camping

Day 6: Blowout Mountain to Powerline Corridor. I woke up this morning to a windy, wet world. The cooler weather provided a bit of a relief from the sun. I also saw things a bit differently as I hiked my 15 miles for the day.

Day 4: Bear Gap to Arch Rock Spring. The views along today’s trail were awesome as I travelled along a crest a couple ridges east of Mount Rainier. The clear blue skies and unique terrain made for a fantastic day.

Day 2: Snow Lake to American Lake. Today was an absolutely perfect day. I put nearly 13 miles under my boots, enjoyed meadows, wildlife, mountain views and gorgeous alpine lakes.

Day 1: White Pass to Snow Lake. My first day back on the PCT, jumping past Mount Adams & Goat Rocks and starting into the 100-mile “Section I.”

Day 6: Junction Lake to Mosquito Creek.
The north end of Indian Heaven Wilderness was a beautiful area, but unfortunately choked in snow. I had a long tough day of snow travel, and newborn hungry mosquitoes. It was time to make a decision about whether to keep going.

Day 5: Lava Bed Camp to Junction Lake
Today took me into the Indian Heaven Wilderness, a historic meeting area of local tribes and a gorgeous collection of lakes, ponds, tarns, and meadows.

Day 4: Panther Creek to Lava Bed Camp
12 miles, 3000+ feet of elevation gain, only a handful of other hikers, and lots and lots of trees! Day 4 on trail was a challenging one, but also included some great rewards.

Day 1: Bridge of the Gods to Table Mountain
It was a gorgeous day to start along the Pacific Crest Trail. My husband joined me for the first 10 miles of my adventure as we crossed The Bridge of the Gods and climbed north out of the Columbia Gorge.

Sequoia National Park is a huge park, encompassing thousands of feet of vertical terrain to explore. The main frontcountry area is mostly between 5,000 and 9,000 feet, offering exploration of the montane forest, home to the Giant Sequoias.

The front-country zone of Kings Canyon National Park only touches on a small piece of the large park, but is certainly worth a few days (or more!) of exploring, especially when you tie it in with a visit to Sequoia National Park