Patriarch Grove

Some of the oldest trees on earth at The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountain Range in California. 

 

 

The Patriarch (front view)

The Patriarch (back view)

 

More Info:  https:/https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5129900/www.fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5129900

The Patriarch Pine - The Largest Great Basin Bristlecone Pine: http://famousredwoods.com/patriarch_inf/

Mount Dana Hike

From the trailhead start at the Tioga Pass entrance station in Dana Meadows, I hiked the Mount Dana Trail to the summit and back. On top there are great views overlooking Mono lake, Saddlebag Lake area/Northern Yosemite, and the peaks of Tuolumne Meadows.

A little less than 5 miles round trip, with about 3,127 feet of elevation gain. It seemed harder than it did 30 years ago (and 25lbs. lighter). :)

 

I took off with a 8-18mm wide angle lens on my camera from the day before, but had wanted a standard zoom. It was fine, but the long distance photos aren't what I wanted.

 

180 Degrees South

This movie, Patagonia (the company), and Yvon Chouinard in general, still inspire me.

"The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life. It's easy to make it complex. The solution, maybe for a lot of the world problems, is to turn around and take a forward step. You can't just keep trying to make a flawed system work." - Yvon Chouinard, 180 Degrees South

Trailer...

More Info: https://www.patagonia.com/company-history/

Protection of Hat Creek Wild Trout Habitat & Recreational Lands

I just found out about this Shasta Land Trust acquisition!

 

This is in California's trout mecca and provides additional access to the famous Hat Creek. If you ever venture into Northern California, even if you are not a fly fisherman, Hat Creek/Hat Creek Valley/Burney area is a great place to visit...especially during the Fall season. There are numerous campgrounds and lodging opportunities available.

https://www.shastalandtrust.org/blog/2023/5/30/protection-of-hat-creek-wild-trout-habitat-amp-recreational-lands 

Milestone: Our Grandson Starts School

Mainly posting this to mark this day.

He attended Pre-K for a semester last year, but today he officially starts traditional kindergarten.

Mooser

Our daughter and grandson

It's That Time...

...The California Fall Color website! 

"dude, autumn happens here too"

California Fall Color

The Hard Way At Salt Point

One of our favorite hikes on the Sonoma Coast. We started from a pull-out along Coastal Highway 1 near Horseshoe Cove and hiked to the Sentinel Rock Overlook at Fisk Mill Cove. It's an interesting hike that takes one through coastal prairies, over forested knolls, along the rocky bluff, and finally through a overgrown forest area where the trail is hard to follow, there are two creek crossings that require a down-climb, and a lot of downed trees. 

An out-and-back hike of 5 miles, but feels like 8 or 10.

The perfect hike would be a thru hike from Horseshoe Cove to Gristle Cove with a shuttle car at the Gristle Cove parking lot at Salt Point State Park. That would be a hard 6 mile hike because of the overgrown trail between Fisk Mill and Stump Beach Cove, but would allow you to hike almost the entire coastal portion of Salt Point State Park.

 

More Info: https://www.sonomacounty.com/outdoor-activities/salt-point-state-park