I’m finally going to get around to checking out Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, which has two sections in the woods near Felton in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I’ve been to Cowell’s Fall Creek Unit a couple times (hikes here…
California state parks
Latest hikes column: Wilder Ranch State Park
by tom • June 5, 2008 • 1 Comment
Here’s the write-up, which appeared in today’s Eye section of the Mercury News. The coast side is the obvious choice: cool breezes, spectacular views and a “cultural preserve” with Victorian-era houses, vehicles and farm implements plus and few 21st-century goats,…
Meadow hiking at Wilder Ranch State Park
by tom • May 12, 2008 • 10 Comments
The ocean side of Wilder Ranch State Park gets all the tourists, picnickers and naked sunbathers. Hardly anybody goes to the backcountry on the north side of Highway 1, and almost none of them travel on foot. Hikers probably read…
Sunday at Wilder Ranch State Park
by tom • April 28, 2008 • 6 Comments
The cool thing about Wilder Ranch State Park is how you get from one side to the other: Tunnels under Highway 1 connect the coast to the backcountry. The map shows two intended for human traffic, and those who’ve been…
Wilder Ranch State Park, a first look
by tom • April 28, 2008 • 4 Comments
I spent Sunday at Wilder Ranch State Park, a couple miles north of the Santa Cruz city limits. The rest of the pictures are here. I’ll chat up this hike later, but I figured I’d throw some pictures up for…
Monday at Henry Coe: another Mount Sizer epic
by tom • April 15, 2008 • 11 Comments
My pal Vindu Goel is jetting off to Brooklyn this weekend to launch his new life as an tech guru for the New York Times, but he had to get one last Henry Coe hike out of his system. Not…
Wildflowers and more from Henry Coe State Park
by tom • March 18, 2008 • 5 Comments
It’s not exactly a riot of color out there just yet, but there’s plenty for alert eyes to see. Oddly enough I’m still not seeing many California poppies in parks this season, but keep seeing tons growing along roads —…
Berry Creek Falls via Skyline to the Sea Trail
by tom • March 4, 2008 • 6 Comments
One for the it’s-hell-getting-old file (whose corollary is “holy shit I get more like my old man every day”): My dad got his absent-mindedness from his old man and thoughtfully passed it along to me. Because I’ve been trying to…
Little Basin to Big Basin
by tom • February 3, 2008 • 2 Comments
I had nothing to gain from this hike: I’ve already written a column about Big Basin for the Mercury News; the forecast called for rain all day; and it was with a group of over a dozen people, and I…