Our trips in California
Death Valley has a reputation as the hottest place on Earth, which makes a January visit delightful. For those of us coming from the Pacific Northwest, it’s also a welcome excuse to chase some sun in the depths of winter. With mild temperatures, long golden hours, and a fraction of the spring crowds, a winter visit lets you actually hike the place. We easily filled three days from sunrise through sunset, with hikes and views.
On our way home from backpacking Ediza and Thousand Island Lakes in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, we added a day for Lassen Volcanic National Park. Because of smoke from wildfires, we decided on a day of short walks and hikes combined with stops at various viewpoints, rather than climbing Lassen Peak.
The highlight of our July 2021 road trip was backpacking to Ediza Lake and Thousand Island Lake, in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. To get an early start, we stayed in Lee Vining the night before, which also gave us a chance to visit Mono Lake.
One summer at Cold River Camp, another guest presented on backpacking the Muir Trail and through the Ansel Adams Wilderness. This presentation inspired our summer 2016 backpacking trip from Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley. The image that most stayed in my mind, though, was a sunset photo at Thousand Island Lake.
Kyle & I finally visited in July 2021, stopping at Newberry National Volcanic Monument and Crater Lake National Park on the way there, and Lassen Volcanic National Park on the way back. This made for a one-week road trip with three days of backpacking in the middle.
Compared to the photo that inspired our trip, the sunset over Thousand Island Lake sunset was muted, but it was still excellent.
While a graduate student, I was fortunate to tack a couple of days in Yosemite National Park onto the end of a conference. That was enough time to hike up Half Dome (this was in the days before permits) and to explore Yosemite Valley. While stunning, I knew I had just scratched the surface of the Yosemite’s wonders.
I later saw a slide show of a hike along the John Muir Trail, which further motivated me to return. Kyle and I talked with friends–Joe and Jeremy–about a proposed trip. We decided to focus on the section from Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley. This would take us to Cathedral Lakes, Sunrise Lakes, Clouds Rest, and Half Dome.
We set about applying to permits by fax. On our third try, we secured permits for our desired route for 21-24 July 2016.