My Experience Attempting To Climb Mt Shasta

Generally when I tell people I climbed a mountain, they think it’s pretty cool, but they often don’t really react very strongly.  Usually when I tell people I’ve climbed a 14,000 foot peak they remark they would never do anything like that, or say something along the lines of that’s pretty cool.  When I told people I was planning to climb Mt Shasta, everyone who had seen the mountain looked at me with a sense of disbelief! Mt Shasta is...

Lake Tahoe Hiking: The Tahoe City Rim Trail Loop

On a rainy weekend in Tahoe, we still got out on the trails, which in hindsight knowing it would proceed to rain nearly the whole weekend maybe wasn’t the best thing to do!  Lake Tahoe hiking is usually under clear blue skies, but on this instance, it was gray, windy, and drizzly!  Even though the conditions weren’t perfect, we still had a good time being out on the trail! Miles/Elevation: 9.6 miles 1,414 feet vertical gain About Tahoe National Forest:...

Lake Tahoe Hiking: Up Ralston Peak

On Memorial Day Weekend, we were blessed with some cold but clear weather, and to take advantage, we did some awesome Lake Tahoe hiking and climbed a pair of Tahoe peaks!  The first of which was Ralston Peak in the Desolation Wilderness! Located in the Desolation Wilderness, perhaps Tahoe’s most beautiful setting, Ralston is a relatively minor peak, but the views from the top are outstanding!  While the north face was still covered in feet of snow, the trail, which...

Lake Tahoe Hiking: Summiting Martis Peak

With the winter snow mostly melted, it was time to do some Lake Tahoe hiking!  Located just to the north of the lake itself, Martis Peak is a relatively unassuming peak, but that doesn’t mean the views aren’t big time!  With snow still blanketing the highest reaches of the Sierra Nevada, this understated, heavily forested, peak was the perfect Memorial Day hike! Miles/Elevation: 9.2 miles 1,794 feet vertical gain About Tahoe National Forest: The setting for this hike is Tahoe...

A Great Spring Hike On The Arnold Rim Trail!

Located in the middling elevations of the Sierra Nevada foothills, the town of Arnold holds a secret: an incredible set of well organized, laid out, trails.  Known as the Arnold Rim Trail, this trail is actually a network of trails that trace the northern edge of town as it runs up against the precipitous edge of the valley holding San Antonio Creek. With the higher elevations still snowed in when we visited on a May weekend, this trail, at around...

Calaveras Big Trees State Park: The River Canyon Trail

On our weekend trip to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, we were fortunate to be able to hike one of the park’s toughest trails directly from our campsite!  The River Canyon Trail is a steep, switchback laden, hike that takes you all the way from Big Tree’s highest reaches down to its lowest.  Starting from the North Grove at the top of the park, this trail descends the entire hillside about 1,500 feet down to the North Fork of the...