View Full Version : Hiking
I'm posting this here because it's not about the health benefits that I strive for with my hiking, but is just about how much I enjoy the beauty of the trails and views and blah blah blah. Today I went on a new trail about 20 minutes from our house. 3.1 miles up and 3.1 miles back. A little under 1200 foot elevation gain. This is pretty much the sweet spot for me as far as difficulty goes, so I was super excited to check it out. And the views did not disappoint. San Francisco and Oakland skylines as well as the Richmond bridge. Hopefully the picture is high enough resolution that you can see them off in the distance. (san francisco is pretty much in the dead center of the picture)
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And after I got home and was posting a review on All Trails, the website/app that I use to find trails, and not get lost on the trails when I'm out hiking, I found a review by this guy. Apparently he wears a gopro on his head when he goes hiking or something. If you want to see a 6x version of the exact hike I did today follow the link. (obviously he did this before all the rain we have received so it looks a little different now.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEhO5YDWwrw
rosarugosa
1-18-22, 6:28am
That is so beautiful, JP. You are fortunate to have access to such a great spot and the ability to enjoy it!
That is a gorgeous view! Cool video! It's funny to see greenery. Here's a picture of my latest hike on a local trail. It's called Story Walk, sponsored in part by the local library, so you can hike and every few yards or so read a page of Owl Moon. Here's a picture of DH reading one of the pages.
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Cool thread--I'd like to see pictures of other recent hikes!
happystuff
1-18-22, 10:29am
Wonderful hikes, jp1 and catherine. Love the idea of hiking and reading at the same time.
jp1-I watched the video and it's such a beautiful trail! I can see why you hike for the beauty.
The video view was so fast on a bike or motorbike? Hiking lets one savour the view as one progresses.
I think he says he just speeds the videos up to 6x normal speed with editing software. Which sounds right. It took me a little over an hour each way.
That is a gorgeous view! Cool video! It's funny to see greenery. Here's a picture of my latest hike on a local trail. It's called Story Walk, sponsored in part by the local library, so you can hike and every few yards or so read a page of Owl Moon. Here's a picture of DH reading one of the pages.
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Cool thread--I'd like to see pictures of other recent hikes!
That sounds fun. I like hearing about things like this. The other day I read a diary on dailykos about some sort of geolocation game where you get instructions and have to then go find a hidden thing and then follow the clues for the next one, like a treasure hunt. That also seemed like a great way for people to motivate to get outside and move.
This is Phoenix reservoir, one of our drinking water storage reservoirs. The pic is from a hike last summer before all the rains. Went back there on Friday and thankfully it's completely full now.
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dado potato
1-21-22, 10:21pm
How about...
Kent Walks.
This walk is on Blue Bell Hill. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViFLs2QEAQY
A site along the walk is the White Horse Stone (the white horse rampant being the emblem of County Kent).
According to legend, in the Fifth Century Vortigern, "King of the Britons", was overserved ale by the Anglo-Saxon/Jute leader Hengist, father of Rowena. And Vortigern's desire for Rowena was so great, he gave Kent to Hengist in exchange for her.
happystuff
1-22-22, 12:12am
That sounds fun. I like hearing about things like this. The other day I read a diary on dailykos about some sort of geolocation game where you get instructions and have to then go find a hidden thing and then follow the clues for the next one, like a treasure hunt. That also seemed like a great way for people to motivate to get outside and move.
It's geocaching. There is also something sorta similar called letterboxing. Easy to Google and find out more. I've done both in my area as well as letterboxing on a couple of vacations years ago. Don't know how popular either one is these days.
iris lilies
1-22-22, 12:19am
Such a pretty view in your first post JP
A couple of pics from last Sunday's hike. The trailhead is next to a cow pasture but just ten minutes in are the "big trees" that the trail is named after. Thankfully they are not laying down on their side. That's just a benefit from the forum software...
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rosarugosa
1-27-22, 6:41am
I do not have such dramatic vistas to share, but this is the river right near my house, and I start my local walks with a look from the bridge to see if there is any interesting wildlife about.
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happystuff
1-27-22, 12:00pm
Loving all these beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing.
It's geocaching. There is also something sorta similar called letterboxing. Easy to Google and find out more. I've done both in my area as well as letterboxing on a couple of vacations years ago. Don't know how popular either one is these days.
My grandson and I do geocaching. Free app. Only cost is gas if you leave your walking vicinity. It's a great way to get him away from his screens. He gets pretty jazzed as we close in on the caches. Most we find; some we can't.
I do not have such dramatic vistas to share, but this is the river right near my house, and I start my local walks with a look from the bridge to see if there is any interesting wildlife about.
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It may not be that dramatic but it still looks quite nice.
Not all of my hikes have dramatic vistas either. One of my favorites is next to the local general aviation airport so there are always little tiny airplanes flying over and it is within sound of the big racetrack that's maybe 5 miles away. On race weekends it's not terribly peaceful so I look online at the racetrack schedule before heading there.
But it is also next to a major wetlands area that had been drained to make farmland until about 20 years ago when they started restoring it to a very biodiverse wetland. The picture doesn't do justice to how big the area is. The idea that an area hundreds of square miles had been drained of water to make farmland is remarkable to me. Although perhaps it is more remarkable that somehow we managed to turn it back into what it used to be.
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Today's hike featured a nice view of San Pablo Bay (just north of San Francisco Bay). The tall mountain way off in the distance is Mount Diablo, about 40 miles east southeast. It's the tallest peak in the bay area. 4.8 mile hike with 987 feet of elevation gain. My legs are definitely feeling it this evening.
