A remarkable Sonoma County landscape is finally preserved, protecting redwoods, Sargent cypress, serpentine grasslands, and a beloved waterfall.
Bohemia Ranch Goes Public
July 11, 2012 •
Exploration
Camping and Backpacking | Climbing | Gardening | Kids and Nature | Paddling | Point Reyes Walkabout | Trails
Alcatraz Island is a renowned prison — but a horticultural gem?
July 6, 2012 •
From afar, this windswept island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay appears so rugged that you’d expect to find only century plans and eucalyptus. But Alcatraz is alive with color.
Point Reyes: Palomarin to Bear Valley
July 4, 2012 •
Last night, for the first time in their 132-year rivalry, the San Francisco Giants swept the L.A. Dodgers with a shutout. This morning my granddaughter, Kalia, took her first steps and the Supreme Court upheld “Obamacare.” To celebrate, I decided to take a long “walkabout.”
A New Take on Sibley Preserve
July 1, 2012 •
Every day, east of Highway 24’s Caldecott Tunnel, thousands of commuters hurtle–or crawl–past a fine swath of the East Bay’s glorious greenbelt, where just off the highway, the north trailhead of Sibley Volcanic Preserve invites exploration.
Long Views at Long Ridge Open Space Preserve
July 1, 2012 •
Part of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, this preserve features 13 miles of trails on 2,035 acres along the upper west side of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Minus tides expose wilderness below the waves
June 28, 2012 •
Point Reyes Peninsula is rimmed along its rocky sections with a living fringe so diverse and wildly colorful – so dense with phenomenal creatures – that when the tides recede there’s a gravitational pull to go there and explore. Tidepools are literally the wilderness next door, yet accessible only when the moon and sun conspire to exert extra pull on the Earth’s oceanic sheath, thereby exposing the coastline. May through July is one of the two periods in the year when extreme low tides occur.
Nabokov’s Blues along the Estero Trail
June 20, 2012 •
Searching for butterflies at Point Reyes–and finding them! Hike along with Jules Evens on a 7.5 mile loop with planty of winged beauty.
An Iron Man for transit advocates
June 18, 2012 •
128 miles. 12,000 feet elevation gain. 17-plus hours of exercise. 3 mountain summits. 3 transit agencies. Add to that temperatures well into the triple digits in some places, and you’ve got the makings of a great story.That’s about all you need to know to get an impression of how grueling the event known as Alt. Ride (formerly the Triple Threat) was this year.
Olema Valley Trail: Texiera Ranch to Five Brooks. (4.7 miles one-way)
June 6, 2012 •
Stinging nettles and horsetail, plus lots of wildflowers, on the trail at Point Reyes.
A Naturalist’s Vow at Point Reyes: Obedience to Awareness
June 2, 2012 •
Jules Evens continues his year-long trek on all the trails of Point Reyes. this time out, it’s the Bayview Trail, short on views but long on wildlife and the interesting ecological processes of the bishop pine forest, much of which burned in the 1995 Vision Fire.