12 October 2020 Wildcat Canyon Trailhead to Northgate Peaks and back (4 miles, +500/-500 feet). Today was definitely my favorite day of our short trip to Zion. We hiked to the Northgate Peaks through a lovely ponderosa forest and had great views of Russell Gulch, the Left Fork, Pine Valley Peak, and the eponymous domes…
Tag: Jay S
West Rim Quickie
11 October 2020 West Rim Trail to Left Fork Canyon and back (5 miles, +500/-500 feet). Given the difficulty we had yesterday, we decided to go up in altitude for cooler weather and find a day hike that was pretty flat. The West Rim Trail was perfect. We hiked it until we had a nice…
Coalpits Wash
10 October 2020 Coalpits Wash (5 miles, +800/-800 feet). Like most people these days, my buddy Jay who is also a professor has been going a little stir crazy, cooped up due to COVID. When I suggested we do a small backpacking trip he jumped at the chance. We are both busy with teaching and…
Desert Wonderland
Black Rock Campground to Upper Covington Flat (8 miles, +1,200/-600 feet). We got a bit of a late start this morning because of our rude neighbors from last night. But it was cold, so starting after sunrise for once may not have been the worst outcome. We decided to take the California Hiking and Riding Trail back…
Riding with Rangers
Upper Covington Flat to Black Rock Campground (8 miles, +800/-1,600 feet). The last time I hiked with my friend Jay, we were in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. On that trip, he said he’d be happy to go again some time, but he wanted something at a lower altitude where it’s a little easier to breathe!…
Down is Good
Jackstraw Springs to Forsee Creek Trailhead via Trail Fork Springs (7.7 miles, +1,100/-3,600 feet). In the morning it was nice to see what we could not last night when we arrived in the dark. We got some water from the springs and hit the trail. It was slow going, with the altitude seeming to take…
Gorgonio!
Forsee Creek Trailhead to Jackstraw Springs (4.1 miles, +2,500/-0 feet). I’m really excited about all these people in my life who are suddenly telling me that they’d love to go backpacking. The latest is Jay, a friend of mine from work. When he was younger he actually did some Sierra trips. The Sierra is a little…
The JimmyJam Hiking Club 