Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada


There are several red rock canyons, the one close to Las Vegas is the 5th most visited destination for rock climbers in the USA. We haven't climbed for about two years, but there are some friends there and we would like to see what they are doing and maybe try the rock again. 

Top Rope style

Level 10.10C

There are so many cars that all the parking spots are full, so we park on one side of the road. From the second parking area (calico II), our friends take us into a narrow canyon were we find more than 10 groups climbing "top-rope" style. Levels are from 10.7 to >10.10D and our friends are opening routes up to 10.10D. The routes are bolted and have solid ancors at the top. The rock here is redish sandstone. 

Artur and I try a 10.7. How good it is to feel the rock again on my hands! I am surprised of myself to be able to reach the top of my route, although I finish completely exhausted. Soon after that is gets too dark to keep climbing. 

We camp in the first-come first-served red rock canyon campground. There are still spot during the night, although it is almost full. There is water, but only pit toilets. The campsites have a big table covered by a sunroof, which may be great in summer. The night is very cold, below 0C, but there is no wind. The moon is appearing now as a thin crescent over the horizon.

Turtlehead Peak trail

The next morning, we hike up Turtlehead Peak, the highest of the park. We park at Sandstone Quarry parking lot. The hike is just 4 miles one way. It is flat the first half, and steep up the second half. The trail keeps dividing itself so that the mountain is full of trails with no clear direction. Lucklily, the Turtlehead peak is clear and we just hike in its general direction. One can't get lost there. 
In 1hour 20 min we reach the summit. It is after nine in the morning and we are alone when we get there. For 45 minutes we are enjoying the incredible view of Las Vegas and its casinos and the red rock mountains that surround us.


We arrive back at the car at noon, and it takes us a 14 hours drive to get home. Was it worth it? Yes, of course.

4 Tarantulas, 4 snakes and a lot of thinking
Joseph D. Grant State Park

My grandmother passed away last Wednesday and we decided to walk in her remembrance. Most of my family were walking at the other side of the world, from Collcerola to Valldoreig, so Artur and I made our little walk in the surroundings of Silicon valley. 
It was a sunny day that certainly would have pleased my grandmother. 
The last few days I have thought so much about her advices about so many things that I dedicate this walk to her words of wisdom.


While Artur and I walked talking about the meaning of life, some snakes and some tarantulas passed in front of us, just in the middle of our trail. I am wondering: why today? Is it a reminder that life is so little? That any day any of us can go?

May nature give us her blessings and let us wander on her trails for as long as possible.

Water, Wasser, Aigua
San Jordi 2011
Yosemite National Park
(Rudy, Artur i Meri)

 

Per San Jordi toquen roses, ja ho sé, però aquest cop tot va ser aigua.... per tots costats. 

Mt. Gibbs (12764 ft, 3890 m) and Monroe Hall Research Natural Area
(Artur and Meri)

East of Tioga Pass there are several campgrounds that are a lot smaller than Tuolumme Meadows and have a higher chance to have free sites on Saturday morning. We wanted to try Sawmill Campground, a walk-in campground that seemed peaceful because of the fact that you have to walk a while to arrive at the campsite. As we expected, the place was nice, clean and calm and we were lucky to get the last free spot on Saturday noon.

It took us 3 trips to the car, each one 10 minutes, to bring all our stuff to the site. As it was hot and I didn't remember that we would be so far from the car, we had taken the cooler and the big stove. After having lunch, instead of going to the car again, we just started walking from our campsite to the Carnegie Institute Experimental Station. This was a really good choice. There is a well maintained path to the station and it continues into the Monroe Hall Research Natural Area. The trail enters into the valley that leads to Mount Conness (12590 ft) and White Mountain (12057 ft), wandering on the right of Lee Vining Creek. The valley is gorgeous at this time of the year. The snow has almost completely melted and everywhere you look it is full of water and flowers. We found quite a lot of people on the trail, including groups of rock climbers. We are not sure but we think they are climbing the south-east wall of Mt. Conness. Following the trail, it took us around 2 and a half hours to get to the top of the saddle and walk a little bit along the ridge to Mt. Conness. As it was getting late, we didn't have time to reach the peak of Mt. Conness. There may have been at least another hour left to go. In 2 hours we arrived back to our campsite, just as the sun was setting. We still saw 3 or 4 rock climbing teams passing by and were wondering where they were all coming from.

Artur in front of Mt. Conness

On Sunday morning we heard voices at 4am, some rock climbers passing very close our tent, apparently a little lost and off trail. Where were they going? Its still a mystery. We got up at 7am and saw several more teams of people with ropes and helmets going in direction of Mt. Conness.

