Category Archives: California

John Muir Trail Preparation & Logistics

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

Note: This is the first in a series of five posts describing the John Muir Trail (JMT), a scintillating, multi-week hike through California’s Sierra Nevada that extends more than 200 miles from Yosemite National Park in the north to Mount … Continue reading →

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Twin Lakes, Boomerang Lake, & Island Lake (Desolation Wilderness, CA)

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

Desolation Wilderness spans around 64,000 acres of the Sierra Nevada in northern California’s Eldorado National Forest, including dozens of alpine lakes, towering granite peaks, and glacial streams. The wilderness, due to its close proximity to Lake Tahoe, is known today … Continue reading →

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Deadman Canyon Loop (Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, CA)

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

Becoming increasingly well-known as a lesser-traveled alternative to the popular John Muir Trail – Pacific Crest Trail corridor, the roughly 50- to 60-mile backpacking circuit known as the Deadman Canyon Loop (a.k.a. Elizabeth Pass Loop) traverses spectacular terrain spanning both … Continue reading →

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Wildcat Peak via Laurel Canyon & Jewel Lake (Tilden Regional Park, CA)

Posted on July 4, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

Truly unobstructed panoramas with views in all directions are a relative rarity in the Berkeley Hills of California’s East Bay, but Wildcat Peak in Berkeley’s Tilden Regional Park offers one of them with excellent vistas of the San Francisco Bay, … Continue reading →

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Upper Yosemite Falls Trail (Yosemite National Park, CA)

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

At 2,425 feet, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America* and an iconic destination in California’s Yosemite National Park. The entire height from base to crest can be tackled via the very strenuous Upper Yosemite Falls Trail, one … Continue reading →

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Lower Yosemite Fall Trail (Yosemite National Park, CA)

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

At 2,425 feet, Yosemite Falls is widely heralded as the tallest waterfall in North America* and an iconic destination in California’s Yosemite National Park. During its high-water season in spring, the roar of the two-tiered falls can be heard across … Continue reading →

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Carlon Falls Trail (Yosemite National Park, CA)

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

Starting just outside Yosemite National Park, the Carlon Falls Trail is off the usual tourist track but features a lovely, 30-foot waterfall along the South Fork of the Tuolumne River. Mostly level as it hugs the north banks of the … Continue reading →

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Merced Grove Trail (Yosemite National Park, CA)

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

While Mariposa Grove is the most spectacular of the bunch, Yosemite National Park also sports two other small groves of giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees. Tuolumne Grove near Crane Flat receives a steady stream of visitors, but the lesser-visited … Continue reading →

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Tuolumne Grove Trail (Yosemite National Park, CA)

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

Giant sequoias, close cousins of coast redwoods, are the largest trees (by total volume) on earth and grow naturally only in 75 groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in California. Three such groves can be found in … Continue reading →

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Foresta Falls (Yosemite National Park, CA)

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Andrew Wojtanik

It is a testament to the spectacular bounty of waterfalls in California’s Yosemite National Park that terrific Foresta Falls is routinely neglected by visitors in favor of even taller and higher-volume waterfalls nearby. In perhaps any other park, the 60-foot … Continue reading →

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