Hiking • Page 2

Did you take those photos? They’re incredible. There are randomly bison on Catalina island off the coast of Long Beach, they’re near animals!

 

Unfortunately, not... I've been meaning to get out to both with my pro cameras, but just take my iPhone every time so far.







As far as the buffalo go... when we were first stationed out there my wife (then gf) went to go feed a buffalo which resulted in this video (which I shot from my car).

There's also "Parallel Forest" in the same area, too, which is a large area of trees perfectly planted in line which is creepy to visit whenever it's foggy.

 

IPhone cameras are so good now that the added convenience usually outweighs the difference in quality to a pro camera. Those are some awesome photos!

Yeah....probably not a good idea to feed a buffalo. Not to be grim but I hear about people being gored all the time, especially in Yellowstone. But given the outcome was ok, that’s a hilarious video!

Are there any national parks or other NPS/BLM lands over near Medicine Park? I try to hit up as many of those as possible. A great find this summer was Lava Beds National Monument up in NE California. The campground was deserted, sky was crystal clear with tons of stars and the Milky Way overhead, during a time when fires were raging almost everywhere in California and Oregon. The main highlight is the huge network of caves to explore with easy, moderate, and difficult levels of spelunking all available. We did spot a huge rattlesnake right after we got to our campsite however...







Didn’t get any photos that show how clean and clear the air was but every other day of the trip was super hazy and smoky. This was two days prior, on the backpacking trip in the Sierras we had to end early:



This was the day after just about an hour north of Lava Beds as we literally drove through a fire (we could see flames on either side of the road):



And these were taken on the Oregon Coast where we ended the trip. The first is right after I was using a branch to lower myself down, slipped, and swung about 10 feet down the cliff and miraculously caught myself Could’ve ended much worse. The second is from an overlook directly above the ocean...just a wall of fog.

 

spent a lot of time in the white mountains this summer

(top of garfield overlooking pemi wilderness)


(clay and jefferson from top of washington)


(caps ridge trail up jefferson, extremely fun hike)

 

Gorgeous! New Hampshire right? My grandparents live in Manchester, next time I go I’ll definitely make hiking a priority. I’ll be posting later today about my adventures at Castle Rocks earlier today

 

One of the mountains in NH (Franconia) is the very best hike I've ever been on. Just absolutely gorgeous at the top. And it was actually a challenging hike which made it even more enjoyable. At the bottom it was nice, around 50, but towards the top you slowly saw more and more snow on the ground until it was just completely covered with snow. Made it fun to go down (mostly on my butt sliding down)

 

Whoops I’m a bit late on posting my adventure at Castle Rock. It was awesome, you can scramble all the way up to the top of the ridge. So many different rock formations to explore - we scrambled and did some mild-moderate level bouldering. It was a blast. We saw lots of rope climbing routes too, but I’ve never tried that. The scrambling and climbing shuts down Feb 1 until Aug 1 for nesting peregrine falcons. It’s been pouring this week, so I don’t know that I’ll be able to get back out there before then. But anyway here’s a few photos.

The highest peak we summited:



My friend Evan doing some bouldering next to a hole in the rock:



Really cool “hook” rock formation:



Soaking up the views:



Pano from the summit:

 

yeah, new hampshire! the white mountains are "small" by western mountain standards but still really rugged and challenging and beautiful, i definitely recommend hitting the trails when you get out there. the castle rock scrambling looks like it was really cool. technical scrambles (like true class iii) are rare here in the east so that looks really fun to me

did you do the whole franconia ridge hike? that's probably one of the most beautiful hikes (if not the most beautiful) you get in the northeast in my opinion, that sounds really fun!

 

I believe so, it was around 9 miles. Was the absolute best. I went to Acadia in Maine for two days, then did NH.

 

Yeah it was great. I actually went back this weekend for a last scramble before the area closes for nesting peregrine falcons.



Some highlights from 2020:

Lassen National Park (Brokeoff Mtn) (see if you can spot me!)



Sequoia National Park (Alta Peak)



Sequoia National Park (Black Arch)



Three Sisters Wilderness (summit of South Sister)



Las Trampas Regional Wilderness - so excited for wildflower season!

 

Thinking about taking a trip in May to hit up some Cali parks. I'm thinking of flying into Vegas, driving to Death Valley for a day, then Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite. Just hike after hike.

 

LMK if you want recs. I’ve been to all of those. I know Yosemite especially well.

 

I definitely will be looking for those recs! Does what I said sound feasible? I was trying to find some routes on Google and seems like it is. There's a flight that lands in Vegas at 9am so I would have all day Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.. and haven't decided if I should fly home Wednesday or Thursday.

 

I think there’s always a balance between seeing as many places as possible and having more time at each stop. Kind of comes down to personal preference, but I do think you’d be able to have a majority of a day at each of those places even if you flew home Wednesday. If you did Thursday, you could throw in an extra day somewhere. Where are you gonna fly home from? Las Vegas isn’t all that close to Yosemite. Fresno would be closest if it’s an option. Even LAX or SAC might be closer than Vegas.

Something to keep in mind as well is that snow will likely play a factor in May. Some roads like Tioga Road might still be closed, so it’d be worth planning a tentative route and seeing when any of the seasonal roads you’d be taking usually open. Also something to be mindful of is that there aren’t any roads that enter SEKI from the east. So from Death Valley it can be quite a drive. So, road closures notwithstanding, it could possibly be better to go DV -> Yosemite -> SEKI (Sequoia and Kings Canyon) are right next to each other). Depends on what airport you’re flying home from though.

