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<rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content"><channel><title>EveryTrail Feed</title><description/><link>http://www.everytrail.com</link><language>en-us</language><lastBuildDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 08:14:24 -0200</lastBuildDate><pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 08:14:24 -0200</pubDate><image><url>http://www.everytrail.com/images/everytrail-logo.png</url><title>EveryTrail</title><link>http://www.everytrail.com</link><description>GPS travel community, geotagging, geotagged photos, Google Maps, GPS tracks, waypoints, coordinates</description><width>144</width><height>41</height></image><item><title><![CDATA[Almaden Quicksilver Trail]]></title><description><![CDATA[I can see this hill every time I traveled on Freeway 85. Finally, after black Friday, and Turkey Trot 10K run on Thanksgiving Day, I did this trail.On the southern part of the trail, it is basically fire roads, wide and gentle slope, pretty good for mountain biking. On the northern part of the trail, however, it is mostly small narrow trail for hikers only, but in shade most of the time. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5402645-AlmadenQuicksilver_2012_11_24_001.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5402646-AlmadenQuicksilver_2012_11_24_002.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5402647-AlmadenQuicksilver_2012_11_24_003.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5402648-AlmadenQuicksilver_2012_11_24_004.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1901830</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1901830</link><pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2012 21:30:09 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[El Sereno Open Space Preserve]]></title><description><![CDATA[This preserve is on the other side of Highway 17 from Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, which I hiked earlier. I saw the trail across the valley and consulted with my co-worker. He highly recommended this trail.The view is nice and definitely worth to come back in the future. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5384225-ElSereno_2012_09_30_001.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5384227-ElSereno_2012_09_30_002.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5384232-ElSereno_2012_09_30_003.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5384233-ElSereno_2012_09_30_004.JPG"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1892495</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1892495</link><pubDate>Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:13:20 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fremont Older Open Space Preserve]]></title><description><![CDATA[This hike winds through Fremont Older Open Space Preserve and Stevens Creek County Park. I also got beautiful view of South Bay and Stevens Creek Reservoir, although the Reservoir has low level of water.The first accent was very steep, made me worry how I could come down on the way back. There are many choices of the trails you can turn in, so make sure that you have a good map of the trails or a good navigation tool, like my old Forunner 305. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5383769-StevensCreek_2012_09_03_001.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5383770-StevensCreek_2012_09_03_002.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5383775-StevensCreek_2012_09_03_003.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5383780-StevensCreek_2012_09_03_004.JPG"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1892384</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1892384</link><pubDate>Thu, 22 Nov 2012 14:00:45 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Stevens Canyon to Saratogo Gap]]></title><description><![CDATA[This is a planned long hike, recommended by my co-worker who ride mountain bike often on this trail. I started early, before the sun rise, so nobody is on the road or trail. I parked car on Redwood Gulch Road because it's No Parking on Stevens Canyon Road. It's a bit more than a mile to the trailhead of Canyon trail. The whol Canyon trail follows the Creek so it's quite gental accent. After I turned to Grizzy Flat Trail, it starts pretty steep climb, but the trail is a fire road so not too difficulty. After crossing Hwy 35, I continued on more scenic Long Ridge Trail. On the open area, you should be able to see the ocean. But it's still early, so what I saw was cloud down, which was still beautiful. I then followed Hickory Oaks Trail to close back to Hwy 35, and turned to Achistaka Trail (no bike on this trail), which then joins to Skyline to the Sea Trail. Followed Skyline to the Sea Trail, I got to the Saratoga Gap (35 and 9). On the way back, I chose the Table Mountain Trail, which is marked No Bike. But I still saw some tire tracks. The trail goes down pretty steep on some section. The trail also is rocky, narrow, with some steps, not designed for the bike at all. So I wonder someone can still manage to ride MT on this trail. All in all, it's not particularly hard but still long hike. Most sections of the trail are in the shade. