First trip with baby. Practical tips for first road trip.

  First trip with baby Sid to Big Sur, CA feels like it all happened in my dreams, for obvious reasons, I was nothing but tired and sleepy all along. Nevertheless, I wanted to get out of the house and get some fresh air and break the routine. My little guy was 10-weeks old and …

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Canyon Creek Lakes in Trinity Alps – Backpacking Guide

  Canyon Creek Lakes in Trinity Alps is a moderately trafficked beginner friendly backpacking trip. I was 6 months pregnant when I did the hike and it was really enjoyable even during the pregnancy. Canyon Creek Lakes Hike Stats: Distance: 16 miles round trip to lower canyon creek lake and back. Elevation:  3200ft (according to …

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River crossing Hike – Henry Cowell State Park, CA

Another gem of Santa Cruz mountains, the Henry Cowell State Park offers camping as well as day hike options. We did a 7.3 mile loop that took us through 4 river crossings, some waist deep.  We started at Rincon Fire road parking lot and followed the trail for 1.2 miles. The first river crossing comes …

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Castle Rock State Park, CA

Here is the link to Strava Map: https://www.strava.com/activities/1030567590 Starting point of the hike: https://goo.gl/maps/DiDSbWzvb5A2 This intersection has a few different trail starting points. We parked at the designated parking lot and started at the Skyline Trail (1.7 miles) towards Laughry Woods trail (1.8 miles). From Skyline trail you have to cross the main road to reach Laughry …

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Channel Islands National Park, CA

We visited the Santa Cruz Island, one of the 5 Islands of Channel Islands National Park. Since we went on the Memorial day long weekend, the campsite reservation had to be done almost 6-months in advance. Plus Santa Cruz Island is the closest and most popular one for visitors. We took the ferry from Ventura, …

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Alamere Falls, Pointe Reyes National Seashore, CA

Trailhead parking lot :  http://g.co/maps/ujy4t An approximately 10-mile round trip to the waterfall pouring into the ocean, this hike started off with a nice shaded section of eucalyptus trees.  There was a Highway 1 closure due to road conditions and we took a long detour via Muir woods to reach the trailhead. But, the drive is …

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Coastal Hike – Mori Point to Rockaway Beach , CA

One of the best hikes that offer coastal view in the bay area is along the Pacifica beach area with stunning views of the coast, beach access and if you are lucky, wild flowers. We went in the first week of May 2017 and didn’t hope for any wild flowers, but what a surprise !!! …

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Nisene Marks State Park, CA – Maple Falls Hike

A short one hour away from Bay area, is this beautiful state park, with good number of hiking options of varying difficulty levels. We did a 10-mile hike that started at the George’s Picnic Area via Aptos Creek Fire Road. And took the Bridge Creek trail to the Maple Falls. It’s a moderate-to-easy hike with few short …

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Visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

  Technically two parks, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are usually uttered in the same phrase because they are adjacent to each other and it makes sense to combine these two parks together for a trip if you are going all the way to one of the parks.    Why you should visit Sequoia …

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Ansel Adams Wilderness – Parker, Silver, Agnew & Clark Lakes

Ansel Adams wilderness is so huge that one will never run out of loops or day hikes to do. This is our second trip to the wilderness. We only had permit for one night at the wilderness this time. These permits get sold out quickly. However at visitor center, they do issue walk-up permits. Call ahead to …

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