Here To There

We left the house at 8 am and got to Muir Woods in 30 minutes. The park was still empty. We started off on the Main Trail and then headed up Bootstrap Trail after Bridge 4. After a couple miles, we got to Van Wyk Meadow. At that point we continued on Bootstrap (turns into Alpine). Alternatively you can head down TCC. Alpine branches into Stepenveld or Dipsea after about a mile. Take Stepenveld to Ben Johnson. TCC also meets up with Stepenveld, where you take a left and head to Ben Johnson. After another mile the path splits again. You can either go straight and end up at the Main Trail again or take a right on Hillside to go along the top of the canyon (and avoid some people).
I loved this hike. It was in redwoods the whole time. Once we got off the Main Trail it was empty. Next time if we have more time we should try going on Dipsea to the ocean.

Also, we went to see salmon spawning, but we missed them. Try it again a little earlier in the year and a couple days after a big storm.

The alarm went off at 5:00 am and we were on the road by 5:30. Next time we should pack the trunk the night before to cut down on take off time. The drive up took exactly 3 hours, so we were at the mountain by 8:30 and on the slopes by 9. The snow was amazing!! Some good runs that I checked out were the Palisades, Scott’s Chute, The Chute That Seldom Slides and Promised Land.

On Apine Bowl Lift, the Palisades is good. To get there, go to the top of Alpine Bowl lift, traverse under the hut and as far as you can go. You can basically head straight down (crossing the grommed run occaisionally) to hit the most off-piste. Don’t bother doing the hike directly out the left side of the hut unless you’re going to High Traverse. As far as I could tell, it doesn’t get you around the cornice to Lower Saddle/Keyhole.

Scott’s Chute, The Chute That Seldom Slides and Promised Land are all off Scott Chair. Good access to Scott’s Chute if you ski to the top of the run and head down in the trees to the right. You can then keep veering right for maximum trees. I still need to find the official entry to The Chute That Seldom Slides, which is to the left of Scott Chair (off of Scott Ridge Run). I tried going along the cliff line parrallel to the run until I ran into it. There has to be a better approach. Also, the next time I go on Promised Land I’m going to try to stay as far right as I can (close to the boundary). I found a cut off towards the bottom that cuts out the hike out. PS - Don’t try to ski to your car if you’re parked on the opposite side of the lot!! It’s a long walk around.

Next time I want to try High Traverse, which can start out on Summit 6 or Alpine Bowl Chair. From Summit 6, take the high traverse/hike and from Alpine Bowl Chair take the hike directly out the left side of the hut. Drop down to Sherwood Chair from there. Also, when coming back up Sherwood Chair, you can head directly over to the front by going through the trees for some pretty steep looking runs. The other thing to try out is how to get to Badger Bowl. I think you just cut across the entrace to Wolverine Bowl and hike over the ridge.

The drive back was fine until we hit Berkeley. It took us 2 hours to get home from that point. Remember to pack food in the car in case you don’t want to have to stop for some!

We drove to Reno on Friday night. The drive took from about 8:00 pm to 12:30 am. Not much traffic, but it wasn’t easy since we were so tired. We stayed at the Sands—wouldn’t recommend staying there again; the Nugget is a much better dive. Michael, Shannon and Thad drove up a little later and got in around 2 am.

We took off at about 8:30 am for NorthStar, and arrived there around 9:15 am. Getting to the top of the mountain involves 3 chair lifts, so we didn’t start our first run until 10:30 am. The mountain didn’t feel very big: you were either on the front lifts with a ton of people or skiing the backside with a limited number of runs. I don’t love the resort.

Sam and I flew to Tucson to visit his dad and his family for the long weekend. We flew Delta (never again!) through Salt Lake. The mountains were beautiful and I was dying to go skiing, but I forgot all about the snow when we got there. The weather was of course beautiful and we spent some time hiking Finger Rock and eating tasty food (as always!). Those visits are always too short!

