The Team Sherpa Blog

Destination: Above the California Smoke Clouds of June 2008How do you plan on doing that? Summit Mitchell PeakWhere? Jennie Lakes Wilderness - tucked in around Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Forest. Couple hours outside of Fresno, CA..How long? Easy. 2,000 foot ascent over 3.1 milesWanna see more pics? Click here Summertime 2008 was a mixed bag of spontaneous as well as planned adventures. The last weekend
continued

Date: Sometime in JulySummary: The Unraveling of a Year-long PlanLocation: Close to Paradise Nearly 4 months have passed since blogging about the last adventure. Hiking the Salkantay Trek into Machu Picchu was simply amazing. Since then I have been able to pursue more great adventures across California and into Arizona. Perhaps the most fitting story from the past few months to share after such a protracted absence is of
continued

Date: May 10-18, 2008Summary: 25 mile, 3 day Trek along the Salkantay Trail culminating with an excursion into Machu PicchuLocation: PeruPicture Gallery: Click here Departing San Francisco on Saturday afternoon, with layovers in Miami and Lima, I arrived in Cuzco Sunday morning. The flights were largely uneventful and the jetlag imperceptible. The Cuzco airport is a small strip of asphalt nestled in a small valley. Disembarked at over 11,000
continued

Date: March 29, 2008Summary: 8 mile day hike up Angel’s Landing and around Emerald Pools.Location: Zion’s National Park, Southern UtahPicture Gallery: Click here. Three of my college friends and I hiked Half Dome last summer: Eric, Matt, and Amy. After the successful Yosemite adventure last summer we tried coordinating a Zion / St George trip for the early Fall to no avail. Plans began to freeze with the
continued

Date: March 8, 2008Summary: 16.3 mile round trip day hike from Stinson Beach to the East Peak of Mt TamLocation: Steep Ravine Campground and Mount Tamalis State Park, within 20 miles north of San Francisco.Trails: Steep Ravine Campgrounds, Matt Davis Trail, Nora Trail, Old Railroad Grade, Fern Creek Trail, Temelpa Trail, Old Railroad Grade, Hoo-Koo-E-Koo Trail, Matt Davis TrailPicture Gallery: Click here.How would you recover
continued

Summary: Meandering 4.9 miles around a pink, exfoliated dome that rises 425 feet above the ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres. It is a one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States.Location: Enchanted Rock State Natural AreaDate: March 1, 2008Trails: Summit Trail, Echo Canyon Trail, X-countryPicture Gallery: Click hereFebruary 24 through March 7 I
continued

Summary: Death Valley, 23.5 mile Round Trip, Overnight Backpacking Trek Trails: Emigrant Campground, x-country, South Fork, x-country, Lemoigne Canyon Picture Gallery: Click here After two postponed attempts to backpack through Death Valley since the beginning of the year, plans finally materialized last weekend. Weather conditions throughout the west coast the last weekend of January were treacherous. Park rangers heavily advised against attempting backpacking
continued

Alright, so I just have to take a moment and recognize how sweet the Ecco swag is. All of this stuff is high-caliber - even down to the little yak mascot that undoubtedly has the power to keep spirits up when the going gets tough. Having received the package last night, I am eager to plan a hike through a waterfall! Thanks Ecco for providing
continued

By far my favorite hike of the last year was heading up to the Lost Coast - which is located in King Range National Conservational Area, along the Northern California Coastline 150 miles south of the Oregon border. (Click here for photos.) Conditions were grey, wet, and the winds were gusting. About three hours into the hike, we were all pretty much soaked. The nylon,
continued