Mt. Hood may be an icon of northern Oregon, and its Timberline Trail may be epic with backpackers, but it also offers some great day hiking. The scenery can be a bit varied, too – waterfalls, lakes, meadows, rock scrambles,…
When I Fell in Love with the Mountains
I have a heritage in the Canadian Rockies. Our very first cross-country trip was spent there, along with a few American parks, like Badlands, Yellowstone, and Craters of the Moon. It was beautiful. Outside of the Alps, we had never…
Spectacular Views from North Dome
Last week I posted about hiking to Indian Rock, which happens to be Yosemite National Park’s “only” arch. Not so very much further down the trail (and it really is down!) is North Dome. It’s a great place to look…
Indian Rock: Day Hiking Yosemite’s Only Arch
On our recent visit to Yosemite, there were a few “must do” hikes on my list along the Tioga Road, namely, Cloud’s Rest and North Dome. Actually, the dome didn’t interest me as much as a photo I had seen…
9 Best Day Hikes in Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is definitely unique – sea stacks and tide pools give way to temperate rain forests, which melt into alpine valleys and steep-sided mountains. This is perfect environment for seaside strolls, forest hikes, waterfalls, and high-alpine hiking in…
Hiking a Misty Mazama Trail to McNeil Point
The weather really can make or break a trip or a hike. Last year, visiting Mt. Hood, the weather went from socked in to quite cloudy, to totally cloudy and misty and rainy. The last day we decided to do…
Hiking the Virginia Lakes to K19 Viewpoint
The Virginia Lakes! They are beautiful, especially early in the season when they are surrounded by snow. But at any time of the summer or fall they are a destination well worth visiting – near enough to Yosemite National Park…
Sneak Peak: A California Trip through Desert and Snow
Well, I just got back from a fantastic trip to California! We saw the desert, and we saw snow (lots of snow!), not to mention some truly fabulous views of mountains, cliffs, slot canyons, salt flats, and the beautiful NorCal…
10 Best Day Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain is one of those parks famous for its peaks. Now, I think there are better mountain views in Colorado, but for a classic experience, Rocky Mountain is certainly a good one (especially considering how convenient it is to…
Spectacular Hidden Valley on Mt. Shasta
There may be no other trail in the US quite like the one to Hidden Valley, high on the side of Mt. Shasta in California. The trail begins as a fairly normal one, passing through forests up to a stone…