Take a Hike

Ocean View Trail to Panoramic Highway, Muir Woods, CA

2013-08-09T23:49:00.000-07:00

This hike was an end of summer journey with my daughter, Fiona. She had never been to Muir Woods and I hadn't been there since I was a child so this was a fresh experience for both of us.

Muir Woods itself is such a beautiful place. I ended up with a sore neck at the end of the day from all the craning up I did, looking at the massive redwoods and trying to get decent pictures for the blog.

Luckily we arrived early enough to get good parking. This lot fills up FAST, so if you want to get parking, arrive early (before 10:00AM), especially on Fridays and weekends. Parking is free and the admission fee for Muir Woods is only $7 for adults. Adults are anyone over the age of 15, so my daughter got in FREE! Woohoo!

I didn't really plan ahead and so, as we wandered into the heart of Muir Woods, we decided to take the first trailhead we came across which was the Ocean View trail. This proved to be a fairly steep trail but not very long (about 3 miles round trip, out and back). Most of the trail is covered in shade and it is a well worn but well maintained trail. I marveled at the shininess of the tree roots, worn from years of pedestrian traffic across them, that occasionally crossed our path.

When we emerged from the tree line at Panoramic Highway, we were winded and sweaty, but proud of our accomplishment as we looked out onto our view of the Pacific Ocean. It felt like a very good hike. I'm a little sad that Fiona has to go back to school, but I know we have lots of hikes together in our future. We had a good summer.

Mission Peak Trail, Fremont, CA

2012-05-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

The journey to Fremont to hike Mission Peak is well worth the drive. Mission Peak Trail is primarily a nice, wide fire trail, with a slight scramble near the peak which tops out at 2,615 feet.

The final push...

Olma and I hiked this trail to the summit in about an hour and a half. It's a steady and, at times, steep climb. The trail is pretty much exposed to the sun at all times, so, on sunny days, make sure you apply the sunblock and bring adequate hydration.

Almost there.

It's also a good idea to bring some type of windbreaker or sweater as it can get a bit gusty and chilly at the summit. We stayed at the summit long enough to eat lunch (I believe it was Lara bars, blueberries, and bananas).

Hey look! A tree!

The view from the summit was impressive and this was on a day that was slightly cloudy in the Bay Area. I can't wait to see what it looks like on a clear day.

We made it!

Wildlife in the area was predominantly of the bovine variety. There must be a cattle ranch nearby. We also spotted several squirrels and hawks.

After your day on Mission Peak, a good place to refuel is The Country Way Restaurant on nearby Mowry Way. Nothing fancy; just good diner food.

We're both looking forward to another hike on Mission Peak.

Perhaps the mountain grew 102 ft since this marker was placed?

Rory Needs a New Pair of Boots

2012-03-08T18:35:00.002-08:00

I've been thinking about getting a new pair of hiking boots for awhile now. I currently hike in my Hi Tec Cape Trail boots. They've served me well, and I've put a lot of miles on them, but I'm looking to upgrade to a sturdier boot with more waterproof qualities. The Capre Trails are a great lightweight hiking boot for warm weather, but they've left me wet a few times.

Hi Tec Cape Trail II

I picked a boot up off the shelf while shopping at REI last week, and was initially impressed with their construction and aggressive tread pattern. The boot I picked up was an Oboz Beartooth, and the salesperson in the shoe department mentioned to me that it was one of the store's better hiking boots. I thought, "At $200.00, they better be good."

That evening, at home, I did a Google search on the boots and came across an outstanding gear review site which I will share with all my readers here. Backpack Gear Test has been up and running for about 10 years and Rick Dreher, who reviewed the Oboz, has over 40 years of hiking experience under his belt. He gave the Beartooth boots a favorable review, so it looks like I'll be making an investment.

Oboz Beartooth

If any of you out there have any advice or tips in this area, please feel free to comment below. I would greatly appreciate it.

