Beautiful Day Hike

Great trip to California!  Had to dodge power shutoffs due to wind and fire danger, but overall I was fine.  1200 miles driven in 9 days, plus 60 more miles on foot.  Perfect weather and a great time with my dear friend David!

Kaiser Wilderness. Sierra NF, near Huntington Lake, CA.

Potter Creek Pass. Looking out upon San Joaquin River watershed. Sierra NF. Near Shaver Lake, CA. 

Sierra NF, near Oakhurst, CA. 

Beyond Burst Rock. Gianelli TH, Stanislaus NF. Yosemite to right in view.

And boy, am I glad I came back! Beautiful, calm, warm evening. Unsurpassed views of the Stanislaus and N Fork Tuolumne watersheds.  Stanislaus NF, near Pinecrest, CA.

Lyons Dam Trail. Stanislaus NF, near Sierra Village, CA.

Exploring rocks to left of trail.  Sonora Peak at ~ 11,500'. Stanislaus NF. Between Bridgeport and Pinecrest, CA. 

Pass is 9650'. Hiking Pacific Crest Trail north. Stanislaus NF.  Between Bridgeport and Pinecrest, CA. 

From Gianelli trailhead. Stanislaus NF, near Pinecrest, CA.

Stanislaus NF, near Cold Springs, CA. 

Beautiful trip in Fall colors.  Weather was spectacular, with 8 days of sunshine.  Only 537 miles driven this trip.  I used Leadville and Buena Vista as my bases and hiked around each town.  Almost 70 miles hiked, with a couple of days of mountain biking as well!

San Isabel NF. Near Buena Vista, CO. 

Steep little hike just outside Buena Vista, CO.  Beautiful views of Mt. Antero at 14,000' +.  San Isabel NF.

Mountain bike ride at north end of the park.  San Isabel NF, near Buena Vista, CO.  Buffalo Peaks to far left at ~ 13,300'.

San Isabel NF, near Buena Vista. 

From the Colorado Trail.  San Isabel NF, near Buena Vista, CO.

Near Cottonwood Pass.  San Isabel NF, above Buena Vista, CO.

@ Cottonwood Pass.  Gunnison NF.  Near Buena Vista, CO.  Mt. Harvard at center right, 14,000' +.

Made it to the 13,000' mark!  Above Leadville, CO.  Mt. Sherman in the distance to the left.

I wanted an aspen hiking day and I got one!  South Elbert Trailhead, San Isabel NF, near Twin Lakes. Mt. Elbert  at 14,400 is highest peak in CO and second highest in lower 48 behind Mt. Whitney (CA).  It's the peak at the far right in 1st photo and the bottom photo.

Near Leadville, CO. 

Above Hagerman Pass. San Isabel NF, Near Leadville, CO.