Every year my mom mails me a birthday check, which I promptly squander on hiking gear. This way I get to pretend like I’m a smelly, unshaven (but way-cool) outdoors dude who’s so broke he still needs checks from home…
Hiking
How to start a hiking blog
by tom • October 28, 2008 • 21 Comments
So you were inspired by The Case for Starting Your Own Hiking Blog and now you want a blog of your very own. Here’s how to get the blog rolling: 1. Get a topic You could just name it “John…
First look: Garin Regional Park
by tom • October 24, 2008 • 4 Comments
Garin and the neighboring Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park are in the hills east of Hayward/Union City in Alameda County. Autumn is the next-best time to hike the East Bay hills (spring with the green/flowers being the best), and Garin/DryCreek…
Map of East Bay indigenous people’s sites
by tom • October 20, 2008 • 0 Comments
The East Bay Hill People site (last seen here in May 2008) now has a map of sites throughout the East Bay that can be explored in greater detail on Google Earth. Here’s a zoomed-down look at the map; the…
Place to check out: Roy’s Redwoods Open Space Preserve
by tom • October 16, 2008 • 0 Comments
Poking around at Bay Nature’s site, I happened upon a place in Marin County curious for its name and size: Roy’s Redwoods Open Space Preserve. It’s not more than a grove, really, at 377 acres. Check this out from the…
Is the economy spoiling your outdoor fun?
by tom • October 6, 2008 • 7 Comments
One of my bad habits on days when I’m not hiking is watching the gyrations of the stock market. Hey, it’s very interactive. I suspect after this week there will be lots of people thinking of walking off into the…
Thoughts on bushwhacking
by tom • October 3, 2008 • 11 Comments
Don’t expect me to lead the world to the remains of any globe-trotting adventurers. I tend to stay on the trail, whereas the guy who triggered the Fossett plane discovery was hiking way, way off the main trails leading out…
October hiking ideas
by tom • October 1, 2008 • 0 Comments
Tarantulas mating season may be the best reason to hit the trails this time of year, but it’s not the only one. There’s always the cherished possibility of getting caught in an autumnal downpour. For the heck of it I…
Orchard hikes: got any suggestions?
by tom • October 1, 2008 • 6 Comments
Somebody jogged my recollection of hiking through an olive grove at Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, which used to be somebody’s ranch till it got donated to the local regional parks district. A century-old stand of olive groves — still bearing…