Adventures in Onionism

I also: Enjoyed vegan ramen with friends. Then I went up to the Sierras. Got into Emigrant Wilderness one last time before serious snow closed the trailhead. Ran on the lower Tuolumne River canyone San Francisco's Water Supply That's a nice canyon you got there. I was a little cold and wet so I just came back to the East Bay and hit a far flung park I hadn't been to yet.  Brushy Peak I also rode bikes with friends. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dab_(dance) Pt. Reyes And now you're caught up. Oh wait, did I mentioned that I'm pretty sure I cracked a rib falling while climbing into the back of my truck in the middle of the night while camping? And that I'm number four on the waitlist for Hardrock next year? Both those things happened, too.

Did an easy group trip to Emigrant Wilderness this past weekend. I brought my Little Brother, who had been camping a few times before, but not backpacking. Friday we arrived after dark, to find that it was full, and I hadn't made reservations. Tthey get full? I guess. I never sleep in them, so I don't know.) Thankfully, even in the dark, it only took me 60 seconds to find a dirt road with a pullout and a nice hunter camp for us all to camp in for free. Saturday we hiked from Kennedy Meadows resort (the northern one, for you PCT thru-hikers) to Kennedy Lake. It's a pretty well-maintained trail, with a fair amount of stock travel, but it wasn't anywhere near Tuolumne Meadows to Vogelsang level of donkey-shit awfulness; in fact it was quite nice. It's 6 or 7 miles up to Kennedy Lake, and the trail peters out right when you get to a narrow leg of it. To actually see the lake, you have to make your way through some boggy ground, and there really isn't anywhere ni...

Here's an idea: " Go camping for a month this summer (without quitting your job) ." So I went camping again this weekend. I think I've got the month outside in the bag for the year if you count sleeping in the truck at trailheads plus not sleeping because I'm running all night. As for where to go, gf reminded me I like granite, so I figured, what's got steep relief with exposed granite, is not a national park (George), not the PCT (seen it), doesn't have permit quotas (Desolation), and isn't further than 4 hours from Berkeley? Emigrant, Mokelumne, and Carson-Iceberg are the places that come to mind. So I went to Emigrant and ran a couple loops. The crossing of Relief Creek above Relief Reservoir should not yet be done where the trail technically crosses, but maybe a half mile upstream there's a brief respite from the insanity where things mellow out and you can carry a fifty pound dog on your shoulders and still keep your balance. There's s...