High elevation trails might be snowed in meaning potentially less hiking options. But of course the snow on the mountains, particularly in Yosemite Valley, is an amazing sight, so it might be worth the trade off.

I personally tend to visit the Sierras between June and September, but that’s because I like to backpack or car camp and do really long day hikes.

 

This is all very helpful, thank you! There aren't any direct flights from San Fran or Fresno, both layover in Vegas or Denver, which is why I figured I'd just start off in Vegas.

If you scroll down a little there's a map that gave me the general idea;

Las Vegas to Death Valley, Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon Road Trip

Looking at it again, I think it's going the same route you mentioned, DV to Yosemite, and then down and around.

 

Yeah, so the two areas of concern I’d have with that itinerary is that Tioga Road probably won’t be open in May, meaning you’d have to take an alternate route into Yosemite if approaching from the east. So DV->Yosemite becomes a much longer drive. And then the other thing is the drive between SEKI and Las Vegas is probably 7 hours without a whole lot to see on the way.

Hmm...I wonder if there are direct flights in or out of Reno, Sacramento, San Jose, or Oakland? I’m just thinking it might be easier to for example start in Vegas but fly home from a different airport or vice-versa. Not sure how that’d work with a rental car though. If Tioga Road opens earlier this year, it becomes a non-issue but it’s just impossible to know. Here are the historical opening dates: Historical Seasonal Opening and Closing Dates - Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service).

Alternatively, you could move your dates to late June if possible. Or, if your heart isn’t set on California, tour the Southwest national parks instead (any combo of Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands). May is a beautiful time of year there.

One last thing to watch out for is that last year certain parks were limiting the number of visitors who could enter each day. You had to reserve an entry pass in advance. Not sure if that will happen again this year but just something to be aware of.

 

Heart is pretty set on Cali, specifically Yosemite. So maybe I should wait a month, I thought May would be good, but based on that site I should wait. My ex wife typically takes our son away from a week for Mothers Day, and in the past I go away on my own the same week, which is why May was the time frame.

 

May would be beautiful but it’s just less accessible. I totally get why you’re set on Yosemite...it’s an incredible place. If you can, don’t just spend time in the valley, but go up Glacier Point Road and Tioga Road. You’ll find more solitude there especially on Tioga Road. But the valley is a must-see despite the crowds, it’s awe-inspiring!

 

Someone on Reddit sent me this;

The best trail in my opinion, and best way to knock out several insane views is the Panorama Trail. If you stay in the valley or can get there super early, like half the year they run a shuttle up to Glacier Point (google the views). It's like $25. Up there you enjoy the view, grab some snacks/drinks at the gift shop, and then hit the trail. It take you all the way back down to the valley, past Vernal Falls and ... I forget the other waterfall. Once in the valley there's free shuttles to get back to your campground or where your car is parked.

Like if you had a legit 1 day to kill near Yosemite, that would be my instant answer. You could drive in by 6-7am eat in the valley, first shuttle up, hike back down, dinner at Curry Village back in the valley, and then back to your car and ready to drive back out.



Which sounds like some stuff you've mentioned. But again, looks like I should wait til the beginning of June for that. It's crazy, because on east coast, beginning of June is when it's starting to get hot - hard to fathom road closures in June!

 

The Panorama Trail is jaw-dropping, that person’s recommendation is on point. Almost nonstop views and it arcs around so you get different angles of the rock formations.

It’ll be interesting to see if they run shuttles this summer. I like to do a loop of 4-mile trail->Glacier Point->Panorama Trail->Mist Trail and shuttle back from Mist TH to 4-mile TH. But if my memory serves that comes out to around 13 miles. You could even just walk back to the 4-mile TH through the valley but that’d tack on a couple extra miles. If shuttles aren’t running, you could also just drive up to Glacier Pt and do an out and back on the Panorama trail. To Nevada Falls and back from GP would be about 10 miles I believe. The advantage of just going one-way GP—>Mist TH is it’s all downhill...but you’d need the shuttle of course.

Starting from GP, you’ll pass Illilouette Falls, Nevada Falls, and Vernal Falls on your way down to the valley. There is also an amazing lookout point between Illilouette Falls and Nevada Falls, reached by an unmarked side trail. It’s a great spot to lunch.

The Sierras are much higher elevation than anything on the East Coast so all that snow sticks around longer. Tioga Road for example, which you’d likely be using to enter Yosemite, peaks at almost 10,000 ft altitude. June temperatures, particularly in the valley, can still be quite hot!

This is an excellent site with lots of hiking info - The Best Hikes in Yosemite National Park (Joe's Guide to Yosemite National Park).

Map of Panorama Trail - Joe's Guide to Yosemite National Park - Panorama Trail Topo Map

An even more exhaustive website that I like - Yosemite Hikes

 

Did some awesome beach exploration in Point Reyes today. Details and pictures to come!

 

Last question for now (when it gets closer I'll send you my travel plan); do I need anything other than trail runners if I go in June?

 

Most likely not! I doubt there’ll be much, if any, snow on the trails. Stream crossings are a possibility though so maybe bring some sandals just in case. Don’t be a stranger, my inbox is always open! I get a kick out of trip planning

 

Does anyone use or recommend certain hiking trekking poles? I have to two trail run marathons this year and am fairly new to trail running and the elevation for both is around 3k total so I’m wondering if I should bring poles.

I’ve gone down the rabbit hole on YouTube but figured I would ask.

 

I personally don’t like them, even when I’m just hiking. They kind of distract me from just taking in the scenery. I haven’t had any issues even navigating really tricky footing.

I would personally find them annoying to run with but I’ve never tried a trail run of that caliber