Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve

A great beginning, 5.8 miles completed, 403.9 miles to go Distance: 5.8 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss 1,215 feet/1,290 feet Having 403 miles remaining of a 400 mile hike is hardly a cause for celebration. But getting started is a worthy event, and picking a starting point from so many choices took some time. After pouring over the…Read more

San Francisco Peninsula Watershed: Fifield-Cahill Trail

A Docent Lead Hike Distance: 12.8 Miles  Elevation Gain/Loss 1,725 feet/1,490 feet Much of the ridge trail in the southern end of the peninsula passes through a dense forest of coast redwoods. Conversely, in the north, the Sweeney Hill section leading into Pacifica is dominated by coastal sagebrush and similar dense, low vegetation. The Fifield-Cahill trail sits…Read more

Sweeney Ridge

Hiking Through the Fog Distance: 3.2 Miles (7.1 miles total for the day) Elevation Gain/Loss: 785 feet/300 feet Sweeney Ridge Trail Map The official map of this section combines it with the segment just north, Skyline College to Pacifica. We decided to also combine them into a single hike. For this post I’ll just focus on…Read more

Skyline College to Pacifica via Milagra Ridge

Descent From Ridgeline to City Distance: 3.4 Miles (7.1 miles total for the day) Elevation Gain/Loss: 115 feet/670 feet We started the day at Sweeney Ridge to complete both sections as one hike. We spent much of the day in a comfortable descent down from the ridge line toward the ocean. By the time we…Read more

Mussel Rock to Stern Grove

A ridge trail with no ridge, and very little trail Distance: 8.6 miles (4.5 miles and 4.1 miles) Elevation Gain/Loss: 655 feet/565 feet I’m hate to say it, but the two ridge trail sections that make up this hike were both my least favorite so far. I was not expecting much from this primarily urban…Read more

The US Southwest Roadtrip

This route, which starts and ends in Las Vegas, packs a whole lot into 8 days. This doesn’t include the additional 3 days in Las Vegas which we added to the end to rest. Although I would not consider Las Vegas a particularly restful place. Still, it’s nice to stay still for a few days…Read more

Day 1 – Las Vegas, NV to Springdale, AZ

A short drive today of only 2.5 hours to get from the Las Vegas airport car rental to Springdale, AZ outside of Zion National Park. https://goo.gl/maps/Gopfy4T26q3JWp7k8 The short drive passed through all 3 states included in the road trip. The scenery began as an empty desert but improved significantly as we entered the Valley of…Read more

Day 3 – Bryce, UT to Torrey, UT

The plan for day 3 was to get an early start on the sights in Bryce Canyon, including a short hike. Then off to Torrey, UT for the night. Torrey is just outside Capitol Reef, so that would allow an early start on tomorrows route. https://goo.gl/maps/yyuJKz1fXahwv2B1A The drive to Torrey goes along Utah 12 through…Read more