I've been meaning to start a thread like this for quite awhile now, and I figure since I've been cooped up in the house all week, now is as good a time as ever.

If you don't feel like firing up your own dedicated thread, then this is the place to post about your outdoor adventures. Whether you've been hiking, fishing, camping, climbing, walking, or just enjoying nature in general, you can discuss it here and share some pictures if you are so inclined.

I'll start off with just a few local hikes from the past couple months. Living in a city of 200K+ in one of the larger metro areas in USA#1, I feel pretty lucky to be able to drive just 10 minutes to get away from all the noise and congestion to explore our natural environment.
These first few places may not quite be the wilderness, but I enjoy being outside nonetheless.

Out along SF Bay in Coyote Hills:




feels like you can walk out to the middle of the bay on this levee


*******

hiking up around Mission Peak, where urban sprawl meets mother nature:


the state flower


it blows my mind that this shell encrusted rock on the top of the hill was once at the bottom of an ocean.


long legs!


I think I've posted this one before, but who doesn't like a flock of big clumsy birds under a tree?



*******

while on a hike in the Hayward hills we found this guy:


apparently something recently had kingsnake on the menu, judging by that big bite taken out of his side




bye kingsnake!

Ok you had me until the snake pics. Someone call CPS!

I've been waiting patiently for you to start this thread, I almost usurped you and started my own because you'd taken so long!

Code must drive a long ways to hang out.

Living in California has spoiled me for scenery.

Working several weeks in Buffalo recently, I of course spent a lot of time in Niagara Falls.

Eventually, I decided I should get out of the Seneca Casino poker room and go see the town's namesake.

Meh.

The Falls are impressive for the sheer volume of water moving over them. But having spent time in Yosemite, I was a little disappointed by their lack of height.

I was also annoyed by my reception back to USA#1 at the Peace Bridge walk-in gate.

The Canadian side was friendly, welcoming us to America's Hat in English and French.

The American ***** seemed suspicious, grilling me about why I was alone and what was my business in the area.

I choked back my smart-ass replies about how I thought maybe the young boys on the Canadian side would be cuter.

WTF Murica. **** you, myob.

Not some super-secret gem, but since the Tioga Road is only open ~half the year when there is a "normal" winter, the 20 Lakes Basin Hike is pretty manageable, even for out-of-shape schlubs, and if you get lucky, it's one of the more accessible locations to catch a golden trout.

Don't worry, in USA#1 not every reptile can kill you instantly like in your hood!

only for basketball games

Im also more impressed by height than sheer volume of water when it comes to waterfalls. Burney Falls is one of my favorites even though its neither especially high nor huge. Burney also happens to be right in the center of some of the best stream trout fishing in the state, maybe the country.

I couldn't get your link to open, but that sounds like it'd be right up my alley.
I definitely qualify as an out of shape shlub!

Have you ever caught a golden? I've hiked into a few back country lakes that are reported to have them, but no luck for me.

WTF the profanity-filtered string is "trails dot com" not like it's w-e-i-g-h-t-l-o-s-s.

I think I caught a couple in Odell Lake in that area, but I'm not 100% sure. I was expecting something like this (taken from wikipedia):



But the ones I caught looked more like they'd been getting friendly with the local rainbow population. Kind of like this (taken from a mammoth fishing site):



Specifically, the fish I caught in Odell Lake looked more rainbow-y, but still had the golden coloration and the parr marks, so I'm going with it.

I would like to hit the first two Cottonwood Lakes at some point, but I think I might die walking up there.

oT,
Interesting. I would imagine that once rainbows get into the same waters as native goldens, the population would hybridize pretty quickly. I'd still call them goldens either way and would be pretty happy to catch anything like that.

My brother was up on the East Walker yesterday and sent me this pic:

Not a great shot, but unfortunately the only pic he was able to snap. Apparently before he could remove the hook to be released, the big guy flopped back into the river, made a long run, and snapped the 8lb leader. He was fishing big streamers with a nymph on a dropper. Weird that he got hooked on the outside of the jaw.
He estimated it to be somewhere in the 25-27" range.

Gotdamn - some guy on tv said you progress through something like
- catch a fish
- catch a lot of fish
- catch big fish
- catch fish the way you want to catch them

I seem to have skipped the middle two.

I mostly fish 4x tippets and have little doubt if I hooked something like that I’d only end up with a fish story.

Don’t know if the pic is still alive in EDF but I hooked a nice rainbow near a deadfall in the truckee river a few years ago and figured I would need to horse it away from the tree...partly straightened out the hook on the little midge. Good times

Ha I'm still trying to get past step one. Youngest brother is the real fisherman in my family.


Hiked up to the Little Yosemite area of Sunol Regional Park over the weekend.


Lots of water flowing through Alameda Creek this year.



Most of the year this part of the creek only flows underground above the little waterfall, and the creek bed is usually completely dry by early summer:



Ran into this little bandit back by the car. Wasn't afraid of people at all.



He also felt that signs did not apply to racoons

He jumped out of the tree and walked right toward me and my son, then just camped out right near our feet. Guess we parked too close to his house.

COME AT ME BRO









"YNP visitor injured in pronghorn encounter..."

Oooo fabulous thread!

Love the pics, except the raccoon one.

Glacier National Park from about 10 days ago:




Unfortunately, Goin To The Sun Road was already closed, so we had to stop at Avalanche Creek (first two photos from there). 3rd photo was from above Lake MacDonald, not sure of the name.

Stony Brook State Park (New York)

Sweet pronghorn pics! How close did that guy get? I've never seen one in the wild and had no idea they even existed in Yosemite. (Assuming YNP = Yosemite National Park?)

Yellowstone, and it was too close, like I stopped taking pictures to let it jog past me. Other pics in the fly fishing thread in EDF

Pretty crazy that it got so close.
Ohhh ya duh Yellowstone, makes way more sense.
Heading over to EDF now!

Codesis,

Is that your son? He is adorable. The joyful expression on his face, over ewww a snack is also adorable.

Think Little MLY could shake him down for his lunch money?

Pics from a couple different trips over the past ~month or so.

This is near Clark Fork Campground on the Stanislaus River , just a few miles from where the Donnell Fire started. Pictures were taken almost exactly one year after the fire.
Sad that the forest looks like this now:




Donnell Reservoir looking away from the burned zone. The fire started at the opposite end of the lake pictured here:


Still fish in the Stanislaus though!




A couple cutthroat in Taylor Creek





While hiking up Mission Peak I saw this bluebelly on the side of the trail. As I called my son over to see, he pounced on a hapless grasshopper and devoured it alive. Savage little beast!

What the heck happened to the pectoral fin on that brook trout?

Yes, thats the older of my two boys. And if you look closely, something was definitely trying to make a snack out of that snake!

Idk, but I use the online account when he buys lunch, and only send him to school with counterfeit bills, just in case.



oT,
I *think* its pointed straight up and slightly curled in so the angle just makes it look stubby and deformed... but Im not positive. Does look strange in that pic though.

One time I fished the Nevada side of the East Walker and caught a mess of small rainbows. Every single one had stumps where both pectoral and pelvic fins should be. Ugliest trout I ever caught. Never confirmed whether it was due to a Nevada state planting thing, or if they were some mutant Chernobyl trout, but I decided to not eat any of them.

Rainbow deformities can easily be from brushing against concrete rearing pens. Not sure if brookies are stocked at all. Either way, probably good choice by you

I hardly ever keep any fish these days and I like trout a lot

50-60ft hike to get this beautiful photo of a pumpkin patch outside of Minneapolis.

Beautiful!

Dog seems to be enjoying the area too.