Hiking to Big Bear Lake in the Trinity Alps Wilderness

Yesterday we went on another hike in the Trinity Alps Wilderness in Northern California. This was, I think, the eighth lake we have hiked to in this area. Others included Trail Gulch Lake, Little Boulder Lake, and Smith Lake.

The trail to Big Bear Lake (and Wee Bear Lake–AKA Little Bear Lake–which we didn’t go to) is only 4.5 miles, but it felt like much more. The scenery on the trail changes frequently, but the nearly 3,000 feet of elevation gain does not. I’m sore today.

Posted on August 17th, 2015 under Other. Tags: california, hiking, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D750, ryan. Comments Off on Hiking in the Trinity Alps

I have been going to the Monterey / Pacific Grove / Pebble Beach / Carmel area of California since the time I was born. I did tours there in the early 1990s. I haven’t been there much in the past 15 years, maybe only three or four times. However, the beauty of the place is always shocking to me.

This past Thursday morning’s visit provided a different experience as there was no one there. We could park wherever we wanted and stroll without any crowds. This made things even better.

Posted on July 5th, 2015 under Other. Tags: california, flowers, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D750, pacific ocean. Comments Off on Pacific Grove

We were in California for a couple days, returning last night to Oregon. Today’s photo comes from a hike we did on our way to Sacramento in the Trinity Alps Wilderness. After this lake we also visited Boulder Lake which is less than a mile away.

Posted on June 21st, 2015 under Other. Tags: california, ellie, hiking, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D750, panorama, photomerge. Comments Off on Little Boulder Lake

@PCTAssociation @AmericanHiking

For Memorial Day the family hiking group got together for the first time in a while. The older siblings are in college, but the younger ones joined in with the dads. We headed down I-5 from Ashland, hooked up with Highway 3 in Yreka, and parked once we hit the Pacific Crest Trail (a bit beyond Etna, California). Four miles of walking on the PCT later and we found ourselves at the place where I took today’s photo (photos actually as this is a photomerge of about eight photos).

More details about getting there and other lakes to hike to in the area can be found here. This area is called the Russian Wilderness, but we didn’t see any Russians on this day.

Posted on May 26th, 2015 under Other. Tags: california, hiking, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D750, photomerge. Comments Off on Smith Lake

Burney Falls (California)

We’ve been up and down Highway 89 probably close to a dozen times over the past 15 years. However, we’ve always been in too much of a hurry to stop and check out Burney Falls. What a mistake! We should have made time. Yesterday was the first time we took the time to stop. It didn’t take long, and the beauty of the this place is incredible.

Posted on April 27th, 2015 under Other. Tags: burney falls, california, landscape, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D750, waterfalls. Comments Off on Burney Falls