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The Tokopah Valley Trail 2017
Voyage into the High Sierra – “Camping at 7,000ft is awesome!” Saturday, June 10th, 2017 The Sequoia National Forest is a place that I had visited very briefly one day in 2007 and have been wanting to return ever since then. I got my opportunity to fulfill that wish when a good friend of mine invited me on a last minute venture to go camping with him in the Western part of the High Sierra. The drive would rival some of my recent Eastern Sierra travels in terms of distance and time. My buddy Richard had reserved a place at the Lodgepole Campground in the Sequoia National Forest which from…
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Hiking the Rush Creek Trail 2017
Rush Creek Trail – “Living up to its name!” Monday, June 5th, 2017 Most days, the idea of a Monday morning spawns images of another dreadful work week. For me however, It would be a very different Monday. I was fortunate enough to wake up on in the Eastern Sierra Nevada with a beautiful destination to venture to. I have been visiting the June Lake Loop for well over a decade, but never actually hiked the trails that are in and around this lovely region. I was going to change that by taking on the Rush Creek Trail to Agnew Lake. “The Starship hits up the June Lake Loop for another glorious Eastern…
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Southwest 2015 – Lazy Sunday at the Virgin River
Sunday, December 13th, 2015 Julia and I woke up super late today. We were very sore from all the resistance hiking through The Narrows yesterday so today was definitely going to be a lazy Sunday for us. Our knees were aching, but our attitudes remained positive as we slowly made our way out of the hotel and on to another small venture for the day. We didn’t want anything too crazy, so we settled on a casual walk along the Virgin River just south of the main entrance to the park. It was practically lunch, so we grabbed a quick bite at Cafe Soleil since it would be our last…
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Southwest 2015 – Journey Into the Narrows of Zion
Saturday, December 12th, 2015 When the alarm went off this morning, we wasted no time in getting breakfast, showering up, and gathering all our camera gear for today’s adventure. This was not the typical day of hiking or photo venturing, it was an epic voyage into the Narrows of Zion. Julia was excited and so was I. Once we had all our stuff together, we drove to the Zion Adventure Company to get a crash course on the Narrows including navigation and what to do in case the water level rises suddenly due to a flash flood. After watching the short video brief, we got all our rental gear and suited…
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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…