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5285946-StevensCreekCanyon_2012_10_20_001.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5285947-StevensCreekCanyon_2012_10_20_002.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5285950-StevensCreekCanyon_2012_10_20_003.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5285951-StevensCreekCanyon_2012_10_20_004.JPG"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1848741</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1848741</link><pubDate>Sat, 27 Oct 2012 10:48:20 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Rancho Canada Del Oro Hike]]></title><description><![CDATA[This trail is very scenic. There are a lot of places that you can have a good view of the Valley down under. The most parts of the trail are fire road, although some portions do not allow mountain bikes.It's not a popular trail. I did not see hikers along the way. But it is beautiful and challenge if you hike fast. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5096060-RancheoCanadaDelOro_2012_07_21_001.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5096063-RancheoCanadaDelOro_2012_07_21_002.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5096066-RancheoCanadaDelOro_2012_07_21_003.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5096070-RancheoCanadaDelOro_2012_07_21_004.JPG"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1773924</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1773924</link><pubDate>Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:07:20 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[PGE Trail to Black Mountain]]></title><description><![CDATA[This is a group hiking event.We arrived at the trailhead at 8:30am and already found difficult to get a parking spot, unless you are willing to wait for people to leave. I just parked car in the residential area, and hiked half mile more to the trailhead.The PGE trail is for power company to maintain their power line. So this trail follows pretty much with the power line, relatively easy on both vehicle and hikers. The good part is that most of the time you hike in the shade.We then reached the vista point, which is the end of PGE trail. We then decided to continue all the way to the Black Mountain. The part of the trail to the Black Mountain is newly built.We finally reached to the flat summit of Black Mountain back to the same trailhead, in just under 6 hours. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5096021-PGE_BlackMountain_2012_07_28_005.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5096024-PGE_BlackMountain_2012_07_28_006.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5096025-PGE_BlackMountain_2012_07_28_025.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5096026-PGE_BlackMountain_2012_07_28_026.JPG"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1773901</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1773901</link><pubDate>Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:41:18 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mt. Sizer Day Hike]]></title><description><![CDATA[Mount Sizer is a prominent peak located on Blue Ridge in Henry W. Coe State Park, just east of Morgan Hill, California. Because Mount Sizer is the highest point on Blue Ridge and under 10 miles (16 km) miles from the park's headquarters, it makes it an ideal destination for day hikers. I started early and there are only a few cars in the parking lot. I paid parking fee ($8). Some of the hiking trail sections are extremely steep, which can be a problem especially when going down. The trail is very scienic with great views. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5056109-MtSizer_2012_08_04_002.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5056113-MtSizer_2012_08_04_003.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5056118-MtSizer_2012_08_04_004.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5056123-MtSizer_2012_08_04_005.JPG"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1764227</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1764227</link><pubDate>Mon, 10 Sep 2012 23:14:06 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve Hike]]></title><description><![CDATA[Recently, I started to have long hike that's 12 to 15 miles in about 4 hours. This trail comes to my plan a week ago. I arrived the trailhead of Limekiln Trail at 6:12am, only one car is on the parking lot (usually, it's packed with cars later). The guy was not her for hiking but for fishing. I planned to hike along Limekiln Trail out and come back on Priest Rock Trail to avoid same trail back and forth. The morning is cool and ideal for hiking. After quickly hiked for 3 miles, I suddenly feel that I lost something. That something is my sun hat, which was hanging on my back because I don't need it before sun comes out. I then hiked back to find my hat and fortunately, I found it less than 1 mile away. The careful check revealed poor quality on the tightdown, which was off from the hat, resulting falling. Well, that added more than 1 mile to my planned hike. In about 6 miles point, the Limekiln joint with Kennedy Trail and forms the Wood Road. I continued on the road and to one of the peak, which