YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK–Park officials are announcing that the daily rolling release of additional entrance reservations for the season has begun on April 6. Also, beginning April 13, a reservation will be required to drive into or through Yosemite National Park between the hours of 5 am and 4 pm on some days until October 27.  More reservations for each day, ...

FRIANT —  Fäsi Estates Winery has done it again! Bringing you the finest local musicians, along with an exquisite food and wine menu, there’s no better place to be this Saturday afternoon. Come to the winery and listen to the mellow rock sounds of Sammy James as he puts on an incredible acoustic live set! It’s going to be a ...

Do Yellow-Bellied Marmots, aka Whistlepigs, admire the beautiful cloud reflections in the High Sierra lakes as much as I do? And I will show you why they have that funny name. Well, I don’t know the answer to that question but I needed a tie in for this week’s blog so there you go! While I was recently exploring the ...

Can you picture a wildflower-lined trail leading you by small reflective tarns, beautiful lakes and wildly colorful mountains? That was my adventure with Fannie the Corgi, along with some snow-playing, fishing, rain and rumblings of thunder. Where: Inyo National Forest, Hoover WildernessDistance: 10.3 MilesDifficulty: ModerateElevation Range: 10,090′ – 10,359′Elevation Gain: 1,100′Date: July 18, 2022CALTOPO: Hiking 20 Lakes Loop with FannieDog ...

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 ...

I do love to head up to the Tioga Pass area and Saddlebag Lake is one of my favorite spots to do some camping and a little hiking with the dogs. But relaxing, reading some good books and taking a few good naps is also pretty darn nice. Where:  Inyo National Forest, Hoover WildernessDistance: 4.16 MilesDifficulty: Moderate to StrenuousElevation Range: ...

I love checking out the Gaylor Lakes Basin as soon as Tioga Road reopens for the season. Will the lakes still be iced over? Will those lakes hold beautiful reflections? Will I see pika? Yes, yes and yes! Where: Yosemite National Park and a smidge over into Inyo National ForestDistance: 6.17 MilesDifficulty: ModerateElevation Range: 9,943′ – 10,817′Elevation Gain: 1,356′Date: June ...

Tioga Road had closed due to a storm but would it reopen before an even bigger storm was due to dump serious snow? The short answer is yes it did, for about 2 1/2 days, and I couldn’t wait to get up there to see if those Gaylor Basin lakes were icing up. Where: Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National ForestDistance: 3.06 ...

Sure wasn’t an easy hike up to the top of 13,061′ Mount Dana with 3,000′ gain in elevation over 2 1/2 miles, full of rocks of every size, shape and slipperiness on switchbacks too many to count. All of my hard work was richly rewarded with many Pikas and Marmots paying visits along the route. Where: Yosemite National ParkDistance: 5.41 ...

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′ – ...