ShareTelescope Peak is my nemesis.  It took everything I had in me to conquer the 11,049-foot tall beast last year. It was the hardest hike for 2009, maybe even the hardest hike I had ever done. The 7-mile trail starts off with a steady gain of 1,400 feet up to Arcane Meadow. From the shadow [...]

ShareYosemite Nature Notes, a high-quality video blog about – you guessed it – the natural wonders of Yosemite National Park, offers online visitors more than just beautiful photos and videos. The series, currently with eight released episodes, is highly informative and provides information that some regulars to the park might not know. For episode six, [...]

Share2009 was a very good year for me.  My eyes have seen some spectacular places this planet has to offer.  By April, I had made seven visits to different areas of the Mojave Desert. In May, I had a crazy idea to hike 100 times before the year was out, setting me on a path [...]

ShareI first visited Joshua Tree National Park back in 2004. The place had come up in too many conversations for me to ignore any longer, so I jumped in my car, drove the 120 miles from Pasadena to the park’s western entrance, and took a look for myself at this so-called “awesome place.” It was [...]

ShareDuring my 100hikes project, I was fortunate enough to visit the Vetter Mountain Lookout before the Station Fire took it from us. While there, I got a tour of the small 14×14-foot building and the tools the volunteers use to help spot forest fires. Along with the Osbourne Fire Finder and a large topographic map [...]