California’s 14’ers – a List

by Erik Olsen on

California amazes me with the incredibly vast array of opportunities for
outdoor activity in the state. You can do some of the finest skiing on the
globe in Mammoth or Tahoe. The surfing kicks ass from San Diego to Eureka. The list goes on and on.

One other thing Cali has is the highest mountain in the continental US. Mt. Whitney stands over 14,400 feet and is
doable by even amataur or intermediate climbers. The fact is, California has over a dozen 14’ers, or climbs over 14,000
feet. In the spirit of listing them all in one place, I offer this list, taken from
Mountainweb.com, who put them together for CA hiking
fans.

Mount Whitney – Highest Mountain in California

Mount Williamson – Second Highest Peak in California

White Mountain – Third Highest Mountain in California

North Palisade Mountain – U-Notch Coulior & Southwest Chute Routes

Mount Shasta – Avalanche Gulch & Hotlum-Wintun Ridge Climbing Routes

Mount Sill – North Coulior & Glacier Creek Cirque Routes

Mount Russell – Seventh Highest Peak in California

Split Mountain – Eigth Highest Peak in California

Mount Langley – Ninth Highest Peak in California

Mount Tyndall – Tenth Highest Peak in California

Middle Palisade – Eleventh Highest Peak in California

Mount Muir – Twelfth Highest Peak in California

Thunderbolt Mountain – North Couliour & Southwest Chute Routes

Volunteer Vacations for Hikers

by Erik Olsen on


It’s summer and you’re trying to come up with something cool to do for a week or perhaps a
long weekend. You love to be in the mountains, you love to hike, but you also want to give something back, contribute a
little bit to the places you enjoy.

The American Hiking Society

offers opportunities for you to volunteer and help build and improve trails, clear brush, build trail bridges,
and do all sorts of maintenance to make hiking opportunities better for everybody. The opportunities range widely, but
nearly every state has something.

New Yorkers might check out Camp Deer Run’s offerings,

while in Idaho, they need some help in the Sawtooth Wilderness. With so many great resources available in this
country to get out and experience nature, it is sometimes a good idea to give a little back, since many of these places
are made great by volunteers.

Oh, and Tacoma, Too

by Erik Olsen on

And since we did a little post on Seattle this morning, I guess it is behooves us to post a bit about Tacoma as
well. Although Tacoma is not nearly as great a city as Seattle, it is still a cool place to visit if you are traveling
in Washington State. Or even if you live there.

In this
Globe and
Mail piece Sam Bufalini takes a fresh look at his hometown, and discovers that the place has cleaned up real good.
Tacoma used to be known as the city where you’d hold your nose as you drove through…which was hard because you needed
to have both hands on the wheel because you were driving as fast as you could to get past the city. But the city has
done a great job cleaning up the air and adding culture to make Tacoma a viable destination, something most
Washingtonians would have said was unlikely a decade ago.

Among the new things to do is the Museum of Glass, which
celebrates the work of Dale Chihuly and other artists who work in this breakable medium. Tacoma is also the gateway to
Mount Rainier, which is about an hour or two outside the city and worth every mile.

Nice Tahoe Gallery

by Erik Olsen on

Years ago, I spent a winter working at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe and remember the time very fondly. But while many
people know Tahoe has a winter destination, it is also a kick-ass summer spot, with fine mountain-biking and hiking, as
well as water-skiiing on the Lake (remember that scene in the Godfather of folks skiiing on the lake…for some reason
that always comes to mind).

Anyway, no big deal here, but a
pretty nice
little gallery on Tahoe can be seen at the Sac Bee (requires registration). It shows some of the summer fun at the
Lake and gives a niice taste of what a nice place it is to while away some summer days.

What Locals Love About L.A.

by Adrienne Wilson on

“The gas is almost $3, but I love it here! I’m never leaving Los Angeles!” – My Insane Travel Companion also a Los Angeles Native.

I did my time in Los Angeles, three whole years and I’d surely go back. To visit. Maybe I’ll even settle into a nest of my own again, but if it shouldn’t happen I wouldn’t die. It’s that love hate thing I’ve got going on with the city, but there are certain things that are just unbeatable when it comes to one of Southern California’s most popular and smoggy cities. Nat Geo Traveler has an excellent piece on what the locals dig. What makes the weird, diverse, and possibly normal folks happy and keeps them staying there? The list is actually 30 items deep with many of my personal favorites included like dining in Little Ethiopia, Korea Town’s karaoke favorite Brass Monkey, shopping at The Grove, and cruising the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. These are the things I miss a lot, but what really makes me want to take a speedy road trip down I-10 is Sunday’s until sunset dancing at the drum circle in Venice Beach, the after hour reggae mixes at Dumas and of naturally my own wonderful friends.

Before I begin to go further with all the memories the article brought back I encourage you to take a look at L.A.’s greatness according to the piece at Nat Geo Traveler and the cutesy photos to go along. It’s fah-boo-lous!