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Our Must-Haves for Every Day Trip Adventure 🎒('

Our Must-Haves for Every Day Trip Adventure 🎒('𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲' 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿)

Most of our trips recently have been day trips due to the restrictions and because we work full time jobs! 👩🏼‍💻🥋Whether you are a seasoned adventurer or looking to start, packing the right things can make or break a trip! Here are 5 Things we ALWAYS have in our packs and bring on our Day Trip Adventures 🚙

🔦 Headlamp - since we usually go from before sunrise to after sunset we get caught hiking in the dark. Having a headlamp has saved us in so many situations! We also love it because it can make for some cool photo opportunities during blue hour! 📷

🔋Batteries - anyone else always feel like their phone has 1% at all hours of the day? 😅 we bring an external battery pack, a few AAA’s for our headlamp, spare camera batteries, and charging cords for all accessories. This might seem silly to include but the one time you need the extras you will be happy you brought them!

🩹 First Aid - this is one we feel like a lot of people don’t bring! Having bandages, cleaning wipes, pain killer, and tape are the main things we bring in our kit! We don’t bring a FULL first aid kit because of size and weight, but we bring something for those sticky situations. 🤕

💦 Waterproof Gear - it doesn’t rain often here in SoCal (manifesting that CA gets snow soon ☃️) We still always go on trips prepared for wet conditions! We bring a rain fly for our backpacks to keep our expensive gear safe 📷 We bring waterproof shoes depending on the season 🥾 and always a good rain jacket/wind breaker. Rain and snow can very hard especially on camera equipment so we NEVER go anywhere without the proper protection.

🥾Camp Clothes - this might seem silly but we always bring 2 outfits and 2 pairs of shoes 😂 The feeling of getting back from a day of adventuring and then putting on a pair of comfy shoes, clean underwear, and a fresh set of clothes makes a HUGE difference 😎 We have found that we sleep much better and are more comfy for longer drives after we change out of our gross clothes.

Do you have anything you must have on every adventure? 🎒

Best Type of Lenses to use for Adventures 📷 ('𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲' 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿)

We have been getting a lot of questions on what lenses we use 🧐 We have 4 Lenses that we bring on every adventure! We are going to also talk about why we use them because you can use a different lens on a camera or just a different zoom on a phone camera.

🏞 Wide Lens - we use a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 lens for any type of landscape photos. We have also been using the wide .5x zoom on Giselle’s new iPhone which is SWEET! We like using a wide lens when trying to show the SCALE of a landscape like in the photo above ☝🏼

✈️ Travel Lens - we use a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 for our walk around lens. We use this because it it the most versatile lens and can be compared to the regular camera on a phone. The focal length is perfect for traveling because it can get pretty wide but also zoom in for detail shots. If we were going to have one lens this would be the one! 👀

🔭 Zoom Lens - we use a Canon 100-400mm f4.5/5.6 for our zoom lens. We primarily use this lens to make the background look much larger then the foreground also know as compression. You can get this affect on a phone by zooming in to 2 x-4x which will make the background appear larger! Our most recent picture of Mt. Shasta covered in snow was shot on this lens which is what made the mountain look so big! We like the 100-400 more then 70-200mm because it has a little bit of extra zoom and we can capture wildlife if we see it out on adventures! 🐻

💸 Budget Lens - if we were just starting off on a new camera we would get the Canon 50mm f/1.8. It costs $150 which is a budget friendly lens that has portrait capabilities, performs good in low light, and takes great quality pictures! 📷

Do you like wide angle or zoom pictures? 🧐

What kind of Camera do you use? 📷 ('𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲' 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿)

This is our number one most asked question ☝🏼 The one thing a lot of people don’t realize is the camera doesn’t bust out perfect photos, the photographer is the one that can turn a simple tree into a beautiful shot. Here are 5 tips to take your own photos no matter what kind of camera you are using 📷

👀 Leading Lines - find natural or artificial lines that lead to your subject. In the picture, the tree leads straight down to us. We always are looking for spots in nature that have natural leading lines.

