Skyline to the sea

One of the iconic trails of the Bay Area is the Skyline to the Sea trail. It starts at the intersection of Highway 9 and Skyline Boulevard (Highway 35). Over the course of close to 30 miles, the trail winds through the gigantic redwood trees of Big Basin, along creeks and ends at the windy Waddell Beach. We camped at Waterman Gap and at Jay Camp (in Big Basin).

Waterman Gap

Santa Cruz mountains

Santa Cruz Mountains

Redwood trees

Giant trees! 

Berry Creek waterfall

Berry Creek waterfall

The Pacific Ocean at Waddell Beach

Skyline to the Sea completed

The Redwood Hikes blog provides a lot of detailed information about the trail and camping spots.

Angel Island 2017

Last weekend, Troop 14 landed on Angel Island, in the San Francisco Bay for a camping outing, and to do a service project. And mostly we wanted to soak in the beautiful views. If you have never been to Angel Island, it is must when exploring the Bay Area. We took the Ferry from Tiburon, although you can also get there from San Francisco's Ferry Building. The island has lots of history, from the Fort McDowell to the Asian Immigration Station. It was known as Elis Island of the West, though it came with the sinister twist of the Chinese Exclusion Act. During the cold war, the island provided a last line defense through a battery of Nike missiles.  Here are a few memories from the past weekend:

Not our Ferry

We moved in place a Civil War era cannon

We erected civil war era tents for next weekends' Civil War Days. 

Former hospital building at Fort McDowel

A view of Tiburon and Belvedere

Kennedy Meadows and Lake

Before we spent a week in the Emigrant Wilderness, we did a test hike at altitude with the younger boys in the troop. We started at Kennedy Meadows in the California Sierras and hike towards Kennedy Lake. Truth be told, we never reached the lake. We came close as we got stuck in the bog of melted snow about 0.5 mile from the lake. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Emigrant Wilderness

Our annual weeklong backpacking trip brought us this year along the Emigrant Wilderness trails in the California Sierras.

This trip was much different from last year trip along the Lost Coast. First of all, it was much more challenging, as we descended into valleys and climbed mountains, all while at 8000ft elevation. I enjoyed the scenery very much: from the steep switch backs, built by the California Conservation Corps, to the lily pad covered mountain lakes, to the small and crystal clear rivers. 

After a long day of huffing and puffing along the trail, there was nothing better than a bath in the mountain lakes, and then a hearty backpacker dinner. 

We hiked the trail starting at Crabtree, and set up camp at Camp Lake, Gem Lake, Emigrant Lake, Piute Lake, Bear Lake and back home. We passed many more meadows and lakes. Jewelry Lake was especially beautiful.

Next year, perhaps Desolation Wilderness?

Food prep

For the past week, I have been cutting, cooking, and dehydrating a variety of foods for the upcoming backpacking trip to the Emigrant Wilderness. My bear can is filled to the brim with the following meals for four adults:

1. Dehydrated vegetable soup
2. Coffee and tea
3. Daily snack packs with almonds, 2 energy bars and a few jelly beans
4. Chicken curry (recipe)

5. Vegetarian Indian dal (recipe). It took me quite a while to dehydrate the dal into bark.
6. Pineapple upside down cake (recipe)
7. Oatmeal and dried fruits and nuts breakfast (see theYummyLife)

On Monday, we're heading out to Emigrant Wilderness, starting at Crabtree trailhead for an entire week. 

An artist rendering from our trip to Kennedy Meadows
in the Emigrant Wilderness a few weeks ago. 

2016 hike 8: Henry Coe State Park

This weekend we set of with a small group of backpackers for a two night stay in Henry Coe State Park. Little by little, this place has become of our of favorite places to backpack. It is the second largest California state park (after Anza Borrego). It is located in Morgan Hill, right in our backyard.

Backpacking in Northern California: hills, fog, sun and poppies

We started from the North Gate and backpacked to Manzanita point. This is a short hike only, over rolling hills. Manzanita point became our home for the next two nights. It is a great campsite, where we have stayed before. It has running water and a toilet not too far.

The next morning, we set out to do a day long hike into the park. This 10+ mile became a lot more than just a hike. First of all, it was still spring and many wild flowers were on display. Secondly, the return path brought us through The Narrows to China Hole. The Narrows is a section where the trail crosses left and right of the river. There was plenty of water in the river, which made it a lot of fun.