That other outdoor writer named Tom recommends driving 400 miles round trip to cut a Christmas tree in a national forest to save the $50-$100 they’re charging in local lots. The Chron must let him expense all the fill-ups in…
Monthly Archives: December 2007
Latest Hikes column: Mount Diablo
by tom • December 6, 2007 • 3 Comments
Posted today. The intro: December is a gift to hikers drawn to Mount Diablo, the peak dominating the East Bay landscape. It’s a month when occasional rains wash smog from the sky and open amazing vistas (you’ll see snowcapped Sierra…
San Jose man a finalist in wildlife photo contest
by tom • December 6, 2007 • 1 Comment
Stephen W. Oachs of San Jose won first place in the “Mammals, Amateur” category of National Wildlife Magazine’s 2007 photo contest. Oachs photographed play-fighting grizzlies near Yellowstone National Park at a nonprofit preserve for bears and wolves. The rest of…
Rescue practice at Henry Coe
by tom • December 5, 2007 • 0 Comments
Cynthia caught a squad doing a helicopter rescue drill at the park over the weekend.
Parking fees in Santa Clara County Parks: A rip-off?
by tom • December 5, 2007 • 6 Comments
Arlene, a local hiker/reader (last seen at this post about Ed Levin County Park), dropped me an e-mail this morning with the news that she’d just learned you don’t have to pay to park at Joseph D. Grant County Park…
Outdoor news item of the day
by tom • December 5, 2007 • 1 Comment
So this guy in the UK goes out in his sea kayak in 2002 and is never seen again, though remains of his smashed boat are discovered. This weekend he shows up at a police station saying he may be…
Search at Mount Tamalpais for missing woman
by tom • December 5, 2007 • 0 Comments
Update: Search suspended, pending new developments. Veronica Ruiz has been missing since Monday, when she told a friend she was going hiking but didn’t say where. A search at Mount Tam was to resume this morning — note they don’t…
Uncooped.com: outdoors blog with potential
by tom • December 5, 2007 • 2 Comments
It’s a group blog with several authors — the header says “Fishing Biking Running Paddling,” which tells us either a) they think hiking happens indoors; or b) Two-Heel Drive explicitly exposes the pitfalls of blogging about hiking; or c) some…
Close call on Colorado’s Quandary Peak
by tom • December 4, 2007 • 0 Comments
Just finished reading a fascinating thread at 14ers.com about a guy who got stuck above 13,000 feet on Colorado’s Quandary Peak. If you’re thinking, “what the hell’s a guy doing soloing fourteener in December?” you’d be missing the point. Some…