The Sierra saw huge snows in December and the back Country is another world. Huge granite boulders and outcroppings that are impossible to traverse the summer. In the summer, the trail makes switchbacks around this rough terrain. In the winter, the terrain is transformed to rolling hills of snow high above the granite. This is a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail that is just south of I-80 near Boreal Ski Resort. We pretty much went way around where the PCT that sits under 15 feet of snow and forged our own path to an awesome overlook of Donner Lake. The hike was hard and very slow going through the thick powder, but it was worth it! Head over to my YOUTUBE CHANNEL and subscribe and don’t forget to hit the notification bell!
Tag: snow
The Big Thaw in the Northern Sierra is Happening!
While the blazing sun is lighting our hair on fire in the Valley, there is still quite a bit of lingering snow in the high country. Here’s a short clip of me and my hiking buddy John on our little romp in the slushy snow heading towards Peter Grubb Hut. It was slow-moving, but we had a ton of fun and out of the heat. Snow will probably be mostly gone in a couple of weeks.
We are Fleas on a Dog.. but WHAT A DOG!
During all of my hikes over the Sierra the past few years, I’ve had soooo many questions about how and why things are the way there are, geologically speaking. I’d see a huge lava outcropping and I’d wonder when that got there and how? Was it blown to it’s current resting place from a distant volcano? Did it pop out of the ground from an ancient fissure? Just how old are the Sierra anyway?
I’m finally taking some time to seriously study Geology. I have some answers and my hikes are that much more interesting! This Earth has been evolving for 4.6 billion years and we’ve only been here 200,000 years of it. Heating up, cooling down, over and over again with many variations of life forms that have come and gone over the millions of years. Continents moving around, and still on the move. The Hawaiian Islands are moving in a Northwest direction about 4 inches a year! Eventually, they will join up with Japan! Australia is moving Northward about 2.7 inches a year. All the plates are moving, some faster than others. Don’t believe me? Study Geology! I would love to drive to Australia.. Mountains pushing up and STILL getting higher. Think Everest is high now? Just you wait! What will be here a million years from now? Us? Something else? Nothing? Hmmm….. things I think about when I hike! Geology is COOL!
Today, we take a short hike up to an ancient lava flow plateau that was formed during the creation of the Sierra Nevada when the entire range was bubbling with volcanoes and molten lava being pushed up everywhere!! Here is some interesting reading about the Sierra.
With winter around the corner, the trees are singing their songs and a warning that a big change is soon to come.
SNOW DAY YAY! FINALLY
WOW.. it’s been a pretty lame winter here in California. Not like last year! We finally got a little powder in the Sierra, so we took advantage of the winter wonderland! Let’s go for a walk in some white stuff!
Make this video FULL SCREEN for Awesomeness HD!
Here is the link to the hike we took.
https://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/spatialArtifacts.do?event=setCurrentSpatialArtifact&id=22867389
Mountain Winter Wonder Disneyland
I have been a downhill skier for the past 43 years and I thought I’d never give that up! Sadly its become so darned expensive (100+ dollars a day) to get a few runs in. I just don’t want to pay it. Oh sure, I could get a season pass, but then I’d have to ski a boatload of times to make the pass pay for itself. Then, the pressure is ON to get up the hill once or twice a week in the 12 week ski window in Northern California. Then there are the winters where the snow is CRAP and I just paid a boatload of dollars for a worthless season pass.
I have now switched over to snowshoeing and possibly cross country skiing. I never understood the attraction of either until last Friday. For one thing, it’s FREE (other than $5.00 parking) and it’s beautiful. No pressure to get up the hill and use a pass and deal with the crowds, lines and ridiculous price of a lift ticket!!
Take a walk through the winter wonderland of Donner Lake with my hiking buddy John and I. WHO ELSE has been priced out of downhill skiing?
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