I've paddled the reservoir a number of times, and was out there a few weeks ago. The lake level is high this year, which is positive. There is a short section of rough road to get up the parking lot. You will need to carry all your gear from the lot to the dam, and/or have wheels for your 'yak. It i...

Date Hiked: April 2, 2023 General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident) I hiked up this from the Baldwin Ranch Road on Saturday, and then back the other way from the Salmon Creek Trail on Sunday. Starting from the east end, the sign on the road was kind of easy to miss --...

Date Hiked: April 2, 2023 General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident) I hiked from South Coast Ridge Road (by way of Three Peaks), down to the Spruce Creek Trail junction. No idea what things are like below there. The last time I hiked this trail was in May 2017, just f...

Date Hiked: April 1, 2023 General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident) Not much change from the last report. There was a good bit more water flowing, and cattle had made the meadows a muddy mess, as would be expected. It had been quite a few years since I last hiked this...

If Ventana-style poison oak and ticks are what you want, no need to head for the High Sierra; the mid elevations ought to be fine. Hetch Hetchy, for example. And Henry Coe State Park re-opened last week.

Regarding Sequoia: sure, the high country is snow-covered. No problem there, except that the road up from the entrance is closed above Hospital Rock because of damage from the storms. Yer gonna be carrying those skis a long way ... The road to South Fork was damaged from the storms, and there was a ...

At least they're giving a timeline. A lot of CA state park units have closed indefinitely, "until further notice", and it isn't hard to understand why: flooding, damage to roads, trails, campgrounds, etc. Same with some of areas of the national parks, if you've been following those feeds. ...

Date Hiked: November 13, 2022 General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident) I hiked from Escondido CG (open for business this time) to about 7 miles in, after the first Higgins Creek crossing, but before the second, and camped on a knoll in the valley around 1800'. Overni...

Lyme disease, western fence lizard, and so on ...

https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=118655

https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/ ... 473861.php

https://news.berkeley.edu/2011/02/15/ti ... e-disease/

You don't see a whole lot of suggestions for backpacking trips which have significant off-trail travel in the Ventana Wilderness. Ever wonder why that is ? Some personal observations from having hiked there for about 20 years - * The brush is huge and impenetrable in many places. * Wildfires sometim...