Backpacking Parker Pass, Yosemite
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…
Backpacking El Capitan: Iconic Yosemite National Park
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…
North Mountain, Groveland CA: Little Visited Summit on the Stanislaus
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…
High Peaks Trail, Pinnacles: On the Edge among the California Condor
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…
Don Pedro Overlook Trail, Red Hills: Old Gravel Roads, Wildflowers, and Dam Views
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…
General Grant Tree, Kings Canyon: Merry Christmas from the Nation’s Christmas Tree
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…
Baboon Lakes, John Muir Wilderness: Rugged Glacier Carved Backpacking
Thank you, glaciers. Curtis attended a lecture detailing new dating techniques used on Sierra Nevada alpine glaciers a couple of weeks after our backpacking trip to Baboon Lakes. He reported back that Baboon Lakes was featured on one the slides as an example of glacier carved beauty. Well yes, of course. Although evidence of glaciers surround you in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it is too easy to forget to say…
Red Cones, Mammoth Lakes: A little peak to add a little joy to your day(hike)
On Labor Day weekend we bagged this miniature peak (high point?) in the Mammoth Lakes area. On a busy weekend, this small adventure was a perfect fit into our busy schedule.
Leviathan Peak, Monitor Pass: Pika Lookout
Guys, we need to talk about Pokemon. I think I might be obsessed. When I am not exploring the wilderness, I am instead exploring my neighborhood. I know exact spots where all the Pokemon like to loiter. My hobby of running is suddenly twice as useful because I can use it to hatch Pokemon eggs, turning weekends chilling at home turn into opportunities to crawl the neighborhood searching for stray Bulbsaurs. Yes, I probably think…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
Follow Me: