Every winter the San Francisco Bay chapter of the Sierra Club teaches 100+ outdoor enthusiasts how to snowcamp.
Training includes a full-day orientation January 9, 2027 in Emeryville, followed by a one-night trip, then a two-night trip, both starting from trailheads near Tahoe. Participants need to apply at www.snowcamping.org; there's a fee ($145-$170) that’s returned if you’re not accepted. (The application is to make sure that candidates have appropriate backpacking experience and are currently active-enough to snowshoe a few miles, then dig a shelter.)
I signed-up for this in 2020, and have been snowcamping every winter since then. From learning about cold weather gear and navigation to actually sleeping in snow trenches and snow caves - I really think this is valuable training.
Note: I am not an official spokesperson for the Sierra Club or the Snowcamping group; just someone who feels very lucky to have learned about this.
Next year in the spring I plan on doing a 3 day traverse to hike the 27(ish) mile Ohlone Wilderness Trail from Livermore to Fremont as my first official multi day backpacking trip. I was aiming to do it sometime in March/April to get as much of a scenic green view as I can, but thought I would ask here to see if anyone who’s hiked this trail can recommend the best times? Thank you!
What are some of your favorite winter training hikes? I’m an avid day hiker and would love to get some snowshoe experience and build my endurance this season.
I’ve mostly only hiked in the summer and recently realised my pace in snow is much slower so trying to get more comfortable snowshoeing. Thanks!!
Early on, it's tempting to head straight for the Yosemite Falls Trail, because, well, it's Yosemite Falls. Ask a local, though, and they'll point you to the Four Mile Trail. Yosemite Falls is switchback after switchback with the same view of the valley over and over, while Four Mile keeps opening up views up and down the valley.
Fun fact: it's not four miles anymore. Years of erosion and rebuilding the trail have stretched it closer to five, but it's still called Four Mile, because who's counting. Which underrated trail would you steer a friend toward?
Hello, i have recently beginning some novice mountaineering in California and I’m looking for ideas of what to do next. I am willing to travel if it’s reasonable. Looking for any sort of adventure!
I’ve done
-Mt shasta via avalanche gulch
-a handful of class 3/4 scrambles
-some via Ferrata
- about 300 backpacking miles
- v4 Bouldering
I wanted to do a weekend trip November, like the weekend before Thanksgiving.
I'm pretty familiar with the classic Bay Area spots, both the ones nearby and the ones a bit further (Yosemite, Tahoe, etc.) but I feel like November might be the worst month for backpacking in the Bay.
Usually I have done Ventana around this time but with the fires seems like a bad idea. I think anywhere in the mountains might have snow or if not may be very cold. Point Reyes is what I'm leaning towards but I think it might also statistically be cold + rainy.
So curious if anyone has any suggestions I haven't considered!
EDIT: Also east bay but imagining it may be a bit dry still, like Henry Coe or Sunol may not be the most pleasant?
EDIT 2: Also saw another thread that mentioned trinity alps if anyone has been there around the time I'm talking about.
We're recruiting people in Northern California who want to train as Civil Air Patrol ground team members and help build our local search and rescue capability.
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a nationwide nonprofit volunteer organization and the U.S. Air Force's civilian auxiliary. Its three main missions are emergency services, aerospace education and youth development. In practice, volunteers help with search and rescue and disaster response, teach aviation and space topics, and run the cadet leadership program. Members join local units, called squadrons, to train and serve together. Ground teams are one part of CAP's emergency services work. Joining CAP is civilian volunteer service, not military enlistment.
We're looking for dependable people who enjoy working outdoors, work well with a team and are willing to put time into training. If you have experience in hiking, navigation, radio communications or emergency services, or want to develop those skills while serving your community, we'd like to hear from you.
Ground team missions are currently relatively infrequent, and CAP fills a fairly specialized role within search and rescue. That is changing as we become more integrated into SAR missions coordinated through the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) across the state. Joining now means spending time training, qualifying and building team readiness as that role grows.
Ground team training includes navigation, search techniques and radio communications. Members work toward qualifications for authorized search and rescue operations, with training and qualification required before mission participation.
Adults can train and serve as ground team members. Younger members participate through CAP's cadet program, with age and mission restrictions applying to operational participation.
If ground team work isn't the right fit, there are other ways to get involved: air search roles you can train for without prior aviation experience, mission base staff, communications, and working with young people in the cadet program. You don't have to be a pilot to contribute to air search; training and qualification are part of getting started.
If you're interested, email me with your location and a little about your interests or experience. I can help you explore a local unit, ground team training or another role that fits you.
I’ve been planning on getting into snow backpacking this winter. Originally I assumed that I’d just snow shoe plus a butt sled, but as I started talking to people, they pretty consistently recommended I consider skiing instead. I’ve cross country skied a bit a long time ago, and I can snowboard, so it’s not totally unfamiliar territory but the idea of doing that with a full winter pack isn’t appealing from a balance point of view. As I started digging into it I came across approach skis - something like the snow feet walk ski or the altai hok. Only thing is they’re pricey and I can’t figure out a place to rent them. I’m hoping to do some trips to Dewey Pt, Mariposa Grove in Yosemite, maybe Lake Aloha.
Can anyone give me advice on whether this kind of ski (or an alternative) is good for the kind of trips I’ve got in mind? And easy to pick up? The folks who are telling me all about the misery of snow shoeing, are they right? Or are they perhaps folks who haven’t done it in 30 years and there’s better/lighter equipment now?
Also - yes I know about the Sierra club snow camping course.
I loved seeing tarantulas at Stanford Dish last year. I’m hoping to spot some again this year, especially on new trails. Has anyone seen any this year at Henry Coe, Mt Diablo, or elsewhere?
*pic is from last year
UPDATE: went to Indian Joe Creek at Sunol and saw one on trail. Thanks for everyone’s responses!
I have this amazing photo of my grandma who was an avid hiker! It says it was taken on her trip to the trinity alps. I am writing this post to see if anyone recognizes this trail?! I have falling in love with hiking and would love to hike this trail! Thank you! ☺️
I’m driving from San Jose to Yosemite on Friday night and planning a challenging day hike starting from Happy Isles toward Nevada Fall.
I have hiking experience and decent fitness, but I’m traveling solo. I’d love to connect with other hikers doing a similar route, either to hike together or meet along the way.
I’m flexible on pace and happy to coordinate beforehand. Please DM me if you’re interested!
It was perfect. With the light rain and the canopy above I stayed mostly dry but could hear the pitter patter of rain as I hiked. I saw maybe 10 people so it was just me, the trees and the light rain.
Over the summer, my family and I started hiking a lot of Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in Oakland with various combinations of Stream, French, Chown, Tres Sendas, etc. I thought we had to go far to experience something magical but it's right in our backyard 20 minutes away.
We're new to hiking the area and looking to expand to other Oakland Hills hikes to be under the canopy of redwoods. My wife only wants to hike where the redwoods are like in the picture haha!
I was looking at Joaquin Miller Park and Roberts Regional Park. Which trails in those parks are your favorites? Thanks!
Anyone up for a one-day push up Shasta via Clear Creek (not AG 😅) this Saturday? Done it twice in the last couple months, so fairly confident we can keep ourselves out of the rescue headlines lol.
Went for my second ever solo backpacking trip and ran into this guy on my way back suck up on him like an idiot he was super chill and was more surprised than
I’d guess I’ve seen about 15 bobcats over my 10,000 mile lifelong journey and probably like 10 balloons. A rare once in 1000 mile sight to see and yes I picked it up. Hope you had a nice birthday party TM
