Timms Creek Trail connects the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail and the Sunset Trail at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. It’s a quiet, secluded, rarely used trail that offers a great escape route if you feel you’re not up for the whole 12…
Big Basin Redwoods
Skyline-to-the-Sea trail blockage update
by tom • June 8, 2009 • 7 Comments
UPDATE: This blockage has been cleared. (The following is out of date; it’s remaining posted for historical reasons). Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail is blocked about a half-mile west of the headquarters of Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Fortunately there’s a simple detour:…
Tom's travels
Just rewards of becoming an Amazon associate
by tom • June 6, 2009 • 4 Comments
Sweat socks, shaver accessories and toner cartridges have been my biggest sellers to date (thanks, Mom!). A few of my most devoted readers came through and bought maps of Angel Island, Mount Diablo and Henry Coe (before-tax profit: $1.49) but…
Blogs
How to guarantee your blog doesn’t suck
by tom • June 6, 2009 • 6 Comments
Yesterday’s defense of the proposition that “most blogs suck” brought in a comment from a guy named Phil, who asked for tips on reducing site suckage (his Wild Rye blog is not what I would consider sucky, despite his suspicions…
Hiking
National Trail Day events
by tom • June 5, 2009 • 0 Comments
American Hiking Society’s National Trail Day 2009 is tomorrow (June 6, anniversary of D-Day, one of the greatest hikes in history, except for the massive carnage). These are the Bay Area events: Trail Day at Coyote-Bear County Park. Del Valle…
Gear
Rare deal on a sightly used Western Mountaineering sleeping bag
by tom • June 5, 2009 • 2 Comments
Walt Underwood sent along this thread at BackpackingLight.com, where somebody’s selling a Western Mountaineering Ultralight for $250. Here’s the spec page on the bag, which normally sells for $370 to $400.
Hiking
Great day hikes near Lake Tahoe?
by tom • June 5, 2009 • 14 Comments
Blogs
Adventure Life author speaks
by tom • June 5, 2009 • 2 Comments
We had some fun last week at the expense of Steve “Most Outdoor Blogs Suck” Casimiro, keeper of The Adventure Life. This morning Steve left a comment on the same post. To review: one commenter looked askance at the aspirational…
Gear
Sleeping bags for summer Sierra backpacking
by tom • June 4, 2009 • 8 Comments
MontBell U.L. Super Stretch Hugger #2 Sleeping Bag: 25 Degree Down I like the looks of the Montbell Super Stretch bags (check out Backcountry.com’s lineup) which have elastic stitching to provide a roomier night’s sleep. While I haven’t actually slept…