It was a Sunday morning. My mom, dad, myself, and our enormous sack of lychees and grapes were moving at 250kph along the train tracks through Chinese countryside. I was still unaware of what I was in for. Across the aisle of our train compartment, my mother was stretched across three seats, and unresponsive. I… Read More


While I no longer travel around the United States for math competitions, I still love using arithmetic to depict my adventures. This brief post is meant to provide outdoor inspiration, and to spread awareness of random hikes and lifts from around the world.   “Top of Europe” (3,454 m)     Top of Vancouver, Canada… Read More


Mount Wutai of the northern Shanxi province makes for good trekking in the warm months, but somehow my friends felt the need to go in the middle of winter. For three days we stomped on icy trails in below freezing temperatures and took refuge at night in Buddhist monasteries. The six of us emerged with sore bodies and wind… Read More


I was always a travel writer. It’s true. Back up to my first grade teacher handing me a blank booklet shortly before my dad took me to China to visit family for the first time: life changed forever.     Instantaneously I knew I wanted both pictures and hand-written entries filling its pages. My journals quickly… Read More