Grinnell Glacier, Glacier National Park, August 2024 Well, better late than never? We are now halfway into 2025, but, alas, work and other priorities produced a heavy backlog of blog posts from hikes in 2024 that I was only able to complete in the past few months. Yet the tradition of looking back on the …
Eagle Lake Trail, Sequoia National Park, July 2024 West of the Great Western Divide, California’s Sequoia National Park is effectively bisected by three branches of the Kaweah River—the Marble, Middle, and East Forks—all of which carve deep canyons fed by snowmelt from the 12,000-foot mountain range. Most visitors remain in the vicinity of the first …
Little Baldy, Sequoia National Park, July 2024 A granite dome with a panoramic 360-degree view, Little Baldy in Sequoia National Park is a more satisfying destination than the higher but more pedestrian Big Baldy Ridge. Views extend from the Central Valley to the west to the Silliman Crest, Kings-Kaweah Divide, and Great Western Divide to …
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Mist Falls, Kings Canyon National Park, July 2024 Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia’s adjacent sister park to the north, boasts skyscraping mountains, majestic granite formations, serene valleys, and spectacular wilderness best explored on a multi-day backpacking trip (such as the Deadman Canyon Loop, Rae Lakes Loop, or John Muir Trail). But for those without the …
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Tokopah Falls, Sequoia National Park, July 2024 Visitors to California’s Sequoia National Park come for the namesake trees but stay for the miles of epic, rolling granite (see, for example, my previous post on the Deadman Canyon Loop). Hikes into this granite wonderland tend to be long and strenuous, but one can get a short …
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High Trail, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, August 2023 This year, Live and Let Hike celebrated its 10-year anniversary of bringing you thorough trail descriptions and extensive photo collections of day hikes and backpacking routes across the United States and beyond. The web design may not be world class—and no one would mistake my …
May Lake, Yosemite National Park, August 2023 Requiring only a 1.2-mile hike to reach, May Lake is one of the most-accessible subalpine lakes along Tioga Road in California’s Yosemite National Park. This makes the lake, set in a basin below imposing Mount Hoffmann (10,850’), one of the most popular day hikes in the area (although …
Mono Lake State Natural Reserve, August 2023 Set in a volcanic basin just east of the Sierra Nevada, Mono Lake is a favorite stop for migratory birds and for humans flocking to or from Yosemite National Park. After the lake was partly drained by the city of Los Angeles in the early 20th century, it …
Thousand Island Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, August 2023 Rising prominently above California’s Mammoth Lakes area, the Ritter Range boasts a clutch of spectacular peaks and majestic alpine lakes best reached on a multi-day backpacking adventure. The largest of the lakes is Thousand Island Lake, set in a basin below iconic Banner Peak …
Big Pine Lakes, John Muir Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, August 2023 The simple names—First Lake, Second Lake, etc.—belie the picturesque setting of Big Pine Lakes, nestled in a majestic valley across the High Sierra Crest from Kings Canyon National Park. Once a relatively well-kept local secret, the Internet and social media have turned the lakes …
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