Hui O Mana Ka Pu’uwai

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Hui O Mana Ka Pu’uwai – Outrigger Canoe Paddling. This is a photo of some members of a Kauai  canoe club practicing their art on the Wailua River near Kapaa, Kauai.  I happened to stop by to say hello to the the river at just the right time to capture this image.  Mt. Waialelale receives the setting sun in the background.

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Stay safe,

Bruce

Mt. Waialeale

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Mt. Waialeale is Kauai’s Sacred Mountain.  It rises 5,066 ft and dominates much of Kauai’s landscape.   There are so many visitors  who travel up the twisty road to the very top of the Waialele it sometimes feels never ending. But in spite of all that busy-ness, Mt. Waialeale never feels tired or worn down, always radiating a sense of strength and profundity.

Here are a few images from my times on Kauai.

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moon and mountain

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Stay safe,

Bruce

Sunset at Raymond Lake

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9000′ Raymond Lake, in the Toiyabe National Forest, sits a few miles off the Pacific Crest Trail as the trail travels through the Mokelumne Wilderness of California.  This section of the PCT runs from Blue Lakes Road and Ebbets Pass .  People make the trip to Raymond Lake as a day hike or an overnighter. Easier and more enjoyable to do the overnighter as far as I’m concerned. Especially  when it provides you the opportunity of some extraordinarily beautiful sunsets.

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Hello Again/Charolette Lake

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It has been quite a while since my keyboard and I have visited these pages.

I was reminded this morning of still having a blog site when a slew of “likes” showed up in my email.  Sad to say I think I owe it all to the dreaded CV.  The internationally shared experience of boredom while sheltering in place will  lead people even to my neglected site which hasn’t seen a new photo in years.  Thank you all for visiting and reaching out.  I hope you are all safe and pray you remain that way.

Since so many of us are stuck inside I felt it would be a nice thing to bring the outside in once again with some images from my 2019 backpacking season and beyond.  So hello again, WordPress citizens. Welcome back to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The following photos are from a short ( 16.5 mile round trip), gorgeous hike from Onion Valley  to Charlotte Lake in the southern part of the Sierra Nevada. The trailhead rests at the end of  Onion Valley Road, 13 miles to the west of tiny Independence, California.  This trail, up from Onion Valley and over Kearsage Pass, is a very popular spot, doing multiple service as a spectacular day hike, a jumping off point to access the John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, and an exit from those trails to resupply  in Independence while thru hiking.

I stayed the night previous to the hike  at the 9185 ft. Forest Service campsite close to the trailhead. Tis a good practice to acclimate oneself before enjoying the high country. Otherwise you are inviting altitude sickness which is the opposite of enjoying the high country.

This is not a solitude oriented area. Way to popular. But the beauty of it makes for a wonderfully shared experience with the good natured people you encounter on the trail.  A common chorus of awe and wonder sung by all.

 

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Gilbert Lake. Two or so miles up from the trailhead.

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Old souls live high up here.

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Big Pothole Lake. Just below Kearsage Pass.

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11,709′ Kearsage Pass.  The fellow praying to his backpack most certainly did not acclimate before his hike.

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Kearsage Pinnacles and Kearsage Lakes several miles below the pass.

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Bullfrog Lake.  One of the finest views I have seen in the Sierra Nevada.

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10,544′ Charlotte Lake. Home for the night. Not all that spectacular but pretty quiet for this neighborhood.

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On the way back.

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Yours truly, Plod-along Cassidy on Kearsage Pass.

Thanks for visiting.  Stay safe.

Bruce