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Beautiful pictures!
jp, that's a great story about the wetlands!
happystuff
2-6-22, 10:02am
Love the pictures. Glad you are enjoying your hikes!
Wow thank you for sharing! I love seeing different views of where people call home and enjoying their area.
We didn't hike to get to this but it's so awesome I figured I would share anyway. SO's mother and sister are visiting and we spent the weekend up in Sonoma, north of the city. (mother is 89 and has heart issues so walking long distances just isn't a good plan. And sister's idea of a long walk was to leave the hotel and walk to the far end of the strip mall next door to the hotel...)
Yesterday we went to Armstrong Woods, a beautiful place with many redwood trees. The oldest/biggest is the Colonel Armstrong. It's 308 feet tall and roughly 1400 years old. It's normal that the lower part has no branches. As the trees get taller the branches higher up block the sunlight so the lower down branches die off and you end up with a forest canopy that supports the entire trees. It's kind of mind boggling to me to think that this tree started its life sometime around the year 600 AD.
And even more important, I've figured out how the forum software wants people to deal with the direction of photographs. You just have to upload the photo, figure out what undesired direction it is facing, use the photo editor on your computer to rotate it to what would be "right", save that as a new file, and then use your computer's photo editor again to re-rotate the new back the same amount. Start a new post and upload this third file and it will be facing the right direction! Simple living at it's best!
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Great picture, JP, but the whole photo thing doesn't sound very simple to me! I just upload pics from my desktop and they are always the correct orientation. Do you think it's something to do with me not having an iPhone?
Great picture, JP, but the whole photo thing doesn't sound very simple to me! I just upload pics from my desktop and they are always the correct orientation. Do you think it's something to do with me not having an iPhone?
It’s probably more to do with the forum software engineers not having an iPhone. Because if they did they surely would not consider this to be such an awesome feature.
We didn't hike to get to this but it's so awesome I figured I would share anyway. SO's mother and sister are visiting and we spent the weekend up in Sonoma, north of the city. (mother is 89 and has heart issues so walking long distances just isn't a good plan. And sister's idea of a long walk was to leave the hotel and walk to the far end of the strip mall next door to the hotel...)
Yesterday we went to Armstrong Woods, a beautiful place with many redwood trees. The oldest/biggest is the Colonel Armstrong. It's 308 feet tall and roughly 1400 years old. It's normal that the lower part has no branches. As the trees get taller the branches higher up block the sunlight so the lower down branches die off and you end up with a forest canopy that supports the entire trees. It's kind of mind boggling to me to think that this tree started its life sometime around the year 600 AD.
And even more important, I've figured out how the forum software wants people to deal with the direction of photographs. You just have to upload the photo, figure out what undesired direction it is facing, use the photo editor on your computer to rotate it to what would be "right", save that as a new file, and then use your computer's photo editor again to re-rotate the new back the same amount. Start a new post and upload this third file and it will be facing the right direction! Simple living at it's best!
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Thank you for sharing this.. my latest area of interest is in old-growth forests and the need to protect them, so thank you for sharing the history of that tree! I just recently learned more about Julia Butterfly Hill, the woman who sat in the tree Luna for over two years to protect it from loggers. I had heard of her, but never knew the story. What a great story!! She is such a cool person. There are videos on YouTube where she describes her journey.
If you are interested, take a look at Part 1 of the YouTube video and then the sidebar should have Parts 2,3, and 4. Each one is only 10-15 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyLiOnmBZLw
It’s probably more to do with the forum software engineers not having an iPhone. Because if they did they surely would not consider this to be such an awesome feature.
The vBulletin software engineers abandoned this version of the software some years ago in favor of a completely revamped version. I'm sure that the latest iteration does recognize the 'up' tag modern smartphones and tablets embed in photographs, unfortunately this version does not. As I've mentioned before, if you take a pic in your devices default portrait orientation, it will show up here that way as well.
It appears that modern smartphone's photos app and modern social media software does the orientation work for you, recognizing the embedded orientation tag and automatically rotates photos displayed. We could do that here too if we purchased the newest version of the software, converted our database to accomodate the newer versions requirements and then upgraded the server side software. On the other hand, we could also just take our photos right side up. ;)
I usually export the photo to my desktop, where it lands in the right direction, and then I just upload that version rather than the one from photos library.
happystuff
3-7-22, 10:49am
Great picture and info, JP. Thanks for sharing. I would like to see redwoods someday.
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t holding my phone sideways when I took that picture. Tall trees require portrait mode. But now that I’ve cracked the code for how to have perfectly oriented pictures every time it’s all good.
I figured there were good reasons for not upgrading the forum software, assuming that there was a newer version of the software that simplified this. It doesn’t seem worth the cost/headache of a major upgrade just so that no one has to tilt their heads to look at the occasional picture.
I figured there were good reasons for not upgrading the forum software, assuming that there was a newer version of the software that simplified this. It doesn’t seem worth the cost/headache of a major upgrade just so that no one has to tilt their heads to look at the occasional picture.
:+1:
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t holding my phone sideways when I took that picture.
See my test using photos taken just now from my iPhone. Test (simplelivingforum.net) (http://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?19758-Test&p=403555#post403555)
I usually export the photo to my desktop, where it lands in the right direction, and then I just upload that version rather than the one from photos library.
I do the same.