has vista point that you can see the Valley, a great view. On the way back, I followed Kennedy Trail, and just before reach Priest Rock Trail, there is another vista point, which overlook the Los Gatos. At the intersection of Kennedy/Priest Rock, I got 11 miles, and thought maybe adding a little bit more today by going a portion of Kennedy Trail. A good decision. There are a number of vista points along the trail, and you can have a good view of Los Gatos, and San Jose area in the Valley. I turned around less than a mile on Kennedy Trail and back to Priest Rock Trail. This trail has many ups and downs but there are many places with great views. At the end, I reached Alma Bridge Road, and walk along the road back to my car. There are many cars on the road, but the shoulder is really narrow. In conclusion, the Limekiln Trail is used by power company for power line access, therefore, it's more gentle, but less view. Kennedy/Priest Rock Trails have many ups and downs, and some are really steep, but have great views. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5047892-SierraAzulOpenPreserve_2012_09_09_001.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5047896-SierraAzulOpenPreserve_2012_09_09_002.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5047897-SierraAzulOpenPreserve_2012_09_09_003.JPG"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/5047899-SierraAzulOpenPreserve_2012_09_09_004.JPG"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1762432</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1762432</link><pubDate>Sun, 9 Sep 2012 19:22:33 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mission Peak hike from Ohlone College]]></title><description><![CDATA[Mission Peak is a very popular hiking destination in the Bay Area. On weekend, more than 1000 people hiking up. But most start from Stanford Ave Parking lot. There is another route, which is slightly longer and more gental slope, is from Ohlone College. One week after our Mt Whitney day hike, my friends and I did this Mission Peak hike. I only occationally hiked up the mission, but my friends hike twice a week on this peak, very crazy excercise. We started relative relaxed pace, talking along the way. Slowly then our fittest friend started increasing the pace. I then followed him. And another friend of my age also followed closely. We then quickly become the number 1, 2, 3 of the group, left the rest behind. I felt breath heavily but still can handle it. We hike up at around 3.5mph up, very fast pace. We then reached the final accent and had even fast pace. When we are about 300 feet from the summit, I lost the group leader. I then just continued hiking quickly and finally reached the summit in 56 minutes. After a minute, the other two leaders also reached the summit. And further a few minutes later, all of the group reached the summit in about 60 minutes. It's pretty fast pace, considering that we did not start fast. This hike is special because there is a fast leader leading me to a fast pace. Otherwise, I probably may not get this fast. <br>]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1746802</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1746802</link><pubDate>Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:57:23 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mt Whitney Day Hike]]></title><description><![CDATA[This is my second time hiking up the Mt. Whitney. The first one was 3 years ago in 2009, and I did it solo. This time, I hiked with a group of 9 hikers. The gpx file is not complete, because my GPS device ran out of power before we finish the trail. So the total length should be 22 miles, not just 14.7 miles. This time, we had relatively relaxed pace. But that seems not very help. I still feel pretty tired as I did 3 years ago with faster pace. Another reason probably is because of the food I took during the hike. Three years ago, I ate choclate bars on the hike, which can be digested quickly and converted into energy efficiently. This time I took crack instead, which has some fiber, slowing down the digestion. So it is advised to took easy to digest food, such as candy bars, or hydrocarbon based food. Not to take protine/fat rich food, such as eggs, beef, cheese, and so on. I reached the summit in about 8 hours, while one of our fast guy reached the summit one hour before. I stayed on the summit for about one hour, waiting for other group members to reach to the summit. It was cloudy and occasional light shower, but no thunder, which is good news. On the trail, we met about ten volunteers who were repairing the trail. I said thank you to all of them. On the way down, we don't have to breath heavily, but our leg mucle was tiring, still took 6-7 hours to hike back to the trailhead. <br>]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1733123</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1733123</link><pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2012 00:45:12 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Li Shan (骊山)]]></title><description><![CDATA[Li Shan (骊山) is a relatively small hill in the district of Litong (临潼) of Xi'An (西安) city, an ancient capital for many dynasties. The most famous attraction here is Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑). The world famous museum is only a few miles from the hill.Although it's a small hill, it's still pretty challenge for average Chinese. Many people choose to take Gondola to the summit. During my childhood and college time, I have summit this hill many times, although at that time, it was basically a plain hill. But today it becomes totally a tourist attraction with many man-made subjects along the way and at the summit.I went together with my college classmates with slower pace, ascending to the top. The trail is totally built with stone and concrete and pretty easy to hike. The weather was pretty good and along the way, there are a number places that people sell food and souvenir.I got up and down twice on the last section because different groups of my classmates wanted to go with me to the summit. At the summit, there is a kind of bell tower, which was not there 30 years, which provides another 30 feet up above the summit with better views. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4430980-04_LingTong_2012_04_08_001.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4430981-04_LingTong_2012_04_08_002.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4430982-04_LingTong_2012_04_08_026.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4430984-04_LingTong_2012_04_08_027.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1578931</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1578931</link><pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 00:52:11 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Tai Shan (泰山)]]></title><description><![CDATA[Tai Shan is a very popular destination for tourists. The peak is about 5000ft, and close to metro area. I had hiked this mountain about 30 years ago, when the tourism is still in its very early stage in China.I arrived Tai'An train station early at 6am and took a taxi ride to Dai Temple (岱庙). I then walked towards the Red Gate (红门宫), which is the trailhead to the summit. There are already small crowd up and down the mountain. The trail is well maintained with stone or concrete steps, as always in popular tourist mountains in China.In about an hour or so, I reached Middle Heaven Gate (中天门), which can be reached by cars/buses, thus more crowd appears. The path is gradual and pretty wide, but still you have to wait behind, following the crowd, significantly slowing down the speed up the mountain. At 2.5 hour mark, I reached South Heaven Gate (南天门). The summit area is pretty flat, with many temples and business sale everything that tourists might buy. The weather is pretty good by the Chinese standard, that you can actually see the city down the mountain.Nothing particularly interesting other than the fact that there are crowds everywhere, because the Gondola can reach South Gate from Middle Gate. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4427460-14_TaiShan_2012_04_15_001.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4427461-14_TaiShan_2012_04_15_002.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4427462-14_TaiShan_2012_04_15_003.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4427465-14_TaiShan_2012_04_15_004.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1577495</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1577495</link><pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2012 22:03:18 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Song Shan (嵩山) Shao Lin Temple (少林寺)]]></title><description><![CDATA[Song Shan (嵩山) is another famous mountain that is closely associated with Shaolin Temple, for which it is famous for Chinese Kongfu. It is not on the major highway/railroad, so getting there is a bit tricky. I took a high speed train from Xi'An to Luoyang, but did not get bus to the Shaolin temple. I ended up taking a taxi (200 RMB Yuan, or about $33) arrived there.There are a lot of tour buses with many tourists, most heading to the Shaolin Temple. My goal was hiking up the Song Shan Mountain, so I bypassed the famous Shaolin Temple. There are also to Gondolas up the mountain. I did not do a good job of researching where is the trail up the mountain. I then followed a group of college students, up the mountain following one of the Gondola path. The trail is not a maintained trail so it's more like what we have in US. After reach the end point of that Gondola, I asked a local and found that I should go to the other Gondola path for the most famous attractions.I hiked around that fist Gondola peak, including a trail that few people hiked on. Then I found a trail that can connect to the other Gondola trail. At the end of the other Gondola, I found that the famous &quot;Plank Path (栈道)&quot; is about 1 mile away, and the suspension bridge is at the end. But unfortunately, the suspension bridge is closed for maintenance, which also means that I had to come back, instead of reaching the other side of the mountain. That's fine.The newly built &quot;Plank Path&quot; is just wonderful. The Song Shan is also a National Geopark. The layered rock turned 90 degrees from horizontal to vertical. The &quot;Plank Path&quot; is built on the cliff. The pictures showed how wonderful it is.I followed the path to the suspension bridge and hiked back, amazed by the construction of the &quot;plank path&quot;. The mountain is not high in elevation, and the well maintained trail of stone and concrete is gradual. It's pretty easy going up and down. