Bay Area Outdoors and Beyond...

Try Horse Trail on a bike! ooohh weeeee

2011-06-27T00:39:38.281-07:00

Try Horse Trail on a bike! ooohh weeeee

Thanks "Anonymous". Hope you had or wil...

2010-11-17T13:01:09.737-08:00

Thanks "Anonymous". Hope you had or will have a chance to get out to Tomales Point. I'll update the blog about the deer too.

I really enjoy your write ups. One thing, they are...

2010-11-17T11:28:22.492-08:00

I really enjoy your write ups. One thing, they are Blacktail deer (not whitetail deer) - to be more specific Columbia Blacktail deer.

It is certainly one of my favorite places to go!

2010-09-29T06:51:41.166-07:00

It is certainly one of my favorite places to go!

Point Reyes is really one of the gems of Marin and...

2010-09-28T23:38:12.559-07:00

Point Reyes is really one of the gems of Marin and North Bay hiking. It is always a treat! Nice post :)

Owens, I don't work with the Noble Heights cre...

2010-07-18T20:40:01.299-07:00

Owens,
I don't work with the Noble Heights crew, I just happened to be there when they went up and was fortunate to capture their adventure.

You can check with Nick Cunningham at Generation Fate to see what they have going on though. http://www.generationfate.org/

For me, I just finished up a Family Backpacking Trip with my Royal Ranger group at Pt. Reyes and getting ready to take them up to Ten Lakes soon.

Glad you enjoyed the article. Sorry I didn't have all the information you wanted though.

Hi I was wondering when your next trip was and how...

2010-07-18T17:24:20.295-07:00

Hi I was wondering when your next trip was and how many people on your team?

Was wondering when the next trip was and how many ...

2010-07-18T17:22:30.239-07:00

Was wondering when the next trip was and how many team members you have?

Frank, Glad you liked the blog. Since you are h...

2010-07-17T23:15:52.613-07:00

Frank,
Glad you liked the blog.

Since you are headed to Yosemite from Tenaya Lodge, you really need to do Mariposa Grove. Lots of photographic opportunities with the giant sequoias. I'm sure you are already planning on a trip to Glacier Point, but a nice late afternoon hike is Sentinel Dome (1.1 miles, from the Taft Point, Sentinel Dome trailhead, just past Bridalveil campground) Great viewing of Half Dome and Eastern Valley, especially for Sunset.

A couple other things to look out for:
Fern Spring, a small spring that falls a couple short drops. It's near the crossroads of HWY 41 and 140.

Tunnel View can provide great shots throughout the day, but late afternoon you will get a rainbow on Bridalveil fall is the water is moving. It's also a great place if there are any storm clouds, especially in the morning or sunset.

Sunset from Sentinel Bridge can provide a great shot with Half Dome reflecting in the Merced River. You will need your graduated ND filters for this or combine exposures.

Mist Trail to the Top of Vernal Falls is worth the hike and messing with the crowds. You will get wet.

If you have time, head over to Tuolumne Meadows. It's a longer drive from where you are staying, but plenty of great places to stop: Ohmstead Point, Tenaya Lake and plenty around the meadow.

Let me know if you have any questions. Take care and have a great time!!

Fantastic blog Dave and outstanding photos. I wis...

2010-07-17T22:12:51.600-07:00

Fantastic blog Dave and outstanding photos. I wish we had discovered your blog before out trip to Northern CA.

- Frank "Omaha" Comisar :-)

www.scenicaperture.com

Thanks for your excellent insight and for sharing ...

2010-04-08T17:28:40.369-07:00

Thanks for your excellent insight and for sharing all this great information. You are enabling so many enthusiasts in this way. :-)

Kira, I don't believe that the Carrizo and Te...

2010-04-08T15:19:36.504-07:00

Kira,
I don't believe that the Carrizo and Temblor Range will have the same displays of color in late April as when I was there. This was my first trip down that way and I'm not very familiar with the area, but usually displays like that only last a couple of weeks. The weather plays an important part. I would check the Theodore Payne Wildflower Hotline (there's a link in my post) for the latest wildflower conditions.

One thing to keep in mind is that the many times when some wildflowers fade away, others pop up. If you do an advanced search for Carrizo Plain and limit the dates, you can get a good idea of current conditions. Here's and image taken yesterday: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22206664@N06/4502869601/

You will notice the hills don't have as much color, but the plain is lit up. I did not see those colors when I was out there.

