continued... I didn't sleep much in my tent that night. Not because I wasn't tired, just because the wind was shaking my tent all night long. A few times I was afraid that it might not hold up against it. At around 5 AM I decided it didn't make sense any more to keep laying awake in my sleeping bag but get up and do something....

Hidden Falls Regional Park is a popular local recreation area. It offers 30 miles of natural surface trails suitable for hiking, running, biking and horseback riding. I explored about a third of the trails on this rainy day in Northern California and saw lots of beautiful flowers and wildlife. The Park Map at the parking lot shows...

Folsom damn was built in 1955. The resulting lake was part of the "Folsom Project" for flood control, hydroelectricity, drinking water and water for irrigation. Most of what was "drowned" in 1955, has been submerged since then. Due to the present extreme drought in California, Folsom Lake is at a historically low level - about 100...

As Delta showed not too long ago the Mono Lake Basin is definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in California. It was on my to-do list even before I moved here. As a "local" it is now "just around the corner" (for US standards only!). On this weekend I combined the trip to Mono Lake with a hike to the nearby Robinson Peak and...

A good hikr-buddy of mine gave me a hiking book as a farewell present before I left Switzerland. The book was written by no one less then Daniel Anker himself and is called "Wanderungen in Kaliforniern". It covers 54 hikes (ranging from very easy to serious expeditions) all over the state of California. It has been out of print...

Mount Tamalpais (the locals call it Mount Tam) is probably one of the most popular outdoors playground in the San Francisco Bay Area, not just for hikers but also mountain bikers. Due to it's steep slopes on all sides it offers spectacular views over the surrounding cities, the rolling hills, the Pacific Ocean and the bay with all...