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4422553-13_SongShan_2012_04_14_002.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4422554-13_SongShan_2012_04_14_003.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4422556-13_SongShan_2012_04_14_004.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4422564-13_SongShan_2012_04_14_005.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1575839</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1575839</link><pubDate>Sun, 13 May 2012 21:57:53 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[HuaShan (华山)]]></title><description><![CDATA[HuaShan (华山) is one of the most famous mountain in China. I have hiked to this mountain more than 30 years twice. This time, with celebration of college graduation with our classmates, I came to this mountain again alone.Now in China, tourism is a big business. Many mountains have Gondolas to the top. Huashan also has gondola to the North peak, and many people choose to ride the Gondola. So the trail from starting point YuQuanYuan (玉泉院) to North peak is pretty empty. The trail is typical Chinese fashion with well built steps, and even some light poles, indicating the it is possible to hike at night without flash light.The first 3 miles are gradual accent until the point of Thousand Foot Narrow (千尺幢), Then the trail becomes narrow and steep, almost all the way to the North Peak for about 1 mile. I reached North Peak in 2 hours, not very fast, because it is really hard to hike fast on steep steps.From now on, you meet many people, most of them came through Gondola. The speed of hike slowed down dramatically, because sometimes you need to wait in the line to pass. I then spent next 2.5 hours, visiting Middle Peak, West Peak, and East Peak. The weather is pretty good, although there is heavy cloud/fog blocking the view. It then take about 2 hours to decent, because hike down steep section can not be fast.There are a number of attractions on the peaks, some appear very dangerous, requiring robe for protection. I skipped all those attractions for quick trip back to the starting point.The trip takes a lot less than I planned before, based on my old memory of how long it took me to the peaks more than 30 years ago. The reason is because I am alone this time, so I can go relatively fast and without much rest. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4419696-06_HuaShan_2012_04_10_001.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4419711-06_HuaShan_2012_04_10_002.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4419718-06_HuaShan_2012_04_10_003.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/4419723-06_HuaShan_2012_04_10_004.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1575074</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1575074</link><pubDate>Sun, 13 May 2012 14:09:55 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[San Bruno Mountain State Park hike]]></title><description><![CDATA[San Bruno Mountain State Park is in the middle of densely populated area, therefore a each reach wildness. The hike itself is pretty easy with a lot of great views. You can see San Francisco downtown, Bay Bridges, SFO airport and all surrounding residential and Industrial areas. Highly recommended. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/3410460-SanBrunoStatePark_2011_07_03_001.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/3410463-SanBrunoStatePark_2011_07_03_002.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/3410466-SanBrunoStatePark_2011_07_03_003.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/3410468-SanBrunoStatePark_2011_07_03_004.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1283801</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1283801</link><pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:01:40 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Marin Head Hike 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[This has been a long planned hike trip. It explores the wildness of the Marin County, just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge.Early morning on the July 4 long weekend, I parked my car just south of Golden Gate Bridge, a free, unpaved parking lot we always use when we visit the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather is cool, perfect for the hiking.The first part of the hike is crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, a very busy and shared pathway with bicyclists. After crossing, it taks me some time to find the pathway to cross Highway 101 to the other side of the road. Eventually, I found that I only need to turn right for 20 feet and there is a pathway under the Golden Gate Bridge.The hiking trial of the entire hike is either fire road or well maintained hiking trial and very easy to navigate. After starting accent, the Highway 101 and visitor area on the northen part of the Bridge is in the view, very nice. You can also see the tunel part of US101.The best part of this hike is that the fog is on most of the hiking trial, but sometimes high up, which is cloud as we see, sometimes is below. The best part is on the back just before crossing the Bridge. The San Francisco Downtown is still under cloud, but the top of the skyline is above the cloud. It is the best reward for this long hike, and best viiw I ever had. