The Bay Area is a treasure trove of lush forests dotted with redwoods and picturesque cascades. I set out to do an 8 mile loop up Cataract Trail to High Marsh Trail to Kent Trail to Helen Markt Trail a few weekends ago but turned around due to torrential downpour. Ideally last weekend would have been the most ideal weekend for the hike, but this past weekend was just as good and the falls were still flowing!
When Lee Jacobson tells you you’re going hiking, you’re going hiking. And to end 2014, hike is what we did. A motley crue of #hikerchat friends headed north to Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve to catch the sunset over the Olympic Peninsula.
Jessica from You Did What With Your Wiener was kind enough to pick Tara and me up from Seattle to whisk us by ferry to meet up with Lee and Terry. The sun was shining. The mountain was out. We soaked in the spectacular weather and drank ciders as the sun sank for the last time in 2014. There’s nothing quite like walking along the beach as the last light fades behind you with good company.
Hike: Wapama Falls & Rancheria Falls
Where: Yosemite National Park
Trailhead: O’Shaughnessy Dam
Level: Moderate
Duration: 5.5 hours
Length: 13 miles out and back
Gear: Icebreaker Tech T Lite, Triple Aught Design Artemis Hoodie, REI Sahara pants, Outdoor Research Essence Leggings, JepPaks pack, Black Diamond Ultra Distance trekking poles, and Salewa Alp Trainer Mid GTX boots
Cost of Parking: Free
Hetch Hetchy Valley was once a mirror image of Yosemite Valley; now it’s a reservoir providing millions of San Francisco Bay Area residents like myself water. Despite this, Yosemite’s counterpart is still a wondrous sight to behold, and lacking in the millions of visitors Yosemite Valley receives.
Hike: Round Top Peak via West Ridge
Where: Mokelumne Wilderness
Trailhead: Woods Lake
Level: Moderate
Duration: 5 hours
Length: 7.5 miles
Gear: [sn] Super.Naural W Base 140 Tee, REI Sahara pants, Triple Aught Design Artemis Hoodie, Boreas Gear Topaz 25, and Salewa Alp Trainer Mid GTX boots
Cost of Parking: $5
Round Top Peak has been one of those elusive peaks on my Tahoe to-do list. Every time I’ve tried to attempt it, something hasn’t quite worked out: someone’s sick, couldn’t make it to Tahoe. This weekend, Russ and I set off to do it! It was going to my first, his fifth.
We headed out from the Bay Area early in the morning and got to the Woods Lake trailhead at around 11am. The skies were clear and blue; weather was in the 70s. It was an easy 2.5 miles in to Winnemucca Lake where we would split from the trail and head up the use trail to Round Top’s West summit. The trail until the last 500ft or so was well worn. Once we got into loose scree territory, it was a little difficult to follow, resulting in a choose your own adventure. Russ opted to stay here, and I continued on to check out the East summit, aka the true summit.
I traversed across the narrow ridge to the drop before climbing up to the summit. From what I’d read online, the East summit is a class 3 scramble with tons of scree and loose holds that were prone to snapping off. It looked so incredibly unappealing. I decided that I didn’t want to die that day and headed back to join my climbing partner.
We then made our way down the way we came up and went out by Round Top Lake and back to the Woods Lake trailhead.
Half Dome lottery permits are nearly impossible to get. That hike can be unnerving for those afraid of heights. If you missed out on clambering up the cables, don’t fret. Hiking Clouds Rest out of Tuolumne Meadows is just as much of a thigh-burner, and perhaps, even more stunning than the iconic granite dome.