Backpack Trip in Sequoia NP

Photos from this summer's 6-day trip into alpine basins of Sequoia NP and John Muir Wilderness. Segments of the trip were off-trail or by little-used paths. Most of the trip was above 11,000', with clear skies and no smoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view from 14,000'

May 22 High Desert Rock Art

Our group of six was out to camp and hike to rock art sites in the Mojave. But characteristically, cold weather showed up, as it does so often in late May.

That's snow down to about 8000'

Bighorns are the popular motif out here

More bighorns

The archaeologists say Paiute-Shoshone medicine men pecked them into these basalt boulders roughly a thousand years ago

Lots of lithic scatter out here, from local obsidian sources

This rock is covered in images

There's also wild horses and burros out here. They are destructive and have displaced the bighorns and the BLM has to do periodic roundups

A wide-angle view of the area

These are older and cruder-looking images. Some of these probably date to pluvial times when Sierran glaciers retreated into their upper basins. So these are potentially over ten thousand years old.

We looped back to camp on this higher route that dropped into another canyon. Snow flurries fell on us for a little bit up here

Nights were cold, but driving out Sunday the sunshine felt good

Spring 2021 Outings

 Well, here we are finally coming out of hibernation.

I never tire of the view of DTLA from Griffith Park

In February, Hiking Club did a fun loop hike in Griffith Park, with warm sunshine and green hills. I think February is my favorite month to hike.

In March the outing was to Malibu Creek SP where we visited the MASH site.

In May we climbed San Gabriel Peak, pointing out above the coastal marine layer.

In June we climbed Echo Mountain and saw a vivid double solar halo.

Miscellaneous Other 2020

 2020 was the year of staying home, and aside from the August pack trip in the Sierras I stayed pretty close to home. I went into LA only a handful of times, even.

In July I threw my pack together and hiked up Mt Baden-Powell to overnight. I saw comet Neowise but couldn't capture a picture of it. I cowboy camped under these 2000 y/o limber pines on the 9400' summit, it was a quiet night and pretty sunrise. 

Sunset above Hollywood, with the Griffith Observatory

 This summer was hot and trails were crowded, so I hiked more than usual at night, and got a lot of great photos.

 

Greater LA from Echo Mountain  

Sunrise over the desert, taken on the way to work. Mt Baden-Powell is one of those peaks back there.

On a hike in November to Nightmare Gulch. I'm looking down into mud caves here.

Down inside one of those mud caves.

Christmas Day, atop Verdugo Peak with a view over the Santa Monicas and out to the Channel Islands, almost 70 miles distant.