FishFinder
4-19-22, 1:22pm
I LOVE hiking. We were camping at Algonquin Park Provincial park last year and had a chance to hike the best trails I ever hiked. Couple of scenic lookouts were just breathtaking. Hardwood lookout trail, Hemlock bluff and I forgot the name of the other trail that took me straight up for nearly 2.5 km. Hardest trail to hike, I had to make several stopovers, but the view compensated for the hard work.
FishFinder, thanks for the bump on this thread. I'd wanted to add to it but with being busy getting back to work after vacation I'd completely forgot. Last week while we were in palm springs I went on a couple of hikes. One was nice enough, and I got a nice panorama photo of the whole city with the cancer windmills off in the distance. (admittedly the city doesn't have much of a skyline since I don't think there are many (any?) buildings that are more than 2 stories tall).* The second hike, though, came recommended by some volunteers doing maintenance on the first trail. They promised me that it was worth the $12 entrance fee to get on the Indian reservation. And they were right. A lot of the trails in the area are dry river beds. This was was alongside a wet river! So it had all sorts of trees and other vegetation all over the place.
*the forum software doesn't seem to like the panorama photo but since it was the least impressive I'll let that go. The other three from the next day's hike are the cool stuff...
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happystuff
4-20-22, 4:06pm
Very nice, jp!!
Last weekend I went back to a couple of trails that I hadn't been to since last summer. The panorama picture probably won't do the view justice. From that spot I could see Mount Diablo, the highest point in the east bay, downtown San Francisco, downtown Oakland, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, and the Richmond Bridge. (the trail is called 3 Bridges...)
The other trail doesn't have quite as impressive views but I was impressed with how tall the grass was. At some places it was taller than 5' 8". Last time I was there it was summer and everything was dried out and short.
The last picture is not from a hike. It's an open space about a half mile from our house owned by the county. They have apparently hired a bunch of natural lawn mowers this year to lower the fire risk, which seemed very cool. I will definitely let you all know if they bring the mowers over to deal with the open space hill behind our house after they are finished there.
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Love the goats! Thanks for sharing.
One of the great things about living where we do is that we can drive 45 minutes from here and be in a markedly different climate. It's 92 at our house right now and expected to be in the upper 90's/100's from tomorrow through thursday. But I was able to drive 45 minutes SW to go hiking this afternoon on a trail where the temperature was only 75 and plan to do the same thing tomorrow and monday.
And as a bonus I got views of the ocean, a forest recovering from a wildfire, and some sort of survey badge from 1930 in the ground at the peak of the mountain I was on. The second photo is of the fire damage just beyond the sign in the first photo. Before the fire the trees on the left would have carried through that whole area.
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Well this is interesting. That little badge introduced me to the history of a long-standing federal agency that I didn’t know anything about before. Apparently they are the people that make the gps on my phone functional so I don’t have to carry printed trail maps (or hope that their is adequate signage as was the case today)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._National_Geodetic_Survey?wprov=sfti1
Great scenery JP, and what an excellent way to escape the heat.
littlebittybobby
9-5-22, 11:48pm
Okay---Hiking is something I've done a slight amount of, but not enough to share tips of value. I frequently sit-n-watch short videos of experienced hikers going up Colorado 14-teeners, State High Points, Trips to Crash Sites, etc. Read Krakauers books, too. But the best I can do is boast vicariously about a niece, who hiked up Grays Peak, several years ago. She beat me to a feat that I've yet to accomplish. But yeah----just so you'll know, I approve of getting out to DRIVE long-distance, to do this stuff. Just don't expect praise for driving to Alburquerque, to ride the tram up Potosi Mountain, or some other canned accomplishment. So---I've biked some. Nothing extraordinary, but more than the average citizen my age in the Heartland. There's a steep place in a local park, only 2-3 hundred feet long, that is open to walkers and bikers, and guess what? I have found it more of a challenge to walk it, that to bike it, uphill. I will admit that maybe I am better conditioned for biking that hiking, and yes---there IS a difference in the conditioning you get. Hope that helps you some. 4810
Omg! I’ve been to the top of grays peak! Many moons ago when I was a stupid 18 year old kid that didn’t understand yet that some things are really difficult. Sadly I had not yet bought my first iPhone (Steve jobs’ biggest achievement by that time was creating the Macintosh a few years earlier) so I don’t have a selfie of me standing on top of the world.
Okay---Hiking is something I've done a slight amount of, but not enough to share tips of value. I frequently sit-n-watch short videos of experienced hikers going up Colorado 14-teeners, State High Points, Trips to Crash Sites, etc. Read Krakauers books, too. But the best I can do is boast vicariously about a niece, who hiked up Grays Peak, several years ago. She beat me to a feat that I've yet to accomplish. But yeah----just so you'll know, I approve of getting out to DRIVE long-distance, to do this stuff. Just don't expect praise for driving to Alburquerque, to ride the tram up Potosi Mountain, or some other canned accomplishment. So---I've biked some. Nothing extraordinary, but more than the average citizen my age in the Heartland. There's a steep place in a local park, only 2-3 hundred feet long, that is open to walkers and bikers, and guess what? I have found it more of a challenge to walk it, that to bike it, uphill. I will admit that maybe I am better conditioned for biking that hiking, and yes---there IS a difference in the conditioning you get. Hope that helps you some. 4810
Into Thin Air is one of my all-time favorite non-fiction reads. I had no interest in the subject matter; I only read it at the urging of a co-worker, and I took it just to be polite. I could not put it down; it followed me into my dreams, and launched an Everest obsession for me. It's kind of funny, because I get somewhat winded on inclines and try to plan my walks to avoid hills, so I'm strictly into vicarious mountain climbing.