Happy hiking! 3K3WV5U9MJR2

Mt. Whitney Lottery

2012-03-01T23:24:00.001-08:00

Last night, Olma and I attended a presentation at REI on the subject of summiting Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada.

The couple who gave the presentation, Ronald and Joan Breuch, have summited Whitney (14,505 ft elev) on several occasions and have also successfully summited Mt. Kilimanjaro and hiked to Machu Picchu.

The Breuch's inspired both Olma and I to apply for a permit to hike up Mt. Whitney this fall. I submitted our requests today through an online lottery system. With a lottery system, it looks as though there will be a lot of other hikers up there with us. We're both really looking forward to this next adventure.

I think we better start training.

Windy Hill, Portola Valley, CA

2012-02-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed hiking this hill with my co-worker, Oscar. From the trailhead at the parking lot, we followed the Betsy Crowder Trail to its junction with the Spring Ridge Trail. We climbed this trail, which is wide enough to be considered a fire road, for about 1,200 feet in elevation gain to the summit of Windy Hill, just above Skyline Boulevard. It took us about an hour, which wasn't too bad. We were in no hurry (not true...I had a date with Olma for Mardi Gras that evening in Berkeley, so I kept telling Oscar to shake a leg).

While hiking, I spotted several red-tailed hawks. Oscar mentioned that the last time he had hiked up here, he ran across a newt and a flock of quail.

We brought good weather with us and from the summit, were able to see Stanford University and beyond, all the way out to the East Bay Hills, including Mount Diablo and Mission Peak. To the west, we gazed upon the rolling hills and valleys all the way out to the Pacific Ocean. Magnificent hike for views of the beautiful Bay Area we live in.

View to the south

A tree that caught my eye near the start of the trail

View of the East Bay hills

A bench to rest on near the summit

Another view of the East Bay from the summit

Survey marker at the summit of Windy Hill

Stuart Fork Trail to Morris Meadow and Emerald Lake, Trinity Alps, Ca

2011-09-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

This was my second hike into the Trinity Alps, but this time I got to share the experience with Olma.

Olma at the trailhead, ready to go

We spent the night before in Weaverville, just as I did last year, but this time staying at the Weaverville Victorian Inn, as the 49er Gold Rush Motel had no vacancies available. The Victorian was a little more expensive, but it was a very comfortable room. This practice of getting in a good night's rest the night before a big hike seems to be a good plan.

We hiked in on Sunday, the day before Labor Day. Last year I hiked in on Labor Day and met droves of campers on their way out of the Alps. Seeing a large number of cars parked at the trailhead led me to believe that there would be a fairly sizable crowd at Morris Meadow this year.

We got off to an early start, which I knew would give us plenty of time to make the 10 mile trip to the meadow with plenty of spare time, if needed, to rest and recover on the way in. I was confident that Olma could do this as we had both recently converted to the Paleo Diet and had taken up bicycling for exercise. As a result, we had both lost a considerable amount of weight and I knew we were in good shape for this hike.

The weather was perfect; right around 80 degrees. Stuart Fork Trail is great in hot weather as it is about 90% shaded from the trailhead all the way up to the Morris Meadow and beyond. My sunglasses stayed put through the entire hike, right there on the loop attached to my backpack shoulder strap. We both did a great job of reminding each other to stay hydrated as it was pretty warm that day and we were working up a good sweat with the steady elevation gain.

Five hours later, we arrived at Morris Meadow, and I was happy to see that my favorite camping spot was not taken. It's a small enclosure tucked into a pocket of evergreens, with a stone fire ring and an opening with an amazing view of Morris Meadow and the granite mountains that surround the meadow...

Beautiful View of Morris Meadow

As soon as I had our camp site set up, with the tent in place and our food hung just out of bear reach in a nearby tree, I brought Olma down to the cold spring which would be our primary source of water for the next few days. But as hot as I felt after that hike to the meadow, it would first become my swimming hole.

We found a swimming hole!

