2017 Year in Hiking Review

I'm really behind in posting my year in hiking review for 2017, but it is always better late than never. 2017 was another great year of hiking! We got a late start in hiking due to lots of rain in Northern California during the winter but still managed a good number of hikes. 

We did a total of 29 hikes in 2017 with the kids and 1 of them was a backpacking trip.

In 2017 our hikes were in 4 states.

California
Mount Diablo Falls Loop Trail
*Runyon Canyon (trail running)

Lake Clementine trail

Lynch Canyon trail (Cache Creek)

**Calaveras Big Trees North Grove

**Pope Valley to Walters Hill

Mist Trail (Yosemite)

Bridalveil Falls (Yosemite)

Lower Yosemite Falls

Upper Yosemite Falls

Eagle Rock

Castle Peak

Bodega Head

Point Reyes Lighthouse Trail

Chimney Rock at Point Reyes National Seashore

**Paradise Meadows (Lassen)

**Lassen Peak

**Manzanita Lake

**Subway Tunnels (near Lassen)

**Mount Judah

**Donner Pass rail tunnels

**Sierra Buttes

**Yolo County Bypass

Wyoming

Surprise Lake Backpacking Trip

Grand Prismatic Spring

Norris Geyser Basin

Mount Washburn

Oregon
**Hoyt Arboretum
**Noble Woods Park

Utah
**Park City - Pinebrook Trail

key
* hike not done with the kids
** blog recap not posted

My favorite hike of the year is something I can't sum up in one hike because it wasn't just one hike that stood out for me in 2017. It was our trip to Yellowstone National Park in July. That trip stood out because it was a huge park and there was so much to see. We managed to see geysers and geothermal along with the most wildlife I had ever seen in one place. We even got to hike up to a fire lookout which was pretty awesome.

My favorite out of state hike is of course Wyoming since that is where Yellowstone National Park is, but I did also enjoy Wyoming because that is where Grand Teton National Park is and we did visit there before heading to Yellowstone. That was where we did our only backpacking trip of 2017, to Surprise Lake and it was another great trip. A memorable part of the that trip was experiencing a hail storm. Thankfully we were close to our tent when it started so we were safe, but it was a pretty crazy experience. The scenery did not disappoint as the lakes were beautiful and we did get some cool views of Grand Teton. We also saw a moose on the way back.

My favorite in-state hike of 2017 would have to be our hike up Castle Peak. It was our first long hike of the year with the boys and there was snow from the very start. The trail was challenging but with challenging comes amazing views. The scenery was beautiful along the way and the snow made it fun for the boys. We did bring their snowshoes and they got to try it out for the first time. I remember it being a really good day.

In 2017 we did at total of 101.07 miles with 21,790 ft. of elevation total according to Hubby's records. It's been a great year. I'm looking forward to seeing where 2018 brings us!

Happy hiking!