Tag: camping
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Black Rock and Jumbo Rocks at Joshua Tree
Getting a campsite reservation in Joshua Tree National Park is fairly elusive, especially on weekends for this time of year. A few weeks ago, at the nudging of the kids, I started browsing for sites, and to my surprise, a single site was available in Jumbo Rocks, so I grabbed it. We decided on two…
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Mountain Oak and Jackson Lake
We’re all looking forward to an upcoming paddling trip, from the Hoover Dam down through the Black Canyon, visiting hot springs on the side. A few weeks ago, I had given some of the novices a tutorial, and not, it’s time to try it out on the water. Mountain Oak Campground near Wrightwood is situated…
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Camping and Paddling at Lake Perris
The kids have been wanting to go camping, since it has been months. At the same time, we are planning a paddling trip to the Black Canyon below Hoover Dam later this year. Some of us need practice.
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South Lake to Long Lake
Anticipation Excitement builds. Daphney and Jayden can’t wait. Last year’s backpacking trip felt like a proud accomplishment. This will be a trip bigger than the last, and this will be Myles’s first such trip. It’s Friday evening of Labor Day weekend. Yan and I are doing some final packing. “We’re going to wake up at…
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Lassen Volcanic National Park
East of the Sierras | Lake Tahoe | Lassen Volcanic National Park | Central Valley | Yosemite National Park | The Lower Kern
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Camping by Big Bear Lake
After baking a sourdough boule for our lunch picnic, we drive up to Big Bear Lake’s Serrano Campground. We have several goals in mind: get the kids outdoors, escape the valley heat, and see Jupiter and Saturn while they are near opposition. The 130 mm reflector telescope had just arrived, and this makes it a…
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Cottonwood Campground in Joshua Tree National Park
Our original plan was to leave early Saturday morning, early enough to secure a campsite at one of the first-come-first-served campgrounds in Joshua Tree. Because of coronavirus, the park had decided to remove reservations for all campgrounds. Having debated about camping at Black Rock, we decided to go deeper into the park. By this time,…
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Big Pine Creek, Rock Creek, Heart Lake
It’s going to be Daphney’s first camping trip. I’m a little nervous about the altitude. Days before, I had been researching high altitude problems in babies. I had read that staying below 2500 m (8200 ft) is safe, but approach 3000 m (9840 ft) carefully. Since we’re staying at Big Pine Creek (7600 ft) the…
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High Sierra Trail: Day 1
We’re off! Setting out from Crescent Meadow, the trail climbs a gentle knoll through carpets of fern fronds shaded under giant sequoia stands. After about a mile, we emerge from the forest and hike along the open slopes, passing Eagle View Overlook. Across the valley, Cathedral Rocks provide a steady landmark throughout most of the…
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Joshua Tree Geminid Showers
Last night, we went out to Joshua Tree National Park to see the Geminid meteor showers. Although it was several hours past it’s peak, we saw many brilliant ones flying across the sky. Upon arrival, we drove through Hidden Valley Campground and accidentally occupied someone else’s site. We relocated to the Ryan Campground and took…
