Category: Mountain

The Clouds Rest 360

My friend Michael has spent more quality time in National Parks than anyone I’ve ever met. Better still he’s a photographer with an excellent eye for wildlife and landscape photography. Best of all he’s generous with advice of where not to miss. Clouds Rest was his “Do not miss!” and I’m glad I didn’t.

Many of my hikes are to an amazing destination with perhaps a point of interest or two along the way. Yosemite hikes tend to be much richer than my typical hikes but the hike to Clouds Rest was nonstop joy. The trail from Tioga Road lead through sub-Alpine forest, past lovely still waters, and along craggily cliff tops with extended vistas of the park.

A lovely hike and one I thank Michael for urging me to make.

Below are few scenes from along the way …

Hike Mountain Travel

Cables up Half Dome

Clouds Over Boundary Peak — As I entered California from Nevada via the remote US Highway 6 I was greeted by this cloud formation over Boundary Peak.

Half Dome is the most famous mountain in one of the most famous parks in the world: Yosemite. It’s vertical-walled front is an incredible challenge for rock climbers while the steep ascent up its backside is an endurance test for hikers. Whether it’s climbed or hiked, I suspected that conquering Half Dome would an extremely gratifying accomplishment. Now I know.

Just a few facts about the hike up the backside so you can size the challenge. The summit’s elevation is 8,843 feet (2,695 meters). The hike itself gains 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) over the course of the ascent while the distance hiked totals 17 miles (27.4 kilometers) round trip. The highlight of the hike is the final climb between cables to the top of the dome. Not for the faint-of-heart, it’s both scary and physically demanding, but the reward is a 360 degree view of all Yosemite has to offer. Simply stupendous.

My permit to climb Half Dome was issued for today. However, three days ago I was in NYC with my daughter Kelsey attending Maker Faire so to get here I drove 45 hours in three days. It was my fastest cross-country drive to date but I was intent on making this hike. By 8:00 the next morning I was crossing Merced River and starting my climb up Mist Trail. By 3:30 I’d be back there and feeling weary but elated and deeply appreciative of the beauty that the Yosemite National Park has to offer.

Camp Family Hike Mountain River Travel

Training on Iron Mountain Loop

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 3, 2011
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Kelsey returned from Alaska a seasoned backpacker. Woven into the National Outdoors Leadership School programs are outdoor education, survival training, and leadership development. The program was conducted over the course of a month-long hike with heavy backpacks that were carried over 100 miles. It’s trial by fire and she learned a lot. This outing was about knowledge transfer: Kelsey to me.

Coming up soon I have several hikes planned. One is a four-day hike along the length of an island just off the coast of Los Angeles on a trail called the Trans-Catalina Trail. It’s relatively new and is 38 miles long though it’s a logistics challenge because it’s remote and support resources are few. Consequently, if I want to hike the trail I’m going to have to backpack and Kelsey was going to train me.

Family Hike Mountain Travel

Courtney’s First Climb of Old Rag

Post author By TravisGood
Post date August 19, 2011
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Courtney's First Old Rag — No optical illusion here, Courtney was indeed jumping from one boulder to another across a large crevasse. It’s the sort of fun opportunity the rock scramble of Old Rag affords an adventurous hiker. Good fun!

I’ve not even attempted to hide my ambition that all my family experience the joy of hiking Old Rag Mountain in the Shenandoah National Park. For years I’ve hiked up this mountain’s 2,600 foot climb, scrambled across its rocky top and completed its nine mile loop. I love it and knew they would too if only I could get them to take the leap.

The first to accede was Kelsey in December of 2009 though originally I’d thought it would be Courtney. Kelsey has since climbed Old Rag many times much as I’d expected she would after learning the joys of it. If I could get the others to venture out then perhaps the same would be said of them.

For joy, upon Courtney’s return from Los Angeles after driving across the continent she announced that she wanted to go climb Old Rag with me! Early Friday morning we both dawned our bladder packs filled with munchies and headed out the door. Ninety minutes later we were parked and hiking.