📐 Triangles - this might seem silly but it’s REAL! We always try to pose with our legs or body in a triangle position. In the photo above we spread out legs to give it a triangle. In our past 5 pictures see if you can spot how we used triangles to pose better and look more natural 🙈

☁️ Cloudy Conditions - take photos in cloudy conditions! This might seem silly but cloudy weather makes it so everything is lit well and has a moody vibe! The photo above was shot in the afternoon around 1pm which would have been much harder to capture if it was sunny 😅

☀️ Sunrise or sunset - the best warm or golden lighting is at sunrise or sunset. As we say, the early bird catches the worm and we love sunrise photography! 6 of our past 9 photos were all shot right after sunrise because the lighting was perfect! 👌🏼

👫Storytelling - this is the hardest part of a good photo. Every picture should tell a story. The shot above was on a hike in Sequoia National Park where we were getting dumped on by snow ☃️ trying to do one last hike to this cool location when we saw this HUGE tree. We loved how it was a single giant tree with nothing close to its size next to it. Find something you like about an area and try to capture it by telling a story of that moment. ✨ Much easier said then done 😅

We started taking photos on our iPhone(mostly selfies), then upgraded to the Canon 80D, and now shoot on a 5D Mk 3. The camera doesn’t matter, it is all about the person behind it! 📷

What is the story behind your favorite photo you have taken? 🧐 check our stories for our favorite!

The time we saw 200 Photographers at the same spot

The time we saw 200 Photographers at the same spot 🤯

We love getting up for sunrise hikes and photo spots because there is never anyone there! We woke up at 5am from the coldest night of our lives. It was one of those mornings that we had every jacket we owned on and still were shivering 🥶 We finally mustered up the courage to roll out of bed and drove up to this lake and we kid you not, on 1 bridge, maybe 100ft long there were 200 other photographers standing there all waiting to take the same picture 🤣 This was our experience last summer which was our first time at this location 🏔

We decided to test our luck and return here again on a road trip a little bit ago and we were the only people there! ☃️ It is insane how the same location during two times of the year can be so drastically different. We loved cruising around this lake and really being in the moment. For some reason when we were there with the other 200 people it kind of took us out of the magical moment 🙃

This is our first year trying any winter adventures and we have been loving the off season crowds and finding a different type of beauty ❄️ We are hoping for a bit more snow in Cali 🤞🏼so we can explore some more of our favorite spots with a fresh perspective!

The only other spot we have been that had been that crowded was Mesa Arch in Utah 🏜

What is the craziest photo story you have experienced?

Ways to spice up your photo composition! ('𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲' 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿)

We just got into photography in April of last year and it has been such a journey experimenting with different compositions to make each of our shots unique! Not only is adventure photography a fun creative challenge to make capture each landscape in a way that’s your own style, but for us, we are always in the frame, so we have to be extra innovative about how we incorporate ourselves into our shots! Here are some ways we like to make our couple’s portraits pop:

📸 Framing: find natural objects that can frame the subject (us) to make it really stand out! For example, in the photo above, we decided to use the Sequoia trees to frame ourselves.

📸 Scale: showing the immensity of your background can definitely make your photo much more interesting! We LOVE doing this and showing how tiny we really are out in nature. You could shoot a landscape with tons of layers, tall trees, canyons, etc. This is always the hardest one for us because sometimes it can be difficult to incorporate ourselves into such grand landscapes in a way that we are noticeable, but we love getting better with it!

📸 Adding Foreground: playing with objects in the foreground like leaves, flowers, etc. can be a fun way to add more depth to your photo!

📸Colors: As y’all who have been following us for a while know, we love our ~ketchup and mustard~ combination of red and yellow jackets! These colors always pop against the background and can make photos much more dramatic and/or colorful!

📸 Playing with Light: We recently have been really focusing on this one! Whether it’s by adding our headlamps, lanterns, or twinkle lights, we’ve been really experimenting with how light can affect a blue hour shot and add so much more to the frame compared to shooting a similar shot during golden hour without the light.

Do you tend to think about these elements when taking photos? Or do you just go for it in the moment?

Hygiene Tips for Car Camping & Road Trips 🧼(‘

Hygiene Tips for Car Camping & Road Trips 🧼(‘𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲' 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿)
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Since we don’t usually have access to bathrooms or showers on adventures this is how we roll:

🚿 Showering: Invest in a @rinsekitusa! My dad got us one for Xmas last year and it was a lifesaver on our longer trips since we don’t have access to a shower with just an SUV conversion (some vans have showers). We usually hang a towel across the back of the car and put a cheap tarp from Walmart down on the floor if we’re in need of a full “shower.” If we’re out only for weekends though we usually don’t shower and just use baby wipes to keep us clean.

🚽 Bathroom: Many people asked us how we go to the bathroom when we are car camping on BLM land and the answer is the old fashion way of digging a hole! It definitely took some getting used to, but now it’s just second nature. Bring baby wipes or toilet paper with you and pack out your trash & Leave No Trace! Ladies if you’re on that time of the month make sure to bring extra wipes and supplies to keep clean! I’ve never used the female cups before but if you have I’d love to hear your experience with them lol. 🧻

🧢 Dry Shampoo & Hats: it’s your best friend if you have long hair and can hide the grease for when you can’t shower!

