Kawainui Creek is a 3CII C-class technical canyon on the Big Island of Hawaii — lush tropical vegetation, rappels into waterfall pools, and crystal clear mountain stream water. Hawaiian canyoneering is a unique experience combining the technical aspects of canyon descents with the stunning tropical environment of the Big Island. The canyon has several rappels with beautiful waterfall features and pool swims in the cool mountain water. Approach through dense tropical vegetatio

The Big Island of Hawaii offers some world-class diving along the Kona coast — crystal clear visibility, dramatic lava tube ocean caves, and the famous manta ray night dives at the Garden Eel Cove and Manta Village sites. The lava geology creates unique underwater formations that differ significantly from coral reef diving. The manta ray night dive is one of the most spectacular diving experiences on the planet — mantas up to 15ft wingspan performing barrel rolls in the plank

Waipio Valley is the starting gateway to the Waimanu Valley adventure on the Big Island of Hawaii. The lookout down the road leading into the valley shows how steep the descent is — 4x4 vehicles can make it in wet conditions but it's not recommended for most cars. We parked at the art gallery for $20 per day to leave our car overnight. Once at the bottom, follow the dirt road to the right toward the ocean, then head left along the black sand beach to the river crossing. Head

Honomu Creek is a 3CI technical canyon on the Big Island of Hawaii near the town of Honomu and Akaka Falls State Park. A great introduction to Hawaiian canyoneering with tropical rappels into beautiful plunge pools, lush rainforest surroundings, and the stunning natural beauty of the Big Island's windward side. The canyon has straightforward technical sections suitable for those building their C-class canyoneering skills in a tropical environment. The surrounding rainforest a

The Muliwai Trail connects Waipio Valley to Waimanu Valley on the Big Island — around 8 miles of rainforest hiking with around 12 switchbacks, helicopter landing pads with distance markers, and a shelter near the Waimanu drop-in point. The trail starts with a steep hour of dried mud hiking before entering a lush Midwestern-looking forest with abundant pine groves that transition into rainforest. Once you pass around 12 switchbacks you should be close to Waimanu Valley — then

Kaumana Lava Tube near Hilo on the Big Island is one of the most accessible lava tube caves in Hawaii — nearly 9,000ft of passage open to the public at no charge. The cave was formed in 1881 by a Mauna Loa lava flow. Entering through a dramatic collapse entrance fringed with ferns and ice formations, the cave branches in two directions with walking borehole passage. Bring a minimum of three lights, helmet, and sturdy footwear — the lava floor is sharp and irregular. Some sect

Yant Flats is a sweet little sandstone feature in the southern Utah region. The slab rock resembles dragon skin — texture created by water and wind erosion. A morning and afternoon shoot in this area renders beautiful shadowing within the rock. There is around a mile hike on an easy-to-follow trail that ends at a vista overlook of the valley below and these interesting rock features. There is some great camping and local canyon routes nearby — grab ropes and beta from ropewik

Goshute Cave is one of the more popular and decorated caves in Nevada — REQUIRES a permit to gain access. Please reach out to the Ely Forest Service or your local grotto. Discovered in the late 1800s, it was briefly commercialized but closed due to location and access challenges. The cave has well-known hydrothermal and hypogenic properties giving galleries and side passages very interesting character. The team: Tim Gocha, April Gocha, Justin Bailey, Randy Paylor, James Edwar

Arizona has some fantastic caves and great cavers who have been protecting these delicate environments. One in particular is a multi-mile cave with ongoing survey exploration. In the past, caves were destroyed by mining operations and vandalism — graffiti and broken formations. This destruction caused caves to be gated and closed, harming the bats and other species that call these caves home. Most Arizona caves require caving experience, vertical caving experience, or grotto

Delamar Dry Lake is an ancient dry lake — a playa around 3 miles across and 1.5 miles wide. It's BLM land so access is open to anyone. Established in 1943 as an emergency landing site for the X-15 and other military aircraft, NASA also staged and tested projects here. A nearby ghost town was used for mining minerals — this place has seen everything from ancient history to modern technology. It's BLM land — you can drive your car right out on the lake. After driving a mile we

