Backpacking Aloha Lake: Moonlight, Alien lore, and Unexpected Snow
“Moonlight backpacking,” this was Trail’s next big idea. We were just settling in at Track 7 Brewery for some goodness and burritos when she pulled out the moon cycle calendar on her phone… When was the next upcoming full moon? Where can we get moonlight reflecting granite? You available? This is how Trails, Route, Curtis, and I ended up hiking out to the Aloha Lake region of the Desolation Wilderness between the…
Westfall Meadow: Easy Winter Yosemite Backpacking
While laying in our yellow slug winter tent, in the impossible quiet of the dark Yosemite forest, the question arose: When was the last time we actually backpacked in Yosemite? It was only last spring (2015), when Curtis and I backpacked to Styx Pass and Boundary Lake – an area straddling the Yosemite Wilderness and the Stanislaus Emigrant Wilderness. But does that count since we were able to get our permits from…
Remember that time we backpacked to Mildred and Genevieve Lakes?
There is quite a few trips from this past summer that for one reason or another I wasn’t able to blog about when it was fresh in my mind. Luckily, that usually that means I must have been prioritizing something else that was pretty cool, probably ecoSUMMIT or attending a wedding. But now in the heart of winter, denied of that thin alpine air, I am ‘wistfully’ looking organizing these…
Winter Camping in Sequoia National Park
This year Curtis and I made our thanksgiving feast in a dutch oven, over a campfire, surrounded by snow, in Sequoia National Park. Last summer we bought the ‘America the Beautiful’ all national parks annual pass, instead of the plain old Yosemite annual pass. Yosemite had upped their fees for the annual pass, so it was only a $20 difference – and great motivation to visit a laundry list of the…
Woods Lake, Eldorado National Forest: a Peaceful Little Retreat
Before hiking to Lake Winnemucca I had found & reserved a campsite at the Woods Lake Campground. The campground was a nice find because not conducive to RV camping, meaning it was instead filled with peaceful tent and pop-up tent campers. The water was turned off because of the drought, but I believe the camp hosts had extra gallon of water ready for those who were unprepared. ($24 per night, more info here)…
Backpacking Styx Pass: A Hidden Granite Wonderland in Northwest Yosemite & Emigrant Wilderness
Normally Memorial Day weekend backpacking trips in the Sierra are more like winter camping than a leisurely summer trip – and to my surprise the Sierra gave the whole winter thing a solid try on this backpacking trip up to the Northwest boundary of Yosemite and Cherry Creek Area. We camped out beneath rain, hail, thunder, and beautiful clouds. Never underestimate the power of the weather in the Mountains, even during the…
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…
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…
I ♥ Sleeping: Kelty TraiLogic Sleeping Bag Love
I love sleeping. In fact last night I was napping on the sofa, woke up and thought “I should do my daily NaBloPoMo blog since I now have enough energy!” I then weighed my options, decided what I could blog about, and chose to just go to bed. It doesn’t make sense to deny an urge to sleep to write a blog post about a sleeping bag. So yeah, this is…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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