Relief Reservoir, Emigrant Wilderness: Aren’t Dams in the Wilderness Odd?
Note: I now realize looking a little harder at the map (that apparently I made, then posted, without looking at closely) that Relief Reservoir is indeed not inside the wilderness boundary – rather just outside that imaginary line. But still I crossed a wilderness sign! And I have visited dams inside the wilderness before so, point remains – I think it is odd. I have mentioned before, and will mention…
Upper Cathedral Lake, Yosemite: A Chilly Stop on the John Muir Trail
In the fall of 2012 Curtis and I hiked up to Lower Cathedral Lake just before a snow storm started doing it’s thing. At that time a couple backpackers were around (even though no overnight parking was allowed on the road for the season anymore) – but mostly the trail was dominated by a smattering of day hikers enjoying the last nice fall day. Last month I decided to make…
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…
Bartlett Peak: Summit Hike from Boundary Lake, Yosemite & Stanislaus
I don’t often plan backpacking trips where we basecamp in one location and dayhike. But maybe I should, it is a great strategy for hitting up nice places where you just don’t want to haul around a giant pack – such as random summits – plus it just sounds so leisurely, day hiking in the wilderness away from the trailhead crowds. Of course for Curtis and I’s trip to Boundary lake…
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…
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…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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