After viewing the Yosemite Valley from all angles, I had 9 more days on my permit to explore the rest of the 3000 km² of the park. After hiking up the Illilouette Creek and its gardens of pines and wildflowers, the first highlight was Red Peak Pass, the highest trail in the park (3400 m). […]

Having heard so much about Yosemite, I wondered whether it was overrated. It’s not. It’s truly one of the greatest natural wonders. Lodging on the valley floor is hard to get and expensive. Arriving by bus with YARTS, I was allowed to stay 1 night in the cheap but precarious Backpackers Campground. My Backcountry Permit, […]

On the West side of Lake Tahoe lies the Crystal Range, a different geologic slice of the same granite cake. This side also gets most of the water coming from the Pacific Ocean. As a result, the landscape is full of desolate glaciar valleys, turquoise lakes, polished granite slabs, streams of melting snow, and ancient […]

I had a great time in my first week on the Tahoe Rim Trail. I was surprised by the beauty of its contrast. The hardest part was to get on the trail! On Day 1, I had to walk 10 extra km and pass by 9 private bridges with “No Trepassing” signs before being able […]

I’m done preparing my first week of food on the Tahoe Rim Trail. The presence of bears and the long stretches without resupply make it particularly challenging. But, that’s a price I’m ready to pay to hike entire weeks between each road crossing.

Sic. A paradox of hiking is that you often need a car precisely to get as far away from cars as possible. Mexico is a pretty bad place for long-distance hiking, so I decided to explore the neighboring hiker’s paradise for my traditional birthday hike. But, it’s notoriously hard to travel around the US without […]