Rock Climbing, Best Campgrounds, L.A. Shopping

In January 2014, the world watched as Kevin Jorgeson and his climbing partner Tommy Caldwell made history as the first free climbers to summit Yosemite’s Dawn Wall. In this episode of the California Now Podcast, Jorgeson joins host Soterios Johnson for a breakdown of California’s best climbing—from pure beginner to expert-level adventures. Jorgeson also shares why Yosemite is one of his favorite places in the world: “Everywhere you look is just stunning.”

Author Ann Marie Brown takes the outdoorsy theme up a notch by revealing her top five campgrounds in the Golden State. (Think beaches filled with precious stones and a serene lake at 10,000 feet.) After that, style expert Ruthie Friedlander goes on a hunt for the best boutiques in Los Angeles and shares the made-in-California brands most coveted by her colleagues at InStyle.

Guests

Kevin Jorgeson, elite American rock climber, one of the first to free climb the Dawn Wall of El Capitan

Ann Marie Brown, author of 13 California guidebooks and a dedicated outdoorswoman

Ruthie Friedlander, fashion expert and special projects editor of InStyle magazine

Resources

Rock climber Kevin Jorgeson shares his love of the sport and some of his favorite places to climb in the Golden State.

• Lake Tahoe
• Lover’s Leap
• Donner Summit
• Joshua Tree National Park
• California Climbing Gyms
• Lost Rocks in the North Coast
• Buttermilk Country in Bishop
• Yosemite National Park
• El Capitan
• Higher Cathedral Spire

Author and outdoorswoman Ann Marie Brown reveals her favorite California campgrounds.

• Jalama Beach County Park
• Lompoc
• Jalama Beach Store
• Patrick’s Point State Park
• Trinidad
• Rim Trail Loop
• Wedding Rock
• Agate Beach
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Ryan Campground
• White Tank Campground
• Ryan Mountain Trail
• Sequoia National Park
• Mineral King Valley
• Cold Springs Campground
• Eagle Lake
• Monarch Lakes
• Silver City Mountain Resort
• Saddlebag Lake Campground
• Yosemite National Park
• Tuolumne Meadows
• Twenty Lakes Basin

InStyle’s special projects director, Ruthie Friedlander, names her favorite California-made brands and L.A. boutiques.

• Los Angeles
• Bleu Salt
• Malibu
• Dôen
• Just One Eye
• Violet Grey
• The Row LA
• Abbot Kinney
• Venice Beach
• Heist
• Fred Segal
• Max Field

About the Host

Soterios Johnson, formerly the local host of National Public Radio’s Morning Edition on radio station WNYC, moved from New York City to Davis, Calif., in 2016 and is just getting to know his surroundings. By combining his journalistic instincts with his personal curiosity, Johnson will use the California Now platform to develop a deeper understanding of his adopted home.