Oh joyous day, the many beautiful trails in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area have reopened for 2009 now that the major danger of slides has passed. The timing couldn't be better -- the flowers are bursting and streamflow and waterfalls are … [Continue reading]
Revisiting Non-Native Fish in Northern California Mountain Lakes
Last November I wrote about the California Department of Fish and Game restocking ban of non-native fish in the high mountain lakes of Northern California. It generated heated debate. Many day-hikers and backpackers love to make fishing a part of the … [Continue reading]
Protect California State Parks – And Their Hiking Trails – in 2009
The California State Parks Foundation, one of my favorite outdoors advocacy groups, followed up on Monday's Park Advocacy Day events in Sacramento (see my previous blog post about Park Advocacy Day) by declaring 2009 the "Year of Park … [Continue reading]
Help California State Parks: Parks Advocacy Day on March 23
The California State Parks Foundation sponsors Park Advocacy Day this Monday the 23rd at the State Capitol on Sacramento. if you can make it, go there to help lobby our state government to maintain access and improve our state parks. As you know, our … [Continue reading]
Tom Stienstra’s “Ten Commandments to Stay Alive in the Wild”
Tom Stienstra, the outdoors columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, recently wrote an important piece on how to decrease the chances of something nasty happening to you when you're exploring outdoors. You all need to read this article; I know I've … [Continue reading]
Snow Pack Update for the Mount Shasta Region
Some good news about all the rough weather we had in early March--the snow pack in the Mount Shasta region is way up from the dismal numbers of earlier in the winter. Here's the main snow pack info courtesy of the Mount Shasta Herald: The Fire … [Continue reading]
March Hike of the Month: Hidden Beach and False Klamath Rock
This month we head way north on the coast to Redwood National and State Parks just south of the Oregon border. I lived in nearby Crescent City and in a rural area near Klamath from 2001 to early 2005, so these trails have a special place in my … [Continue reading]
Come See Sean Bagshaw’s Stunning Presentation on Climbing Mount Denali
The Mount Shasta Trail Association is sponsoring a presentation on climbing Mount Denali in Alaska. The presenter is southern Oregon resident Sean Bagshaw, a professional photographer and experienced climber.Climbers on Mount Denali. (Photo by … [Continue reading]
Uptight Swiss Officials Put the Squeeze on Nude Hikers
Rules, rules, rules--government bureaucrats and officials always want to make rules.Now we find that Swiss bureaucrats want to ban nude hiking. Here's the naked truth of the story: Climbers in the Swiss Alps last autumn were confronted with more … [Continue reading]
Ano Nuevo State Natural Reserve
Ano Nuevo State Natural Reserve is a treasure for its Northern Elephant Seals and its hiking trails. I've had Dave Miller's exquisite Bay Area Outdoors blog in my RSS feed for several months, and I love his well-written descriptions of his Bay Area … [Continue reading]
Lassen Volcanic National Park Snowpack Way Below Normal
Snow levels (snowpack or snow pack) in Lassen Volcanic National Park are far below normal for this time of year in 2009.It's no surprise to any of us who live in Northern California mountains or visit them on a regular basis: snowpack is way … [Continue reading]
Briones Regional Park Hiking Trails: Briones Peak
Briones Regional Park has an extensive network of hiking trails. In the hike described here, you will explore Alhanbra Creek and Maricich Lagoons, and then climb Briones Peak for views of rolling hills, Mounts Diablo and Tamalpais, and San Pablo and … [Continue reading]
Warming Climate Blamed for Increased Mortality in High-Elevation Western Forests
The journal Science, one of the biggies in the science world, just published an article in its most recent issue about the cause of the increased death rates of trees in the Sierra Nevada and elsewhere in high-mountain areas of western states. From … [Continue reading]
Trinity Alps Hiking/Backpacking Trails Update
Note: go see the July 1, 2010 Trinity Alps hiking and backpacking trails update post!The Trinity Alps in far Northern California suffered heavily from fires this summer, and many of the trails that hikers and backpackers love were impacted. I … [Continue reading]
Northern California Outdoor Adventurers in Redding
The Northern California Outdoors Adventurers is a Meetup group of outdoors enthusiasts centered in Redding in Shasta County, California. They already have over 100 members and are quite active in doing a variety of outdoors activities all over … [Continue reading]
Dog Saves Girl from Coyote Attack
We rarely hear about coyotes attacking humans, but one recently attacked a young girl. Luckily, her dog saved her. Regular readers of the Northern California Hiking Trails blog know that I love dogs and spend a lot of time outdoors with my golden … [Continue reading]
Snowshoeing Treks and Classes in Lassen National Forest
We hikers often walk on the snow in the winter, primarily with the aid of snowshoes. Check out the snowshoeing walks sponsored by the Almanor Ranger District of the Lassen National Forest. The walks take place in Plumas County, one of my favorite … [Continue reading]
Disputes Over OHV Use Can Turn Violent
In early November I wrote about an editorial discussing off-highway vehicles (OHVs) and the damage some have done in Shasta and Trinity counties. The comments (all ten of them) came on both sides of the issue, and it was a very useful exchange that … [Continue reading]
Hiking Muir Woods National Monument Trails
Hike Muir Woods National Monument trails and see the redwoods stretch serenely to the sky. You can easily walk far enough away from the trailhead to leave the crowds behind and gain some solitude from the bustle of modern-day life.Speaking of … [Continue reading]
Japanese Monkeys in a Hot Spring: You Gotta See This!
Northern California hikers and travelers know that our part of the world has a lot of hot springs, some we hike to and some we drive to. Well, Japan also has some great hot springs, and it also has Japanese snow monkeys that love nothing better than … [Continue reading]
Yosemite National Park Winter Road Closures
Well, Winter 2008-2009 has officially arrived in Yosemite National Park and brought road closures, thanks to the recent storms that dumped the white stuff on the higher elevations of all of Northern California. The news from Yosemite National Park on … [Continue reading]
Dog Gets Hiker Lost in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
Here's the gist of the story from the Mercury News about the Santa Cruz woman whose dog got her lost in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park: 43-year-old woman emerged on her own from the rugged Fall Creek section of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park … [Continue reading]
Eight New UNESCO Natural Wonders
Eight new natural wonders have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Read about them, and view a fabulous slideshow, at ForbesTravel.com. Here's a snippet from the article: Native Australian David Sheppard summons the oft-quoted backpacker’s … [Continue reading]
“Li’l” Little Smokey the Bear
I wrote about our pal Little Smokey the Bear last month. He's the cub who was injured in the wildfires on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest last summer and has been in rehab under the loving attention of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. Well, good things … [Continue reading]
Doin’s at Point Reyes National Seashore
I've always loved Point Reyes National Seashore, which has several hikes in 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California. It's also one of the best places in Northern California for a spring backpacking trip.Here's the latest from the Point Reyes … [Continue reading]
