Hiking Northern California

The weather is beautiful here in Northern California, so several of us have started hiking fairly regularly. We'll be posting photos from our hiking adventures here.


Our first "Big" hike of the season. Karen and I went with an area Meet Up group on this one. We elected to joining the group for several reasons ... To meet other hikers, to learn the locations, and to just plain have fun while getting great exercise outdoors! The leader for this hike and several others, Linda, knows LOTS about wildflowers ... Super handy for us newcomers who are just now learning the local flora and fauna!
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Lynn and I went with the same meet up group that Karen and I went with last week. Previous commitments kept all three of us from being able to go on both. We're really enjoying hiking together, plus the travel getting to the sites and back are lots of fun, too! Great friends, great times! 
Click HERE to see more about this hike. 
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Lynn, Karen and I set out on another great hike with the hiking group we joined. Super nice people, plus great locations make for fun adventures! More wildflowers that we could identify! 
Click HERE to see more about this hike. 
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I am hosting a hike to Bassi Falls on Monday, however, I've never been there before, so I felt the need to make a RECON trip. Karen can't go on Monday, so she volunteered to go with me. We had a blast! 
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Second time hiking to Bassi Falls in three days! This time with a group I am leading. We got there (and back!) safe and sound ... Well, except for a few sore face muscles and rib cages from all the laughter! Lots of fun ... 
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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THIRD time to Bassi Falls this week! This time I took Conrad along. He LOVED it! There are several photos of him as he climbed to the top ... Some are wide angle, some are close up ... See if you can "Find Conrad"! 
Click  HERE  to see more about this hike.
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Off on another hike with the girls! Four hikes plus an 8 mile walk during one week is a bit much, but I've had a BLAST this week!!  
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Today Lynn, Karen and I ventured out on our own to hike around Jenkinson Lake. To walk all the way around the lake it 8.5 miles. We decided to hike to the waterfall and back and save the rest of the trek for another adventure. It's a beautiful place with gorgeous vistas and lots of wildlife. 
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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None of us had the entire day to spend driving to and from a far away hiking location, but none of us wanted to sit home and not enjoy the beautiful day, so we went for a great walk/hike on a trail that goes along Folsom Lake. We ended up walking over 6 miles, so I'd call that a hike! (I wish I had taken a photo of how dusty my legs and shoes were once we were done!) 
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Five of us journeyed up to Auburn to go check out the trails at Hidden Falls. Lots of beautiful trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Lots of wildlife, including a king snake and huge tadpoles, and lots of wildflowers, too!
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Lynn and I were a bit apprehensive about going on this hike because of the description ... Altitude climb of over 1,700 feet! The first part of the trail was loaded with switchbacks ... and rocks. Karen's description was very appropriate,  "It appears we are ripping off the band aid quickly as the most difficult part of the hike is in the beginning" as most of the climb was at the beginning meaning most of the descent was at the end. There was a pretty healthy climb between Mt. Donner and Mt. Judah with a lot of switchbacks, as well. There were a few times I questioned my own sanity, but it was well worth the efforts! Absolutely breathtaking views all around!  
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Caples Lake to Emigrant Lake - June 21, 2013

Here we go again! This time we drove to a destination south of Lake Tahoe and hiked along Caples Lake, through the wooded mountains while climbing almost 1,000 feet to our destination of Emigrant Lake ... Then after lunch we hiked back down. We had a rather interesting experience with the group we joined for this hike, but everything worked out just fine. Both lakes are absolutely gorgeous ... The trails are beautiful and well marked, for the most part, and the weather was gorgeous. We could have done with a wee bit less wind towards the end of the hike, but it just help us stay ... Refreshed. 
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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DL Bliss to Vikingsholm - July 19, 2013

So, Peggy has been telling us how beautiful the trail is to Vikingsholm from DL Bliss State park. We finally got our schedules coordinated and we went! Absolutely breathtaking! I must admit, most of my photos look a little "dreamy" because I accidentally had my camera is some funky setting. I didn't realize it until it was too late because I was wearing polarized sunglasses ... Duh! Anyway, we had a wonderful time in a magnificent place! 
Click HERE to see more about this hike. 
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Horsetail Falls - August 1, 2013

As part of a meet up, nine of us went for a hike to Horsetail Falls. I've seen it many times on the drive back from Lake Tahoe, but never ever dream I'd actually hike up to it! Yet, here we were ... At the parking lot suiting up for our trek up the hill. What makes this hike different from most that we've done is that the trail is virtually unmarked! 
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Loon Lake - August 9, 2013

Mary Ellen and I hiked a beautiful trail along the south rim of Loon Lake. We went almost to where the trail splits off to Spider Lake and we realized we hadn't allowed enough time to complete the entire route, so at the three hour mark we enjoyed our lunch while looking as breathtaking scenery and headed back. We will definitely be going back sometime soon AND we will allow more time! 
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Eight of us journeyed up to Wright's Lake for a day of hiking, picnicking, relaxing, swimming and socializing. And, what a day it was! It's always great spending time with good friends!
Click HERE for more about this hike.
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Wright's Lake to Bloodsucker Lake - August 15, 2013

Gail and I had such a wonderful time hiking around Wright's Lake on Monday that we just HAD to go back! We seem to be on a mission to hike all the trails in that area, so away we went! This time we chose the trail to Bloodsucker Lake. What an adventure!
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Monday. A planned hiking day. Peggy, Gail and I were super excited about finally getting to hike to Twin Lakes. But there were a couple of unforeseen problems ... Everything I had read said save this hike for a cooler day since there's no shade, and the weather forecast called for thunder storms up there. Not exactly where we wanted to be during a lightning storm!
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Mosquito Trail in Placerville - August 27, 2013

With the worst fire in Yosemite history still going strong, the winds have brought lots of smoke north into the Sierra Nevada foothills and mountains. We didn't go hiking yesterday as originally planned, but we still wanted to get out, get some exercise and enjoy nature. So, Mary Ellen and I headed up to Placerville to go for a walk along the Mosquito Trail with our friend Gail.
Click HERE to see more about this walk
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Jenkinson Lake - October 11, 2013

It's time to get back into hiking after a few weeks off ... The fall colors are beginning to take hold in the Sierra Nevadas. I went on a hike to Jenkinson Lake with a couple of friends ... We had a wonderful time!
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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The Sierra Nevada mountains and especially the Desolation Wilderness trails have been calling us for some time now, so Gail and I took off to discover Echo Lake. Here's what we found!
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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Sweetwater Creek to Salmon Falls - November 7, 2013
Conrad and I have been exploring and researching the Folsom Lake/American River area. Now is the perfect time to do so because the lake level is VERY low. We are currently able to see structures, dams, roads, and ditches that were constructed during the olden days of panning for gold. 
Click HERE to see more about this hike.
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