California

If I had to name "my favorite peak" in my new home, it would have to be Round Top. Not only because I have been on top of it 3 times already, but also because it offers quite a few interesting routes, in summer and winter and with it's >10000ft altitude a very nice view as well. One of the little more adventurous routes to the...

I actually wanted to do another ski tour on this day, but the weather forecast predicted snow fall for the Sierra Nevada over night and cloudy skies until noon. Therefore, I decided to do something in a coastal mountain range instead, where the weather was supposed to be very sunny. I didn't have much time to prepare a hike and...

My current "extended back-yard" is the American River in Fair Oaks. The so-called Sacramento Bar Park is one of many parks which all together form the American River Parkway, Sacramento Region’s great recreational asset. The American River Parkway also includes a wonderful bike path along the Lower American River, from...

On this day I had a clear goal: to get a good workout with as much altimeter gain as possible. In the Tahoe area Freel Peak with is 10883 ft is one of the highest peaks and if you start somewhere around lake level (for example at the end of High Meadows Tail in Meyers (same as here), you get a good 4000 ft climb. So much for the...

Maggie's South Peak is a very popular hiking destinations in the Tahoe area. It is an easy marked path from Inspiration Point (a view point at Emerald Bay) to the top. During the summer months hundreds if not thousands of people visit this peak every year which offers a nice view to Lake Tahoe. During the winter, the peak is in...

Since I missed the true summit of Jakes Peak here, I wanted to go back and give it another try. This time I was aware and conscious of where to "find" the true summit. However, the very top of Jakes Peak remains unvisited by 360, this time I didn't quite succeed, because the technical difficulties for the last few meters to the...

By now you've probably heard or read that California's Sierra Nevada got a lot of snow this winter. The Squaw Valley ski resort officials already decided that their ski lifts will stay open until the Fourth of July weekend. No wonder, because their cumulative total snow fall this season currently is at 623 inches (15.8 meters)!...

According to several sources Jakes Peak (or grammatically correct: Jake's Peak) is one of the most popular back country ski destinations in the Tahoe area. With its corner position at the north end of Emerald Bay it offers fabulous views of Lake Tahoe in general and Emerald Bay in particular. With the many many feet of snow this...

Jacumba is a small town right at the US/Mexican border, about 60 miles east of San Diego. It's known for the sulfur containing hot springs, which were most likely already used by the Kumeyaay people. The commercialization of the hot springs began in the early 20th century. In 1919 rail service connected Jacumba to San Diego and 6...

The Sierra Nevada got quite some early snow this season and I was eager to get out there after yet another month without serious mountain activities. My tour today only makes sense if the Northstar ski resort hasn't fully opened all their slopes and lifts yet. The otherwise very crowded ski area and groomed slopes would most...