Parker Pass is an amazing little backpacking trip to keep in your back pocket for an open weekend – awesome AND doable without much planning. I have a couple of these just-in-case trips that are short distance, on trail, and generally not overwhelming. Short and sweet, but deliver some much needed wilderness time. I would consider Parker Pass the sister to the much more popular Mono Pass trip. Also an…
I summited El Cap, Yosemite’s famous granite monolith, without learning to climb. Admittedly, backpacking El Capitan is not as epic of a story as ascending the nose. But, it is undeniably an awesome 3 day backpacking trip in Yosemite. + Bonus points are awarded if you run into a real climber (we didn’t). Curtis and I hiked El Capitan as a 24 mile out and back from the Old Big…
Curtis and I took this mini-backpacking trip out to Lake Eleanor 2 months ago (May 5th). It was an early season, snow-less but rainy, little backpack from our neighboring Groveland District of the Stanislaus National Forest into the eastern edge of Yosemite. Here we found a grouping of established campsites (bear bins, fire rings) on the western side of the lake. Lake Eleanor was a ghost town on the May…
Have you see the videos of Caltrans plowing Tioga Pass this year? My favorite is this aerial view headed up the pass from Lee Vining. It’s a little shaky, but gives this peculiar perspective of tiny snowplows slowly heading into this daunting mountain pass. As of today, June 4th 2017, Tioga Pass is closed. The most recent update I have heard estimated a late June or July opening date. These…
Happy last day of National Park Week (April 15-23)! Also, Happy Earth Day (April 22), awesome job with the March for Science (April 22), +++ Happy Birthday to John Muir (April 21) and Mr. William Shakespeare (April 23)! I had an amazing day in Yosemite Valley yesterday celebrating science, Earth, and Yosemite. It was an inspiring afternoon of listening to the speakers and pondering how much more there is still left to…
I went for a wildflower trail jog in the Red Hills after work yesterday… isn’t spring great? I am never going back to the sun setting before 7pm! (Once I figure out how to control that, of course.) Yesterday’s hike was the first time I have started from the trailhead off of Old Don Pedro Rd. Typical I have come in from the Red Hills Rd parking area, or pull…
Contemplating a wintertime Yosemite visit? Mark my words: Someone is bound to get stuck in the snow. For example, while driving into and out of Badger Pass there is always more then one vehicle slammed into a snow bank. I could feel our car shift and try to fishtail as we approached the many shadowed portions along the road. With luck and an abundance of caution we made it safely…
Guess who just registered to run the Santa Cruz Half Marathon 2017? This accomplishment is a shout out to all you other procrastinators, because: It is the last day to register before the prices increase. If I calculated correctly, the half marathon is exactly 16 weeks out. This means I am just in time to start my favorite half marathon plan. The plan is for “beginners,” or people who just…
Every year since 1964 a tree has been selected to become the “Capitol Christmas Tree.” The tree makes a publicized trek across the US, ultimately reaching Washington DC for a big lighting ceremony. In 2011 I visited the Capitol Christmas Tree in Sonora, California, when a Sierra White Fir was selected from the Stanislaus National Forest for the honor. It was an impressive sight, the giant tree on the back…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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