Backpacking Clark Fork of Illilouette Creek to Merced Pass Lakes – Day 2 to Ottoway Lake
The second day of Kate, Kris, Jacquie, Dan, Curtis & I’s backpacking trip to Ottoway lake turned out to be a bigger adventure than I had planed (See day 1’s blog here). The goal was to travel from our previous night’s campsite, at the Clark Fork of the Illilouette, to Lower Ottoway Lake – approximately 10 miles of total hiking. I knew it would be a hard day of hiking…
Backpacking Buckeye Creek, Hoover Wilderness
A couple of firsts this 4th of July weekend – My first backpacking trip of 2013 and Curtis & I’s first backpacking trip in the Hoover Wilderness! I choose this trip out of Exploring Eastern Sierra Canyons: Sonora Pass to Pine Creek, which I recently found and bought a copy of in the Groveland Museum (which I was surprised to see has the best selection of regional hiking books and…
Upper Yosemite Falls Hike! & a Lesson in Trail Construction?
It is May in Yosemite and you know what that means – Waterfalls! The snow in the high country is melting and recently (well, last week at least) we have been receiving some hot summer type weather. Springtime is the best time for waterfalls every year, but less with the than average amounts of rain/snowfall this winter the waterfalls might dry out sooner rather than latter this year. :( This is Curtis…
Gaylor Peak Hike
Tioga Pass isn’t opened yet – but since almost all of the other passes in our neck of the Sierra are open, I am channeling my anxiousness into a blog post about one of my favorite short hikes on Tioga Pass: Gaylor Peak. Specifically the first and most memorable time was the first during the strangely snow-less 2011-2012 winter, a December Hike with our friend from Michigan Tech, Kris. Or as I like to think of it: Midwesterners…
Camping Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur
I’m not going to lie, whenever I am car camping anywhere new I worry about not finding space to camp. A pretty justified fear thanks to past experiences, like the time we reserved a campsite at Butano State Park and someone still tried to take our spot. I mean the people who we ended up sharing the spot with had assumed they could find a spot, and then they couldn’t –…
Tanbark Trail Big Sur: Hiking at Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP
Following Saturday’s short hike to the beautiful McWay Falls in Big Sur I was adamant about wanting to go for a longer day hike. Unfortunately the trail I had noted to hike, the Ewoldsen Trail, is apparently closed right now (March 2013)… but looking at the maps in the parking area of the McWay Falls trailhead Curtis & I discovered that the previously closed Tanbark Trail was now open instead, and it did look like a very similar, although slightly longer, hike.
Yosemite Firefall 2013 & How to enjoy the Yosemite Sunset
This weekend I got to check an item off of my Yosemite Bucket List: seeing the Yosemite firefall! Curtis and I spent two evenings (Saturday and Sunday, February 23rd and 24th) among a flock of fancy cameras & photographers waiting for the sun to set in just the perfect way on Horsetail Falls. Except calling it “Horsetail Falls” is a bit of a stretch – perhaps we should temporarily label…
Glen Aulin to Pothole Dome – Backpacking the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Day 4
The 4th and last day of hiking the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne – time to get excited for some (veggie) burgers, beer, and sitting! The hike would take us up the trail past White Cascade and Tuolumne falls, where we would then stay…
White Wolf to Pate Valley – Backpacking the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Day 1
Curtis and I were invited to hike the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne with our friend Christine for her annual birthday backpacking bash. She always invites a big group of friends to do something really cool for her birthday, and considering the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne was on my “To do” list it was perfect! Fun, friends, & amazing sights! Navigate to The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Backpacking…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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