Many years ago I did  a four night trip into the John Muir Wilderness from Wishon Reservoir to Blackcap Basin and back. I thought the area was pretty spectacular high country but with a fair bit of climbing to get there. On the trip, I spent two days getting to Portal Lake and an extra [...]

Another lakes tour of the Yosemite North Country. This would be my third trek into the area, having done a week trip in ’05 and ’03. The North Country of Yosemite offers lots of off-trail opportunities to discover some beautiful country away from the crowds. Also, there’s the challenge of finding a good route and [...]

Arrasta Mountain Wilderness is essentially the big blank space on maps of Western Arizona to the west of Highway 93. Big mountains, some deep canyons, lots of sand, little water and no trails. Lets go. I have been driving past this area for years on my way through Arizona to other hiking locations. It’s about [...]

Into the Mazatzal Wilderness once again. This time I tried an area north of the East Verde River. I studied the map and found an interesting rough canyon section and decided to explore that. Kind of a slow trek, but well worth the effort. Saw some great areas. The trek started at the 6000′ Twin [...]

This was an epic trip that I have many fond memories of. Ten days of off trail adventure in the Northern part of Yosemite Park. I had ventured into some of the areas on this trip two years previously. That trip was is July and I had some major rain at times. This one was [...]

I had read some articles on Peoples (Peeples) Canyon and read the write up in Exploring Arizona’s Wild Areas and was intrigued. Arizona Highways described the area as ‘one of the wonders of public land in Arizona’. Riparian areas in the desert are always beautiful places to visit and see the stark contrast between the wet and the dry. So I decided to take a Spring trip to this area. Five nights up through the canyon from the South and then looping back with a play-it-as-it-goes route coming back.