Speaking of water sources, I'd like to pause here and point out what, in my humble opinion, is quite possibly the greatest invention ever for backpackers. That invention would be the SteriPEN. I purchased one prior to this trip because they happened to be on sale at REI when Olma and I went shopping for freeze dried food for our trip. The SteriPEN has been on my wishlist ever since I read about it in Backpacker Magazine, so I was pretty pumped to see that it was on sale the day we were in the store. Prior to purchasing this device, which uses UV rays to kill harmful bacteria in drinking water, I was using the standard water treatment tablets which take a while to decontaminate the water and which leave a funny taste in your drinking water. The SteriPEN provides you with clean drinking water in less than two minutes and is very simple to use. I can't recommend it highly enough. It served us very well on this trip and I loved the clean taste of that cool alpine water without having any chemical aftertaste.


Morris Meadow base camp

Ano Nuevo State Reserve, CA

2011-06-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

After all these years, I finally got to see elephant seals up close. My trusty hiking partner Olma and I decided to spend the day checking out the elephant seals at Ano Nuevo before the season ends and they all return to the ocean. We had great weather for the hike; nice and sunny with a strong breeze. The ocean looked beautiful from the trail.

Glamour Shot

When we arrived at the viewing point at the end of the trail, just a few miles from the trailhead at the parking lot, we could see several seals on the beach, basking in the warm California sunshine. A few of the young bulls were sparring with each other out in the water. We found out later, from our very knowledgeable and entertaining docent on site, that this was practice for the young males to prepare them for battle during next year's mating season.

Hey, look! A bench!

The volunteer out at the beach today was Alan Fleishman (sp?). I hope I got his name right because he really made our day at the Reserve a special one. He had several interesting stories and humorous facts about the seals as well as the history of the area.

Overall, it was a mild hike, not strenuous at all. You need to be very cautious of poison oak while hiking this trail as it is all over the place.

Cataract Falls Trail to Alpine Lake, Mount Tamalpais, CA

2011-05-01T23:44:00.000-07:00

This was my second hike along the Cataract Trail and my first time showing Olma what a beautiful trail it is. We had perfect weather for today's hike. Temperatures were somewhere in the mid to high 60s range. There were a lot of people, young and old alike, hiking the trail today. The weather and the fact that it was a Sunday probably had a lot to do with the crowds, and yet, it never really felt overcrowded. Many hikers had their dogs with them who seemed to be enjoying the day and the lovely breathtaking surroundings just as much as the humans with them. Olma was impressed with this trail. We're both definitely looking forward to more hikes together in the future.

Dewey Point Meadow Trail (#18) to Dewey Point, Yosemite, CA

2011-02-14T22:58:00.000-08:00

This was my third snowshoe hike and my second time hiking out from Badger Pass. I took a few days off from work to celebrate Valentine's Day with Olma and we decided to spend it in Yosemite National Park, one of our all-time favorite destinations.

We camped at Camp 4, a campsite favored by mountaineers and rock climbers from all over the world. That night we dined on hot dogs and hot chocolate next to a campfire, below a canopy of stars. We ended up cooking a few too many dogs and decided to save them in the bear-proof food locker along with the rest of the food so we could add them to our baked bean supper the following night. As we slumbered, we were awoken at about 3:00AM by a Yosemite black bear who had caught a whiff of our leftovers. After about 15 minutes of earnest attempts at breaking into our locker, the hungry bruin gave up and headed out of camp.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast of fried egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches, we drove out of Yosemite Valley and up to Badger Pass to get our hike on. We rented snowshoes right there at Badger Pass ski resort and headed out to Dewey Point. We weren't sure if we would make it back by the 4 o'clock deadline for rental returns, but I had a feeling that we had a good shot at it. Dewey Point is only a 7-mile round trip from Badger Pass, and we were heading off around 1:00PM.