littlebittybobby
9-7-22, 5:33pm
Okay----R/R, One of Krakauers books is about an unrelated subject; it's called: "Under The Banner of Heaven". Yup. It's a true-crime account, and a trilogy. But yeah--It's real interesting. Ron Lafferty died in prison, several years ago. Plus: here's another nugget: the staye of Alaska removed The Bus from the trail, due to it being deemed a danger to curiosity sewekers & too expensive to rescue them. My f-book account has a photo of the busa being lifted by a military helicopter, after which it was trucked to Fairbanks and placed in storage. Also, as you prolly know, there's Into Thin Aiur and Eiger Dreams. Yup. been so long since I read those, I practically forgot what they said. Hope that helps you some.
I read both of those too, and they were very good. His book about Missoula is on my list.
Into Thin Air is one of my all-time favorite non-fiction reads. I had no interest in the subject matter; I only read it at the urging of a co-worker, and I took it just to be polite. I could not put it down; it followed me into my dreams, and launched an Everest obsession for me. It's kind of funny, because I get somewhat winded on inclines and try to plan my walks to avoid hills, so I'm strictly into vicarious mountain climbing.
Into the Wild is a great book, too!
Into the Wild is a great book, too!
Yes it was, and I thought they also did a good job on the movie.
We've been having a bit of rain for the last month or so. Perhaps even a bit more than a bit of rain. Ok, we've had almost 27 inches of rain in the past month, according to our weather station. That's only 11 inches shy of our annual average.
Today it stopped for a while and I thought that would be a great time to go hike one of my favorite trails, the "Ken Harth Waterfalls trail." For 7-8 months of the year the name is aspirational. There is no water falling. The most water I've seen before was quite modest compared to today. About half the trail is a downhill through a valley cut by the river and the trail crosses the river 18 times. Today I managed to cross it twice and at the third crossing decided to turn back. It was just way too easy to see myself falling in at that crossing, and they actually get more difficult further down. I'd already gotten a boot full of mud and didn't particularly want to be all over wet.
But I did take a couple of videos.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m4XzIDiwpDE
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C8hq2Vt9pmE
rosarugosa
1-16-23, 7:24am
Nice, JP! Good way to make the best of all the rain!
littlebittybobby
1-18-23, 12:21am
Into the Wild is a great book, too! yes, yes-- Nothing like a good book about Hiking! I've read Eiger Dreams, and Under The Banner Of Heaven, too. Wagon-training from Zurra to Utah isn't really what you'd call recreational hiking, but it's a long trip! Ha. But yeah--, a few years back, I read "The Crash Of Flight 260", a book written by one of the first people at the scene of a TWA airliner that crashed into Sandia Mountain, just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 19, 1955. All souls on board the Martin 404 were lost. The pilot was from Kansas City; the flight attendant from Spencer, Iwah(middle o' nowhere), and Glenn Martin was an IWAH native, who got the heck out of nowhere(IWAH) early on, and taught Ed Boeing to fly and started up what is now Martin-Marietta. So, anyway--those, are all stories for another time. Yup. Anyway, you can either hike up Sandia Mountain on the trail to the crash site, where wreckage of the plane still lies, or take the Tram built by a Swiss company up the mountain. Whichever you prefer. Hope that helps you some. Thankk Mee.5096
Went back to one of my favorite trails today. Hadn't been there since before the rain started 6 weeks ago or so. It was fun since I ran into the woman I always see riding her horse on the trail, and the weather has been great for several days now. There's a major creek that normally doesn't exist. And it's a clear example that trump was right. The forest seriously needs to be raked.
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On the plus side there are some new views that didn't exist before. Before the rains there was nowhere on this trail that one could see San Pablo Bay. Now there's at least one spot...
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Got home today after spending a few days in Palm Springs again for SO's birthday. Like us they've had roughly double the average annual rainfall this year, so everything's green and lots of wildflowers are blooming. And the river hike I did last year involved a river with a whole lot more water than last year. Last year it was possible to use rocks and logs to avoid getting wet. This year all the comments on the All Trails app were "You will get wet up to your knees. Plan accordingly." So I took my old boots and just plowed through. Some people were taking off and putting on their shoes at each of the ten crossings. (actually 20 crossings since it's ten out and ten to return). One very charming older woman (who offered me some much needed sunscreen) had taken her shoes off at the first crossing and then walked the rest of the trail barefoot. That's both crazy and kind of badass.
The picture of the water is the first crossing I had to wade through. I had to get from where I was standing to the other side at the top of the picture.
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On the way home today we stopped outside of Fresno at "The Cat House On the Kings". I had been there four years ago with a friend who is a longtime donor and wanted to make another visit. It's a cat rescue/sanctuary run by a woman who had started taking in cats 40 years ago and eventually abandoned her house to the cats and moved into a trailer on the property. Now it's a major no kill shelter that she operates as a non-profit. SO brought a container of treats and spent more than an hour making friends with lots and lots of cats. Here he is in the living room of what used to be Lynea's house. We already have two cats so we're not in the market for adopting more, but goodness, several of them were such charmers that it was hard to just leave without them.
