Alpine Meadows Powder!!

Scott and I skied Alpine Meadows last Friday in epic conditions that exceeded even my dreams – 2+ feet of light, fluffy snow and bluebird California sunshine! We had several “fresh track” runs, hiked around for more fresh powder, and skied hard the whole day. The deep powder worked my legs big time but I…

Mendocino Trip Recap

Mendocino is a gorgeous area of the northern California coast. We visited six parks with incredible variety from giant redwoods to lush fern canyons to rugged coastline. Here is a list of the series of blog postings from the trip: Hendy Woods State Park Van Damme State Park Mendocino Headlands State Park Russian Gulch State…

Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve

The sixth park we visited was Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve in the heart of the coast range. It’s located about one hour from Mendocino on windy roads, or alternatively, the reserve can be reached by the equally windy Orr Springs Road from Ukiah in 13 miles. We decied to see this reserve and then…

Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park

The fifth park we visited was the Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park. We parked near the visitor center and took the half mile walk down through meadows and wind-shaped vegetation to the lighthouse located on a protrusion of the coastal terrace into the Pacific Ocean. The lighthouse was built in 1909 and has…

Russian Gulch State Park

The fourth park we visited was Russian Gulch State Park for a Saturday morning run. We took the Fern Canyon Trail and then the Waterfall Loop Trail to a beautiful 36 foot tall waterfall in a very lush setting. We then continued to the North Boundary Trail where we saw an area of famous pygmy…

Mendocino Headlands State Park

The third park we visited on our trip to Mendocino was the Mendocino Headlands State Park. I was amazed by the beauty of the this park – the intricate and rugged rock formations chiseled by the powerful Pacific Ocean are a gorgeous site to see. We were expecting it to be cold (and we heard…

Van Damme State Park

The second park we visited on the trip to Mendocino was Van Damme State Park, located a couple miles south of Mendocino on Highway 1. We did a run up the Fern Trail along Little River. The trail is aptly named as a carpet of ferns covers under thick stands of second growth redwoods and…

Hendy Woods State Park

On Friday and Saturday Serena and I took a trip to Mendocino on the northern California coast. We lucked out with some great weather and were able to visit numerous state parks. Since there were so many great photographs, I will have a series of blog posts featuring a different park each time. The first…

Arastradero-Los Trancos Loop

This is a fantastic lollipop loop (one of my favorites) passing through Arastradero Park and Foothills Park. The highlight of the run is the narrow single track of the 7.39 mile Los Trancos Loop, complete with scenic views of the Bay Area and a great section in a narrow canyon along Los Trancos Creek with…

Pulgas Ridge Hike

Great hiking and trail running can be found at Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve, a little known gem across Edgewood Road from Edgewood Park. Views of the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Francisco Bay are great from the highpoint of the park, but the light was not particularly good for photography on this day. The…