San Jacinto Mtns. Taquitz Peak 7/24/10

Saturday after a little bit of a late start, I showed up to the Idyllwild Ranger Station at 9:30 am and was extremely lucky to obtain the last available permit to hike up the Devil's Slide Trail up into the San Jacinto Mountains. I started the hike at an elevation of around 6,200 feet and hiked up to Taquitz Peak at around 8,826 feet. What a view! I was amazed the entire way up at the beauty and ruggedness of these mountains. The pictures do not even do it justice at all. You have to hike these mountains for yourself to really experience what magnificent mountains we have so close to us here in California. After reaching the peak, I talked to a really nice lady named Donna who was the volunteer fire lookout that day. I sat and ate lunch and enjoyed the views for a while and the hiked down into Taquitz valley where I enjoyed vast maedows and small creeks and wlidflowers blooming. What a great day. What a great workout. man am I sore. Until the next adventure.

Rock Creek and Yosemite July 3 thru 9

Wow! Seven days Camping and exploring in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. What a great adventure this was. Here was our trip crew: My girlfriend Linda, My daughter Barbara 12, My niece Kaitlyn 10, and me Aaron. We drove up to the eastern Sierras to Toms Place and headed up Rock Creek Canyon. We lucked out and got a first come campsite fairly secluded and near the raging Rock Creek. The first Afternoon there after setting up camp we went for a hike up Rock Creek.Then after dinner at our camp we drove up to Rock Creek Lake itself and got a little preview of the magnificent wilderness that we were planning on hiking into the next day.





later that night we enjoyed a good dinner with a nice fire, roasted marshmallows and later gazed at a moonless sky so full of stars and so clear that we could see the milky way. The next day was our first hike up the Little Lakes Valley all the way up to Gem lake.

We hiked up to almost 11,000 feet. After one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on it was time to drive down to Crowley Lake and see the firework show. It was very different to see a grand firework show basically in the middle of nowhere in the high desert over the lake. I was awesome.
Before heading up to Yosemite we stopped at Mono Lake.


Then we spent 5 more days in Yosemite hiking and swimming.

Late June Hike on Daley Ranch

I got out today and hiked 7 1/2 miles at Daley Ranch Wilderness area today. I purposely climbed some hills today and pushed myself a little bit. It was a beautiful day in the woods. I was trying to warm up for some more major hikes planned in early July to the Eastern Sierras and Yosemite.