Tag: nature
-
White Mountain and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
We recently visited the Inyo National Forest to hike White Mountain and see the ancient bristlecone pines. Typically when we drive north on highway 395 we are headed to the eastern sierra, this time we made the turn east towards the White Mountains. Highway 168 out of Big Pine winds up out of the…
-
Notes From the Field: Burrowing Owl
I turn over in bed and look at the clock its 230am. Normally I would roll over in bed and sleep for another few hours before work but today is not a normal day. I scuffle around in the dark like a sleepy possum and somehow make it out the door with all my gear.…
-
Photo Essay-Channel Islands National Park: Santa Cruz Island
“The island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.” ― E. Lockhart
-
Write and Hike
Or hike and hike with no write. Trying to find a balance has been rough. I set forth a goal for myself to hike 30 peaks for my 30 years of life. I am running bit behind. I have until February and at the rate Im going now I have to average three peaks a…
-
Death Valley National Park: Surprise Canyon and Panamint Ghost Town
Panamint Valley is sandwiched between two dry and barren mountain ranges. It is hard to imagine that tucked away in one of the many hidden canyons is a lush spring fed environment. Surprise canyon is aptly named; the drive up to the mouth of the canyon is dusty with no trace of water but as…
-
Death Valley National Park: Eureka Dunes and The Racetrack
Death Valley National Park is the largest park in the lower 48. At 3.4 million acres the park has a lot of ground to cover. This was our second trip to the park and we stuck mostly to the north end. We took the 395 north to Big Pine then took a right on 168…
-
Does This Hike Make Me Look Fat?
After spending the long holiday weekend in Death Valley I wanted to write about all the hikes we went on, the things we saw, the dunes, and the canyons, the sunsets, and the rawness of the largest national park in the lower 48. Eventually I will get to filling you in but something happened while…
-
Notes from the Field- Burrowing Owl
It has been awhile since I have posted anything about my life working as a Southern California biologist. Mostly this is due to the winter being our slow season. I spend alot of time planning in the winter, getting ready up for the spring when things tend to get a little crazy. Due to the…
-
Hiking : Baden Powell
The lowdown: 9,399 feet, 8.25 Miles round trip, 2,834 feet of elevation gain. Mt. Baden Powell is known as a training ground for Sierra peaks and ultra trail runners. It is easy to see why – the relatively steep trails gets you up in elevation fast, almost 3000 feet of elevation gain in 4 miles.…
-
Big Bear, California
Sometimes a girl just needs to feel like a Norwegian Viking princess, and living in the arid southwest can make this a challenge. Luckily fall has finally arrived to SoCal and Big Bear California is only an hour away. We took the winding two lane highway 38 up the mountain, transitioning from the city of…
Bit of Betsy 