After breakfast, and only 2 trips to load the car, we left the quiet campground towards Tioga Pass and parked at Mono Pass trail head (it has 3 bear lockers). From there, we hiked 1h30min gently sloping up to Mono Pass.

Mono Pass

Then we started hiking up Mt. Gibbs by the south-southeast ridge. The terrain is full of loose rocks so our pace was rather slow, but in around 2 hours we arrived at the peak. We didn't see any other people on the trail (or lack thereof), but read in the summit register that at least 2 groups of people had climbed the peak earlier the same day. As it was sunny, not very windy, and still early we had lunch and took a nap before starting down.
The amount of flowers in this area was spectacular. The snow was also almost completely melted and the landscape was full of colors of the different flowers.

We hiked down on the north-west ridge. There are some areas with big rocks and steep slopes that slowed us down a little bit, but in general it was easier going then the south ridge on the way up. In 2h 30 minutes we were back at the car without major problems. The streams at this time of year are quite low on water or altogether dried out so we could cross them without difficulty.

Sunnyside Bench Trail (Upper Falls) and Ledge Trail (Glacier Point) - Yosemite Valley
(Cordada Rapel)

Yosemite Valley is usually so crowded that doing a hike without people seems impossible.... unless you go to Sunnyside Bench Trail or the Ledge Trail. Both are half-day hikes, mainly class II with some class III steps. Both are very steep, slippery at moments and exposed. Those trails feature lots of adrenaline for normal hikers and fun for rock climbers.

The Sunnyside Bench trail hikes up to the bottom right hand side of the Upper Falls, just below the base of Lost Arrow Spire. It took us 2 hours to climb up and about half that time to go down. We were surprised by a rattlesnake on our way up and a smaller stripped black/yellow Garter Snake on the way down.

The first half of the trail is quite flat and easy to follow but it is very exposed. You don't want to slip here. Later it becomes steepper and there are some class III steps also with a bit of exposure. The last part is mainly slabs and the main danger is the sand on top of them. The view from the top is beautiful. The Upper Falls are near but not enough to get wet.

We did this as an afternoon hike. The good news is that after the way down there is the store and an ice-cream was waiting for us.

On the next morning we hiked the Ledge Trail. It seems to be the third deadliest trail in Yosemite. Well, if I had known that before, I may not have done it. The reality is that it was beautiful, especially the couloir at the end. It took us 3 hours to arrive at the intersection with the 4-mile trail, almost at Glacier Point. And then, 2 more hours to get down to the road by the 4-mile trail. The Ledge Trail itself is exposed and slippery at some crucial moments. The good news is that it is well marked by yellow and orange stripes, so when we doubted we just had to look for them.

The first 2 thirds of the trail are dry and rocky, but when we turn left into the couloir the trail changes completely.

It becomes like a small garden full of flowers, with a creek in the middle that we had to cross several times. It is so full of vegetation that we had some difficulties to follow the marks and cut through the bushes. Sometimes the vegetation was so thick that we could not even see our feet. Here we also encountered the added difficulty of slippery wet rock.

Both are recommendable hikes to avoid people but they are risky and can have bad surprises. The snakes, though, were good with us.

Tenaya Peak (10280 ft / 3133 m) and Mt. Hoffmann (10850 ft / 3307 m) - Yosemite National Park
(Carlos, Rudy, Artur and Meri)

Both are day hikes, not strenuous and incredibly beautiful. It took us 2 hours to get to Tenaya Peak from the Tenaya Lake (Sunrise trailhead).

Rudy in front of Half-Dome and Yosemite Valley

It is a crosscountry hike, with a lot of slabs and some grade III passes that can be avoided depending on the way up. Our only adventure was crossing the river at the begining of the hike. There was too much water so we had to take off our shoes to cross, wading through the calf-high stream. We hiked up a little east of the south ridge, staying west of the stream that runs down the valley, and hiked down via Mildred Lake. In a bit more than one hour we were cooling our toes on the beach of Tenaya Lake.

Tenaya Peak throning above Tenaya Lake

One of the most beautiful views from Tenaya Peak is the Yosemite Valley from the north-east side, with a spectacular view of Half-Dome from the side that sports the trail on which people hike to its top. The mosquitoes attacked us all day long, as the day was hot and they were hungry.

Before the hike we secured a campsite at White Wolf, one of the campgrounds on Tioga Pass Road. Luckily this weekend there were fewer people in the park than last time we were there, so we did not need to spend extra time driving around to various campgrounds to find a place to pitch our tents. Also this time our site was virtually mosquito free, unlike last time.

