Tam to Stinson

I know lately I've been posting a lot about my biking exploits, but I like to go hiking too.  Sometimes I prefer it because it is easier to take photos when you are walking.

A friend invited me along on a hike across the bay.  I had been to this area before and was never really worn out from hiking there.  But we hiked from Tam to Stinson and my legs were pretty sore the next day.  I think this was related more to a very steep downhill descent just before the beach, but still, nice work out! 

This was our route (this map hardly does it justice, oh well):


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It was a beautiful day for this adventure.

























The little creek had some giant salamander tadpoles!

Moving Clouds

More than a year ago I saw these photos where it looked like the clouds were moving. [Go here for some ideas.]  I was so impressed and inspired that I immediately purchased some neutral density filters for my 24-75 mm lens.  Those filters showed up a couple of weeks later, but by then I had lost interest.  Thus, these filters have been sitting around my house for more than a year having never been used.

The other day I had nothing to do and I noticed that the clouds were moving rather quickly outside.  So I dug out my filters, my camera, my tripod and headed up Bernal Heights. 

This was my first attempt and I learned some things:  1) (this is actually a general "rule" for photography) try not to do this in the middle of the day.  The sun is very high and very bright and thus no matter how dark your filters, you can't keep your shutter open as long as you want because it is too bright.  2) It is easier to focus on infinity than to try to get some depth of field.  This is because you have to focus while the filters are off and then put the filters on afterwards -- putting the filters on can move your focus.  3) It is fine and actually useful to double- or triple-up on the filters.  I used three neutral density filters on all of these shots.

And I think they turned out rather nice.  In fact, I was so excited I went back out the next week to take photos of the ocean.  Because this technique is also used to take those fun pictures of water that look like cotton.  But I'll share those photos on another day.

Today you get clouds...

Big Sur

I am very lucky to have good friends who live in Salinas and are willing to drive me around the Monterey Bay area to explore.  Sometimes they even have suggestions for my explorations.  When I went down in September, they suggested a particular coastal area in Big Sur and I said yes!

It was a particularly beautiful day.


My hosts and chauffeurs (and excellent friends):

Desolation Wilderness

Memorial Day weekend my adventurous friend and I wanted to go camping, but did not plan far enough ahead of time.  This is a problem I've run into a few times in CA -- campsites are very hard to come by.  But, if you are willing to do some back country camping, then you can travel to the beautiful world of Desolation Wilderness and get a permit.  You have to sleep in your permit area, which if you arrive late and it is randomly snowing, can be a problem.

So we stayed in Strawberry, at the historic Strawberry Lodge, our first night.  The freak snow storm was a bad sign, but we also had to hike about 10 miles and it was already late afternoon, and the ranger didn't like our odds of reaching our area. It was a little irritating because the permits for the closer areas were sold out (so the Ranger wouldn't let us just stay in a different area), but the next day when we finally started hiking, everyone said they bailed Saturday night.  That said, I'm sort of happy we bailed, because snow + a full backpack + and freezing night temperatures do not all equal a very happy me.  Don't get me wrong, I think the snow is pretty, but since I don't live in snowy areas, I am not talented at walking on it.

Strawberry Lodge was ideal as a last minute hotel. The main building had a fireplace and board games (we played Life and Battleship and in the evening we helped a couple play a very sexist game whose name escapes me). The snow kept going into the evening, but we were nice and cozy by the fireplace. Even the dead grizzly didn't bother me much.







Desolation Wilderness is a National Recreational Area near South Lake Tahoe. I define our national lands designations here.  It is insanely beautiful. 

























Where we hiked was the Pacific Coast Trail:





Just because it stopped snowing, doesn't mean I didn't have to hike on snow (and fall if I'm totally honest -- I lost count for how many times I fell).