Kibbie Lake, Yosemite: Early Summer & Full Moon Backpacking
Happy National Parks Week! Yosemite National Park is currently closed help stop the spread of COVID-19. The whole situation is a bummer, but that does allow more time to look at old photos and plan future trips. To be honest: Yes, I have canceled multiple trips because of the quarantine orders. Even some of the local hikes I was looking forward to are now off the table because the Stanislaus…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Pilot Peak, Stanislaus NF: Fire lookouts and mountain bikes
Every time I am down in the Merced River Canyon (that is the Hwy 140 entrance to that park, by El Portal) Curtis points out the Pilot Peak lookout tower standing high above us and says I should go there… you know someday. But we don’t dare take our passenger cars up the steep final grade to the top, and who wants to walk up to a lookout tower when everyone else…
Sawmill Mountain, Stanislaus National Forest: The first of many Mountain Bike Adventures!
I’m not sure why I finally decided to do it, but I have gotten myself a mountain bike. She is a Novara Madrona 27.5, which I used Curtis’s 20% off membership discount on at REI… and I have SO MANY new places can now explore with it. Maybe they will seem like odd choices, but I haven’t been able to explore around Groveland and the Stanislaus National Forest as much as…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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