Outdoor Travel Geek

  • pyramid peak

    Over the past few weekends I’ve done some pretty long hikes, so I could use a little bit of rest. This weekend was supposed to be my break weekend, I was planning to just sleep in and rest for the entire weekend. But when my friend Mary invited me on a day hike into the Desolation…

  • canyon creek trail

    From my previous posts it’s probably obvious that I like the Trinity Alps Wilderness. I think it’s truly a special place. It’s one of the few places that I’ve come to backpack more than once, partly because the scenery’s nice, and partly because it’s a great place to introduce people to backpacking. Flo and Iris owned…

  • lewiston lake

    Fourth of July fell on a Thursday this year, so most people took Friday off to make it a four day weekend. With the weather being so hot lately, a camping trip at a lake sounded like a good idea. We ended up at Mary Smith Campground on Lewiston Lake, which is just outside of…

  • half dome revisited

    The hike to the summit of Half Dome is probably one of the most famous hikes in Yosemite, if not all of California. Nowadays it’s somewhat difficult to get permits for the hike. You have to enter a lottery, and the chances of getting a permit aren’t that great. (From what I’ve heard, the odds…

  • lassen peak revisited

    This weekend I went to Lassen National Park with a few friends. We left Friday after work and got into camp pretty late at night. The campground was pretty crowded and the campsites were pretty close together, so I guess we were a little too loud for the people around us who were trying to…

  • hidden falls regional park

    I only recently heard about Hidden Falls Regional Park. It’s a relatively new park, and recently it has expanded and added over 20 miles of trails, most of which are accessible by mountain bike. Since I’m always on the lookout for new trails to ride, I decided to dust off my trusty old Bianchi Superbee…

  • stadiums of glory

    The small group I go to has been having everyone take turns leading worship lately. When I was asked to lead worship this week I was sitting at the airport in Denver, waiting to get on my flight back home. I agreed to lead, even though I had no idea what I would be doing…

  • arches national park

    Moab, UT is famous for mountain biking. It’s also famous for being sort of a base camp for people who are visiting Arches and Canyonland National Parks, which are among the most photographed parks in the United States. You can tell just from the parking area at the Arches visitor center that the scenery is…

  • the slickrock trail

    The small town of Moab, UT is considered by many to be the Mecca of the mountain biking world. There are several famous trails in the area, the most famous of which is probably the Slickrock Trail. The trail has been on my bucket list for some time now, and thanks to this last minute…

  • on the road again

    The old country singer Willie Nelson has a song that I consider to be the epitome of road trip songs. The song is called “On the Road Again.” It begins with the words: On the road again – Just can’t wait to get on the road again. The life I love is making music with…

  • lake natoma trails

    Yesterday afternoon I went to a barbecue for one of my exchange student friends who was leaving Davis. She had prepared an amazing array of food and invited a whole bunch of her exchange student friends. And afterwards we went for round 2 of desserts and drinks. One thing I noticed, everytime I hang out…

  • tilden regional park

    Today I went out to Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley to hike with a group from the south bay. When I looked at the trail maps of the area earlier this week, I noticed that some of the trails were open to mountain biking. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden my mountain bikes, so…

  • strawberry fields 2013

    Of all the century rides I’ve done, the Strawberry Fields Forever ride in Watsonville is probably my favorite. This Sunday was my fourth time doing the ride. This year I did the ride with Ray, Richard, and Kiefer, and we decided to camp the night before. Originally I had planned to book a campsite at…

  • auburn test ride

    This weekend Specialized Bicycles had a demo day at my favorite trail network, the Auburn Confluence recreational area. Even though it’s my favorite trail network, I haven’t been out there in a while, mostly because I haven’t been mountain biking much lately. So it was nice spending the day out there with Geo and Kiefer.…

  • outdoor textures

    I am much better at capturing photographs than catching fish. (It’s not that I’m a good photographer, it’s just that I’m a terrible fisherman.) So while this past weekend was a fishing trip, I actually spent more time using my camera than my fishing pole. And it’s been a while since I’ve done a 7shots…