I decided to write my next Mercury News column on Rancho San Antonio County Park and Open Space Preserve, so I stopped by the park yesterday to refresh my memory of the trails out that way. Hadn’t been there since…
Santa Clara County parks
Almaden Quicksilver history trail story published
by tom • January 31, 2008 • 1 Comment
Grab a copy of today’s Mercury News (look, you can always use the paper to pack your eBay auction items) if you’re interested in my article about Zack Taich, Mike Malone and the historic hiking map they created for Almaden…
Latest Hikes column: Calero County Park
by tom • January 18, 2008 • 0 Comments
This was posted yesterday but I got busy: It’s all horses and flowers at Calero County Park. Calero, near the southern edge of San Jose, is one of Santa Clara County’s most popular equestrian destinations – it even has corrals…
Hiking through history at Almaden Quicksilver County Park
by tom • January 14, 2008 • 2 Comments
“I never knew any of this was back here,” Zack the Eagle Scout says. We’re at Alamaden Quicksilver County Park, the site of what used to be a massive mercury-mining operation with shafts and tunnels bored all over the hills…
Interesting Scout project at Almaden Quicksilver County Park
by tom • January 12, 2008 • 2 Comments
A local Eagle Scout went out to Almaden Quicksilver and put together a 6.5-mile “participatory history hike,” linking old mining sites at the park. He printed a brochure with a guide to all the sites and included a quiz —…
Latest Hikes column: Uvas Canyon County Park
by tom • January 3, 2008 • 2 Comments
Posted today at www.mercurynews.com Uvas Canyon County Park inspires hikers to pray for rain. Mountain springs keep a trickle of water running down the park’s steep canyons most of the year, but the rainy season turns the park into a…
Uvas again
by tom • December 17, 2007 • 2 Comments
So I’m sprawled over a creek bed trying to set up my Gorillapod and get a good picture of this: Hey, it ain’t all loveliness out there in the wilderness… but anyway: Nature’s eloquence at punishing the inept unfolds, (spills,…
My Uvas Canyon adventure
by tom • December 10, 2007 • 10 Comments
It took me a full two days to get one good hike in at Uvas Canyon County Park, which is odd considering the park has only seven miles of trails to begin with. It might’ve gone smoother if it hadn’t…
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…