Yosemite National Park features some of the most beautiful backcountry in all of the Sierra Nevada. Surprisingly, however, most people stick to a few main trails – namely the John Muir Trail between Yosemite Valley – Tuolumne Meadows – Donahue Pass and the High Sierra Camp trails leading to Merced Lake – Vogelsang – Sunrise. […]
Snowshoeing to Dewey Point in Yosemite
Snowshoeing to Dewey Point in Yosemite National Park is a great way to explore the wonders and beauty of the park during a time of year when there are far less crowds. And snowshoeing is as easy as hiking by following just a few simple tips. I’ve been to Yosemite many times since my first visit in 1980, but […]
Yosemite Grows with Ackerson Meadow Addition
The world is a little better today, thanks to the Trust for Public Land and the cooperation of private land owners. 400 acres of land known as Ackerson Meadow has been gifted to Yosemite National Park. This beautiful wilderness lies on the western border of Yosemite, not far from the Big Oak Flat entrance to the park. […]
Hiking the Theodore Solomons Trail: Illilouette Creek to Merced River
After starting the trail yesterday with a short 4.5 mile early evening hike, I woke up early to make breakfast–Oatmeal Unleashed washed down with Starbucks Via–and broke camp. We were hoping to potentially meet our friends Craig and Joanne who were hiking the same route but in the opposite direction. They had started a day earlier, […]
Yosemite HD II Time-lapse Will Blow Your Mind
Two years ago I shared an amazing time-lapse video that showed Yosemite like you’ve never seen it before. Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty — the guys behind Project Yosemite — have done it again with their latest time-lapse masterpiece: Yosemite HD II. This video was filmed over 10 months, hiking over 200 miles over the […]
Muir Monday: The Clearest Way Into the Universe
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” – John Muir About the Photo I took this photo as I was sprawled on my back, laying on a picnic bench in the backpacker’s campground in Yosemite Valley. I had picked up our permits to thru-hike the John Muir Trail, and was feeling […]
Muir Monday: The Power of Imagination
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” – John Muir This week’s Muir Monday photo comes from a hiking friend, Robert Randall. Bob and I hiked Mt. Baldy together a few years ago, and more recently, Echo Mountain. Bob captured this fantastic shot of the Milky Way looking southward over Middle Chain Lake in Yosemite […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Tuolumne to Upper Lyell Canyon
Day Four on the John Muir Trail I was looking forward to this day. The mileage was a little easier, and the first nine miles were up the almost imperceptible incline of Lyell Canyon. Getting in later than expected on Day Three meant hanging around until the Tuolumne Meadows Post Office opened so we could […]