Best of 2015 California hikes

("Somewhere" is not a place)
All hikes of 2015 | Hiking in California | Best of previous years
...with a few exceptions, these hikes were not on a trail...
(This time i listed them in inversed chronological order, otherwise my yearly "best of" pages always start with the short spring hikes that can be misleading)
My guarantee: No Instagram No Photoshop No Filters, just the way it is.

Glacier Point and Panorama Trail, Yosemite


Panorama (north) from Glacier Point


Panorama (east) from Glacier Point


Cathedral Lakes, Echo Peaks, Sunrise Lakes in Yosemite


Panorama from Cathedral Peak to Budd Lake


Panorama: last view of the Echo Peaks (Mt Tolkien is all the way to the right)


Warren Canyon to Lundy Lake


Panorama: Saddlebag Lake


Lake Oneida


Koip and Kuna Peaks (about 4000m)


Panorama: Alger Lakes, Ritter/ Banner in the middle top, Lyell to the right


Panorama: view north with Dana and Mono Lake


White Mountain - East and West peaks


Mt Morgenson (4245m)


Panorama: Mt Russell, the unnamed lake below it, Tulainyo Lake, Tunnabora and the Cleaver from the pass


Panorama: Tunnabora to Carillon


Panorama: Williamson to Tulainyo


Whitney to Hale


Tunnabora, Tulainyo, Russell, Whitney


Great Western Divide and Kaweah range


Barnard, Williamson, Tulainyo


Tunnabora, Cleaver and Russell (Carillon is covered)


Echo Pass


Mt Williamson from South Bairs Creek


View from Whitney to Versteeg (Trojan in the middle, Barnard slightly in the back)


View from Versteeg to Williamson, the summit in the middle


Sixty Lakes Basin and Rae Lakes


Panorama: Views from the pass


The 60 lakes


At the Rae Lake


Mt Ericsson


Panorama towards Lake Reflection and Milly's Pass


Lake Reflection from the northern tip


Lake Reflection, Mt Brewer, etc


View west from the top of the chute


View of Mt Ericsson from the top of Weyman's chute (Lucy's pass is in between)


The view west from Lucy's Pass


View west to Mt Stanford, Harrison Pass and Caltech Peak


The Great Western Divide


Mt Stanford to Caltech Peak again


Mt Hoffmann, Yosemite

(This doesn't even count as a hike, just a quick jog up this little hill, but the view deserves a spot)


View south (Yosemite Valley)


View east


Clouds Rest and Half Dome


Half Dome


May Lake to Ten Lakes, Yosemite


Panorama: May Lake


View of the lakes


View of the lakes


View of the lakes


Disappointment Lake, Western Sierra


The Courtright Reservoir


Fleming Lake


Mountains above Tagore Lake


Three Sisters, Western Sierra


Cliff Lake


The Great Western Divide


The three sisters from Island Lake


From the Race Track to Panamint Sand Dunes, Death Valley (40 kms)


Race Track (east ridge)


Race Track (north and east)


Lake Hill


Panamint sand dunes


At the sand dunes


Lake Hill from a hill to the southeast (the Panamint Sand Dunes are way in the back, a white strip up on the mountain)


Sweeney Ridge, Lindamar, Pedro Summit, Montara Mountain


View of the Bay from Sweeney Ridge


View of the ocean from Sweeney Ridge


Hiker of the Year

This woman who was trying to pass people on "the most dangerous hike in the world" (according to National Geographic) - Hua Shan in China. The most interesting thing is the number of locks that have been hung on the ropes of this "trail". The locks are good-luck charmers. You do need good-luck charmers on this hike, don't you, not helmets of course.


Animal of the Year

This bear that walked straight towards me on the Bubbs Creek trail in Kings Canyon, in a place surrounded by thick vegetation and by a deadly cliff, i.e. no way to escape. I took the picture, then moved slightly out of the collision route, she passed in front of me and continued totally indifferent to my presence, and i started breathing again.

The marmot that raced me up Mt Hoffmann:


All hikes of 2015 | All hiking pictures | Description of these hikes | Best of previous years