Sam and I met up with the family in Oregon for a ski weekend before Christmas. We flew into Eugene and drove from there to SunRiver. It was nice to show Sam the state a bit since he hadn’t ever driven through it. The snow wasn’t great at Bachelor, but we had lots of fun eating (as always on family vacations!), playing games and taking long walks in the snow.

We drove down to Palo Alto on Friday night and crashed at Michael’s apartment for an early departure on Saturday. This time around it was just Michael and Sam and me since Shannon had too much work, but next time it will definitely have to be at least the 4 of us, maybe James and Karen or Joey and Laurie would also be interested. We left Palo Alto at 8:30 am and pulled up to the park entrance at 11:00 am. The only suggestion I have is to make sure you get gas before you get too close to the park. We waited until the last gas station where regular cost almost $3. There was a gas station on the west side of Groveland that had the best gas prices we saw the whole trip. I would recommend stopping there.

Once we got in the park we did a quick drive through at Hogdon Meadows and Crane Flat campgrounds. Hogdon Meadows didn’t look great, but Crane Flat looked nice, particularly spots around 234? After our campground reconnaisance mission, we headed to Tuolumne Grove and walked around the sequoias for a bit. The trees were impressive, but not something I need to see again. The vistas of the Valley are much more impressive if you’re trying to pack it in.

After the big trees, we drove to Bridaveil Falls for a picnic lunch. This late in the season the falls were just a trickle so there wasn’t much to see, but I would love to see them in early summer. We sat around there for about an hour and started out again around 1:00. Continuing on down to Glacier Point Road, we drove for about another 45 minutes up to the Sentinel Dome trail head. We started off down the trail to Sentinel Dome, which is a mile out and spent about 30 minutes checking out the views, which were amazing. It’s a great vantage point for orienting yourself in the valley. We walked to Glacier Point after that (another 1.5 miles downhill). I was less impressed with Glacier Point. It’s the end of GP Road and there is a large parking lot there with tour buses and tons of tourists and information centers. The views of Half Dome were great, but the hordes were a bit much. It was also amazing how hard it was to get back up the hill because of the altitude. Next time I would love to head to Taft Point after Sentinel Dome and would like to time it for sunset.

We headed down from Glacier Point at 4:30 and got to the campground at around 5:30. I had called the day reservations opened at 9:30 am and there were only 2 sites in the Valley left. We lucked out and got a site in Lower Pines on the Merced River (site #43). The campground was pretty packed and the spots are all pretty close together and aren’t very private, but I think we may have gotten the best spot in the valley. We were backed up on the Merced River with a pretty big, flat spot. We were close enough to the bathrooms/garbages that they were convenient, but they weren’t right on our spot. We could see North Pines campers across the river, but all in all it was fairly isolated. We had a great view of the sunset on Half Dome. Some other spots that might be good to try in the Valley would be the even 130s or the even 500s in North Pines. After a dinner of burritos (yummy camp food!) we played dice. After a while our fire had died down enough for smores and hot chocolate. Then it was time for early bedtime at 10:30.

The next morning we woke up before 7:00 and started packing up. After a breakfast of instant oatmeal and instant coffee we headed out. We need to take real coffee up next time, that instant stuff is for the birds. We had packed up and were headed out of camp at 8:00. It took us a while to find the Half Dome trail head parking but we finally made our way there and got on the trail by 8:30. To get to the parking lot, take a right out of Lower Pines to go out of the campground road, then take a left at the stop sign. The parking lot is less than a mile from the trail head so walking isn’t a problem.