On Sunday we climbed Mount Hoffmann. This too is a short day hike, even easier than Tenaya Peak. We left the car at May Lake trailhead, which has ample space for parking and has plenty of bear lockers. There is a trail all the way from the lake to the top of the mountain which makes it busier than Tenaya Peak on which we saw only the odd climbing party on their descent.

Mount Hoffmann

While Rudy and Meri were arriving in less that 2 hours to the 'official' top (the one with the antenna), Artur had time to climb that one as well as the 3 minor peaks. Carlos reached us on the first peak just as we were starting to head down.
The mosquitoes were a lot worse than the previous day and we were all but bathing in bug repellent to keep them at bay. After lunch, though, they seemed to rest from the heat and give us a break.
Again, in little over one hour we were back at the car, ready for a good wash in a nearby creek.

Garrapata State Park

Meri has finished all her exams. The day is bright, the sky is blue and the weather channel says we will reach 21C. The perfect day to go to hike by the sea. 


In around 1 hour and a half we arrive at Garrapata State Park. There are a lot of people, but we are lucky to find a spot to park. There are not many trails to choose: one that goes up the hills, and another that goes to the shore. We choose both. In the morning we try the hills. They are incredibly full of spring flowers. We hike up the Soberanes Canyon Trail, which is full of Redwoods. Some of them are really big. And we hike down the Rocky Ridge Trail. The weather is so nice that we can eat, make our coffee and take a nap without having to put on more clothes. There are some benches with good views to the sea. We hike for around 6.5miles, counting a small loop up around the hills,  and gain 1977ft of altitude. 

In the afternoon, the hike approaches us to the shore. We can even test the sea water with our feet. Without much effort, we can see the whales passing in front of us. We hike up the Whale Watch Peak, of 61m. From there we have an impressive view of the coast and the hills. The sky is still blue; there are no clouds, no fog and almost no wind. It is a wonderful day.

Sequoia National Park
(Ós, marmota, coiot, cèrvols, artur, meri i altres bèsties vàries...)

Trobem a faltar els sequoies gegants i la neu, i passar la nit a la muntanya. Així que baixem les 4 hores que ens separen d'aquest paratge de boira i gegants amb la idea de fer algún pic i que no ens toqui massa la pluja. Encara hi ha molta neu i el campament es troba sota mínims. Trobem una de les últimes places i posem la tenda sobre terra mullat i gelat. Per sort, uns veins que tot just marxen ens dónen la llenya que els ha sobrat de la nit anterior i podrem fer un bon foc quan el fred i la nit avancin. Un coiot passa per la nostra bora ensumant els menjars de la gent. No sembla preocupar-li massa la nostra presència. 

La nostra primera sorpresa és la caminada de 2 milles a Tokopah Falls, és maca i ens trobem al bell mig del camí un ós buscant termites en un arbre. Tot just acaba l'hivern per ell i està ben prim. Però ni s'immuta en veure'ns. Uns centenars de metres més endavant una marmota sembla voler tenir una conversa amb nosaltres. Sembla que el fet que els turistes de temporada encara no han arribat fa que la fauna sigui més despreocupada que de costum.

A la nit farà fred, se'ns congelarà l'aigua i sembla que part del gas. Però el matí s'ha llevat amb el cel completament blau, el sol ens toca a la taula mentre esmorzem, és la primera vegada que estem en aquest parc i no fa boira ni núbol. 

Pujem a l'aparcament de Wolverton. Pel camí se'ns creua un grup de cérvols. Des d'allà hi ha adaptats uns quants camins per fer esquí o raquetes de neu. Agafem el camí que ens porta al "hut" de Pear Lake. "Hut" és el més semblant als refugis que nosaltres tenim als pirineus i alps. Aquest s'ha de reservar amb molts mesos d'antelació. A mig camí ens trobem el guarda del hut i ens explica que fan una loteria al novembre per asignar places de tanta gent que el demana. També ens trobem de tornada 2 homes que ahir a la nit es van perdre per la boira i no van poder arribar al hut, han hagut de dormir a mitja muntanya. Sort han tingut que portaven tenda. 

