Outdoors Sub-Categories

Evolution Basin 08/12 : 7 galleries with 378 photos

Evolution Basin 08/12

7 galleries with 378 photos

Updated: Sep 05, 2012 12:28am PST

Duck Creek New Years 12 : 5 galleries with 167 photos

Duck Creek New Years 12

5 galleries with 167 photos

Updated: Sep 05, 2012 12:28am PST

Weminuche High Route 08/11 : 8 galleries with 690 photos

Weminuche High Route 08/11

8 galleries with 690 photos

Updated: Jun 11, 2013 12:06pm PST

Onion Valley Loop 09 : 6 galleries with 375 photos

Onion Valley Loop 09

6 galleries with 375 photos

Updated: Jun 11, 2013 12:06pm PST

Tahoe 4th of July 09 : 6 galleries with 221 photos

Tahoe 4th of July 09

6 galleries with 221 photos

Updated: Jun 11, 2013 12:06pm PST

Arizona Spring Break 09 : 13 galleries with 1211 photos

Arizona Spring Break 09

13 galleries with 1211 photos

Updated: Jun 11, 2013 12:06pm PST

Yosemite Birthday 08 : 4 galleries with 157 photos

Yosemite Birthday 08

4 galleries with 157 photos

Updated: Jun 11, 2013 12:06pm PST

Utah Spring Break 08 : 12 galleries with 809 photos

Utah Spring Break 08

12 galleries with 809 photos

Updated: Jun 11, 2013 12:06pm PST

Sequoia Birthday 07 : 2 galleries with 215 photos

Sequoia Birthday 07

2 galleries with 215 photos

Updated: Jun 11, 2013 12:06pm PST

Kings Canyon 06 : 7 galleries with 317 photos

Kings Canyon 06

7 galleries with 317 photos

Updated: Jun 11, 2013 12:06pm PST

Arizona Spring Break 06 : 8 galleries with 517 photos

Arizona Spring Break 06

8 galleries with 517 photos

Updated: Jun 11, 2013 12:06pm PST

Outdoors Galleries

Sequoia Camping 07/12 : Mike invited us on and quick weekend camping trip to Sequoia. While most of the group did the standard Sequoia things; Sherman Tree, Giant Forest, Grant Grove, and Tokopah Falls, dogs aren't allowed on those trails. So we spent Saturday hiking up to Jennie Lake in the wilderness outside the park. On Sunday, Mike's car went home while we hiked up Big Baldy with Mari, Andre, and Luigi.

Sequoia Camping 07/12

Mike invited us on and quick weekend camping trip to Sequoia. While mo ...

Updated: Jul 21, 2012 9:40am PST

Cottonwood Creek 06/12 : Jeremy flew out for an extended weekend loop out of Horseshoe Meadow. Our rough plan was to take the old cross-country route up the South Fork, try to hit Mt Langley on Saturday, and check out the Cottonwood Lakes. It turned out that we missed the turnoff up the South Fork almost immediately and ended up following the normal trail. (We found the use-trail on the way out. It is a hard left about twenty yards after the first creek crossing.) We passed the first lake and climbed the shoulder to get a view of Cirque Lake and the upper South Fork basin. From there we bushwhacked down to the upper lake and camped on a sandy spot at the East end. Saturday morning, we walked north through the trees to Long Lake and climbed New Army Pass to make an assault on Mt. Langley. The traverse along the crest wasn't too bad, but the climb up the Langley massif is all sandy gullies and slow going. As we reached a small ridge below the final climb, Sawyer made it clear that he wasn't feeling well and his feet were hurting. So we turned back; another time, I guess. We instead climbed from Army Pass out to the end of the ridge separating the Cottonwood and Long Lake cirques. Back down the pass, we had lunch and a nap at Long Lake before circling around to the Cottonwood Lakes side. We found a really nice campsite alongside the stream at the inlet to Lake 2. On Sunday we had some time to explore before heading out so we looped up around the rest of the Cottonwood Lakes. We followed the trail along Lake 4 and up to the high lakes 5 and 6. From Lake 6 we simply crossed the shoulder into the top of Lake 3. From there we bushwhacked again up to Muir Lake and followed the trail all the way back down.

Cottonwood Creek 06/12

Jeremy flew out for an extended weekend loop out of Horseshoe Meadow. ...

Updated: Jun 26, 2012 5:44pm PST

Mt. Whitney 06/02/2012 : Out of the blue, Mike offered me a slot on a day-hike permit. I hesitantly accepted, but the closer it got the more the idea grew on me. We drove up to the campground after work on Friday, met some of the group, and got a few hours' sleep. I awoke and left camp alone at about 3:30am to walk up to the trailhead. I left the trailhead at 4:00, part of a string of bouncing lights snaking up through the trees. I hit Lone Pine Lake in the early dawn and arrived at Bighorn Park just in time for a spectacular sunrise bathing the pinnacles. After a brief rest at Trailside Meadow I headed up the switchbacks to Trail Crest. There was a small amount of snow on the cables, but not enough to necessitate going up the chute. I reached the summit at 11:17, 43 minutes ahead of my schedule. (I felt pretty good about that, but the thing that made me feel the best is that only one guy passed me on the trail. I'm pretty sure I was the 2nd person to reach the summit from the Portal this day.) I hung around up there until 12:30 waiting for someone else from our group to join me; during that time only Val made it. I headed down, passing Eric, Rit, Geoff, Kate, and many others on their way up. While refilling my water again at Trailside Meadow I met up with Dirk and we stuck together the rest of the way down. We were early enough to grab a burger at the Portal Store and have a couple of beers before walking back down to the campground. I had set myself a fairly conservative goal of an eight-hour climb. Since the safe turn around time is noon (due to the possibility of thunderstroms), this would mean a departure of 4:00. I had printed on my map the series of landmarks with their distances, elevations, and estimated arrival times. That gave me a number of intermediate goals which helped to maintain a feeling of accomplishment. I think some people become discouraged when the only goal is the summit which at times can feel so very far away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp mi &nbsp&nbspelev &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp goal &nbsp&nbspactual Whitney Portal&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 0 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp8637 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp0' &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp4:00 Lone Pine Lake &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 2.8 &nbsp&nbsp9420&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 1'15" &nbsp5:17 Outpost Camp &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 3.8 &nbsp 10360 &nbsp&nbsp2' &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp5:51 Trailside Meadow &nbsp5.3 &nbsp 11395 &nbsp3'30" &nbsp6:38 Trail Camp &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 6.3 &nbsp 12039 &nbsp&nbsp4' &nbsp&nbsp &nbsp&nbsp7:44 Trail Crest &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 8.5 &nbsp&nbsp13777&nbsp&nbsp 6' &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 9:35 Summit &nbsp&nbsp &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 11 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp14505 &nbsp&nbsp8' &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 11:17

