WELCOME TO HIKING MISADVENTURES!

I’m Nalini, better known as Hiking Misadventures. I didn’t grow up adventuring in the outdoors. But at 34, I thru hiked the Appalachian Trail without much experience. With each step and mistake (there were so many of them!) on the trail, I gained skills and confidence. More importantly, I learned there is no correct way to enjoy the outdoors and everyone including the most experienced enthusiasts make mistakes! I hope the resources you find here empowers you to jump into your own outdoor adventure and embrace the art of learning through mistakes!

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LATEST BLOG POSTS

  • Applying for a Half Dome Permit
    Half Dome is the most popular hike in Yosemite National Park. It’s both a thrilling and heart-stopping experience but also requires careful planning! One of the planning steps is securing a permit – whether day hiking or backpacking. This post provides all the details you need to know to get one of the coveted permits.
  • Mary’s Rock
    The hike to Mary’s Rock follows the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park. It’s just over three-miles round trip yet manages to get the heart pumping, offers expansive views, and is pet-friendly. Mary’s Rock is an extremely popular hike, especially on a beautiful day.
  • Yosemite National Park
    Everyone should experience the iconic beauty of Yosemite – epic waterfalls, famous rock faces, breath-taking alpine meadows – in person at least once! From a stroll in the woods, rock climbing, to a serious backpacking adventure on the John Muir Trail, Yosemite offers an adventure for everyone.
  • Great Sand Dunes National Park
    My attempt at sand sledding the dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park, the last stop on my road trip, ended in an epic crash but not before I soaked up the exotic wilderness wonder of this unique place.
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It’s ok to change your mind in the middle of a hike and turn around. This is not failing or quitting. August already??? Where did summer go? Enjoying the stillness. Anybody else jumping into bodies of water this summer, despite a fear? 🙋🏾‍♀️🫣🚣🏾‍♀️ Glad we got to ring this little lady’s milestone birthday (70 🎉) in style! Did you know teaching pedagogies consider making mistakes an essential part of learning? 🙈🙉🙊 Yes, it’s true even in the outdoors where risks and consequences may seem more high stakes. 🤕 It’s #nationalforestweek! You know those hikes that are relentlessly hard? The incline doesn’t stop. The stifling humidity doesn’t make it any easy. Your legs feel like dead weight. But you keep pushing through because there’s a view that’ll make it all worth it. The world is a heavy place these days. The outdoors is a crucial way for me and so many others to unplug, practice self care, and make meaning out of chaos, but many people of color have a complicated relationship with rural outdoor places. Last time I was in West Virginia, a guy in a large pick up truck with a giant Let’s go Brandon sign literally tried to intimidate our small Civic off a small, dirt, forest road. While there’s no way to stop all these instances, there are many organizations that are working hard to build more inclusive outdoor communities so the outdoors can live up to its full potential for everyone. My mom battled some major health issues as a child, so she couldn’t join her siblings in boarding school. Being the only child left at home, my mom found ways to entertain herself but also tapped into the healing power of nature. Bodies of water were particularly calming and soothing. 🌊 And since the Indian Ocean was literally in her backyard so she taught herself to swim. “I am not wrong: Wrong is not my name What is there to say when you wake up in a country that has made you an unequal citizen with less rights to make decisions about your body?

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