Calflora.org appears to have documented everything green (and any other hue) from Oregon to Mexico, Sierra to Pacific. The highlight is the Map Viewer, which shows where certain species have been seen in specific locations. The search engine is a…
Fitness
Plantar fasciitis: quick tips for sufferers
by tom • February 7, 2008 • 1 Comment
The sectionhiker.com blog has a brief overview: It is a repetition injury often caused by hiking or running and presents itself as chronic heel pain. This pain is caused by the inflammation of the ligament that connects your heel bone…
Blogs
Reminder to sign up for my RSS comments feed
by tom • February 6, 2008 • 0 Comments
Pretty much every day I’m amazed at how much better this blog is because people share comments. If you’re reading via an RSS feed, clicking on the headline will bring in all the current comments, but the comments feed is…
Blogs
New blog: Outdoor Tech
by tom • February 6, 2008 • 2 Comments
This one’s from Clyde Soles, a veteran mountaineer, rock climber, writer and photographer. Soles has written a couple books for climbers, including this well-regarded title devoted to the subject of knots. He’s already had one provocative post pointing to evidence…
Gear
Great outdoor gear deals in Berkeley
by tom • February 6, 2008 • 2 Comments
Rick from Hike Halfdome was up there the other day. He suggests: North Face has a huge outlet store – a real outlet, not a Gilroy come-on. They had 50% off winter jackets. Thank they deities that winter is almost…
Gear
Hikers’ insight on insoles
by tom • February 6, 2008 • 11 Comments
I’ve got the orange Superfeet insoles for a couple pairs of hiking shoes whose fit is less than ideal. They seem to improve comfort a smidgen, though not as much as a better-fitting pair of shoes would, I suspect. I’m…
Gear
REI has consumer comments now
by tom • February 5, 2008 • 1 Comment
Just noticed this the other day: REI.com has added consumer reviews (which backcountry.com was using two years ago, but hey, late progress is still progress). As a sampling, check out this link to the $600 Garmin Colorado 400t GPS unit,…
Rancho San Antonio
Hiking at Rancho San Antonio
by tom • February 5, 2008 • 6 Comments
I decided to write my next Mercury News column on Rancho San Antonio County Park and Open Space Preserve, so I stopped by the park yesterday to refresh my memory of the trails out that way. Hadn’t been there since…
Saving California's state parks
California parks department’s defense of closing 48 parks
by tom • February 4, 2008 • 8 Comments
A PDF from California Department of Parks and Recreation outlines why the parks in question were targeted and points out a few telling details, such as: Elimination of public access at the 48 parks will result in a revenue loss…