In Part 1, BACKPACKING WEBBER LAKE TO DONNER SUMMIT ON THE PCT, we trekked from near Webber Lake to White Rock Lake on a pleasant six mile stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail near Lake Tahoe. In Part 2 we set off toward Paradise Lake, where we hope that it will be warm enough to swim …
The backpacking trip I look forward to each year is not the longest, hardest or most exotic, it’s the one we take in Tahoe with our godson, Chase, and his mom, Laura. We used to be a group of six, but goddaughter Taira, at 16, is focused on water polo, and her dad, Ken, is …
How to capture in words the experiences of a lifetime of tenderness, harsh lessons, heartache and joy on a Western Australia farm? Our two months there last year were the barest introduction to the ups and downs of farming life in the shadow of the craggy Stirling Range that anchors the flat fields to this …
In the related article, Top Intermediate ski runs at Blackcomb, I listed the top moderate runs at Blackcomb. Here’s the rest of the baker’s dozen–13 runs total, including these runs at Whistler. This list was compiled based on my experience skiing at Whistler Blackcomb for over 15 years, and an informal poll of long-time skiers here, …
We moved from California to Seattle, Washington in 1992, anxiously leaving our favorite ski runs at Squaw Valley behind as we headed north. We were told that the resorts around Seattle offered excellent skiing but after a season battling howling wind, wild weather and often funky snow conditions in the shadow of 14,411 foot Mt. …
We ended Part 2 of the High Sierra Trial soaking in the wonderful Kern Hot Springs and Part 3 takes us up over Mt. Whitney to the end of the trail in Lone Pine. Day 5-Kern Hot Springs to Wallace Creek (12 miles, 10,409 feet) We didn’t mean to walk 12 miles but we did. We had …
The High Sierra Trail (HST), a 72 mile trail in Sequoia National Park, is a major undertaking. There are a few roads on the eastern side of the park that lead to the popular Lodgepole Visitor Center and the Giant Sequoias, but there are no roads that go through the park so there is …
The High Sierra Trail (HST), a 72 mile trail in Sequoia National Park (NP), is a classic hike in the Sierra Nevada. It evokes the very ghost of John Muir with its soaring peaks, highly varied terrain, grand vistas and spectacular ending at the top of Mt. Whitney. Cutting through a cross-section of some …
We rounded the corner, and after a stretch of densely forested trail, broke out into Alta Meadow. Though my feet were aching after trekking 5.6 uphill miles with a heavy pack, I practically ran toward the meadow, arms outstretched in my Julie Andrews Sound of Music moment. The vista before me made me gasp, and …
The Presidio of San Francisco, which in my youth was just a pretty, mostly off-limits place that we drove through to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, is being transformed into a first class destination, an oasis of green that is steeped in history. After 15 years of often rancorous discussion and community decision-making the …