I’ve moved Uvas Canyon County Park to the top of my list of parks to check out after four weekends of rain. Lots of other hikers will get the same idea if you go on a Saturday or Sunday, but…
Trails
Muddy, damp day hike at Las Trampas Regional Wilderness
by tom • February 9, 2009 • 6 Comments
You’ve no doubt heard of the term “muscle memory.” I think it means, “what happens when your legs have forgotten how to go downhill.” I tested the concept Sunday at Las Trampas Regional Wilderness in Contra Costa County in the…
New trails at Pleasanton Ridge
by tom • December 15, 2008 • 3 Comments
Avid reader Keith Barlow sent this news tip along this morning: Heads up that there is some new hiking (& biking & running) mileage on the Pleasanton Ridge. http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=1048 http://ebparks.org/node/1006 The article says you can get there by starting at…
Saratoga Gap to Long Ridge Open Space Preserve
by tom • December 1, 2008 • 2 Comments
I’m just about done for the day when a half-dozen 6- and 7-year-olds come barreling down the trail on their baby BMX bikes. I’m thinking, “don’t their dads know this is a state park and bikes aren’t allowed on these…
Castle Rock never gets old
by tom • November 23, 2008 • 3 Comments
I couldn’t wait to get in among the trees to test my new GPS unit. Castle Rock State Park has abundant tree cover, though nothing as thick as, say Big Basin Redwoods, which is back in the rotation again (though…
Mercury News article on ranching history of nearby parks
by tom • November 20, 2008 • 0 Comments
Lisa Krieger’s latest Wanderlust report covers ground trodden many times over around here. She starts at Grant County Park and ranges over to the Skyline Boulevard open space preserves. While the pioneers who toiled on our old family farms are…
Bonus hike at Ed Levin County Park
by tom • November 12, 2008 • 15 Comments
I saw the little black angus calf wandering about, baying for its mom, about 100 yards down the trail. I wondered where mom was because the only time a cow will trouble itself to stop grazing is if you block…
First hike: Garin-Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park
by tom • November 2, 2008 • 6 Comments
Garin-Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park is mostly former ranch land, like most of the East Bay parks, which means a fair share of old Jeep trails better attuned to the internal combustion engine. The park is in lies in the…
Mount Sizer in Henry Coe: Among the best hard hikes in the Bay Area
by tom • October 20, 2008 • 6 Comments
What makes Mount Sizer a must-see? Check out Baychic’s pictures from Saturday. She went with a group that put in a 16-mile version of the Sizer loop (just about any Sizer hike is a minimum of 12 miles, all of…