How to Beat the Heat in the Foothills: Rafting the Mokelumne River
The Sierra Nevada Foothills are home to California’s Gold Country, an area predominantly known for the historic gold mines that attracted a massive influx of immigrants to the west. Here are some other things it one might say the California Gold Country is known for: It is hot in the summer. Really, sometimes the Gold Country is hot like molten gold hot. This might sound like hyperbole, but the sun above…
When Underwater Bridges Emerge: Old Parrotts Ferry Rd
It is raining tonight in the foothills… as it should be in March! Hopefully soon the Sierra snowpack will grow a bit, the reservoir levels will raise, and perhaps the groundwater will be replenished (if only a little bit). I am happy for the rain, but it also means that the place I chose for today’s blog post – the old Parrots Ferry bridge – might be once again become submerged…
Snowshoeing to a Frozen Tokopah Falls, Sequoia National Park
Hiking guides for popular trails rarely have give a good impression of what you will find in the winter. For example, I just typed in “Tokopah Falls Winter” into Google image search, and that 5th image is not really winter. Pah-lease, Google. And forget about it when looking for postcards: As you can see, Tokopah Falls in the summertime looks like a familiar Sierra Nevada cascading fall tumbling down granite –…
Stevenson Creek Falls, Redinger Lake & Million Dollar Road(biking)
Here is the thing about winter in drought stricken California: There isn’t enough snow to do all the fun winter things, but the passes are still closed. Before you know it you are aimlessly clicking around of Google Earth trying to find something new and different and, most importantly, OPEN. This is how on the three day Presidents Day weekend Curtis and I ended up at driving around Redinger Lake, a…
The Melones Dam Overlook & DamNation Documentary: For a Rainy Sunday
This Sunday I went for a walk down by the New Melones Dam, an area with a lot of Bureau of Reclamation signage. Curtis joked about trespassing, but this geocache owner says that a Bureau of Reclamation ranger said it was okay to walk in this area. I’m not saying it is for everyone, but if you are looking at visiting the New Melones/Peoria area trails I would recommend checking out the…
The Foresthill Bridge: A Bridge over a Reservoir that Never Was
Earlier this year I had fallen into an internet search blackhole, learning about dams in California, and the sometime bizarre “recreation” opportunities they provide. I think it had started with looking up dams that were hoping to profit from the passing of Proposition 2. It was like a cemetery of hopeful but ill-fated large expensive dams, now forgotten except by the local politicians still clinging to old plans. In my search I found the…
WINDY WINTER CONDITIONS: Multnomah Falls & Columbia River Gorge
So, I went to Portland for a couple of days with Curtis for a brief trip & guess what happened? SNOW! Now it is chilly up here, but we have been assured that this is not a very common occurrence. Which is obvious by the fact that a that a few inches can cause a 30+ car pile-up closing I-5 on the day we planed to go home. Guess we…
The Yosemite Hiker Bus & a hiking Olmsted Point down to Mirror Lake
Yesterday I drove through the park to get home from Southern Yosemite & the Sierra National Forest (FYI: New backpacking blogs to come!), and was both surprised to see that Hwy 120 through the park is now open for passage! No stopping on the active fire perimeter, but one can get from the valley to Tuolumne Meadows! In honor of this exciting news I am going to post a day…
Hiking the Wild and Scenic Clavey River to God’s Bath
2015 Summer Update: Many of the parts of the Stanislaus National Forest that were closed to the public last summer because of Rim Fire dangers are now open again. Please use your common sense when attempting this or any trail – don’t go if there is a sign that says no access/closed/etc (yes, even if someone knocked it down or moved it out of the road). Check in online to see if there are any alerts…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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