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rosarugosa
4-17-23, 6:06am
I follow Cat House on the Kings on FB, and I have donated to them, although I usually donate to my local rescue. "Disapproving Cats" is the FB page. I enjoy most of the content, with the exception that a lot of people share when their cats are sick or "passing over the rainbow bridge," and that certainly makes me sad.
iris lilies
4-17-23, 7:44am
I love the cat house!
I heard a news story yesterday on Planet Money about a woman in Dixfield, Maine left $200,000 to the cats of Dixfield, and it was quite a problem to disperse the money responsibly. Finally, the state of Maine had to step in to carry out the will. The Planet Money guys use this story as an illustration of the laws and problems in living money in your will to accomplish specific things.
happystuff
4-17-23, 11:41am
Looks like another great hike, jp!
Goodness! I was on this trail just a week ago, so this must've just happened in the last week. Although it would have been exciting to witness as it fell, it's probably just as well that I wasn't anywhere near it...
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iris lilies
7-9-23, 9:40pm
Goodness! I was on this trail just a week ago, so this must've just happened in the last week. Although it would have been exciting to witness as it fell, it's probably just as well that I wasn't anywhere near it...
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the tree is probably sorry it did not take down any innocent humans in its fall to distinction.
the tree is probably sorry it did not take down any innocent humans in its fall to distinction.
I hope trees haven’t figured out how to coordinate their efforts the way sharks seem to have done!
Oh dear. Some unfortunate white bird was someone's dinner last night. (probably a coyote).
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Interesting article in the NYT today. Thought of this thread.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/us/hikers-heat-deaths.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Interesting article in the NYT today. Thought of this thread.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/us/hikers-heat-deaths.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Yes, I read that. Personally I don't understand people who go out hiking in such temperatures. Anything over about 85 and I'm not having fun anymore. Thankfully I have options like going to the coast where it's typically 10-20 degrees cooler than where we live. Or going out early in the morning before the heat becomes oppressive most days. As much as we like Palm Springs I hesitate to seriously consider retiring there because my summers of hiking would be made much more awkward/time consuming if I had to go ride the tram up to Mt. Jacinto every day for six months of the year to get some exercise. (Mt. Jacinto is near Palm Springs and accessible by a tram. It's a few thousand feet above the valley floor and way cooler than the valley as a result. In winter it has snow. In summer it's much more pleasant than the searing heat in the city of Palm Springs.)
Interesting article in the NYT today. Thought of this thread.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/us/hikers-heat-deaths.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Yes, I read that article as well... So sad.
Teacher Terry
8-3-23, 11:23am
JP, my sister and I took the tram in January and took winter coats so we could hike. It was really warm down below so most people didn’t have coats and had to stay inside once they arrived at the top.
JP, my sister and I took the tram in January and took winter coats so we could hike. It was really warm down below so most people didn’t have coats and had to stay inside once they arrived at the top.
Yeah, the difference is remarkable. There was still a lot of snow up there in April one time that we went up. There's a lot of trails up there so if we do end up retiring there I'd undoubtetdly get an annual pass for the tram and by the end of the first summer would likely know all the trails well.
Portuguese John Here
8-27-23, 1:40pm
Today's walk, 10 mins ago, 6pm (WEST).
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rosarugosa
8-28-23, 6:09am
Very nice, John! What are those granite columns in the second picture along the water?
happystuff
8-28-23, 7:08am
Looks like it was a nice walk!
Portuguese John Here
8-28-23, 3:01pm
Very nice, John! What are those granite columns in the second picture along the water?
They're used for wine grapes.
Here's some pictures I took today.
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rosarugosa
8-29-23, 6:11am
They're used for wine grapes.
Here's some pictures I took today.
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Cool! I never would have guessed that.
iris lilies
8-29-23, 7:52am
They're used for wine grapes.
Here's some pictures I took today.
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I love that!
Portuguese John Here
9-2-23, 11:59am
Today's saunter, caught rain and thunder.
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Today's saunter, caught rain and thunder.
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Beautiful!
iris lilies
9-2-23, 1:46pm
Thank you for these photos, John. It is nice to see a bit of another country.
Portuguese John Here
9-18-23, 2:13pm
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The age of the corn is over, the time of the grass has come!
Our corn is still in the field. Maryland USA But we do have a similar view of mountains, but shorter!!! Thanks for sharing a glorious September day.
A little outing this weekend:
https://i.imgur.com/j6MR5O0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mu3W9ZC.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nt2Bfwa.jpg
And it was a fun trip just to get there!
https://i.imgur.com/yvXwdhP.jpg
happystuff
9-19-23, 9:03am
Wow, bae! Just - Wow!
Interresting article about the Appalachain Trail in the WaPo that goes into some detail about not only the history, but also the changes to the route that have happened over the years for various reasons. Interestingly, at 2,200 miles it's almost 150 miles longer than it was when it was supposedly "completed".
I will probably never hike it. If I ever decide to tackle any sort of long distance through hike it would likely be part of the Pacific Crest Trail instead.
https://wapo.st/46Usz8t
Today was the first day since April that we got an appreciable amount of rain. I actually like going out hiking in the rain as long as it's not pouring because when everything's wet the colors of the forest totally pop. Here are a couple of pics from the "Big Trees" trail, my favorite hike here in town.
When it's dry the little salamanders don't come out. I had to be careful today not to step on any of them. Unlike the geckos these guys move pretty slow so it would be super easy to just squish them.
