Yesterday we were walking back to the car, admiring our certificates for completing the 2008 El Toro Hike of Morgan Hill, when Rebecca noted the 1,420-foot elevation and said “hey, all you’d have to do is add one digit and…
Yearly Archives: 2008
Aesthetics: what makes a good trail
by tom • April 6, 2008 • 5 Comments
The post last week about why local parks have so few visitors generated a raft of thoughtful commentary. One of the last to chime in was veteran Bay Area trail builder Jim Preston, who described an ideal of trail aesthetics…
The Fourteener of Morgan Hill
by tom • April 5, 2008 • 12 Comments
(A first ascent, as it might have appeared in an adventure rag of your choosing). One day a year, they open the path to El Toro. Straight up the spine of the signature peak that glowers at the edge of…
See y’all at El Toro
by tom • April 5, 2008 • 1 Comment
It’s where all the cool kid are going to be.
Feedback on Grant Ranch article
by tom • April 4, 2008 • 0 Comments
This one arrived in today’s e-mail at work in regards to my profile of Joseph D. Grant County Park: Tom – Just a quick note to say that you did a good job on the Grant Ranch piece — I…
Find your watershed
by tom • April 4, 2008 • 0 Comments
This is a nifty tool: a map of watersheds of the West. You enter your city name and a map highlights all the areas nearby from which water flows into it. How it works is here. Link via the Daily…
More Carrizo Plain pics
by tom • April 4, 2008 • 0 Comments
Carol took some most excellent pictures the weekend before last during our camp-out at Carrizo Plain National Monument. Check ’em out. (They leave mine in the dust).
Hidden Treasures of the West
by tom • April 4, 2008 • 0 Comments
The Wilderness Society has a couple of excellent videos profiling Bureau of Land Management properties. Here’s Part I (which mentions our beloved Lost Coast): Here’s Part II: The society’s also urging folks to send Congress a note ahead of next…
Wheelchair-accessible trails in the Bay Area
by tom • April 4, 2008 • 1 Comment
4WheelBob on the way to White Mountain’s summit. You could just ask 4WheelBob where he goes, but Bob gave up on “accessible” trails years ago. Web sites of the various park districts are all over the map on telling folks…