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Williamson Creek

Start of the Williamson/Shepherd Creek Drainage

By reputation the Shepherd/Williamson Creek drainage is impassible—there must be some reason, after all, that they began the Shepherd Pass trail in an entirely different (more)

The Mountain Took My Phone, My Car, & My Tooth

Matt Dixon hiking San Antonio Ridge, California

Mountains demand sacrifices—we all know that. So when I accidentally left my phone atop Mount Baldy's west summit, I thought: Fine. Better than blood. My friend Matt (more)

Langley via the East-Southeast Ridge

Langley via the East-Southeast Ridge

Mount Langley is California's southernmost fourteener and most definitely not California's most climbed mountain. Why doesn't Langley attract more attention? Maybe it's that (more)

San Gabriel Canyon

San Gabriel Canyon

We hiked up the east fork of San Gabriel Canyon today, en route to that most enigmatic of SoCal landmarks, the Bridge to Nowhere. It was hot. Cloud cover helped, but it was (more)

Parker Mesa Loop

Parker Mesa Loop

What I call the Parker Mesa Loop begins at the end of Los Leones Drive in Pacific Palisades, elevation 195', directly ascends a steep ridge via a use trail to Parker Mesa (more)

Mount Islip

Mount Islip

My son and I went up the 2 yesterday to Islip Saddle mostly because my family had hiked Mount Islip on Mother's Day in 2020, and I wanted to revisit the area and the memories of (more)

101 Switchbacks

101 Switchbacks - Mount Whitney Trail

How many switchbacks are there between Trail Camp and Trail Crest on The Mount Whitney Trail? A lot. The exact number may never be known, but 101 seems to be the most popular (more)

Cottonwood Camp Strikes Again

Cottonwood Camp Strikes Again

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. On (more)

SP Crater

SP Crater

SP Crater is perfect: that is the lead. A gorgeous, perfectly-formed, symmetrical, aesthetic cinder cone volcano, SP Crater sits just north of Flagstaff and the San Francisco (more)

A Walk Around the Block

A Walk Around the Block

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 by life, (more)

University Peak

University Peak

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 (more)

Inyo Mts: Squaw Peak

Inyo Mts: Squaw Peak

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 (more)

Mount Diablo

Mount Diablo

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 (more)

Where’s Your Sierra?

Where's Your Sierra?

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 (more)

Canyon With Kids, Reprised

Canyon With Kids, Reprised

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 (more)

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About SierraDescents

When 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.

Pray for snow.