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jp1, I can totally see why that would be your favorite local hike. So serene-looking! Thank you for the pics!
rosarugosa
11-6-23, 6:55am
Beautiful! I never see salamanders anymore.
happystuff
11-6-23, 10:01am
That does look like a wonderful place to hike. Thanks for sharing pics!
Found an awesome new trail today. Out near the coast so it'll be another good option on super hot days in the summer. The trail goes across private land that is used as a cow pasture so I got to see a whole bunch of happy California cows (not sure if that's a national marketing pitch, but some california dairy association has been running ads for years about the happy cows here that don't live in feedlots). And I recognized Mt. Wittenberg. I've hiked along the section of Mt Wittenberg where there's the odd stretch of a single row of trees that you can see in the second photo.
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happystuff
1-29-24, 10:35am
Very pretty, jp1. It looks like it was a beautiful day!
Interresting article about the Appalachain Trail in the WaPo that goes into some detail about not only the history, but also the changes to the route that have happened over the years for various reasons. Interestingly, at 2,200 miles it's almost 150 miles longer than it was when it was supposedly "completed".
I will probably never hike it. If I ever decide to tackle any sort of long distance through hike it would likely be part of the Pacific Crest Trail instead.
https://wapo.st/46Usz8t
My uncle and cousin hiked the trail all the way from Georgia to Maine. So I learned a lot from them. Then we just watched the Robert Redford movie about the trail--recommend it for people my age, btw, and I have concluded that some day I want to go to that hotel in Georgia and spend three days or so and do little day hikes to and from the lodge. Then I can honestly say "I've hiked the Appalachian Trail" and the lodge looked so cool and enjoyable.
Nice to see all that green! I'm still hiking with ice traction devices on my shoes here.
My friend is hiking the trail in bits and pieces. Never will I do it! She's done 700 miles. All of PA,MD, WV and about half of Virginia, then some in MA,CT, NC, TN. I admire anyone who hikes!! Myself, give me boardwalks, paved paths, and wide paths!
Nice to see all that green! I'm still hiking with ice traction devices on my shoes here.
Yeah, we've had a decent amount of rain, fairly consistent but not overwhelming, since October. This is definitely the most beautiful time of the year here. I've always been a summer person and really do enjoy that time of year here but it's just not as pretty as the green during rainy season. And summer/fall is also fire season, so there's that...
Very pretty, jp1. It looks like it was a beautiful day!
I actually found this trail in a book about dog hikes in northern california that I stumbled on at the library and then went on the AllTrails app and found that they only had it as a 22 mile one way trail so I did like 2.5 miles in/2.5 miles back which was lovely. Next weekend the weather is also supposed to be nice so I'm thinking I'll get an early start and do like 4-5 miles in and then come back. That would be 3-4 hours so I'd need to take lunch but totally doable for a day hike. There are no roads cutting through the entire 22 miles so the further in I go the less people I will run into since most people probably do like I do and turn around at some point. (not that I ran into a ton of people anyway. Maybe 10 people groups the entire time I was out there?)
My friend is hiking the trail in bits and pieces. Never will I do it! She's done 700 miles. All of PA,MD, WV and about half of Virginia, then some in MA,CT, NC, TN. I admire anyone who hikes!! Myself, give me boardwalks, paved paths, and wide paths!
LOL. You remind of a friend that I used to work with. She lives in San Francisco and her idea of a nice walk is strolling down the street at a slow speed and looking in the windows of shops. I told her that SO would probably enjoy a walk with her more than me since the only reason I take a walk is to get exercise or get to where I'm going. Another friend of mine calls my style of city walking "forced marches".
LOL. You remind of a friend that I used to work with. She lives in San Francisco and her idea of a nice walk is strolling down the street at a slow speed and looking in the windows of shops. I told her that SO would probably enjoy a walk with her more than me since the only reason I take a walk is to get exercise or get to where I'm going. Another friend of mine calls my style of city walking "forced marches".
LOL. Forced marches is how I used to walk when I lived in Chicago 20 years ago, before my knees went to hell.
JP You made me laugh! I am going tomorrow on a wee walk around the park...paved path, flat but with a stream. Oh, and my hiking friend did 7 1/2 miles in the woods yesterday!
Went on a naturalist-led hike last weekend and my DH was amused that the only pics I came home with was bark and lichen. To each his/her own, I say!5744
Nothing wrong with that, Kay!
happystuff
2-3-24, 11:18am
Bark and lichen pics are good! I have a friend who hikes and takes pics of the different mushrooms along the way.
iris lilies
2-3-24, 12:09pm
Went on a naturalist-led hike last weekend and my DH was amused that the only pics I came home with was bark and lichen. To each his/her own, I say!5744
those are always interesting subjects for photography, I like, looking at them.
Went on a naturalist-led hike last weekend and my DH was amused that the only pics I came home with was bark and lichen. To each his/her own, I say!5744
Everyone has their own interests for sure, which is perfectly normal. One of the trails near us is popular with bird watchers because of the massive wetlands next to it. Their idea of fun is to spend hours at one spot, usually with an expensive looking camera and a long lens on a tripod, hoping to snap a picture of an unusual bird. I quietly continue past them with a polite nod so as not to scare any birds that may be nearby because birdwatching just isn't my thing. Though I imagine they'd let me look through the viewfinder if I asked.
