Hiking Adventures in the San Francisco Peninsula and Beyond
It's that time of year. To reflect, to appreciate the trails hiked, old friends, and new connections. I started the Peninsula Hiking Club (PHC) in June 2021, not at the height of the pandemic, but certainly not too far away. We (to be more precise, two of us), hiked Montara Mountain, a 7-mile out and … Continue reading Peninsula Hiking Club Year in Review (2024)
Some November mornings along the coast in Northern California are crystal clear; this one, not so much. It had been a long week, and I would have probably preferred to stay in bed. But, the hike was on the calendar, and cancelling a hike last minute was not really an option. Some days you just … Continue reading Montana Mountain – November 2024
We hiked this last September, and I'm quite sure that this fallen tree, on Craig Britton Trail, was not there. Besides that, the hike, a 10-mile loop, was as I remembered it, one of the best intermediate hikes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Park in the North Ridge lot, off Skyline, hike down North … Continue reading Purisima Creek Redwood OSP – October 2024
Day one: Oberstdorf, Germany [900 meters] to Rappensee Hutte [2,100 meters] Day two: Rappensee Hutte down to 1,500 meters and back up to 2,100 meters (Mindelheimer Hutte) Day three: summit climb (2,370 meters), then down to Mittelberg, Austria (1,200 meters). Epic 3 days in late September. Challenging, but in the words of our hiking leader, … Continue reading Hiking the Bavarian Alps
Some observations and thoughts, in no particular order: Welcome to Middle-earth. Was it worth it? It’s all about the journey, right? The next hike, San Francisco Bay Trail, will be dead flat. If you want to experience the first year of law school in a hike, try this one. Final numbers: 13.5 miles, almost 35,000 … Continue reading Murietta Falls
Feedback from yesterday’s Mission Peak “Double” hike: epic and brutal, brutal, I can’t feel my legs, good thing that another hiker’s dog was able to pull me up the mountain, great hike but you need to enjoy the process; meanwhile, for these two, scroll all the way down, it’s business as usual. Suffice it to … Continue reading Mission Peak – January 2024
It seems that a trail always finds me (or perhaps that I always find a trail). This one was flat, flat, flat, unlike our last one, Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve (https://johnpavolotsky.com/2023/09/10/purisima-septiembre-2023/). Consider this Anchorage's version of the San Francisco Bay Trail (https://johnpavolotsky.com/2023/01/02/the-san-francisco-bay-trail/), but with Chugatch State Park to the east, Cook Inlet, and … Continue reading Hiking Anchorage
Amigos, ¡excelente caminata ayer! Purisima es una de mis caminatas favoritas. 10 millas, hermosos paisajes, una babosa, aire fresco, clima perfecto, excelente conversación, ¡cerveza después de la caminata! ¡Nuestra próxima caminata será más fácil, lo prometo! ¡Nos vemos en octubre!
Once in a while the stars align: great scenery, terrain, weather, company, conversation, F&B, especially at the Parkside Cafe, with a dozen Hog Island oysters, Niman ranch burger with prosciutto (why not?) and Point Reyes blue cheese, and Calicraft Kolsch (yes, a continent and ocean away from Koln, but so good, especially after an 11-mile … Continue reading Dipsea 2023
Nuestra caminata hoy. Muy linda. 1300+ acres, 12 miles of trails, 30 miles south of San Francisco, a different metaverse (but not of madness, thankfully). 16 hikers, a group record: 14 humans y dos perros. A 5-mile out-and-back and a 7 mile loop. Betsy Crowder to Spring Ridge to Anniversary Trail and back or continúe … Continue reading Windy Hill OSP
The Peninsula Hiking Club 