Chico area birding

After spending Christmas with Marvin in Wilton, we took a birding trip to the northern Sacramento Valley; we love the wildlife refuges up there. It rained off and on throughout our trip, but we enjoyed the days, had some good hikes, and saw a lot of birds.

We did a similar trip a year ago; here’s a link to that post.

Our itinerary: Dec. 25, 2022: Christmas in Wilton

Dec. 26: Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, dinner at Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico, stayed at Oxford Suites in Chico (3 nights).

Dec. 27: Llano Seco Unit & Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.

Dec. 28: North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve near Oroville.

Dec. 29: Colusa National Wildlife Refuge; stayed in Susuin City.

Dec. 30: Rush Ranch Open Space Preserve near Susuin City; arrived home.

Shortly after we got home, the skies opened for real, unleashing a deluge that closed Highway 17 and eventually flooded Dad’s house.

Ano Nuevo Birding

I took a walk along the beach at Ano Nuevo State Park, and saw a few birds. It was a nice day and I didn’t feel like walking far, so I sat for a while and tried to identify some of the shorebirds and gulls.

Monterey Bay Pelagic Trip

I went out on a pelagic birdwatching boat trip recently. “Pelagic” means we went out into deep water, far from shore, in search of birds that aren’t likely to be seen near shore.

Joy passed this one up, either because it was a work day or because pelagic trips provide prime opportunities for seasickness. As it turned out, the day was calm, but I did start feeling a bit queasy when the skipper cut the engines and let us drift broadside to the swell as we investigated some terns. A good trip, but maybe next time I’ll try a seasickness med.

August 26, 2022

Ten Lakes and Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne

I went out for a solo backpacking trip in Yosemite. It’s been quite a while since I went backpacking, so I originally started with the wise idea of taking an easy trip. It didn’t turn out that way. As I started studying the maps, one thing led to another, and I ended up doing a big loop from Tioga Road. I hiked from the Lukens Lake trailhead up to the Ten Lakes basin, over to Glen Aulin and down the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, and finally up and out to the trailead. It was a great route, including a high pass over 9800’ and a river canyon descending down to 4400’. I visited the beautiful Ten Lakes basin, which my Dad visited as a Boy Scout over 70 years ago. I walked through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, which I’ve wanted to see for years. The weather ranged from below freezing to 90 degrees, and there was fabulous scenery at every turn.

And there was a lot of walking. The loop measured 50 miles on the map, but worked out to 65 miles and 11,000 feet of elevation gain and loss by my wrist GPS (Garmin Fenix). My phone GPS (Gaia GPS) showed 53 miles and 10,000 feet. With a fairly light pack (27 lb at the start, with food for 5 nights in a bear canister), the walking was enjoyable. Unfortunately, I got horrific blood blisters on both big toes, which diminished the pleasure somewhat. All in all, though, a great trip!

Note: the pictures have captions; click to hide or show them in the lightbox view.