Sierra News Online News from the communities in and around Yosemite National Park

News from the communities in and around Yosemite National Park

The Twenty Lakes Loop trail led my dog Sally and I along beautiful lakes in the Hoover Wilderness. Lakes and tarns reflected snow covered mountains and those columbine were blooming like crazy! Where: Inyo National Forest, Hoover Wilderness Distance: 9 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Range: 10,094′ – 10,360′ Date: August 6, 2019 Maps: Falls Ridge and June Lake Topographic Quads ...

Pika, those furry little critters that are too cute for words, greeted my dog Sally and me on our first day camping at Saddlebag Lake as we took a short walk along the east side of the lake to check out the beautiful wildflowers. Where: Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National Forest Distance: About 1.5 miles (but you can go farther) Elevation ...

Dana Plateau is not an easy hike by any means but if you are up for it, you will be blown away by the landscape, textures, colors, views and wildflowers that call this land that escaped the glaciers their home. If you go now and climb up through the white, bouldery wash, you will see beautiful columbine blooms which are ...

Are you up for an easy hike to the old mining town of Bennettville? How could I not ponder what it must have been like back in 1882 when a new town with a population of 50,000 was envisioned and that they would be striking it rich as soon as they hit “The Great Silver Belt?” They worked and lived ...

Five days of camping in the Tioga Pass area gave Sally and myself plenty of time to wander, fishing some of the high lakes and creeks in the area. We had some bites. Some were from mosquitoes and some were from the fish! Where: Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National Forest Elevation Range: 9,552′ – 10,286′ Date: July 15 – 19, 2019 ...

I try my best to hike up to Helen Lake while there is a smidge of ice still on it. There is something special about how a bit of white snow sets off the red colors of the surrounding mountains and it is a lovely hike up a historic Native American trail and mining route. Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: ...

First day that Tioga Road was fully open and we headed to lakes that we hoped would still be iced over, even in July. Lots of history in this area and I can’t help thinking of the people who made that history. As we know, most miners did not strike it rich and some do not have happy endings. I ...

Wild azaleas were showing off their white flowers and we caught a whiff of their scent before we saw them. This was the perfect time to see them blooming between Fish Camp and the Mariposa Grove plus got a nice workout as we wandered through Mariposa Grove to Wawona Point. Where: Sierra National Forest, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa Grove of ...

Our destination was icy Ostrander Lake, full of beautiful reflections and bordered by a snowy, rocky ledge. But we had to work for it, hiking through burned areas and up the trail through open granite in the heat. It was so worth it! Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: 12.83 Miles Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous Elevation Range: 6,998′ – 8,612′ Date: ...

We heard a rumor that some very pretty flowers were showing off on the Wawona Meadow Loop Trail, so you know where we headed. It was a short hike in cooler country and that rumor was true! Many beautiful wildflowers along the way and this one is also a good dog hike. Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: 4.21 miles Difficulty: ...