Yosemite

On the 13th and 14th of September I camped near Tuolumne Meadows for a couple days of hiking.

Lembert Dome

Looking 180 degrees west from Lembert my menDome.

Dog Lake

I saw this fawn while hiking in the woods the next day.

Taking a rest while hiking a stretch of the Toulomne River.

Agua Dulce Creek Birding With San Diego Audubon

I drove up to Mt Laguna an hour east of San Diego, on the far right side of the map above on Friday morning. [click on the map for a larger view]

In the late morning and afternoon I hiked to Water of the Woods and Big Laguna Lake. I've lived here for nearly four years now as this is the fullest, nearly to the outlets, I've seen these lakes.

I always expect to see Hoss, Little Joe, and Pa Cartwright come riding through the meadow... but had to settle for these two women on horseback today.

I stayed over Friday night near Mt Laguna at the Burnt Rancheria Campground to go on a San Diego Audubon bird walk at nearby Agua Dulce Creek. There were LOTS of woodpeckers, flycatchers, wood pewees, swallows, nuthatches, and juncos. An acorn woodpecker is pictured above... we also saw Nuttles, ladder-back, and hairy woodpeckers.

The forest floor next to the trail was covered with wildflowers in bloom too...

Deadhorse Ranch State Park - Tavasci Marsh Trail

Mallard at Tavasci Marsh near Cottonwood, AZ.

 Blue Heron at Tavasci Marsh north of Cottonwood, AZ.

Jerome, Arizona from Tuzigoot National Monument north of Cottonwood, Arizona.

Courthouse Butte Bell Rock Loop Trail

We hiked this on Friday afternoon:

A female Phainopepla

Parson's Spring Trail - Near Cottonwood, AZ

From Thursday's hike on the Parson's Spring trail.

My friend Wayne at the trailhead looking at the trail map.

 On the trail.

Summer Spring pool along the trail.

 Phainopepla male[lower] and female upper.













This must be from BEFORE I fell in the creek...

Jerome, AZ Copper Mine

Looking down a mine shaft at Jerome,AZ. Copper was discoverd here in about 1876 and actively mined until the 1930's then again during WWII until the early 1950's.

Below is a view of the town of Jerome, AZ from the Tuzigoot National Monument to the east:

North Fortuna Summit

On Thursday my friend David and I hiked up North Fortuna Summit in San Diego's Mission Trails Park. It was a bit over 6.3 miles of pretty good trail but mostly pretty steep.

Laguna Meet-up

 On Tuesday afternoon I met up with cousin Aric Attebery at the Burnt Rancheria CG near Mt Laguna an hour east of San Diego. Aric was on day three of his months long hike to the Canadian Border on the Pacific Crest Trail.

After hiking with Aric for awhile in the morning I spent the afternoon on a bird hike in Laguna Meadows. Pictured at the left is Big Laguna Lake which has been nearly dry in the past because of the drought. It's nice to see it almost full to the brim. The birds I saw included: stellar jay, red tailed hawk, eared grebe, raven, robin, acorn woodpecker, ruddy duck, and a phainapepala.

This is Little Laguna Lake which has been COMPLETELY dry in the years that I've lived here.

Pacific Crest Trail Hike Launch

 On Sunday I met up with cousin Aric Aterbery with his parents PJ and Craig for Aric's send off on through-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, 2650 miles, to the Canadian border. The pic shows Aric's start at the Mexican border.

 The official send-off comittee L to R:
Me, Craig[holding Zee], Aric, PJ.

 Headed up the beginning of the PCT.

 Aric and PJ.

This is one of the three "surprises" we saw in just a half hour but Aric says he didn't see anymore for the rest of the day.

Stevenson Canyon Hike & Bike

Yesterday afternoon I biked up to San Diego's Stevenson Canyon for a hike. The trail's only about a mile long and has to be done as an out-and-back hike on the same trail. See the trail profile below... it's not a hard trail. 

Stevenson Canyon Trail Profile

Up near the trailhead the trail and the creek are one.

Then it widens out into a broader canyon. There's a water and sewer main running the length of the valley and a primitive road that is the hiking trail.

While this MAY be public land I don't this it's a designated park.

Stevenson Canyon Bike Rout - 17 miles

San Clemente/Rose Canyon Hiking Trail

Last Wednesday, January 18th, I rode the bus up to the start of the San Clemente and Rose Canyon hiking trail shown below.

San Clemente Rose CanyonTrail profile

I dropped down into Rose Canyon next to where the railroad tracks cross under Genesee Ave at the beginning of the 4 1/2 mile hike

The trail is fairly flat and easy to follow.

Just beyond the midpoint of the hike the trail crosses under Hwy 52 close to the railroad tracks. The Mid-Coast Trolley line is under construction here.

Though it wasn't marked very well  when I did the hike this portion of the trail isn't technically open. But I did manage to get through. 

The hike really ended for me here at Marian Bear Natural Park. It's possible to continue on back to Genesee Ave and I-805 if your up for it. I wasn't able to flag down a bus on Regents Road so walked up to the bus stop on Luna Ave.

 For a similar post about a similar hike I did back in 2013 see: 

Hiking in Rose Canyon 

Leelanau State Park

In the early 1970's I discovered Leelanau State Park north of Travers City, Michigan and at the tip of the Leelanau Penninsula. I LOVED riding my motorcycle for the several hours it took to get there from Lansing to camp for a few days in the state park. As far as I was concerned it was the BEST there was... period.

So on this summer's trip to Michigan I was looking forward to spending a couple of days camping at Leelanau State Park again. I used to camp in lake front campsites where your tent could practically be at the water's edge. But things have changed a bit in the 30 plus years that have passed since the last time I was there.

When I first came to this state park Lake Michigan came up to where I'm standing to take this picture. You can see that the lake has receded a good hundred yards. On the positive side a lot of new riparian bird habitat has been created... but it's sure different than in used to be.

I stayed here for a couple of days to walk the beaches and bike the peninsula before heading south for a stop at Higgins Lake to see my brother Dave and his wife Jan.