It’s fairly rare for a modified arctic cold front to sweep into central California. However, in early December a cold, dry continental airmass overspread the region. With the cold air in place, attention turned to the possibility of low elevation snow on local mountains. All we needed was moisture. It seemed like wishes would come…
Tag: trail running
Point Reyes South District Loop
[Summary from my April 2013 post] A spectacular meeting of land and ocean, Point Reyes National Seashore is one of my favorite places anywhere. Point Reyes has incredible variety from rugged beaches to waterfalls to lush forests. With nearly 150 miles of trails to explore, there always seems to be something new to experience on each visit. Most of…
Cone Peak Marathon Loop
California’s spectacular natural landscape ranges from the Pacific coastline to the Sierra crest, each filled with many inspiring destinations and experiences. As the seasons shift into late autumn and winter I gravitate to coastal adventures. This time of year has reliably less fog along the immediate coast and interior locations are comfortably cooler. This is…
Clouds Rest & Yosemite’s Complete South Rim
While I know that Yosemite Valley is beautiful any time of the year, I had not experienced the Valley in the fall and I was eager to see some new trails (for me) on the south rim. A Saturday in early November was a great opportunity with the trails on the rim remaining largely snow-free….
Monarch Divide Semi-Loop
The Monarch Divide is a region of the High Sierra that is easily overlooked. Topping out below 12,000 feet, the peaks along the divide are not as impressive as nearby zones to the north, east and south. The most used trail into the Monarch Divide is the Copper Creek Trail to Granite Lake and Granite…
Foerster Peak
Fall is one of my favorite times of the year in the Sierra. This time of year comes after the summer monsoon thunderstorm season but before winter storms roll in off the Pacific burying the high country in snow. The result is weather that is characterized by numerous clear and crisp days interspersed with the…
Little Lakes Valley to Morgan Pass
The trailhead at Mosquito Flat in the Rock Creek area is one of the highest trailheads in the Sierra at just over 10,000 feet and provides easy access to wonderful hiking, climbing and trail running at Little Lakes Valley. The visitor less inclined to travel many miles will find quintessential High Sierra scenery within merely…
Tulainyo Lake: The Cleaver and Mount Carillon
Photo album here. Tulainyo Lake sits in a desolate bowl 12,828 feet above sea level nestled between four peaks – Mount Russell, Mount Carillon, Tunnabora Peak and The Cleaver. It is one of the highest lakes in the contiguous United States and impressively large for its altitude. Due to its elevation and shadowing effects from…
Whitney to Langley
I don’t often visit the Whitney Zone due its long distance from the Bay Area (7 hours) and convoluted red tape associated with the permitting process. However, I’m always looking for new scenery to explore and parts of this region I have never seen. Snagging some last minute day use permits for the weekend, I…
Mount Shasta, Clear Creek Route
Opting to leave the Bay Area Saturday morning to avoid Friday evening traffic on Labor Day Weekend (with the Bay Bridge closed) was a good choice. The primary objective for the weekend was the Trinity Alps (see prior posts), but Shasta seemed like a fun objective to squeeze in Saturday midday. On my first attempt…
Leor Pantilat's Adventures