The Kvamme Brothers and Pescadero State Beach, Butano State Park, & Golden Gate Bridge
Sometimes when we fly into the San Francisco Airport we use it as an excuse to visit the city and/or the coast for the day before or after our trip. With Curtis’s brother, John, flying into SFO to visit us we thought that this too would be a good time to tour him around. Or “tour” as well as two people who live in Groveland can “tour” around San Francisco pretending as if we know what…
Day Hiking Mt. Watkins, Yosemite – Sweet Solace Off the Trail
Trailhead: Olmsted Point, off of Tioga Rd / Hwy 41
Distance: ~ 9 miles out and back. Trail is fairly level with just enough climb in the way out that you will appreciate gravity’s help on the way back.
Day Hiking Clouds Rest, Yosemite – Resting with the Clouds
Trailhead: Sunset Lakes, Tioga Rd / Hwy 120 on the West end of Tenaya Lake
Distance: ~ 14 miles out and back. Good and steep on the way out, with downhill on the hike back.
Lundy Canyon
Trailhead: Lundy Lake Rd (off of Hwy 395) past the lake & cabins down to dirt road pullouts near an Outhouse.
Distance: We hiked ~3.5 miles before we hit the snowline (Just beyond a dayhike to Mill Creek Falls), making it 7miles out and back. Trail was fairly hilly and required you to ford past runoff streams and cross some good old fashioned shady log bridge.
Obama said we needed a vacation- So we went to Mono Lake!
Actually Curtis and I had been planing to go to Mono Lake ever since I pleaded with him to understand that the fragile saline ecosystem appealed to my inner environmental engineer. In case if you have not heard the back story, or slept through environmental engineering fundamentals, Mono lake is a saline lake in the great basin that is fed by various freshwater streams. The city of LA quite some…
Hetch Hetchy Day Hike or as we like to call it Hetch Hedgehogy: the story of our water source and a brave hedgehog
Trailhead: Evergreen Rd down into Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station, parking lot by dam
Distance: ~ 4 miles rounds trip to Wapama Falls, we went ~ 1.5 miles past that and in addition got to see rattlesnakes & bears!
Stately Parks in the Santa Cruz Area
Deciding we needed to see the Ocean, Curtis and I ventured through the central valley and over some winding mountain roads to Santa Cruz. We visited the Wilder Ranch State Park and took a cute little low altitude bike ride to the Natural Bridges State beach. I officially decided I much rather like biking at sea level with minimal hill-age. Word to the wise though, the lengthy network of bike…
Day Hiking Inspiration Point, Yosemite: Our second trip focusing on an Inspiration.
Trailhead: Behind Tunnel View, off of Hwy 41 right outside of the Valley
Distance: ~ 2.5 miles, but filled with steep switchbacks and hot in the summer sun!
Valley Floor Day Hike instead of unpacking!
Trailhead: Parked by Bridal Veil Falls (parallel because parking area was full) in the Valley.
Distance: ~4 miles ( we walked there on the trail and back partially along the road/bike paths) Flat with but unexpected hills compared to the road.
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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