All trips in IPA Hikers
Crisp Cool morning in the Morgan Hill Foothills at Harvey Bear Park. I expected a short, somewhat quick hike. Turns our it was going to be a fast hike but not so short. The path starts out flat for 1/4 mile then starts rising up the foot hills. It was cold with a heavy fog so it was east to stay cool. In the summer, the first couple miles...
The saga of attempts to hasten my ultimate demise continued this cool February morning. We started early from San Jose to reach the trail head around 9 AM. It was a clear day and somewhat cool at around 55-60F. We started out around 9:30 am, being cautious crossing the road, to the trail head. Just crossing the road was he first attempt on me. The series of cutbacks were pretty easy. You...
We planned a nice moderate hike through some unknown areas of Toro Park in Salinas, CA. Two us never hiked the park and two had a unsuccessful hike a couple years ago in the hot days of summer. None were too familiar with the park. We parked outside the park and walked across the day use area to the Ollason Trail to the Ranch Trail. This was pretty gentle with...
The air was still. 200 feet below, rowing teams practiced on the
calm, still waters of the Lexington Reservoir.
A heavy fog filled the air. A
light mist coved our electronic with tiny water dropplets. On out Androids and
Iphones, we started app. Out FitBits all
had activities started. GPS was
recording a new track. At 8:45 am, Project
Kill Joe: The El Sombroso Affair was in
action.
Priests Rock trail is up
hill. Relentless from the start and filled
torturous grades...
I've been going to the Henry Coe Backcountry Weekend since 2005 and always enjoy it. This year was a moderate backpacking overnighter, compared to previous years where deathmarches had become the norm. :)From the backpacker parking, we hike to Orestimba Corral to meet up with Sam and Karl. From there we hike north along Orestimba and then east to Jackrabbit Lake, where we camped for the night. The next day we headed...
I have been to Mount Sizer twice before. The first visit changed my life; I performed so poorly on the hike that it frightened me into changing my life dramatically. I dropped 40 pounds, and started hiking a LOT to exercise. (See EveryTrail trip 233107).The second visit - a year later - was a test. Would I perform better on this (long, challenging) hike? The good news was that I did. I...
Joel wanted to go see a new section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail south of Don Castro Regional Park .. just dedicated last August. So new that the maps on the Ridge Trail website haven't been updated to include it yet! http://ridgetrail.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=106:independent-school-to-five-canyons&catid=43:east-bay&Itemid=124So ... a plan was hatched. Joel, Joe, Raj and I met at Don Castro and headed out. The trip starts out in a developed local park, then heads up...
A short, easy group hike with friends on a warm February(!) day... All six of us were in shorts.
Anne has organized several group hikes to the Sierra Club's "Hiker's Hut" at Sam McDonald County Park. This year Elaine and I finally got to go! We started Saturday morning and hiked up to the Hut. We quickly moved in and made ourselves at home. After some snacks and a little rest we headed out for a hike. Our goal was to see Tarwater Creek, where naturally occurring tar oozes out of...
First time using the EveryTrail iPhone app, with the phone in its belt holder for most of the trip. The lines look kind of wobbly like we'd been drinking or something but it's good enough. :)
Mike and Judy wanted to go for a nice hike, so I suggested Wood Road at Almaden Quicksilver. It's relatively flat and leads directly into some of the most historic parts of the Park.When we got to the trailhead, some other hikers reported that the Wood Road trail was hot. I had been worried about that - the temps were a bit high for October, and there isn't really any shade on...
A great hike with Laurent, Rebecca, Dave and Karl. I've been to Willson Camp twice before this year ... http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=689846 and http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=590755 ... but I wanted to go again. I'm fascinated by that water spigot at the camp, and wondered if it still had water even this late in the year.I randomly tweeted that I wanted to go, and a plan was born. I arrived a little later than the others to the trailhead. By the...
I would love to hike the entire Bay Area Ridge Trail (ridgetrail.org). I had some time on a rare trip to San Francisco, and decided to knock off two segments of the trail.The Ridge Trail is divided into segments. These correspond to hikes listed in the "bible" of the Trail, "Bay Area Ridge Trail: The Official Guide for Hikers, Mountain Bikers, and Equestrians" by Jean Rusmore. See http://www.ridgetrail.org/interactive_map/&Itemid=99/ for a great way to check...
OK, so it's been done before. By thousands of people. On the same day that Elaine and I did it. :) Too bad ... it's popular because it's very cool! Elaine and I started our round trip to Nevada Falls a little late in the afternoon, and hurried a little bit to be sure we made it back down before dark. (We did, no problem.) This late in the season the falls...
The Boccardo Trail is adjacent to Alum Rock Park, but not part of it. The land just North of Alum Rock is owned by the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, who put in the Boccardo Trail in 2007. You access it from the Todd Quick Trail in Alum Rock - and you access THAT from the parking at the bottom of the canyon. :)Boccardo is steep and exposed. It was in...
A nice geocaching hike with Elaine, hotshoe, airsax and dragonswest. Fun time! It was an unseasonably cool 72 degree August day.
Deathmarch. In local geocaching circles, it means a hike of at least 12 miles, with at least 1500 feet of vertical gain. This hike, my friends, is a deathmarch. But...everyone made it back in one piece, and we enjoyed the forest - so how bad can it be? :)We drove to the trailhead on China Grade, on the north edge of Big Basin ... and then headed to Pescadero Creek County Park....
Stacey and Ron invited a bunch of people to go backpacking at Sword
Lake in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness (in the Sierra Nevada) last
weekend. It was a good family mix, with some kids as well as us elderly types.
My pack weighed in around 30lb with all the trimmings, including
food, water, and a 4-pack of Boddington’s. I have mixed feelings about
my A640 camera, which is heavy as it is for a...
Joe, Joel and I went on a coastal adventure. South Bay temps were forecast for the high 80s, but the coast was foggy and cool. I was astonished by the variety of flowers and butterflies we saw along the hike ... fantastic by South Bay standards for July, where everything is already scorched and most flowers long gone. The trail was steep in spots, but no big deal. The views and flowers...
Last weekend I did a 9 mile hike at Calero in 97 degree heat. Not having learned my lesson from that, THIS weekend I wanted to go to Coe."Coe in July?", you say. "Are you crazy?"Well ... probably. :)Back in April I did a 2 day backpacking trip up here. I want to do another one! But I had questions. In particular, I wonder if any of the springs that were available...
