Last Updated: February 12, 2015 A special post on Big Sur Waterfalls here. The Big Sur region is an adventure running playground. The Ventana Wilderness, Silver Peak Wilderness and a handful of state parks form a network of protected public land over the northern half of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range that is one of…
Black Giant, Charybdis & Evolution
The Ionian Basin is one of the more remote and striking regions in the High Sierra. The feature names within the basin – Charybids, Three Sirens and Scylla – take on a Greek Mythology theme making it all the more intriguing. While the John Muir Trail crosses Muir Pass just to the northwest, few seem to…
Electra Loop – Electra Peak & Lyell Fork Merced River
The Lyell Fork of the Merced River is one of the most remote and rugged regions in Yosemite National Park. Any approach requires many miles on trail followed by off-trail travel. The lower part of the drainage features a splendid series of meadows as the river snakes through a grassland with an amazing view upstream to the chiseled…
Pyramid Peak & Window Peak Lake
“Window Peak Lake” is a spectacular granite-encased lake tucked in underneath rugged Window Peak. While only a couple miles off the John Muir Trail, there is no trail or use paths to negotiate the 1,800 foot vertical ascent to the lake which is steep and rocky. The lake is also situated in one of the more remote…
Tower Peak
Tower Peak is a remote and impressive summit at the northern end of the High Sierra. The peak lies at the headwaters of the West Walker River that was included in the substantial expansion of the Hoover Wilderness in 2009. The usual route entails many miles of trail along the Walker River Trail from Leavitt…
Granite Balconies
Aptly named Granite Dome is an immense granite massif with numerous micro-basins occupied by a series of stunning alpine lakes. The lakes are set amid granite cliffs that afford stunning vistas of the pristine lakes from above. As the adventurer gazing over these magnificent lakes is the audience to a stunning natural performance, I like to…
Mount Davis
Higher is not always better. I’ve been to several peaks recently that are only modest in elevation but contain outstanding views. It many ways, being surrounded by impressive peaks of equal or greater height provides a more dramatic perspective. Mount Davis is one of these peaks. While relatively remote and obscure, the views are breathtaking…
Whorl Mountain & Sawtooth Loop
Continuing with the focus on Northeast Yosemite’s Canyon Country, this post describes a climb of Whorl Mountain, which is immediately across Spiller Canyon from Virginia Peak, and a tour of the Sawtooth Ridge region including Matterhorn Pass, Burro Pass and Ice Lakes Pass. I had done a similar Sawtooth Loop last year including climbs of Matterhorn Peak,…
Virginia Peak
Northeast Yosemite is one of my favorite places in the Sierra Nevada. The peaks are not as high as the Southern Sierra, but it’s a distinctly alpine region characterized by a series of long glacier-carved canyons separated by sharp granitic peaks and ridgelines. The numerous canyons (from east to west) include Virginia Canyon, Spiller Canyon,…
John Muir Trail FKT (3d7h36m)
Running the John Muir Trail was an incredible experience. My personal account of the FKT effort is posted at iRunFar.com. A special thanks goes to my amazing support crew who really can’t be thanked enough. An excerpt is below, but be sure to read the full report here. With my extensive travels in the Sierra, the…
Leor Pantilat's Adventures