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/3399874-MarinHeadlands_2011_07_02_001.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/3399886-MarinHeadlands_2011_07_02_002.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/3399887-MarinHeadlands_2011_07_02_003.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/3399891-MarinHeadlands_2011_07_02_005.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1281173</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1281173</link><pubDate>Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:29:25 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Black Mountain Hike 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[It was a cloudy day, and actually quite chilly for this time of year.We arrived the parking lot at trailhead and found that the small parking lot can only have 12 cars and there was not spot. Later, we found that if you driver a little bit more into Rhus Ridge Road, there is another hidden small parking lot, which hold 4 cars. So we parked car there and started the hike.The initial accent was steep some of the portion, but becomes quite gentle shortly. We talked along the way and without realizing that we have reached the quite flat summit of Black Mountain. On the summit, there are radio antenna, which radiates tens of kilowatts. It's funny that nobody worry about this kind of radio power, but somehow we worry about our cellular phone power, which is a mere 0.5 watt.It was quite chilly at the top. After finishing our lunch, we step downhill, which is much faster than we went uphill. Without feeling any tired or pain, we reached back at the trailhead, totalling about 5 hours for about 10 miles. Quite relaxed hike. <br><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/Tc9g024RLpI/AAAAAAAATiY/WCe90m4BGNo/s200/005_BlackMountainHike_05_14_2001.jpg"/> <img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/Tc9hNRzLuRI/AAAAAAAATi0/XACCAm7MbN4/s200/007_BlackMountainHike_05_14_2001.jpg"/> <img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/Tc9hTsBgLFI/AAAAAAAATjA/yvlgB-DqZLU/s200/008_BlackMountainHike_05_14_2001.jpg"/> <img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/Tc9iA9sR0TI/AAAAAAAATjw/jJAX0LZN3QM/s200/011_BlackMountainHike_05_14_2001.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1092873</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1092873</link><pubDate>Sun, 15 May 2011 13:20:45 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ohlone Trail Hike 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[This is the longest trail of our senior hiking group, a 20 mile/6000' elevation gain day trip. This is a hard hike for any average hiker in any age group.We parked our cars in Sunol Reginal Park. The family member of one of our group member took us to the starting point of the trail in Lake Del Valle State Park in Livermore.The first accent is hard, from altitude of 500' all the way to Mt. Rose at almost 4000'. At the summit, we had our lunch, although the wind blowing really hard.Again it was beautiful along the way because of a log of rain this year and the sunny day. On the way towards Sunol, we can see Mission Peak. Although the official Ohlone Trail includes the part to go over the Mission Peak, we did not pursued this option, which will add another 8 miles and 2000' to the elevation gain. We left the option for, maybe next year.When we finally reached Sunol in 10 hours, some of of our group members are really tired, but still have high spirit. We had a simple supper prepared by one of our members, who stored the food in the car parked in Sunol. We all had a great day of hiking. <br><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/TZvn4PW1RVI/AAAAAAAAJxg/CzdPF-y2W1k/s200/002_OhloneTrail_2011_04_03.jpg"/> <img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/TZvopTwvkdI/AAAAAAAAJyM/gqcvEpy8bsM/s200/005_OhloneTrail_2011_04_03.jpg"/> <img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/TZvo3UHEUAI/AAAAAAAAJyc/P3bIyo_FM0M/s200/006_OhloneTrail_2011_04_03.jpg"/> <img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/TZvpCcdXGZI/AAAAAAAAJys/bVYUnmn7oJw/s200/007_OhloneTrail_2011_04_03.