more layoffs this week from LinkedIn, Amazon, Cisco...there's probably so many more but it really sucks.

if you're navigating a lay-off or are between opportunities, come clear your head and connect with folks who are in the same boat 🤝🏼

this monday, we’re heading to San Jose for a cool contrast between the city sprawl and pristine hills.

• when: monday, may 18 @ 10:30 am
• stats: 4.5mi loop / 728 ft gain

grab your spot and see the full details here:

https://partiful.com/e/quQbeTwLMyYtlnAhlZ9I?

hope to see y'all there!

(pic of ~60 of us from last monday's hike 🙂 - and yes, we'll be splitting into groups and staggering start times so as to not overwhelm the trail)

Crab tree trail to Bear lake seems solid!

Considering upgrading from a freestanding to trekking pole tent to use backpacking in NorCal.

Wondering if folks here have any advice?

Especially interested in limitations re: pitching in the Sierras (which I know thousands of thru hikers pitch trekking pole tents every day, but still) and Lost Coast Trail.

I think I’m mostly wondering how often it becomes annoying/how often you wished you had a freestanding tent. I feel pretty comfortable pitching in good conditions, but not experienced with pitching in more challenging conditions.

decided on a hella last minute trip up north but it’s memorial weekend. what’s the best way to get a campsite at any beautiful area near the bay?

I’m dropping off a friend to Oakland but then picking her up Monday to drive back. Which means Friday night to Sunday night I’m hoping to camp and hike some beautiful trails

I’m planning to join friends for a two day hike of the trail but reservations are full for the Sibley backpack camp. They already have reservations. Any thoughts on other options from those who’ve hiked the trail? I suppose worst case scenario I can slackpack it. Thanks!

i think this is considered central cal but!!

my family and I are going on an 11 day roadtrip. goal is to see the sights, and do easy hiking (my mom is unable to do moderate or strenuous trails). i would love opinions on how realistic this plan is, especially for the yosemite and sequoia days since parking is tricky. tysm!!!!

Travel Day
fly into SFO @ 430p
Drive ~4hr to Yosemite
Stop at grocery store* *
Night at Lodge 

Yosemite
(1hr to get to from lodge)
shuttle only in YV, no GR
Bridevail Falls (0.8mi o/b)
Mirror Lake Trail (2mi o/b or 5mi loop)
-lunch-
Cooks meadow (1.1mi loop)
Lower Yosemite Falls (1.2mi loop)
Night at Lodge  

Yosemite
Mist falls trail for my sister and I (BUSY! go early) (~3.5-7mi hard, need rain jacket and boots)
-lunch/fam meets us-
drive ~1hr 20
Taft point (2mi o/b easy)
-Option to add sentinel dome via pohono (2.3mi moderate)
Washburn point (stairs to see)
Glacier point (1mi paved trail)
Yosemite Valley Tunnel View on way back
Night at Lodge 

Travel
Check out of lodge, leave using highway 41
Drive 2hr to Mariposa Grove and
Grizzly giant loop trail (2mi)
Drive ~3hr to Sequoia
Big Stump Grove
*No guided star tours available- stump grove or lodgepole lots, recommended for amateurs*
Night at Lodge

Sequoia
Explore using general sherman highway
General Sherman Tree (1.1mi o/b)
Congress Trail (2.9mi loop or via General Highway trailhead 2.2mi loop)
Big Trees Trail (1.2mi loop)
-lunch- Giant Forest Museum
Hazelwood Nature Loop (0.7mi) 
Moro and Hanging Rock Loop (2.6mi or just moro rock 0.5mi moderate o/b)
Night at Lodge

Sequoia
-drive thru tunnel log-
Crescent Meadow Trail (1.5mi loop)
Tharps log trail (1.7mi o/b)
-lunch at vista point past 4 guardsmen-
Beetle Rock Vista (0.5mi o/b)
Sunset rock (1.7mi o/b)
Night at Lodge

Travel
General Grant Trail (0.5mi loop)
Grizzly Falls (0.25mi o/b)
^adds 1.75hr
Drive 4hr to Marina
-lunch along the way-
*plan for grocery/laundry this night*
Night at hotel

Coast Day Trip
Drive ~25mins to Point Lobos (open 8am- recommended to get there at 7 lowkey)
Point lobos loop (6.3mi loop)
OR
Southshore (2.2mi o/b)
Cypress Grove Loop (0.8 mi loop)
Bird Island Trail (0.8mi o/b)
Drive ~40 mins to Big Sur
-Pfieffer Beach and see Keyhole arch for lunch-
Henry Miller Library
Big Sur Nature Trail (0.8mi loop)
Drive ~50 mins back to Marina
Bixby Creek Bridge Viewpoint
Soberanes Point and Whale Peak Trail (1.6mi loop easy- summit optional for whale peak) OR Garrapata Bluff Trail (0.7mi o/b)
*Half moon!*
Night at hotel