Mt. Whitney 06/02/2012

Out of the blue, Mike offered me a slot on a day-hike permit. I hesita ...

Updated: Jun 03, 2012 10:28pm PST

Alger Creek 05/20/12 : This was supposed to be a more dramatic gallery of climbing Vivian Creek to the summit of San Gorgonio. But when we got to Forest Falls, the road was closed. (ok, my bad, probably should have checked. but the forest service authorized and faxed me a permit and said nothing!) So we improvised and hiked the trail to Alger Creek Camp instead. It was hot, but a pretty decent 8 mile round trip.

Alger Creek 05/20/12

This was supposed to be a more dramatic gallery of climbing Vivian Cre ...

Updated: May 20, 2012 8:58pm PST

Sespe Creek 04/22/12 : We spent the day hiking the five miles down to Bear Creek Camp and back, splashing in the cool water as many times as possible. It's a hot, dry trail even on a moderate spring day, but the swimming holes make all the difference!

Sespe Creek 04/22/12

We spent the day hiking the five miles down to Bear Creek Camp and bac ...

Updated: Apr 23, 2012 5:42pm PST

Hooker-Jackass Loop 10/16/11 : we went up to the Southern Sierras for the weekend in search of some autumn aspen color. we did an 11-mile loop in the South Sierra Wilderness; up to Hooker Meadow, continuing up to Albanita Meadow, then back down Jackass Creek. the initial trail up to Hooker is easy and fairly well trodden. upon reaching the meadow, however, the tracks petered out and we were left to meander our way through the meadow grasses. after checking out the aspens (the largest grove on the Kern Plateau), we just kept heading up until we reached the head of the meadow and then ducked through a short wooded patch and emerged into Albanita Meadow. this meadow seemed to have tendrils reaching in all directions, but we followed a (cow?) trail up one of the westerly arms in the general direction of Jackass Peak. I'm guessing that there are myriad ways to traverse Albanita. just below the peak, we reached the junction with Jackass Trail. I'm not sure if there was supposed to be a foot path down the canyon, but we followed the dirtbike track which mostly stayed up high on the eastern slope. the trail back to the Hooker trailhead would be very easy to miss. (thank you, gps) just watch carefully as you reach the end of the rocky ridge on the east side; there is an open flat spot on the left about 30 yards wide with the faint remnants of an old road. we camped at a primitive site above a meadow along the forest road which accesses the trailhead. there were several nice spots nestled in there, and I see no reason to pay for the official campgrounds. Sawyer went absolutely bonkers running around the meadow and chasing squirrels in the forest. at least it made for a very tired boy when it came time to crawl in the tent. we heard some very spooky coyotes that night, howling like soprano wolves. the last bunch of photos is from Sunday morning on the Johnsondale Bridge Trail along the Kern River.

Hooker-Jackass Loop 10/16/11

we went up to the Southern Sierras for the weekend in search of some a ...

Updated: Oct 17, 2011 11:00pm PST

Neil Creek to Ice Caves 08/03/11 : with the Crystal Lake road being washed out, we asked around and determined that the best way to get to the caves would be from Neil Creek on the south side. (turn east on Garneill Rd at the grain elevator, then north on Neil Cr Rd to where it ends.) needless to say, there hadn't been a lot of foot traffic up on top. gps track here: http://bit.ly/notHEt

Neil Creek to Ice Caves 08/03/11

with the Crystal Lake road being washed out, we asked around and deter ...

Updated: Aug 11, 2011 9:49pm PST

Crazies 07/11 : I wanted to take Angela and Sawyer to the site of my former walkabout. I had my eyes on a through-hike, but with the high snowpack levels I didn't want to chance it. so we settled on a single night at Twin Lakes. it was indeed very snowy and wet, much more so than it had been in June those many years prior. we set camp at the first lake and Sawyer and I continued up toward the pass until it became completely snowed-in. on the way out in the morning, we dropped packs at the junction and hiked up to Blue and Granite Lakes just for the scenery.

Crazies 07/11

I wanted to take Angela and Sawyer to the site of my former walkabout. ...

Updated: Aug 11, 2011 9:38pm PST

San Gorgonio Aspen Grove 10/10/10 : I decided to actually take a day off for the first time in six months, and we went up to Big Bear. the first few photos are actually from the Cougar Crest Trail on Saturday afternoon. on Sunday, we parked at the Heart Bar Campground and took the Santa Ana River Trail to the Fish Creek Trail, up to Aspen Grove.

San Gorgonio Aspen Grove 10/10/10

I decided to actually take a day off for the first time in six months, ...

