Hiking
Those of you who read about my rim-to-rim day hike a few years back may recall me mentioning the 1978 overnight I did with my parents to Cottonwood Camp, from the North Rim (more...)...
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Hiking
SP Crater is perfect: that is the lead. A gorgeous, perfectly-formed, symmetrical, aesthetic cinder cone volcano, SP Crater sits just north of Flagstaff (more...)...
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Hiking
The question is: where do you start? The hills may be calling, but if you’ve never picked up the phone, or if you’ve been slowed or injured or otherwise just waylaid (more...)...
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Hiking
Okay, I thought this one was supposed to be easy. When it comes to accurately sizing up a route’s difficulties, I’m beginning to fear either I’m a hopeless optimist or else I’ve gone soft because lately everything seems like a thumping (more...)...
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Hiking
At first, I thought it was simply a case of guidebook error. Later—hours later—when I was beset by flies, and covered in scratches and pine sap, when my legs were doing the sewing-machine shake, when I saw the fresh cat tracks, when I knew I was going to run out of water—in Death Valley, of (more...)...
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Hiking
Rising a decidedly non-devilish 3,849 feet above sea level, Mount Diablo is not quite the highest summit in the Bay Area, but it is Contra Costa County’s highpoint, and, thanks to its remarkable prominence, Diablo offers not just fine views from San Francisco to the Sierra, but in fact one of the largest viewsheds in (more...)...
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Hiking
I have a distinct mental image of “The Sierra”—and this isn’t it. My Sierra is heavy on Owens Valley and fourteeners, with lots of dry, dusty, austere granite brooding high above sun-baked desert. I’m generally aware of other, wetter parts, such as Yosemite, but like the beach some two miles from my house I tend (more...)...
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Hiking
We made it out! I don’t think I’ve ever been as anxious about a backpacking trip as this one, but when my brother invited me to join him on a 2-night trip with his family to Indian Garden, there was a lot of history to live up to. I’ve long thought that 1978 hike to (more...)...
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Hiking
Olancha Peak has long commanded my attention. First of the Southern Sierra’s big mountains, Olancha can be thought of as the range’s regional ambassador. Drive Highway 395 north just past Little Lake, and there it is: a looming outline that fills the horizon. Scrappy high desert ranges are instantly forgotten in that first glance; here (more...)...
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Hiking
“Don’t tell me how far it is,” I say. I don’t want to know. We’re at the Mill Creek Ranger Station, waiting for it to open so we can get hiking permits. You need permits to enter the San Gorgonio Wilderness, even for day hikes, and in Summer there’s a trail quota to deal with (more...)...
Posted in Hiking | 0 CommentsWhen there is snow, SierraDescents is Andy Lewicky's California backcountry skiing and mountaineering website. Without snow, sierradescents becomes an ill-tempered hiking and climbing blog.
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