Old shack No matter how much we crave trees, flowers, meadows, mountain peaks, etc., we still like seeing human stuff along the trail — provided it’s suitably old and existing in a state of advanced disrepair.

Last week’s water bottlers and PowerBar wrappers are unacceptable, but last century’s rusting Model A’s are priceless. The barely standing old shack along the Tarwarter Loop at Pescadero Creek County Park was another of those little pleasures of hiking: seeing another generation’s leftovers.

Some of the ruins are straightforward: The cemetery at Black Diamond Mines springs to mind. Others are a mystery, like the rock walls at Ed Levin County Park.

So, what are your favorite vestiges of human folly on trails around the Bay Area? Send links and share with all hiker buddies.

(Hat tip to Ralph Alcorn for putting this idea in my head, and posting pictures of some Pacific Crest Trail detritus at his blog).