Piute Pass was one of my favorite trails in the High Sierra. (A few of the other contenders were Saddlebag Lake (20 Lakes Basin), Kearsarge Pass, and San Joaquin Mountain.) The sheer beauty along the path up to the saddle…
Smoking Stacks in the Monument Geyser Basin
The Monument Geyser Basin in central Yellowstone National Park was heralded to me as a great adventure. Here you could enjoy a geyser basin in its natural state, without crowds or even boardwalks! Unfortunately, I’m afraid it was a bit…
118 Miles on the Pacific Coast, Mount Hood, and Mount Rainier!
Last time, I wrote about my adventures in the High Sierras of California. Here’s the rest of the trip – including volcanoes in the Cascade Range! From Yosemite, we drove north through Sacramento and Redding and up to McCloud Falls. …
81 Miles in the High Sierras!
I’m back!! I know I’ve taken off quite a few weeks on the blog, but I’ll be back to regular posting soon. For now, here’s what I’ve been up to for the last five or so weeks as my van…
Biscuit Basin, Mystic Falls, and Biscuit Basin Overlook
I chose the perfect morning to visit the Biscuit Geyser Basin and Mystic Falls. Perfect, as in it was so misty, I could barely see the geothermal features, and the waterfall was almost obscured! I even climbed up to the…
Hiking to Elephant Arch
I sometimes imagine that it must be hard for explorers to come up with original names for the features they discover. How many Beacon Rocks, Twin Peaks, Old Baldies, Haystack Mountains, Sugarloaf Peaks, and Flat Top Mountains are there in…
Official off-trail Views from the Blue Forest Route
After the Wilderness Route, the Blue Forest Route was my favorite hike in Petrified Forest National Park during my visit last fall. The good news? It’s much shorter and much, much easier to follow than the Wilderness Route. So as…
Courthouse Wash to Forget-Me-Not Canyon
The hike from Courthouse Wash to Forget-Me-Not Canyon isn’t exactly a route I’d recommend. It’s filled with rock scrambles, delicate Leave No Trace areas (yes, you can do it; I’ll tell you how), zero official trails, sketchy slickrock, and a…
Yellowstone Lake Overlook at West Thumb
Yellowstone Lake Overlook at West Thumb is possibly the best viewpoint I’ve found of Yellowstone Lake. (The other contenders are Elephant Back Mountain (too many trees), Storm Point and Gull Point (very nice but on level with the lake), an…
Sneak Peak: Arches, Island in the Sky, and More!
Yesterday, I posted about all of the trails in Arches National Park. Today, I’ll tell you the rest of the story – everything else we did while exploring the area around Moab on my most recent visit to the area. …