Staying at the Little Mt. Hoffman Lookout

Wild Rye Emmett Overalls Review

Bike Touring the Shimanami Kaido

Hiking Sugarloaf Mountain in San Mateo

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Three day weekends are not for sitting around. With the constant downpour California has been receiving, there was no place dry this past weekend within a reasonable driving distance. Josh and I got out on Sunday for a little bit. Suddenly, I remembered what it was like to be outside and not sloth-y. Josh had school on Monday so I was stuck at home sans car.

Try as I might, I laid in bed, watched TV, made biscuits… but by the time noon rolled around, cabin fever had hit. It was time to get out of the house. Luckily, there’s a good number of parks within walking and biking distance of where I live. I put on all the waterproof stuff I own and headed out into the downpour to Laurelwood Park to summit Sugarloaf Mountain.

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Hiking Purisima Creek Redwoods

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Hiking Purisima Creek Redwoods February 2017

It’s basically been raining in the Bay Area for the last 2 months. Save for a couple patches of sunlight here and there, I’m beginning to think I live in the Pacific Northwest. The gloomy weather has made outdoor climbing more or less nonexistent. Our favorite local crag, Castle Rock, is soaked. Yosemite Valley and Bishop have mostly been under snow, or just too wet to climb. Most of my free time has been spent training or hibernating or some combination of the two. Finally, this past weekend, we decided to get out and stretch our legs; rain or shine. Our pick was Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve just south of Half Moon Bay.

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Great Grub Camp Food

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Great Grub Camp Food Review

After a long day of climbing or hiking, cooking is usually the last thing on my mind. I’ve been known to scarf down a backpacking meal or heat up a Fishpeople Seafood pouch to avoid the hassle of prepping and cleaning. Great Grub Camp Food makes gourmet camp food easy, without the hassle. Each entree has the convenience of a freeze dried meal with a little extra that’s more than just boiling hot water.

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Outdoor companies, take a public stand

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Climbing the Matterhorn, Sierra Nevada, Sawtooth Range, July 2016

Pow shots are cool. V16 is rad. Fog swirling around an artfully draped blanket is neat too. Sunrises and sunsets are beautiful. But do you know what is not cool, rad, neat or beautiful? Our public lands being taken away from us, from you.

It’s time to take a public stand. I know that some of you may have signed OIA’s open letter. Maybe you are working behind the scenes. But what’s next? It’s time to show the public that you care.

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