Category: Adventures

California cyclists complete cross-country excursion

On the toughest bicycle trek any of them had tried, Day 7 ranked as the toughest day. As the team pedaled on State Route 375 through Nevada’s hottest desert, July temperatures soared well into triple digits. Four cyclists biked nine straight hours on a shadeless road. So relentlessly shone the sun that they used the… Continue reading California cyclists complete cross-country excursion

Cyclists aim to inspire on cross country ride

A half dozen teenagers and one slightly-older teacher will bicycle out of San Francisco this June, on their way across the Central Valley, over the Sierra Nevada mountains and then all the way to New York City.  These lucky seven cyclists from San Francisco’s Ruth Asawa School of the Arts call their upcoming journey “Pedal… Continue reading Cyclists aim to inspire on cross country ride

Calaveras Big Trees provides worthy winter treks

Do you often wonder why your friends and family don’t love cross country skiing as you do? More than once, my wife and I have tried to introduce the sport to friends and family, only to discover afterward, to our disappointment, that the experience was somewhat less than life-changing. In fact, when we ask them… Continue reading Calaveras Big Trees provides worthy winter treks

Noble Canyon hike provides perfect getaway

I completed this hike on Labor Day, a wonderful time of the year to be in the Ebbetts Pass area. The trailhead is located in wide impressive canyon. The trail follows the canyon rim for a half mile and then you will begin to descend in the canyon, where you will cross the first of… Continue reading Noble Canyon hike provides perfect getaway

Skiing the Yosemite Border from June Lake to Badger Pass

The border tour heads over the Pacific Crest and parallels it south.

“Which way is it?” I tipped my head up towards the wall that loomed west of the parking lot. “Ok.” Mom shook her head. I gave her a hug, feeling pretty sheepish for talking her into giving me a ride all the way out to June Lake. “I’ll be all right.” I’d been here a few… Continue reading Skiing the Yosemite Border from June Lake to Badger Pass

Like father, like sons on Dad’s High Sierra hike

For a middling fisherman like me, a nibble in a backcountry lake is a big deal, especially the first one after eight days on the trail. I eagerly reeled in the hook I had cast into the high-elevation lake beneath Isberg Peak in southeastern Yosemite, only to feel the line abruptly stick. My sinker had… Continue reading Like father, like sons on Dad’s High Sierra hike

Ebbetts Pass: “pleasurable and memorable”

Some of my best trips have been the result of aborted expeditions and the thereafter. Such was our late autumn hike to to Kinney Lake. Our original plan was to complete an eight-mile hike from Ebbetts Pass to Reynolds Peak. But when we got to the trail head parking at Ebbetts Pass, I discovered that… Continue reading Ebbetts Pass: “pleasurable and memorable”

Happy hiking with kids, the “no nightmare” approach

Zach suddenly stopped in front of me as we trudged uphill through the woods north of Yosemite. “Pole break, dad.” I shifted the pack on my back. I was carrying most of the gear and my aching shoulders could vouch for that. “Sure, buddy.” I called ahead to my daughter: “Anna, pole break.” “Again?” She… Continue reading Happy hiking with kids, the “no nightmare” approach