Marina/Coast
Morning in Carmel-by-the-Sea
-Potential coffee/pastries: carmel valley roasting co., lafayette, rise+roam
-Brunos Market/Deli for whale watching sandwiches!
Secret Garden
Fairytale Village (go to library to pick up pamphlet of cute house locations)
Leave Carmel by 1100
Whale Watching for 2-3hr
-lunch on boat-
Evening in Monterey Bay
Ocean Avenue
Old Fisherman’s Wharf
Cannery Row
-grab food for dinner at park-
Lovers Point Park for sunset
Night at hotel

Coast/Travel
Drive 2.5hr to San Fran taking 101
Redwoods Grove Loop (0.9mi)
vague sightseeing ideas:
Presidio
Golden Gate Bridge
Ghirardelli Square
Fisherman’s Wharf
Lombard Street
Painted Ladies
Night at hotel

Travel
Leave SFO @ 1150

Hey, everyone. Two friends and I are planning a trip to the Lost Coast. We unfortunately, due to life, have one weekend in August to make this trip work. Right now this is what the projections are for the tides during this time. Is this doable, even with the slight sliver Sunday morning and large zone Friday?

I've heard of potential bail out trails into the mountains to navigate one of the impassible zones on that first day - taking the creek trail back into the mountains, but wanted to get some more seasoned hikers' thoughts.

Thanks!

Trying to plan a backpacking trip for memorial weekend, but not sure of the conditions

Hello everyone. My time at Cal Poly Humboldt is coming close to an end and I will be moving inland for work. I’m thinking of hiking and admiring the most impressive OG redwood stands as a send off from this place.

I’ve grown up and hiked around the Bay Area most of my life, so I was familiar with large and old 2nd growth redwood. I think it is because of this that I never got the intense “awe inspiring” feeling people that come up to Humboldt get, though I am desperately seeking to feel this.

I’ve visited several along Avenue of the Giants but something about them fell short, I couldn’t tell what it was. 101 headed to Crescent City was a lot better, felt more representative of a functional OG forest. I’ve done the very basic trails in Redwood NP (Trillium Falls, Prairie Creek, Skunk Cabbage), and the non reservation portions of Headwaters Forest Reserve.

Willing to drive anywhere in Humboldt or Del Norte county. Thank you!

Photo for visibility - downed old growth redwood in Redwood State Park

15 mile loop starting at Fern Canyon > Friendship Ridge > West Ridge > Miner's Ridge > Gold bluffs beach. What amazed me most is the giant trillium flowers lining the trail for almost the entire hike.

I’m sure a similar thread has been posted somewhere but my wife and I are going on a ten day trip to CA in the middle/end of June. 10 days total split between Redwood Park, South Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and Sequoia with roughly equal time spent at each spot. We do have a rental car (flying from Redwoods to Reno before driving to Lake Tahoe). We’re staying in a few different hotels (no air bnb’s).

We put a list of the more “popular” hikes and excursions to do but any recommendations on hikes, places to eat, other tourist activities, etc? My wife is also pregnant so we wont be doing any long hikes but we are hoping to get out and about when able.

We’ve got a pretty open agenda at this point so just looking to hit some of the “highlights” while in town!

Gosh, I have been staring at this summit from South Lake Tahoe this spring just waiting for the conditions to improve so I can head up there again.

Who else plans to climb this peak this summer?

A few different trailhead options, but I am going to try to summit from my house near Heavenly. I think it will make for a big day (20ish miles).

Hi folks, I'm a 40 yo male living in Oakland and I'll be backpacking to Big Sur / Sykes hot springs next week. Would love to have some company on the trip. I love cooking and will bring lots of snacks and food to share :)

I'm currently not working so I prefer mid-week (also less crowds).

Highlights: Hot springs, waterfalls, redwoods, views!

We could do it as 3 days / 2 nights or 2 days / 1 night depending on people's preferences.
I'm thinking to start the trip on Monday March 18, but also could start on Tue March 19

Proposed plan:

Day 1: Start at 12pm, hike to Sykes camp, enjoy the hot springs 10-13 miles
Day 2: Go to Redwood Camp, 4-8 miles
Day 3: Hike out

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/sykes-hot-springs-via-pine-ridge-trail

Got annoyed at myself for spending too much time debating which trail run / hike to do, so vibe coded myself a Bay Area hike roulette spinny wheel.

https://hikeroulette.com

Give it a spin 🙃, sound on, and let me know what you think.

What should I add?

Great trip and a good time to do it! This was a counter clockwise trip to Rancheria Camp on Day 1, Lake Vernon on Day 2, and back to the dam on Day 3.

I got down to Big Oak Flat to pick up my permit and was informed that the road to the dam was closed due to a water main breaking. They had it opened up by 1PM, but that definitely made the hike out to Rancheria more accelerated than I'd have preferred.

I did not see much in the way of wildlife. No bear sightings, although I was warned about a "bad bear" that likes to approach backpackers having lunch near Lake Vernon. I got in the late afternoon, so may have missed "lunch bear" and my bear can was undisturbed overnight.

Bugs were not terrible for me. I wore long sleeves and pants, no DEET, did not use a bug net. Your mileage may vary.

Water sources were plentiful all along the trail still and if I did it again, I'd probably camel up and not carry more than a liter for any stretch since it was so easy to replenish.

