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 […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Tuolumne Meadows Resupply
Day 3 on the John Muir Trail and we were starting a long way from where we originally planned to camp. Our unauthorized off-trail camp dubbed The Middle of Somewhere was beautiful and quiet, but we had 3.5 miles to hike just to get to Sunrise High Sierra Camp, where we should’ve been starting. If […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Little Yosemite Valley to Sunrise Camp
It’s day two on the John Muir Trail. We woke up feeling creaky but confident. Hiking up Half Dome on day one tested our mettle. Today, we planned to hike 10.4 miles to the Sunrise High Sierra Camp. We ate our super-charged oatmeal breakfast and broke camp. As we were getting ready to leave, we saw a […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley, Plus Half Dome
The night is fading as we awaken, excited to finally start hiking the John Muir Trail. I slept like a log at the backpacker’s campground, but Jeffrey and Hari heard people chasing a bear away from the car campground. We eat a quick breakfast, break camp, don our backpacks and walk along the road to […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Lone Pine to Yosemite Valley
This day, three years ago… We woke up early and at 6am, were the first customers at the Alabama Hills Cafe. There’s something great about guilt-free eating, knowing that you’ll be running a caloric deficit for three weeks and, why yes you can have the pancakes and an omelet. What the heck! We gorged ourselves to the […]
Child’s Letter to the Yosemite Ranger
Evie is a Junior Ranger, who recently visited Yosemite and “accidentally” brought home a couple sticks. Apparently, the guilt gnawed at her until she couldn’t bear it, so she wrote this letter to the ranger–sticks attached–and asked that they be “returned to nature.” Evie’s letter reads: Dear Park Rangers, I am a Yosemite Junior Ranger. […]
Yosemite Like You’ve Never Seen It Before
Yosemite is one of my favorite places on earth. I’ve backpacked and hiked throughout the park on many occasions, and yet there is still so much more to see an experience. Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty met via Vimeo, and discovered a mutual love for Yosemite. They set out to capture Yosemite’s beauty in this […]
Memorial Weekend in Yosemite
Over the Memorial Day weekend, Joan and I met up some new outdoor friends to go camping and hiking in Yosemite National Park. Jeff A., our third partner in our upcoming John Muir Trail adventure, introduced us to a terrific group. I had never attempted to visit a national park on Memorial Day weekend, but […]
