My little brother just got back from a brief stint of backpacking through Europe. With his heart still full of adventure, he asked me to take him out somewhere, anywhere. He didn’t give me any criteria and said he was down for whatever, but the first time someone goes backpacking will obviously make or break their experience. After much hemming and hawing, Meiss Lake in Mokelumne Wilderness was my pick.
There’s nothing like a relaxing weekend in the Sierra backcountry. Over the 4th of July weekend, my friend Blair invited me out on a girls’ only trip out to Granite Lake in Emigrant Wilderness. I haven’t adventured much off of Sonora Pass, so I immediately said yes!
The last weekend of May was filled with peak bagging fun. Saturday was Red Top Peak in Mammoth. Sunday we headed to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park to tackle another peak: Ragged Peak. At 10,912′, this isn’t the tallest or most technical peak, but it is still my most fun climb to date with some sweet ladies.
Devils Postpile National Monument is a gem of the Eastern Sierra. Once a part of Yosemite National Park, Devils Postpile is now its own standalone national attraction. The name refers to a cliff of columnar basalt exposed by glaciation. The NPS website does a far better job of explaining the formation of the columns, so I won’t even go there.
Day 2 of backpacking in Lassen! Woke up bright and early on Snag Lake to a malfunctioning shutter on my 5D Mark II… the rest of the photos are iPhone snaps.