california

  1. TheMountainRabbit

    Red's Meadow to Tuolumne Meadows via the High Route (Ansel Adams/Yosemite Wilderness) - August 2022

    On an invite from a good friend, I headed out to the Sierra Nevada for the first time in a few years. I was really excited for this one - the Sierra doesn't have quite the "wild" feeling of my usual trips in the GYE or Winds, but the sheer size and beauty of the scenery is hard to beat - and the...
  2. wsp_scott

    SEKI 2021

    Warning: tons of photos, probably too many Sequoia National Park 7/28 - 8/5/21 (8 nights) Shepherd Pass Stock Trailhead (Inyo NF) Total distance ~70 miles and 20,000' elevation Day 1: Stock Trailhead to Anvil Camp (CalTopo miles) - distance: 9.08mi range: 5681' to 10245'gross: +5541'...
  3. J

    Mojave Natl. Preserve: Midhills to Castle Mtns Nov. 26-28, 2021

    n Nov 26th I headed for Mid Hills Campground. After setting up I did the short hike to Eagle Rocks. Near sunset I walked out to the unnamed mountains at the head of Black Canyon on the south side of the Mid Hills road. To summit Eagle Rocks requires climbing a pure granitic 40 foot steep face...
  4. J

    Death Valley Natl. Pk. Upper Monarch Canyon plus. Dec 1, 2021

    My final day in Death Valley for 2021. Began the day at Harmony Borax Works. Cottonball Basin was beautiful in the morning. Harmony Borax Hill by John Morrow, on Flickr Cottonball Basin, Death Valley Natl. Park by John Morrow, on Flickr I drove to Mile 1.1 on the Chloride Cliff Road where...
  5. Tim Valentine

    Point Reyes National Seashore December 2021

    A big storm was coming to the west coast so I ditched my Yosemite camping plan after one snowy day and headed to the coast. I spent a couple of days in the coastal rain, (not snow :whistle:) car camping and day hiking the short trails in Point Reyes. I was looking for wildlife to photograph but...
  6. priz1234

    John Muir Trail 2021

    This trip report ended up being way longer than I had anticipated it being. I tried to keep the number of photos down as well but if you do want to see more photos and read less text I've set up a Smugmug account recently and I've got a photo centric report over there. Here is the link to that...
  7. fossana

    Palisades Roundabout (High Sierra)

    Background Knowing that I was heading out to the Sierra at the end of June, on a whim I decided to look for last minute backpacking permits for the 4th of July weekend. Earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic Inyo NF had moved their permits to all online reservations, and I was able to grab the last...
  8. fossana

    Evolution Loop (High Sierra)

    Background Armed with a new hip and 2 months of obsessive training, I planned to test out my hip on one of my favorite big Sierra hikes, a loop through Evolution Basin and Darwin Canyon starting at Sabrina Lake and ending at North Lake. The route passes through some of the most prized terrain...
  9. J

    A few days in Mojave National Preserve Dec. 5-7, 2020

    Mojave is one of the most underrated National Park Service Units in the nation, in my humble opinion. After mostly a rest day I arrived on the Aiken Mine Road NW of Baker, CA. Any SUV can make it down this road with ease, from the North, for the first 8 miles (a spot roughly between Button Mtn...
  10. Tim Valentine

    Hoover Wilderness August 2020

    Just to the east of Yosemite lies the Hoover Wilderness. When they made Yosemite they probably grabbed as much land as they could without upsetting local landowners. Hoover Wilderness lies just outside Yosemite but it doesn't know it is not a national park. It has some national park worthy...
  11. Jammer

    Sequoia: Upper Kern and Lake South America

    After skipping my traditional spring trip to Utah and spending way too much time cooped up in front of the computer, I finally escaped last month for a "local" trip to the Sequoia backcountry. I say "local" because I could do this entire trip self-sustained with only one stop at a gas pump along...
  12. Miya

    2nd Solo - Trinity Alps Wilderness - Wildflower Madness!

    *All photos are sized for my Instagram account, so I apologize for the picture quality haha Alright guys. Second solo trip! Woot woot! I did NOT do the 27 miles I had planned. I think I did…about ~13 ☹ My excuse is that Monday I tore 3 tendons in my foot/ankle, but honestly, this was an...
  13. Miya

    Death Valley Birthday - Part 2 (3.7.20-03.8.20)

    After spending 2 nights at Stovepipe Wells Campground, I was pretty excited and nervous to pack up and head to Wildrose. I had originally read horrible reviews for Wildrose and raving reviews for Stovepipe Wells. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I disliked Stovepipe Wells very much and LOVED...
  14. Miya

    Death Valley Birthday - Part 1 (3.5.20-3.6.20)

    I am going to try to skip my story and keep this short, because I have so many pictures I want to share! I focused on sharing the main tourist attraction photos and not necessarily my favorite, but you can see them all at the link below...
  15. Tim Valentine

    Pinnacles National Park Winter

    This relatively new National Park is located in Central California, closer to the coast than it is to the High Sierra, Pinnacles is a great day hiking destination. It remains snow free and accessible all winter. There is only one campground, located on the East side. There is no road through...
  16. Tarp Boy

    High Sierra Camp Loop, Yosemite, CA

    June-July 2016 This is a recap of my favorite backpacking trip – one I hope to repeat in the next few years. We were limited to the last week in June and first week in July due to work constraints. We lucked out that year because most of the snow had already melted. Had we gone the next year...
  17. fossana

    Bat Mountain traverse (Funeral Mountains)

    Intro Last winter I was looking for early season peak bagging opportunities and came across Harlan Stockman's trip report for Bat Mountain in the Funeral Mountains with photos of a tantalizing ridge traverse that chained the 2 main Bat peaklets. The winds ended up being bad on my original trip...
  18. J

    Death Valley National Park Keene Canyon-Wonder Mine Loop. Dec. 3, 2019

    Fantastic Dayhike loop up a pretty canyon with plenty of dryfall scrambling, a visit to two major mine sites, and a descent down on of the longer trails in the national park. Any issues or concerns are diligently described in Michel Digonnet's: "Hiking Death Valley". Only recently restored and...
  19. J

    Death Valley Natl Pk Ibex Peak, Jubliee Mtn, Virgin Springs summits Dec. 2, 2019

    Three shorter but highly enjoyable summit scrambles on the south side of Jubilee Pass Hwy, 178 in the south end of Death Valley National Park. Straightforward. Lots of info out on Ibex Peak 4751" standard route. Most cars can do the 1.5 mile approach road. Small camping area at end but...
  20. J

    Death Valley NP: Corkscrew and Artist Palette Peaks, scramble dayhikes Nov 2019

    Nov. 21st: Lots of info out there for Corkscrew Peak. We possessed really none of it but I remembered needing to head for the spring identified on the south slope in the Topo. From near there we picked up a trail that led us rising through fog, sleet, and graupel squalls in a corkscrew...
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