One Sunday last summer I forgot to bring my camera along on a hike. Upon discovering that I didn't have my camera with me that day, I tried to console myself by noting that the sky and air was not super clear, so I wouldn't have been able to take great scenic shots. Also, that this would help hurry my photo-essay schedule along -- what with my getting to skip one hike's worth of photos! At

read more: From Discovery Bay to the Trappist Haven Monastery (Photo-essay)