The gang at EveryTrail.com has a new feature for all us GPS geeks: Destinations — which gather all the EveryTrail trips for a specific geographic region into a single page. The new stuff refines the Guides project that Trailspotting and…
Trails
2009 Bay Area Ridge Trail Through-Hike: Who’s going?
by tom • July 16, 2009 • 11 Comments
It’s the 20th anniversary of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, which is celebrating by offering its second annual September through-hike: this year’s trek goes from Castro Valley north to Martinez over five days from Wednesday, Sept. 2, to Sunday. Sept…
Año Nuevo for the elephant seal molt
by tom • July 13, 2009 • 5 Comments
Every winter, the shoreline at Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve becomes jammed with amorous elephant seals. They’re all gone by spring but in the summer a few of the males return to shed their hide, which comes off in large…
First Sierra hike of the summer: Lake Winnemucca via the Pacific Crest Trail
by tom • July 6, 2009 • 9 Comments
Shimmering waters of Lake Winnemucca “I can breathe up here.” So said my allergy-prone wife, Melissa, whom I had talked into an “easy” jaunt down to Lake Winnemucca from Carson Pass. It was an odd thing to hear 9,000 feet…
Fourth of July tribute: American Discovery Trail
by tom • July 4, 2009 • 3 Comments
American Discovery Trail starts on the Atlantic Ocean and ends at the Pacific at Point Reyes National Seashore. Every summer a few brave souls attempt to hike the whole distance — and the few who pass our way see some…
Latest hike: Phleger Estate
by tom • June 22, 2009 • 1 Comment
You have to earn the privilege of enjoying a Phleger Estate hike. Just getting to the best part of it — a sublime grove of redwoods along the Raymundo and Mount Redondo trails — requires a two-mile out-and-back, either from…
Latest hike: Timms Creek Trail at Big Basin Redwoods State Park
by tom • June 9, 2009 • 1 Comment
Timms Creek Trail connects the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail and the Sunset Trail at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. It’s a quiet, secluded, rarely used trail that offers a great escape route if you feel you’re not up for the whole 12…
Skyline-to-the-Sea trail blockage update
by tom • June 8, 2009 • 7 Comments
UPDATE: This blockage has been cleared. (The following is out of date; it’s remaining posted for historical reasons). Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail is blocked about a half-mile west of the headquarters of Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Fortunately there’s a simple detour:…
Latest hike: Henry W. Coe State Park from Dowdy Ranch Visitors Center
by tom • May 25, 2009 • 4 Comments
I had crazy-great weather — sunny and clear with cool breezes — for Sunday’s hike at Henry Coe State Park’s Dowdy Ranch Visitors Center. The trails near Dowdy Ranch, which opened two years ago, are classic Coe: straight up and…