Saddlebag Lake Hiking – to Greenstone & Hummingbird Lakes
October, it has gone by so quickly! & Between a trip to Michigan and the government shutdown I have not spent much time in the Sierra. Actually, Curtis and I were supposed to go backpacking with our friends, Jen & Ryan, over the Columbus day weekend – but without being able to get a wilderness permit we had to call off that plan. Not the type of people to let…
Backpacking Buena Vista Lake to Quartz Mountain Trailhead – Day 3 Buena Vista Loop
There is something very strange about waking up in the morning without having any idea what time it is, nor anyone to judge your own sleeping habits against. I had forgotten my analog watch, which was alright since I had my GPS and cell phone for the time, but not very convenient. On day three I woke up somewhat before sunrise (it was getting light out though) and I was…
Backpacking Johnson Lake to Buena Vista Lake – Day 2 Buena Vista Loop
Have you heard about how Yosemite has to kick people out of the park starting today because of the government shutdown? Word is that with the government shutdown the roads through Yosemite to accommodate through traffic, but with a big No Recreating clause. What puts the cherry on top of the whole situation is that Google decided today to post a “Happy Birthday Yosemite” doodle. Personally I think this is great…
Backpacking Quartz Mountain Trailhead to Johnson Lake – Day 1 Buena Vista Loop
Between the Rim fire and other commitments I have not been able to spend too much time hiking with my favorite hiking partner, and boyfriend, Curtis. This past month Curtis has been been working on creating a models and maps for the burned areas of the Stanislaus, with a side gig of representing soil scientists everywhere in the A.P., San Jose Mercury and L.A. Times. Which is cool and all, but…
Backpacking Cathedral Lake, Tahoe Desolation Wilderness and up to Mt Tallac
Why do I go backpacking? I go backpacking because I want to get away, to feel the air in my lungs and the burn in my legs, to connect with my hiking partners, to find something new and different, to explore, and (of course) to visit some very beautiful places. But backpacking is nothing if not practical – carrying everything one needs all in one backpack – and sometimes what…
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…
Backpacking Merced Pass Lakes to Ottoway Lake – Days 3 & 4
As the sun rises on day three of our hike, we are so close to Ottoway lake that I can taste it. But, as it turns out day 3 is the day that Curtis and I’s responsibility as trip leaders come into play, and then in a another group decision as friends we end up completing our 5 day backpacking trip on day 4 in a impressive hike to the end…
Day Hiking the Duck Pass Trail, Mammoth Lakes
It is fire season in California, which means two things: (1) Curtis leaves me behind to work looking at fire damaged soils, down near this time near San Bernardino, and (2) There is smoke everywhere, including the Mammoth Lakes Basin on the east side of the Sierra from a fire on the Sierra National Forest. But even if the vistas are a little obscured smoke should not, and will not, ruin a…
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…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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