The heavily forested Stanford Rock hike, located in Ward Canyon, is a rigorous 11 mile loop that rewards the hiker with stunning views of Lake Tahoe, Twin Peaks, Alpine Meadows and many other surrounding peaks. Trailhead The trailhead is located on Ward Creek Blvd. The trailhead has an obvious parking area in front of a …
“Those two are thru-hikers,” said Billie, as she was giving us an overview of Drakesbad Guest Ranch at check-in. I listened with half an ear as I gazed at the lean and sinewy young couple scarfing down a big lunch of sandwiches, soup and salad, my mind whirring. After Billie finished our orientation, pointing out …
We set out on Saturday for a moderate, early season overnight backpacking trip to Paradise Lake, six miles from the trailhead on Highway 80. Despite the calendar noting that it’s supposed to be summer in early July, this is the spring that won’t arrive in the high Sierra, El Nino refusing to loosen its grip …
On a rare sun drenched day last weekend Pacific Crest Snowcats showed off the beauty of the backcountry with a snowcat full of psyched skiers and snowboarders. Eleven clients and two guides piled into a van early in the morning, drove away from the crowded ski areas on a holiday weekend and made fresh tracks …
He burst forth from the river in a frenzy of excitement, water flying off like a shaking shaggy dog, shouting and gesturing wildly. What prompted this reaction, when moments before a lazy late summer afternoon at a deep pool along the Yuba River was the scene of quiet relaxation? Gold fever, that’s what. Whooping and …
“This is awesome!” seven year old Chase exclaimed excitedly. What got him so excited? Disneyland? Action figures? Trucks? No, he was building a dam in a shallow creek to catch the elusive fingerling trout slipping by. We were deep in the Granite Chief Wilderness on a multi-day backpacking trip and his face reflected pure joy …
“How much longer? Are we almost there?” The familiar refrain from our godchildren came, not in a car, but in the Sierra wilderness, as they shouldered heavy backpacks and bent toward the granite formations as we neared the summit, having gained 1,000 feet of elevation in about 2 miles when we went backpacking to Loch …
This trip to Hellhole Reservoir in the Granite Chief Wilderness won’t qualify for the worst trip in the annals of backpacking because no one was seriously or mortally injured, but in our combined history, this was the worst trip ever for my husband and me. A combination of minor mishaps, lost trails, illness and topography …