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…
Trails
Hike videos of the Berry Creek Falls at Big Basin
by tom • January 29, 2008 • 0 Comments
I’ve been meaning to link to these and now that it’s waterfall season, these videos are worth a look: Part 1. Part 2. Part. 3 Anna, the producer of these videos, has a bunch more at her YouTube profile page…
First time I climbed Mission Peak
by tom • January 28, 2008 • 1 Comment
For those who haven’t been reading along since the summer of 2004, here’s a look back at the day I figured out I could be a hiker. About three-quarters of the way up, I’m starting to tire out. I walk…
Latest hike: Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
by tom • January 22, 2008 • 5 Comments
One of my rules is: always visit the graveyard. There used to be as many as seven coal mines in these hills near Antioch in northeastern Contra Costa County. The towns that sprouted up around these mines are long gone…
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…
Latest Hikes column: Mission Peak
by tom • December 20, 2007 • 1 Comment
Posted today at www.mercurynews.com A few hours at Mission Peak Regional Preserve might make you wonder if the United Nations has a West Coast hiking club. Fremont’s signature peak attracts people from everywhere. I’ve chatted with hikers from India, China,…