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…
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…
Table Mountain: It is a Wildflower Mountain!
It’s wildflower time! Usually, if I’m looking for a quick local hike I will just hit up the Red Hills, because the Red Hills are kinda where it is at. Instead, this year Curtis and I decided hiking wildflower hills was just so pedestrian. Nope, we were headed to a WILDFLOWER MOUNTAIN. Honestly, I think the Red Hills might have a greater flower diversity… but Table Mountain more than makes up…
A Bright Dot Lake among Sierra Peaks, Backpacking Inyo Forest
Most of my pictures in the High Sierra focus around two opposites, a rocky peak or a watery blue lake (except, maybe, for the hundreds of photos of rock piles that may, if you look hard enough, have a pika in them). The side trip Curtis, Trails (& pup) and I took from our backpacking camp at Mildred Lake to Bright Dot Lake highlighted this even more. Bright Dot is a lake…
Jackass Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness: A Tiny Backpacking Trip that Packs in Alot of Character
This is my obligatory exclamation of: What happened to this summer?! I had alot of adventures and day hikes (many of which are still in the blogging to-do queue) but not any backpacking trips. One minute I am kicking off spring with a snowy backpacking trip into Yosemite, then the next we are saying goodbye to fall with another venture into the winter wonderland. Following up with an trip idea…
Sonora Peak, Stanislaus National Forest: Sweeping Views on Sonora Pass
What came first: Sonora Pass, Sonora Peak, or the City of Sonora? Apparently the mining town of Sonora was the first place to obtain the name of ‘Sonora’ in the area. It was named after the Sonora Desert by early Mexican pioneers. I can see how the two may seem similar during the hot dry summer. Latter the Bartleson-Bidwell Party was the first settler party credited to have crossed Sonora Pass, although…
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…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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