The Meadow Trail to Dewey Point is a nice, easy hike for about the first mile and a half, and then becomes gradually more strenuous as you near the end of the trail toward the Point. The scenery was fantastic and I marveled at the beauty of the snowy meadow surrounded by evergreens whose boughs were heavily laden with white powder. None of that, however, could compare to the vista that awaited us at the end of the trail. All the way out to Dewey Point, we crossed paths with returning hikers. Just about every one of them made a point of mentioning what a great view was in store for us.

We made good progress, making sure to take breaks for hydration along the way. When we finally arrived at the point, our jaws dropped at the panorama that unfolded before us. This is one of the things I love about Yosemite. Every time you think you've seen all that the park has to offer, Yosemite proves you wrong. Sure, I had seen Half Dome, El Capitan, and the valley before, but NEVER from this angle and height. It was a breathtaking view. I've included a few pictures here, but they really don't do it justice. It's something that has to be experienced and , as you can see, we had great weather for our first experience of Dewey Point.

As a bonus to our Valentine holiday, Olma and I awoke the day after our hike to a campsite and tent covered in fresh falling snow.

Stuart Fork Trail, Trinity Alps, CA

2010-09-06T21:24:00.000-07:00

I traveled alone into the mountains on this hike shortly after my mother passed away. I really needed time to decompress and sort out my emotions. John Muir's quote in the title box of this blog resonated with me as I ventured into unknown territory, knowing that, at the very least, I could blow off some steam by simply taking a walk in the woods. Little did I know that this trek would be far more than a simple walk in the woods.

Emerald Lake

I drove from San Francisco up to Weaverville by way of Highway 5. It was a pleasant drive, consisting primarily of farmland with the occasional truck stop along the way. I loved the view of the lake as I traveled through Whiskeytown. By the time I arrived in Weaverville, it was too late to try and hike out to my campsite destination, Morris Meadow, so I decided to get lodging in town for the night and start out fresh in the morning. I pulled the car into the 49er Gold Country Inn. I highly recommend this place if you find yourself in need of some rest before or after a hike in the Trinity Alps. Nothing fancy. Just a clean room at a decent rate with working AC, cable TV, and a little refrigerator. The place also has a small pool, free wifi, and free popcorn at the front desk when you check in.

The next morning, I rose, checked out of the motel, and drove down the road to the Weaverville ranger station. They were closed for the Labor Day holiday, so I filled out a permit and dropped it into the box outside.

This was my first solo trek into the woods so I was a bit concerned with how much weight I would be carrying. It's a bit easier when you have help carrying food items and the like. In the end, my pack weighed about 40 pounds; about ten pounds heavier than I would have liked but I really did my best to reduce weight as much as possible.

I parked my car at the trailhead, shouldered my pack and headed into the woods.

After several hours and about ten miles of walking, I found myself at beautiful Morris Meadow surrounded by towering granite spires. I set up camp here, feeling thoroughly exhausted. After setting camp, I had a walk around and was amazed at the realization I was the only human being in that enormous meadow. I found a stream near my campsite where I gathered water for cooking and drinking (after treating for microorganisms). As I cooked dinner, I observed deer grazing nearby my campsite and watched the sun set over the mountains while enjoying some spaghetti. After dinner, I tied the remainder of my food up in a tree so the bears wouldn't get to it, and turned in for the night.

I had a hard time sleeping. The air mattress was super thin and not insulated, so it got pretty cold at night. I also kept hearing noises in the woods and wondered what was out there. At one point, I was jarred awake by something running past my tent at full speed (maybe a deer that got spooked by my snoring? haha).

When I got up the next morning, I cooked a breakfast of freeze dried eggs and coffee, then looked at my topo map while eating so I could decide where to go for the day. I settled on a day hike to nearby Emerald Lake, about five miles further up the trail from my campsite. I thought about packing up everything and spending the night at the lake, but decided on a day hike instead, and left a base camp at the meadow.

The lake was just as beautiful as the meadow and I spent the day swimming and reading. It was very relaxing. I could see trout swimming in the water as I risked getting a sunburn while laying out on the huge rocks along the shore. I liked watching them break the surface of the cool alpine water as they went after flying insects.

