Ken (senior medical student), DJ and Rob (juniors), Mark and Seth (sophomores), and Brandon (whom I ran into at the Drayson Center several days before).…

South Fork Trailhead

At church two days ago, we were casually discussing hiking San Gorgonio. That random conversation materialized into an actual trip today. We met up at 5:30 and drove together to the South Fork Trailhead. We decided to try a different route, since many of us had already done the Vivian…

Phoenix and the Superstition Mountains

On Thursday, April 3, I fly to Phoenix for a wonderful stay with the Wilsons. It’s my birthday, and Sarah makes a wonderful melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate soufflé. We leave for the trailhead on Friday morning and start hiking around 10:40. The main part of the trip takes us through the…

Loma Linda Hills

This afternoon, we had a nice leisurely hike in the south hills of Loma Linda. Then, we relaxed at Hulda Crooks Park.

San Gorgonio Dayhike

This hike up San Gorgonio started early in the morning. Along were Rob, Seth, Corey, Juliana, as well as a desert bighorn sheep seen near the summit.

Ediza and Minaret Lakes

On Thursday, we pack up and head to New Shady Rest Campground just outside the town of Mammoth. For dinner, we have cold soba noodles. The next morning, we shuttle to the Agnew Meadow trailhead and begin our hike. Our semi-loop trip takes us around Shadow Lake to Ediza Lake,…

Zion Narrows

Chad, Kevin, and Armando meet me bright and early on Thursday morning. We load up Armando’s car and head out to Zion National Park and find our site at the Watchman Campground. We inch along the trail’s knife edge through dizzying switchbacks to Angel’s Landing for a panoramic view of…

New Zealand with Shane

This afternoon, we got back from New Zealand. It was absolutely amazing. Last Monday, March 5, I went to work in the morning and saw some patients in clinic. After that, I quickly ate lunch and went out to REI to get a pair of trail runners and a day…

Joshua Tree for Sabbath Afternoon

After church, we took an afternoon trip to Joshua Tree National Park and hiked in Hidden Valley. After the sun went down, we watched the stars emerge and talked about God’s promise to Abraham.

First Time Hiking San Gorgonio

The hike today was spectacular—above the clouds! It was harder than I thought. I’m exhausted. Even though I’ve done so much hiking in California, this was my first time up this local landmark.

June Lake and Yosemite

This evening, I returned from a long trip away from home. It’s nice to be back. On Tuesday, I hiked up the trail above June Lake and Gull Lake. Yost Meadow was beautiful. That afternoon, the rest of the group joined me. There was Uncle Ben, Andrew, Lynette, Wing, and…

Mammoth to Thousand Island and Garnet Lakes

On Friday last week, we headed up to Mammoth Lakes. We stayed the first night at the Pine Glen group campsite number 7. The next morning, we set out from Agnew Meadow. Our group consisted of me, Sean, Sean’s mom and aunt—Nancy and Deborah, Kevin, Ryan, Brad, and Armando. The…

Horseshoe Meadow to Whitney Portal

The trip began on September 15. After spying Whitney summit from the Lone Pine Ranger Station, Ryan and I got car shuttled to Horseshoe Meadow. From there, our trip took us to Chicken Spring Lake, Guyot Creek and Pass, Crabtree Meadow, and Guitar Lake. We had the most spectacular sunset…

Sawtooth Ridge Loop

A week ago Thursday, we head up to Bridgeport. Although the invitation had gone out to so many people, only Lynette and Jessica managed to RSVP. At the beginning of the trip, just a few steps into it, Jessica’s backpack strap fell apart. We patched it up with a needle…

Four Passes Loop

Last week on Thursday, Sid and I left for Snowmass—for the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) meeting. We had lunch on a rainy day at the Quiznos in downtown Denver. It was funny that Sid remembered that the last time we ate together was also at a Quiznos, the one in…

Thousand Island Lake

This weekend trip started in Agnew Meadow. The Mammoth shuttle bus system just opened for the season. After camping midway up the River Trail, we made it to a partially frozen Thousand Island Lake. Banner Peak was also snow-covered. A few of us decided to do a polar swim—or do…