Mount Watkins Hike | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Mount Watkins Hike Details Starting Elevation: 8,049 ft. Distance: 7 miles, round-trip (if you hike to the very end) Elevation Gain: 1,240 ft. Hike Type: Day-hike Difficulty Level: Moderate Food Storage: There are four bear boxes located at …
Yosemite Winter | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Yosemite National Park offers visitors something for every season. But there is something especially magical about seeing the park in winter and if you’re lucky enough, with a fresh coat of snow! This …
Backpacking Thousand Island Lake| Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Thousand Island Lake: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 7,909 ft. Distance: 21 miles (hiking as a loop) Elevation Gain: 3,300 Hike Type: Overnight Difficulty Level: Strenuous Food Storage: There is 1, two-sided bear box located …
Young Lakes | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Backpacking Young Lakes: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 8,720 ft. Distance: 18 miles (completing this trip as a loop) Elevation Gain: 2,850 ft. (more if you go out and back on the Dog Lake trail) Hike …
Duck Pass Trail| Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Hiking the Pika Lake & Duck Pass Trail: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 9,100 ft. Distance: 12 miles (including stops at all 6 lakes) Elevation Gain: 2,400 Hike Type: Day-hike Difficulty Level: Difficult Food Storage: Bear boxes are available at …
Mirror Lake Trail | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd The Mirror Lake Trail: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 4,000 ft. Distance: 5.10 miles, round trip (your mileage may vary, depending on how far you go) Elevation Gain: 250 ft. Hike Type: Day-hike Difficulty Level: Easy Food Storage: The …
Words and Photography by Brian Callender Hiking The Four Mile Trail: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 4,017 feet Distance: 10.5 miles, round trip Elevation Gain: 3,360 Hike Type: Day-hike, out and back Difficulty Level: Strenuous Food Storage: There are no bear boxes at the trailhead, so you’ll need to store any scented …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Hiking May Lake: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 8,877 ft. Distance: 3.0 miles, roundtrip Elevation Gain: 538 ft. Hike Type: Day-hike Difficulty Level: Easy-Moderate Food Storage: There are bear boxes at the trailhead. During our visit, the parking …
Hiking Wapama Falls & Rancheria Falls |Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Hiking Wapama & Rancheria Falls: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 3,844 Distance: 14 miles Elevation Gain: 2,275 Hike Type: Day-Hike Difficulty Level: Moderate (to Wapama Falls) Difficult (to Rancheria Falls) Food Storage: The National Park asks you …
Clouds Rest Hike | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Clouds Rest Hike: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 8,171 ft. Distance: 13.5 miles, roundtrip Elevation Gain: 3,000 ft. Hike Type: Day-hike Difficulty Level: Strenuous Food Storage: There are six bear boxes at the Sunrise …
.
Backpacking Ediza Lake | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Backpacking Ediza Lake: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 8,100 ft. Distance: 15.6 miles, roundtrip (where you set up camp will vary your mileage slightly) Elevation Gain: 1,870 ft. Hike Type: Overnight Difficulty Level: …
20 Lakes Basin | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Backpacking 20 Lakes Basin: Hike Details Starting Elevation: 10,000 ft. (trailhead official elevation, though my Garmin had us at 9,600) Distance: 9.5 miles (including a few wrong turns and some scouting near …
Hiking North Dome Yosemite| Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Spectacular views of Half Dome, Cloud’s Rest and Yosemite Valley make the hike to North Dome a must-do when visiting the Yosemite high country. This trail is seasonally accessible from Tioga Pass …
Los Angeles to San Francisco Drive | Written by Brian Callender & Julie Boyd | Photography by Julie Boyd California is at its best along the coast. Rolling green hills come to an abrupt end and crumble into the ocean along an endless stretch of …
Yosemite Trip Planner | Words and Photos by Julie Boyd Everything you need to know about planning a trip to Yosemite National Park. This guide combines general information about planning your visit along with our recommendations based on years of visits to this special place.
Cathedral Lakes Yosemite | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd The hike to Cathedral Lakes had been high on our Yosemite list for the last few years and it’s easy to see why. Two alpine lakes, in the high country of Yosemite, …
Minaret Lake Hike | Words By Julie Boyd |Photos by Julie Boyd and Brian Callender Deep blue waters, nestled in an alpine basin, below craggy spires that seem too jagged to hold themselves up is the reward for the long trek up to Minaret Lake …
Stanford Point Yosemite | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Unrelenting. That’s the feeling that was mutually shared between Julie and I on the hike to Stanford Point. In fact, several times, I found myself wondering aloud, when had we hiked a …
Hiking the Lakes Trail | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Sequoia National Park, well-known in part for its namesake giant trees, is also home to some fantastic alpine lakes. The Lakes Trail visits four such lakes: Heather, Aster, Emerald and Pear, …
Backpacking to Big Pine Lakes| Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Hiking to Big Pine Lakes via the North Fork Trail of Big Pine Creek is a classic trip in the Eastern Sierra. This strenuous trail can be done as a long …
Hiking Vernal and Nevada Falls| Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd One of the premier hikes starting from Yosemite Valley, the hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls is a must-do when visiting the park. An incredibly popular trail thanks to its access …
Big Basin Waterfall Hike| Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Berry Creek Falls is a hidden gem nestled within Big Basin Redwood State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Hiking to the falls is the most popular activity in the park, so …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Little Lakes Valley sits just 45 minutes south of Mammoth and 50 minutes north of Bishop in the Eastern Sierra. This day hike quickly became one of our absolute favorites thanks to a collection of pristine …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd In February, Julie and I set out to hike Castle Dome in Castle Crags State Park, and it quickly became one of our favorite hikes to date. At the tail end of that day, we made …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Lassen Volcanic National Park, and a hike to its namesake peak, has been at the top of our list of places to visit in California for quite some time. Julie and I toyed with the idea …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd This post was sponsored by Visit Redding, but all opinions are our own. Since moving to Northern California in early 2017, the opportunity for new adventures has remained a constant in our lives. We push ourselves …
Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd Gaylor Lakes, a short hike accessible from the Tioga Road in Yosemite, had been on our to-do list for some time. We had planned to do an overnight backpacking trip to Vogelsang, and found Gaylor Lakes …
Hiking Mission Peak | Written by Julie Boyd | Photography by Julie Boyd One of the things I miss the most about living in Southern California is the proximity to high altitude hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains. Sure, living in the Bay Area means …
Things to do in Redwood National Park | Written by Brian Callender | Photography by Julie Boyd One of our favorite things about living in a different part of the state is the abundance of new opportunities for adventure. For the past year, Julie and …
Written by Julie Boyd | Photography by Julie Boyd Earlier this month Brian and I had a free weekend, so we decided to take a day trip to Big Sur since it is so close to our home in San Jose. Even though we have …