Personally rather than birds I'm more interested in the wrecked '60s Mercury that sits on the side of the hill near the birdwatchers. It's been there for at least the 3 1/2 years we've lived here and will presumably be there for the forseeable future. Every time I pass it I wonder how the hell it got there and why it wasn't removed. There are no roads anywhere near and I'm not one to go digging through old newspapers to try and find a resolution so it'll just be a weird thing I briefly ponder every time I go on that trail.
happystuff
2-7-24, 10:45am
LOL on the birders, jp1. I have a couple of siblings that are birders. Whenever they suggest going for a walk, I know enough to ask if we will be "walking" or "birding".
LOL on the birders, jp1. I have a couple of siblings that are birders. Whenever they suggest going for a walk, I know enough to ask if we will be "walking" or "birding".
Indeed. Those are two distinctly different activities!
Went on a naturalist-led hike last weekend and my DH was amused that the only pics I came home with was bark and lichen. To each his/her own, I say!5744
Wow! Beautiful patterns on that tree bark! That's the great thing about nature--there's something for everyone. My uncle and aunt were huge birders, but I'm not much into them, even though I have about 4 birdhouses in my yard. I just put them up and let them do their thing. I don't do census visits. I just listen to them through my open windows, and clean out their seasonal "airBNBs" in the fall.
I have binoculars and a field guide, but I try to be very vague when my neighbor asks, "Did you see that Northern Goshawk this morning??" I'm like, "oh, yeah. Beautiful! Big!"
Had a lovely hike about ten minutes south of us this weekend. That's downtown San Francisco in the distance (the salesforce tower is the tallest building) and the Bay Bridge off to the left.
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Had a lovely hike about ten minutes south of us this weekend. That's downtown San Francisco in the distance (the salesforce tower is the tallest building) and the Bay Bridge off to the left.
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Beautiful, jp!
This is not a "hike"--it is a short walk to our lakefront, but because the theme here is beautiful vistas I thought I would share. My DDIL took this the day before the eclipse, when DH took our two NJ grandsons down for a few casts to see what they could get before the sun set.
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That’s gorgeous! I can see why you wanted to move there!
happystuff
5-8-24, 10:55am
Beautiful views! Makes me want to move! LOL
Got an unexpected fun surprise on my hike today. Went to the trail next to the reclaimed wetlands. The city's general aviation airport is also next to the wetlands and today there was a small airshow with 4 single prop planes! I can't find anything about it online, so I don't think it was announced publicly. (I had a commitment to help a friend with her drip irrigation system afterwards. Otherwise I would've gone out to the airport after my hike to see if they were still there and find out what the story was.) Anyway, first I snapped a couple of pictures and then I got a few videos since they came around three more times. (Imagine the first two pics rotated 90 degrees clockwise to get a better idea of things...)
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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WxiQUG--DQk
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/k1XeXiYGe0o
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DxBxtlegqxQ
happystuff
5-12-24, 9:22am
Very nice, jp! Surprises like that always add some fun to the day.
littlebittybobby
5-12-24, 10:11am
okay-----all this stuff you kids have posted is very cool. but yeah-----in THE most crime-ridden city in Zurra, we had an active shooter out on the trail, taking random shots at cyclists. so anyway----the po-lice rounded up the thug who did it, and it was sent away to prison for awhile. sometimes, when i go to the park with the huskees, i get either: some bozo wanting to give the doggs chicken bones, or B: someone with a drone swooping down over us. how do you like that? hope that helps you some.
Since we're in the middle of a major heat wave I went down to the peninsula south of San Francisco for my hike today. Temperatures in the north bay were going to quickly get into the 90's but down on the peninsula highs only in the mid 70's were predicted. Sweney Ridge is the sight where European explorers in October of 1769, led by de Portola, first discovered San Francisco Bay. 200+ sailing expeditions had previously sailed past the Golden gate and not realized there was a bay. To be fair the mouth of the Golden Gate is relatively small, there are a couple of islands just inside the mouth that would make it look like a continuous shoreline from a distance, and depending on the weather fog would make seeing it more difficult. And if it had been foggy the day they climbed to the top of Sweney Ridge they wouldn't have found it that day either. I've been up there numerous times when there is no view on either side because of the fog.
In any case, there was no fog today and the trail along the top of Sweney Ridge has amazing views of both the bay and the ocean.
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Wow. Awesome photos. Thanks for sharing. Nice you have a place to go that’s cooler.
That's beautiful JP, and amazing that there was such a big difference in temperature. We did a beach walk the other day, and although it was a pretty hot and humid day, the ocean breeze at the beach kept it very comfortable there.
Thankfully it’s still been getting down into the50’s at night. So today as soon as I woke up around 6 I went out to a trail nearby and was done by 8:30 when it was still only about 70 out.
This afternoon we spent a couple hours at the hoa pool. Surprisingly no one else was there the entire time. Labor Day 2022 we had six days in a row over 100. A couple of them over 110. We invited friends to the pool that Sunday and it was a mob scene of people trying to stay cool in luke warm water.
Beautiful photos, jp. You have totally re-adjusted my opinion of San Francisco. Not that it was bad - just that it has more beauty surrounding it that I ever imagined. Thank you!
Beautiful photos, jp. You have totally re-adjusted my opinion of San Francisco. Not that it was bad - just that it has more beauty surrounding it that I ever imagined. Thank you!
Glad to hear that I’ve convinced at least one person that coastal California is beautiful! Because it is. And the fact that I can go out hiking year round is a major bonus.
One of the things I noticed when I was down on the peninsula is that the hillsides are still green even though it’s July. Here at home in the north bay we’re in dry, brown season. The microclimates will never cease to be fascinating to me.