It is difficult for me to list one place to visit for a day because it would depend on the weather and conditions. My plans often change last minute so I can try to be in the right place at the right time. I try to have backup plans too just in case things aren't what I thought when I got there. Some of my favorite places to go are Pt Reyes and Yosemite, but if the wildflowers were still strong in Kern County, that's tough to beat.

Keep doing your research and I know you will find something spectacular this time of year. Let me know what you end up doing and how it went.

Wow, excellent pictures. Would the third week of A...

2010-04-08T13:25:54.943-07:00

Wow, excellent pictures. Would the third week of April be too late to experience this splendor? If you had just one day to visit the area (including driving down from SF), which parts would you recommend going to? Thanks in advance.

Thanks Tammie for your kind comments. It is a joy ...

2010-04-05T21:48:16.351-07:00

Thanks Tammie for your kind comments. It is a joy to capture what God has given us! Take care!

gorgeous post! Thank you for sharing all the beaut...

2010-04-05T21:44:01.041-07:00

gorgeous post! Thank you for sharing all the beauty you are finding. Your photos are grand and precious.

Ann, Glad you had a chance to make it out there. ...

2010-04-05T08:00:06.705-07:00

Ann,
Glad you had a chance to make it out there. One of the side roads did follow the powerlines and went pretty far up to the base of the hills. I'm pretty sure that was the location of my favorite spot. They all blend together after a while!

I did do a Wallace Creek hike and a couple photos may be from there. I mapped the hike for Backpacker Magazine web site. Hopefully I'll get the trip report done soon and submitted.

I'm going to try to do Hite's Cove later this month. It will be well beyond the wildflower peak, but it's a good hike anyway. I'll post the hike though.

Thanks for the report!

Dave - It was a spectacular weekend! I think you h...

2010-04-05T00:33:25.309-07:00

Dave - It was a spectacular weekend! I think you had more color when you were there, or at least your pictures showed lots more purple-coated mountainsides than I recall. But as far as I could tell, it was still going quite strong. We only got to Shell Creek Rd (where there were a few parties spread with blankets atop the flower fields :(, Soda Lake Overlook, and drove to some points near the Temblor Range on Elkhorn. Your google map helped a lot. Did you take some of the pictures from a hike from Wallace Creek? We were looking for the road you may have taken to your favorite Temblor Range vantage.. only road we thought could have been it seemed to be a service road near the power lines.

Would love to hear if you make it out to Hite Cove or Merced .. sadly, not sure if i can make it that way until I go for wedding in Yosemite in mid-late May.

keep up the great work!

Now I want to visit this area. Nice photos.

2010-04-03T05:34:49.896-07:00

Now I want to visit this area.

Nice photos.

Ann, Have fun and I hope you get good weather. I ...

2010-04-02T15:16:50.956-07:00

Ann, Have fun and I hope you get good weather. I feel for Carol right now. I think she made the right choice by shutting things down for now. I almost made more of a point about the issues at Cottonwood Canyon, but I wanted the focus of my article to be mostly on Carrizo. I went to Cottonwood twice on my trip, the first time on Thursday before any signs were setup and then on Sunday when I noticed the No Trespassing signs scattered over the place. I definitely saw people abusing the area and there were a lot there.

I can't say I stayed on the road the whole time, but I definitely was careful of where I stepped and my surroundings. I was more conscious of it on Sunday after I saw the signs and made sure to stay close to the road.

I'd love to year about your trip and the conditions one week later.

Take care!

-dave

Amazing, thanks for sharing. Also headed there thi...

2010-04-02T14:54:01.570-07:00

Amazing, thanks for sharing. Also headed there this weekend. Sad to see that Carol Leigh took down her wildflower info http://www.calphoto.com/wflower.htm . Thanks for the google map and noting the Cottonwood Canyon private land.

Thanks All. It was a great trip and I had a tough...

2010-04-01T16:49:04.967-07:00

Thanks All. It was a great trip and I had a tough time being brief.

Excellent trip report and photos! We're headin...

2010-04-01T12:34:16.847-07:00

Excellent trip report and photos! We're heading down this weekend - hope the weather cooperates for some good shots too!

As usual your photos are breathtaking and astoundi...

2010-04-01T07:22:04.773-07:00

As usual your photos are breathtaking and astounding. Thanks for sharing.

Breathtaking! Masterful photograpgy Dave.

2010-04-01T07:14:21.933-07:00

Breathtaking! Masterful photograpgy Dave.

Hazel, Thanks for your comments and your suggestio...

2009-12-16T06:27:32.429-08:00

Hazel,
Thanks for your comments and your suggestion about bizymoms.

-dave