We left the parking lot at 8:30 and headed up Mist Trail alongside Vernal Falls and then Nevada Falls. Vernal Falls was tough with over 600 granite steps to conquer and it took us about an hour to get to the top of this one. Then we started in on Nevada Falls, which winds a bit away from the actual falls. It feels easier since you aren’t going straight up the side as much as winding around. This part took us an additional 30 minutes, so we reached the start of the Half Dome trail at 11:00. After 30 minutes of flat ground, the trail started its upward climb again for the last 3 miles or so. This part was killer, but an hour later we reached the last ridge and saw the top, which was a great mental boost. The views from this part are gorgeous. As you emerge from the trees you get your first good look at the back of Half Dome and the cables. We stopped and had lunch in a little rocky outcropping, which is where we discovered how cold it was up top. Only 15 minutes before we had been making fun of other climbers with their layers of clothes and gloves. I guess they got the last laugh. Sam and Michael were in shorts and sweatshirts. I was bundled up but given my poor internal temperature control, I was freezing too. This may have been where we saw the first snow flakes, and it was definitely where our fingers turned numb. Hint for the future: do not try to make and eat PB&J out of the protection of the trees. Yikes!

As soon as we finished eating we started back on the trail to the cables if only to get warm from moving again. Unfortunately there had been a helicopter flying around in a rescue mission and they had finally landed it just at the base of the cables and were loading the guy on so as soon as we started we were turned back and told it would be about 30 minutes or so. Everybody hung out at the bottom there until the guy was lifted out (hanging 150 ft below the chopper). When the helicopter took off, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees with all the higher air being pushed down. A few minutes later the helicopter was gone and we started up, just to be met by the ranger telling people that a snow storm was moving in fast. Given that we didn’t have any rain gear and were all freezing our butts off, we took his word for it and turned right around. It was the right decision to make, but having to make it ticked me off. Not only were we within sight, but we had just spent an hour waiting around to summit. It was definitely the right choice though.

We started back down around 12:30 and the snow flakes just seemed to keep following us and multiplying as we went down. At one point we started running down the trail to try and get down as fast as we could and to warm up a bit. We finally lost the snow at the top of the falls at about 2, but by then it had turned to rain so we were faced with going down the way we had come up which would be dangerous in the rain or tacking another mile and a half onto the trip by going down the less steep and less dangerous John Muir trail. We again went with prudence and started down John Muir. At about this point, my legs and will power just about gave up. It took forever to get down the last part of the trail and we finally made it back to the car at around 3:30. I would definitely do this hike again, but next time everybody should take a day pack so that we have enough warm clothes and rain gear. Hats and gloves would be a smart idea too.

We made it back on the road around 4:30 and pulled into Arbutus at 9:00 after a Wendy’s stop in Manteca at about 6:30-7:00. Important to know, Merced (the first town you hit on the way back) has about every fast food and Starbucks, except for Wendy’s and In and Out. If you need Wendy’s and can hold out, you only have to get a little further to Manteca.

Next trip should be soon—maybe after the CFA?

Took the Dows hiking in Marin on Matt Davis Trail and Steep Ravine. Great 8 mile hike from top of Mount Tam to Stinson Beach. Lots of different environments.

Go over Golden Gate Bridge, take Hwy 1 exit, turn left at end of road, at fork go straight. Park at first parking lot on left. (You can also park at first parking lot on right and take BootJack trail to the Matt Davis trail head.)

Cross road for start of Matt Davis trail. Head down to Stinson Beach. For return, hike south along highway. There is a trail head on the left of the road a couple blocks down. Take that to Dipsea, to Steep Ravine.

We had the most amazing trip in the British Virgin Islands. Sam, Michael, Shannon, Thad, Sara, Chris O’Rosco, Bridget and I chartered the Braveheart for a week. The Braveheart is a 54” catamaran with 4 queen size state rooms, a covered deck and lots of uncovered deck on the trampolines in front and more deck on top of the galley. The trip was all inclusive of gourmet meals, drinks and diving. Captain Jerry runs the Braveheart and took us on a customized trip around the BVI’s. He is also a dive master, so he went with us on our dives to point out all of the sights. The onboard chef, Gerda, was amazing—she made us some of the best food I’ve ever had.

