Indian Creek Trail, Stanislaus National Forest: From Groveland down to the Tuolumne River
I like to think that part of the allure of the upper Tuolumne River is that it is a little mysterious. My house in Groveland, CA is about three miles from the Tuolumne as the crow flies, but it’s not a simple hop, skip, and jump over to the river. Yes you can drive down to the Tuolumne on Forest Service roads, but you will know you are driving down into…
Winter Camping: Staying Warm, Safe, and Scooped!
I know, it is already spring, why all the winter? But to be fair, I attended winter camping training the day after spring officially began and we miraculously found enough snow to winter camp in during the 2015 California drought winter. Personally, I’ve had a few “Surprise” winter camping trips in the midwest – waking up under a dumping of snow in June – and while this training was geared towards have a fun, safe, and planned…
Gin Flat Loop, Yosemite: Snowshoeing & Snow Survey Stations
On Tuesday winter had a short gasp of life & snow fell from the skies very briefly around my home in Groveland. Word is that right now the Gin Flat Loop might be snowshoe-able. But not for long. The state of California hasn’t been experiencing a winter season for the last few years, as you may have heard, so obvously there hasn’t been much in the way of snowshoe opportunities. Curtis and…
The Exact Center of California & The Redinger Campground: about what you would expect
Trip planning requires pooling your resources and hoping for the best sometimes. Especially when visiting a less popular location (Redinger Lake) at a less than popular time of year (Winter). In this case, the trip down to road bike the Million Dollar Rd was supplemented by a random search of Roadside America (a favorite for offbeat attractions) and the always (not so) informative Forest Service website. One main objective (Road…
Stevenson Creek Falls, Redinger Lake & Million Dollar Road(biking)
Here is the thing about winter in drought stricken California: There isn’t enough snow to do all the fun winter things, but the passes are still closed. Before you know it you are aimlessly clicking around of Google Earth trying to find something new and different and, most importantly, OPEN. This is how on the three day Presidents Day weekend Curtis and I ended up at driving around Redinger Lake, a…
Devil’s Dance Floor: Hiking up Fire Scars and Brush Fields
Last month Curtis and I made the trek up to Devil’s Dance Floor for the first time, after both hearing about the spot and eyeing it on the map for awhile now. We could have gone there in the summer and easily approached the peak from Tamarack Flat Campground in the summer, but the snow free month and a perfect amount of wintertime cabin fever had us hiking up the long…
A Historical Fact Finding Mission on Devil’s Dance Floor
Spoiler Alert: There are far less devils and dancing than initially anticipated. Devil’s Dance Floor is a named peak that floats tantalizing above the Big Oak Flat Road and Foresta area slightly off trail. It’s hard to not want to visit something named “Devils Dance Floor.” And it isn’t the worst off trail hike you can find in the area – but I will elaborate more on the hike, conditions, and it’s…
Copper Run 10k: Exploring Copperopolis One Kilometer at a Time
Winter in the foothills is the ideal time for race – at least in the current rainless winter we are having – and whether or not it is raining it has to be better than running in blister hot summer temperatures. The 23rd annual Copper Run was held on January 24th, 2015 and it wasn’t raining. It was a beautiful “Winter” day (I mean, I would like to have some rain,…
Red Hill, Sonoma State Park: A Hike from Redwoods to Coastal Vistas
After going to Russian River Brewery for the second time last month I thought – why not see the real thing on our coast trip? Word on the street is that the outlet of the Russian River is plagued with sharks (not that different from other rivers – except these might be Russian Sharks!), so I was opting not to go for a swim… also because it is January, and the…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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