We headed up to Emigrant Wilderness for an overnighter last weekend. Conditions are still rapidly changing with snow in the high country causing both difficult travel and dangerous creek crossings.…
Hi guys! I’m still here!
While gearing up for the summer backpacking season I realized I’d never posted about an early season visit to the Bodie Hills. I’ve visited Bodie State Park many times in the past, but I’ve never really explored beyond the park boundaries. Given the snow conditions this year, on a mid-June weekend that would typically be spent backpacking in the Sierra mid-country we instead decided to play around the Bodie Hills between Bridgeport and Lee Vining.
Starting out from Bridgeport on Saturday morning, we headed out through the Northern part of the Bodie Hills to the ruins of the old mining towns of Chemung and Masonic. The roads through here are pretty good at the start but to get anywhere you’ll need a high-clearance 4WD vehicle and the ability to use it. There is a maze of old mining roads through the hills and it’s easy to get in trouble if you turn down one without the proper equipment or map.
(more…)
I've been so busy lately I've had to neglect calipidder.com a bit. But we were able to squeeze out to 395 to pay a visit to some of our favorite…
And now for something completely different.
Last month I traveled to Arkansas with my In-Laws to visit David’s Grandpa in Hot Springs Village. We made a week of it and got in some valuable outdoor time at Petit Jean State Park and in the Ozarks along the Buffalo National River. I wasn’t sure what to expect in Arkansas; while getting ready for the trip I sometimes felt like I was preparing for a more foreign destination than my regular work trips to Germany. However, I ended up having a great time enjoying the green forests, rocks, rivers and waterfalls of northern Arkansas.
Check out the tabs below for a sampling of some of the fun things we got to see – a departure from the typical scenery we get here in California.
Once a year Henry Coe State Park opens the gate at Bell's Station on Highway 152 for a weekend, allowing access to the more remote areas of the backcountry. With…
One of my favorite places to visit in mid-spring is Lava Beds National Monument, a remote pocket of land at the California-Oregon border. It is covered with the remains of…
This weekend I finally got in a hike that's been on my to-do list for a long time: Rose Peak in Ohlone Wilderness. On paper, the hike looks rather painful,…
I spent the afternoon at Santa Theresa, a Santa Clara County Park near our house in San Jose. I don't mention it much here but this is one of my…
Last weekend I decided I wanted to hike in some of the snow that was lingering on the Santa Cruz Mountains but I didn't want to drive up to it…