Mountain Travel

Up 6,500 feet over Palm Springs in a Tram

Post author By TravisGood
Post date May 29, 2011
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Tramway — From desert to sub-alpine this tram really changes your world. At $24 per adult ticket it can also empty your wallet pretty quickly. Still, as an occasional treat it’s easy to justify the cost.

A JazzTrax festivals used to be held each year at the top of this cable system in the San Jacinto mountains. Starting in Palm Springs at 2,000 ft elevation this tram takes you to 8,500 feet in just a few minutes. When you arrive you find it’s 30 degrees cooler and has subalpine vegetation.

Knowing this is one thing but today I was going to experience it for myself.

Sure enough … brrrrr … Palm Springs sure seemed small from up here.

Mountain Road Travel

Red Rock Canyon

I’m a weak man when it comes to red rock, especially if it’s accompanied by blue sky and tall green pine trees. If all I can get is two out of three then I’ll still go out of my way to shoot it. While it’s somewhat disparaging to call a place “the middle of nowhere” I’d have to say that where Red Rock Canyon State Park is located is at least right-close to there.

To find anything else of interest you have to drive great distances and I did. I went to see the Tehachepi Loop. Isabella Lake has a few small attractions. Certainly China Lake was of interest and Boron had some history. However, we’re talking about a few sites in hundreds of square miles of desert. I’m not complaining, no. I’m making the point that I’ll go a long way to see red rock.

Did I get red rock, blue sky & green trees? No, but trees are over rated.

Falls Hike Mountain River Travel

Climbing, Climbing Yosemite Falls and Point

Post author By TravisGood
Post date May 27, 2011
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The park is Yosemite National Park. The river is Yosemite River. The falls are Yosemite Falls. Given the prominence of these fixtures in this park. Given I’d taken pictures of them during each visit. How was it that I still hadn’t climbed the trail leading to these sites called, appropriately enough, Yosemite Falls Trail? It was time to right this wrong!

To be fair, during some visits the river was hardly flowing making the walls barely wet. To be fair, during other visits, just visiting where the falls landed in the valley floor was a satisfying, bone-rattling excitation. Still, I couldn’t be in love with this park and not experience its namesake sites. Today I did.

Bridge Hike Mountain Ocean Train Travel

Views from Mt. Tamalpias

Beth talks fondly about Mt. Tamalpias from the days before we married. She lived and worked for a time in Marin County just north of San Francisco. While climbing Mt Tam has been (and remains) on my list of things to do, I did drive up today and took the short hike around the peak.

The reason I didn’t hike it today was for lack of a trail. For a short few years there existed a tourist train which made the steep ascent via many switch backs up to the peak. It railway started service in 1896 but by 1930 was closed due to a tragic fire that burned down the facility, competition from the new fangled automotive, and the onset of the Great Depression. However, the path of the original tracks exists to be hiked and next time I’ll find them!

Hike Mountain Travel

Climbing Two Peaks

View from the Peak — “Dad, you got your pictures!” Courtney said. Yes, I certainly did, and they were all that I’d hoped for. My highest compliment? Beth said “They’re great!”

When I travel I monitor my peripheral vision. When something piques my interest then I make a mental note of it. In this case, two mountain peaks in the southwest had caught my eye, scaling them was on my agenda, and now seemed like the perfect opportunity … so I climbed them!

The first hike was to the top of Chiricahua National Monument’s Sugarloaf Mountain. The elevation change was only a few hundred feet and the distance was less than a couple of miles but it was still a challenge. Why? The sun was setting and I needed to get back to my car before it set so I made haste!

Chiricahua National Monument Fire Station

Family Lake Mountain River Road Summary Travel

One Great Adventure with Courtney

Post author By TravisGood
Post date March 13, 2011
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Court at the Grand Canyon — She’s almost 21 years old, almost finished with her undergraduate studies, and almost flown the coop but she’ll always be my first-born daughter, always a remarkable young lady, and someone I’ll love forever.

It was Beth’s idea that for Spring Break Courtney and I should do a road trip and after 26 years I’ve learned to listen to her. However, a college student is still of a mindset that spending time with Dad is far less enjoyable than romping on a beach with her buddies. Well, I can’t say she was wrong in her thinking but I told her I’d try really, really hard to not be boring. In the end and much to my excitement she accepted. The stage was set.