Gambling on Walk-In Campsites – Rock Creek Lake Campground
Whenever I plan a last minute adventure I feel a little like a someone at a horse race – stacking the odds versus the payoffs, and ultimately taking a slightly informed leap of faith. Walk-in campgrounds and first come first serve permits are saviors for last minute planners, and an agony. Why is the “Earliest arrival date for on-line reservation is three days from now”? And do you really expect me to “Please…
Mystic Hot Springs, UT: Bizarre Beautiful Baths
Driving Back from our Colorado trip Curtis and I had a slight conflict of interest: we were going to be whizzing past all these amazing national parks, yet we wanted to get home in a reasonable amount of time. Plus it was labor day weekend, meaning many of campgrounds and reasonably priced hotels were booked up. I took it as a sign to do a quick search on other options in the middle of our 1000 mile journey. Using one of my new favorite websites to find local cafes, camping, and tourist traps I hit the jackpot – a little hot springs resort in the middle of Utah: Mystic Hot Springs of Monroe…
Hiking Deer Mountain RMNP: My 1st Colorado Peak in the Bag
Before heading into the park Kate had created an awesome list of quality potential hikes, all based on things we thought we wanted to do on our trip. Deer Mountain was not on that list, but because of our location and the weather we decided to try it. We could always turn back? Turns out Deer Mountain is an awesome choice for newbies to RMNP – not too difficult and it offers amazing views of the beautiful Moraine Park and surroundings mountains…
I could have spent all day at Mills Lake, if it weren’t for those pesky Rocky Mountain Thunderstorms
I seriously love high altitude lakes, and Rocky Mountain National Park delivers. Yeah, and waterfalls are pretty cool too… but I am just being honest in saying Alberta Falls in RMNP – meh. Maybe there were just TOO many people for a modest amount of falling water (& Yosemite has spoiled me?). Mills Lake though is gorgeous. What I am saying is that if you are starting at the Glacial Gorge trail then the extra couple miles hike to Mills is worth it. I wish I had more time to explore past Mills Lake, but those thunderstorms can really kill a full day adventure. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry?…
Watching a Fire: Yosemite Meadow Fire
On Sunday I was hiking up Mt. Dana with Curtis, having drove across Tioga Pass in the morning hours to get a reasonably early start. Driving past we might have chatted about the Dark Hole fire – a small lighting fire that has been smoldering for a while near Porcupine Flat. I love that the fire is named after an odd place listed on the topographic map (an old stagecoach…
Hiking Cub Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park: Just outside the tent door is something Magnificent
In the previous two years of annual summer trips we had backpacked Isle Royale and Yosemite National Parks through rain and fire… which was an interesting experience. Personally I am always up for a backpacking adventure, but given our track record and a short planning window we decided to car camp during this year’s trip. Luckily, and maybe because it was the middle of the week, we were able to score a campsite in the tenting loop at Moraine Park Campground…
Finding Pikas at Rocky Mountain National Park (and bunnies too!)
Happy Labor Day! Last night I arrived back at home from a week long road trip to Colorado – an annual visit with friends from Michigan Tech. In previous years we had backpacked Isle Royal and Yosemite, but this year we chose to take a more low key approach and car camp and day hike Rocky Mountain National Park. I have so many trails/sights/roadside attractions I want to blog about, but first pikas…
A MicroAdventure Hiking Mono Pass, John Muir Wilderness
This morning I was reading an article about #MicroAdventures – which simply put are mini adventures that allow one to escape the 9-5. The video, the hashtag, and the blog of the man who wrote the book on #MicroAdventures make it seem very exciting, fun, and well… sexy. It is like a one night stand with a beautiful place & who knows if you will ever see it again. I immediately…
Hiking Tenaya Lake: Why not stop for awhile?
Recently it has been getting hot down in Groveland, which can mean it will be even hotter down in Yosemite Valley. I love the valley, and it is always a must do if you are only going to the park for a short period of time (I might suggest biking, a dip in the Merced, and maybe a hike up the mist trail in the cooler early morning hours) –…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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