I’m seeing hints of wildflower season — lots o’ poppies on steep, sunny hillsides, mainly — but I can’t be everywhere so I figured I may as well ask what the rest of you are seeing out there. So, let’s…
Wildlife
Rattlesnake roundup
by tom • March 10, 2008 • 14 Comments
It’s good to know the rattlesnakes are out of hibernation. The best way to learn this is from your friendly neighborhood hiking blogger. The worst way is from the tips of their hypodermic fangs. My way was in the middle:…
“Earth Dance” Short Attention Span Film Festival
by tom • March 8, 2008 • 0 Comments
It’s happening Friday, April 4, at Oakland Museum of California. It’s a bunch of short films about the planet. The plug: EarthDance is not your average film festival. Our 20 short films (30 seconds to 30 minutes each) are a…
Calflora: for all you wildflower fiends
by tom • February 7, 2008 • 0 Comments
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…
Fatal tiger attack
by tom • December 26, 2007 • 3 Comments
I must’ve been enjoying my one-day Christmas vacation, because I completely missed the most amazing news story of, well, many of the past few years. Somehow a 350-pound female tiger escaped its holding pen at the San Francisco Zoo yesterday,…
Kite flying
by tom • December 26, 2007 • 0 Comments
Gambolin’ Man sent a note the other day about his first-ever sighting of a pair of white-tailed kites, raptors known for their tendency to hover, kite-like, over their prey. Luckily, I had my binoculars, for they were a good 75…
I love this
by tom • December 6, 2007 • 2 Comments
That other outdoor writer named Tom recommends driving 400 miles round trip to cut a Christmas tree in a national forest to save the $50-$100 they’re charging in local lots. The Chron must let him expense all the fill-ups in…
Keeping it green in camp
by tom • November 30, 2007 • 6 Comments
Tacoma News Tribune has a rundown of the usual “stop trashing the place, dammit” advice. The first of 11: 1. Stay on the trail when you hike – even if that means walking through mud puddles. Cutting from one part…
Any hiking cops amongst y ‘all?
by tmangan • November 5, 2007 • 2 Comments
If so, the East Bay Regional Parks District wants you: We are looking for industrious and innovative officers to enforce a myriad of laws not commonly enforced by officers in other agencies, including Penal, Health and Safety, Welfare and Institutions,…