Emigrant Wilderness Trifecta: Burst Rock, Powell and Chewing Gum Lakes
Ever since I swam across Pine Mountain Lake during the Groveland Triathlon, I decided it would be cool plan to see how many other lakes I could swim across this summer. Everyone loves bagging a peak, and so do I, but variety is the spice of hiking! Now if only I could figure out a good verb for “bagging” a lake…. Maybe I should bring back “Scooped”? Man, I totally…
Tioga Peak, CA: A Little Hike for a Big Summit
Choosing the location of hikes is the start of my adventure. Zooming around on Google Earth, searching for maps, trying to predict weather… rarely do I ever just decide to hike down a random trail, I like to have a vision for my hike. Also, its a good idea so I don’t get lost and or in over my head. Happy hiking moods turn sour pretty quickly when I can’t…
Indian Creek Trail, Stanislaus National Forest: From Groveland down to the Tuolumne River
I like to think that part of the allure of the upper Tuolumne River is that it is a little mysterious. My house in Groveland, CA is about three miles from the Tuolumne as the crow flies, but it’s not a simple hop, skip, and jump over to the river. Yes you can drive down to the Tuolumne on Forest Service roads, but you will know you are driving down into…
Gin Flat Loop, Yosemite: Snowshoeing & Snow Survey Stations
On Tuesday winter had a short gasp of life & snow fell from the skies very briefly around my home in Groveland. Word is that right now the Gin Flat Loop might be snowshoe-able. But not for long. The state of California hasn’t been experiencing a winter season for the last few years, as you may have heard, so obvously there hasn’t been much in the way of snowshoe opportunities. Curtis and…
Devil’s Dance Floor: Hiking up Fire Scars and Brush Fields
Last month Curtis and I made the trek up to Devil’s Dance Floor for the first time, after both hearing about the spot and eyeing it on the map for awhile now. We could have gone there in the summer and easily approached the peak from Tamarack Flat Campground in the summer, but the snow free month and a perfect amount of wintertime cabin fever had us hiking up the long…
Red Hill, Sonoma State Park: A Hike from Redwoods to Coastal Vistas
After going to Russian River Brewery for the second time last month I thought – why not see the real thing on our coast trip? Word on the street is that the outlet of the Russian River is plagued with sharks (not that different from other rivers – except these might be Russian Sharks!), so I was opting not to go for a swim… also because it is January, and the…
West Side Trail: Where the History of Logging, Railroads, and Taco Bell Intersects
Working with people who have lived in Tuolumne County for many/all of the years of their lives results in lots of impromptu history lessons. Like someone will casually mention Mr Bell’s ill fated railroad Amusement park in the City of Tuolumne. You know, like Mr. “Taco Bell”, franchise restaurant owner and railroad affectionado… No I don’t know, but you bet I was about to find out! The West Side Cherry Valley Lumber…
Upper Mariposa Grove & Wawona Point: Past, Present, & Future
The Southern end of Yosemite gets no love, or at least not from me. I’ve been living here for over 4 years now and I still hadn’t visited the Upper Mariposa Grove – which is a little pathetic considering taking the tram to the museum and this upper reach of sequoias is an obligatory tourist stop for some… that is those who part with $26.50 per person far quicker than I do, but…
Skiing the El Portal Fire – Snow, Fire, & Historic Yosemite Railroads
Last winter on my first/only ski of the season I traveled through the Rim Fire area to reach the Rockefeller Grove. This year for my first ski trip of the season (but hopefully not the last!), Curtis suggested we take a short little trip in the area of Crane Flat affected by this summer’s El Portal Fire. The El Portal fire lasted from July 26th until August 10th this last summer, burning just…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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