Get excited for some backpacking right here in SoCal! We will be heading down to Crystal Cove State Park in OC for a night in nature with some costal views. After a 3 mile hike to the campground, we will explore the scenery of crystal cove, including beach views, rolling hills, and some sick native plants. See y’all out on the trails for this (beginner friendly) trip with Prof. Dan McCurry who can tell you anything you might want to know about water!

Looking for a tree-mendous way to spend your Halloween weekend? Then join us for an “in-tents” backpacking trip along the gorgeous Lakes Trail in Sequoia national park. We’ll hike ~6 miles in to our campsite by pear lake where we’ll spend the night before exploring around the alpine lakes, babbling brooks, giant sequoias, and rocky Sierra Terrain. We’ll spend another night at our lakeside campsite and head back Sunday morning, stopping to check out General Sherman and any other park highlights.

Looking to embark on a weekend adventure after spending the last few weeks settling back into life at school? Come no further! Join us for a scenery-packed, beginner-friendly backpacking trip for the ages. We are going to have some great conversations in the great outdoors and take this trip at a chill pace over two days.

ALSO no worries if you have little to no backpacking experience prior to this trip! But having experience with long and/or difficult hikes is HIGHLY recommended as you will be carrying a 35 lb. pack on your back while hiking, plus going up ~1200 ft. to the falls over 5 miles the first day.

Are you ready for the best introduction to Southern California backpacking ever???? Skip your Saturday finals and come to Ojai with us for some epic views, hills, and W A T E R F A L L S. If that wasn’t enticing enough, come take a dip in the swimming hole! This will be an amazing and relaxing weekend full of meditative conversations in the great outdoors as well as fantastic photo opportunities (if that’s your type of thing).

No worries if you have no backpacking experience prior to this trip! But having experience with long and/or difficult hikes is HIGHLY recommended as you will be carrying a ~35 lb. pack on your back, plus hiking up a gradual uphill to the falls.

Disclaimer: Peaks and Professors does not encourage skipping your Saturday finals to go backpacking

Spend your weekend in Joshua Tree with Annenberg’s spunkiest professor! On this trip we will be car camping on Friday before backpacking the Boy Scout Trail on Saturday and Sunday - plenty of rock scrambling, star-gazing, and general desert boolin guaranteed. No backpacking experience needed ;)

Get excited for some backpacking right in our own backyard, north of Ojai! We will be backpacking the Sespe River Trail to Willett Hot Springs, about 10 miles out and back each way (but super flat!). This is a wonderful backpacking trip for both those new to backpacking and to those who have been backpacking for years - plus Larry Harris is bringing not one but TWO dogs - Benbow & Musket!

BIG-inning to get tired of the red bricks and palm trees of campus? SUR-ching for redwoods and dramatic coastlines? Join peaks regular, Rebecca Broyer, for a weekend backpacking trip to Big Sur! Some expected highlights include, but are not limited to: a scenic drive up California’s coast, a Friday evening spent camping among the redwoods of Big Sur’s Pfeiffer State park, a short but SCENIC backpacking experience in the Silver Peak wilderness!

Join us for a quick but hearty weekend adventure in the gorgeous San Gorgonio Wilderness with a Peaks veteran, Vicki Petryshyn! We’ll pack in close to 15 miles on Saturday by backpacking our camp gear up to Halfway Camp and summiting Mt. San Gorgonio via the Vivian Creek Trail before returning to camp for the evening. Sunday morning, we’ll take a short hike back to the trailhead and relax at the nearby waterfalls along the Big Falls trail, potentially with a little trailside brunch action thrown in.

Get excited for some backpacking right in our own backyard! We will be heading up North to Ojai to backpack the Sespe River Trail to the Willett Hot Springs, about 7.5 miles out and back each way. Despite the distance, we will not have much elevation gain, so this will be a wonderful backpacking trip for both those new to backpacking and those who have been backpacking for years. Professor Harris is very excited for the trip, and may even bring his dog, Benbow!

Join us on a quick but mighty one night backpacking trip as we summit Southern California’s highest peak, Mt. San Gorgonio! Although relatively unknown to Southern Californians, Mt. San Gorgonio towers over the entire southland at an elevation of 11500 feet, with views of the San Gabriels, inland empire, San Jacinto, and Joshua Tree.