Don’t worry, we’re not going all the way to Alabama for a one night trip. Nestled between Death Valley and the Sierras, Alabama Hills is a popular climbing, hiking and stargazing destination. From desert boulders to alpine lakes and amazing mountain tops, Alabama Hills has it all! We’ll spend Saturday exploring the park, scrambling around and looking around for the amazing arches. Sunday morning we’ll wake up bright and early to hike a portion of the Whitney Portal. We’ll be joined by former NASA astronaut and professor of astronautical engineering, Garrett Reisman and his ten year old son Buster!
PACKING LIST:
Lots o’ layers and a hat — nighttime temps are predicted to drop into the 30s so be prepared for chilly times
Solid hiking shoes
A sleeping bag / pad if you have one
Flashlight
H2O — 2-3 full liters per person! hydration is cool
Mess kit (plate/bowl/utensils)
Toothbrush & general life items
Sunglasses, sunscreen, hat
WE WILL PROVIDE:
Sleeping bags / pads if you don’t have one already!
Tents
Food (but feel free to bring your own snacks! We’ll have some, but we understand that everybody has that ~ one kind of bar ~ they can’t live without.)
PROFESSOR: Garrett Reisman
DEPARTMENT: Astronautical Engineering
As a former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman is truly an ~out of this world~ professor. Dr. Reisman flew on all three Space Shuttles, spending a cumulative 107 days in space, including 3 spacewalks. After leaving NASA in 2011, he joined Elon Musk at SpaceX where he served as the Director of Space Operations. In 2018, he stepped down from his full time position at SpaceX to teach astronautical engineering at USC but continues to support SpaceX as a Senior Advisor. He is also the Technical Consultant for the Apple TV+ series, "For All Mankind", an alternate-history sci fi series available for streaming now and half of the '2 Funny Astronauts' podcast with Astronaut Mike Massimino, a popular new podcast featuring behind the scenes true stories about flying in space.
You can read more about Dr. Reisman at his website https://www.garrettreisman.com/ !
PEAK: Alabama Hills
DIFFICULTY: 3/5
SCENERY: Lots of rocks and arches and impeccable views of the Sierras!
FUN FACT: Alabama Hills is a super popular movie set! Iron Man, Gladiator and Django Unchained are just a few that have been filmed here!
TRIP LEAD: KELLY
Contact Kelly: kellyf@usc.edu