Where to find California Sea Otters – Moss Landing, CA
I am loath to rank my favorite wild animals, because there are so many cute ones out there (Bunnies, mountain goats, pikas, & quails immediately come to mind), but Sea Otters gave to be somewhere in my top 10. They float around and use tools with their little otter hands, they look so furry and floaty… did I mention they float? ;) AH! Too cute! Sea otters also play an…
Foresta Falls & McCauley Ranch on Yosemite’s West Side
This low snow winter has had me creating some more creative hiking endeavors: Mariposa’s Williams Peak, the”Secret” Sierra Point, and now Yosemite’s more “Elusive” waterfall – Foresta Falls. It is a nice short little hike, but with lots of room to explore around the old McCauley Ranch and enjoy some sunshine. Actually come to think of it – it was pretty much the opposite of Sierra Point. At Foresta we hiked…
Secret Yosemite: Sierra Point
Alright, I will admit Sierra Point is apparently not a secret. We saw a dozen other people while on the “Trail” this Sunday… way more then I ever see hiking to Mt Watkins (one of my favorite off trail hikes in the park). My theory: because of the dry winter people are taking to many valley hikes that when they would otherwise be skiing if there was snow, or hiking…
Winter Camping Tips from Michigan’s Most Remote State Park – Craig Lake
I got off the phone a little while ago with my friend Jacquie – one friend from the group of Michigan Tech friends I do a yearly summer trip with – discussing possible plans & how I could maybe merge running a marathon into a grand summer trip? I am excited and hopeful that everything may yet fall into place, but then again if it doesn’t it wouldn’t be our…
Valentines for Hikers / 7 Things I love about Leave No Trace
Happy Valentines Day! Valentines day makes me think of all the people and places I love – including my love of hiking. To express my love of hiking I thought what better then a series of valentines/love notes from hikers to trail. Better yet: base my valentines (very loosely) off the leave no trace principles! Leave No Trace – What’s Not to Love? The 7 points of leave no trace…
Brews & Hiking Boots: Portland Wildwood Trail & Deschutes Brewery
While stuck in Portland during a freak snowstorm one might as well make lemons into lemonade – or as I would prefer: Hops into IPA’s. Portland is city proud of both it’s green spaces and it’s concentration of microbreweries, so it it only seemed appropriate to combine the two in one epic snowy adventure. Wildwood Trail from the Portland Zoo Distance: As long as you want? We hiked 2-ish miles…
WINDY WINTER CONDITIONS: Multnomah Falls & Columbia River Gorge
So, I went to Portland for a couple of days with Curtis for a brief trip & guess what happened? SNOW! Now it is chilly up here, but we have been assured that this is not a very common occurrence. Which is obvious by the fact that a that a few inches can cause a 30+ car pile-up closing I-5 on the day we planed to go home. Guess we…
Yosemite During the Dry Winter & Hiking the 4 Mile Trail
The news for the last month has been inundated with tales of polar vortexes, snow closing down highways in Atlanta, and snow days for kids and adults alike… on the east coast. Here on the west coast we are in the middle of in the middle of a critically dry winter, meaning an alarming low amount of snow pack in the high country, lowering reservoirs, and (from my point of…
Let’s Go See Butterflies! (Monarch Grove @ Pacific Grove, CA)
Seeing the Monarch Migration is a bucket list item. Standing there surrounded by butterflies fluttering everywhere is like entering a new culture – standing in a busy foreign city with colors and scents and sounds swirling – only this is a culture of nature…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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