We spent the first night on land at the Beef Island Guest House and stopped by the De Loose Mongoose, a local bar/restaurant on an island in the bay. The next morning we boarded the Braveheart and set sail for Norman Island where we snorkeled at the Caves and spent the evening at Willie T’s, a bar on an anchored ship in the bay. Over the course of the next couple days we dove at several sites around Peter Island including Painted Walls and the Indians and saw all kinds of ocean life: turtles, eels, barracudas, etc. We also anchored in Deadman’s Bay, which is a picturesque beach, and went hiking. We then headed toward Salt Island and did the Wreck of the Rhone dive, which is a deep water dive. It was beautiful—there were barracudas everywhere. We got to go into the wreck and swim around a bit. Very cool. We may have also done some other dives in the area; possibly Devil’s Kitchen, Cistern Point and Blond Rock. We stopped for an afternoon at the Cooper Island Beach Club and played Bocce Ball and lounged in the sun. Michael and Shannon took a canoe out around the point to a secluded beach, and when they came back they were engaged!! Luckily, Gerda had champagne on board, so we all celebrated in style. That night we kept sailing east to Virgin Gorda and went on land for a few hikes. We hiked the Baths, which are a series of pools on the beach surrounded by huge granite rocks, and also hiked to the highest point on Virgin Gorda, and in all of the BVIs. The views of the islands were spectacular. We also did the Coral Gardens plane wreck dive. That night we moored on the far side of Virgin Gordon we were the only boat in sight, which was surprisingly unusual for the trip. From there we dove the Invisibles and the Chithuen Wreck. The next day we stopped at Sandy Spit, which is the quintessential tiny tropical island with just one palm tree. The snorkeling here was great! That afternoon we anchored at Marina Cay. While we were snorkeling we saw a shark! It was a 5 foot reef shark that had been hanging out in the area for a few weeks. After sun-down we jumped back in the ocean for our night dive. Not much going on underwater after dark, except when you come back to the boat and find all of the huge fish that have collected at the light from the boat. On the last day we went to the rum distillery at Cane Garden Bay and then went to Foxy’s to finish our trip.

All in all, it was an amazing trip. We kept saying that it was the best trip possible. Hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to top it with another trip some day, but chances are slim.

Sam and I went to La Paz, Mexico with his dad, Cheryl, Emily, Annie and some family friends for a “camping” trip in the Baja Sea. The touring company, Baja Expeditions, picked us up in La Paz and ferried us to Espiritu Santo, a remote island in the Baja Sea. When we arrived, we saw that they had several beach front tents set up, each with cots and a sandy floor. There was also a dining tent and kitchen tent. There were several cooks working away when we arrived and we soon had drinks and appetizers in hand. This was definitely high end camping. The tents were very comfortable and the cooks made great meals. The two guides took us various places over the week. One day, we snorkeled with sea lions—the little ones were really playful and loved doing twirls with the snorkelers. The nasty adolescents were all banished to a separate island. They weren’t quite as playful, in fact, one of the big ones buzzed us and seemed very intent on us knowing he was the boss. We also did some whale watching and saw a Blue Whale up close with her baby and also saw some humpbacks in the distance doing the Prudential flop. The sea was full of giant manta rays that continuously feel compelled to launch themselves out of the water. Other days we kayaked around our island or had a picnic lunch on another island.

Mom, Dad, Grandma and I visited Andrew at the end of his 3 month internship in Morelia, Mexico. We had such a good time! Andrew was the perfect tour guide with his Spanish skills and his knowledge of the area. We stayed in Old Morelia

old morelia hotel – courtyard
traditional dancers – old ladies
old cathedral with metal statues

drove down to the coast – las Gatas Beach
Ixtapa

Patzcuaro – shopping on the little square, cathedral
Tzintzuntzan – pyramids
Quiroga – carne asada

Santa Clara del Cobre – copper

Zacatecas – silver, tunnels