Desolation Wilderness Fastpack 07/24/20 - 07/26/20

To start off the hiking season, Caitlin and I planned out a ~85km, 2 night hike together in desolation wilderness. All my previous journeys into desolation wilderness had been on skis, so I was excited to see the difference without snow. 

Route:

Day 1 was a 10km day up to the summit of Ralston, and then back down to camp on the shores of Lake Aloha. 

From just shy of the summit on Ralston looking out towards Lake Aloha. 

Almost at camp!

Day two was a 50km day. We left Lake aloha and followed the PCT past Susie Lake and over Dicks Pass. We turned off the PCT when we hit the junction with 17E01, and followed that until 16E03 and the connector back onto the PCT. We followed the PCT back to 17E34 and followed that down to Rubicon river and camped near the river crossing.

First light

looking back at the crystal range behind aloha

Beauty morning!

Little pond with flat water

Wildflowers were popping!!

View from dicks pass down at dicks lake

looks swimmable!

Clouds... we got some sprinkles in the late afternoon.

Geneveive lake trail (16E03) had very little traffic compared with all the others on this hike

FRESH!

PCT express highway

more PCT

a very floppy tree

rock lined path dropping down to rubicon river

Day 3 was 35km back up rockbound valley, over mosquito pass dropping back down to Lake Aloha. From there we descended to lake of the woods, and followed the Pyramid Creek drainage over (but beside) horsetail falls.  

It was cold enough at night for frost

more wildflowers

and some large fungus

closing in on mosquito pass

looking out over lake aloha

Inviting, clear (and warm) waters

Lake of the woods with pyramid in the background

starting the drop down the drainage

Upper Horsetail falls

What was to be the start of the summer of 2020, was pretty much the end of it... I broke one of my ribs not long after this hike was completed, and right as I finished healing up, the disastrous 2020 fire season got rolling. 

30th Birthday Hike - Big Basin Loop 05/18/20

~2 months into COVID, the very hard bay area lockdown (no leaving 10 mile radius) was wrapping up. We took advantage of that to a 30 mile hike for Caitlin's 30th birthday. It was a wonderful day through mostly empty parks. 

The route we strung together, starting on skyline at highway 9.

Later on in the summer of 2020, much of the area we walked through burnt in the CZU complex lightning fire. Big Basin State Park has yet to open as of spring 2022. 

early on - looking into big basin

wandering within the redwoods

backlit redwoods

RED!

and the beautiful redwood sorrel

popping out of the redwoods and into the grasslands on skyline ridge

the rolling green hills of skyline

 

backcountry ski days 2019-2020

It's been a while... I haven't updated since the start of covid, but am going back now and putting up some photos to cover the big gap...

Whistler (and surrounding areas) Christmas 2019 trip:

Some solid hoarfrost growth 

Skiing up above hanging lake at WOP

 

coming down from hanging lake

skinning up Cherise creek, before finding out why you don't skin up Cherise creek... impassible waterfall

Frozen foam!

Joffre being spectacular

part 2, because I can't decide which one I like more.

Back in California... skiing in around Meiss meadow in mid January

Some wonderful turns above meiss meadow with red lake peak in the back

crossing meiss meadow to get to another part of the ridgeline

Talking mountain and echo lakes basin:

Dead tree

Ralston from Keith's Dome

Another great day of spring skiing in Tahoe

Back in whistler... as the covid lockdowns were starting...

A resort skiing picture.... we noticed some pictograms on the MASSIVE boulder beside glacier chair on blackcomb. No idea how they got on top of it....

Rohr lake in the duffy

Skinning

duffy views...

Of Cayoosh and Rohr lake

Gin and Rainbow pano