I don’t have much stomach for exploiting tragedies … the 11 mountaineers who perished on K2 were not hikers (and might’ve slapped anybody who called them such) … so I have a plausible excuse for not adding my voice to…
Gear
iPhone 3G battery blues
by tom • August 6, 2008 • 5 Comments
I put my iPhone through its paces on the nearby Guadalupe River Trail yesterday, using pretty much every feature built into it. With iTunes running in the background, I walked for about two hours, snapped and uploaded 40 low-resolution pictures…
Blogs
High Sierra linkage
by tom • August 5, 2008 • 2 Comments
As long as other people are going to the high peaks and writing up their experiences, I feel absolved of the responsibility. Hey, I got married, that’s enough commitment for one life. This morning I found all sorts of evidence…
Travel
Climbing Mount Whitney on Labor Day weekend?
by tom • August 4, 2008 • 5 Comments
Got this missive from a San Jose reader hoping to summit Mount Whitney on Labor Day weekend: I am hoping to hike Mt. Whitney on Sun, Aug 31, 2008 but do not have a permit. Given that is the Labor…
Sunol Regional Wilderness
Addressing my public at Sunol Wilderness
by tom • August 4, 2008 • 5 Comments
This is a first: meeting not one but two Two-Heel Drive readers for the first time on the same day. I decided to tag along with Mike Wimble’s FOMFOK gang because they were heading out to my all-time favorite Bay…
Hiking, Travel
See it here first: five summer hikes for California travelers
by tom • August 1, 2008 • 4 Comments
Turns out the Mercury News wants at least one more hiking related item: a Sunday travel cover feature recommending five great late-summer hikes within a day’s drive of San Jose. The hikes are Panorama Trail at Yosemite, Lassen Peak summit,…
Backpacking
New on the WildeBeat: Leave No Trace Third Principle
by tom • July 31, 2008 • 5 Comments
Steve records a couple who tell how far you should poop from major water sources, plus other interesting details. From the script: EMILY RESSLER: And then another thing we like to talk about is what we call micro litter. And…
Blogs
Some nice Henry Coe backpacking pictures
by tom • July 31, 2008 • 0 Comments
Megan Miller of the Momentrance blog and her guy went backpacking at Henry Coe State Park last weekend. Check out the slide show. Megan also has cool jazz combo (she tickles the ivories). Always nice to discover hikers with actual…
Wildlife
Edible wild plants in the Bay Area
by tom • July 31, 2008 • 0 Comments
Some of the wild flora growing along Bay Area trails is edible … for instance, I know a wild blackberry and a patch of miner’s lettuce when I see one. Some of it, though, does stuff your body doesn’t like,…