Redemption at the Sherpa Memorial20 April 2026There are no photos in this post. It was pitch black, well below freezing, and Nicholas wasn’t about to pull out his phone to stage a portrait …travel nepal ebc astrophotography
The EBC Speed Run Begins20 April 2026While Pokin headed down to Tengboche, we headed up. Nicholas, Po On, Kerman, and me. Destination: Lobuche, about 4,940 meters (16,207 feet). Higher …travel nepal ebc
Pokin Descends20 April 2026Nicholas didn’t sleep. By the time he got back from the stupa, explained the disaster to Pokin, and started packing away his gear, the alarm was …travel nepal ebc
The Astrosaster19 April 2026Nicholas had been planning this shot for months. Long before we left Vegas, before the trek even started, he’d mapped out a narrow window where …travel nepal ebc astrophotography
Dingboche Recovery19 April 2026The group split up this morning. Steve, Alice, and DB headed out early for Chukhung, continuing the Three Passes route as planned. Nicholas, Pokin, Po …travel nepal ebc hiking
Dingboche and the 5,000-Meter Grind18 April 2026Rest day in Dingboche. And by “rest day” I mean “hike straight up a mountain to 5,000 meters (16,404 feet) for fun.” The logic …travel nepal ebc hiking
Tengboche to Dingboche (via Middle-earth)17 April 2026We woke up in Tengboche to the kind of morning that makes you briefly forget you’ve been coughing for three days. Blue skies, mountains …travel nepal ebc hiking
Namche to Tengboche (And a Change of Plans)16 April 2026The plan was to hike from Namche to Deboche today. That didn’t happen. But what did happen was arguably better, at least for a bear who …travel nepal ebc hiking
Namche Hospital Instead of the Everest View Hotel15 April 2026This was acclimatization day. Two nights in Namche, one day to let your body catch up with the altitude. The plan was to use it for a day trip to the …travel nepal ebc
Early Morning in Namche15 April 2026We arrived in Namche in fog so thick we could barely see the building across the street. The town could have been three houses or three hundred. We …travel nepal ebc
Hillary Bridge and the Steps to Namche14 April 2026The advice at lunch was simple: fill your water bottles. At least two liters. Because from here on, there wouldn’t be many places to stop. We …travel nepal ebc
Kailash Lodge to Lunch14 April 2026The drink stop at the cafe was exactly what we needed. Sit down, breathe, pretend the last few hours of stairs didn’t happen. The crew at the …travel nepal ebc
Take Off to Namche14 April 20267 AM in Phakding. Today’s mission: hike to Namche Bazaar. Seven hours of uphill. While sick. Contemplating the hike ahead. Or possibly going …travel nepal ebc
Lukla to Phakding13 April 2026The mechanics finished. The door closed. The rotors spun up. And we lifted off from Lukla with no guide, no group, and a maintenance guy riding along …travel nepal ebc
Lukla Airport13 April 2026They walked us across the lot to a helicopter. A Kailash helicopter. Tail number 9N-AJJ. The real deal. Whatever that guy at the counter had tried to …travel nepal ebc
Getting to the Airport13 April 2026Remember how the last post ended with “hope for the best”? Yeah. About that. Nicholas and Pokin woke up with full-on fevers. Not …travel nepal ebc
Kathmandu12 April 2026Two years of planning. Months of stairmaster training. Masks on every flight. Hand sanitizer applied with the frequency and enthusiasm of a nervous …travel nepal ebc
En Route to Kathmandu9 April 2026Three flights. Two continents. One very comfortable bear. And a cursed set of airline tickets. We’re headed to Nepal for the Everest Base Camp …travel nepal airports
Panama and a Lot of Beans15 January 2026Pokin went to Panama with her forum. She brought me. Smart. She also brought Chestnut. Unnecessary. The Waldorf. Travel companions. One essential, one …travel panama coffee chocolate pokin peep
The Productivity Cruise25 December 2025Most people pick a cruise based on destinations. How many islands, how many beaches, how much snorkeling. Nicholas and Pokin picked this one because …cruise hawaii christmas travel
Hawaiian Bud Adventure22 November 2025Here’s how this happened. Drew calls Nicholas on a Wednesday night. “Hey, I’m going to be stuck at a resort in Kauai for a few days …travel hawaii drew hiking
Big Pine Lakes6 September 2025Bruce had been working out of the home office for weeks, and we’d already dragged him to Bryce Canyon and Zion. But we weren’t done with …travel hiking sierra nevada big pine lakes khk
Zion Day17 August 2025Day two of the Bruce visit. After Bryce (where I was cruelly left behind), we headed back to Zion. Our usual routine: bike the canyon, hike the …travel zion utah hiking narrows astrophotography
Bruce, Bryce, and Bear Territory16 August 2025We’d barely recovered from Pokong’s visit when the next houseguest arrived. Bruce, one of Nicholas’s engineers from Colombia, came …travel bryce canyon utah hiking khk
Pokong Comes to America6 July 2025When we were last in Hong Kong, Nicholas asked Pokin’s brother Pokong why he’d never come to visit. Then he told him to come. Then he told …travel zion utah family hiking pokong
