The Parks Department is planning a Trail Challenge that dares everybody to overcome their nature-deficit disorder by enduring the rigors of five — count ’em, five! — hikes in 12 months on the county’s trails. (Upside: if your quest ends…
Wunderlich County Park
Latest Hikes column: Wunderlich County Park
by tmangan • October 4, 2007 • 0 Comments
Read it & weep in today’s Mercury News: It’s a passable getaway on weekends, but the parking lot fills up quickly, a consequence of its shady, sanely graded trails and easy proximity to Interstate 280, Woodside and Portola Valley. Wunderlich…
Lassen Peak
It’s Bumpass Hell out there
by tmangan • October 4, 2007 • 1 Comment
An L.A. Times article raves over the odorous wonders of Bumpass Hell in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Here’s how the story goes: In 1865, a pioneer named Kendall Vanhook Bumpass, who had discovered the site the year before, guided a…
Media (books, DVDs, etc)
“Sex in a Tent” author on tour
by tmangan • October 3, 2007 • 1 Comment
Michelle Waitzman wants all nookie-loving hikers to know her new book, “Sex in a Tent: A Wild Couple’s Guide to Getting Naughty in Nature,” will be released on Oct. 15. CORRECTION: She’ll be at the Marmot Mountain Works store at…
Blogs
NorCal Explorer blog
by tmangan • October 3, 2007 • 0 Comments
Tom Spaulding of Sacramento has a bunch of intriguing posts at his blog, which combines hike write-ups and descriptions of local oddities — mainly goofy signs and obsolete roadside attractions. The most recent post describes a hike to Alamere Falls,…
Blogs
Bay Area Critic’s hikes
by tmangan • October 3, 2007 • 0 Comments
The Bay Area Critic blog has a hiking category where the blog’s owner posts group hike announcements. It’s handy if you’re trolling for outing ideas.
Wildlife
Butterfly season coming soon
by tmangan • October 3, 2007 • 0 Comments
South Bay blogger Greg Grothaus notes that the Monarch butterfly migration is beginning at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz. The totally amazing part is that these butterflies have never been here before. Their parent’s parents have, but since…
Blogs
Ice fishing in the Maine woods
by tmangan • October 3, 2007 • 1 Comment
Kevin Ellingwood dropped me a note about his site, Mainemine.com, which is devoted to outdoorsy stuff in the far, far northeast, where the winters compare favorably to a well-digger’s fanny. He’s starting a blog, natch, which includes a rambling but…
In the news
Yeah, they still hire fire lookouts
by tmangan • October 3, 2007 • 0 Comments
Not nearly as many as in the old days, however. The New York Times profiles a guy who spends his summers looking for smoke in Tahoe National Forest. To get to the Saddleback lookout, one travels back in time, road-wise,…