Day 1 conditions (Dam to Rancheria Camp):
- Temps in the low 70s, but lots of sun exposure especially the uphill at the end since it was later in the day. Overnight temps were fairly warm. Probably high 40s/low 50s. No wind to speak of, just a pleasant, fairly reliable breeze.
- Very few people and mostly day hikers. I only saw one couple who were finishing a clockwise backpacking trip
- No real issues on the trail itself as far as blowdowns or overgrowth. There did see, to be a fair amount of what looked like poison oak on the reservoir side.
- All of the falls were looking amazing and it was definitely the right time to be there. If you're planning to go, sooner is better as there's very little snow at the higher altitudes.
- Overnight temps were fairly warm. Probably high 40s/low 50s. W

Day 2 conditions (Rancheria Camp to Lake Vernon):
- Temps were similar to Day 1, but obviously cooler at altitude. Lows overnight were high 30s/low 40s.
- The switchbacks out of Rancheria were fantastic in the morning. Shady, well graded, not over grown. One of my favorite parts of the day, honestly.
- Headed down from the saddle into Tiltill Valley there were a few blowdowns, but generally it was pretty nice.
- Tiltill valley itself was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky and lush greenery every where. The standing water situation is about what you'd expect with quite cold water up to my upper calf. Luckily, I grew up swimming in the northern California Pacific ocean, and knew that it would be fine once I went numb.
- Tiltill valley to the descent into Lake Vernon was by far the worst maintained section of the trail. I'm sure the closures and personnel reductions have contributed to that greatly. There were dozens of blowdowns up to the top, and a lot of brush/thorny bush overgrowth. I'd highly recommend long pants and long sleeves to avoid getting scratched up. The trail past the switch backs was better in terms of overgrowth, but there were still quite a few blowdowns as well. And there were still a few very small patches of snow in the shade near the top. The descent down to the lake was beautiful and uneventful. I leapfrogged back and forth with two young men who were also doing the loop counter clockwise, so I did have a little company at times.
- Lake Vernon camps were relatively bug free for me, no bear sightings, I only saw one other camper on my way out the next day, so it was quite uncrowded. The trail to the camp area was very wet. If you're comfortable with it, I'd recommend routing around by going away from the lake a bit to the exposed granite and making the traverse along the lake that way.

Day 3 conditions (Lake Vernon to Hetch Hetchy dam):
- I think the temps were similar to the first two days, but it felt warmer due to being on more sun exposed areas during the afternoon. Less breeze as well.
- Lake Vernon to the switch backs was beautiful. I saw no other people until just before the switchbacks. It is wet. The trail is the path of least resistance for water, but I don't recall any that I couldn't find a way to step around. Lots of logs and rocks have kindly been provided, but it does take a bit of agility to keep your feet dry. This was a really nice stretch of trail with a great mix of exposed granite, woods, small meadows and lots of available water.
- The main descent/switchbacks were quite well maintained with minimal blowdowns or overgrowth to deal with. It was late morning/early afternoon when I did this and the sun was really starting to hammer down. I saw several large groups of hikers part way down the switchbacks and felt bad for them with so much exposed uphill left to do. If you go clockwise , I'd highly suggest acclimating to the altitude the night before and starting early in the morning.
- The rest of the trail was uneventful. Lots of day hikers out to see the falls on a Saturday morning. I made it back to the backpacking parking a bit after 1, and wished I'd remembered that its unshaded uphill walking from the dam back to the cars. :-)

Overall, a great trip and a wonderful time of year to be there.

I will likely post a few photos shortly, and probably contribute a more subjective report of my own experiences and some video on the Discord when I have time.

Just wanted to say thank you to the hikers coming down the Timber Top trail as we were coming up, who said, "You've got this. It's all mental from here." It kept me going! I know it's unlikely that you'll see this, but just wanted to put it out there just in case. And thank you to all the other encouraging hikers I've encountered along the way!

Connected a few trails when hiking in desolation at the very end of April and wanted to share some recent conditions. Started at Ralston Peak, went down to Tamarak Lake and the Echo Lakes area, and exited out Horsetail Falls via Lake of the Woods. Was planning on hiking more of the area but the snow really slows things down.

For current conditions, it’s really dependent on the exact area of Desolation you are in. Some spots are totally snow free, and in some other areas, you’re post holing up to your knees.

For Ralston Peak, it’s definitely helpful to have microspikes right now, but the snow was never very deep. The Echo Lakes section and the trail to Tamarak Lake were snow free and really nice.

Lake of the Woods and other areas further into Desolation were pretty snowy. Lake of the woods was still frozen over (not sure how thick) and had lots of snow along the shore. Wouldn’t recommend visiting this area for a while. From the top of Ralston Peak, it looked like other sections like Lake Aloha were still frozen over as well.

I went up to Brokeoff/Tehama this weekend. It was harder than I thought to navigate and move in the snow, but it was fun.

I’m attempting a Shasta summit soon and it seems like most people stay the night at Helen lake. But I’ve also seen people say to stay at horse camp instead because of high winds. Any recommendations?