Weekend Sherpa: Take It Outside

Walk, wine, wildflowers, repeat! Co-hosts Holly and Brad have lots to cover for a springtastic time ... starting with where to catch wildflowers in the Bay Area, including Napa, Mount Diablo, and Marin. They also chat about what's blooming in Point Reyes (along with the latest controversy about Tule Elk). Then LA contributor Matt joins to share his recent, food, wine, and hiking adventures in in Santa Ynez Valley.

Brad and Holly talk about their favorite National Parks in spring. Which car-free road is idyllic in spring for bike riding? Where you can find some solitude in Joshua Tree and the Airstream of dreams to spend the night? What hikes in Death Valley are good for wildflowers when there's no superbloom? What's a great day-hike or overnight in the Grand Canyon? Plus Holly's backpacking trip on the Nā Pali Coast State Wilderness Park in Hawaii, and Brad's adventure to the world's third largest cave in Vietnam.

Urban forest bathing among eucalyptus... An epic waterfall hike wayyy back in regional wilderness... A lesser-known redwood grove for soaking in some ahhhs... In this episode, Brad and Holly talk about mindful hikes in both the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, the wonders of stairway walks, a trail less traveled with incredible views of the Golden Gate Bridge, and what they're planning when international travel is safe and allowed again.

Badwater, Hell's Gate, Desolation Canyon ... do you dare go? For all its intimidating names evoking isolation, remoteness, and heat, Death Valley National Park is an intriguing destination as the largest national park in the Lower 48. In this episode, Brad and Holly talk about their recent adventure to Death Valley, including the best sunset and sunrise locations, two excellent canyon hikes, how to best experience the Ubehebe Crater, and ultimate bucket-list hike that'll have you looking out for Baby Yoda. It's all Death Valley for this episode—tune in and start your own plan to go.

Cupid to the rescue? Not really. Weekend Sherpa’s co-founders, Brad and Holly, have some ideas on local outdoors adventures in California that are sweet and make good last minute Valentine’s plans. They also talk about their very recent southwest road trip to Sedona and Grand Canyon National Park, discussing top hiking spots in the areas, the most Instagram popular hike in Sedona (and whether that’s a good thing), the head-scratching way some folks behave in not wearing masks.

Stay-at-home has been lifted and everyone wants their space. With the outdoors more popular than ever, places can get crowded quickly. Brad and Holly discuss some of the best Bay Area, NorCal, and SoCal spots for getting outdoors with more room to roam. From Tahoe snowshoeing to the dunes of Death Valley, mellow marshes, and more, including international outdoors destinations and backpacking adventures (Iceland!) to put on your adventure list when travel returns.

Amid a new year that is starting off as a continuation of challenges, from an attempted coup on democracy to the importance of getting outdoors, Brad and Holly discuss the realities of now. And of course they talk about some of the best new hiking trails and winter wanders to do locally in the Bay Area and SoCal. Special guest Matt Pawlik, Weekend Sherpa's senior LA writer, joins the podcast to talk about secret vistas and plenty of other less known adventures to do in SoCal, and National Park to put on the radar.

Brad and Holly share their thoughts and lessons from 2020 and discuss the top outdoor adventures from Weekend Sherpa in this most rollercoaster of years, including how the list is developed, what their personal favorites are, the value of the outdoors in a pandemic, and more. Moving on to 2021!

Yosemite's backcountry ski hut, amazing sunset and mistletoe hikes, a Kobe Bryant mural walk... And, Oprah's favorite thing (a biscuit!) This holiday season episode is packed with fun stories and good ideas for making the most of the local outdoors. Brad and Holly talk about some of their favorite winter adventures (including Brad's epic challenge to reach Ostrander Hut in Yosemite, and the wild backcountry of the Canadian Rockies). They also catch up with Michael Volpatt, food entrepreneur and co-founder of Big Bottom Market in Guerneville. He tells the adventurous story of how the market's biscuits became one of Oprah's Favorite Things. He also shares his favorite outdoors spots in the Russian River region.

In a holiday season like no other, Covid's projected surge is here, so where do you go to find some holiday cheer? While a lot has been closed down again in California, the outdoors can still offer some yuletide joy. In this episode, Holly and Brad talk about some easy and scenic bike rides in the San Francisco Bay Area, from a beach hopping roll to brew pubs (take out only currently), to a car-free and easy bike trail among the vineyards in Napa Valley, where your lunch stop is in Yountville. They also talk about summit sunset hikes in Los Angeles and San Diego, the time Brad (sort of) knocked on Bono's door in Dublin, and some favorite bikepacking destinations beyond, in Scotland and France.