Not really related to hiking but two days of no heat wave so we haven’t needed the a/c. It’s so nice to be able to open the windows before bedtime.
I don't know this person personally, but several of my coworkers do, having worked there at some point. Beazley is THE powerhouse in the cyber insurance world.
I've only hiked one of Colorado's 14ers, Grays Peak. I was 20 at the time, the weather was awesome (at least by the standards of weather at that elevation), and Grays Peak is generally considered the easiest of the CO 14ers to hike. Mt. Shavano generally ranks somewhere around 20th out of the 58th for difficulty of 14,000 peaks in Colorado depending on whose list you look at. Doing a team-building exercise on that peak seems like a bad plan unless at least a couple of the people have enough high altitude hiking experience to keep the group safe. And they clearly didn't since at the very least the most experienced person should have been at the very back of the group to make sure they didn't lose anyone.
All that said I'm really glad he's ok. And sorry he had such a terrible experience.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/hiker-allegedly-stranded-coworkers-colordado-mountain-raising-money/story?id=113238350
So, I turned 57 today. I decided that instead of some big party that would please my friends more than it would please me that I'd go hike Mt. Tamalpais by myself. It's the highest point in the county and has a million trails on it. It's hugely popular. So much so that on the weekend you have to reserve parking. Consequently I've not hiked it despite living here for four years. I prefer quiet and seclusion. So I took the day off work and went. As I drove up to the trail head I was a big concerned because there was a brief downpour that was enough to require turning on my windshield wipers for the first time since May. Rainy season is definitely upon us. And Mt Tam generally gets about twice as much as the rest of the county. I hadn't thought to bring my rain slicker but figured I'm not the wicked witch of the west so I parked, packed the four sweatshirts that happened to be in my trunk in my backpack figuring that if it rained enough to drench one I could swap it out with another and headed out. (actually I wore one of the sweatshirts under my zip up hoodie that I was already wearing and put the other three in my bag since it was a bit chilly.)
All I have to say about the hike is that I can see why Mt Tam is so popular! OMG. The views... In the middle of the picture you can see downtown San Francisco way off in the distance, and toward the right the ocean going off down the coast towards Monterey. Stunning.
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catherine
10-28-24, 8:01pm
So, I turned 57 today. I decided that instead of some big party that would please my friends more than it would please me that I'd go hike Mt. Tamalpais by myself. It's the highest point in the county and has a million trails on it. It's hugely popular. So much so that on the weekend you have to reserve parking. Consequently I've not hiked it despite living here for four years. I prefer quiet and seclusion. So I took the day off work and went. As I drove up to the trail head I was a big concerned because there was a brief downpour that was enough to require turning on my windshield wipers for the first time since May. Rainy season is definitely upon us. And Mt Tam generally gets about twice as much as the rest of the county. I hadn't thought to bring my rain slicker but figured I'm not the wicked witch of the west so I parked, packed the four sweatshirts that happened to be in my trunk in my backpack figuring that if it rained enough to drench one I could swap it out with another and headed out. (actually I wore one of the sweatshirts under my zip up hoodie that I was already wearing and put the other three in my bag since it was a bit chilly.)
All I have to say about the hike is that I can see why Mt Tam is so popular! OMG. The views... In the middle of the picture you can see downtown San Francisco way off in the distance, and toward the right the ocean going off down the coast towards Monterey. Stunning.
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Happy birthday, jp!!! The hike sounds like a wonderful way to spend the day. I hope that you have a wonderful birthday evening as well!
iris lilies
10-28-24, 8:03pm
I’m glad glad you had a nice birthday.
Happy Birthday! Thanks for sharing the photo. Awesome view.
rosarugosa
10-29-24, 6:28am
Happy Birthday! What a great way to spend your day, stunning views indeed.
happystuff
10-29-24, 10:00am
Happy Birthday, jp! Glad it was a nice day!
littlebittybobby
11-5-24, 1:21pm
okay---I been thinking IF I can find a reputable catsitter to look after the herd while I am out-of-town, that I may participate in a guided trip to ascend Mount Vinson. Yup. 'Case you kids don't know, it is the HIGHEST peak on the continent of Antartica. So anyway---the trip is a bit of a drain on my financial resources, so yeah---I'm looking for an organization to sponsor me & help defray the expenses for the trip. See? This would be perfect if The Simple Living Forum members would all sponsor me, and of course I would plant a flag on the summit bearing the name of the Forum. Yup. So, yeah---go ahead and set up a go-fund me or take out a home-equity loan, and make it the number-one objective to enable littlebittymee to meet my goal. (see photo) I know how you kids are travel enthusiasts, and this would be a perfect way to demonstrate your love of journeying the Globe. Hope that helps you some. Thannkk mee.6110
happystuff
3-12-25, 9:37am
Now that the weather is getting a little bit nicer in my area (at least the last couple of days), I've been thinking about your hiking and pics. I hope you are doing well, jp. Miss you.
littlebittybobby
6-2-25, 12:30pm
okay----in case anya you kids were planning a trip ta Sicily to hike and also EAT Authentic Sicilian-Style Pizza, lemme give you a heads up: Mt AEtna has been erupting; not a full-bore eruption, but just some warnings that hey----better not come up here! (see photo) Even if you didn't get buried under red-hot lava, you might breath in hot, toxic gases. Sooo, a word ta the wise: might be best ta stay at home, and eat pizza. Yup. Hope that helps you some. Thankk Mee.63726373
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