Updated: Oct 11, 2010 12:24am PST

Joshua Tree 04/10 : a quick weekender to JTree. we hiked the Lost Palms Oasis on saturday morning and saw impressive amounts of wildlife and wildflowers. a quick stop at the Cholla Garden was followed by the Barker Dam Loop. sunday morning we did the Maze/Window/NorthView loop in the north end. that was great; complete solitude amongst the rocks except for a couple of equestrians toward the end. then a quickie at White Tank on the way down toward home.

Joshua Tree 04/10

a quick weekender to JTree. we hiked the Lost Palms Oasis on saturday ...

Updated: Apr 20, 2010 7:43am PST

Vasquez Rocks 04/03/10 : after a morning in the snow on Mt. Pinos, we stopped at Vasquez Rocks on the way home. Peanut had never been there and Robert wanted to see where they film all the movie scenes. it was the day before Easter, and we came across a big production of the crucifixion in the parking area. but we mostly just scrambled around on the cool rocks for a while (which is really all there is to do anyway).

Vasquez Rocks 04/03/10

after a morning in the snow on Mt. Pinos, we stopped at Vasquez Rocks ...

Updated: Apr 06, 2010 7:03am PST

Mt. Pinos Showshoeing 10 : with most of the Angeles closed due to the Station Fire, I started looking elsewhere for snowshoeing opportunities. Mt Pinos turned out to be fairly close to home and has some decent trails. these are actually from two trips, one in February when the camera battery died and one on Easter weekend when we grabbed both of the brothers and went up to find some snow.

Mt. Pinos Showshoeing 10

with most of the Angeles closed due to the Station Fire, I started loo ...

Updated: Apr 06, 2010 12:02am PST

San Gorgonio Winter Loop 12/09 : I headed up for a solo snowshoe summit loop of San Gorgonio. The trail was well packed at the bottom, and I didn't put on the shoes until the Grinnell trail junction. Almost all of the footprints turned east toward Dry Lake, but I wanted to loop counterclockwise. On the way to Dollar Lake, I came across three dayhikers, one of which was returning from the saddle with his dog. I had a quick lunch at the lake and made my way up to the saddle, where I set camp for the night. Above the saddle there was no trail or footprints whatsoever, so I was on my own route-finding around the back of Mt Jepson. It was fun, but icy, and stressful on the ligaments of the right ankle, with the constant 30° side slope. I actually found it easier to ascend more directly up to Charlton Pk and run the ridge over to Dry Lake View. The open slope of Jepson was steep and icy, but with proper traction was not a problem. I made my way around the south slopes of Jepson and SanG over toward the peak. Eventually I came across a few crampon tracks near the junction with the Sky High Trail. Up on the summit, I met a couple of guys with no spikes who had simply climbed up the bowl from above Dry Lake. I'm pretty impressed that they made it up in just boots. They headed back down the way they came and I turned northeast down the ridge. That is where I made the poor decision to descend one of the chutes. Toward the bottom, it got steeper and icier and at some point, I lost my footing and slid/tumbled a ways. It cost me a broken thumb, nine staples in my head, seven stitches in my chin, both my poles, my sunglasses, and my camera. There are, of course, no pictures after that. I bandaged myself as best I could and headed down. Shortly after Mineshaft Saddle, I came across the guys I'd met in the morning. They helped me out with some water and clif bars and stuck with me to make sure I got back to the car ok. Then I drove down the mountain and spent the night in the emergency room. I doubt that Angela will ever let me do a solo winter loop again.

San Gorgonio Winter Loop 12/09

I headed up for a solo snowshoe summit loop of San Gorgonio. The trail ...

Updated: Aug 24, 2012 2:57pm PST

Devil's Punchbowl/Vasquez Rocks 11/28/09 : A refreshing bout of cool weather and some free time over the Thanksgiving weekend led us up to the mountains. We drove up to the Devil's Punchbowl, and being unprepared for the amount of snow, chose to do only the short loop around the bowl. We'll definitely have to go up to the Chair at some point, snowshoes would be fun! Then we drove back down and checked out some dives in Palmdale before heading to Acton for another visit to the Vasquez Rocks.

Devil's Punchbowl/Vasquez Rocks 11/28/09

A refreshing bout of cool weather and some free time over the Thanksgi ...

Updated: Dec 01, 2009 5:27pm PST

San Gorgonio Aspen Grove 11/01/09 : We went up to Big Bear for the Halloween weekend. There was a nice little community gathering in the village on Halloween night, with lots of cute children and dogs in costume. Then on Sunday we hiked from the Aspen Grove trailhead down along Fish Creek for a few miles. Unfortunately, we were a couple of weeks late (there was an early season snow storm) and the aspen leaves were all on the ground already.

San Gorgonio Aspen Grove 11/01/09

We went up to Big Bear for the Halloween weekend. There was a nice lit ...

Updated: Nov 09, 2009 6:43pm PST

Baldy Loop 10/10/09 : Peanut said he had a day off and wanted to head up to the mountains. The eastern end of the San Gabriels had just reopened from the Station Fire, so we did his first Baldy summit. We took the lift up to the Notch and did the loop counterclockwise.

Baldy Loop 10/10/09

Peanut said he had a day off and wanted to head up to the mountains. T ...