When the sun made its way across towards the other side of the lake, I decided it was time to head back to camp. On the walk back down the trail, I came out of some heavy brush and heard a loud, crashing noise to my left. I immediately realized it was a bear when I saw a large, black furry shape charge away from the trail and up the hillside to the left of me. The bear perched itself on top of a nearby boulder and turned to look at me.

Yes, I took this picture!

I had spent some time reading up on California black bears and figured I would know what to do if I ever encountered one. Luckily, this one was more afraid of me than I was of him/her. The one thing I knew for sure was that I shouldn't run. I took out my camera and started taking pictures of it while talking to it in a low voice. I don't even remember what I was saying, but I do remember feeling thrilled at the opportunity to be so close to such a beautiful animal in its natural habitat instead of at a zoo. As I stood there snapping off one picture after another, the bear slowly made its way further up the hill away from me. I figured this was my cue to be on my way as well. I waved to the bear and continued on down the trail, occasionally looking back to make sure I wasn't being followed (I had empty Lara bar and buffalo jerky wrappers in my backpack from my snack time at the lake).

I spent one more night sleeping in the meadow. Before turning in, I went over my map again and thought I might take a shot at hiking a seldom used trail up to another lake known as Alpine Lake, to the southeast of the meadow when I got up in the morning.

After another very cold night of restless sleep, I packed up the tent and all my gear and hit the trail for my next campsite. The climb up the mountain was steep and grueling, and the weight of all my gear compounded with the past couple days of endless walking made this an arduous undertaking. This section of trail had clearly not been maintained as I had to push and shove my way through overgrown chaparral and scramble over large sized boulders. A couple of times, I lost my bearings and had to backtrack to pick up the trail again.

I don't know how close I came to getting to that lake, but when I was fairly high up into the mountain, I got slammed by a rainstorm that I never saw coming. I didn't even have time to cover myself, let alone my gear. What a downpour! By the time I got my poncho on, it was too late. My socks, pants, and everything else were soaked, including my sleeping bag.

I started thinking about survival at this point. I was alone. I was soaking wet. I was exhausted from the climb. I had no idea how much further it was to the lake. When I got there, I was fairly certain I wouldn't be able to dry off before it got dark and it REALLY started to get cold. I made the decision to turn around and head back to my car. I remember apologizing to my mother out loud, with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye, for not trying harder and promising to return some day.

The following year, at the same date, I hiked back into the Trinity Alps with a small container of my mother's ashes. I spread them on the earth and in the water of my favorite alpine retreat. I plan to go back there every year for as long as my legs are able to carry me.

Saratoga Gap Trail / Ridge Trail, Castle Rock Park

2010-06-18T17:29:00.001-07:00

North Ridge Trail to Mt. Livermore, Angel Island

2010-06-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

2nd hike with Fiona. First summit of any mountain for both of us.

Stewart Trail from Wildcat Camp to Glen Camp

2010-06-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

Day hike while camping at Point Reyes

Palomarin - Coast Trail to Wildcat Camp

2010-06-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

First backpack trip.

Brooks Fallls Trail, San Pedro Park, Pacifica

2010-06-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

First hike with Fiona.

Palomarin to Alamere Falls, Point Reyes, CA

2010-03-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Cataract Trail - Mt. Tamalpais, CA

2010-03-04T23:38:00.001-08:00

This was my first hike since starting this blog. It was also my first solo hike, although I met some very nice people as I ambled along the trail.

After checking the local Bay Area Hiker website, I decided on the Cataract trail as it was recommended highly for winter and we had just had some serious rainfall here in the San Francisco area.

Cataract Trail is approximately a 6 mile out and back hike with a

Mariposa Grove, Yosemite Park, CA

2010-02-14T11:23:00.000-08:00

Glacier Point Trail to Summit Meadow

2010-01-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

Snowshoe hike at Badger Pass