Fall was in the air, and my thoughts turned to school, number two Ticonderoga pencils and my former colleagues stuck in their classrooms. For my final fall backpacking trip of the season I embarked on a four day sojourn to the beloved Yosemite Valley once again. There I spent a rainy but lovely evening. Two […]
Read more "Un Cuento del Camino: The Lottery Winners"This hike’s nominations for “Trail Highlight” are: The Cloudripper, The Medic, The Foxtail Pine and The Clark’s Nutcracker. Upon my first visit to the South Lake Trailhead above the town of Bishop, California I thought it was the prettiest high sierra trailhead I had yet seen. I feel a second opinion is in order, so […]
Read more "Un Cuento del Camino: Loose Ends (August 8 to August 12, 2022)"Here we have a 16 mile round trip hike between “Mineral King” (approximate elevation: 8,000 feet) and Franklin Pass (approximate elevation: 12,000 feet.) Mineral King (now officially part of Sequoia National Park) is a sub alpine valley in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains accessible by road from the western slope via Visalia, California. The final […]
Read more "Un Cuento del Camino: Disneyland in the Sky (July 17, 2022 to July 20, 2022)"Below we have a twenty mile round trip hike to Waterwheel Falls located in the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. When I suggested to My Beloved that she accompany me on this hike, she replied that she would only go if The Catcher (See Trail Report Redux: The Lost Boys) and His Beloved also went […]
Read more "Un Cuento del Camino: Reintroducing The Catcher and His Beloved to The Trail (June 27, 2022 to July 1, 2022)"On the evening of June 20th, I was honored with a phone call from my niece who had a “crazy question”. I assumed I was being enlisted to answer a science question, but no. The question was “Do you want to hike The John Muir Trail with me?”. The JMT, as it is commonly referred […]
Read more "A JOHN MUIR TRAIL REPORT: JMT: SUMMER OF 2020"On July 24th, The Niece and I were reunited at the Onion Valley campground in the mountains above Independence, California. She made really good time and came in two days ahead of schedule. The Onion Valley campground is very beautiful and I can highly recommend it. We found a nice site and we spent the […]
Read more "A JOHN MUIR TRAIL REPORT: JMT: Summer of 2020 (Part 2)"On Tuesday, August 18th, I awoke early and drove to Lake Tenaya above Yosemite Valley for a short visit to the now (partially) open Yosemite National Park. Yo, Semite! As in previous visits, I enjoyed the light traffic and quietness of the valley and the park. My first goal was to paddle board on Lake […]
Read more "TRAIL REPORT: May Lake (August 18th, 2020)"Amazing: causing great surprise or wonder; astonishing. Grace: to honor or credit someone or something by one’s presence. Upon learning that Yosemite National Park would be partially open during the pandemic, I seized the opportunity to visit its backcountry in an “uncrowded” state. I secured wilderness permits for the months of July, August, September and […]
Read more "Trail Report: “Amazing Grace”: Tuolumne Meadows Loop (October 6, 2020)"Greetings Earthlings! I hope this trail report finds you well. I hope that you are safe, sound and healthy. We are all well here. I recently made a pilgrimage to pay homage to my local Monolith atop Pine Mountain (elevation 1296 feet) in Atascadero, California. The Monolith I visited is actually the second Monolith to […]
Read more "And Now A Special Report: Have Yourself a Merry Little Monolith (December 12, 2020)"Greetings friends. I hope this trail report finds you in good health. This one is dedicated to Jesus. The 1964 Wilderness Preservation Act established a means for preserving federal lands as designated wilderness areas. These wilderness areas enjoy the most stringent level of protection of any federal lands. In California there are close to one […]
Read more "Trail Report: Borderlands (April 10, 2021)"
"Trail Reports" 