Updated: Oct 25, 2009 9:19am PST

Fulcrum Palisades Backpack 07/09 : We took a crew from Fulcrum up the North Fork of Big Pine Creek with the idea of exploring the largest glacier in the Sierra Nevada, Palisade Glacier. We drove up from LA on Thursday night and camped at the Big Pine campground so we could hit the trail first thing in the morning. Mike had planned himself a loop up over Agassiz Col, and back via Scimitar Pass, bagging Mt Sill along the way. He bolted early while the rest of us geared up and headed for the trailhead. The first mile of the trail was very hot and sandy, with the all-too-familiar smell of sagebrush baking in the sun. Once we hit the confluence of the two forks, the shade increased steadily as we climbed up into the valley. When we reached the loop junction, we opted for the longer route to Fifth Lake, past Lakes 1-4, because it promised less sun exposure. The first three lakes are a beautiful glacial green, with steep shores and not many campsites. We steamed up the switchbacks between lakes 3 and 4 and headed straight for Fifth Lake to set up our basecamp. There are a handful of campsites clustered around the lake's outlet, but there was already a group there. We managed to find a few acceptable spots and squeezed in amongst the rocks. 8.2mi, 3200ft. On Saturday, we resolved to head up to the glacier. The glacier trail descends gently from Fourth Lake where Big Pine Creek flows through a small meadow, then climbs a rocky gully up to Sam Mack Meadow. The meadow was gorgeous, probably the nicest I've seen in the High Sierra, with a meandering stream surrounded by low grasses, almost like a Scottish moor. We crossed the stream and headed up a rough trail toward the glacier. At some point, the trail abruptly ended leaving us to pick our way across large talus slopes and suncupped snowfields. Not everyone was stoked about the idea, but they followed as Jeremy and I scouted the route. Most of them eventually turned back, but the two of us pushed on across the boulders until we got within sight of the main glacier. After a brief pause, we turned and headed down so as not to worry the wives. We met back up with the group and headed down to the meadow for lunch. Just as we arrived, the clouds that had been building started dumping hail. We all scrambled under some small trees and rode it out for fifteen minutes. After a bit of hummus and salami, we headed back to camp. Sunday morning we didn't do much other than have some breakfast, pack up, and march back down the valley. This time we opted for the high route past Black Lake to see some new territory. We piled back in the cars and drove down to the Pizza Factory in Lone Pine. Angela and I looped out through the Alabama Hills for a few minutes before heading home.

Fulcrum Palisades Backpack 07/09

We took a crew from Fulcrum up the North Fork of Big Pine Creek with t ...

Updated: Jul 23, 2009 11:51am PST

Icehouse-Three T's-Baldy Notch Loop 06/28/09 : Jeremy invited us to do a hike with him and Van, Kevin, and Glen. We met at our place and Jeremy drove us up to the Icehouse trailhead, where he dropped us off and went up to the Baldy ski lift to meet Glen and leave a shuttle car. When they returned, we headed up the canyon. It's definitely once of the nice spots in the San Gabriels, with cedars and a gurgling stream. We reached the saddle in a little under two hours and stopped for lunch. After a few minutes fighting off the bees, we started up the 3T's trail. The first stretch up and around Timber Mtn is a well-trodden and moderate ascent. But once you round the peak, the trail heads down toward an unnamed saddle and becomes progressively more narrow, unkempt, and overgrown. After the saddle, it is a long slog picking your way through manzanita and switchbacking up the ridge to Telegraph Pk. The spur trail to the peak is particularly steep and loose, but the views from the top are fantastic. From there, it is down to another saddle, then up the west flank of Thunder Mtn to the upper ski lift. Here the hiking trail disintegrates and we followed along the service road until we found a ski run that looked worth descending for a shortcut. I think the run we came down is Bonanza Bowl. We stopped at the Notch for some cold gatorade and nachos then rode the lift back down. 10mi, &#43 4400ft/ -1800ft, 6hrs.

Icehouse-Three T's-Baldy Notch Loop 06/28/09

Jeremy invited us to do a hike with him and Van, Kevin, and Glen. We m ...

Updated: Jun 29, 2009 8:33am PST

Fulcrum Sequoia Camping 06/09 : The first Fulcrum car-camping trip (at least the first one we followed through on) was set for Sequoia. We ended up with two McCoys, two Boultons, Andrew, and Joe; kind of a small group, but that allowed us to stick together without too much hassle. We stayed at Stony Creek Campground which gave us a nice central location to explore both Sequoia and King's Canyon, as well as the Jennie Lakes Wilderness. For Friday, Van had her mind set on Heather Lake. Angela and I had been up there a couple of years ago, but it's a great trail, so that's what we did. We took the Watchtower route, which is much more scenic than The Hump if you can handle the heights. We stopped for lunch at Heather and I scrambled across the talus in a circumambulation while the others rested. Then we continued up over the shoulder to Aster and Emerald Lakes. After another small break, we headed back down. 10.2 miles, ± 2100ft. On Saturday, we hiked up to Weaver Lake, which I'd had my eye on for a while. It was shorter and easier than the day before which was a welcome development to some members of our party. It was a pretty little lake with quite a few fishermen and nice campsites. We stopped and had lunch before heading back down. 6.4 miles, &plusmn 1100ft. Everybody wanted to see the big trees, so we drove up to Grant Grove and walked the small loop. Jeremy and Van headed back to camp to relax while Andrew drove Joe, Angela, and me down into King's Canyon. Sunday was a short, easy day since we had to drive home. Angela and I decided to do the Crescent Meadow loop in hopes of finding a bear (no luck). We bumped into Joe and Andrew about halfway through. They headed straight out afterward, while I climbed up Moro Rock.

Fulcrum Sequoia Camping 06/09

The first Fulcrum car-camping trip (at least the first one we followed ...

