Calipidder

We spent last Friday through Sunday in the Sierra. There was an overnight backpack in Cottonwood Basin scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, so on Friday morning we decided to do a short acclimation hike somewhere near Tioga Pass (around 10k feet). It was the perfect opportunity to get up a peak I’d been wanting to [...]

Lamont Peak is a small peak in the Southern Sierra, with a trailhead accessible from highway 178 via a short 6 mile drive on graded dirt road. It is probably the easiest peak on the Sierra Club SPS list. There is a trail all the way to the top, and although it is steep, not well [...]

Black Mountain is the southernmost peak in the White Mountains, most commonly known as the home of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest. On the northern end of the range is White Mountain, the third highest peak in California at 14,246 feet.
Black Mountain, while ‘only’ checking in at 9,083 feet, is still an impressive peak when [...]

When you think about backpacking in Yosemite, you generally think of the summer months. The high country isn’t clear of snow until June at the earliest, and backcountry travel during the fall to spring months requires snow skills and gear.  Although I enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities in any kind of weather, my favorite [...]

Another beautiful spring weekend in the Bay Area means two things: allergies and hiking. I don’t let the first get in the way of the second, although here I sit on Monday regretting it a little bit (acHOO!)  Despite my sniffles and sneezes, I joined some friends for the classic Henry Coe hike to Mount [...]