El camí són 6 milles, les dues primeres hores són de pujada i després baixes i pujes divereses vegades més. Passen a la vora de dos llacs gelats i finalment arribem al hut a les 3 hores i mitja d'haver sortit. el paratge és meravellós. Estem en una espècie de circ, sols, amb unes cascades al voltant. Tenim tot just davant el "Alta Peak" que sembla esplèndid per pujar i té una cresta temptadora. Haurem de tornar a l'estiu a rascar roca.  Els núbols han començat a aparèixer els últims 20 minuts de camí i ens preocupen una mica. Són negres i podríen baixar fins a fer-nos impossible la vista del camí. Així que dinem ràpid i fem la nostra petita cafetera i marxem sense gairebé ni descansar cap a baix. Per sort els núbols es faran més densos però no ens arribaran a tapar. Arribarem al cotxe en menys de 3 hores. El desnivell acumulat que hem fet són 1400 metres en uns 18 quilòmetres. 

Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve

A mitja hora de casa nostra hi ha diversos parcs que formen el "Open Space Preserve District". Són petites joies d'harmonia que fan que la Bay Area sempre tingui el gust de la natura a prop. A la primavera les flors salvatges omplen aquests turons i els ocells canten sense parar. 

Avui tenim la sort de tenir un dia fantàstic, fa calor sense ser exagerada i no hi massa gent. Ens estem dues hores tranquilament fent els 8 quilòmetres que gairebé envolten tot el parc i els tres petits llacs que hi ha. Ens quedem parats de la zona que dóna al pacífic: sembla que estiguem tant lluny de la civilització!

Henry Coe State Park

(Tots els colors de primavera)

Hi ha vegades que les imatges valen més que les paraules...

Cañada del Oro open Space Preserve
(Loma Prieta Chapter, Sierra Club)

El dia es lleva molt núvol. Esperavem un sol magnífic però ens haurem d'esperar a que vingui la primavera. En uns 40 minuts de cotxe cap al sud, aparquem a l'entrada de Cañada del Oro. Som unes 24 persones disposades a fer, si podem, els 30 quilòmetres de caminets pel parc que ens ha preparat el Dan. 

Aquest grup és molt ràpid, més que caminar, gairebé corren. Sort en tenim que estem una mica entrenats. Els turons són molt verds i estan plens de flors. 
Disfrutem d'aquest dia que de tant capritxós només ens donarà els raigs de sol just a l'hora de dinar. Podrem fer la xerrada i una mini-migdiada. 

Mentre el Dan busca bolets, ens explica com reconèixer la famosa "Poison Oak", semblant a les ortigues però que piquen més i més cada vegada que les toques. També aprenen nous noms de flors, tant diferents de les nostres conegudes mediterrànies.

Acabarem cansats però contents. A l'Artur les últimes 3 milles se li han fet eternes i a la Meri les plantes dels peus li cremen com punxes que penetren dins dels òssos. 

En Dan i la Carmen ens conviden a tot el grup al tradicional pica-pica que fan després de les caminades d'un dia. Però avui tenim la sort de provar la cervesa casolana que han fet a casa seva i un guacamole boníssim. Què millor per acabar el dia!

Point Lobos State Reserve & Garrapata State Park
(Artur i Meri s'uneixen per un dia al Sierra Club - Loma Prieta Chapter)

El dissabte es presenta amb temperatures rècord per la temporada (26C). Un sol esplèndid ens segueix tot el dia fent encara més bonica la caminada que han preparat el Dan i la Carme pel sud de Monterey. Al matí fem una volta a la reserva natural de Point Lobos, una caminada tranquil·la i agradable amb platges i museu inclòs. Recomanable per a qualsevol dia de l'any.

Després de dinar i provar l'escalivada genial feta pel Dan, ens preparem pel que serà ja una caminada més muntanyera: 13 milles (~21km) pujant als pics dels turons de Garrapata State Park. A baix, ens trobem un riuet amb redwoods impressionants, ombra, humitat i frescor molt agradables en un dia tant calorós com aquest. A dalt del cim, una vista espectacular de part de la costa de Big Sur i tota la badia de Monterey. Acabem el dia rodó: una posta de sol, unes cerveses i una estona amb nous amics.

Joseph D. Grant County Park

Una matinal d'un dia que té moltes possibilitats de ploure ens porta a aquest parc solitari. Crestegem unes horetes seguint un trosset del "Bay Area Ridge Trail". Disfrutem d'un paissatge espectacular de tota la zona sud de Silicon Valley. Les últimes pluges fan que el bosc tingui una olor intensa. Els arbres gegants semblen descansar després del temporal.

El més curiós d'aquest parc, però, serà la quantitat d'arbres que trobem foradats. Els foradets de l'escorça contenen aglans ben guardats. I és que en aquesta tranquilitat alguns ocells no paren de treballar contínuament, preparant-se per l'hivern que ja s'acosta.