Updated: Jun 24, 2009 12:05pm PST

Freeman Creek - Jerkey Meadow Loop 05/09 : This year, my birthday happened to coincide with Memorial Day, so I cooked up a two-night backpack up to the lakes along the Summit Trail in the Golden Trout Wilderness. So we drove up on Friday afternoon, hoping to put a couple of miles behind us before dark, only to find the gate locked on the forest road. Somehow, the ranger who issued my wilderness permit neglected to mention this fact. It was late in the day, so we set camp at the Freeman Creek trailhead and resolved to dayhike the creek in the morning. Another group pulled in and started unloading their packs, so I went and talked to them and found that they were planning a loop down Freeman Creek, then up to Trout Meadow, and down the Little Kern. I sat with them and looked at their maps and decided to attempt their loop even though I only had a rough map with no topography information. Saturday morning we started down the trail. It descends about 1500ft through a sparse Sequoia grove along the creek. After about an hour, it flattens out and you come upon the President George Bush Tree, which was named for GHW in 1992 when he set aside groves for protection. Shortly, we stumbled into a large mass of tents clustered along the creek, so I knew we were nearing the Jerkey Meadow Road. We continued across the road toward Pyles Camp, where we turned north through Lloyd Meadow. A long hot climb ensued, past the Jerkey Meadow trailhead and up to the gap, gaining back every bit of the elevation we had just lost on Freeman Creek. We decided to head northeast down toward Fish Creek and camp as soon as we found a suitable location, which turned out to be right along the trail just down from Jug Spring. We happened to know that there were several big groups on the creek, but we had this site all to ourselves. First day: 8.9 miles, -1500ft/ +1500ft/ -800ft. This sort of extemporaneous backpacking does not really suit Angela's temperament, and I could tell she was getting frustrated, so I decided to abort the Little Kern loop and hike back up the ridge to Lewis Camp then back to the car. The upside is that it would not require another night. The downside is that it would require a long day and several hours walking on the road. The hike up to Lewis Camp was not really too bad. There were quite a few cars there; I'm not sure how they got through the gate. After the long walk down the pavement, we built a fire and roasted some hotdogs before heading out. We had an excellent dinner at the Stagecoach Bar & Grill in Springville and drove on home. Second day: 3 miles on trail/7 miles on road, +1400ft/ -600ft.

Freeman Creek - Jerkey Meadow Loop 05/09

This year, my birthday happened to coincide with Memorial Day, so I co ...

Updated: May 27, 2009 1:09pm PST

Anza-Borrego 03/09 : We decided to head out into the desert for the weekend in search of wildflowers. When we got to the park on Friday evening, both of the developed campgrounds were full, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we found a great little spot at Yaqui Well primitive camp. Saturday morning, we walked the Cactus Loop Trail, which had some nice flowers and a friendly little hummingbird. Then we headed back over to the park headquarters, hoping to hike the Palm Canyon. The lot there was full and we were turned away, so we hiked a short loop at Little Surprise Canyon. We went back to town to check out a little art fair taking place at the roundabout and cooled off with a shave-ice. In the afternoon, we drove east to Arroyo Salado for some off-roading in the truck. We drove down the wash to Seventeen Palms oasis, Five Palms oasis, and eventually made our way all the way out to the Pumpkin Patch. We backtracked and cooked lunch on the tailgate back at 17 Palms. Then we drove up to Font's Point for the vista then out to Clark Dry Lake. A wicked wind storm rolled in that night, so we just split on Sunday morning and drove home via the east loop, stopping briefly at the Salton Sea since I'd never been up close to it before. Wow, was it windy coming home on the 10 through Palm Springs. I've never seen it quite that bad.

Anza-Borrego 03/09

We decided to head out into the desert for the weekend in search of wi ...

Updated: Mar 27, 2009 6:39pm PST

Grant Grove Presidents Day 09 : I booked one of the cabins at Grant Grove for the holiday weekend. Peanut, Angela, and I headed up Friday afternoon, while Jeremy and Josh would be joining us on Saturday. Saturday morning was crystal clear, so I wanted to go up the trail to Panoramic Point. Having been there in the summer, I wanted to see it with snow-capped peaks. The winter ski/snowshoe trail goes 2.5 miles up what is a road in the summer. We followed two sets of ski tracks until after one mile, we found that it was only one skier who turned around. From then on, we were breaking trail in about a foot of powder. We made it to the vista, ate a sandwich, and hung around until we got too cold and had to start moving again. When we got back to the cabin, the Kempers' stuff was in there; they had gone down and shoed a trail near Hume Lake. On Sunday, with beautiful weather again, we chose to do the "advanced" trail from the Village to Big Stump. This trail had not been trod by anyone in a while, probably all winter. All the better. We did a scavenger hunt for orange circles and made our way down to Viola Falls on Sequoia Creek, where we had lunch. The climb back out was a long slog, but well worth it, with silent forest and pristine waist-deep powder. When we finally reached the parking lot, it was completely mobbed by people who had driven up from Fresno for some holiday snowplay. We went back to the cabin and had a little apres-lunch before heading back out to the Grant parking lot to do the North Grove Loop. This was two miles of well-packed trail with ample opportunity for off-trail scampering. We awoke Monday to snow, little whispy flakes during breakfast, transitioning to big fat flakes by the time we set out. We drove back over to the Grant parking lot and set out to circle the General Grant Tree. We looped up past the tree to the north, then east and back south to the parking lot. Not done yet, we set out again up the west circle, up to the cabin, and looped through the woods back down to the North Grove trail from the day before. This was only about 90 minutes, but by the time we got back, there was a good 8-10 inches of snow on the car. We figured it was time to get out. As I was putting the chains on Angela's car, the park ranger stopped by and said, "If I was vacationing up here in that car, I'd be heading down the hill about now." He said they were expecting up to four feet of accumulation, so it was definitely in our best interest to get out of there. Of course, after about 10 miles we were down out of the snow, and I just had to get out and remove the chains in the freezing rain. We had some pizza at the traditional place on 180, and headed home.

Grant Grove Presidents Day 09

I booked one of the cabins at Grant Grove for the holiday weekend. Pea ...

Updated: Mar 06, 2009 6:56pm PST

Mt. Waterman Snowshoeing 02/09 : These photos come from three trips up Mt. Waterman: One with Jeremy and Rene up the fireroad behind the Buckhorn ski club rope tow, One with just Angela and I along the PCT and up the west slope, then another back up the rope tow.

