Do you have a favorite dirt road that you like to walk on? I stayed close to home for this one and I feel weird calling this a hike because it was more of a brisk walk up a dirt road lined with pretty wildflowers and singing birds. Distance: 11.82 Miles (but you can go shorter or longer) Difficulty: Easy ...

A fitness hike with flowers along the way were what called us to the San Joaquin River Gorge area. We had a time we wanted to beat but could we do it without being distracted by all of those beautiful wildflowers? And how could we do this hike safely amid the early days of our COVID-19 pandemic? Where: BLM, San ...

It had been a couple of years since we hiked at Hetch Hetchy. This year didn’t give us super strong flowing waterfalls and it was a bit early for wildflowers but the hike gave us a good workout with beautiful views. Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: 11.50 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Range: 3,682′ to 4,470′ Date: March 5, 2020 Maps: Ackerson ...

I rode 11 different rides in 7 days of horseback riding at the Circle Z Ranch out of Patagonia, Arizona. Each and every ride was different, some of the rides loping rides and some of them were walking rides. Some of them led us through gnarly canyons and others across grasslands. How could I pick just one to share with ...

I pulled on my cowboy boots, put my hat and chinks on, then rode the range along the Arizona/Mexican border. I was an Indian, a cowboy, an outlaw, a Spanish explorer and a miner for 7 days on my trusty steed Shawnee. When you are riding that beautiful country full of history, how can not dream of these things? When ...

Sally and I chose one of the coldest days this year to get out, hiking Stockton Creek Nature Preserve and we had those trails all to ourselves. Not too far from home, not too difficult, this hike was a short one. Where: Mariposa Public Utilities District, Sierra Foothill Conservancy, Stockton Creek Nature Preserve Distance: 2.83 Miles Difficulty: Easy to Moderate ...

It is a little early for flowers but it won’t be long before poppies and other wildflowers will be putting on a show here. I wasn’t hiking for flowers on this day though. I was hiking to get a good workout in. I loaded up my pack for a conditioning hike. Where: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Merced River Recreation ...

If you don’t have time for a trip up to Yosemite or the Federal lands near us and still want to get out and enjoy nature, you don’t have to go far to get your fix in our own backyard at Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park off of Hwy 49 adjacent to Wasuma Elementary School in Ahwahnee. Although I walked a ...

A good workout hike was what I needed and the trail out of Sky Harbor fit that bill. The valley’s patchy fog was lifting as I hiked, casting beautiful reflections in Millerton Lake as I dodged the cowpies on the trail. Where: Millerton Lake State Recreation Area, San Joaquin River Gorge Special Management Area, Bureau of Land Management Distance: 9.05 ...

I finally had a window between house projects, weather and commitments to escape, so Sally and I loaded up the camper and headed to Moss Landing. Just north of Monterey, it was the perfect place to relax and smell that ocean air. As soon as I checked in at the KOA and got the camper set up, there was a ...