Black Elk Peak, Black Elk Wilderness, Black Hills National Forest, August 2024 At 7,241 feet, Black Elk Peak is South Dakota’s highest point and the tallest peak in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The mountain (formerly known as Harney Peak) was a sacred place for the native Lakota and tops a band …
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Bunsen Peak Trail, Yellowstone National Park, August 2024 Heading south and east from the Bitterroot Range, I spent the night at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park and then--in a rather spontaneous move--set out for a day in Yellowstone, America’s first national park. The park, of course, is massive, so I bit off only a …
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Mother's Trail, Mount Diablo State Park, March 2021 Rising more than 3,000 feet above the valley floor, Mount Diablo (3,849’) is perhaps the most iconic peak in the East Bay, a behemoth for which the broader Diablo Range—which extends around 200 miles south into central California—is named. Most visitors reach the peak by way of …
Continue reading Mount Diablo via Macedo Ranch (Mount Diablo State Park, CA)
At 3,849 feet, Mount Diablo is one of the highest and most prominent peaks in the San Francisco Bay Area and perhaps the most well-known mountain in the East Bay. Taking its name from a linguistic accident in the early 19th century, this “Devil’s Mountain” makes for a very long and imposing climb for modern …
Continue reading Mount Diablo via Eagle Peak and Mitchell Canyon (Mount Diablo State Park, CA)
Despite being far less visited than its slightly higher cousin (Alpine Ridge Trail at Alpine VC, 12,005’), Marmot Point (11,909’) is no less spectacular. In fact, because the unpaved, one-way route up Old Fall River Road tends to weed out visitors, the relative solitude of Marmot Point makes this route perhaps a more attractive alternative. …
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Live and Let Hike 