Mt. Waterman Snowshoeing 02/09

These photos come from three trips up Mt. Waterman: One with Jeremy an ...

Updated: Feb 22, 2009 6:13pm PST

Switzer Falls 01/24/09 : It had been raining throughout the week, so I wanted to get up into the mountains to enjoy the clear skies. I invited Michael and Peanut to hike up to San Gabriel Peak. As we drove up the Angeles Crest Highway, the clouds closed in, and we found it to be raining everywhere except in the Switzer Gap. So we changed plans and hiked to Switzer Falls instead of the peak. Since it was rainy, there weren't many people, which is unusual for this hike. It did start misting on us as we climbed out of the canyon, but we didn't really get too wet.

Switzer Falls 01/24/09

It had been raining throughout the week, so I wanted to get up into th ...

Updated: Jan 24, 2009 9:52pm PST

Baldy Loop 09/07/08 : photos i got before the camera battery died. see also my photos from two months earlier.

Baldy Loop 09/07/08

photos i got before the camera battery died. see also my photos fr ...

Updated: Jan 27, 2009 6:25pm PST

Baldy Loop 07/03/08 : i had the day off and angela didn't, so i did a Mt. Baldy summit. i did it counterclockwise, up the Notch/Backbone trail and down the Bowl/Ski Hut trail. 11.25 miles, &plusmn 4300 ft, 5.5 hrs (including a sit at the top and a splash in the falls at the end)

Baldy Loop 07/03/08

i had the day off and angela didn't, so i did a Mt. Baldy summit. i di ...

Updated: Jan 27, 2009 5:38pm PST

Fulcrum Alta Peak-High Sierra Loop 06/08 : somehow, i convinced myself that i should organize the first (annual?) Fulcrum hiking trip. originally, we had about 20 people signed up for a car-camping trip, and 8 for a backpack trip. as it turned out, all of the camping people bailed, and we were left with only the backpack group. this turned out to be a blessing, since we didn't have to pay for the big group campsite for three nights, and instead only needed one night. we left Wolverton trailhead up the Alta Trail. we decided to stay at Mehrten Meadow (which was very pleasant), and day-hike to Alta Peak. Mehrten is only 4 miles from the trailhead, but the peak is another 5mi round-trip. Van and Angela decided to stay behind (and they had a campfire ready when we returned), while the men attempted the summit. there was not much snow, but it was very steep and gravelly, making it a fairly challenging summit. Kevin and I followed Mike's lead and scrambled up to the ridge running from Tharp's Rock. if you have the energy, i recommend it because of the views to the west. the next morning, Jeremy and Van headed back to the car, while the rest of us set off for the High Sierra Trail. our plan was to camp at Mehrten Creek and dayhike to the east. but Jon's heels were in bad shape, and Andrew wasn't feeling well, so we ended up walking all the way out to Crescent Meadow (7.3mi). we sent Mike over the Wolverton Cutoff to get the car and pick us up. we scrambled to find a campsite for Saturday night, but Lodgepole was full. the girl in the booth (who coincidentally had been the only other party to summit Alta yesterday), redirected us to Stoney Creek who had first-come sites 12 miles north. by the time we got there, the campground was full, but Kevin laid on the sob story and managed to get us a site for the night. then on sunday, since many of our group had never visited Sequoia, we toured the normal spots at the General Sherman Tree and the Crystal Cave before heading home.

Fulcrum Alta Peak-High Sierra Loop 06/08

somehow, i convinced myself that i should organize the first (annual?) ...

Updated: May 27, 2009 1:08pm PST

Death Valley Presidents Day 08 : we took the long winter weekend and went up to Death Valley. i have previously visited the far northern and southern reaches of the park, but had never been to the actual Valley itself. so we drove north on friday and camped next to Diaz Lake in Lone Pine at the foot of the mountains. it was below freezing that night, but we came prepared. the only bad thing was a guy who showed up at 7:30 in the morning with a noisy pickup and a chainsaw to cut up a fallen tree in the campsite right next to ours. we had breakfast at a coffee shop in town and explored up the Whitney Portal road a bit before heading east into the desert. maybe we shouldn't have, because by the time we got to Furnace Creek, the tents-only campsite was full, and we got stuck in the "tent overflow" area of Sunset campground. it is pretty much just a graded gravel parking lot next to the sea of RVs in which people can throw down tents. we were able to use the tables at the day-use sites in Texas Spring to eat dinner, but we didn't have the luxury of a firepit. after claiming our patch of gravel, we headed straight down to Badwater since we wanted to do the north end of the park on sunday. Badwater and Devil's Golfcourse were packed, naturally. we detoured through the Artist's Drive on the way back, which was well worthe the extra 20 minutes. just after sunset, we met up with a ranger at the visitors' center and he pointed us to the sky to see the infamous spy satellite (the one the navy shot down 4 days later) and the International Space Station (while the shuttle was attached). sunday morning we split early to beat the crowds to Scotty's Castle. that was definitely the right move, because it was a zoo by the time we finished our tour. then we headed over to the volcano and hiked around the rim. i really wanted to see the Racetrack, but aborted the attempt on account of the severely washboarded road. if i ever get a 4wd, i'll try it again. we instead circled around to the east edge of the park to check out the Rhyolite ghost town and get gas in Beatty, NV (75% of the price at Furnace Creek). coming back into the valley, we drove down the Titus Canyon road. the road is at times very steep and rocky, but it was awesome to wind down through the ravines and end up driving out the bottom of a slot canyon. monday morning, we tromped around on the dunes for a while and did a quick hike up Mosaic Canyon, which is a slot canyon carved into marble. i developed camera issues and have little evidence of this portion of the weekend (other than the sand that's still in my shoes). on the way home, we took an alternate route south out of Panamint Valley to swing by the Trona Pinnacles.

