The short Fen trail connects Kangaroo Lake with the Pacific Crest Trail but boasts excellent views of the Klamath Mountains in its own right.
Month: May 2020
Sibley Volcanic Loop (Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, CA)
Sibley Volcanic Loop, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, March 2020 Despite being located on the Ring of Fire, it is easy to forget California’s volcanic past. Beginning roughly 8-10 million years ago, what are now the Berkeley Hills of the East Bay were the epicenter of a series of volcanic eruptions that flooded the area with …
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Ohlone Wilderness Trail (Ohlone Regional Wilderness, CA)
Excellent two- or three-day backpacking option in the East Bay, connecting Del Valle Regional Park with Mission Peak Regional Preserve.
Steep Ravine – Matt Davis Trail Loop (Mount Tamalpais State Park, CA)
The Steep Ravine – Matt Davis Trail Loop in California’s Mount Tamalpais State Park is a longer and more popular variant of the Steep Ravine – Dipsea Trail Loop (described in an April 2015 post). Though not as expansive as the views along the upper reaches of Dipsea, the sunny seaside vistas from the Matt …
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Falls Trail Loop (Mount Diablo State Park, CA)
The East Bay, for all of its wonderful hiking, is not known for its waterfalls. Flowing streams, let alone tumbling cascades, are scarce amid the largely scrubby, chaparral hills that separate San Francisco Bay from California’s vast Central Valley. After springtime rains, however, there a handful of seasonal streams that come alive. One of the …
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Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, CA
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, California is a small National Park Service site dedicated to the life and memory of the most famous leader of the California farm workers movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Nestled in a picturesque valley in the southern Sierra Nevada, the national monument features several exhibits on the …
Hole-in-the-Wall Nature Trail (Mojave National Preserve, CA)
The Hole-in-the-Wall Nature Trail in California’s Mojave National Preserve is a boon for those looking to identify some desert plants: the short jaunt, which connects the Hole-in-the-Wall Information Center to the nearby campground, includes more than a dozen identifiers. Who knew there were so many variants on desert sagebrush? The highlights are the large Mojave …
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Rings Loop Trail (Mojave National Preserve, CA)
The Rings Loop Trail at Mojave National Preserve’s Hole-in-the-Wall area meanders through Banshee Canyon, a wild, narrow notch named by early settlers for its howling desert winds. Though only 1.4 miles, this brief circuit packs a punch, passing through desert scrub to a set of ancient petroglyphs before ascending a pair of ring ladders, bolted …
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Live and Let Hike 