We got a bunch of rain last week; typically that’ll knock a lot of the crud out of the air and create amazing vistas from the hills around the Bay Area. Sunday morning we could see San Francisco from the…
Day hikes I’ve done
They didn’t pave paradise, but they did
put up a parking lot
by tmangan • December 3, 2005 • 1 Comment
You’ll have to take my word for it that this was worth doing: I really and truly attended the grand opening of a parking lot on Saturday. Another 50 or so people were there, which means either we were all…
Cool Tomales
by tmangan • November 27, 2005 • 1 Comment
Three weeks back, I slogged though mist, rain and fog to Tomales Point at Point Reyes National Seashore. I saw all there was to see, provided it was less than a hundred feet into the fog. I knew a return…
The Official Fall Colors Hike
by tmangan • November 13, 2005 • 2 Comments
One of the excellent rewards of hiking every weekend is seeing the seasons change. Most of the trees in the Bay Area are evergreens so we don’t get New England-style, knock-your-socks-off autumn colors, though we do get a few splashes…
Cold Tomales
by tmangan • November 7, 2005 • 0 Comments
On a sunny day, the route to Tomales Point is breathtaking. The roar of the Pacific Ocean crashing against the cliffs. Cool breezes all the way from Japan. Elk the size of stallions grazing on a hillside. Yesterday wasn’t one…
On the rocks
by tmangan • October 30, 2005 • 0 Comments
Castle Rock State Park is a gorgeous little place in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s not especially large and the main trail is a nice five-mile loop with just enough hills to give you the sense that you’ve gotten some…
Another Sunday at Sunol
by tmangan • October 23, 2005 • 0 Comments
Last year I had hiked in the rain a half-dozen times by this late in October, but it’s nothing but sunshine around here this fall. The last time I hiked through the Sunol Wilderness, my camera died on me, so…
Me vs. the volcano
by tmangan • September 3, 2005 • 0 Comments
Rule No. 1 for hiking up hills might well be: If you can hear your heartbeat, it’s time to slow down. When I do training hikes, huffing it up steep trails, I know I’m not really pushing myself until my…
Too hot, too hilly: A day at Henry Coe
by tmangan • August 29, 2005 • 0 Comments
If you read up on Henry Coe State Park, the first things you’ll learn are a) the hills are hell; and b) hiking there in late summer is madness. I was one of a few brave fools to hit the…