Death Valley Presidents Day 08

we took the long winter weekend and went up to Death Valley. i have pr ...

Updated: Jan 27, 2009 2:39pm PST

Trona Pinnacles 02/18/08 : following our weekend in Death Valley, we came home through a stretch of California i'd never seen and visited the Trona Pinnacles. actually, we saw a little more than i'd bargained for when i followed the sign for 395 in Ridgecrest and had to take Redrock-Randsberg Road over to 14.

Trona Pinnacles 02/18/08

following our weekend in Death Valley, we came home through a stretch ...

Updated: Jan 27, 2009 1:19pm PST

Baden-Powell Snowshoe Summit 01/13/08 : on saturday afternoon, we hastily threw some stuff together and headed up to Vincent Gap with the idea of ascending Mt. Baden-Powell on sunday. unfortunately, we didn't consider the fact that the snow would draw every other person in LA to Mountain High. so we fought traffic for about an hour getting through Wrightwood and past the ski hill. it was basically dark by the time we reached the trailhead, so we just walked up the fire road a little ways and threw the tents down right in the road. we didn't have the spillage issues of last month, and it was only barely below freezing, so in the morning we were good to go. as we suited up, there were three other guys heading up; one pair going up the face with ice climbing gear, and one guy going up the trail to ski down the gully. our intention was to just follow the trail to the summit. but we lost the trail beneath the snow after a mile or so, and just scrambled up to the best of our ability. since we were on the north face, we were mostly in timber and knee-deep snow. once we reached the ridge on top, it was really windy and icy, almost to the point of needing crampons. the air was quite clear and we could see Baldy, San Gorgonio, and San Jacinto to the east, the ocean to the south, and across the Mojave to the Sierras in the north. we spent about 5 minutes freezing at the top, and turned back down. we were back at the car about 3:00, and resolved to take the Pear Blossom highway home to avoid the ski traffic on 138 and the vegas traffic on 15. but before we could get down to the turnoff we got stuck in gridlock behind a rolled suv. we sat there in the road and listened to Fox Confessor Brings the Flood three times.

Baden-Powell Snowshoe Summit 01/13/08

on saturday afternoon, we hastily threw some stuff together and headed ...

Updated: Jan 26, 2009 9:40pm PST

Snowy San Gorgonio 12/07 : Jeremy, Josh and I went up to the San Gorgonio Wilderness for a weekend in the snow. There was about 2 inches at the South Fork trailhead, and it got steadily deeper from there. After passing Dry Lake, there were no more footprints, and we broke trail up to Mineshaft Saddle. We set camp just over 10,000ft in about 8 inches of snow. we had passed up filling our bladders at Lodgepole, so we melted snow for dinner and drinking water, which of course, caused us to run out of fuel. Both Jeremy's and my bladders leaked as they froze overnight, and we awoke with our feet in a puddle. It was 23 degrees when I climbed out of the tent. So the combination of wet feet and no hot breakfast caused us to abort our attempt on the summit and turn back down South Fork. But from our campsite atop Mineshaft Knob, we skirted west along the ridge, and then broke hard down toward Lodgepole Spring. There was nearly a foot of snow on this north-facing slope, and we had a blast boot-skiing down with only minor mishaps. Water at the spring was a welcome sight (so we didn't have to drink the water filtered from the tent puddle). Then we tromped across Dry Lake, ignoring the obvious hazard of falling in. We busted on down out of there and had a most-tasty hamburger at the A&W in Redlands.

Snowy San Gorgonio 12/07

Jeremy, Josh and I went up to the San Gorgonio Wilderness for a weeken ...

Updated: Jan 26, 2009 1:27pm PST

Paradise Valley 06/07 : we went for a quick two-nighter to Paradise Valley in King's Canyon. friday was spent driving and exploring the roadside (or thereabouts) sights, Zumwalt Meadow, Roaring River and Grizzly Falls. we spent the night at the campground in Cedar Grove. saturday morning we headed to Road's End to get permits and bear cans. permits for Paradise Valley were already at 24, with a limit of 25 people per day. luckily, the ranger was nice and let it slide. the guy behind us in line, though, had to go up Bubb's Creek instead. the hike to Paradise Valley is a fairly easy 6.5 miles with only moderate elevation gain. but it was pretty hot and exposed in places, and there were lots of rattlesnakes. we pitched camp at Lower Paradise (they only allow camping in designated sites in the valley), and being the first there, got the primo spot right on the river. unfortunately, a group of 12 with what seemed more like seventeen kids showed up later and plopped down right next to us. so we got to listen to screaming toddlers all night. i don't understand how it's fun to go backpacking when you have to carry your gear and your children. we split early in the morning and made our way up the valley to Upper Paradise Camp by about noon. we dropped our bags and explored a ways up the trail along Woods Creek toward the PCT. we were all alone at the campsite, except for a couple of yearling deer that hung around the camp most of the evening. monday was about 10 miles back to the trailhead, marvelling at the exponential increase in the number of people with each passing switchback.

Paradise Valley 06/07

we went for a quick two-nighter to Paradise Valley in King's Canyon. f ...

