Sally the Weimaraner and Fannie the Corgi loved their adventure on the 20 Lakes Loop Trail, especially the part where they got to play in the snow! Located in the Hoover Wilderness, this trail led us by beautiful lakes, small tarns and mountains still streaked with snow. Where: Inyo National Forest, Hoover WildernessDistance: 8.7 MilesDifficulty: ModerateElevation Range: 10,092′ – 10,359′Date: ...

That day when Tioga Road opens up in spring should be an official holiday. I celebrated that special day by taking a road trip from Entrance Gate to Entrance Gate, admiring the views and saying hello to old friends like Tenaya Lake and Tioga Pass. I also had a wonderful hike to the Gaylor Basin with icy lakes and Pikas, ...

Sally the Weimaraner, Fannie the Corgi and I finally got the go-ahead to hike in Tioga Pass’s Hoover Wilderness after it had been reopened after the fire danger closures. I could feel winter knocking on the door as we walked by iced over small lakes. I brought my fishing pole along just in case . . . Where: Inyo National ...

First day that Yosemite National Park had reopened and I was ready to hike. The Park had been closed September 17 due to wildfires that had created terrible off the charts unhealthy air quality and on this first day back in, I had a perfect smoke free day to hike the Tioga Pass area, visiting 4 beautiful lakes. Where: Yosemite ...

Camping with the dogs for four days in the Tioga Pass area was a great getaway from the smoke. Sally, Fannie and I did a little hiking, a little wandering, a little relaxing, some wading, and we all took a few good naps. Where: Harvey Monroe Hall Research Natural Area, Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National ForestDistance: 5.94 MilesDifficulty: Moderate to StrenuousElevation ...

It had been a few years since I had climbed to the top of Mount Dana and I was hearing reports that those beautiful sky pilots were blooming so now was the time to make it happen! It seemed like there were about one million switchbacks to reach the top of the second highest mountain in Yosemite (after Mount Lyell), ...

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 ...

I hiked alone but I wasn’t by myself. I walked in the footprints of miners dreaming of hitting a huge ledge of silver, building a town in the Tioga Pass area at 10,760′ elevation to support their mining operations but that town was only there for about 4 years. Oh, and that part about not being by myself? Besides the ...

A huge ledge of silver is said to run along the Tioga Crest, enticing many to search the area, hoping to strike it rich with their mine. The Sheepherder Mine was one of those mines, discovered and rediscovered. The community of Dana was one of those towns, said to have had up to 1,000 people living in it at the ...

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 ...