Headed into Balch park at the foot of the Sequoias with friends and family. Our camp site was right above a river and nestled amongst giant Sequoias. We took 2 hikes and found amazing pools and waterfalls where some of us tried to take a dip. The water was beyond cold but at the same time refreshing. Below are a few pics from the trip that were taking by Amy Metzger and Erin Wignall

Brrrr, feel that? Oh it’s nippy out there in them-hills. When venturing out in the woods in the winter months you need to make sure you are properly prepared especially in terms of fighting off the elements. I decided to share with you some of my favorite pieces of gear for enjoying the colder weather while on hikes or backpack excursions. In this installment I’ll just be talking about tops. Lets dive right in… Read Full Post

This past weekend I camped up at Lake Arrow Head (CA). While there I ventured into the woods known as Deep Creek in search of the “Devil’s Hole”. The Devil’s Hole is a really deep natural pool set amongst a scene of trees and cliffs. Further down the stream are water falls with other smaller pools. The trails leading to the “Hole” are 4×4 and motorcycle trails. We tried to venture down the dirt roads in our 2 wheel drive vehicles only to find we were trying to achieve the impossible or should I say dumb. We never made it to the pools but we hiked off-trail to a mountain of boulders where we scrambled up the rocks and where we were greeted by the rattling of one pissed off slumbering snake. We made our moves around the rattler and climbed the boulders to get off some nature shots and admire the beautiful landscape…which was occasionally disturbed by the sounds of 4 stroke engines in the distance BRRRRAAPP-BRRRAAPP.

I’ve been reading books on native and primitive skills as of late and a recent camping trip popped up and I decided to try out some of the knowledge I gained with the readings. I left the sleeping bag and tent at home for this trip which was kind of risky but other people I was with had tents so if things went wrong I could barge some ones tent. I used forest debris and pieces from dead trees or dead bushes. It took me a little under 2 hours to build it and I kept it light cause it was still hot here in CA. If it was colder the shelter would of been a lot bigger. When I decided to turn in for the night I received a visit from some local wildlife. I’m not sure what it was but I think it might of been a coyote checking out our camp. All in all it was a great experience and I would do it again for sure. It was really hard to photograph but you get the idea.