Zion- Angels Landing- Utah- 5 miles

Angels Landing in Zion is a relatively easy hike with a clean path... until you get to the last half mile to the top. This is not for you if you don't like heights. As you can tell from the pictures, both sides of the last .5 miles is a sheer vertical drop of over 1000 ft. (I think). Many people get to this point and decide the view is better than the rest of the hike. It can get pretty congested on this part as well with tons of hikers from all over the world. There are chains to grab onto for much of the hike, but the drop on both sides of you can mess with your head. The views at the top are breathtaking and worth it! Bring a lunch and enjoy the view at the top. There are other trails on the back side that aren't as intense if you want a longer hike with more ground underneath your feet. For some reason, the hike reminds me of Half Dome (minus the distance).

Teutonia Peak Trail- Cima, CA - 3 miles

This hike is definitely in the middle of nowhere. Near the California/Nevada border just off of Cima road near Cima in Southern California (Mojave Desert). About 15 miles of Cima road (watch out for the Tortoises!) you will find the trail head on the right. It is an easy, dry, and hot hike. Very easy. Watch out, we ran into a decent sized rattler sun bathing, definitely got pissed rattled at us and slithered away. If you happen to be in the area or are passing through, it is a great short hike with a beautiful view as a reward at the end. Very few visitors so you will most likely get the place to yourself. Classic desert landscape with cacti, Joshua trees, and many other yuka type plants. To top it off, there is a great little camping site basically across the road where you can have some privacy, protection from the wind, and its free!

Hidden Falls- Aubrun, CA

Today, we went to Hidden Falls near Auburn, CA inside Hidden Falls Recreation Area. There are a bunch of crisscrossing trails probably totaling around 6-7 miles worth. The trails dip up and down a small ravine that runs into Cache Creek (I think). The trail culminates to a rather disappointing waterfall. Not really a waterfall, more like some rapids. There is a pretty cool viewpoint, kinda like a deck overlooking water carved granite mini waterfalls. But there are some great places to sit next to the water and have a nice lunch. 45-60 minutes from Sacramento, we walked around for about 2.5 hours and were pretty good. Nice large parking lot with a few portapotties.