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Exploring the Mojave Lava Tube – Retro Post 2011
“In a world of ancient lava fields and much more” Saturday, March 26th 2011 On Saturday, March 26th 2011, I set off on a journey into the deep Mojave Desert with a few friends for a day of exploration. It was early Spring, the weather was perfectly cool and clouds were scattered sparsely as the sun shined brightly. The makings of a perfect road trip were underway. “One of many extinct cinder cones which litters the Mojave National Preserve.” Mojave Lava Tube GPS Coordinates: 35.2163997° N, -115.7546891° W The gang and I made our usual stop at Baker, CA for some Alien Fresh Jerky and plenty of water for the…
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Hiking the Convict Lake Trail 2017
Journey to a Natural Alpine Lake – “Convict Lake” Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 It’s no secret that I am absolutely in love with California’s Eastern Sierra Nevada so naturally I have added yet another venture blog from that region. With the weather getting a lot warmer in the late Spring, the immense snowpack that graced this beautiful granite range has started to melt at a furious rate. Convict Lake was looking a whole lot different than it was just a few months back during a Wintery Spring in the Eastern Sierra 2017. After enjoying a hike at June Lake’s Rush Creek Trail just the other day, I felt that it…
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Whitney Portal Road 2017
Hiking the Whitney Portal Road – “Taking the slow lane!” Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017 My travel companion Julia and I wanted to visit the Whitney Portal today because it had been years since our last trip to this place. The weather was perfect and we started our ascent early that morning. As we drove up Whitney Portal Road, we were suddenly stopped by a ‘suggested’ road closure sign. Now typically I will cruise around signs like this, but I knew of the serious damage that occurred up the road by a massive rock slide in late January 2017. I also knew that the debris was recently cleared with dynamite and heavy equipment, but what I didn’t know…
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Conquering Half Dome
“Taking on one serious monster of a hike!” Friday, July 17th, 2015 This trip was a long time coming. Going all the way back to March 2015 when my friend Sandy and I decided to apply for the Yosemite Lottery to attain a permit to hike the cables up to Half Dome. The lottery system was implemented in 2012 to limit the amount of foot traffic on the cables. A maximum of 300 hikers are allowed (about 225 day hikers and 75 backpackers) each day on the Half Dome Trail beyond the base of the Sub Dome. Two separate fees are collected. The first fee, which is charged at the…
