Dan's Outside

2004March

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***March 6
– Great one-day ski trip to Sugar Bowl with Owen, Jane, Keri, Matt, and Chris. See online description.

***March 13
– Beautiful spring hike at Almaden Quicksilver – from the Mockingbird Hill parking lot up to the ridge and around the loop. Lots of new grass and wildflowers today.

***March 14
– Another beautiful day – seems more like spring than winter. This hike was at Sanborn Park. Hiked up to Skyline and then over to Castle Rock for a quick snack, then retraced my steps. Total distance is about 8.5 miles.

;p>***March 20
– First day of spring, so I took a quick early morning hike up the hill at Almaden Quicksilver.

***March 27
– Grand loop hike at Almaden Quicksilver: Mockingbird Hill out to McAbee entrance area via the New Almaden Trail, then back via the ridge and Mine Hill Trail and Hacienda Trail. A bit more than 13 miles.

***March 30
– Odd little hike at Almaden Quicksilver. It was cloudy with a very weak Pacific front coming in. I hiked somewhat slowly up to English Camp and poked around the buildings near the old mine site and a nearby grove of trees on the ridge. Then I followed Woods Road down to the forested section to take a few more photos. I descended Deep Gulch to return to the car.

***March 31
– Quick one-day ski trip to Badger Pass and out the Glacier Point Road to just past the parking lot for Sentinel Dome. Probably about 16-17 mile round-trip.

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January 1, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2004March

2004February

***February 1
– Only time for an “urban hike” on the Los Gatos Creek trail today, but at least I got out.

***February 8-9
– Two day trip to Tahoe for some tele’ skiing. Drove up on Friday night in a short but intense snow storm. Saturday dawned clear and cold and we spent the day at Squaw Valley. On Saturday we skied Heavenly Valley. I concentrated on “making my skis by friends” and getting relaxed on beginner downhills – a task on which I believe I largely succeeded.

***February 13
– Friday the Thirteenth hike at Almaden Quicksilver. Did the long loop out to Guadalupe Reservoir and then back via the ridge, following game trails instead of the road at first.

***February 15
– I had a couple hours this morning/afternoon so I took a quick AQCP hike. Went quickly up Deep Gulch, joined the English Camp trail, followed the footpath to the mill and the went down Woods Road, crossing the open meadow and then stopping at the next forested meadow, where I took some pictures before returning the same way.

***February 22
– After a fairly insane week I had to get out for a hike today – even if it means that I’ve left some work undone that I’ll have to do late tonight. I managed to get it a quick hike up Deep Gulch past English Camp along the ridge to where I could overlook the valley while I ate my bagel. I dropped down the ridge cross-country through some old mining areas, emerging near the last mine below the summit on the Mine Hill trail. I descended via English Camp and Deep Gulch.

***February 28
– Only time for an urban hike to Campbell on the Creek Trail today.

***February 29
– a long hike at Almaden Quicksilver – perhaps the longest there so far. I began at Mockingbird Hill and headed out on the trail toward the Prospect #3 junction. Instead of turning up the hill here, I continued straight ahead past the Webb Canyon junction to a left lateral (looks like an old road) that may be the Cinnabar trail – at least that is how it is marked on the map. This joined the Mine Hill Trail and headed back toward Guadalupe Reservoir and the junction with Randol Trail. At this point I wasn’t sure which way would get me back to the car by sunset, but I chanced it and headed up Mine Hill Trail to the summit. From there I passed through English Camp and descended Mine Hill to the junction with the trail back to Mockingbird Hill.

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January 1, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2004February

2004January

***January 10
– My first hike of the new year was at Almaden Quicksilver. (Report).

***January 17
– Hiked at Almaden today. I did the loop out to Prospect #3 and back.

***January 19
– For something different I drove up to Castle Rock State Park and had a great hike in the fog – via Castle Rock and Goat Rock out to the backpacker campground. (Report #1 and Report #2)

***January 25
– Yesterday I thought I’d be skiing at Soda Springs today, but instead I ended up back at Almaden Quicksilver for a really beautiful hike in cool, crisp conditions but with new grass coming up everywhere. Did the loop out to Prospect #3. (Report)

***January 31
– Did the loop from Mockingbird Hill at Almaden Quicksilver today – out to Prospect #3; up to the ridge and then to English Camp; then down Mine Hill and Hacienda back to my starting point. Report and photos here and here.

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January 1, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2004January

Outside Log 2004

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February
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January 1, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Outside Log 2004

Back from the Sierra

We drove up to Royal Gorge for a day of cross-country skiing – and just arrived home a few minutes ago.

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December 31, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Back from the Sierra

Design update

I modified the design of this site a bit yesterday. I removed the left-side navigation bar and moved the links to the column on the right side of the page. Besides simplifying things a bit and making all links available throughout the site, this allows me to post somewhat wider photos.
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December 30, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Design update

Cross-country skiing

Looks like I’ll be making a quick one-day run up to Royal Gorge tomorrow for a day of cross-country skiing. Conditions look decent and we should be able to get on the road back home before the next Pacific front arrives tomorrow night.
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December 30, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Cross-country skiing

Beautiful post-Christmas hike at Almaden Quicksilver

I caught a brilliant sunny day on my hike today – between the Christmas rain storm and another that is likely to arrive tomorrow. The grass is really starting to come up now, though you can’t tell from my black and white picture… ;-)

One of the great things about winter at this coastal hills park is that much of the grass has died away and it is now possible to travel cross-country. The ridge where this photo was taken is between two trails that I frequently use. I happened to notice a subtle “use trail” while walking on one of them and decided to follow it. It turned out to be a faint trail that provided an alternative to the fire road that I normally follow.
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December 27, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Beautiful post-Christmas hike at Almaden Quicksilver

Disclaimer

Stories on this web site represent my personal experiences, opinions, and preferences only. I have no special training or certification in any of the subjects that I write about on this web site. If you are looking for advice from someone who claims offical certification and training, look somewhere else.

Equipment becomes outdated. Trails get rerouted. Changing weather turns benign trips into dangerous adventures. Rocks fall. People get lost. Trail descriptions differ from reality. Maps are inaccurate. Ankles twist. Bones break. Animals swipe food. Lightning strikes. Equipment breaks. Mistakes are made.

Outdoor activities involve risks including injury and death, and are inherently unsafe for those without essential equipment, experience and knowledge. These risks can never be completely eliminated, even for those with extensive experience and knowledge.

The bottom line is that you should not rely wholly on anything you read here. You should seek out and learn from a variety of people, programs, books, and other resources. You are individually responsible for learning about and understanding the risks inherent in outdoor activities and for deciding whether or not to accept these risks.
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December 26, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Disclaimer

Merry Christmas!

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December 25, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Merry Christmas!