Smoke from the Washburn Fire wasn’t going to stop me from having an adventure this week so I closely researched weather and smoke models, finding the perfect day in the Tioga Pass area for those breezy Zephyr winds to keep the skies clear over me. A bounty of colorful wildflowers along the way led me up to Dana Plateau with ...

Cooler temperatures, white puffy clouds, a breeze, incredible views, marmots, blooming wildflowers and a great workout. We had a perfect day to escape the heat at home as we hiked up and around Dana Plateau in the Tioga Pass. Where: Ansel Adams Wilderness Area, Inyo National ForestDistance: 6.94 Miles (5.69 miles to the Mono Lake overlook)Difficulty: StrenuousElevation Range: 9,653′ – ...

If you are up to a good workout to a land that escaped the glaciers, Dana Plateau is a good one. And if you go now, you will see beautiful columbine blooms which are at their prime in the bouldery wash as you hike up there. Those columbines don’t stick around very long though. And you just might get a ...

Three weeks ago we attempted this hike up through wobbly rocks and boulder-strewn glacial remains, but a member of our party started showing symptoms of altitude sickness so we aborted our plan. It was time for us to finish what we had started. We visited all 5 of the Dana Lakes then headed up to Dana Plateau to exit but ...

We had planned on visiting all 5 or so of the Dana Lakes then heading up to Dana Plateau to exit but that didn’t happen as planned. We did make it to the lower lake after hiking up through the boulders to hike under the brightly colored mountains and rocks below towering Mount Dana. Where: Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National ...

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 ...

Our hike took us off the trail, up through boulder-strewn moraines where we were almost blown over by wind gusts, but it was all so worth it when we reached the beautiful high lakes fed by the Dana Glacier. Brightly colored mountains and rocks framed the views for us and this isn’t the first time a curious critter welcomed us ...