Updated: Feb 03, 2009 2:59pm PST

Joshua Tree 04/07 : we went out to Joshua Tree for the weekend. forecasts were for daytime highs in the mid-70's, which seemed perfect to me. so we planned to leave around noon on friday. of course, we didn't get moving promptly and ended up fighting traffic and rain all the way, eventually reaching the park at about 7:30. a sign at the entrance said "Campgrounds Full", and it was getting dark, so we opted to camp in town. i'd printed directions to the overflow camping available on BLM land, but as we turned off the highway, i saw a sign for Joshua Tree Lake, where we decided to stay. it was spartan, but only $15, and has showers and toilets; i'd recommend it if there's not room in the park. in the morning, we bustled into the park and looped around the campgrounds, eventually finding a spot in Jumbo Rocks, despite the sign at the entrance indicating it was full. saturday's plan was a hike into the Wonderland of Rocks to Willow Hole. it starts at the south end of Boy Scout Trail, and then ventures amongst the granite piles, ending up at a seasonal spring. there was no water visible, but its presence was evidenced by the abundance of green plants and bighorn sign. someday maybe i'll camp near there and arrive at daybreak to see if the sheep would make themselves visible. we got back to the car in the mid-afternoon and decided to do some of the vehicle-based tourist sites. we drove up to Keys View, and looked down on Indio and Coachella. San Gorgonio to the west and San Jacinto to the south were both obscured by clouds. then we drove to the east end and briefly visited the Cholla Garden and Ocotillo Patch, both of which were in bloom. we stopped at White Tank campground on the way back to take a peek at the Arch Rock. back at Jumbo Rock, we made dinner and settled in. i clambered on the rocks and took some sunset photos. after dark i did my first experiments with night sky photography with my new camera. not much luck; i'll have to keep experimenting. on sunday morning, we did the short hike to the summit of Ryan Mountain. it was very windy, and a little cold, but we fought through it. it was fun to look down on the Wonderland we had been in the day before. in the afternoon, we drove down to 29 Palms (the town), and did the hike to 49 Palms (the oasis). it was a quick easy hike, which of course means hordes of people, but that's par for the course on a spring weekend in Joshua Tree.

Joshua Tree 04/07

we went out to Joshua Tree for the weekend. forecasts were for daytime ...

Updated: Jan 28, 2009 1:03pm PST

Colby Bridge to Strawberry Peak 04/01/07 : from the parking lot at the bridge, Strawberry Peak Trail follows Big Tujunga Creek for a while before looping up and around the eastern flank of the peak. after reaching the saddle connecting to Mt Lawlor, it climbs the south face of the peak, which is pretty narrow and rocky and a bit overgrown. 12 miles r-t, 2680 ft

Colby Bridge to Strawberry Peak 04/01/07

from the parking lot at the bridge, Strawberry Peak Trail follows Big ...

Updated: Jan 28, 2009 8:51am PST

South Fork to Dry Lake 11/19/06 : sometimes LA bewilders me. you can wake up on the beach in Malibu and with a three-hour drive and a three-hour hike, you can be having lunch beside a placid subalpine lake. i'd never heard of the San Gorgonio Wilderness, and i'm a little peeved about it. for as remote as it is, it's shockingly close to home. on the drive up highway 38, you could almost convince yourself you're driving into King's Canyon, and once you're on the trail you'd almost swear you're in the High Sierra. we hiked the South Fork Trailhead to Poopout Hill, South Fork Meadows, and Dry Lake. it was a perfectly reasonable dayhike, with one-way measurements of 6 miles and 2200ft. the first 2.5 miles are not very interesting, covering the span from the parking lot to the end of the old Poopout Hill Road at the Wilderness boundary. (the guidebook i got from the library was an old edition, which spoke of how you "previously" had to hike to the top of this hill, before the road was built, and poop yourself out before even reaching the wilderness. unfortunately for us, that road has now been closed, and we're back to the original pooping-out.) but once you enter the wilderness, it becomes nicely wooded, and roughly follows the stream up to the meadow. it turns out to be not much of a meadow, but more of a series of stream crossings. none of them were tricky in mid-November, but i imagine that you'd want tevas in the early summer. once you leave the meadow, the trail climbs toward the ridge and then angles to the southeast until the creek comes up to meet you just shy of the lake. the trip took us three hours up, and two hours down. with the shortened winter days, that was about as much as possible. but since angela didn't hate it, i hope to try again next summer with an overnight and an assault on the highest peak in Southern California.

South Fork to Dry Lake 11/19/06

sometimes LA bewilders me. you can wake up on the beach in Malibu and ...

Updated: Jan 29, 2009 10:12am PST

Pine Knot Trail 11/18/06 : we headed up to Big Bear for the weekend. on saturday afternoon, we decided to do a short afternoon hike into the hills to the south. we parked at the Aspen Grove trailhead, which had no aspens, and headed for Grandview Point, where we found no viewpoint. i think i got us lost a little on this hill, because the USGS map shows one trail, when in fact, the mountain is lacerated with trails in all sorts of directions. but it was a nice afternoon stroll in the forest, and that's really all we were looking for.

Pine Knot Trail 11/18/06

we headed up to Big Bear for the weekend. on saturday afternoon, we de ...

Updated: Jan 29, 2009 10:19am PST

Rubio Canyon 04/02/06 : just a really quick hike up a small canyon in Altadena to a few small falls.

Rubio Canyon 04/02/06

just a really quick hike up a small canyon in Altadena to a few small ...

Updated: Jan 29, 2009 10:45am PST

Vasquez Rocks 03/25/06 : i must have driven by dozens of times on the 14 before i finally investigated to see if these rocks could be explored. it turns out that it's a state park just off the freeway in Acton. unfortunately, it was an overcast day; i'll have to make another trip when it's sunny for more dramatic photos. most of the B&W photos were shot through a red filter to enhance contrast in the bland light conditions.

Vasquez Rocks 03/25/06

i must have driven by dozens of times on the 14 before i finally inves ...

Updated: Jan 29, 2009 10:58am PST

Miller Mine 03/14/04 : Feroce, Ian, Michelle, Angela and I got a bit of exercize and introduced Michelle to the San Gabriels.

Miller Mine 03/14/04

Feroce, Ian, Michelle, Angela and I got a bit of exercize and introduc ...

Updated: Jan 29, 2009 11:29am PST