When the Lightning Strikes...

More deaths are caused by lightning in a year than floods, hurricanes and tornadoes...

We were faced with some unpredictable weather this past weekend while hiking in the eastern Sierra Nevada. This area seems to be the meeting place for very warm air coming from the the nearby desert to the east and cool air arriving from the west coast. This can be a recipe for disaster....

After a quick 20 minute hail storm we decided to press on to LaSalle Lake, a small body of water just below Feather Peak Pass around 11,500 feet. Knowing that we were very exposed to the weather, should it rear it's ugly head, we decided to press on anyway. And the lightning, thunder, rain and hail decided to press on as well, in our general direction. We took shelter next to a rock and hoped for the best. This is where we were...


and this is what you should do to avoid looking like these cows that decided to huddle together against a barbed wire fence during a storm.....

Eastern Sierras...

This weekend I'll be hitting the trail pretty hard with my first opportunity to get into the high country and see some expansive granite. We will be starting our hike out of North Lake and continuing over Piute Pass into Humphreys Basin. 28+ miles later we will exit over Italy pass, through Granite Park and back to the car via Pine Creek. Here is a rough draft of the hike...


I'm pretty excited to hit a portion of the High Sierra Route, a 195 mile cross country route that flows through some of the sierra nevada's most pristine and less-populated mountains, hanging just above the treeline. The route was developed by Steve Roper who published a book of the trip, a book that I have had my nose buried in for the last few nights....

One of my favorite adventurers to follow right now (and for the last few years) has been Andrew Skurka. Andrew caught my eye several years ago when I heard about this crazy guy that was hiking a "Sea-to-Sea" route, a trip that included nearly 7,800 miles of travel. Back in 08' Andrew hiked the entire SHR and even had the senses to take down a cold one at the end...we all know that's the best way to re-hydrate...

50-50-50...

If you haven't already heard about this kid you should put down the t.v remote and google him right now...

Today, 11 year old Matt Moniz should be wrapping up his adventure of 50 peaks in 50 days in 50 states. If you ask me, I think this is an incredible accomplishment. He already has the biggest peaks under his belt (Denali, Whitney etc) and is in route to Hawaii to bag the 13,796ft Mauna Kea. Obviously he will go into the guiness book of world records as the youngest person to accomplish such a task, but this kid is amazing.

Matt took down Mt. Ranier (Washington's Highest Peak) and was back at his hotel room in Seattle eating pizza the same night. If you're not convinced of his skills you should reconsider that thought...he has also taken down some of the highest points in Europe and Africa.

This gets us into the debate about young children risking their lives on dangerous mountains and how stupid their parents are for putting their child in harms way. If you align your thoughts with the previous statement...please exit my blog (on second thought just keep reading, I don't have many followers). But seriously, given the correct resources and a good team these kids are no more at risk than riding in a car on the freeway.

Not that long ago Jordan Romero of Big Bear, CA climbed Everest at the age of 13. I followed him, almost religiously, on Facebook and his website to check on his progress and see if he could set the new record for youngest to summit. It's amazing how many parents were on the news bad mouthing Jordan's father and setp-mother (both of whom summited with Jordan). Sure he was putting himself in harms way, but with the training this kid had under his belt he was light years ahead, in terms of conditioning, than half the people that attempt to summit the worlds highest peak. Danger is realtive to preperation and experience, Jordan and Matt both prove that to be true...

Wickiup...

On my most recent trip to the Sierra Nevada's I had my first ever 'harvest moon' hiking experience. We were able to enjoy some of the most amazing parts of Yosemite National Park with zero crowds, no heat and the most beautiful glowing granite I have ever seen.

I found myself incredibly attentive to my surroundings, bordering paranoia, and turning my head to the slightest sounds. As I was traversing a fairly popular trail I found myself using the headlamp to light the trail. Hearing the flow of water I shine the headlamp toward the whisper of the rapids only to find this.....

We opted for the tent, but some poor soul spent quite a long time building a wickiup tipi, a traditional Native American shelter used mostly by Indians in the American Southwest.

Watch a crazy Brit build one here...

Fill it up again...

Very interesting study by a professor at Granada University in Spain showing the effects of drinking beer vs. water after long workouts....

Re-hydrate your brain here...

I have been known to let a few cold ones chill in the waters of the Merced in the Yosemite Valley after a long hike. I also suggest hitting the Joshua Tree Saloon after a long hike in the desert heat. I recommend the 'Miner's Milk', a homemade recipe by the saloon owners and brewed by the Firestone Brewing Company. Unbeknown to me, I was re-hydrating at a better rate than all those fools at the water fountain....



Ohh yeah....the mineshaft burger is pretty solid too, only when washed down with a few miners milks, to re-hydrate of course.

Maiden Voyage...

After endless days of commuting on the traffic ladened freeway to a stale and stuffy office, there is a great urge to backpack into the mountains and build a fire.

I stare at my pictures of the Sierra Nevadas, Joshua Tree, Sedona and other natural wonders that consume my thoughts on a daily basis. I constantly plan backpacking trips in my mind only to be interrupted by a ringing phone or the vexatious ding of another email arriving to my inbox.

Going forward, I will share my adventures, both actual and imaginary, for anyone to see....


If you were curious about the name, cairns (like the one above) are often used to mark trails. There have been many times where a cairn has guided me in the right direction and kept me hiking....just as I hope this blog will do.