Hiking Old 49 to the Drowned Town of Melones
The winter rains have finally started here in the Motherlode – in fact today I went skiing up at Crane Flat! It is exciting to finally see water falling from the sky! Although, As the rain started I immediately regretted all the wasted drought opportunities which I thought about but didn’t get around to this year. Don’t get me wrong, we need the rain… but so see the old reservoirs…
The Melones Dam Overlook & DamNation Documentary: For a Rainy Sunday
This Sunday I went for a walk down by the New Melones Dam, an area with a lot of Bureau of Reclamation signage. Curtis joked about trespassing, but this geocache owner says that a Bureau of Reclamation ranger said it was okay to walk in this area. I’m not saying it is for everyone, but if you are looking at visiting the New Melones/Peoria area trails I would recommend checking out the…
Ostrander Lake, Yosemite: Find Some Peace on this Long Day Hike
With Curtis out of town the other week I had time to do one of Yosemite day hikes he has been less than enthusiastic about. I have really been getting down to the last few day hikes (although there are still some major ones, like the Mist Trail, which I have never blogged about) – and I admit I might have avoided these for a reason. Often the remaining trails…
The Foresthill Bridge: A Bridge over a Reservoir that Never Was
Earlier this year I had fallen into an internet search blackhole, learning about dams in California, and the sometime bizarre “recreation” opportunities they provide. I think it had started with looking up dams that were hoping to profit from the passing of Proposition 2. It was like a cemetery of hopeful but ill-fated large expensive dams, now forgotten except by the local politicians still clinging to old plans. In my search I found the…
Window Shopping a Railroad “Escape”
Occasionally I go though online shopping phases, ones where I check out Steep and Cheap everyday or go crazy buying pet toys get my Petco order of bunnyfood order with free shipping. And Kickstarter is like buying into someone’s dream so that is always a fun time… Recently though, because I don’t have any Thanksgiving weekend “plans” yet I have been endlessly scrolling through the discount hotels on Groupon and LivingSocial…
Tuolumne Meadows’ Cutest Squirrel: The Belding’s Ground Squirrel
This summer two of my good friends, Jane and Lin, came to visit for a couple days. We hit up the park, seeing the Yosemite sights in short bursts – The Mist Trail, Tuolumne Grove of Sequoias, and Tuolumne Meadows – which is a pretty solid variety! While we were hiking in Tuolumne Meadows I noticed these little guy pop up in grass… and I was baffled My first thought: “We…
When You Don’t Reach Your Destination – Preston Falls, Stanislaus NF
Hiking with a destination in mind it sort of my thing. I like goals – or at least a solid turnaround point/time. I don’t like it when I can’t reach my planned destination. I hate it when I miss my destination without even knowing. That is what happened today on my hike to Preston Falls – I walked 4.4 miles, like All Trails said, and I did reach a fall. I…
Little Golden Trail, Groveland CA: Little, but is it Golden?
Earlier this month Curtis and I abandoned ship on an expedition to Hobron Hill (the hill next to Smith Peak with a different radio tower on it. The obvious road up is blocked by a gate on a tiny private parcel of land before the road becomes forest service. I just wanted to go because of the crazy website!) – Anyhow we decided not to completely give up on at least…
The Stanislaus National Forest is OPEN!
There has been a forest order(s) closing down most of the Groveland district of the Stanislaus National Forest since the Rim Fire started in August 2013. Now over a year later the order is expiring and we are allowed back into our backyards! I really want to go into the forest sometime soon just for the heck of knowing I can – but I have heard a lot of rumors saying…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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