The year 2020 started like any other. By late February I was ready to begin my spring jaunt. I started in Northern California and worked my way through Arizona.
- CA – Leaping into my 2020 Spring Jaunt
- CA – Death Valley National Park . . . roadside treats and tiny jaunts
- CA – Death Valley National Park, Zabriskie Point Trailhead (Badlands/Golden/Gower)
- CA – Death Valley National Park, Ubehebe Craters
- CA – Death Valley National Park, Fall Canyon
- CA – Death Valley National Park, Wildrose Peak and Kilns
- CA – Death Valley National Park, Marble Canyon
- AZ – Route 66 Jaunting
- AZ – Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park
- AZ – Montezuma and Tonto National Monuments plus a Wildflower Corridor
- AZ – Chiricahua National Monument, Sugarloaf Mountain Lookout
- AZ – Chiricahua National Monument . . . Rockin’ the Rhyolite
- AZ – Cave Creek Canyon, Winn Falls and the Basin Trail
- AZ – Cave Creek Canyon, South Fork and Burro Trails
- AZ – Cave Creek Canyon, Silver Peak
- AZ – Cave Creek Canyon, Herb Martyr and Snowshed Loop
- AZ/NV/CA – Goodbye Cave Creek Canyon . . . COVID-19 Wins
In early spring Pandemic concerns sent me home to far Northern California where I spent the next few months adventuring locally.
- 2020 – Blooming April, Spring Doesn’t Care
- CA – Trinity Alps Wilderness, Stuart Fork Trailhead . . . early spring jaunting
- CA – Trinity Alps Wilderness, Swift Creek Trailhead . . . early spring jaunting
- CA – Trinity Alps Wilderness, Long Canyon Trailhead . . . early spring jaunting
- CA – Marble Mountains Wilderness, Mule Bridge Trailhead . . . Spring Jaunting
- CA – Trinity Alps Wilderness, Tangle Blue Lake Trailhead . . . spring jaunting
- CA – Trinity Alps Wilderness, Poison Canyon Trailhead . . . early summer jaunting
- CA – Russian/Marble Mountain Wildernesses, Jan’s PCT Swimmer’s Route
- CA – Russian/Marble Mountain Wildernesses, a PCT Wildflower Jaunt
- CA – Russian/Marble Mountain Wildernesses, PCT Eye Candy
- CA – Mt Shasta Wilderness, South Gate Meadows Trailhead
- CA – Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Cabin Creek Trailhead (aka Squaw Valley Creek)
- CA – Trinity Alps Wilderness, Bear Lakes Trailhead
- CA – Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Parks Creek Trailhead . . . Let’s Go Swimming
Fall and winter were a bust following my injury in early September. I’ve focused on the silver lining that the timing of this body failure was better now than next spring. I’m continuing my rehab and will say goodbye to 2020 as I celebrate my 3 month post-surgery recovery. I’ll still have another 3-4 months before I can start hiking. Just like climbing a mountain, it’s one step in front of another.
It wasn’t the year I had planned but there were enough good bits to make it memorable. It’s easy to focus on what wasn’t but as I reviewed my photos, I was reminded to focus on what was. In this case I still enjoyed 63 days of hiking, snowshoeing and backpacking. I spent 30 nights in my tent and 25 in my car. I marked off more areas on my local maps, and swam more in alpine lakes than I can ever recall. I added paddleboarding to my activity list as well as filled my days with walking, biking and jogging.
In 2018 I wrote, “this year will be mostly remembered for the fires, so much lost especially too many lives. Such a good reminder to live life fully, without regret, making each day count.” I can revise this for 2020 by saying, “this year will be mostly remembered for COVID-19, so much lost especially too many lives. Such a good reminder to live life fully, without regret, making each day count.” I feel like I broke my life rules this year and promise to get back to living without regrets in 2021.