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1092807</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1092807</link><pubDate>Sun, 15 May 2011 12:55:52 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mount Diablo Loop 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[This year, we got a lot of rain and the wild flowers and grass are much better than the normal year. It is certainly very beautiful time of the time for this highest peak in the Bay Area.We started early and had fun talking along the way. This year, we bypassed Olympic Peak and North Peak and directly targeted to the Diablo Peak. Along the way, it is really magneficant view around and down to the Bay. The hike is long but not particularly steep. Although it is sunny, the temperature is mild in the early spring. So it is the perfect day for the hike.At the peak, there are quite a few people, most of them drive to the peak instead of hike. Again the view from the top is incredibale, thanks to the great weather and clear day.On the way down, we avoided to go through Eagle Peak to save the keens of some of us well into 50s and approaching 60. At the end of hike, we are at the golden hour of just before sunset. The golden light capeted the landscape. Although I snapped a few shots, it is impossible the compare the feeling of being there and see the pictures. This is the highest reward of hiking in the wild.Mt Diablo trail is the first hike our group started, and up to now we have done it every year. We will continue this tradition in the upcoming years. <br><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/TX0GfhGLWUI/AAAAAAAAJYs/Gc8Fk-s_y_U/s200/009_Diablo_2011_03_12.jpg"/> <img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/TX0GrQPSv_I/AAAAAAAAJZA/O9aWYpAkd-E/s200/010_Diablo_2011_03_12.jpg"/> <img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/TX0HP9ghkhI/AAAAAAAAJZ4/fWwI3C3jWJI/s200/014_Diablo_2011_03_12.jpg"/> <img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gfZcPCJk1EY/TX0HnHeiL8I/AAAAAAAAJaQ/TNQWiSwB7rk/s200/016_Diablo_2011_03_12.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1092755</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1092755</link><pubDate>Sun, 15 May 2011 12:33:58 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mt Kilimanjaro Trekker]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hike to the Mt. Kilimanjaro is the dream for any hiker. I got this opportunaty This January with a group of hikers, taking 7-day trek to the top.The first a few days are normal. There are 2 guides, 1 cooker and 3 porters for each hiker. We don't see our porters who collects everything we left behind each morning after we leave the site and hike quickly, passed us some time, and set everything up before we reach the next site. The food is pretty good considering the difficulty to bring everything up.On the day before the summitting, it was at 4600m/14600ft, higher than Mt. Whitney in US. I started to have problems to fall sleep. The sunlight is pretty strong. Although outside is pretty cold, inside tent is hot. When night fall, the wind picked up. At 11pm, we all got up, had some food and head to the summit. We probably hiked at slow pace of 1mph. On the first half the hike, I felt perfectly normal. Slowly, I felt a bit sleepy, thought may be it's late night/early morning. I did not felt tired. Eventually, I simply following the steps of the hiker in front of me. Finally, I and another hiker of the group with two guides reached Stella point, which can be considered of reaching the summit of the Mt. Kilimanjaro.At this moment, I felt extremely sleepy, or I may be in a state of sleep walking. I insisted that we must reach the Uhuru, the official summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, which is 2km away, further up 200m in elevation. I somehow can not walk to follow someone. So I asked one guide to use a hiking pole to guide me, while I hold the other end of the pole. I don't remember basically anything along the way to the Uhuru. When reaching Uhuru, my guide let me go to the post which has the wooden sign of the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. But I uncontrollablly walked sideway, triiped on a stone and fall to the ground, with my forehead hit another stone. My guide then realized I might have high altitude problem, and started to hold me tight. I also started to felt a bit better. I actually take my DSLR camera out of the bag, turned on, adjusted and gave to another hiker to take the historical photo.On the way back to Stella Point, I took some oxyzen from a stranger hike, who offered me the oxyzen (thanks to the guy, although I still don't know the guy's name). I then started felt much better, not so sleepy anymore. We then basically sliding down through volcanic ash, back to the site, met with other hikers of the group, who did not summit in the morning, due to exhaustion and strong wind. We then immediately hike further down to the lower altitude.After back to Mosh town, I felt like reborn. At the beginning of the trek, I felt very confident that physically, I should have no problem reach the summit. After finshed it, I felt that anyone can be hit by AMS, and care must be taken to prevent any danger which can happen at the summitting.I fully recovered with my wound on my head a few days later, left no visible scars. We then continued with the life time experience of Safari. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/2627946-052_MachameGate_01_31_2011.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/2627948-054_MachameGate_01_31_2011.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/2627949-055_MachameGate_01_31_2011.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/2627950-056_MachameGate_01_31_2011.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1039793</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1039793</link><pubDate>Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:41:39 -0500</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
	