I'm back! I started my travels on the streets of San Francisco...

Then I headed to Castle Crags in Northern California and hiked a section of the Pacific Crest Trail. The Crags are huge granite outcrops. The trail skirts around them and they loomed overhead throughout the first day of the walk...

Every step of the way magnificent vistas were all around...

Once I had cleared the Crags the vistas looking north were often dominated by the mighty Mount Shasta (where I hiked a couple of years ago)...

I backpacked 40 miles (uphill!) over the course of three days and reached my destination- Deadfall Lake, from where I could explore the slopes of Mount Eddy which are noted for their abundance of wildflowers. I pitched right by the lake and I can confirm that Heaven is a place on Earth. Apart from a few hikers passing through I had the lake and several mountains pretty much to myself.

 Deadfall Lake is shallow, crystal clear and pure snow-melt. A preliminary paddle told me that the waters were a perfect temperature, not too cold and not too warm. After three parched and dusty days on the trail I went for a swim and it was glorious.

 More to follow...