Guides and Trips
Trips
While 22,000 people ran the race ... I hiked it. :)
Just a quick hike on a warm fall day.
I visit Mt. Sizer every year. The best time to go is in the late Spring, when the wildflowers are at their peak. But this year I didn't make it. However, this late Fall weekend I had nothing planned on the calendar, and the weather forecast was fantastic ... 70s to low 80s and clear. OK, sounds like a good time to sneak in a Sizer run. Laurent and Karl quickly joined...
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...
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...
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...
Presidio and Bridge ... the Bay Area Ridge Trail
San Francisco, California, United States
Hiking | 9.1 miles
Hiking | 9.1 miles
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...
Yosemite! Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls
Yosemite National Park, California, United States
Hiking | 7.0 miles
Hiking | 7.0 miles
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...
Coyote Lake County Park - Geocaching Adventure
San Martin, California, United States
Geocaching | 7.2 miles
Geocaching | 7.2 miles
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....
I wanted to go for a fairly short hike with a lot of vertical ... but also with a lot of shade. As I pondered options, I thought of this hike. I've visited Sanborn County Park quite often, usually to do volunteer trail work there. But on those occasions I've only seen the trails at the top of the park, near Skyline Boulevard. I had never seen the trails at the bottom,...
Laurent organized a super overnight backpacking trip to Sword Lake. I've only backpacked one other time (to Henry Coe State Park's Wasno Pond), I was excited to go visit the Sierra. The drive up to the parking lot was dusty, rocky and slow. We were in Laurent's high clearance vehicle, which was a GOOD thing. I suspect the Prius could make it, but it would NOT be pleasant. The rocks are pretty...
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...
I had never been on the Cherry Cove Trail at Calero, so I went. The forecast called for a high of 92 ... warm but do-able. I got to the trailhead at 10, and headed off. Calero is a popular park with equestrians, and somewhat less so with hikers. The trails tend to lots of up-and-downs which can be somewhat demoralizing. I only saw three other hikers all day. I headed down...
Rocky Mountain NP: Lakes, lakes, lakes!
Fall River Estates Subdivision, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 6.6 miles
Hiking | 6.6 miles
I still remember my first trip to Bear Lake ... 42 years ago. It made a big impression on a kid from Kansas. I was really happy to make a return visit!When planning this trip, I didn't know how much time we would have, and how we would react to hiking at this elevation. So my Plan A objective was to make it up to Dream and Emerald Lakes. I am sure...