👕Materials: Don’t wear cotton - it retains moisture, sweat, and bacteria and get you way more disgusting than you need to be. Synthetic, moisture wicking materials are the way to go in terms of camping clothes. Also, merino wool is great for keeping your feet under control!

💦Hand Sanitizer: Especially in today’s climate it’s always good to have on you. I wear contacts and wouldn’t dear touch my eyes without it after a day of adventuring.

🪥Finally, bring your dental care, chapstick, deodorant, and skincare on the go with you. I bring a basic skincare routine of cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen from @cleure while car camping and it makes me feel cleaner! Chapstick and SPF are SO important!
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Do you have any hygiene hacks for outdoor adventures? 👝

Redwood National and State Parks Hiking Guide 🌲

Redwood National and State Parks Hiking Guide 🌲 ('𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲' 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿)

The Redwood National Park area is home to some of the tallest trees on earth! A common misconception is that this area is just one giant park, however, it’s actually made up of 4 Parks including Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast, Prairie Creek State Parks and Redwood National Park (from north to south). Humboldt Redwoods State Park is around a 1.5 hour south of the National Park but also definitely worth checking out! Here are some of our favorite hikes for future planning!

🌲Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park:
🥾Home to the Boy Scout Tree Trail which is a 5.5 mile hike out and back! When we had visited, it was raining, but the incredible green lushness of this area made it so beautiful to explore even in non-ideal weather conditions. The best part of the hike is definitely at the end where you’ll find the best groves of redwoods. It literally looked like Endor from Star Wars (which was filmed around here) 🤓

🌲Prairie Creek State Park:
🥾Prairie Creek - Foothill Trail: 2.5 mile flat hike and it’s fully ADA accessible! This trail takes you to the “Big Tree” and theres a fallen tree tunnel you can walk through! This is right next to the Prairie Creek campground too.

🥾James Irvine Trail: This is an option for those looking for a LONG trail! It’s about 10 miles out and back. This will also take you over to Fern Canyon which is worth checking out!

🌲Redwood National Park:
🥾Lady Bird Johnson Grove: a 1.4-mile trail which would be great for kids or those that dislike elevation gain. It was a super flat loop and still very beautiful, but we definitely enjoyed the other trails more.

🥾Tall Trees Grove Trail: 1.5 miles and 800 feet of elevation gain and this requires a backcountry permit from the ranger station. This one was probably our favorite of the hikes, however, if you can’t score permits, the Prairie Creek trail is a fantastic alternative!

📍 Yurok and Tolowa tribal lands

Have you ever seen Redwood Trees? 🌲

How do we afford our adventure travel lifestyle? 🤑 ('𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲' 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿)
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Recently this has been the most common question we’ve been getting! There’s definitely a stereotype around travel in that it’s always expensive and luxurious. That is not the case for us 😂 Sleeping out of Stephen’s car is not glamorous at all, but it does allow us to visit dope locations! Here are tips to help you ball on a BUDGET!

1. 💰 Travel Local: Since we started this account, due to lockdowns and restrictions, we've only roamed around CA and/or neighboring states since we have only been able to travel locally! Camping & Road trips are WAY cheaper than alternative means of travel. The biggest expense for us is gas, which we split. Gas is about $50 each for us per weekend. Find cool local spots to visit on blogs, Pinterest, and All Trails as hiking is usually FREE!
2. 💰 Car Camping: We built out the back of Stephen’s 4Runner with a wooden platform to hold an air mattress and some storage areas! For the wood, storage bins, window covers and the air mattress, it cost us less than $100 to build out to our liking. Check out our Youtube to see the full build! And then park your car on free land like BLM land or Walmart parking lots to save money.
3. 💰 Working: We both work full time jobs to fund all of our own trip expenses. We set aside probably $200 a month for an adventure budget including all of our food, gas expenses, and potential permits needed for excursions that month. Any money we make from affiliate links and our blog also go into this fund!
4. 💰 Bring Your Own Food: Don’t eat out! As appealing as it can be, we save so much money this way. Our last trip we did, we spent $50 each on food for 3 meals a day for 4 days! Meal prep and plan!

In the beginning, you may have to invest in things like a tent, National Parks pass ($80), etc. depending on the kind of traveling you’re planning on doing. We bought used gear, shopped big sales & slowly built up our gear over the past two years! You don’t need the most expensive gear to start enjoying the outdoors!

Do you have any adventure budgeting questions/advice? Drop them below! 💸

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