A storm was on the way that would close Tioga Road but would it close for a short period or for the season? I wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to visit some of the higher country in the Tioga Pass area while I could get there so I headed up to the glacial fed Conness Lakes as they were ...

I love to hike up to the glacial fed Conness Lakes above Saddlebag Lake in early summer when they are sporting their melting ice but hadn’t hiked up this late in the summer. Would there still be snow and would those pretty tarns along the way still be holding water in them? My dog Sally and I were on a ...

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 ...

They call this hike the Twenty Lakes Basin Hike and my dog Sally and I visited 13 of them on this day. And yes, I am counting every little tarn and separate little inlet as lakes but there are even more that you could cover in this hike if you tried and if you do the hike in early spring, ...

I love to hike up to the glacial fed Conness Lakes above Saddlebag Lake. I don’t know how the colors of the lake’s waters magically change from green to turquoise to deep blue before my eyes, so magic is the best explanation I can come up with. Where: Harvey Monroe Hall Research Natural Area, Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National Forest Distance: ...

Saddlebag Lake Campground in the Tioga Pass area had just opened and I wasted no time heading up there to check out the high country. Four days of camping gave my dog Sally and me plenty of time to wander by the high lakes in the area and get some fishing in! Where: Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National Forest Distance: 9.08 ...

Sally and I needed a break from weedeating and we escaped over Tioga Pass, camping along roaring Lee Vining Creek. Relaxing and reading were my goals but I walked back through history up to the Poole Hydroelectric Plant. Where: Inyo National Forest, Aspen Campground Elevation: 7,490′ Date: June 4-7, 2018 Maps: June Lake Topog Dog Friendly? Yes Sally and I headed ...

My dog Sally and I hiked up Convict Canyon on a crisp morning after a dusting of snow, along side colorful mountains that steeply rose up from the trail, and through fall color toward Mildred Lake. The snow wasn’t an issue but the ice ended up being one, but those views along the way were well worth it! Where: Inyo ...

I heard some reports that fall was starting to create colorful splashes on those mountains on the east side of the Sierra and had to go check it out for myself. Fall was happening on the east side . . . but so was winter! Where: Inyo National Forest, John Muir Wilderness Distance: 2.77 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Range: 7,582’ ...