Posts from the ‘Parks’ Category

Oct 14

Day 3: Arriving to Yosemite National Park

Our campground check-in time was 12-noon and we were only about 40 minutes away so we took our time getting moving today. That said, we were anxious to make our way into the park, so before too long we were hitched and once again rolling.

Yosemite park entrance

I’ve seen and read a lot about this place, but nothing compared to actually seeing the park up-close. It really is majestic. The scale of the park is nothing I’ve ever seen before; it really is beautiful.

Arriving a bit too early to check into our site, Kelly and I killed some time exploring the area known as Yosemite Village. Essentially, this is ground zero – the place where gift shops, restaurants, grocery stores, and campgrounds all collide. A place that is both convenient and horrific at the same time. Some of the Rangers tell me that the park is quite empty this time of year, particularly on weekdays.

River running through our campground

How far down is the drop …

One of many sheer rock faces in the valley

Interestingly enough, the campgrounds are all quite full. The real crowds are those visiting the park for day visits. I’m quite surprised at the amount of parking throughout the broader Village. Incredibly, during summer months, what looks like ample parking today is often woefully inadequate.

Anyway, our day was mainly about getting settled, reading up on day hikes and reminding ourselves how lucky we are to be in this majestic setting.

Tomorrow Kelly’s brother Chris arrives with his dog Katie. Neither of us has seen Chris in a while and we are really looking forward to spending some time with him this week.

Oct 12

Day 1: Los Banos, CA (part two)

Like many California State Parks, the San Luis Reservoir is decent enough, but way overpriced in my view – $38 bucks for no hook-ups is a bit on the steep side I think. By the way, the Golden state will hit you up for an additional $1 to shower for five minutes. That said, the campsites are huge, offer plenty of elbow room between neighboring sites, and are level. Nice.

This time of year the park was mostly empty; so all in all, we had some nice downtime to relax.

Per usual, we did get out for some park exploring … or at least tried to. Many of the most “marketed” trails were closed for the season; not sure what that’s all about. Not to be deterred, we walked the park roads in an attempt to make the most of things. In the end this was ok since the park was basically empty.

Also we did manage to see some wildlife during our stay.

Like these elk:

Elk grazing the fields

And lots of these bugs:

Desert Stink Beetle

And by far the biggest spider I’ve ever seen outside of a museum or zoo:

California Tarantula

Another big downer about this park is that many of the more heavily marketing trails are closed for the year, but not marked as such. We found this out the hard way – after driving 15 minutes to the trail parking lot, walking another ten minutes to the trailhead, then finding access to the trail itself sufficiently cut off by a gate.

Rolling hills under clouds

The lone highway through the park

Despite some otherwise pretty scenery, I give this park a big thumbs down.

Not sure I can recommend this park

Once we settled in for the evening, I started a nice fire ($6 for a small bundle of wood) and Kelly made a fantastic pizza. We had fresh-baked cookies for dessert (ok, they were Tollhouse).

Enjoying warm cookies and milk.

Afterwards, we settled in to begin watching season-1 of Showtime’s TV drama Homeland. Wow, what a good show.

Sep 23

No Dogs Allowed

Kelly and I have become increasingly frustrated with all the NO DOGS restrictions here in Northern California (NorCal as the hipsters call it). Coming from Washington state, we were accustomed to bringing our dogs along to hiking trails pretty much wherever we desire. I guess we were spoiled in that sense. Too bad the same cannot be said around here.

Our dog Lilly loves to join us on the trails and we are happy to have her join us. Unfortunately, here in NorCal we’ve had to pass-up some really neat spots which would have otherwise been so cool to visit. Damn this state.

Today, Kelly and I went to visit Windy Hill Preserve, one of the few open spaces in the area which allows dogs … on leashes. Actually, we always walk Lilly on lease, so such restrictions are moot for us. Anyway, the preserves is pretty nice. Situated midway atop the Peninsula ridge-line, Windy Hill offers a nice mix of tree cover and open grasslands woven into a mostly up and down single track hike. Outside of the tree cover, temperatures were a bit hot for my preference, but overall a nice hike.

Kelly and I like this place, but as it’s located about 20-25 minutes away, the location is not overly convenient.

Lilly seems to have a super-sense whenever we are headed to a hike and today was no exception. There is no doubt that she is a big fan of Windy Hill.

A few snapshots from the hike are pasted below.

Love the bark pattern on this tree

Some interesting art in the midst of the forrest

Lilly, impatiently waiting for Dave and Kelly.

Looking up through the tree cover

Lilly’s post hike routine

Sep 7

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

It was another hot one here in Ashland today. Consequently, I was inside the Airstream most of the day. While comfortable in the confines of air conditioning, by the time my work day ended, I was more than ready to get myself outside and into a change of scenery.

At Kelly’s suggestion, we decided to explore a nearby trailhead and see where it would lead. Unbeknownst to us, the expansive Pacific Crest Trail sat quietly just down the road from where we’ve been parked these past few days. The PCT proved to be just perfect – it was close, was not too steep, and afforded us lots of tree cover to block any direct sun.

To my surprise, the trail itself was exceptionally well marked. We covered only a few miles, but we must have passed a dozen trail markers. The trail is maintained primarily by the US Forest Service and I’d be curious to know if the entire system is so well marked.