Loney Meadow and Bowman Mountain are located in the Northern Sierra in Nevada County California. This 8 mile look is abundant with spectacular views, wildflowers, old growth pine forests and is probably in my top 3 favorite places to hike!
Here is the link to where we hiked.
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/rock-lake-via-loney-meadow-and-bowman-mountain-lake-25410670
Bridgeport in Nevada County California is a hidden gem of Northern California! If you are into gold rush history, you are gonna LOVE this place! Just up Hwy 20 near Penn Valley, you can make a day of meandering the hills on the various hiking trails, looking at the cool historical exhibits, swim in the river and have a nice family outing!
It only costs $5.00 to park! What a deal!
And the best part is the awesome covered bridge that is the largest standing covered bridge in the world!
I’ve hiked by the cut-off to Castle Peak a bunch of times while traversing the Pacific Crest Trail, but, I have never taken the trail that leads up to that majestic peak with it’s rocky points. I always continued on the PCT down to the Peter Grubb hut and Round Valley. Well, I finally did it! Little did I know, I would bag two peaks that day! We could have climbed back down the way we came, but we chose the longer route over a ridge-line to Basin peak and joined up with the PCT at the bottom. We made a big loop.
Castle Peak Elevation 9104 –
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/castle-peak
PS… I shot this in 4K for the first time. So, make this video FULL SCREEN and be AMAZED! I used a Sony Action Cam with an external Mic
In this episode of Twylaworld, we head up to almost 7000 feet to some nice and refreshing alpine lakes for swimming and toe dipping. It’s 107 degrees in the Sacramento Valley, so it’s time to head up into the Sierra for some cooler temps. The snow is FINALLY starting to disappear!
A six mile round trip hike didn’t sound like a big deal when I looked at the map, but you are going to climb 1633 feed in the three miles in and there are lots of boulder steps to traverse. You will really work for this swim, but its TOTALLY worth it! There are three large lakes that are very close together with a fourth smaller lake that is tucked between the second and third large lake. The second lake is the largest and most popular for backpackers. The water is clear and oh so refreshing!
Take your lunch, swimmin’ britches, sunscreen, bug spray and water. There is a place to filter water along the way if you run out. The views are spectacular and the lakes are crystal clear!
I would consider this hike on the harder side.
I want to go back and camp next time!
2017 is the year of record snow and raging waters in California. I’ve been hearing about hikers fording creeks and streams in the High Sierra and having near death experiences. Hiking in the mountains definitely has its challenges this summer! Fordyce creek is in Northern California portion of the Sierra just North of I-80 off of Hwy 20. As you will see be this vid, this creek is a flowing monster! Take a rainy walk with me as we hike from Lake Spaulding to Fordyce Creek Falls.
Two weeks ago, my hiking buddy Jeanne and I traversed the historic Stevens Trail. We encountered a few water crossings, one of which was a kinda scary waterfall. Well, fast forward to this week after some heavy duty storms, the trail was completely different! My camera took a dump on me so I wasn’t able to get all the footage I liked, but I did get some to put together this short clip.
What I didn’t get were the landslides that covered the trail and the downed trees. However, I did get more water crossings and a creek that we just couldn’t get across. Well, I wouldn’t cross. A hearty brave-young hiker might have crossed the raging creek, but if one were to fall, they would be swept down stream just a sort way to the RAGING American River where one would SURELY DIE!
The trail is “short”…4.5 miles. The trail goes UP and UP ; the grade takes you from 5300 feet to about 8300 feet. By the time you are within eyesight of the lookout tower, your lungs are screaming…. DONE! Your legs are crying out…. STOP, GO BACK! Your brain is saying.. keep going cuz the view at the top is going to be EPIC! And it WAS! So Epic!
Where: Lassen National Park – Chester entrance
twylaworld.com 