I made a snap judgment Wednesday to check out Mission Peak at sunset, which I had been fixing to get ready to do for ages. Winehiker Russ loves to lead this hike (just under six miles with 2,000 feet of…
Day hikes I’ve done
Next up: Henry Cowell Redwoods
by tom • July 9, 2008 • 2 Comments
I’m finally going to get around to checking out Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, which has two sections in the woods near Felton in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I’ve been to Cowell’s Fall Creek Unit a couple times (hikes here…
Another hike at Pescadero Creek County Park
by tom • July 7, 2008 • 4 Comments
I covered a slice of Pescadero Creek a couple weeks ago but I knew I’d have to come back. The park delights my inner wannabe social historian — mercilessly logged by previous generations, now hiked by few who realize how…
Latest hikes column: Monte Bello Open Space
by tom • July 3, 2008 • 0 Comments
From this morning’s Mercury News: If you’ve got a mind to do one crazy thing this summer, try hiking in the hot sun at Monte Bello Open Space Preserve. The park in the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Los Altos…
Pescadero Creek County Park, a first hike
by tom • June 23, 2008 • 3 Comments
Add Pescadero Creek County Park to your must-hike list, if it isn’t there already. It’s remote, quiet, full of ambitious young redwoods and a smattering of really old ones that, oddly enough, survived the steam-powered saws of outrageous fortune. Pescadero…
Latest Hikes column: Huddart County Park
by tom • June 19, 2008 • 0 Comments
In this morning’s Mercury News: Huddart County Park, built on a Santa Cruz Mountains hillside west of Woodside, is better known for family reunions and Fourth of July barbecues than hikes. The racket of car engines and rowdy kids takes…
Change-of-plans hike: Monte Bello Open Space Preserve
by tom • June 16, 2008 • 11 Comments
So, how did I end up strolling through the blazing sun at Monte Bello Open Space Preserve after I told everybody yesterday I was hitting the redwoods at Pescadero Creek County Park? Two things, both motivated by greed: 1) Pescadero…
Latest hikes column: Wilder Ranch State Park
by tom • June 5, 2008 • 1 Comment
Here’s the write-up, which appeared in today’s Eye section of the Mercury News. The coast side is the obvious choice: cool breezes, spectacular views and a “cultural preserve” with Victorian-era houses, vehicles and farm implements plus and few 21st-century goats,…
Hiking the Phleger Estate
by tom • June 2, 2008 • 3 Comments
Whoever the Phleger’s were, they had fine taste in terrain. The Phleger Estate, now safely in the hands of the National Parks Service, has some of the best trails through redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s very remote —…