The Pololu Valley trail sits on the other side of the Hamakua coast on the north side of the Big Island of Hawaii. A great hike to get introduced to the other hikes in the area — including Waipio and Waimanu valley hikes that are even more incredible. The hike down to the black sand beach takes only around 20 minutes — fantastic views of the valley in the background. What stood out most were the views of the coastal cliffs and islands just offshore. Parking is limited — arriv

The Big Island of Hawaii has some of the most fascinating vulcanspeleological features on any island or volcanic region on the planet. Lava tubes form when the low viscosity of lava flow develops a continuous channel and the surface hardens above the still-flowing lava. Some encased flows form different features and red oxidizing properties that give lava tube caves remarkable color and perspective. On the Big Island, lava tube features provide timelines to ancient and recent

Das Boot Canyon has been on the radar for years — finally time to tackle this gem just above the Subway. Night before we camped at Kolob Reservoir where it got down into the 50s. The following morning we headed to Wildcat TH and started down. A permit from the Zion visitor center is required — a separate permit is needed if you continue down the Subway, otherwise exit back through Russell Gulch. We immediately swam through canyon juice and debris from recent floods. Cold but

The Sierras have been calling for years — a trip to the mountainous granite landscape, flower blooms, and beautiful alpine lakes was overdue. We didn't plan far ahead so permits were limited, but we scored a pair to visit Gable Lakes and make an attempt to summit Mount Tom (13,500ft). The day before included a podcast interview with gogetoutside.com talking about diving, caving, and adventures. After almost 3 hours and 3,700ft gain, we arrived at Gable Lakes — a series of ket

Hidden Star Canyon is an interesting short canyon that resembles features similar to dragon scales — quite the geological anomaly. Hidden Star starts with a short hike up a hill and down a drainage to a 200ft drop. Hard-rigging your rope can lighten the load through the canyon, as the route comes back around to the entrance to pick up your rope when complete. There is another 50ft drop and a few extra downclimbs, along with a section requiring you to stem over a pothole — or

Imagine a place with some of the most majestic geology and unprecedented beauty — a world under our own where miles of hallways, some reaching as high as small buildings, tell tales of an ancient past. Where gypsum has many forms and properties, twisting into fiber-optic crystal-like formations. And where unexplained phenomena have left head-scratching questions about occurrences that have taken the lives of many organisms inside the cave. This system has been held in secrecy

After Goshute Cave we headed to Ely for some food and then out to the range where Snake Canyon Cave is located. Snake Canyon is more remote than Goshute and the roads were rough for the cars, so we camped along the way. The following day we met Doug from the Forest Service — fantastic and knowledgeable about this cave. Snake Canyon Cave is at around 9,000ft elevation — over an hour hike to the entrance. A small crawl opens into a series of faulted passages that have moved ove

Waimanu Valley is one of the most incredible hikes not only in Hawaii but on the planet. Black sand beaches, an 8-mile hike through rainforest, diverse flora, 1,000ft waterfalls, mountainous terrain, and a place where you can build a lean-to with fish and coconuts — all at once. Ancient Hawaiians used this valley to grow Taro for poi. We parked at the art gallery ($20/day) and hiked in for a 3-day adventure. The waterfalls drop 1,000ft and could be heard constantly. A tiered

Gandy Warm Spring is a beautiful oasis of vegetation, flowers, 80-degree crystal clear water, and a unique submerged cave. After this survey, Gandy Warm Spring is the longest submerged warm spring cave in Utah with a total surveyed length of 99 meters. Entering the cave you find small passage with a duck-under that opens into a decorated room you can almost stand up in — fits 5-6 people. This recreational section alone is worth visiting if you're in the area. Beyond the recre

After two days visiting caves in Arizona, Andy and I headed to Lava River Cave to work on photography. Lava River Cave is a semi-commercialized cave with no particular path except for the large walking borehole passage that goes about a kilometer. There are numerous lava tube caves in this region of Arizona and Lava River Cave is a great introduction for people to experience large tube passage. Andy and I practiced with flash bulbs and captured great shots with his new camera