Checking off the area bucket list items - Death Valley ✔️. Would highly recommend using freecampsites.net - definitely some hit or miss, but boy did we hit with this one (won’t link, you’ll have to find it yourselves 😉). This one was a bit outside of the national park.

We spent the weekend in the beautiful Trinity Alps with amazing friends - riding ATVs, paddleboarding, drinking milkshakes and playing cornhole. On the way back, we stopped for a quick “stroll” to the top of Lassen Peak. Our friends were skeptical that it would be a quick hike so, naturally, Justin and I had to be as fast and casual as we could.

With Kelsea in town we need to check out some new hikes! I’ve been wanting to check out Lake Aloha, and what better way to do it than to see it from above off of Pyramid Peak. This hike is a steep slog through the forest until you reach the semi-scramble-y summit.

Too much to say! Will have to come back to this post and fill in stories. Perhaps draw a map?

Reservation systems to hike! How silly, but it is what it is. We drove into Yosemite before 5am to skip the reservation. We were recommended an excellent, private and free secret camp spot just outside the gate 🤐 which made the early wake up much easier! We drove in in the dark and parked near Camp 4 to take a nap until sunrise.

Any one else not know this existed? What a cool random stop! Close to the border of Oregon, Lava Beds National Monument is a worthwhile detour. Bring a headlamp and a jacket!

Per a friend’s recommendation, we took a drive down the highway of waterfalls in Oregon (N. Umpqua Hwy). Sure enough, there are numerous waterfalls to check out! We had a long day of driving after biking in Bend, OR, so we only stopped at the quick hikes.

With an injury in the family and a free weekend, we made a weekend trip down to Sequoia. We started on the north side of the park (Big Stump entrance) and checked out the General Grant tree - the nation’s Christmas Tree.

Imagine if we didn’t cut down so much old growth? Imagine old growth pow skiing in the mountains. Imagine mountain bike flow trails through old growth.

One of the first places we checked out after our migration down south was Hunter Creek Falls.

Nearing our time to say a temporary good bye.

After weeks of seeing articles about the Perseids meteor shower, it was finally August 12th - the peak of the meteor shower. I was lucky enough to rope Ash and some friends into a little overnight trip up to Idaho Peak.

Gwillim Lakes! A place we’ll certainly be returning to. I love driving into the Valhallas and trying to identify which mountains we have seen before from a different angle.

For some reason when we first moved to the Kootenay’s, Renata Arch was one of the first places I desperately wanted to check out. The arch is also known as the Brooklyn Bridge - named after the ghost town of Brooklyn.

In typical Ksenia and Justin style - we started Mount Fisher at our standard alpine start time - 11am. The road was a little rough getting in but James had no problem slamming the gas pedal and dragging his bald-tired car to the trail head.

We intended to do Jumbo Pass and Monica Meadows two weekends prior but were turned around due to an active wildfire. This weekend, the fire was “being held” and though we were warned about rolling debris and fallen trees, we decided it was worth trying to drive up anyway.

We woke up late on Saturday morning and decided it was a totally fine idea to drive 2.5 hours out to do a quick scramble of Mount Gimli. Nothing like a quick afternoon scramble into the alpine!

Loki – certainly a god of michief, a trickster. Justin and I did not intend to do this hike twice but we had to. The first time we went up, it was full on fall weather. Cold and cloudy.

When Hannah and Andy told me they were having an engagement party, I gave them a bit of a hard time for not inviting me. They told me they didn’t think anyone would fly over since it wasn’t in Colorado, but that I could join if wanted to make the trip. So of course I did! Hannah’s family asked if I had ever been glissading and I had not. Why not try new things?

I was dying to go up to the alpine after being stuck at home due to COVID. Despite the smoke, we trekked our way up Mount Audubon, one of the most beautiful 13ers in Colorado.

The highest summit in the Rocky Mountains and the second highest in the contiguous US! It sits right next to Mount Massive which is the second highest summit in Colorado. There’s funny story that originally Massive was measured as the highest peak in the Rockies - there is only around a 12 foot difference between the two peaks. People often pick a favorite and hike Massive to add some rocks to the top, then hike Elbert and take some rocks off the top. :)

A bucketlist destination in Colorado. One thing we missed doing is dune skiing or sledding! For another time.