The Labubu Problem16 April 2025This started in Korea. In Seoul, our friend’s wife wanted a Labubu. If you don’t know what a Labubu is, congratulations, you have a normal …hong kong korea labubu pop mart travel
Hong Kong, Paper Teslas, and How We Got a Horse15 April 2025After Korea, we flew to Hong Kong to visit Pokin’s family. This is what we do. Every year or so, Pokin’s dad and her brother Pokong come …hong kong family chestnut tradition travel
Hallasan: The Mountain That Didn't Care About Our Gear10 April 2025The whole reason we went to Jeju was this mountain. Hallasan. South Korea’s highest peak. 1,950 meters of volcanic rock with a crater lake at …korea jeju hallasan hiking mountains snow travel
Busan: Bears, Cliffs, and Unexplained Dinosaurs8 April 2025We stopped in Busan on the way to Jeju because people told us we should. It’s Korea’s second biggest city, right on the southern coast. …korea busan ocean cable car travel
Gyeongju: The City That Didn't Get Blown Up7 April 2025Korea has been through a lot of wars. Seoul was nearly flattened during the Korean War. Most of the country’s wooden palaces and temples have …korea gyeongju history silla travel
Protests, Palaces, and the Labubu Problem6 April 2025Day two in Seoul. Nicholas is still limping. The knee is “fine.” He needs it to be fine because there’s a big hike planned at the …korea seoul gyeongbokgung pop mart labubu travel
Seoul, Stitches, and the World's Most Inconvenient Pizza5 April 2025We’re in Korea. Pokin had just wrapped up her forum in Seoul, and Nicholas flew in to meet her. With fresh stitches in his knee. From a bunny …korea seoul pizza namsan tower travel
Cartagena, Macaws, and the New Year31 December 2024After eleven hours of canal transit, Cartagena was our last real port day. Old stone fortresses, colonial courtyards, streets painted every color, and …cruise panama colombia new year travel
The Crossing30 December 2024I woke up in the dark. Not because anyone asked me to. Not because there was an emergency. Because today was the day. The Panama Canal. The full …cruise panama travel
Crocodiles, Lumpia, and the Road to Panama27 December 2024Costa Rica wasn’t on the original itinerary as anything special. Just another port day. But it turned out Nicholas’s family has old …cruise panama costa rica travel
Setting Sail for Panama19 December 2024Christmas at sea. Two weeks of me claiming the best spot on the balcony. I’m in. The Coral Princess, departing Fort Lauderdale, heading south …cruise panama mexico christmas travel
Bears, Beds, and a Wheel of Cheese12 July 2024Five of us went to Mammoth Lakes for Pokin’s birthday. Nicholas, Pokin, Po On, Eric, and me. None of us had ever been there. Pokin wanted …mammoth california hiking travel
The Family Business22 June 2024Meet the Fredriksson brothers. Nicholas’s great-great-grandfather Johannes on the left. His older brother Andreas on the right. Johannes …långholmen stockholm sweden travel europe
Dragon Slayers, Maypoles, and Smultron21 June 2024The family was celebrating Midsommar. A whole day of activities planned. Apparently my bud didn’t think to pack me. So I got left behind while …eskilstuna sundbyholm midsommar sweden travel europe
The Town Where It All Started19 June 2024This was the whole reason for the Sweden trip. Nicholas’s mom’s dad, Papa, was born in Örebro. This was home base. Laxå, a small town …örebro laxå sweden travel europe
They Served Bear at the Food Tour17 June 2024Stockholm was a family thing. Nicholas’s mom’s dad, Papa, was born in Sweden, and she’d always wanted to bring her kids here to see …stockholm sweden travel europe
Cannons, Murder Holes, and the Pretzel Quest15 June 2024Last day in Salzburg. Three days of mountains, and we still hadn’t properly done the castle. The Hohensalzburg Fortress — the massive thing that …salzburg austria travel europe
Beer, Baroque Churches, and the World Cup Mistake15 June 2024Salzburg promised us better pretzels in Munich. So we took the train over and arrived that evening. Munich wasted absolutely no time being Munich. …munich germany travel europe
The One With the Extreme Route14 June 2024Day 3 in the Salzburg region. We’d already hiked Kapuzinerberg, wandered the fortress walls, and gotten chased off the Untersberg by lightning. …salzburg austria travel europe hiking
The Mountain That Changed Its Mind13 June 2024After yesterday’s failed Sound of Music pilgrimage, Nicholas decided that if the famous hills wouldn’t have him, he’d find his own …salzburg austria travel europe hiking
The Hills Are Alive (But We Couldn't Get to Them)12 June 2024Let me explain how we ended up in Salzburg. Nicholas wanted to run across a field yelling “THE HILLS ARE ALIIIIVE.” That was the whole …salzburg austria travel europe
The Castle With a Bear Moat11 June 2024On the way from Prague to Salzburg, everyone told us we had to stop at Český Krumlov. “It’s a fairy tale town.” “You’ll …czech republic český krumlov travel europe
Prague Was Not Supposed to Be This Good9 June 2024We were not expecting much from Prague. The plan was simple: Pokin had a YPO Forum trip here, Nicholas flew in to meet her, and then we’d …prague czech republic travel europe