McGee Creek - a geologically confused gem

Dad and Art wanted to catch some fish. I wanted to eat some, so I went along and took photos while they caught dinner!

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Titroa- the long mountain

Waitangi weekend escape- recipe for a great adventure: Two girls, one tent, lots of chocolate - mix with a bit of snow, strange rock formations and stir over 3 days.

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Joshua Tree - desert wonderland

Over Valentine's weekend, seven of us braved the freezing temperatures of the high desert to find out what exactly is a Joshua Tree. A weekend of scrambling around rocks and between cacti, discovering a hidden oasis and an abandoned mine left us wanting to go back!

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Grand Canyon - down and up!

November is an excellent time to be at the Grand Canyon. We had beautiful cool weather, ideal for hiking into and out of the famous desert canyon. We spent two nights in the campground at the bottom (flush toilets - a luxury!) and our layover day we spent lying in the sun on the boat beach by the Colorado River. We were too sore to do anything else! 5,000 ft downhill will really kill your calve muscles. Despite our soreness, we managed to make the trip out up the Bright Angel Trail in a mere 7 hours. Here are some photos taken by my dad.

A quick jog up Dick's Peak.  July 3-4

This was a little warm up trek to test out some gear for the upcoming John Muir Adventure. After hiking about 6 miles in from the Eagle Falls Trailhead above the sparkling Emerald Bay we made camp at  Fontinellis Lake. The following morning we left our packs at Dick's Lake and hiked to Dick's Pass and from there scrambled over loose tallis and up a final steep class 3 cliff climb to the top. The butterflies abounded and the wildflowers were in their full glory.

White Mountains

In late May, my roommate, Barbara and Hannah and I headed into the White Mountains for the weekend. We took a winding route up and over Mt Chocorua and Mt Passaconway, (both south the Kangamangus highway). We encountered many day-hikers on top of Chocorua including a troop of boy scouts but after we headed down we mostly had the woods to ourselves. The trails were steep up and down and we occasionally had to do some cliff scrambling with our packs but the adrenaline rush and the wild, lush views from the top made all the difference.